Why Max, WHY?

Happy late Sunday to y'all! I hope you had a wonderful Lord's day today and made it to your church.

Am I the only one who's FREEZIN' here? It is brrr-diddley cold outside. I love wearing big sweaters and sweatshirts--kinda hides my rolls if you get my drift.
Speaking of rolls....let me share a quick story that, to this day, cracks me UP!

About eight years ago, I sold PartyLite. I loved it and at one point had 13 women under me, or with me. We had fun doing candle parties and rollin' in the money. As burned out (pun intended) as I became I must profess that I am thankful for the time I was with that company. While a PartyLite consultant, I experienced my first ever airplane ride. I had never been anywhere that we didn't hop in a car. I will never forget how amazing those clouds look from way up there! Sometimes, I wish God would turn them all upside down so we could just adore their beauty from the ground! I went to St. Louis twice, Las Vegas, and Hawaii all because of PartyLite. The Hawaii vacation was EARNED and it was hard, but it was amazing. Big Daddy and I were honored to be at Pearl Harbor's 60th anniversary and we were there ON Memorial Day! Mmm...sweet memories!

Anyway, one weekend a bunch of us candle girls took a "training" trip to Myrtle Beach. We did training, but we got some sun, ate a bunch of fresh seafood, shopped, and laughed a LOT. While we were all laying out by the pool, my cousin Kelly says....(and here's where that story that I was talking about like 3 paragraphs ago comes in...)
"Y'all....if somebody walked by here, they'd think they were at the Merita Bread Factory." We were like...why??? And then...she just grinned....and said..."Well...'cause of all these rolls laid out here in the sun!"
Oohh...that Kelly is a HOOT!
Now...for the title of my post....
Can I tell you how horribly upset I am that Max Factor closed their doors? I know, right?!
I have worn their Pan Stik since I was 16 years old. That stuff was caked gold! One of my friends' boyfriends made the comment to her that he couldn't believe I had on make-up. Actually, he said, "Did you see that Michelle has on make-up today? Wow..she's beautiful!"
Y'all....now I know he was HER boyfriend, but when you're a fat girl at age 16 and somebody makes that kind of comment...well...you know! I still adore Mark for telling her that. If I saw him today I would tell him what a boost he gave me and that for the next 20 years, everytime I put on that make-up, I would give Mr. Max Factor a big THANK YOU for making me beautiful!
Now that they've closed their doors who will I thank? More importantly, what kind of make-up can I wear??!!
I have these awful reddish pinkish spider veins on both of my cheeks and they're really bad. People sometimes think I have rosacia, or however you spell it. I need something that's as thick as creek mud, something that stays on. So, any advice?
About two years ago on a girls day out with my schoolgirls, I bought the whole Bare Minerals kit. After coming home and applying everything, it literally made my face look like I'd been wallerin' in the dust or something.
I am so aggravated and I need to find something good. I've ordered the Mary Kay creme to powder foundation, but that doesn't stay on all day like I like mine to.
If you have any advice, I'd love to hear it!

In the meantime, I'm going to look for a flesh colored permanent marker to hide these red cheeks.
Bon Jour Mr. Max Factor. I loved you while you lasted. Peace out Pan Stik.....

Looonnnnnggggg Week but GREAT DAY!

