So at first it felt a little weird wanting to blog about my church because, I don't know it's just weird but, I LOVE THIS PLACE!
Last week was the most interesting church service I have ever been to in my life. It started with a short clip from Desperate Housewives. Yes, that is what I said, the trashy tv show that my husband and I can't miss and DVR every Sunday night. Don't worry, it was completely appropriate to watch.
If any of you watch the show like we do you saw the episode where Lynette (mother of 5) decided it was time her family went to church. (Her husband did growing up but she had never been.). Her friend Bre lets her go to the Presbyterian Church where she is a member and during the sermon Lynette realizes she's not happy with what the Pastor is saying. After he is finished Lynette raises her hand and wants to ask questions.....in the middle of the service. This astounds the congregation and the Pastor as well because this is not how most church services work. People are there for the answers, not the questions right?
Anyway, at our service this last week that's what the entire sermon was about- answering our questions. On the big screen there was a phone number and everyone was invited to text our questions to the pastor and he would answer them as they came in. People had also emailed him questions ahead of time too. Wow did they come up with some intersting subjects!
Questions like:
Do you think God forgives those who take their own lives?
Do you think it is weird that Cain married his own sister?
(could have the wrong person here but one of them DID marry their sister)
Do you think the end is near?
Were their dinosaurs on the arc?
If everyone came from Adam and Eve why are there different races/ skin colors?
I could go on and on......
I love how he really relates his sermons to what is going on in our lives. It isn't straight out of the bible yet it is relevant and he gets the point across easily and somewhat entertaining as well. I have never daydreamed during one of his sermons and the truth is, I don't think I had ever listened to an entire sermon EVER before I started coming here.
We are in the process right now of setting up a date so we can get Caiden baptised. Hopefully this summer, June maybe. He goes to Sunday School while we are in the contemporary service and he comes home talking about Jesus. It is too cute. He even inserts Jesus' name into songs when he is singing. That is pretty hysterical actually. Every song sounds better when it's got a shout out to Jesus right?
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
For Sale
(1) High School Art Class- Students provided
If you are a sarcastic, stinky, obnoxious person looking to get in a fight with whoever for whatever reason, this is the classroom for you.
OR
If you are a sit around, wants to talk to my friends, flirt or sleep kind of person you will fit in just fine too.
No real art experience needed, these kids know everything already.
To apply, please call 816. 666. 1234 and ask for Satan.
Okay, all joking aside, yesterday was a bad day with these kids. HORRIBLE! I think today will be better. At the very least, it is Wednesday and our secretary always brings homemade goodies for us to eat.
Thanks Gale! You may be the highlight of my day!
If you are a sarcastic, stinky, obnoxious person looking to get in a fight with whoever for whatever reason, this is the classroom for you.
OR
If you are a sit around, wants to talk to my friends, flirt or sleep kind of person you will fit in just fine too.
No real art experience needed, these kids know everything already.
To apply, please call 816. 666. 1234 and ask for Satan.
Okay, all joking aside, yesterday was a bad day with these kids. HORRIBLE! I think today will be better. At the very least, it is Wednesday and our secretary always brings homemade goodies for us to eat.
Thanks Gale! You may be the highlight of my day!
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Night
Night by Elie Wiesel
Have you read this book? You should. This is one of the most amazing books I have ever read and I am a book junkie. I love to read. Our students just finished up a unit on WW II and the Holocaust and this is the book they read in class. I was so disappointed when the students would see me reading it and ask me why? They all said it was a super boring book and they wouldn't ever read it if they didn't have to. I was shocked! What?! Not only is this book a mere 120 pages but it is anything but boring. Here are a few excerpts from the book. You tell me if you think this sounds boring.
"I remember that night, the most horrendous of my life:
"....Eliezer, my son come here....I want to tell you something...Only to you.....Come, don't leave me alone.....Eliezer....."
I heard his voice, grasped the meaning of his words and the tragic dimension of the moment, yet I did not move.
