Doublewide Dreamer

Ahhh.....Alegria!

2012-01-27T09:30:00.002-05:00

Hey Y'all! Happy Friday!

I hope you're having a wonderful end to your week!
Last week, our school's secretary was sporting some pretty cute shoes! I loved them and we got to talking about the Alegria shoes.
She informed me that they were orthopedic shoes and they could cost anywhere from $80.00 up. After I came to with smelling salts, I realized I HAD to have a pair.
Being a teacher, and being on my feet all day long, these dawgs are tired at the end of the day.
I have a plantar's wart on the bottom of my left foot--near my heel. It is really painful. Something is also going on with the tendons or ligaments across the top of my foot that runs into my arch. Getting old stinks, doesn't it?!
SO....Off to Ebay I went, in search of these shoes!
I ended up winning a bid on these for $30.99!!!

Aren't they CUTE? Today is the third day in a row that I've worn them and my feet do NOT hurt at night anymore!
The sole of these shoes are made of cork and they're wonderful to walk in!
If you're someone who's on their feet all day, I truly recommend getting you some NOW!
Here's a few pair that I love! I'll be looking for them to show up on Ebay too!

Source: alegriashoes.com

Especially since I checked the website and they're $119 per pair! WOWZA!!
So...what are your plans for the weekend? Anything good?
Me and Ronnie are headed to an auction tonight--the same one where he bought my sewing machine for $40.00!
Ok...have a wonderful weekend!

Finished Product!

2012-01-25T17:56:00.002-05:00

So, I ended up pulling out that horrible row on the square I made last night! Remember how the verigated yarn made the last row look crazy?

So, I pulled it out and left it alone. Then I remembered that I had an old shower curtain in my stuff. I loved that shower curtain's fabric and couldn't bring myself to trash it. It finally got it's use now! I used it to make a pillow for the square. It's nothing fancy, but I totally love it! Looks great on the couch with all of our Valentine's Day stuff here at The Doublewide!

My mother's mama passed away this past October. We weren't very close because she lived about 4 hours away and didn't see each other often. I would talk "crochet" with her and I remember spending some time during the summers as a child at her house. When the "Mile A Minute" crochet series was very popular, she helped me figure out a pattern and was tickled that she could help me.
When we adopted Robbie, we made the drive to let them meet him when he was about 6-9 months old. She gave me two different baby blankets for him.
When my sister gave birth to my nephew, the week before Mammaw Doris passed away, Sawyer had some booties, a baby scarf, a hat and a baby blanket that Mammaw made for him.
She never got to see him though.

After the funeral, my aunt sent me a size G crochet hook and a pattern book that was mammaw's. She said she would go through everything and send more later.
We never heard from her, but that was ok. I'm still going through stuff from my Mammaw Frances' things and I'm not one of those people who get greedy when somebody dies.
Tuesday morning my cousin gave me this:

Her mother, my mammaw's sister in law, sent this to me. She said my aunt was handing them out to the brothers and sisters after we all left.
Thank you Aunt Jane for sending this to me. I am so happy to have it!

Updated to add the link to the heart square:
CLICK HERE

What in the World is a Sea Penny?

2012-01-24T08:25:00.001-05:00

Yep...
I asked myself the same thing.
But....
Oh how happy I am that here at The Doublewide, I have discovered just what a Sea Penny is!
Thanks to Julia Crossland for schoolin' me!

Hop on over to her blog by clicking HERE and check it out for yourself.

I have this printed out and have only made three pennies so far. I'm going to be using the mint green, teal, pink, and white colors and can't wait to finish it!
They whip up so quickly! This would also be a wonderful way to get rid of your yarn scraps.
Here's my progress...

Yea Yea....I know I have a LONG way to go!

This is my "work in progress" for today. I have finished this square:

Except...I DO NOT like the last row. It's a pink/light pink/hot pink yarn that changes colors ever so often. It looks like I just whacked and pieced the yarn together. Now that I see the picture, I am going to pull out the last row altogether. Crazy thing? The center heart was done with the exact same ball of yarn, but you so can't tell! I think I'll do the last row over, using white cotton.
I'll be back tomorrow with the link to this pattern and the finished product!
Can you guess what I'm going to do with the square once it's to my liking? Please comment below and guess! Maybe I'll send you a ball of this funky yarn as a thank you for guessing!

Reason #453, #454 and #455 Why I Love my Big Daddy!

2012-01-23T17:31:00.002-05:00

Hey Y'all!
I hope that at least one of my readers is enjoying some sunshine somewhere. It's rainy and cold here, but it's supposed to be in the low 60s later this week. Since that means no snow anytime soon, I guess I'd better just get happy!
This past Thursday ended our semester so Friday and today were teacher workdays. I managed to get A LOT done in my classroom during these two days. Big Daddy's mama (Nanny) watched Robbie on Friday and since my favorite babysitter took a ski trip last night, it looked like he was going to have to come to school with me. I don't mind it, but I knew I wouldn't get a lot done due to having to keep him busy.
Well.....since it was raining this morning, Big Daddy asked his boss if he could take off and spend the day with Robbie. His boss said YES, so he came back home, before I even got Robbie up. Big Daddy was so excited about just having a day with Robbie. I came home to an empty house and after calling them to see where they were, I found out that they were spending the afternoon at Monkey Joe's in Gastonia. Bless Big Daddy's heart. He toughed it out because since it is a teacher's workday, you KNOW that place was crawling with kids. (Reason #453)

Reason #454: Big Daddy brought me a bacon, egg and cheese biscuit when he came in this morning. It was soooo good!
I'll save the best reason for the end of this post....just to make you keep reading! ha ha ha

Now....for some sweetness! Since I had The Doublewide to myself this afternoon, I decorated for Valentine's Day. Here are some pictures:

I just love the colors of Valentine's Day! Don't you?

Ok..for reason # 455....
This past Friday night we had our friends Vernon, Beverly and their daughter, Payton over for supper. We'd been talking all week about how we wanted some "Breakfast for Supper!" It was WONDERFUL! So much so that Beverly posted this picture on her Facebook wall:

See what I mean? Yummy!
So after supper, Vernon had planned to go to the auction nearby to see what all they had. His battery died and Big Daddy went out to jump his truck off and decided that he'd just drive his truck and they'd both go to the auction.
So, when they finally made it back home, Big Daddy walked in The Doublewide carrying this in it's box:

Yup...it's a BRAND NEW Kenmore sewing machine...featuring 54 different stitches. I have it on the dining room table now and am fixing to try it out!
So there's reason #455!
Crazy thing is that on Saturday night, we went to York, SC to an auction where my brother's bluegrass band were playing. We missed the performance, because I thought they were singing at 6 but they sang at 4....
The same man was selling at this auction and the same sewing machine went for $65.00. Big Daddy paid $40 for mine! BOO-YOW!
Finally, I'll close with something hilarious!
One of my students' mama wants me to crochet a chicken hat. I looked on Ravelry.com but the one I found isn't cute--it's kindof scary...Aww shucks...here's a picture of the one I found...

Maybe it's just the fact that there are actually legs and feet that will hang down. YUCKY!
So, I'm trying my own. I found a pattern for an ice cream cone--thought I could use that for the beak. Also, she wants the hat to resemble this chicken:

I have such a challenge on my hands. Here's what I've gotten done so far....
I just have to figure out the eyes and the comb....Any advice?

Y'all have a great evening as we're preparing to get back on a routine tomorrow!

Operation Organization...Sometime..

2012-01-14T22:36:00.001-05:00

Hey Y'all!
I hope you've enjoyed your day today!
I slept until around 10:00 AM---Thank you LORD! I rarely get to sleep that late, and since Robbie was spending the night with his Pop Pop and Mi Mi, I was able to sleep this morning. I did wake up with a horrible back ache, but that comes with being 40 I suppose.
I got up, made me some coffee, and sat at the computer like a ding-dong for about an hour.
A friend at church had back surgery this past week. A lot of the women picked nights to take supper for their family. Me and my friend Beverly signed up for tonight. She made a huge pot of chili beans and I made a Sun Drop pound cake. I'd never made one before, but it was wonderful.
Around 5:30, I threw some clothes on because there's nothing better than hanging around your house in your pj's all day long, and dropped off the cake at their house.
After coming home, Big Daddy told me that Robbie was ready to come home. They were ordering pizza for supper, and after picking a little hamburger off of one slice, he announced that he didn't need to eat that much pizza...he thought he'd just wait until he got home to see what his mama was cooking.
Bless it!
So...to the title of this post.
For those of you who crochet, please let me know how you organize all of it!
I cannot stand all of this yarn everywhere! I have it in tubs, in trash bags, in dresser drawers--just one or two here and there, piled in baskets, wherever...
I checked Pinterest and found some good ideas:
This was supposed to be a wine rack:

Shoe organizers for the closet:

IKEA shelves.

More Ikea

I KNOW I don't intend on paying $199 for this thing from IKEA. I'm sure Big Daddy can whip one up a lot easier and for a LOT less money.

I've been working on some crochet today. I have about 8 orders for hats so I'm looking forward to having Monday off so that I can get caught up.
More than anything else, I'm praying hard for SNOW--and some serious snow! That seems to be the only time I get in a mood to do any organizing and cleaning!
Gotta go for the night. My brother's birthday was Friday so the whole family will be here tomorrow after church to eat Chicken and Dumplings! I gotta get my sleep tonight!!
Y'all take care!

Rain, Bacon, and Daddy

2012-01-11T09:06:00.002-05:00

Hey Y'all!

It is STILL raining! Seriously? It's been raining off and on since Sunday. Kills my cheery moods! Actually, it makes me want to go home, curl up in my puffy recliner, grab some crochet hooks and yarn, and turn on the TV---or just sleep!
This week I have to be at school early for breakfast duty.
Robbie spends every Tuesday night with my mama and daddy. They just live across the road from us, so I send his clothes, and call to make sure they're up before I hop in the shower. I'm not really sure who enjoys it more--him or them---but I'm glad they live so close and that he's able to get to spend time with them. I have so many wonderful memories of my Mammaw and Pappaw and I want him to be able to have memories of my parents too when he's older. So this morning, I went to pick him up and he's sitting in my mama's recliner with a tray spread out on his lap. He's chomping down on scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast with jelly. He says, "Mama! Look! I've got some of Papa's bacon and YOU DON'T!" I thought we were gonna fall out laughing! I made him finish (quickly) and get his coat on. Once everything was together and we were heading out the door, my daddy meets me at the door with some toast and bacon. Oh how he made my day!
The funny part....
While I'm getting Robbie's stuff together, I see my daddy go into the kitchen. Then mama follows right behind him. She's saying..."Are you going to fix Michelle something?" He says, "Yep." Then she says, "Well HURRY UP--she's got to get to school early!" To which he replies..."Well GET OUT OF MY WAY so she can!"
Even though it's such a dreary day...I smiled the whole drive to school while eating that bacon on toast!

Thanks Daddy!

Homemade Brownies!

2012-01-09T20:04:00.001-05:00

Hey Y'all! I hope you've had a great day today! After supper tonight, me and Robbie decided to make some homemade brownies!

Here's the recipe I used:

1 stick of melted butter

2 eggs

3/4 cup of self rising flour

1 cup sugar

2 Tbsp cocoa

1 tsp vanilla flavoring

Mix all ingredients together and bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until brownies are done.

Here's everything looking so pretty in my $0.25 yard sale TexasWare bowl that I adore!

And here's that boy of mine that I adore licking the mixer blades and the spatula!

Please ignore the spaghetti all over his face from supper.

Here's Miss Cookie hoping we drop a little taste for her!

And of course we have a pan just for brownies!

So...off to fill our bellies with warm delicious chocolate lovin'!
Enjoy your night!

Homemade Laundry Detergent

2012-01-07T11:14:00.000-05:00

Hey Y'all!

It is soooo beautiful outside! I can't believe it's January and I'm tempted to throw the windows open and let The Doublewide air out today! Think I will!
Anyway...
I've been seeing homemade laundry detergent on several blogs lately and finally decided to make some of my own.
It was so simple!
All you need is:

1 cup of Borax
1 cup of Washing Soda
(This is NOT baking soda--just so you know.)
1/3 of a bar of ZOTE soap or Fels-Naptha soap. Any laundry bar soap will do.
All three products were purchased at Wal-Mart on the laundry aisle.

I turned on my food processor and grated the soap after I added the two powders. Who wants to do that by hand?

After letting the ingredients process awhile, it was ready. I made three batches so that I could just use the entire bar of soap.
This is what it looks like when all done:

I put it into a large Rubbermaid cereal container that seals to keep the moisture out of it.
Use 1 tablespoon per load!
It sure smells great and I KNOW it is MUCH cheaper than store bought detergent.
YAY for saving the moo-lah whenever you can!

TGIF!

