The Colors of Foxgloves

I am fascinated by foxglove flowers for their beautiful shape, and sturdy look. These are some of difficult flowers to take pictures for me. I want to showcase their elegance and alluring aspects, but as an amateur photographer I could only manage a few pictures that I am happy with.

Light Lavender


I saw these beautiful foxgloves at Home Depot in late Spring, and of course my pocket camera was itching to snap a few.

A Close-up of One Foxglove


In the first picture, I tried to show an overall look of foxglove glowers, and in this one, I zoomed in to only one flower! It showed the details inside of this foxglove.

Two Different Colors


This cluster had two different colors of foxgloves, a combination effort of two plants. The first plant produced light yellow, almost white flowers, and the second plant had the purple foxgloves.

A Crowd


If you notice at places like Home Depot, Low, Meijer, Kmart or Walmart, at the end of the season the flowers were usually jammed together on a rolling carts and ready to be tossed in the garbage.

Light Yellow

Instead of dumping these plants into the garbage in a week time, these stores should just offer them at a very low price so other people could buy them and enjoy them. However, they rather throw them out than lower the price.

A Mixed of Colors


This plant was so elegantly looking in the sun. It was one of the lucky few that sat on the top shelf of the cart. In this sunlight, these foxgloves had a touch of lavender, and also light yellow.

Monterey Foxgloves


I took this picture in December while visiting Monterey, California. Living in Michigan, I do not see outdoor blooming flowers in the winter, so it was a thrill for me to gaze upon.

Second Look


I could spend all day taking pictures of flowers and things, but I was with a group of people, so I must follow their paths, and moved on.

Let the Sun Shines on Me


I couldn't resist a close-up of these beautiful foxgloves, and these flowers had such a deep pink colors to them. The sunshine and these foxgloves made me happy.

Last One


During the dreaded winter in Michigan, I often look at these flowers to remind me of the joyous times in California, where in this different part of the world, flowers are still blooming.

Enjoy your weekend!

Check Out Armani Exchange Jeans

I have five pairs of jeans for weekly wearing. I live in my jean. I think jeans are the most versatile and comfortable piece of clothing in the world. My jeans come in white, black, brown, dark green, and denim, but my most favorite has to be denim.

On the topic of denim, I just notice that Armani launched a new line called Armani Exchange, and his New Premium Denim is starting at $98 dollars. If you purchase a pair of denim at a full price, whether it is in store or online, between 7/7/2009-7/19/2009, you will receive a $20 dollars gift card off toward the next purchase of $100 or more, valid from 7/30/2009 to 8/15/2009.

My favorite types of denim jeans from Armani Exchange are Low Rise Potassium Straight Leg, Regular Rise Classic Fit Boot Cut, and Special Edition.

Low Rise Potassium Straight Leg


This denim comes in different sizes, from 0 to regular 14, and the indigo has a natural worn-in look. I like straight leg since it can cover over high heel shoes, or regular walking shoes and it fits to give you a flattering look.

Regular Rise Classic Fit Boot Cut


Living in Michigan I have to wear boot in the winter, and this is why I love boot cut jeans.They cover my boots and I don't have to constantly fix my pants or straighten it out. Sizes are also available from 0 to 14, and the color is indigo.

Special Edition--Embroidered Skinny Flare Fit

Online Exclusive

This flare fit is available exclusive online only! When I want to feel special, I wear my flare jean because it makes me feel so feminine with just a fancy blouse. That's my dress-up look. Armani's flare comes in size 0 to 14, and the color is indigo.

During the month of July, you can also send text AX a message to win a pair of denim every day. This whole line of jeans is inspired by everything that stands for freedom and personal style by Giorgio Armani.

Orange Cricket

I have noticed among the gravel part in my back yard, there are different colors critters there! They took refuge by blending in with the rocks.

Have you seen orange cricket before? See the blue one here!

How to Get a FeedBurner Account for Your Blog

If you haven't sign your blog up for FeedBurner, then this post is for you! I'm not going through a concrete definition of what a feed is, and will just say that it is a way for your viewers to subscribe to your blog.

