Fall just fell in my lap

I must tell you that I have enjoyed each and every day of this summer. I was just telling my hubby yesterday that this was the greatest summer of my adult life.  Mainly I was referring to work.  I have gotten to do things with my kids, relax, and frankly enjoy every day.

However, time moves on, this week starts the back to school bash.  Can you believe it?  I have to taken Hannah shopping, Trevor is all ready practicing football, and well, let's face it summer is over!!!

Today's card reflect my desire to enjoy some fall colors.  This weeks CR84FN featured coral, brown and tan.  Perfect for a fall scheme.  I am making cards to give to my LOHS co-horts.  This is going to be a year of celebration, the last year of LOHS.  I am going to enjoy every day, give cards to those I appreciate and this weeks cards are where it all starts.

How to get the look:

Tim Holtz Sizzix flower die (I have fallen madly in love with this die)
Patterned paper by Recollections
Coral paper open stock from Hobby Lobby
Brown paper by Bazzil
Green patterned paper by MME
Script stamp by Technique Tuessday
Smile and believe stamp by Fiskars
You leave an impression on me stamp by CTMH
Gold Distress Stickles by Tim Holtz
All thread by DMC
Tan paper from my scrapbin
Walnut Stain, peeled paint and seedless preserves inks by Tim Holtz
Brown archival ink by Ranger
Spray mists by Michelle's Musings
Embossing folder by Tim Holtz Damask
Pennant punch by Stampin UP!
Happy Birthday stamps by Inkadinkadoo
brown ribbon from my scrap jar
Scallop die by Sizzix

They did that in school?

My first experience with school was in the middle (to me, I don't know about geographically) of NOWHERE!!! Our school seemed old to me and served 1st-12th grade. There was a kindergarten, but it was half day and across the street in a Baptist church. The high school kids were so crazy. Did you know that there was an area next to the cafeteria and before the classrooms where high schoolers could take a smoke break? Oh yes, they could smoke at school right next to my first-grade eyes!!! I was shocked!!! And the sad thing was one of the high schoolers that I saw smoking was my dear little baby sitter. I was devastated that she would smoke. The only person that I knew that smoked was my grandmother's sister.

The next thing that might shock you was that high schoolers were allowed to sit on the bus with small children (like myself). I learned many grown-up words and "actions" on the school bus. I even saw a few and was mortified by the stuff that I saw. Oh yeah, it goes on...

We kids had COKE BREAK every day. We were allowed to bring money from home and buy a bottle of coke to drink at school. These were glass bottles and full sized. I remember that my mom let me sometimes by an orange crush. If I did not get to buy a drink I went towards the baseball fields. Here you could see high schoolers kissing their boyfriends and girlfriends.

It was a different time. I remember one "kid" (he was in high school) saying that he would turn 16 next month and he could not wait because he was quitting school and joining "daddy on the farm". Wonder what happened to that kid. I don't know if he ever got an education or not.

I remember the high schoolers pulling pranks on high school girls in the halls, and they were not nice at all. I remember walking into the bathroom and seeing high schoolers smoking in the bathroom. I remember seeing them making out in the bathrooms, oh yes, you know what I am talking about.

I know times have changed at schools now (thank goodness), but this was the 70's. These kids were loving life and glad not to be in the military. The girls didn't always wear bras to school and wore the largest bell bottoms that I have ever seen in my life. They wore those candies wooden bottom shoes (that I NOW wear), carried a cigarette behind the ear, wore long gold chains and had massive afro hair. I bet many of them knew how to disco too! Times have changed and today you kids have your own weird styles and someday there will be a person blogging about the crazy things they saw YOU doing in school. Make good choices kids, somebody's watching you.

Old yeah, but maybe wiser too!

This year marked another milestone in my life (gosh I keep having so many of these)...this one was the anniversary of 20 years since the day that I walked across a stage at Graves County High School and they pronounced me a graduate. Yes, that means that I graduated in 1990, and that makes me almost 40. I understand that, I am not trying to talk to you about that...I am trying to talk to you about my school.I thought we were the coolest school cause we had stairs....yeah that feeling went away FAST!!!Our commons did not look like this...we had these coffin shaped boxes to sit on...tables would have been great!

We used to be told don't walk on the gym floor with "outside" shoes...I had to do it this day because NO ONE was there to stop me.

Graves County High School was a new school when I entered its hallways. I was the second class to start from its freshman year and graduate, but that is not what I liked/hated about it. Here is the deal, I am from Lowes Elementary School. It was very tiny, over the crowded school. That, in my opinion, was full of very bad teachers (there were good ones too, but the bad ones tend to stand out in my memory....I have to search to remember all the good ones). Teachers that did not like the children and I had two personally that were CRUEL to me, and I was a good kid!!! So GCHS sounded like the sweetest music to me. I was going to have choices in classes and being a new school it was going to have the cream of the crop in both things offered and teachers. Yes, it was an escape. An escape from the backwoods of Lowes and branch out.

me and my locker

I am what most people at Lowes called a "weirdo". I liked to paint, draw, dress in black, listen to the Beatles, quote old movies, and my family was pretty poor. I was an outcast with the exception of a couple of others, who might have felt like me. I felt that I did not belong because I was not like others. Yeah, that's me! STRANGE!!!

GCHS was going to offer to me ART!!! Do you know how good something like that sounds to someone like me? Someone like ME...that has bad luck, was a freak! I was going to have ART CLASSES!!! Lowes had an art teacher, but every student in the class did the same thing, it was nothing challenging and honestly, it was NOT art. It was a craft. Everyone did the same thing and you could NOT use any creative license. I hated it!!!

Four years of ART later I had a firm grasp on what I like to make. Mr. Goodwin, my wonderful art teacher, encouraged me, taught me how to look inside for what I wanted to create and he gave all the students chances to experiment with all types of art. some of Mr Goodwins students works of art
Our table in the lunchroom

Please don't think it all was grand it had some downsides too. I did like being able to get lost in the crowds if I wanted or being in the front too. Trust me if you know me, you know I am capable of being both. I ate lunch with the Principal almost every day (He did not eat, he would just sit at our table...I sure he sat at others too, but I was honored he would sit at ours).

I hated the math classes but fell in love with reading here (only I would have been too "cool" to admit it). My love of history was born in the classrooms of this school as was a desire to know about politics.

I made some great friends, had wonderful conversations (mostly religious or about boys), started a lot of gossips, and crushed on a lot of boys...After 20 years, my good experiences totally outweigh any bad that I had here...I still cannot say that about Lowes.

Thanks to all the girls that worked so hard on planning this reunion (outside of the football game....thank goodness I had a great friend to be with me during this game) I had a PERFECT time!!! Marla and I picked up like we had just talked yesterday and I am going to make it a goal to keep up with her (here comes the FB stalking Marla). Janice, Heather and Brian and I did the same...but we do talk often, thanks to Facebook. If I have not mentioned to you here it is not because I was not glad to see you, but do you realize how many people were in our class? Man, it would take all day to name you all.

There were missing faces, Kelly I wish you could have been there (she was at home in California). You have always had a special place in my heart. Becky was in Canada, I really wanted to reconnect with her, she and I were so close when we were younger.

And one I wanted to see Shane Ashbaugh, may he rest in peace.

Thanks again for a great time, the great memories and the friendship