A Little Monday Sunshine.....

Life by Numbers

O---Pop (soda) of any kind or sweets of any kind for this entire week. Hence writer's block. Hence everything block!
1---Month that I have already been in school. Other schools just started this week?!  I can't even talk about that!
2---Weeks until the first day of Fall. Mentally I already feel cooler (weather-wise of course).
3---Three months (and a few days) till Christmas break. That's a big WooHOOOOOOOO!!
4---Children in college at one time. Shoot me now.
5---Obviously. My children.
6---Six weeks until Fielding and Kelly's wedding.
7---Class periods I teach each day. Sometimes it feels like a cattle call. Somedays it feels like frozen molasses.
8---Months until Summer Break.  Can I get a double WOOOOHOOOOO and a back flip?
9---Letters in my alliterated name Lori Lucas.

Hopefully tomorrow I am more 'with it'....Or I've got more numbers!

Hanging on....Summer is so close!

I got to spend Mother's Day with four of my five children.  My youngest son has his college finals this week.  I told him the best Mother's Day gift I could receive is if he would stay at school and get ready for his finals. 

I got lots of great-thought-out-just-for-me gifts.  My children are good that way.  We all met and went out to eat. My husband is good that way. We spent the afternoon shopping and taking it easy. It was a very nice relaxing day.

This week I will be glad I got to relax, as we have something to do every. single. night. Two of the nights I have to drive to my parent's house and take them supper. One night we have to drive to my son's college and help him bring all his 'junk' home for the summer. One night (my husband volunteered us) we have to mow the church (very large) lawn. One night we have a graduation party and on Saturday we have a nephew's high school graduation.

In the meantime I have to keep

these crazy

high school students

interested in

English.

We are writing poetry right now.

OH how they love it. (NOT!!!)

Plus I have to get my

finals typed up

and my grades into the computer.

But,

summer glorious summer is

so close

I can almost taste it.

Seven more school days.

What do these cupcakes have to do with this post you may wonder?
Not a darn thing.
I made them over the weekend and they were pretty enough for pictures. And delicious too.
Sure wish I had one right now!

Hope your week is action-packed too!

It's A Dog's Life

With only 11 school days left in this school year (insert huge cartwheel here!) things are busy at the high school.  There are so many events to get through. There are so many ballgames. There is SO much testing. It is hectic.  I barely get everything done I need to get done.

 
I haven't been on the computer as much because I have so much to do.

I knew that I would not be on the computer tonight, so I wanted to get a post done during my noon hour thirty.

What to do? What to do?  I searched my computer here at school for some kind of motivating picture to get my brain in gear.

Finally I found a few pictures of my sweet puppies.

Those always bring a smile to my face.

(The pictures AND the puppies).

I have lots of children.

I have lots of students in my classroom.

I have great family and friends.

But there is something about dogs.

They love unconditionally.

They are ALWAYS glad to see their owner(s).

Their attention is not superficial. They are truly

happy to be around people.

They are loyal companions.

They're always ready for a walk.

They are truly man (and woman's) best friend.

So when work is chaotic and I have too much to do,

I go home to a

dog's life.

A very good dog's life!

Tonight I am going to try and get everything together for my Tablescape Thursday. I'm thinking maybe a Mother's Day theme, but then that puts me in the same category as

everyone

else.

In case you haven't noticed, I don't like to be like

everyone

else!

Hmmmmmmm!!

Canola

Growing up in Oklahoma I am use to seeing miles and miles of wheat fields. We have fields of hay, alfalfa, milo and corn.  We have acres of cattle-grazing fields.

Living in Kansas for years I saw the beauty in the endless corn fields and soybean fields. 

The green or gold in all of these fields was beautiful. The way the crops wave in the wind is beautiful.

Then I saw these fields.  Let me tell you....they are absolutely, unbelievably gorgeous. 

These fields surround the town where I teach.  I can see these fields out my classroom windows.

I tried to take pictures of the beauty, but the pictures do not do justice to the real thing.  The fields are the brightest yellow....almost a neon yellow-green.

I have never seen these before.  I had to ask what the fields were planted with.  The answer: Canola.  As in canola for canola oil.

As far as the eye can see, fields of canola.  I stopped my car and walked out into the fields to take the pictures. The plants are about two feet tall with the flowers being about the top 8 to 12 inches. The plants are thick and strong.

I was told they stay this brilliant color until harvest. It is such a bright yellow that it is hard to explain. Perhaps it is just the enormous amount of yellow, as each stem has so many flowers.