2012-01-06T08:33:00.002-05:00

Whew-wee! What a week!
Tuesday actually began my work week. It was hard going back to school after being out for Christmas Break, but we survived.
This has been a rough week. My kids at school have had a hard time getting back into reality. I didn't assign any homework the week before we got out for Christmas. They didn't want to do any, and I didn't want to grade any either!
So, as you can imagine, when we got back into full swing, I had several who still weren't ready to get busy. Yesterday THIRTY of my team of 58 kids didn't have their social studies homework completed. I was so disappointed and aggravated that when I got home, I had to get a nap. I was physically and mentally exhausted! I think Big Daddy felt sorry for me because he announced that we were going out to dinner! So, we loaded up the truck and headed to The Sports Page in Denver, NC. It was SOOO good! Check out their menu by clicking HERE. I got their "Chicken Something" and it was absolutely wonderful! After the day I had had, it could have been wild onions and fried cow patties and it would have been fine!
Even after all that....

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! We're planning on going out to eat at a pizza buffet tonight with our friends Beverly, Vernon and their daughter Payton.

My Guilty Pleasure

2012-01-05T01:10:00.002-05:00

Hey Y'all!
I am so glad this week is almost over with! It has been such a chore to drag my boo-tay out of the bed this week. I know that getting to bed so late has been the reason. Here it is at 1:00 AM, and I decided to write a blog. See what I mean?
Last night it was 2:00 AM before I could get to sleep. I am reading a good book--so good that I couldn't take my eyes away from it!
If you're looking for a great read, check out Alice Hoffman's BLACKBIRD HOUSE.
It's so strange, that you can't put it down--at least I think so anyway.

Now...I'd like you to say hello to my little friend....

One Sunday afternoon, we went to eat lunch after church with my sister and her husband. After lunch, we decided we'd go to Big Lots. They happened to have these recliners on sale for $199.99, and I instantly fell in love with this one!

I told Big Daddy that I REALLY REALLY needed this! He has a HUGE recliner called The Cuddler. Me and Robbie bought it for him on Father's Day two years ago. It is so comfy, and last year when I had to have emergency gall bladder removal surgery, it really came in handy. But still...it's HIS chair and he deserves to relax in it after work.
So....
One Friday night, we had a little choir rehearsal and party to prepare for our Christmas Cantata the following Sunday morning. Every year, the choir takes up money and they give me (the piano player) and our choir director a gift card. This year, I took my gift card, along with my profit rewards from selling Scentsy, and bought my recliner---immediately after the party! hahahaha
I love it and have enjoyed plopping my big self in this chair and doing some crochet or spending time with my two boys.
Tonight Robbie is spending the night with his Pop Pop and MiMi. They are going to take him to school in the morning, so my routine will be totally different tomorrow.
Enjoy your Thursday--however you spend it.

The Weekend...

2012-01-02T17:33:00.002-05:00

Hey Y'all! I hope you did something fun to ring in 2012!!

Here at The Doublewide, we decided to have a little last minute par-tay!

We had a gazillion things to eat and were not able to get everything eaten. Still there are leftovers in the fridge! We learned how to play the card game 31. Robbie and Payton had a blast playing together while we all rang in 2012.

Sunday we didn't have evening services at church, so my family got together here at ate the traditional New Year's Day meal for good luck and what not.

Since I just love taking pictures of food, you're in for a treat!

You ready?!

First we had some mixed greens:

Macaroni and Cheese

Black-Eyed Peas

Grilled Pork Loin (Made by Chad)

and great biscuits too!

It was all wonderful and we went to bed with full bellies!
I loved finishing everything off with my pumpkin spice and whipped cream decaf!

Have a wonderful night!

Things go back to normal for us tomorrow! Headed back to the everyday routine of school! I guess I'm now counting down the days until MLK Holiday or Snow....whichever comes first!

My 2011 TOP TEN

2011-12-30T18:22:00.003-05:00

Hey Y'all!

I hope you've had a great day today!
Can you believe tomorrow will be the last day of 2011? Seems like yesterday that we were looking forward to 2011...now 2012 is just around the corner.
Some of the major happenings around The Doublewide this year were:
#1. My sister and her husband had their first baby. Sawyer was born on October 5th and has been such a blessing to our big family! I was invited (well I begged and my sister let me) to be in the delivery room when he was born. This is my second nephew and we love him bunches!

#2. Robbie started kindergarten! Here he is with his teacher, Mrs. Mesimer.

He has done exceptionally well! He's been tested for the AIG program and I'm really proud to say that he's the only one in kindergarten and first grade that has actually placed into the program so far. His AIG classes will begin when they go back to school. His reading level was also tested and he's at a third grade level already! It does pay to start reading with your children at a very young age! I'm so proud of our adopted blessing!

#3. My job did a complete 180! I have taught Home Ec. for the past three years. Last year our school system decided that our middle schoolers didn't need to learn any of the skills taught in the class, so they nixed the program. I was blessed to be able to stay at my school but was moved to teach 6th grade Language Arts and Social Studies. I'm a math teacher at heart, so this has totally been a learning experience for me. I do love it! I love reading novels with my kids and learning about how to improve their reading skills.
Here's a picture of me and two of my students, Anna and Brooke on the first day of school in my new classroom:
(Photo credit to Mr. Bill Ward!)

#4. Robbie (and us) battled "Hand, Foot and Mouth" disease for the first time. Big Daddy and I didn't get it, but poor Robbie was pitiful with it! See what I mean?

#5. Robbie gave himself his first haircut at school while using scissors. It was on school picture day. Luckily, it was after his picture was taken!

#6. I was asked to participate in a Donkey Baseball game to raise money for our town's new park which will be called Harper Park. It was so much fun but I was scared to death at my turn. I wasn't allowed to ride a donkey---I had to ride a dern llama! Oh the sheer joy of it all!

#7. I found out I now have high blood pressure and officially entered the "Take your meds every morning" club! After switching from one, the Azor that I now take seems to be working, thank God!

#8. On Mother's Day weekend, our sweet Lulabelle ran out into the road and was killed when a car hit her. For Robbie's sake, we immediately got another dog, Tennessee:
Don't let that sweet face fool you! He was NUTS! Drove us crazy because we couldn't get him house-trained to save our lives.

So, we traded him for Miss Cookie! She's precious and was already house trained. We love her and we've only had her for a week!

#9. I was asked to be the Emcee for my school's talent show in the spring. It was so much fun and I had different outfits. We all had a great time!

Here's a little video:

Click Here

#10. I have met so many great friends here! I love reading your posts and I enjoy keeping up with what's going on in your world!
Thank you so much, to each of you, who faithfully read and comment on my blogs. I truly wish nothing but the best for your 2012 and future!

HERE'S TO A GREAT NEW YEAR! MAY GOD BLESS EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU!

Nook Cover

2011-12-28T17:11:00.003-05:00

Hey Y'all!

I have done absolutely NOTHING today. Well...unless you count making a breakfast casserole at around 2:00.

Last night I finished this Nook case using light pink cotton. It works up really quick and was so easy to make! Go here and grab the pattern if you're interested in making one for yourself!
I didn't do the whole thing like the pattern stated. I just stopped, created a flap by doing decrease stitches, then added two vintage buttons to help keep it closed.

We're getting ready to go to church later on tonight for Wednesday night prayer meeting.
Hope y'all have a great night!

Today's a Great Day to Crochet!

2011-12-27T15:14:00.001-05:00

Hey Y'all!
I hope your day is going great! Today's awfully windy here at The Doublewide. I took our sweet girl, Miss Cookie out to potty and the wind almost blew us into the woods!
I have been gone so long, so please let me introduce you to our new girl!
This is Miss Cookie:

Ain't she cute?

We had to swap her for our Tennessee. He was too much of a wild puppy for us! He got to where he was chasing Robbie and biting at him. He chewed anything that he could chew and we just wanted a dog that was LAZY and...since I'm the only girl in this place, I needed another female! She's so adorable and we just LOVE her!
So, last night I absolutely could not sleep to save my life! Ended up watching New Moon and Eclipse on the Free Movie channel and I crocheted one of those curly scarves and then finally went to sleep around 4:30 this morning. Big Daddy had a doctor appt. at 8:00 but I never even heard him leave. I slept until 10:45 and hopped into my recliner to start on a matching hat for the scarf. It all centered around the little yellow flower I made yesterday. Here's the hat and scarf all done:

That's also a picture of my nephew, Sawyer, on the old dresser that belonged to my Pappaw Fred. My sister and her husband gave each of us a photo for Christmas!
Robbie spent the night with his Pop Pop and MiMi last night. Here's a picture they sent us:

Hope your day is wonderful!

It's Been Awhile...BUT It Won't Be This Long Again!

2011-12-26T17:54:00.005-05:00

Hey Y'all!

It sure has been awhile since I've posted, but I promise it ain't gonna happen anymore. I enjoy blogging and even more, I enjoy reading YOUR blogs and your posts. There are a few of you that I check on frequently, even if I don't leave comments.

I miss blogging and it's time to get back on track. There's too much going on in my life and I enjoy having a record of it all and I enjoy looking back and reading it too!

Sooo...

Have you ever heard of T-Yarn?

I found a video on Youtube that taught me how to cut an old t-shirt and make yarn. If you're not bored to death right now, here's the video:

So, Robbie and I got to work! I cut up an old t-shirt and had my t-yarn. Then I went to the kitchen, got a packet of strawberry kool-aid and grape kool-aid. Dumped them into two mason jars, and filled them with hot water. Then I put them into one of my Mammaw's old soup pots, filled the bottom with about three inches of hot water and boiled the yarn into the jars. Just like this...

Afterwards, I draped the yarn over the box to let it dry, then rolled it up into a ball.

After thinking about what I wanted to do with it, I decided it'd be best to make a hot pad with it. So....

Isn't it cute? I think so too! It's not perfect, but it was fun! Robbie and I had a great time making the yarn, and I'm sure we'll be doing it again really really soon!

Now...before I go, I wanted to show you this flower I made today:

It was super easy and I made it in no-time! Here's a link to the free pattern tutorial in case you're feeling crafty!

Y'all have a great evening! I'll be back tomorrow!

Have you missed me?!

2011-11-12T14:44:00.001-05:00

Hey Y'all!

It absolutely feels like FOREVER since I've posted! Things at The Doublewide have been crazy busy!
First of all, meet my brand new nephew, Sawyer Lee!

Isn't he adorable? My sister Amanda gave birth on October 5th and we are all just smitten with him! I was honored to be in the delivery room with her and her husband and got to witness the miracle of birth. He weighed 7 lbs and 3 oz. My birthday is 7-3 so me and him are stuck together like glue already!

Robbie is doing wonderful in school! He actually kept his behavior card on GREEN for the entire month of October. We're celebrating by going bowling very soon.

School is moving along quickly. I can't believe we're a little over 1/4 of the way through the year. My kids make me laugh on a daily basis and I am enjoying the group we have.

I have also been SUPER busy making these crocheted hats:

Almost can't keep up with the orders, but I'm not complaining!

Last night our friends Beverly, Vernon and Payton came for supper and brought their nephew, Justin. He's an 11th grader, but I was his 7th grade math and science teacher. I fixed a new dish that my cousin gave me a recipe for called Crock Pot Chicken and Dressing. It is SOOO good and you can click HERE for the link and make it yourself.

That's about it for now! Hope everyone of you is having a great day!

Digital or Old-Style Scrapbooking?

2011-09-26T17:36:00.000-04:00

Hey Y'all!

Do you scrapbook anymore? A long time ago, I signed up to sell scrap booking products for a very popular company. We didn't have Robbie at the time and I was becoming discouraged at not being able to have anybody to leave my scrapbooks to when I'm long gone. That's important you know!

I love history! I love reading historical fiction and I love anything that makes me feel like I'm living "back in the good ole days!"

Old quilts, old jewelry, old family treasures, etc.

When I was a little girl, my Pappaw Fred was the BEST story-teller. He could make you feel like you were living right in the middle of the story and were experiencing things that folks from his stories were feeling.

On Sunday afternoons, we'd take a walk down in the woods on our farm. There was this huge rock on top of a small hill. My Pappaw would tell us, every single time we passed it, that THAT rock was the exact spot where the old Indian Chief would stand and look out to check for the enemy. I could easily see that old chief, perched atop that rock, with his hand shielding his eyes, looking out all over this area, searching for the "enemy." Years later we were telling that and my daddy just laughed and laughed--after he informed me, my brother and my sister that he had pushed that rock towards that hill when they were clearing off the land. Ha!

Anyway...because of my Pappaw's love for "the story" and the details in each one, I too, find myself telling kids in my classroom stories. I love watching their faces as my stories unfold and their reactions. It is such an important part of who I am and how I came to be ME.

Not having any children was very upsetting in itself. Not having any children to leave my life's memories to was even more depressing. So I stopped scrap booking. I used to joke to my little sister and just tell her that if she ever had any kids, they could have my scrapbooks.

Then, one AWESOME day in June of 2006, my life completely changed as we welcomed Robert Lewis Hersey into our hearts and homes. We named him Robert after my daddy, my great-grandpaw, and my great-great grandpaw. Robert is a STRONG name in my opinion, and I knew my son would be graced with it as well. Lewis was my Pappaw Fred's middle name. I couldn't pin "Fred" on him. There was only ONE Fred to me, but I wanted to name my boy after two of the most important men in my life.

But...life happened. Other things took priority, and my scrapbooks didn't happen. For the past several months I have really felt bad about not doing any scrappin'. I looked around the internet and found My Memories! It's a really awesome site and I think it's just what I'll need to share our memories so that one day, my sweet boy can look back over everything and smile while he remembers.