It had been his last wish to have me next to him in his agony, at the moment when his soul was tearing itself from his lacerated body-yet I did not let him have his wish.
I was afraid.
Afraid of the blows.
That was why I remained deaf to his cries.
Instead of sacrificing my miserable life and rushing to his side, taking his hand, reassuring him, showing him that he was not abandoned, that I was near him, that I felt his sorrow, instead of all that, I remained flat on my back, asking God to make my father stop calling my name, to make him stop crying. So afraid was I to incur the wrath of the SS.
In fact, my father was no longer conscious.
Yet his plaintive, harrowing voice went on piercing the silence and calling me, nobody but me.
"Well?" The SS had flown into a rage and was striking my father on the head: "Be quiet, old man! Be quiet!"
My father no longer felg the club's blows; I did. And yet I did not react. I let the SS beat my father, I left him alone in the clutches of death. Worse: I was angry with him for having been noisy, for having cried, for provoking the wrath of the SS.
His voice had reached me from so far away, from so close. But I had not moved. I shall never forgive myself.
Nor shall I ever forgive the world for having pushed me against the wall, for having turned me into a stranger, for having awakened in me the basest, most primitive instincts.
His last words had been my name. A summons. And I had not responded."
How about this one:
" The march toward the chimenys looming in the distance under an indifferent sky. The infants thrown into fiery ditches....I did not say they were alive, but that was what I thought. But then I convinced myself: no, they were dead, otherwise I surely would have lost my mind. And yet fellow inmates also saw them; they were alive when they were thrown ino the flames. Historians, among them Telford Taylor, confirmed it. And yet somehow I did not lose my mind."
If you haven't figured it out already this is a true story told by a survivor of the Holocaust. He is the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986 and has been awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Have you read this book? You should. This is one of the most amazing books I have ever read and I am a book junkie. I love to read. Our students just finished up a unit on WW II and the Holocaust and this is the book they read in class. I was so disappointed when the students would see me reading it and ask me why? They all said it was a super boring book and they wouldn't ever read it if they didn't have to. I was shocked! What?! Not only is this book a mere 120 pages but it is anything but boring. Here are a few excerpts from the book. You tell me if you think this sounds boring.
"I remember that night, the most horrendous of my life:
"....Eliezer, my son come here....I want to tell you something...Only to you.....Come, don't leave me alone.....Eliezer....."
I heard his voice, grasped the meaning of his words and the tragic dimension of the moment, yet I did not move.
It had been his last wish to have me next to him in his agony, at the moment when his soul was tearing itself from his lacerated body-yet I did not let him have his wish.
I was afraid.
Afraid of the blows.
That was why I remained deaf to his cries.
Instead of sacrificing my miserable life and rushing to his side, taking his hand, reassuring him, showing him that he was not abandoned, that I was near him, that I felt his sorrow, instead of all that, I remained flat on my back, asking God to make my father stop calling my name, to make him stop crying. So afraid was I to incur the wrath of the SS.
In fact, my father was no longer conscious.
Yet his plaintive, harrowing voice went on piercing the silence and calling me, nobody but me.
"Well?" The SS had flown into a rage and was striking my father on the head: "Be quiet, old man! Be quiet!"
My father no longer felg the club's blows; I did. And yet I did not react. I let the SS beat my father, I left him alone in the clutches of death. Worse: I was angry with him for having been noisy, for having cried, for provoking the wrath of the SS.
His voice had reached me from so far away, from so close. But I had not moved. I shall never forgive myself.
Nor shall I ever forgive the world for having pushed me against the wall, for having turned me into a stranger, for having awakened in me the basest, most primitive instincts.
His last words had been my name. A summons. And I had not responded."