Yellow as far as the eye can see.  These fields would make wonderful photo-ops.
We're never too old to learn something new. I had no idea that canola was grown as a crop. I don't know where I thought it came from, but I certainly wasn't thinking of it as a crop. I had no idea we grew it in Oklahoma. I had no idea I would be able to spend an entire month looking out my classroom at such beauty.

These heart-healthy canola fields have made my little heart happy!

Spring Into Action

I love springtime.  I love when the days tease us and warm up so much it makes you almost ache for summer.

 I love when springtime bursts forth from the earth and looks at us like, "Did you not think I would be back?"

 Springtime's tulips and daffodils are way too pretty to leave outside.  Bring them inside to be reminded of nature's perfect beauty.

 The flowers remind us, if they can get through a long, hard winter and come out of it looking beautiful, then we need to take that as a lesson.

  Use nature's lesson:  Go out and do something unexpected and beautiful for someone this weekend.
                Make it a great weekend!

Here's Your Sign

I had this picture in my file of "Things I love" for a long time. I cannot even remember where I got it from, except it looks like it is "House Beautiful" maybe...????......
If I even knew, I would find the owner of the sign and figure out a way to contact them.
You see, that sign has our family name on it.  Wouldn't that be great to have?
It is a GREEAAAATTTT sign regardless, but it would be even better since it has our name.

I love old signs. I loved them before they were vogue and I will love them long after they are popular.
If anyone out there ever sees a LUCAS....or for that matter a FERGUSON (my maiden name) sign, please think of me and let me know!!

So Long Winter...Even If You Don't Want To Go!

This feels like the LONGEST winter.  Does it seem that way to anyone else? When I lived in Kansas I always thought February was the longest month of the year, not the shortest.  After having an unusually damp and cold Oklahoma winter this year, I am beginning to think the same thing again!

 That us why I am gathering up all of these......and

 all the hearts
                                       and him................

 

and a few more of these.....

and putting them far, far away, in the back of the holiday decorations storage. (When I see them again next year I will be happy, but this year, THEY HAVE TO GO!!)  They have worn out their welcome by inviting their relatives that live outside!!

Instead, I have been getting the "green" out of storage...

I am going to spend part of my day 'getting the green on' in my house.  Now if I can get Mr. Green to invite his outdoor friends and relatives for an extended visit!!

Valentines Day everyday...........

Of all the holidays, Valentine's Day is towards the bottom of my favorites list.  Perhaps by the middle of February I am tired of winter and ready for the freshness of spring. I also have the very sarcastic viewpoint that Valentine's Day has, in many ways, become purely a commercial holiday.  But mainly, I am disturbed by the fact that some people use Valentines Day to tell someone they love them, but then the other 364 days of the year the love goes to the back-burner.
  I love a relationship that says "I love you" at LEAST once a day. I love a relationship that ends each phone call with a loved one with "I love you". I love a relationship that gives a hug and a kiss when someone walks into a room. I love a relationship that reaches across the couch for a quick kiss. I love a relationship that shows random acts of kindness and love at any given time. I love a relationship that revolves around children and family and strong values.  Every day should be a day of love........

more love lists continued tomorrow................
  

Simple LOVE

The older I get the more I learn to LOVE the simple things in life.......

Like.... Watching reruns of The Andy Griffith Show
Doris Day movies

Southern cooking
Sweet tea ...anytime
Hot chocolate on a winter day

Ferns on a big front porch
Galvanized buckets
An outdoor swing

Grilled meat
Grilled chicken
Grilled seafood

Fresh summer vegetables
Watermelon

Sugar cookies with almond flavoring
Brownies

A good book, no matter how many times I"ve read it!
Written letters...the old-fashioned kind...with an envelope and a stamp!

Long-haired poets--and their poetry
Short-haired politics---and their policies!

Old wood type blocks
Underwood typewriters

Letters my grandparents wrote to each other
Black and white photographs

Hiking the farm ....any season
Christmas tree hunting

Driving around looking at Christmas lights
The aisles of the grocery store when holiday baking season begins!

Spring Break
Summer

The smell of rain
The smell of freshly cut grass

Candles on the deck...
Blankets on the deck when it is nippy

Burning leaves
Suntan lotion

Happy dogs
Fluffy cats

And without even meaning to....when I reread the list I realized the simple things I love are also those that cost the least! That makes me love them even more...

more LOVE continued tomorrow..........