Now....to the great part!

I'll be hosting a giveaway so that you can win your very own copy of this software!

All you have to do is leave me a comment on the following:
(Each separate comment is a separate entry!) I know, you can thank me later!
1. Tell me who your favorite story-teller was/is in your family.
2. What would your first scrapbooking page be about?
3. Visit My Memories and tell me what your favorite KIT is.
4. Visit their BLOG and become a follower.
5. Follow My Memories on Facebook by clicking HERE
6. Follow My Memories on Twitter by clicking HERE

That's it! Easy, right?

The giveaway ends Friday night, September 30th at midnight. The winner will be announced over the weekend and I will send you the code you need to get your FREE software!

If you can't stand to wait, they've also given me a discount code for you to use if you'd rather just purchase the software and get started today! Click HERE to go and grab yours and use this discount code:

STMMMS72973

Good Luck Y'all!

When I grow up, I wanna be a BARBER

2011-09-20T19:03:00.000-04:00

I guess if Robbie had to write an essay earlier today on his future dreams and ambitions, being a hair-cutter would be at the top of his list.

We have been ~~struggling, threatening, worrying,~~ trying to get him to keep his little behavior card on GREEN everyday. Last Thursday he went "to yellow" for talking in line, then on Friday for singing "Can I get a Whoop-Whoop?" many times during break. Today, he brought me another note, with that "I've been caught" look on his face.

Wanna know what he did?

Hmm...

Let's just take a look-see:

And here is the final product all placed with love into a baggie:

And here's his NEW-DO!

All prayers are appreciated!

I'm here

2011-09-07T21:15:00.000-04:00

I'm still here. Trying to get used to teaching Language Arts and Social Studies instead of Home Ec.

Life is FAST and Crazy right now, but wonderful!

I'll be posting soon!

I Think I Can, I Think I Can....oh CRAP!!

2011-08-17T23:00:00.000-04:00

Oh....Just typing this post makes me so sick and so sad and my stomach sick!

I guess I'm ready. I'd better be though because in the morning, I have to be at school, rippin' and roarin'!
If you don't remember, or you're a new follower, I am beginning my 19th year teaching.
I taught 4th grade for 3 years, 6th grade for 4 years, 7th grade for 8 years, and HOME EC (Grades 6-8) for 3 years.
All of my previous middle school experience has been with teaching Math and Science.
This year is SO different.
I will be teaching 6th grade Language Arts and Social Studies.
Here's the worst part:
I have 5 bulletin boards in my dern room. FIVE! One of them is HUMONGOUS!

I have meetings on two different days next week and then our students will be coming on Wednesday morning from 9 to 12 for their little "Welcome to Middle School" orientation.
I am not ready to give up sleeping late everyday.
I am not ready to give up my coffee until NOON while I'm still wearing my nightgown.
I am not ready to get back into going to bed early and getting up early.
I am not ready to be on a schedule that is not my own.
But more than anything....
I am NOT ready to watch my sweet, baby boy walk away from me and enter a classroom with 22 other kids, wave goodbye to me and Big Daddy, and enter the world of being a real student.
Please say a prayer for me and Big Daddy. We are having a hard time letting him go....

Flower Headband!

2011-08-11T13:41:00.000-04:00

Hey Y'all!

I was messing around on Google this morning, looking for some crochet headband patterns and ended up at DaPerfectMix's blog. She has some awesome things and I found a pattern for the cutest and easiest headband. It's thick enough that when you put it on, it actually covers your ears too and would be great during those cold winter mornings on the way to school!I made one and then made up a flower as I went to decorate it.Here's the headband:

It closes in the back with a button closure so it's totally adjustable for all head sizes. I'm off to make more in different colors!!

Thank you DaPerfectMix so much for this pattern!
Click HERE to visit her blog and look around a bit!

Y'all have a wonderful day!

They Went Junkin'

2011-08-10T13:16:00.003-04:00

Hey Y'all!
Yesterday Robbie and I had a few errands that needed running and finally a little before noon we headed out. After a trip to the bank, the library, the post office, and Wendy's drive-thru window, we headed to a new thrift store nearby! Oohh..how delightful it was!
First of all, their paperback books were only $0.49 each! I was screamin' inside with delight! These were the books I picked out! Some are going in my classroom and some are going to stay here so I can read them!

Then, just as I was walking away....I spotted THIS:

LIKE SERIOUSLY??!!
Ooohhh!!!!

Even though this was printed in 1977, there are some things in there that make me want to grab a hook and make it hummmm!
Here's some things I want to make!
Check out these potholders:

and these curtains....

and this gorgeous pillow...

and this ripple sweater set...ooh...I love it!

and this tablecloth...lovely!

If only school wasn't starting back for me next week.....

Carlashes? Say WHAT?!

2011-07-29T17:18:00.000-04:00

Hey Y'all!
I hope you're having a great Friday!

It's hot as Pure-T FIRE outside ain't it?! WOWZA! Thank GOD for air conditioning! I don't know how people who lived "back in the day" could even function.
When I was a little girl, my mammaw and pappaw's home wasn't air conditioned....except for one small window unit in my pappaw's bedroom. I remember being so hot and after we'd all gotten our bellies full, eating Sunday lunch, I would go to his bedroom, close the door, and secretly plug in the AC. There wasn't even a front cover on it---just pure ice cold air blowing straight at you from cold steel. At the time, I knew of NOTHING that could have been any better.
At the beginning of the summer, me and Big Daddy bought one of those oscillating fans for our bedroom. We keep the AC on 69 during the summer, and have a ceiling fan that runs on high, and NOW we have that wonderful fan, that I keep pointed straight on our faces and run it on high too. I am spoiled, but I love to be COLD when I sleep and I love to snuggle up underneath a quilt and snore light a bear!
Anyway....
I am SO happy! Have y'all seen the eyelashes that go on your car's headlights? I first saw some a few weeks ago and since we bought The Green Goddess, two different people sent me text pictures of cars and their lashes. I looked online and found carlashes and immediately placed my order. They arrived today and me and Big Daddy just put them on my car. I LOVE THEM, you hear me?
Here's me and The Green Goddess:

Also, I have been DYING to read Mary Kay Andrews' new book, Summer Rental. Thanks to my favorite cousin, Kelly, it's at The Doublewide now to be read!
Also, I almost purchased The Help to read on my Nook, but didn't. I have seen the previews for the movie and I can't wait to read it. I found it on Ebay Monday for a lot less that I would have paid to download it, so I got it too and it's here! It's going to be so hard to pick which one to begin reading!
Here's the books!

Please let me know if you've read either one of them.
Have a wonderful weekend!!

Robbie's New-Do!

2011-07-28T18:32:00.000-04:00

Hey Y'all!
Last night we enjoyed a WONDERFUL supper at Aunt Bessie's. Before we left to go eat, Robbie wanted me to fix his hair in a mohawk style! He's so cute!

Tonight I've cooked meatloaf, stewed potatoes, green beans, deviled eggs, sliced tomatoes, and biscuits for our supper. I cannot wait for Big Daddy's mom and step-dad to get here so that I can EAT! I'm starving!

Tomorrow morning I have 10 gallons of tomatoes waiting on me. Me and mama are going to can those and then Robbie and I are going to hit a few of our favorite thrift stores!
Also, I signed up this month to sell SCENTSY! If you'd like to see what it's all about, click HERE to go to my personal website!

Have a great Thursday evening!

Don't Ya Wanna Go?

2011-07-27T18:45:00.000-04:00

Hey Y'all! I hope you're having a wonderful Wednesday!

Nothing much has been going on today here at The Doublewide, but we're fixin' to head out to sea some WONDERFUL supper at a place nearby called, Aunt Bessie's.

My friend, Donna posted a video of me and my little sister singing at church. I'm gonna try and post it below.

Hopefully it works? Have a great night!

You're a HOOT!

2011-07-23T13:50:00.000-04:00

Hey Y'all! I hope you're having a wonderful Saturday and you're getting something accomplished. I have been saying all week that we would be working HARD to get Robbie's bedroom cleaned, the bedroom suit that Big Daddy grew up with moved into Robbie's room, Robbie's twin bed donated, his present dresser and chest of drawers moved into our bedroom, our dresser and chest is going OUT the door (it's shot), and my craft room moved into the guest bedroom, my old craft room turned into Robbie's play room.....etc. etc. etc..

And guess what I have done so far? Slept until 8:00--(meant to sleep much later, but thanks to my mama calling to see if we needed some milk...SERIOUSLY???!!), drank 2 cups of coffee, hung out on the computer and crocheted this:

So now, I'm off to get started on the major move around here! If you love this owl, click here to get the free pattern and make as many as you'd like!

Have a great day today!

Unexpected Beach Vacation!

2011-07-22T13:59:00.000-04:00

Hey Y'all! I hope you've had a great week!

Monday afternoon, Big Daddy got a call from his daddy and step-mom wanting us to come to Myrtle Beach and stay with them. They had paid for a room and were planning on coming home Thursday, so we threw things together and headed out about 7 pm.

We hadn't planned on taking a beach trip until late September with some friends of ours, so this was a blessing in disguise for sure!

We had decided that we would do one "NICE" supper because me and MiMi were craving some crab legs! We went to a place called Captain George's. The crab legs were WONDERFUL, but our bill nearly sent me into stroke level. For Big Daddy, Robbie and I to eat was $92.00. Good grief....it was good, but not THAT good, ya know?!

Big Daddy got sunburned pretty bad on his chest and back because he didn't see the need to put on sunscreen. Bless him!

Overall though, we had a wonderful time! Thanks Pop-Pop and Mimi for the invite!!

Well...Hello There!

2011-07-18T11:56:00.000-04:00

Hey Y'all!

How was your weekend?

We had a fun one here at The Doublewide.

Saturday I finished canning pickles. Ended up with 21 quarts and 10 pints! Thanks to my best friend's brother, John, for bringing me 10 gallons of cucumbers. After searching through many cookbooks, I found the recipe I wanted to use and they turned out delicious!

Then that night we went to our friends' Beverly and Vernon's house. Vernon and Big Daddy stayed outside and worked the grill while we got everything ready to eat. We had hamburgers, hot dogs, and smoked bratwurst. YUMMY!

After the kitchen was cleaned we sat down to learn how to play Phase 10. Vernon and Beverly taught us but Big Daddy ended up winning! We are hooked now and turns out, I had a set of those cards in the game drawer here and didn't even know it!

While we were playing cards, we had taken THIS:

Added it to THIS:

Put in in the ice cream freezer, added ice and rock salt, and waited to get to eat
THIS:

Oh. My. Goodness!!!
If you have an ice cream freezer, you MUST try this! Those are the only two ingredients. Robbie and I have had fun trying to come up with more kinds of soda to try. The sweetened condensed milk gives it that creamy taste and the soda makes it more like a sherbet instead of a "creamy" texture. I LOVE IT!

If you had ventured out to The Doublewide Sunday morning or afternoon, you would have found us here:

Then, last night after church we went to our friends, Jan and Wayne's house to do a little of this:

Last night was the second time that Robbie has jumped off the diving board! His Uncle Chad has been working with him and he's doing so well! He loves it and wears himself out swimming!
Now, I have to get busy today. Have a million things to do and it's already noon!
I hope your day is productive and fun!

I Did It!

2011-07-02T11:48:00.000-04:00

Hey Y'all!
I did it! Finally quit wondering if I really wanted a new Kia Soul or not. Took our Minivan in and traded it on this:

Can I tell you how much I love it?!

Last night we had plans to go to see some fireworks and eat some good "festival type" food! Big Daddy is on call with his job this week and he got called out around 5:00 PM. There was a large truck hauling dead animal parts that spilled it's load all over Interstate 85 for about 200 yards. He had to get a backhoe and clean all of it up and then take it to bury it all. He said there were hog heads, cow heads, and pure nastiness strung all over two lanes of the interstate. YUCK! I'm so glad I wasn't the one having to smell that and dispose of it. Bless his heart!
We decided to have our friends meet up here at The Doublewide and then we headed on without him, with hopes that he wouldn't be too late and could come join us. Didn't happen because he was too late getting back, but that delicious ear of roasted corn sopped in butter and salt did it's best to make up for it.
Tomorrow I'll be turning the Big 4-0! Can't even stand it, but time marches on...and it's wearing combat boots too!
After my hair-dyin' timer goes off, I'm headed to the shower and then going out with my little sister for the day. We are getting pedicures and then doing some shopping. I have GOT to get my Hobby Lobby "fix" for the day and I am really looking forward to spending time with her.
I'll be back Monday with pictures from the weekend. I hope your weekend is wonderful!

Two New Things....and Maybe THREE

2011-06-21T10:53:00.000-04:00

Hey Y'all! Happy 1st Day of Summer to you! I hope you're having a wonderful day today! It's 10:00 AM here at The Doublewide and Robbie is STILL sleeping! I'm on my 2nd cup of coffee and thought I'd blog right quick since it's been so long!

School's finally out for me...finished up last Thursday. I still have a few things in my old room, but I DO HAVE A JOB for next year, so we're happy!!!