How about this one:
" The march toward the chimenys looming in the distance under an indifferent sky. The infants thrown into fiery ditches....I did not say they were alive, but that was what I thought. But then I convinced myself: no, they were dead, otherwise I surely would have lost my mind. And yet fellow inmates also saw them; they were alive when they were thrown ino the flames. Historians, among them Telford Taylor, confirmed it. And yet somehow I did not lose my mind."
If you haven't figured it out already this is a true story told by a survivor of the Holocaust. He is the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986 and has been awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Friday, March 20, 2009
My Turning Point
As many of you know I have been teaching High School Art classes for only about 2 weeks now. I am still not completely comfortable with my classes yet and if I am being honest, half of the kids scare me to death. Luckily for me this has been a popular topic of conversation in my Art Ed classes and we have been given advise on how to handle this kind of fear.
To explain myself, the fear isn't of getting up in front of a class, or knowing the answers to all the questions, it isn't skill level, it is the fear of finding your voice. How tough is too tough? How laid back is too laid back? How do you get kids to respond to you, be respected and still put them in their place when they need it? The answer for the most part has been: It is easier to start off tough and slowly loosen up than it is to start off laid back and get stricter.
It sounds pretty simple and straight forward right? In theory, yes, it sounds simple but in reality it has been pretty hard for me to find this balance. Kids are so confrontational at this age and it usually doesn't take much to set them off. Think of the normal high school kid and how tough they can be at this age. Now add 19 of those kinds of kids to the average of 5-6 School Within A School kids I have in EACH of my 6 classes. For those who don't know what that is, it is an alternative school for kids who have been kicked out of the public school system (only at this school their school is inside our school). Usually it is at another location and they don't have much contact with the regular students. This is their last chance before they are kicked out of school completely. Not only are they tough kids but in most cases they have pretty heavy things going on at home.
Facing these students every day has been such a challenge for me. I don't always have the right thing to say, I can't always tell if they telling the truth or lying to my face and why do they always have to go to the bathroom or visit the nurse's office?? So far my way of coping with feeling completely out of my element has been to shut everyone out and pretty much be a moving sculpture around the room. I rarely smile, I never talk and when they want to know something about me I completely shy away and don't want to tell them ANYTHING!! Sound much like me? I know, it isn't.
Well today was a break through day. I knew it was a field trip day and we were going to the Thomas Hart Benton House and Studio (AWESOME by the way) then lunch at the Salty Iguana then a quick stop by the Harry S Truman Library to see the mural painted by THB. What a fun day and to top everything off it was Friday! I guess I was in deep thought or just really into The Sound of Madness when I came to the stop sign right outside of school. I did my usual stop and the next thing you know I see the lights....just as I was pulling into the front parking lot of school.....the same time all the buses were pulling in....full of curious students. Keep in mind it is only 6:45 in the morning and pitch black....all you could see were the flashing lights. Apparently I didn't come to a complete stop at the stop sign and that is a violation of the law. By this time the principal has come to the parking lot assisted by a few other male teachers (I am thinking they might have thought it was a fight, drug related? Who knows but they were ready for whatever). Once they saw that it is me that laughed and walked back inside. Not the students however. They continued to hang out the windows and stare at me. I was horrified! I thought for sure I was in trouble and the kids were going to be little demons about the whole issue.
Surprisingly, everything was okay. My principal laughed and told me if he had a nickle for every teacher that has happened to....(They are incredibly strict in this area). My teacher also told me she thought the cop might have thought I was a student because they come down really hard on them. Then my students all came to me to see if I was okay? Was I in trouble? What did I do wrong? This was the turning point. Instead of trying to play it off or telling them to mind their own business I made a joke out of it. I was my usual playful, silly self who laughs things off and it felt really good. It was actually comforting to finally see that they had feelings and... pulses! The rest of the day they would see a police man and yell, "Hey Mrs. Cummings, watch out the police are after you again!" or something like that. I had kids that wanted to talk to me on the bus, at lunch and even one kid who wanted a picture of the two of us in front of the Mural! This made me realize part of finding my voice wasn't so much about being tough or being soft it was more about who am I and who do they need me to be? This sounds completely cheesy I know but I'm not sure how else to put it. Being a teacher you never leave the job. You don't punch in and punch out. I think what the students benefited from today was seeing that I was a human too. I still struggle sometimes. I get in trouble. I DON'T always have the answers. I DON'T always follow the rules. I still make mistakes but I take them in stride. I owned up to my mistake and will pay the price for it. Seriously, $80 for "running" a stop sign?! "I totally paused"
On Monday morning I plan on sitting at the, uhmm, all stop signs for at least 6 seconds. I will not speed and I will show up to work on time without a police escort or light show.