When a viewer type in his/her email address and subscribe to your blog, FeedBurner will notify him/her by email when you have a new post, and keep them updated with your blog. It looks like the images below.

Enter your email address:


Delivered by FeedBurner

The orange image above is another option that your viewers can subscribe to, via readers! Once you have set up a FeedBurner account, place the codes on your blog, and you're done. So let's get started.

Step by Step:

• Since FeedBurner is owned by Google, you need to have a Google email account. Sign up for a free one is simple and fast.

• Go to FeedBurner and sign in with your new Google email account.

• After you've signed in, you will see "Burn a Feed right this instant", just type in your blog URL, and click NEXT

• It will take you to another page where you can see your Feed Title, and your Feed Address. If everything is correct and you 're happy, then click NEXT

• Now you are on another page, read over it carefully! Don't worry; it is a short summary telling you that your Feed is now live! Click Next

• You're now on yet another page, read over it! I usually leave this page alone and just click NEXT

• Now you are in your Feed account homepage, click on PUBLICIZE tab

• On your left side bar, click on Email Subscription, and click on ACTIVATE

• On this page you will find the codes for your blog, copy these codes, and go to your blog layout.

• Choose where you want to place this widget on your blog, click on Add Element, click on HTML/Javascript, and paste the codes onto its element. Make sure to save your work!

• To offer subscription via readers, go to your FeedBurner, click on PUBLICIZE, click on Chicklet Chooser on the left side bar, and it will take you to another page.

• You can either pick what readers you would want to offer to your viewers, or just use FeedBurner standard icon, and scroll down to the bottom to get your codes.

• Copy and paste these codes to your blog in the same manner as you've done with the email subscription.

Your blog is now ready for subscribers! Once you have FeedBurner feed, you can also earn Google adsense for your feed.

Many services such as Technorati, NetWorkedBlog, or Amazon Kindle Publishing will ask for this feed, and you can provide them with your blog feed from FeedBurner.

If you have more than one blog, repeat these same steps for each blog!

A Colorful Bouquet of Flowers

Have you seen colorful, and I mean colors in green, and blue bouquet of flowers in the supermarket these last few years? When I first saw them, I thought that they were painting, and allowed my curiosity to take over.

Often, we see red, orange, yellow, and pink flowers, but green and blue flowers are quite something else.

Orange and White


This white and orange color flower is mixed in a bouquet of colorful flowers, and is displayed in the home section of our local supermarket.

Beautiful Inside

Since having a pocket camera, I was able to steal a few shot without bringing too much attention to myself. Occasionally, people stare at me, but I don't care very much for it.

Pink and White


This flower had such a soft feel to it, with white color stripes to enhance its look. It's amazing sometimes to see so many different beautiful things in life.

Still Shy


Here is another picture of this white and pink color flower in the early stage of blooming. You can see the center is still green.

True Blue


This blue flower is what stopped me from my grocery shopping task, and gave me a chance to take picture. This color is not normally seen among flowers.

Green Flower


Wild color, isn't it? I stop on my track for whatever that looks unique and different. This green flower fits the category so well. I kept thinking that they must have sprayed paint this flower!

A Touch of White Inside


If I didn't see this green flower with my eyes, I wouldn't believe it! Though I have seen some other green flower buds before; this one is totally taken me for surprise.

Deep Pink


Pink flowers are everywhere, and this flower is among the rainbow color bouquet that caught my eyes. The color is absolutely bright and cheery.

Orange Flower


I love the middle part of this orange flower! You can see many little dancing petals in this flower. It was just extraordinary to see!

Rainbow Colors


Here is the rainbow bouquet of flowers at the supermarket. I couldn't get any pictures of the purple color flower since the lighting was low, and my camera doesn't like purple color at all.

I take pictures everywhere I go, and I have no shame! Though I try to hide my small camera when people come close to me, and yes I feel like a thief sometimes!

Blue Cricket

Here is another cricket, but this one has blue-ish color! It lives among these rock as I have mentioned before.


If you don't look carefully, you won't be able to see it, unless it jumped...You can see the orange one here.