I'm going to be teaching Language Arts and Social Studies in the 6th grade. I'm getting to stay at my school so I couldn't be more happier! I just finished up my 18th year of teaching. I've never taught middle school language arts or social studies, it's always been math, so this will be a new year of learning!

I have a LARGE room, so that makes me even happier!

Wondering what's new at The Doublewide?

Well....Mother's Day weekend, I hosted a Girls' Night Out party here at The Doublewide for the women of our church. We painted toenails and fingernails, ate until we were about to pop, and laughed HARD at old videos I had stockpiled in the closet. Our sweet girl, Lulabelle, went outside when I did, but didn't come back inside. The next thing we knew, someone was knocking on our door and said she had ran over Lulabelle. My daddy came from across the road, and took her to the woods to bury her. The very next day some friends of ours gave us Tennessee, a mini doxie. He's about 3 months old now and is precious. Could you say NO to these eyes?

It's hard for us too! He's adorable, but we are ready for him to stop chewing on our shoes! hee hee

The second NEW thing is my new baby, Hattie! She has been named after my great-great grandmaw. I found her on Craigslist and she is wonderful! Take a look...

She sews like a dream! On Sunday night I cooked a big supper for my daddy and the rest of the family. When I brought her to the kitchen table after we had finished eating, my daddy and my brother in law both had to try her out! It was funny watching two men sewing, but I did get the stamp of approval from daddy. You cannot beat an old sewing machine!! Those new ones hop all over the table while you're trying to sew and this one doesn't budge. It only does a straight stitch, but that's what I mainly needed. SO happy!
Now for the third newbie....hmmm....I am thinking of trading in this:

FOR THIS:

My payments would be about $30.00 cheaper and I'd have a brand new car that is WONDERFUL!
I will be turning fourty in a couple of weeks and I am tried of driving around in a minivan. The jury is still out on this one right now! What do you think?
Hope you have a wonderful day today! Stay cool--it's supposed to be a HOT one out there!

Showin' Off!

2011-06-07T13:39:00.000-04:00

Hey Y'all!
Well the ole Bloom Loom FINALLY got it's workout this past weekend!
I ordered all of that synthetic raffia and went to work! There are SO many uses for the flowers that can be made and after brainstorming with my students this morning, I found even MORE ideas.
Here's a picture of two flowers that I've made so far. They were put into thrift store frames and I am completely smitten with them! They'll be in my Etsy Shoppe right after this!

Also, Robbie graduated from daycare this past Thursday night, I emceed the talent show at my school, we had soccer finale Saturday morning, and then I collapsed on the couch for the rest of the weekend, other than going to church.

Sunday night a terrible thunderstorm came through while we were at church. It knocked the power out and my poor little piggy fingers never even struck a single piano key. Church was dismissed early and here's what we drove into the yard and saw:

We are so thankful that we weren't home when those horrible winds blew the front corner's siding plumb off the house! So now we are on the phone and fax with our insurance company hoping to get everything taken care of, after a stinkin' $500.00 deductible. UGH!
This is our last week of school and I have two days next week to work to finish up the year. I will hear Friday from our principal, where I'll be assigned next year. The last word I got from her was 6th or 7th grade math--probably NOT AIG. So...we'll keep praying and waiting.

I hope you all have a WONDERFUL day! Enjoy the pictures from the weekend....

I made it in a DAY!

2011-06-02T14:01:00.006-04:00

Hey Y'all!
We are SO busy right now at The Doublewide, but I wanted to stop in and share with you a few pictures of a new earflap hat I made yesterday! I found the pattern to be very easy and well written. If you are interested in making one for yourself, please click HERE to visit Ms. Teresa's website! She has SO many free patterns and I'm sure if you can crochet, you'll find something you just HAVE to make! Here's the hat I made following her pattern. I made up the flower as I went and tacked it down.

My baby graduates from daycare tonight. I am so heartbroken as this is a slap in the face that time marches on! Seems only yesterday we were going back and forth to DSS and court and lawyers to get his adoption finalized! Now he's headed to kindergarten in August....**sigh**

Have a wonderful day today!

Goodbye Long Weekend, Hello Countdown to Summer!

2011-05-31T14:29:00.000-04:00

Hey Y'all! Did everybody have a great LONG weekend? Whew...we sure did! It was just so CRAZY busy!

Saturday morning we had our last soccer game of the season! Robbie's team won!
After the soccer game, we drove to the cemetery where my grandparents are buried. After the storms last week, I wanted to check and make sure the flowers were still on the tombstone. Of course they were not, but someone at least had put all of the "stray" arrangements in one area and I was able to find theirs!
After that me and my sister dropped off Big Daddy and Robbie at The Doublewide and headed out to do a little shopping! Her and Chad (my BIL) are expecting their first baby during late September. She's finally had to get some maternity clothes and I got to go with her!
THEN...I had to be on the baseball field by 6:00 PM. I played on a team to help our small town raise money to build a park! You can go to my Facebook page and look at the tagged pictures of me if you'd like! It was CRAZY fun!
Sunday morning we had a very nice Memorial Day service at church honoring the fallen soldiers of our country and then that afternoon we had Family Day at church. We had hot dogs and hamburgers with lots of laughs while we watched folks play corn-hole and other games. It was SO hot though...ugh

Finally I was able to do some laundry and cleaning yesterday! We all slept late and worked around the house. My BIL Chad grilled steaks and we had salads, baked potatoes, zuchinni/squash for supper!
We have nine school days left counting today. Having that long weekend spoiled me! I can't wait for summer break!

I'll be putting some pics soon of recent happenings! Have a wonderful day!

I HEART the Bloom Loom

2011-05-27T11:47:00.000-04:00

Hey Y'all! Hope your day was wonderful yesterday---we had tornado warnings and watches last night! After soccer practice was over last night, we headed to eat Japanese food with some of our great friends--then headed to Wal-Mart to buy food items that I'm going to be needing to cook at school. On the way home, we were right in the middle of a horrible storm. At the Charlotte-Douglas airport, the winds reached 67 miles an hour. We're not too far from there, so I know it was bad. There were flying limbs and sticks and it was raining sideways. When we pulled into our yard, I saw where the winds had blown one of my rocking chairs clean off the porch! We sat in the van for about 10 minutes and waited it out but finally everything was back to normal.
About a week or so ago, I ended up finding this on Youtube:

BLOOM LOOM VIDEO

So, I had to get me a bloom loom! Ebayed that sucker right to my front door and this morning, I made my first one!
Don't tell Big Daddy that I spent $60 on materials to make more flowers online yesterday, ok? Thanks!

Here's my first one:

And here's the actual Bloom Loom! Hurry---go buy you one! You'll LOVE it!

Have a great weekend Y'all!

BLOOM LOOM VIDEO

Broomstick Lace

2011-05-25T15:25:00.000-04:00

Where in the world have I been? I cannot believe that I have never seen, nor heard of, Broomstick Lace. I'll be 40 in July, and consider myself pretty crafty, but I am in LOVE with it!

Somehow or another, I stumbled upon it and watched some YouTube videos to learn how. After watching THIS VIDEO, I quickly found that I just HAD to try it! So....
Here's what I've come up with so far...

You can also go HERE to find MANY free patterns using this method.
I'll leave you with some things that I've found online using Broomstick Lace!
Have a great day!

LINK

Y'all see what I mean??!!
I'm in LOVE!

The Last Time We Spoke....

2011-05-24T11:45:00.000-04:00

I was a different person.
We had just completed my sister's birthday weekend and I was looking forward to a Spring Break soon. I am so embarrassed to say that it's been too long since I've ~~had a minute~~ taken the time to blog. That's not the WHOLE truth, but I'll stick to it anyway....
Here's a few things that made the

"We Just Made a MEMORY!"

category:

#1. The Saturday before Easter we got together with Big Daddy's side of the family for an Easter Egg hunt, games, food, etc. I didn't really want to miss our church's Easter Egg Hunt, but I'll make sacrifices so that Big Daddy can see his family. They're from the southwestern corner of Georgia, a town called Nicholls. We rarely get to see them and some of the others live in the mountains of NC, so whenever we can all get can get together, I enjoy it.

#2. While at the Easter Egg Hunt, they hid a metal tin that was shaped like an M&M. It was the "PRIZE" egg and all the kids were told that if they found that egg, there would be a special prize for them. Robbie found it and ended up with a GIANT Chocolate Easter Bunny (Thank God it was hollow!)
#3. Our Easter Sunday choir cantata at church was AMAZING! Many folks have said that it was the BEST one ever--such a wonderful thing--getting to see God's hand moving through the service and doing it through music too!
#4. After church we ate at my house with my family for Easter---had Spaghetti and salads..LOL then we packed up the van and headed to see our friends, Freddie and Kay Kay Combs in Tennessee. While there we laughed, played, sang, ate, shopped, rested, etc. It was WONDERFUL!

There are SO many things I'm working on right now.
We only have 13 days of school left, counting today.
This is year #18 in my teaching career. For the first 3 years I taught 4th grade---the next 4 years I taught 6th grade math and science----the next 8 years I taught 7th grade math and science---the past three years I've taught Life Skills (Home Ec.).
About two weeks ago I got a phone call from my principal because I had stayed at home with Robbie due to strep in May....who gets strep in May??!!
She called to tell me that our CTE Dept. in our school system has decided to discontinue the Life Skills program in all middle schools in our school system. That means 11 teachers got "the slip," myself included. Fortunately for me I am certified in math and science and will hopefully be able to make a smooth transition back to the math/science classroom. Please say a prayer that this will work out!!!
Even though I have been very worried about this, I know my God is able to take care of everything!

I promise to be back soon! I have SO SO SO much to tell y'all!!!
Have a great Tuesday!!!

Weekend Wrap-Up

2011-04-18T08:56:00.000-04:00

Happy Monday Everyone!
Just wanted to stop in and check on y'all!
Our weekend went by way too fast, but don't they all?
Friday was my little sister's birthday. We all went out to eat at a local restaurant called Jackson's Cafeteria. We had a great time together and now I can show you what I made for her.

Thursday night, (I guess I'm going backwards now) was Robbie's soccer practice where he was lying in the grass watching the clouds. I actually caught an action shot as his little leg is drawn back to kick that invisible ball at his feet---cute thang!

Here he is at the fence, during water break!

This is my favorite thing about his soccer league. They have a Bible story at every practice and/or game.
They were supposed to play their first game this past Saturday morning at 9:00 but it was cancelled due to thunderstorms. We'll be making up that game tonight at 6:00 PM.

Saturday night we were invited to Vernon, Beverly and Payton's home for homemade pizzas. Here's what we dug into!

Robbie and Payton sat at the island and filled it up!

My plate....YUMMY!

Beverly made brownies for dessert and I was being stupid and playing around! This shot actually made me wet my pants and sent Beverly to the bathroom into her Depends stash!
After supper, we all piled up in the room to watch Coal Miner's Daughter! I've never seen it and I LOVED it! We had such a wonderful time and can't wait to do it again!

Happy Birthday Doodah!!

2011-04-15T08:53:00.000-04:00

Today, my little sister, Amanda, turns 34. Oh, the travestry! I can't stand it! Seems only yesterday that she was just a little baby, falling asleep in her cereal bowl, while learning to crawl!

All week I've been writing my favorite memories of "us" growing up daily on her Facebook wall. I have had a fun time doing that.
Unfortunately, I don't have my camera cards with me today so that I could put pictures here.
So, I'll show a sneak peak to you of her birthday present from me. She is one of my 3 blog readers, so I don't want to spoil it.

So, what are your plans for the weekend? Robbie's first soccer game is tomorrow morning at 9:00 AM. Last night at practice, while his teammates were running around the field and working and learning, I looked and saw him lying on the ground, with his hands behind his head, watching the clouds roll by.

It was GREAT! I'll try and snap some great pictures tomorrow!
Have a wonderful weekend!

Telling Our Story....

2011-04-08T10:39:00.000-04:00

Hey Y'all!
Happy Friday!

Last night I had the honor of speaking to a group of pretty special people. Way back in February, I was contacted by a lady at our county's DSS and was asked to speak at their annual Foster Parent Appreciation Dinner. Of course, I accepted her offer and have been pretty stoked and nervous about speaking to a group of people who have such an important job.
So....the time came for me to arrive at the designated location...When I walked into the lobby of the church, I saw this....

I was so shocked to know that you can give your tithe before you ever enter the sanctuary and they'll take MC, Visa, and Discover...whew-wee!

Next, I found the room where we would be meeting for our dinner. Look at the beautiful tissue paper flower table decor! Stunning, right?

We had a wonderful meal and I was excited to be sitting next to the director of the whole she-bang. He retired from Ohio and has been in our area for 10 years. An awesome guy!

Here's a close-up of the program for the evening...

and here's me with Misty and Cynthia.

Misty (in the center) was mine and Big Daddy's adoption case worker. She was the one who did all of our interviews and paperwork when we were in the process of adopting Robbie back in 2007. She is wonderful and I really love her. She also introduced me before I spoke last night and she said such wonderful things about us. I am so thankful that God always seems to put the right people in our lives at the perfect time. Cynthia (on the right) goes to church with us and was the reason I was asked to speak in the first place. She pretty much is the stuff!
Thanks y'all for asking me to speak and I really enjoyed being able to share OUR adoption story and how God moved and worked in our lives by sending us a son to love and raise.
I hope y'all have a wonderful weekend! We are gonna be BUSY!