To explain myself, the fear isn't of getting up in front of a class, or knowing the answers to all the questions, it isn't skill level, it is the fear of finding your voice. How tough is too tough? How laid back is too laid back? How do you get kids to respond to you, be respected and still put them in their place when they need it? The answer for the most part has been: It is easier to start off tough and slowly loosen up than it is to start off laid back and get stricter.
It sounds pretty simple and straight forward right? In theory, yes, it sounds simple but in reality it has been pretty hard for me to find this balance. Kids are so confrontational at this age and it usually doesn't take much to set them off. Think of the normal high school kid and how tough they can be at this age. Now add 19 of those kinds of kids to the average of 5-6 School Within A School kids I have in EACH of my 6 classes. For those who don't know what that is, it is an alternative school for kids who have been kicked out of the public school system (only at this school their school is inside our school). Usually it is at another location and they don't have much contact with the regular students. This is their last chance before they are kicked out of school completely. Not only are they tough kids but in most cases they have pretty heavy things going on at home.
Facing these students every day has been such a challenge for me. I don't always have the right thing to say, I can't always tell if they telling the truth or lying to my face and why do they always have to go to the bathroom or visit the nurse's office?? So far my way of coping with feeling completely out of my element has been to shut everyone out and pretty much be a moving sculpture around the room. I rarely smile, I never talk and when they want to know something about me I completely shy away and don't want to tell them ANYTHING!! Sound much like me? I know, it isn't.
Well today was a break through day. I knew it was a field trip day and we were going to the Thomas Hart Benton House and Studio (AWESOME by the way) then lunch at the Salty Iguana then a quick stop by the Harry S Truman Library to see the mural painted by THB. What a fun day and to top everything off it was Friday! I guess I was in deep thought or just really into The Sound of Madness when I came to the stop sign right outside of school. I did my usual stop and the next thing you know I see the lights....just as I was pulling into the front parking lot of school.....the same time all the buses were pulling in....full of curious students. Keep in mind it is only 6:45 in the morning and pitch black....all you could see were the flashing lights. Apparently I didn't come to a complete stop at the stop sign and that is a violation of the law. By this time the principal has come to the parking lot assisted by a few other male teachers (I am thinking they might have thought it was a fight, drug related? Who knows but they were ready for whatever). Once they saw that it is me that laughed and walked back inside. Not the students however. They continued to hang out the windows and stare at me. I was horrified! I thought for sure I was in trouble and the kids were going to be little demons about the whole issue.
Surprisingly, everything was okay. My principal laughed and told me if he had a nickle for every teacher that has happened to....(They are incredibly strict in this area). My teacher also told me she thought the cop might have thought I was a student because they come down really hard on them. Then my students all came to me to see if I was okay? Was I in trouble? What did I do wrong? This was the turning point. Instead of trying to play it off or telling them to mind their own business I made a joke out of it. I was my usual playful, silly self who laughs things off and it felt really good. It was actually comforting to finally see that they had feelings and... pulses! The rest of the day they would see a police man and yell, "Hey Mrs. Cummings, watch out the police are after you again!" or something like that. I had kids that wanted to talk to me on the bus, at lunch and even one kid who wanted a picture of the two of us in front of the Mural! This made me realize part of finding my voice wasn't so much about being tough or being soft it was more about who am I and who do they need me to be? This sounds completely cheesy I know but I'm not sure how else to put it. Being a teacher you never leave the job. You don't punch in and punch out. I think what the students benefited from today was seeing that I was a human too. I still struggle sometimes. I get in trouble. I DON'T always have the answers. I DON'T always follow the rules. I still make mistakes but I take them in stride. I owned up to my mistake and will pay the price for it. Seriously, $80 for "running" a stop sign?! "I totally paused"
On Monday morning I plan on sitting at the, uhmm, all stop signs for at least 6 seconds. I will not speed and I will show up to work on time without a police escort or light show.