The Difference Between Heat Exhaustion and Heat Stroke

If I haven't experienced someone close to me suffering from heat exhaustion, I would not have realized how important it was to watch out for the signs.

Last month, while we were in Coldwater for my son's soccer tournament, I had watched him collapsing to the ground, right after the game. The weather was cloudy, and wet! He had a supply of Gatorade and water for drinking. So I thought everything was fine! I didn't take into consideration that humidity played an important part in the grand scheme.

JoJo Jumped Up for a Chest Goal

Picture Courtesy of Todd Butkowski

My son ran toward us, saying that he could not breathe, and collapsed right on the ground. We gave him water to drink, and called out for his coach, who luckily was studying to be an EMD (emergency driver, I think that is what EMD stands for!)

By this time, my son had a circle of people around him with curiosities and worries! Derek, his coach, applied cold towels on his forehead, his chest, his belly, and took off his soccer foot gears. He tried to get JoJo's breathing pattern back to normal while cooling off his body.

Victory

Picture Courtesy of Todd Butkowski

JoJo played hard, sweat like crazy, and his cheeks were flushed! Though he used to drink two bottles of water for every game, but this time he only took a few sips and resulting in dehydration! Since this was a Regional tournament, the parents had to sit on the opposite site of the field, and I was not able to remind him to drink.

Celebrating

Picture Courtersy of Todd Butkowski

If you are going to be outside this summer, here are the signs to tell between heat exhaustion and heat stroke.

Heat Exhaustion Symptoms:

• Muscle cramps
• Headache
• Heavy perspiring
• Nausea
• Weakness and or dizziness
• Dry Mouth
• Pale or flushed skin
• Lethargy

What to Do:

• Go in the shaded area
  
• Drink some water
• Cool off with wet towels, or any way you can
  
• If the symptoms don't go away, seek medical attention

Heat Stroke (Life Threatening) Symptoms:

• Tempareture above 103 degrees Fahrenheit
• Hot
• Dry
• Red skin
• Not sweating
• Nausea
• Dizziness
• Confusion/disorientation
• Hallucinations
• Loss of consciousness

What to Do:

• Call 911
• Get the person to the shaded area
• Cool the body off however you can
• Do not give fluids
• If the person suffers from convulsion, keep him/her from hurting himself/herself

Summer is in full swing now, and chances are we will be spending more time outside. Just make sure you're drinking plenty of water, watch out for the signs of heat exhaustion, while enjoying the summer.

White Coneflowers

We are in the mid of summer, and my coneflowers are in full bloom. I bought this plant last year at a clearance price, for about $3 dollars and it was half dead, literally dried! I planted it in my small flower area, water it and watch it struggled to stay healthy.

This year, it grows strong, tall, and produces many flowers.

Starting Out


This is how the flower starts out, very busy with many leaves, and all green. As I follow the stages of this coneflower process, I am amazed at how beautiful it is.

Full of Life


A close up of this young coneflower! Look at how green and fuzzy it is! I think this is one of my favorite stages of this flower when it is so green.

Emerging into Bloom


In this picture, this budding is starting to look like a flower. Everything has its own place, has its own job and emerging into a beautiful flower.

Growing Some More


The petals take shape, and it looks marvelous! I love this stage most, when the flower is still young, fresh, and elegant.

Spider Web and All


This coneflower is covered with spider web, and some petals grow taller than the others do! I thought it is interesting to see from this angle.

Looking Inside


Though this one flower develops its petals already, but the inside is totally different. It doesn't have that round pin-like ball in the middle.

Young Head



Here is the young pin-like head that I've mentioned. Most of the flowers start out like this. They all have the perfect round pin-like heads.

Filling Out


The petals are filling out, and you can see their white color now. The light green color at the base is still vivid, and pretty.

Pure and Beautiful


Here is the flower in full bloom! It look like daisy from far away, unless you can see its head. This coneflower is easy to grow once it takes on roots.

At the End


When the flower is mature, the petals fell toward the stem, and expose its big head. The green color is now yellowish, and the center of the top looks like leaves again.

The cone flower has made the full cycle!

Toad

A toad sits in the sun!

In a nice quiet garden!

Until a crazy lady comes along...