Hellurh!

2011-04-06T15:26:00.000-04:00

Ok--I know---I'm a slacker with a capital S.
It's been like forever since I've blogged and I apologize to all 3 of my loyal readers that I have let y'all down.

So anyway....what have you been up to since we spoke last? hee hee
We have been CRAZY! Big Daddy and I signed Robbie up for soccer AND he started karate. Right there is enough to get two nights of our week. His soccer games will start the second Saturday in April, so we're gearing up for a fun spring!

I have been fighting allergies and pollen. I'm still coughing and sick, but this shall pass soon hopefully.
I started working on a baby blanket for my sister who's due in September. We're not sure if it's a boy or a girl yet, so I just picked a bunch of colors that I thought looked good together...Here's my progress so far....

And a close up just in case you need it....

Feel free to visit Attic24 to get the inspiration and the pattern. She pretty much ROCKS!
I've been working on some Easter crafts that I found while reading other blogs.
Here's my Bunnies I made to resemble the marshmallow treats! I think they turned out wonderfully!

I also went to Craft Passion and followed her tutorial on making a small bunny sachet. I used grits to stuff mine with and then added a drop of scented oil to the grits before sewing up the bottom. Love it too!

I took Robbie last week and got his shots and the physical for kindergarten. Poor thing had to get 5 shots at once and it was NOT pretty. This picture was taken right before the madness began.

After we finished our trip to the Dollar Tree where I lavished him with like $30.00 in worthless toys and junk, we met my sister at Ryan's for lunch. I just HAVE to share the picture of his dessert plate after they came back from the dessert bar. Isn't is hilarious?!! I posted it on Facebook and said this...."My Aunt Doodah took me to get my dessert. I sure hope it's ice cream!" I just LOVE the look on his face...

Ok...I think that catches us up for now. Hope you have a GREAT Wednesday!

Before I go, I have to show you one more picture. Last Wednesday night, on the way to church, it was POURING down rain. Robbie wanted to wear his goggles so his "eyes wouldn't get wet!" I promise...I can't make this stuff up!

May The Force Be With You!

I promise not to stay gone so long next time!

2011-03-22T10:14:00.003-04:00

FINALLY!

It's finished y'all! I have an idea for how to display my crocheted doily. I have an old sheet that is white with yellow roses on it. I plan on spray painting a large embroidery hoop white, putting some of the sheet in the hoop and then tacking down the doily to it.
We are planning a redo of our bathroom and I want to paint it yellow and do the trim in white. I think this lovely piece will look great in there!
I also made the cutest little cotton headband yesterday during my lunch. Here it is:

Ain't it pretty?! I took copies of the pattern and shared with the girls at our crochet club last night. Two of the women began working on theirs last night because they loved it as much as I do.
Tomorrow, I'll be taking my baby to have his kindergarten physical and shots. I cannot believe he starts school in August--makes me sad....
I'll be taking the day off and sleeping late in the morning.
Then, after the doctor's visit, me and Robbie will be making these...

Neat-o, right?!
Click HERE for the tutorial!
Have a wonderful day today! Hug somebody's neck!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

2011-03-17T08:35:00.003-04:00

I truly hope you have a wonderful day today! Even though mine didn't get off to a good start, because I woke up at 5:00 with a coughing fit and COULD NOT go back to sleep, I am determined that today will ROCK!
Our kids get out at 12:00 PM today and we have staff development this afternoon. High schools in our county will be having parent conferences.
My crochet project from yesterday has grown! I am on Row #15 of 26, so hopefully I'll be finished soon! I plan on taking it with me to crochet club tonight--we'll see what I'm able to get done!
Here's a picture of the progress so far:

HEEEEE-YAAHHHH!

2011-03-16T09:41:00.000-04:00

Hey Y'all!
Just wanted to share a few pictures of Robbie's first karate class last week. He was HILARIOUS and had a blast! Hope you enjoy!

Also, I have began to crochet a doily using thread instead of yarn. This is what I've done so far...wish me luck! If it turns out well, I plan on making a larger one using cotton yarn as a baby blanket for my sister's peanut on the way!

Make today a great one!

Crochet Class is Underway!

2011-03-10T10:09:00.000-05:00

Hey Y'all! I hope you're finding a way to enjoy this gloomy day of overcast and drizzle if you're here in NC. Surely the sun will come out soon!Last Monday, Feb. 28th, I began our crochet class at our church. We had 22 show up. Some seasoned, some could do a chain stitch, and some were brand new beginners. We meet every Monday and Thursday night in our church's fellowship hall. We have been having a WONDERFUL time! If you live nearby, please come join us. This past Monday night I think there was around 26.My friend Beverly is working on her first granny square and is rockin' it out!Here are some pictures from our first meeting!

To Cheer You Up....

2011-03-07T12:41:00.000-05:00

Oh, how I hate Monday mornings. I know I should be energized and geared up--ready for the week and all, but I hate them. I hate getting out of a warm bed snuggled up to my sweet boy and our dog because Big Daddy has already left. I hate getting to school and remembering that I have forgotten to take my blood pressure medicine for the third day in a row--but did remember that I had one "Lone Ranger" pill left from my old prescription somewhere in my purse. I hate having to climb in a cold vehicle and wait for it to defrost while we're already late and Robbie is begging me to turn on his "Rescue Heroes" DVD. But...I am thankful for every second God gives us. I'm glad that I'm still alive and here to be of help to somebody. I just hate Monday mornings...you feelin' me?

Me and Nicholas Sparks have this "Love/Hate" thing going on.....

2011-02-28T14:11:00.000-05:00

Hey y'all! I hope you've had a wonderful weekend. The weather was GORGEOUS here in North Carolina this weekend. It's still nice and I love a good strong breeze!
I keep wondering if we're going straight into spring early, or if more bad weather will be here again....hmmm...we'll have to see.

Last night I didn't go to sleep until 1:47 this morning, thanks to one of my favorite author's new book, Safe Haven. I had to be at school this morning, on post, in the cafeteria by 7:30 AM. I was 5 minutes late and Robbie was meaner than a cock-eyed snake this morning. It was so hard to get up and get it together. After dropping Robbie off at daycare, in-between bringing him with me to breakfast duty and then dropping him off, I sent Big Daddy a text that read...."Oh Man. We are shutting down The Doublewide early tonight. Your son was a meany-head this morning!" To which he replied, "Haha God love you Was it bad this morning?" Then I sent him another text that said, "Bad doesn't even come close, but we are ok" So.....Me and Nicholas Sparks....I love him...but I hate that he writes so good! I don't have it in me to put down one of his books once I get started!
If you haven't read it, please do. It's an awesome read!!

Tonight's the big night for a class I'm teaching! On Facebook, I created a group called, "It's Cool to Crochet" and we're meeting for the first time tonight.
I am very excited about being able to teach folks in my community how to crochet. There will be more people that already know there...so I look forward to it!
I'll be back tomorrow with some pictures!

Have a wonderful Monday!

Birthday Party Fun!

2011-02-22T11:20:00.000-05:00

Hey Y'all! I hope you had a wonderful weekend and I hope wherever you are, you are as lucky as we are, here in The South, to be enjoying this beautiful weather.
I love opening the windows and letting the house "air out". Makes everything feel cleaner and smell better, plus it gets all that stale air out and brings freshness in. This makes me ready for spring in a tremendous way!
Below are some pictures of Robbie's 5th Birthday Party this past Saturday. Hope you enjoy!

We began by playing the Wii!

Robbie wanted to create a Mii character for everyone while Lulabelle kept up with everyone there!

This is Robbie and Matthew. Robbie is 6 weeks older than Matthew and look how tall Matthew is! Matthew is our preacher's son. We have a feeling these two are gonna be partners in crime later on! hee hee

Obviously there were way more adults than kids at the party! We had LOTS of fun! That's my mama in the white and Big Daddy's mama in the blue.

The next few pictures are of Robbie and Cydney. He tells everyone that she's his girlfriend. Cydney just turned 4 in December, and her and Robbie have been buddies since they were in the nursery at church together.

I know, adorable, right?!

We made our own crayons.....

Decorated our own cupcakes....

Opened presents....

and played MORE Wii....

But more than anything, we had such a great time, celebrating such a special boy, with around 30 friends and family at The Doublewide for the day! Thanks to all of our friends and family for sharing this day with us and thanks to YOU for being my little bloggie friends! Have a beautiful day!

Trash to Treasure

2011-02-18T11:25:00.000-05:00

Hey Y'all! HAPPY FRIDAY! The weather today is supposed to be beautiful--so warm and breezy--makes me wish I was at home, in a hammock underneath my favorite shade tree, with my quilt that my Mammaw gave me a long tie ago, reading a good Nicholas Sparks book, sipping on some coffee and resting comfortably. Whew....excuse me....just went away in my La La Land for a few minutes.
Do any of you have big plans for the weekend? We'll be BUSY at The Doublewide! Robbie's 5th birthday was this past Wednesday, but we'll be having his party tomorrow from 11 to 1. We're having pizza and the kids will be making homemade crayons, decorating their own cupcakes to take home with them, and playing Birthday Party Bash on Wii. It's so pretty we may even go outside instead of staying inside. We have a picnic table out there and Robbie has a playground. We'll see what the weather does...
Also, just wanted to let y'all see what I made this past week. I had some scraps donated, like BOXES AND BOXES that are already cut into 6x6 and 7x7 and 8x8 squares. I took a few of them and created a flower. The doily on the inside was in a junk bag that I bought at a yard sale awhile back. The backing is an old table napkin, and the center of the flower is an old clip on earring that I popped the back off of and hot glued into the center. I bought the frame at my favorite hometown junk store for $1.00.
I think I may have $2.00 in the WHOLE thing---if even that.
Anyway....hope you have a wonderful weekend! Please remember to leave a comment and let me know you were here!

Can't Even Believe It!

2011-02-16T08:37:00.003-05:00

Hey Y'all! Hope you're having a good morning so far!

Just wanted to stop by and say that our Little Man is 5 today....WOW! Time is flying!
We'll be celebrating with friends and family on Saturday, but he was so excited when he woke up this morning!
He walked into daycare and told one of the ladies, "I just got older this morning!" We laughed and laughed....

I am ~~patiently, nervously, anxiously,~~ awaiting the arrival of this:

Please Mr. UPS MAN, hurry and hook a fat girl up!
Y'all have a wonderful day!

Happy Valentine's Day Y'all!

2011-02-14T13:51:00.000-05:00

Just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Valentine's Day! I am thankful for all of my blog friends and hope your day is filled with those you love!

Something STINKS

2011-02-10T15:09:00.000-05:00

Hey Y'all! How's your Thursday? Mine....shew! That's about all I can say....
This past summer when my daddy was in the hospital with Guillian Barre Syndrome, I had gone to spend the morning of my birthday with him. We kept smelling something that stunk really bad, but couldn't figure out what it was. Later that afternoon, my little sister dropped in to visit and replied that my shoes were rotten! Me and daddy just laughed and laughed because THAT'S what the smell was.

And by smell.....I mean SHEW-WEE smell! My feet used to not stink, but here lately, they're horrible! I kept smelling something earlier this morning and looked down and remembered being at the hospital with my daddy and knew what it was immediately.
Most people that have any sense, would have thrown them away by now, but they're so comfy!
We were hoping for a SNOW DAY today, but we barely got a dusting so I had to rush around and get ready this morning and on went the stinky shoes.
I have bought another pair, but they're not "worn in good" yet, so I keep putting these on...then whenever I'm at school, I pay for it all day.
Today, these puppies are going in the trash. I usually don't wear tennis shoes to school, but today was a "hurry up and get ready day" in more ways than one.
Remember my post yesterday about my crochet flower I made on a whim? Well now...you can run to my Etsy shop and buy it because I put it on a gorgeous headband last night. Here's a cute little picture of it now:

Also, here are a few other pictures of more headbands I will have for sale:

Hope y'all have a great day today! Remember to go HERE and enter the YO-YO-PUFF giveaway. You have until tomorrow afternoon around 3:30 to enter!

Something I Just Whipped Up!

2011-02-09T15:26:00.003-05:00

Hey Y'all! Hope your Wednesday's been great so far.

Here's a little something I made on my lunch break

today:

And here's the little pattern for it in case you want to

make one for yourself:

Ch 6. Sl st to form a ring.

Ch 2. Do 23 sc in the ring and join to 2nd st of ch 2.

Ch 2. Skip next stitch, sc in next st (repeat and do

this all the

way around until you have around 12 loops)

{Sl st, ch 3, 3 dc, ch 2, sl st} in each loop around.

Finish off and weave in ends. Add button, old earring,

etc. as embellishment.

Now...don't forget my giveaway that ends Friday! I
only have two people that have entered so make sure you enter!
Hope your day is wonderful!

I'm Co-Co for Yo-Yo Puffs!

2011-02-07T15:56:00.000-05:00

Hey y'all!