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Speechless
I know I said that I didn't have time to do this...and I really don't but I just HAD to!
As you all know I have been doing the first half of my Student Teaching at an elementary school in Lee's Summit. Well my last day was Friday. I am so so sad to leave all of the wonderful staff and students that go there. I truly loved every single day.....even the really bad ones. I don't think there was ever a day that I left without learning something. Whether it was about my teaching style, the students or myself I was constantly soaking up everything I could like a sponge and relfecting on my experiences.
In the mornings the teachers stand outside their rooms while the students file in from the buses. It is kind of cute actually, like a little student parade to start each day off. On Friday I was flooded by kids who wanted to come say goodbye and give me a hug. I got handmade cards, lots of advice and some brownies....that I never did see. This was overwhelming to me. It made me feel like I have achieved something so big in such a little amount of time.
Also, we have two students (6th graders) that come in the mornings and afternoons to help in the art room and they are AMAZING. You couldn't find two better kids, really. On my last day they gave me a cd and it finally broke me. I was doing so good all day and then I just lost it and broke down and cried. I am not familiar with the artist, Christ Filer but the title of his album is truly appropriate "When It Don't Come Easy". Some other song titles from this cd are "Joy Ride", "So Much Love, So Little Time", "Say Goodbye" and "Independence Day" which all have a special meaning for me now and my little time at this school.
My teacher gave me something too that I had to wait until I got home to open. I just couldn't do it in front of her, I knew I would burst into tears. It was so so sweet. She made me my own apron for my classroom and stuffed the pockets full of things I might need. Everything from chocolate to airborne to stress relief bath foam. She also included a watercolor painting she made herself and a card. I wanted to take a picture of everything and post it but I am low on disk space for now and can't do anything with the images in my camera!
This was truly such an amazing experience and I will never forget everyone and everything they have done for me. I was pretty sure they were going to have to call security to remove me from the building because I wasn't going to leave. Then they came up with the idea of meeting for happy hour and I left happily.
I don't know how my experiences in High School will be but it will be hard to measure up to the ones I had in Elementary. I start on Monday and will teach 9th graders until the beginning of May. It is going to be tough finding a job in this kind of field but I have faith that I will find something. Even if I have to start in a less than desirable school district.
As you all know I have been doing the first half of my Student Teaching at an elementary school in Lee's Summit. Well my last day was Friday. I am so so sad to leave all of the wonderful staff and students that go there. I truly loved every single day.....even the really bad ones. I don't think there was ever a day that I left without learning something. Whether it was about my teaching style, the students or myself I was constantly soaking up everything I could like a sponge and relfecting on my experiences.
In the mornings the teachers stand outside their rooms while the students file in from the buses. It is kind of cute actually, like a little student parade to start each day off. On Friday I was flooded by kids who wanted to come say goodbye and give me a hug. I got handmade cards, lots of advice and some brownies....that I never did see. This was overwhelming to me. It made me feel like I have achieved something so big in such a little amount of time.
Also, we have two students (6th graders) that come in the mornings and afternoons to help in the art room and they are AMAZING. You couldn't find two better kids, really. On my last day they gave me a cd and it finally broke me. I was doing so good all day and then I just lost it and broke down and cried. I am not familiar with the artist, Christ Filer but the title of his album is truly appropriate "When It Don't Come Easy". Some other song titles from this cd are "Joy Ride", "So Much Love, So Little Time", "Say Goodbye" and "Independence Day" which all have a special meaning for me now and my little time at this school.