LOVE

Things I love................................

Obviously....
God
My husband, Tim
My children, Fielding, Annie, Taylor, Coulter and Luke
My parents, sister, brother, nieces, nephews,
My sisters and brothers in law
My extended family
My in-law family

My country
My freedom

My state
My home
My friends

My dogs
My cat

Great literature
Being able to write what I think and feel
Getting to try each day to convince a hundred teenagers that reading and writing is wonderful!

The memories of my grandparents
The memories of friends

That I had a wonderful childhood
That my children were raised in a very special little town

That I was able to go to almost every event all my children were ever in
That my children make me proud and grateful to be their mother

That my husband and I enjoy each others company
That I am able to be very independent

Hearing songs that make me think of certain times in my life
Smelling smells that remind me of people or places

Cooking
Eating

Reading every evening
Planning

Waking up to a new day.


to be continued .......................

About This Blog Thing......

SOOOOOO, I wanted to make my blog look a lot a little better.  This was about the third or fourth day I began blogging.  I am one of those that is scared to click on anything because I am scared I will either 1. delete something important FOREVER!!!! or 2. mess it up so bad that it just is not worth it.  My husband is a computer man.  That is what he does for a living.  He does not understand my phobia about totally messing and/or losing everything up on my computer.  (But on the other hand I do not understand the fact that he does not love to read great books, so we get along great!) ANYway, soon after I began blogging I wanted my blog to look as wonderful as all the blogs I read.  I tried putting the wallpaper on the back.  No luck.  I tried adding the buttons on the side.  Only part of them work.  I tried to figure out how to put my signature on the blog. Nothing. I tried to figure out how to "frame" my photo's. Nope. I tried to make my photos bigger. Nada.  Get the picture?  I am computer illiterate....to say the least.  Then one day I clicked on the button that is on the far right on the toobar when one is typing their blog. The button says "insert jump break".  I had no idea what that meant so I clicked it again.  (I was thinking one click = on, click again = off.) Uhmmm, not so much. I have no idea what else I clicked, but now every single time I go to post pics, only part of them show.  I have tried everything.  AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.  I guess I will either have to break down and ask my hubby for help, or find one of the great women that do this (so easily) for a living and hire my blog format to be done. 
IN THE MEANTME---I was going to share something that I actually CAN control and  something that I actually DO have a little knowledge of.  If anyone is looking for a quick and easy way to enhance your photographs and you do not own Photoshop, then I would suggest picnik.com.  You can get a whole battery of photo enhancing for free.  For an additional $20something per YEAR you get even more photo enhancing abilities.  They are quick, easy and oh-so-fun!

Here I took a picture I took in color, changed it to black and white and then just put a color focal point on his face. (This is my nephew Ford. Isn't he handsome?)

Here is my photo as I took it.  Then after I changed it to black and white. 

Here is a photo of my daughters that I cropped to show just them (and the table!).  I then put the primary focus on the girls and blurred all the edges.  I also toned down the color.

Here is a picture of my kids (and one nephew) where just for fun--and experimenting--I added all the hats, balloons, strings, words, etc.  The original picture is just the kids standing on the bridge.  Every season Picnik adds special affects to match the season.  They also have a standard line.

People think I "fixed" the log the kids are on, but this was actually a log my children stood on at the edge of the lake.  That part is really true.  I did enhance--or downplay--the color some and do some blurring of the edges.  I love this picture!

Same picture I just added Santa hats and a quote.

Same picture I just made it into a Christmas card.  Yep, there are LOTS of card ideas to choose from!

Lots of collage ideas and options as well.

All sizes of collages.

You can put "sparkle" in eyes, change eye colors and make teeth whiter.  In this one, I enhanced my niece Caroline's eyes, blurred the edges and used the graphics.

In this one I enhanced the color. I wanted the wheat field to be very golden.  I blurred the edges and I actually cropped a sixth person from the picture, since I only wanted my chlidren in the picture!

In this one I took all the color out except the blues. I blurred it some.  (This was my take on the Beatles "Abbey Road" but uhmmmm, not so good!  This is more like "Robots on Parade"!)  I will try it again sometime!

Here is the same picture and I used the "60's Look" idea. (Same dorky Robot picture tho!)

Now you see him.......

Now you don't.  The magic of cropping!

I really am trying to get this blog thing down.  Stick with me while I figure it out.  In the meantime, check on Picnik.com and look at all the great things you can do!