Before I do ANYTHING, I want to thank all of y'all for the comments you sent me last week. I was really having a hard time and it means so much when you have people taking you to the Throne of God in prayer when you need it.
The women's program went fine. We had a wonderful time together! 26 women were there--that's a good sized crowd!
So again, thanks y'all! I love my bloggin' friends!

~~~ XOXOXOXOXOXOX ~~~

While browsing the internet this weekend during some down-time, I found a website called Craft Passion. She has some WONDERFUL tutorials and how-to's (wait---aren't those the same thing??!!) on her site.
I found something called a YO-YO PUFF and was like, "Oh...I SO have to learn how to make this!"
So, I grabbed my new FAVORITE crochet hook,
Size G, by ADDI

(Hurry over HERE to get yours) and some yarn, and followed her directions and ended up making one really quickly.
Here it is:


So then I got to thinking....These would be so cute as a "flower" and I could use some buttons for the centers. They'd also be good hot glued on a headband, made into a hair bow, a brooch. Also, they could be crocheted with cotton yarn and would make great baby washies and also little facial cloths to take your make up off with. So I played a little bit, dressed her up a little bit, and here she is now: Simple, yet dah-ling! Wouldn't you say? I say! If you have any creativity to you, you're thinking other things that could be made using these, right? So...let me know what you're thinking and I'll make YOU one--any color you want! If you don't have a color choice or preference, just leave me a comment to be entered. Drawing will take place Friday afternoon and I'll notify the winner via email and here on Saturday morning! Tell all of your friends...send them my way! Here's how to win: (Enter as many times as you'd like!!) 1. Become a follower of my blog. If you're already a follower, just remind me when you enter. 2. Blog about my giveaway (and use this here picture that is linked to come back to my blog) 3. Send me a comment letting me know what you'd do with your yo-yo puff if you had one! Robbie will draw the winner this Friday (2-11-11) when we get home from school. Make sure you enter! Whatcha waitin' on??!

Emotional Overload

2011-02-01T15:28:00.000-05:00

I don't know what's wrong with me lately.
Seems I have 9 billion different emotions that seem to come as quickly as I can force them to go.
I feel as if I'm going crazy, as if I should be medicated, as if I'm beginning to slowly come unraveled at any moment.
Just today, I've felt:
Grief, Loss, Happiness, Anger, Betrayal, Aggravation, Fear, Pride, Jealousy, Guilt, Self-Pity, Anticipation, Depression, Excitement.

How is it that we can be feeling a certain way, in the moment, and then suddenly something else happens and can morph everything into something totally different?
*I have a secret that I have to keep quiet and it's hard. *I have about $4000.00 in medical bills that taunt me monthly as I work to make payment arrangements due to recent gall bladder removal surgery.
*I lost something (before I ever got it) that was supposed to be coming to me. Someone else whined to who was in charge and ended up with it instead. When I asked the powers that be about it, they looked at me like I was nuts.
*Sometimes, I feel like I'm the mama and the daddy and that I shouldn't have to ask for help in my own house when the laundry is still in the floor on his side of the bed and he's whining because he has no clean clothes to wear to work.
*I have always been somebody who would rather just do it than ask for help, but that can be overwhelming. *I get aggravated when very smart students sit right under my nose and copy someone else's paper and then act like they cannot believe I would call them on the carpet for it and that they cannot believe I am making them take that paper home and get mama to sign it because they are getting a zero for cheating.
*I love my son--he's amazing, intelligent, and wonderful as well as stubborn, short-fused, and all boy.
*I miss my mammaw a lot this week. She left me her costume jewelry (by way of a sweet hand writen note left in her jewelry box) and yesterday afternoon for some reason or another, I found comfort in just sitting on my bed and playing with the old necklaces clip earrings, and bracelets.
*I feel a little guilty because I bought an extravagent item Saturday night at Michael's. I've been wanting it for awhile, but haven't bought it. I've not made anything with it yet and it's still sitting on my dining room table with the small flowers that I cut out of fabric (a total of 4) lying beside it. Why do I always do this?!
*I am nervous because I have the women's program at church tomorrow night, and even though I know what I want to do, I haven't taken the first step toward actually doing it--except for getting some cardboard delivered to the fellowship hall.
*I am pathetic.
*All I want to do when I get home from work is sit around and play mind-numbing games on Facebook or sew--being all by myself, in some type of self-created cocoon where I don't want my husband to come. I don't want him to touch me, to look at me, to hug me, to want me to kiss on him---nothing.
*I want my mama to stop calling me between 7:00 and 7:15 every morning while I'm in the shower wanting to know what I'm going to make for supper. Who cares mama??! How about this...what are YOU fixing? Now, can I finish my shower?
*I know I'm not very stable right now--that's obviously obvious. I know that my only way back up to the top of my emotions, is to grab hold of God's hands and beg Him to pull me out of all of this.
I have a grip on myself--I know when I'm about halfway gone. Please pray that I have good climbing gear on for the next couple of days---I'm sure going to need it.

Birthday Party Time!

2011-01-25T13:23:00.000-05:00

Hey Y'all! I hope you're having a great week so far! We are almost to the halfway point!
My nephew, Nick, turned 13 yesterday! I can't believe he's a teenager already. Seems like only yesterday we were all in the waiting room, patiently waiting on him to get here. My, how the time just seems to fly!
Here's a picture of the cake his mom made:

She did great didn't she?
I'm the oldest of three kids. Nick belongs to my brother David, and I have a younger sister, Amanda.
Here's the three of us at Nick's party:

And of course,

we've gotta be goofy so here are two more for you:

The look on my brother's face cracks me up everytime I see this picture!!

I've been busy working

on some sewing stuff since I can finally get in my craft room/office!
Here's a planner/calendar/agenda, a checkbook cover, and a business card holder that I've made recently. I am loving the fabric and the colors!

I have also been busy making some new aprons:

They'll be in my Etsy shop soon! Hope you have a wonderful afternoon!

Strange...Just PLAIN Strange!

2011-01-19T13:02:00.000-05:00

Hey Y'all! I hope you're doing well today! The sun is out here in North Carolina and there are still small patches of snow, here and there, but they're leaving! Yesterday afternoon I went to the local library to pay a fine for DVDs that we had while snowed in and to browse through their crochet books. I live in an incredibly small town, so obviously there were about 3 books on crochet, all of which were geared towards teens. I paid my fine and then began to browse the new adult fiction section and saw this book:

It was "endorsed by" Stephen King, and I was in the mood for something different. This was the strangest, most freaky, most "I can't get this freaked out look off of my face while I'm reading this book" crazy read EVER.
I finished it in one sitting because it's a very short book. I'm not going to ruin anything for you, but if you're in the mood for FREAK with a CAPITAL F, then read it.
If not, carry on with something a little more fuzzy!
Now I'm off to read this one next:

Hopefully I won't be as freaked out with this one!
Y'all have a wonderful day today!

Headed Back to Normal

2011-01-18T11:52:00.000-05:00

Hey Y'all! Hope everybody's doing good today! I know I am---finally!
I was forced to come back to work today. It was so hard to get out of the bed, take a shower, get Robbie ready, and be in the cafeteria for "breakfast duty" by 7:30 this morning. I think I would rather have had somebody pour molten lead into my nostrils while I was hanging upside down from a beehive....UGH!
A friend of mine posted on Facebook yesterday that our school system has 68 school days until spring break. Since we missed 5 last week, we have to make them up and it'll be a long way to spring break..."Billy Bob---bring the bucket of molten lead RIGHT BACK over here THIS INSTANT!"

Ahhh....it is nice though to be back in school. I have surely missed my lovies and am looking forward to bearing down and getting busy.
Last night, Robbie was in my office/craft room with me and had me rollin' laughing! He likes to take big spools of thread (like the kinds you would use in an embroidery machine like I have---but never have plugged it up---thank you nice lady from Craigslist!), and play The Biggest Loser with them. He was creating all kinds of challenges for his team and was having such a fun time in his own little world, until I heard him yell, "Oh My GOD!" Now...just so y'all know...we don't talk like this at The Doublewide. I heard a preacher say that the moment you utter God's name, you have His undivided attention. So....thus began my investigation about where he heard that, why he said it...etc. I told him that we only say things like that in case we need God's attention and have something to say to Him. Robbie looked at me with those ice blue eyes, and as serious as he could be said, "Mama...I needed God to help me count these scores for the teams. He knew I was talking to Him and He ain't mad--It's ok Mama....Me and God...WE GOT THIS!"

As I almost fell outta my computer chair laughing, I smiled and I thanked God, yet one more time, for sending Robbie to us through adoption. He never ceases to amaze me with his imagination, his wit, his intelligence and the amount of knowledge his brain exhibits!
I am already beginning to pray for his upcoming kindergarten teacher---bless her heart---she's gonna have her hands FULL!
Y'all have a good day today--make somebody smile!!

I Just Love Me a Good Pocketbook, Don't You??!!!

2011-01-15T15:35:00.000-05:00

Hey Y'all!
We have been out of school ALL WEEK due to the ice and snow. Big Daddy works for the NC Dept. of Transportation and has worked about 65 hours, if you count today, this week! He's one of the people who drive the big trucks and scrape roads or spread slag on the highways. We've barely seen him at all and Robbie and I have been stuck indoors all week. We could have gotten out as the roads are pretty decent, but there was just too much to do here at The Doublewide that has been neglected for WAY TOO LONG!
I am so excited to say that my craft room/office is officially CLEANED OUT, after SIX hours!), and I'm open to do business and many many crafts! I am just beside myself that I have room to move in here and that I have everything in it's place!
So....this morning, I grabbed a purse that I had sewn about a month ago. I made it using an old lime green cotton chenille (sigh...LOVE) bedspread that I bought at my FAVORITE junk store for $4.00. I lined it and made some pink ruffles for the front from an old pink sheet that I also bought there for material. I'm a fool for lime green and pink!
Anyway....the handles for the bag were entirely TOOOOOO LLLLOOOONNNNNGGGGG and I couldn't carry it with it hanging below my booty, so I fixed it.

After it was all done, I knew I needed a little something else to fix it up, so I dug through my basket of old doilies and found this drinking glass cozy that I bought at a thrift shop in Carolina Beach. Isn't it precious? I bought a total of four, but just needed this one for my project:

Then I took an old fabric yo-yo that I'd made earlier and glued a lime green button in the center. Here she is:

Then I joined the two together like this.....

Stiched it to the inside top edge of my pocketbook like this....

And NOW I have a cute little cell phone holder stitched right inside at the top! No more digging for my cell phone when it's ringing!

And there's the finished product!
I am so in love with my new pocketbook!

Also, before I leave you, I'll show you my new work space. I know it ain't gonna be in any organizational magazines and Martha Stewart won't be calling me, but IT WORKS FOR ME...and in reality, that's ALL THAT MATTERS, right?!

My Sewing Table

Robbie's old changing table converted to storage and also my ribbon organizer that I made this fall:

My little shelf holding books, patterns, thread, etc.

Here's where I sit and write to you most of the time! I just love the old table. Got it at my favorite junk store for a whopping $7.00 about 2 years ago and I love it!

Also, accomplished cleaning ~~out~~ up Robbie's room earlier this week. It only took 3 hours!
sheeessshhh!

I hope y'all have a wonderful weekend!

Be Content...Wherever You Are!

2011-01-06T11:17:00.000-05:00

Hey Y'all!

Last night at our WMU meeting (Baptist Women's Missionary Union) something was etched on my spirit.
Having to deal with finding my little Mammaw dead on Christmas Day has been awfully hard. I miss her and I catch myself wanting to call her, to go over there, to make a plate of whatever I've just cooked to take to her, to look out my windows to see if her living room blinds are open, and on and on.... It is really hard when everything we've done for the last three years has revolved around Mammaw. I know she's in Heaven....I know she's home....I can get that into my head, but I've not yet been able to let my heart understand it. Early mornings and late nights are the worst as those times belonged to me and her---our time. She shared so much with me and I'm sure I'll be blogging about her many times in the near future. Please just bear with me as I find this the best way to "let it out."
Anyway...back to last night....
My friend Gina led our devotional and she talked about how she's struggling to feel like she's living in God's will right now. This past year, she opened CYGI'S in a small nearby town called Lowell, NC. It's a consignment shop and she sells jewerly, purses, etc. She said that there is almost NO profit from the store. She recently signed up to sell Mary Kay cosmetics and is hoping that this will be the turning point for her. She's also the person at our church who coordinates meals when there is a death of someone in our church for their family, calls the florist to order a flower, sends LOTS of cards to the sick, goes visiting, and is our church secretary. She doesn't get paid for the secretary position or any of the other "jobs" she has. Gina became a mama at age 16. Her son, Clay, will turn 16 in October and she has a daughter, Cydney who just turned 4. Gina said she wants to be something besides a MAMA...since everyone knows that's what she has been since 16.
We all began offering our 2 cents. And...y'all KNOW I had to add mine. Gina and I are on completely different ends of the spectrum. She began motherhood way early and my motherhood journey began way late! Even though I feel like I am going to lose my mind somedays, I wouldn't take anything for being able to be a MAMA. My reply was, "Sometimes...being MAMA is enough."