My teacher gave me something too that I had to wait until I got home to open. I just couldn't do it in front of her, I knew I would burst into tears. It was so so sweet. She made me my own apron for my classroom and stuffed the pockets full of things I might need. Everything from chocolate to airborne to stress relief bath foam. She also included a watercolor painting she made herself and a card. I wanted to take a picture of everything and post it but I am low on disk space for now and can't do anything with the images in my camera!
This was truly such an amazing experience and I will never forget everyone and everything they have done for me. I was pretty sure they were going to have to call security to remove me from the building because I wasn't going to leave. Then they came up with the idea of meeting for happy hour and I left happily.
I don't know how my experiences in High School will be but it will be hard to measure up to the ones I had in Elementary. I start on Monday and will teach 9th graders until the beginning of May. It is going to be tough finding a job in this kind of field but I have faith that I will find something. Even if I have to start in a less than desirable school district.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
So much work so little time!
I have had a few people email and ask for a new blog post. The truth is, I am CRAZY busy and I have abandoned my blog... for now. Not only I am doing my student teaching during the day but I have night class on Tuesday and Wednesday nights. On nights that I am not in class I am at home with Caiden in the evenings while Jay kicks off some exciting new things for his work. Once C goes to bed I either do homework, planning or search for jobs. There are SO MANY steps you have to take to even get an interview and it is different for every school district. Some have you fill out their own application from their website, some make you go through MOREAP, and others make you go their website AND MOREAP. It seems like another full time job at times....Anyway, no complaints, just lots of work.
I have been feeling so guilty lately about not contributing to the family financially. As I said before I have worked since I was 15 and to NOT get paid is a very funny feeling for me. I don't think I like it much. It would be different if I was a stay at home mom because even though you aren't contributing financially you are doing so many other things for the house and family.
The other night I was so sleepy from he non-stop days I have been having that I went to bed at 8:00. This was on Tuesday. Monday was the longest day of my life. After leaving school (where I am on my feet teaching all day) I decided to go to Hy-Vee and get groceries before picking up Caiden. When I show up at the babysitters she shows me his thumb. It was disgusting. He had gotten some kind of infection on it and it was green, purple and red with a red line leading up to the bend in his arm. I didn't even go home. I drove him straight to urgent care and waited and waited and waited.....with all of the sick kids. When we finally left it was 6:45 and the next stop was the pharmacy. As many of you know, the worst time to visit the pharmacy is on Mondays because they are always backed up. I was told to drop it off and come back in an hour. Great, so just before bedtime I am supposed to pack me son up and head back out the door to wait at in line at the pharmacy. UGH! So we go home and I finally take the food out of my car and fix dinner. Then I give C a bath because the doctor suggested I soak his thumb for 10 minutes in warm water. I don't know about you but I think getting a 2 year old to sit for 10 minutes so he can soak him thumb is impossible and he needed a bath anyway. So I poured the bathwater and bath bubbles in then dumped some of his colored tablets in so he could have a great bath. I stick him in the water then realize I don't have a washcloth so I leave (for 5 seconds) and go to get one. As soon as I leave the room I hear "Uh oh Mommy! I go poopies". Great. Is this the first time this has happened? OH NO! Of course not. Is this the best night for this to happen? Uh sure....So I scoop out the "poopies" and get the bleach. Since I only have one bathtub I have my soaking wet son stand in the middle of the floor in a towel while I bleach the crap out of the tub so I can put him back in and, you know, actually get him clean. **Sigh**After the bath ordeal, I have to get him in his pjs and head back out to the pharmacy to get his medicine. When I roll up and buzz the lady she cheerfully tells me "I'll get that started right now for you!" WWHHAATT? Wasn't I asked to come back in an hour so it would be ready for me? UUUGGGGHHH. Once we got our medicine and got back home it was past time for bed...which means I stayed up late doing homework and job searching stuff.