LOVE this scripture too:

"Let your character be free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, 'I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you,' so that we confidently say, “The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid" (Hebrews 13:5-6)

There were many of us last night who would love to be stay at home moms who can devote our time to our families and the home...
There were many of us who wished for full time jobs to have something to do.
There were those of us who are retired and are content, but are quickly becoming bored.
There were those of us, though, who have decided that wherever we are, or whatever we're doing, to be content...to be happy knowing that God has us in the palm of His hand.
So today....be content if you're living in God's will. Be content with what you have, be content with where you are, be content that you're not on this journey called LIFE alone...

BBL....

2011-01-04T09:17:00.000-05:00

...stands for be back later.
On Christmas day, I found my sweet little Mammaw Frances had died during her afternoon nap. As soon as I found her, it began to snow the most beautiful soft, white flakes. It was a Saturday.
We buried her on the following Wednesday.
I am lost, I am missing her, and I am hurting. She was my "lil baby".
I'll be back sometime soon....

Oh Happy Day!

2010-12-16T11:20:00.000-05:00

Oh Happy Day was all I could sing at 5:43 this morning, when my phone rang and I listened to an automated message telling me that we'd be on a two hour delay. I reset the alarm on the clock, snuggled a little closer with Robbie, and went right back to sleep. It was 8:30 before I knew I was in the world again. I should have got out of the bed and worked on doing SOMETHING, but all I managed to do was head to my little office and lurk on Facebook.

I SOOO should have died my hair at least! I'm trying to let it grow out and it's really getting on my nerves because it's at that funky stage where I can't seem to get it fixed right for the life of me. Here's how horrible it looks today....SILVER roots and ALL! Even if I am diggin' my new Lane Bryant sweater! Boo-Yow!

I hope you all have a wonderful day today! I am looking forward to helping chaperone a field trip tomorrow! YAY!

Old Farts' Blood Pressure Medication Club--President

2010-12-14T13:05:00.000-05:00

Well y'all...it's official. I'm now a certified member of the Old Farts' Blood Pressure Mediciation Club! I found this picture online and thought that I MUST include today.
I went to our school nurse yesterday during my planning time and asked if she'd check my blood pressure. It was 148/118. She nearly freaked out and made me call and make a dr. appt. The first one I could get was 1:40 PM, so I headed that way. They immediately did an EKG but that was normal, praise the Lord! They did a bunch of blood work and gave me a prescription for LOTREL, which is two medicines in one. I'm hating the fact that I'm now on meds for blood pressure, but at least my pill is pink. YAY!

I am one of those kinds of people who never has any kind of an idea of what to tell people when they ask what I'd like for Christmas. I have found something that I think I can't live without.
It's the Sizzix Big Shot. If any of you have this, please comment and let me know if you love it or hate it. I have seen lots of videos on YouTube about how it cuts fabric--up to 5 layers and I can't wait to get my hands on one. I think I'll use my Christmas money from the parents and inlaws and take the plunge.
Also on my list is one of these in any amount:

Hope you all have a wonderful day as I'm off to eat my tuna fish and fruit cocktail as I try to...

Secret Santa @ School

2010-12-13T09:47:00.000-05:00

Hey Y'all! I hope you've had a great weekend and are ready for a busy week!
I am a little ticked off this morning...just so you know.
Last night, after church, I had to stop by the store and get a few things that we needed. As I was giving Mr. Dollar General my money, a lady came inside and said it was snowing! I hurried outside and got in the minivan and called Big Daddy and Robbie. I could hear Robbie running to the back door to catch this year's first glimpse of snow. He was screaming at the top of his lungs and he was so excited. He was hoping I wouldn't have to teach school today so that we could stay home and enjoy our day.
NO. SUCH. LUCK.
Oh well---it was nice to dream a little bit anyway, right?!
Before I forget, and this is off the subject....if you like flavored coffee creamers, go, run to your nearest Wal-Mart and get the Coffee Mate CARAMEL APPLE flavor.

It may just be my new favorite. It sat in my fridge for about a week, because I kept thinking I wouldn't like it...but...I love it! SO there...hee hee

A couple of weeks ago, we drew names here at school for our annual Secret Santa game we play! Me, Big Daddy, and Robbie went shopping Friday night and bought gifts for mine. I hope they like them! I sent one of my students this morning to deliver the gift for my person. I was so happy to see her coming back in with a gift for me too! Here's what MY Secret Santa got for me:

You can't tell too well in the picture, but it's the prettiest pale yellow color! LOVE IT! I searched for a scarf pattern using only one skein and found this:

ONE SKEIN SCARF

I think I may work that out tonight or tomorrow. I have a huge granny square afghan that I'm working on for my daddy. I thought I was finished, but it's a little too small. Hopefully I'll finish that tonight after supper!
Please say a prayer for me. I went Friday for my "girlie check-up" and my blood pressure was too high. It was 156/110. Ever since I had my gall bladder removed, it's been really high. I'll be 40 in July, so I know it's time for everything to start falling apart--literally. High blood pressure runs in my family, so hopefully we can get this under control really soon!

Hope y'all have a MARVELOUS Monday!

Stinky Winky

2010-11-29T10:31:00.000-05:00

Can I get an AMEN?

After having the past FIVE days off, it was so hard to get out of the bed this morning.
School is back in session, full swing.
Christmas parties, choir practices, completing all of my homemade Christmas gifts, baking, candy-making, shopping, holiday swap thingie, LOTS to do.
My prayer today is that even though we all are involved in many activities during this time of year, that we do not lose sight of the real reason for Christmas.
I get so aggravated when I see Happy Holidays instead of Merry CHRISTmas! Maybe I'm old fashioned, but without CHRIST there would be no Christmas!

HILARIOUS....

2010-11-23T15:26:00.000-05:00

Well---to us at least!
Big Daddy and myself went to a Chinese restaurant last weekend. He spit his tea out, after reading his fortune!
Hopefully you'll find it as funny as we did!
Have a great day!

Ugh......

2010-11-16T12:01:00.000-05:00

I realize I haven't blogged in 14 days. It's ok with me.
Right now I have a lot going on and I'm gearing up for the holidays and a trip to Tennessee soon.

Please set your DVR's tomorrow night for TLC (The Learning Channel) and watch our friends, Freddie and Kay Combs on a TV Show called, "Ton of Love".
Click HERE for more information.
If you look at the pictures included with the article, Freddie and Kay are in #2, #3, and #4. I can't wait to see this show tomorrow night! 10PM Eastern Time....
To the right are some pictures from my college days with Freddie!
Freddie and I met way back in 1989 while we were freshmen at Mars Hill College. We were both music majors and instantly became friends. He is a male form of me and I'm a female form of him. We're both bossy, demanding, musically inclined, hilarious (well---in our own minds at least), close to our grandparents, Southern and proud, Christians, love to eat, family oriented, and many other things. One of our favorite things to do when we were in college was to call each other on the phone and just start laughing for no reason. I'm talking about the kind of laughter that is borderline insanity and you're near peeing your pants, or you've already passed that point and couldn't care less!
We talk daily on the phone, if possible and I think of him and his wife as our dear friends. Please make sure you catch their show! You'll be blessed and glad you did.
Also, I'm asking that y'all pray for my best friend Sharon's mother. Linda was diagnosed with breast cancer awhile back and is not doing well at all right now. Last week they drained a little over a liter of fluid from her lungs as she has pneumonia and was having difficulties breathing. They took her back to the hospital yesterday morning and she is still there. Please pray for Linda---for peace---for healing---for strength---to feel God's presence. Please pray also for the medical staff tending to her, and for Linda's dear family. I have grown up at her house. Sharon and I were in kindergarten together and are very close. You know how it is when your best friend's going through a hard time and you want to be right there with them.
Hope you all have a good afternoon!

2010-11-02T13:26:00.000-04:00

Hey Y'all!
Well....the football game was a success! Robbie had so much fun and his half sister was so excited to see him! They haven't seen him since his birthday in February and so it was nice!
He took her flowers and we celebrated her last home football game as a member of the marching band at our high school!
Below is a picture of him and his sister, Mary.

Robbie and his birth mother, Deanna. Isn't she beautiful?

I hope y'all have a great day! I'm home with Robbie. He threw up yesterday at school and had a fever this morning when we got up. He's sleeping hard on the couch as I type this.
There's so much I want to type, but I need to stay near him!
Have a wonderful day!

Stepping out of my comfort zone---prayers requested

2010-10-29T10:18:00.003-04:00

Hey Y'all!
I hope you're having a great Friday morning. The weather this week has been just as creepy as the holiday that's in two days! We had HOT days early in the week followed by crazy tornado watches and warnings. About 30 minutes to the west of us suffered some pretty bad damage after some tornadoes actually touched down. Please be in prayer for these families as some of them have lost everything. I saw a picture of two Hispanic teenagers helping their grandmother dig and plunder through the wreckage where their home once stood--that huge framed picture of Jesus was just as meaningful to me as was the look on the grandmother's face.
Now...on to something more happy! Today Robbie's class all came to school dressed up for Halloween. They'll be trick or treating around town today as many businesses do this for the daycare kids! Here he is with some of his friends this morning:

Finally, I would like to ask y'all to keep us in your prayers tonight. Robbie's half sister is a senior in high school and is a member of the marching band. Tonight is a home football game and it's senior night for the band kids. Her father isn't in the picture much and awhile back she sent me a message on Facebook wanting to know if he could escort her on the field tonight at half time.
Robbie knows he's adopted and he knows he has a sister and he knows who his birth-mother is---but he's 4, so exactly what he understands--well---I'm not sure. It's been awhile since we've spent any time with his birth-mother and half sister, but it always makes me very nervous. I know she couldn't afford to keep Robbie and I know that she wanted us to have him, but I still get very uneasy when I'm with them. Please pray that everything will be okay tonight. I want Robbie to know who they are---I want them to be a part of his life---I want him to know his story and where he came from---I want him to never want to leave me and go with her---I guess I really just want Jesus to hold my hand tonight.
Thanks!

Big Junkin' Mama--another AWESOME blog!

2010-10-28T11:25:00.000-04:00

Hey Y'all!

Hope you're having a wonderful Thursday!
I just wanted to share with all of you that I have started another blog to do along with this one.
Please hop on over to
What I Found at The Junk Store Today!

It shows my daily junkin' loot from my favorite junk store in my hometown.
I also let you know what I spent!
If you see something that I bought that you just HAVE to HAVE---we might be able to strike up a deal, but I ain't promisin' anything!
Also, found a few new blogs that I think are so cool! Try to check out:

Trashy Betty

She's giving away a free pair of earrings too so be sure to pay her a visit!

I found Sophie's blog about losing her Uncle Joe so moving, that I decided to read it to my 7th graders. Several tears, including my own, were rolling on cheeks.

There are more, but I'm running out of time to get this posted! Hope you have a great day!

This Past Weekend....

2010-10-27T12:37:00.000-04:00

Hey Y'all!
This past Saturday was our annual Girls Day Out! My mama, my sister, and myself paid homage to our favorite Christmas Craft Show. It's called Christmas Made In The South. You can click on that link if you're in the southeast and find dates and locations. If you're anywhere near a location, I beg you to go! You WON'T be disappointed. They have these craft shows all over the southeast and we just LOVE going!
While we were there, I found a place that had all kinds of flavored hot cocoa mixes for sale. They were a little pricey, but they are SOOO good! I've already gone through a 13 oz bag almost. You can click HERE to go see all of the flavors of hot cocoa that The Perky Moose sells. They have an online ordering system too in case you want to try them. Man---it's good--real good!!

Upon entering, they have the cutest little snow scenes and I took advantage of the opportunity to take Robbie's pictures:
Isn't he just adorable?!

If that ain't cute, I sure don't know what is!!
************************************

Today, on my lunch break, I rode by a church that was having a yard sale...yep...on a Wednesday!
Not a LOT of stuff, but I did look underneath a bunch of nasty looking tablecloths and found a huge stack of doilies! I also got an old teapot--can't remember the name right now but it's the old blue china painted stuff. Wedgewood maybe? Kindof like this...

I did notice a small crack in the lid, but it's not bad. Here's some of the doilies! Got all of this for $10.00. Not a STEAL, but if I would have been in an antique shop, I'm sure I would have paid three times as much. Plus---I don't know why I have such a love affair with old crocheted doilies....oops...yes I do! I'll post that TOMORROW for you--it's another family history thing.
Anyway...here's some doily pictures:

Have a great day!

Pumpkin Patch and The Family Tree!

2010-10-25T11:22:00.000-04:00

We took Robbie to Maple Springs Farm in Dallas, NC, week before last, for our yearly visit to the pumpkin patch with our church family.
Hope you enjoy the pictures!

Cutest little Piggie I've ever seen!

My favorite picture from the evening!

We've taken a picture by this old scarecrow every year!