So this my friends is why I am not blogging so much lately....and going to bed at 8:00.
I'll be back soon!
I have been feeling so guilty lately about not contributing to the family financially. As I said before I have worked since I was 15 and to NOT get paid is a very funny feeling for me. I don't think I like it much. It would be different if I was a stay at home mom because even though you aren't contributing financially you are doing so many other things for the house and family.
The other night I was so sleepy from he non-stop days I have been having that I went to bed at 8:00. This was on Tuesday. Monday was the longest day of my life. After leaving school (where I am on my feet teaching all day) I decided to go to Hy-Vee and get groceries before picking up Caiden. When I show up at the babysitters she shows me his thumb. It was disgusting. He had gotten some kind of infection on it and it was green, purple and red with a red line leading up to the bend in his arm. I didn't even go home. I drove him straight to urgent care and waited and waited and waited.....with all of the sick kids. When we finally left it was 6:45 and the next stop was the pharmacy. As many of you know, the worst time to visit the pharmacy is on Mondays because they are always backed up. I was told to drop it off and come back in an hour. Great, so just before bedtime I am supposed to pack me son up and head back out the door to wait at in line at the pharmacy. UGH! So we go home and I finally take the food out of my car and fix dinner. Then I give C a bath because the doctor suggested I soak his thumb for 10 minutes in warm water. I don't know about you but I think getting a 2 year old to sit for 10 minutes so he can soak him thumb is impossible and he needed a bath anyway. So I poured the bathwater and bath bubbles in then dumped some of his colored tablets in so he could have a great bath. I stick him in the water then realize I don't have a washcloth so I leave (for 5 seconds) and go to get one. As soon as I leave the room I hear "Uh oh Mommy! I go poopies". Great. Is this the first time this has happened? OH NO! Of course not. Is this the best night for this to happen? Uh sure....So I scoop out the "poopies" and get the bleach. Since I only have one bathtub I have my soaking wet son stand in the middle of the floor in a towel while I bleach the crap out of the tub so I can put him back in and, you know, actually get him clean. **Sigh**After the bath ordeal, I have to get him in his pjs and head back out to the pharmacy to get his medicine. When I roll up and buzz the lady she cheerfully tells me "I'll get that started right now for you!" WWHHAATT? Wasn't I asked to come back in an hour so it would be ready for me? UUUGGGGHHH. Once we got our medicine and got back home it was past time for bed...which means I stayed up late doing homework and job searching stuff.
So this my friends is why I am not blogging so much lately....and going to bed at 8:00.
I'll be back soon!
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Landscapes
After having my camera for almost a year now I am STILL learning how to use it. It is the lack of "Me Time" that is keeping me from using it more than I do. It doesn't help that my usual subject moves at the speed of light and it is so hard for me to keep up with him while in manual mode. This spring I found myself practicing on flowers because not only are they beautiful but they don't move! As pretty as they were I decided to find a new intermediate subject to practice on until I get better.
It was while we were driving home from visiting my family (which is a 3 hour drive) that I realized what it was. As I was looking out the window I realized there are so many beautiful landscapes and country scenes along Highway 13. I have been driving that road now for more than 10 years to and from Marshfield and I am always in love with some of the beauty the country side has over the city. I decided since my husband was driving and my son was sleeping I could use this as an opportunity to practice some different settings on my camera.
It was between 3:45 and 5:00 that I took these so the lighting is all natural and so so beautiful. I did use my Picasa 3 to enhance them just a bit (mostly just to sharpen, convert to b/w and add a little fill light) but the rest is straight from the camera. I took about 50 but here are a few that I liked. It was a little difficult getting the right angle while driving 70 miles an hour down the highway but I think I did alright!
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