Last Thursday, Robbie and I decided that we would take a walk in the woods when we got home. We walked to the creek where my pappaw gave me the worst whipping I remember. I was about 9 years old and we were taking a walk to the creek when I smarted off to him. I saw him rip a hickory limb off of the tree and watched in terror as he was heading my way. He was the kind of man that rarely had to discipline us, but when he did, it was so bad that he didn't mean for you to forget it. So, as I began to run from him, I wasn't paying attention to the big pile of cow poop that was right in front of me and I ended up stepping in it. When I did, my flip flops allowed me to hit the ground, thus ending up with cow poop literally from head to toe. I ran as fast as I could to get to the creek to wash it all off and the water was only about 4 inches deep. As I lay there making "snow angels" in the creek, my pappaw met me there with his hickory and boy did I get it! It was horrible and I kept thinking, "Isn't having cow poop from head to toe punishment enough?!"

ANYWAY----one time way back in 1983, we all took a walk to the creek. My Pappaw thought it was a good idea to pull out his pocketknife and carve our initials in that tree. They're still there in the tree and my brother and sister have added their spouses to the tree too. Guess me and Big Daddy will have to carve out a spot for us on that tree since we've been married longer than my brother and his wife, and my sister and her husband.
The CRAZY part of the whole carving initials on the tree thing is that my pappaw's initials are GONE. His were right underneath mine, but something like some kind of tree funky fungus ate the bark off where his initials were....I know, RIGHT??!!
So...here are a few pictures of our walk in the woods last week.
Hopefully I'm back on schedule with blogging. I've been one Busy Big Mama lately!

The Family Tree

Full Shot of the tree--or as much as I could get!

My sister and her husband's initials--they were engaged when they did the carving but have been married 6 years now.

My brother and his wife's initials. They too were engaged when this was carved.

These are my nephew, Nickalas' initials.

My initials and where Pappaw's are gone now.

My sweet boy in front of our tree!

Walking out of the busy world and into these woods does something for your spirit and makes you smile!

The famous creek--where I really met up with cow poop, a hickory, and my Pappaw's temper!

On the way out of the woods, back up the hill.

I hope y'all have a wonderful day today. I'm making potato soup, cooked cabbage, and cornbread for supper! It's a nasty rainy day, and that meal just soothes me thinking about it!

TART TIME! WOOHOO!!

2010-10-18T11:27:00.000-04:00

Hey Y'all!
Hope you're doing well and had a wonderful weekend! It's time for a busy week for all I'm sure!
Robbie and I have started our own little business and we're on ETSY! Check out our BIG LUCKY MAMA'S store and buy lots and lots of tarts!
CLICK HERE TO GO TO OUR STORE
I've also been very busy making TOO MANY hairbows! They'll be listed on there this week! I am also taking orders for Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas bows. I love making your little girls look even that much better!
What have YOU been up to?
Hope to hear from you soon!
Coming tomorrow: Our trip to The Pumpkin Patch with Robbie!

Time for the FAIR!

2010-10-08T12:56:00.000-04:00

Hey Ya'll! Have you missed me? Sure you have!
I've been so busy--but who hasn't?!
Everything is back to normal with my gall bladder removal surgery. I feel great!
We took Robbie to the Cleveland County Fair this past Tuesday night. He had so much fun! Even won a little 25 cent penguin for $3.00 when he hit a balloon with a dart on his first try! Enjoy the pics!
This picture below shows a ring Big Daddy found while just waiting on Robbie to ride the teacups. I debated turning it in, but knew whoever I gave it to would be sliding it on her finger just like I could, so I just kept it.
Overview of the Fair during the day

Robbie loved the Teacups!

He was in CORN DOG HEAVEN!

Big Daddy and Robbie--my two sweethearts for sure!

On his favorite ride...

Funny Face!

My favorite Fairgrounds treat!

Fat Girls' Delight!

I know, right?! Couldn't you just DIE?!

And what would a fair be without Funnel Cake?

Robbie with his Pop Pop and MiMi!
We laughed at this picture after it was taken! I told MiMi she looked like the virgin Mary with that Ferris Wheel Halo!

OK---so nobody told me that our shoes had to go inside of the burlap bag's flap. Hence the getting stuck 3 times coming down this giant FUN SLIDE, and me having to do the "Pelvic Inchworm" move to get us down! HILARIOUS!

Have a wonderful weekend! If you live near Cleveland County, NC--make sure you go to the fair. It was wonderful!

And to Think It Was Only GAS?!

2010-09-22T02:31:00.000-04:00

Hey Y'all! Sorry I've not been here in over a week. I'm getting pretty pathetic about blogging, but I still am lurking in internet land and read my favorites pretty frequently.
This past Sunday morning at 5:00 AM I woke up in horrible pain. Couldn't get fixed or comfy no matter what position I laid in or which side I tried to roll on.
I got up, came to the computer, and still was in misery.
This continued until time to get ready for church. The feeling was like a bad case of gas bubbles that get underneath your muscles and skin...felt like I was having a heart attack.
I managed to get ready, between many times of hitting my knees and praying for God to take away my pain so that I could concentrate on worshiping Him during service.
Drove me and Robbie to church. Big Daddy planned on staying home because something was wrong with the pump on our well and we barely had any water.
Could NOT stand to think about singing in the choir, so I just played the piano. I had told my sister and some others just how bad I was hurting and how miserable I was feeling. I ended up leaving early and drove myself to the Emergency Room.
After a CTScan, I found out my gall bladder was enlarged, inflamed, and infected and would have to come out. I was admitted to the hospital that afternoon and surgery was scheduled for the next morning.
Yesterday was CRAZY--I slept most of the day following my surgery and was released to come home around 7:30.
As soon as I got in the door, I was vomiting due to taking a heavy pain medicine on an empty stomach--thank you Ms. Nurse for allowing THAT to happen!
Anyway...I'm home and am really really sore! Hope to be back to normal really soon, but have a substitute teacher for the remainder of the week. I sure don't wanna push things too hard!
Have a wonderful week!

New Venture o' Mine....

2010-09-13T11:02:00.000-04:00

Hey Y'all! I hope you had a WONDERFUL weekend! At The Doublewide, I was fighting allergies and sinuses all weekend. Saturday was spent on the couch and in the bed, but after lots of sinus/allergy medications, I am feeling much better this morning. I can barely talk right now, but other than that, things are well.
Friday afternoon I launched something that's been a LOT of fun! I have begun making boutique style hair bows for little girls. Since I have a 4 year old little boy, I miss out on the fru-fru frilly stuff, so I'm getting my "fix" this way!
Thus, the beginning of Big Lucky Mama's Bows! I've had a hard time coming up with the name...UGH!
Some of my students used to call me Big Mama. That started and I catch myself referring to myself as Big Mama to my kids....As in..."If you don't get busy, you will find that the wrath of Big Mama is not pleasant!" OR...."Big Mama is in a wonderful mood today, and she hopes that you are too!"
Now, why the "lucky" part? It's obvious if you know us...although lucky isn't really the right word...more like BLESSED....but Big Blessed Mama's Bows didn't flow as well as the lucky, so....that's how it went.
I will be opening the Etsy shop soon!
Below are a few pictures of some of my bows! If you have little girls in your family, please remember these bows for Christmas! CUTE Autumn, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas are being worked on now to be listed soon! Click HERE to go check out the shop. It's still under a LOT of construction, but I am busily working on it between classes!

Be Still....

2010-09-12T09:39:00.000-04:00

Another First....

2010-09-08T11:29:00.000-04:00

Hey Y'all!

I took Robbie to the dentist for the first time yesterday. (Ok...I just lied. He went once before he was two because he fell and cracked one of his front teeth while we were waiting on our table at The Outback for dinner. They said since it was not a permanent tooth, that he'd be ok.)
So....we went yesterday to where me and Big Daddy go to the dentist to take Robbie for his "Happy Visit!"
Obviously we don't go to a Pediatric Dentist, but they were so sweet to show Robbie around the office and to teach him about the tools they use. He loved the little vacuum thingy the best!
The lady in the following picture is actually a mother to one of my former students--who just moved away to college this year! He's the baby of three sons, so she said she is loving the empty nest right now! I'm tickled for her---anybody to raise three boys deserves some time off eventually!
Below is Robbie and Mrs. Terri. She is adorable!

Here she is explaining all about germs and why she wears gloves.

She said she couldn't believe what a great "patient" he was--said that Robbie was the BEST 4 year old EVER to be in the chair! Here she was actually able to go ahead and clean his teeth. He never complained, never fussed, anything! He was SO EXCITED to be there!

This is Robbie with our dentist, Dr. Cox. He is such a great guy--loved Robbie too!

Finally, there's NOTHING like a great goodie bag for departure!

Thank you Dr. Cox, Mrs. Terri, and everyone else for making Robbie's first dental visit so much fun! He is still talking about it and learned a lot!

Now---remember me telling you I wanted to "glitter" my toes? Well---I did it! It was SOOO easy! Just paint your toes with a color of your choice and let them dry. Apply a second coat, one toe at a time, and sprinkle glitter while the polish is wet. I used the really fine Martha Stewart glitters...I have three different sets because my little sister loves buying me glitter...don'tcha Doodah? hint hint! hee hee
Here's the glitter I used:

And here are my piggies!

Go treat yourself and glitter your toes! It's so much fun!

FOR REAL??!!

2010-09-03T10:36:00.000-04:00

FOR REAL??

Those were my thoughts this morning as I rolled over at 7:45! If I was a millionaire, 7:45 would not have been a problem. But,...alas....I am not a millionaire!
Most of you know already that I am a Middle School Home Ec. teacher. My first group of students enter my classroom at 8:10. So...NOW you understand why I was in freak-out mode this morning. I had to get myself AND Robbie ready, drop him off at daycare, and then make it here---did that ALL by 8:40. Thank GOD for the teacher in the classroom next door. She "had my back" and took my kids into her room and babysat them until I got here.
Me, Big Daddy and Robbie are headed to visit our good friends, Kay and Freddie this afternoon. The suitcase is packed but we're waiting on one load of Big Daddy's overalls to dry. Luckily, he's getting off work at 2:30 today instead of 3:30 so he'll be able to throw them in the dryer before I get home.
We are really looking forward to getting in some quality time with our friends and to getting a little Tennessee mountain air in my lungs! We're also looking forward to our return to The Farmer's Daughter in Chuckey, TN. Here is my plate from last time we were there:

I look forward to blogging with more pictures on Monday evening or Tuesday morning from our trip. They said the high for tomorrow is only supposed to be 79 degrees. That just makes me smile thinking about it!

Before I hush, I found a new blog this morning! Don't exactly remember how I ended up there, but she shows us how to make our toenails glitter! If you know me, you know I love for my toenails to be snazzy since I am a pianist and can't have those lovely french-tipped fake nails. (Which I think are beautiful and would LOVE to be able to have--but I can't take the "clicking" noise they make when I play piano--kinda makes me gag--literally!) Anyway...Check out Laura's post on GLITTER TOENAILS by clicking HERE!

I hope y'all have a wonderful Labor Day Weekend!

2010-08-27T15:35:00.000-04:00

Wanna know what this is? Wanna know what I'm going to do with it? Wanna guess? Sure...you KNOW you do! Leave me a comment telling you what you think I'm going to do with these, and you just might win one of whatever it is I'm going to make! You have until I post tomorrow morning to guess! Come back tomorrow to find out!
HAPPY FRIDAY AFTERNOON Y'ALL!!

I Survived---Not Sure if My Feet will Though...

2010-08-26T09:48:00.000-04:00

Hey Y'all! Whew......the first day of school was a success! I posted on Facebook yesterday afternoon that I wonder when I stop wearing cheap Wal-Mart shoes on the first day of school?! Seriously--when I went to bed last night, my feet were throbbing. Today, I do have on better shoes and hope that things will be OK tonight when I go to bed with the feet!
I have Googled and collected a few pictures of the new shoes I'm looking into! HAHAHAHA

Whew! I'm almost to the point where I won't even care what it looks like anymore--as long as my feet won't hurt at night! Have a great day today! But before you go, check out the QUILT GIVEAWAY over at Craftopotamus' Blog!

One of those Days.......

2010-08-23T11:34:00.000-04:00

Hey Y'all! I hope you have had a wonderful weekend! As usual, ours FLEW by us and before we knew it, it was Monday morning!
I'm in a funk today--kindof numb, depressed a little, hmmm...I dunno. You ever have one of those days?
I had to speak in front of a group of students this morning and then in front of a group of parents as well. This was for our 6th grade orientation where kids and their parents are invited to come and spend a few hours getting to know the teachers and how everything works. I really am praying for the parents of these kids. I can't even imagine how hard it is to send your child to middle school.
I dropped Robbie off this morning at daycare for the first time. Once we got there, got his blanket and extra set of clothes put in his cubby, we walked outside where I would leave him with his teachers and friends. I stopped before we rounded the corner and gave him a big hug. It was harder this year because this will be the last year I get to do this since he starts kindergarten next year.
Anyway...as soon as we began the small climb up the sidewalk to the playground, one of the kids recognized him and they began screaming his name. His teacher met us first at the gate to the playground and he just hugged and loved on her. I'm really glad that Miss Chris and Ms. Joyce are such loving teachers and are Christians. I know my boy is in great hands. It made Robbie so happy to see all of his friends that he's missed and talked about all summer. On the other hand, it made me very sad to have to leave him there and head to school.
Our students will be here on Wednesday as that's the first day of school. I have LOTS to do, so I must leave for now!