Hey Y'all!
First of all let me say THANKS to those who commented this week when I was almost ready to give up the ole blog. Y'all made me feel better and I know some people are reading, so the show WILL go on...
I hope you've enjoyed your day today, however you chose to spend it.
I had a wonderful day!
We were scheduled to meet at the church this morning at 10:00 to get the Christmas Tree up and decorated. Our men's group held a BBQ to raise money for our new church van fund yesterday. They raised $1200.00 towards that and I'm proud of them! During a "lull" in BBQ flow yesterday, one of the men went ahead and put the 9 ft. tree up for us! WOOHOO! So today, all we had to do was decorate it. There were 7 of us, so we got it done in a jiffy! Afterwards we headed to a local spot called "Tommy's Drive-In" and piled in some lunch. They'll still come out to your car and take your order or you can go inside and eat. We went in and had a wonderful lunch!
When we finished eating, me and Doodah headed out to do a little shopping. First we went to Charlie Rector's in Gastonia. It used to be called Economy Craft but they changed locations and I guess needed to change the name too. I LOVE THAT LITTLE CRAFT STORE! Me and Doodah had such a fun time and I ended up getting some good deals on some great cotton yarn.
After that, we headed to a thrift store called Value Village. I found some VERY vintage honeycomb tissue items that were still in their original packaging. I got a bride centerpiece, an Easter bunny centerpiece, and a turkey centerpiece. I think I may put them in my Etsy shop but I got them for a STEAL! I also found more clip-on earrings like I collect--only one pair, but hey--they're cute!
Then we headed to Hobby Lobby! I ain't even gonna get started on how this store excites me. Just walking in the door and smelling that smell makes my creative juices start oozing out of me. All of their Christmas wreaths were 1/2 off, so I bought me some to put on the front shutters of the house along with some cute red Christmas bows for $1.00 each too! I hung them out with some of Big Daddy's fishing line and they're looking pretty snazzy at The Doublewide.
I've still yet to put up my tree, but I've put up two today. I went to Mammaw's and put her little tabletop tree up. She was absolutely thrilled to see it going up. She told me that NOW she can feel like it's Christmas and when I looked to smile at her, I saw her eyes welling up with tears.
Never forget how just doing something so simple, so small, can mean the world to somebody else.
May God use you to touch someone special during this holiday season.
I'll try to post some pictures tomorrow or Monday for you! The house is quiet as Big Daddy and Robbie are fast asleep, and I have a kitchen table FULL of craft goodies calling my name!
Be blessed!

To Blog or Not to Blog...THAT is the question.

Ok y'all.
I'm gonna go out on a limb here.
DO YOU READ MY BLOG??!!
I have had several past posts with no comments and, well, to be truthful, it's a little disheartening. Cat and Cheryl and Doodah are my loyal and faithful little commenters, but I just wonder, besides them, is anybody reading what I'm blogging?
I think I may stop blogging for awhile....but I will be checking in on those whose blogs I can't seem to live without.
If you read my blog and don't have a blog of your own, it's ok! You can still post comments on my blog if you would, please.
That way, I know you're out there. Know what I'm sayin'?

Full Bellies, Naps, Laziness, and a Wedding

Hey Y'all! I truly hope your Thanksgiving celebrations were memorable and were spent with the ones you love the most!
We had such a spread here at The Doublewide!
Here's what was on the menu:
Ham and Turkey (cooked by my wonderful, precious, loving and amazing brother-in-law!) haha
Green Beans
Green Bean Casserole (don't know why we had to have both?)
Three Bean Marinated Salad
Deviled Eggs
My mama's sweet potatoes (seriously--they will rock your socks OFF!)
Mashed potatoes
Tomato, cucumber and onions...all in one bowl and it's fabulous
My sister's cabbage casserole (this one is my FAVORITE--no kidding!)
My mama's homemade dressing (Me say YUMYUM EATUMUP!)
Rolls
My Pumpkin Pound Cake
Banana Pudding
and Big Daddy's Sweet Tea!
I had written a LOT more, but accidentally hit the sleep button on my computer keyboard and nothing saved! UGH!
So...I'm not typing all of that again...my little creative burst has already bloomed and busted!
I will say that we all got good naps and then I had to go tonight to play piano at a wedding rehearsal. Tomorrow's the wedding! One of the girls I teach school with is marrying a sweet man! Our families have known each other for years!
I'm really missing my Pappaw Fred lately. I know it's the nostalgia of the holidays and he was such a big part of them during my life. He's been in Heaven for 13 years now, and the empty part of my life is longing for the day when I'll see him again. It's so hard, as I get older, because there are so many changes and they fester it seems during the times when we're all celebrating and they're not here anymore. I'm sure you can relate.
Anyway...be sure to check back tomorrow for a post about "Pappaw's Pokes". It will bless you and hopefully will inspire you to do something for folks around you!
Until next time, be blessed!

Christmas Ornament Frame Tutorial

Hey Y'all!

I know I promised your tutorial around noon, but things were going on and I wasn't able to get to a computer.
So anyway...here we go!
You'll need a picture frame with a wide edge around the glass, a glue gun and glue sticks, and some miniature ornaments. I found these at Family Dollar and there were 10 in a pack for $1.00...You can go with all one color or two colors or more..
Once you've gathered everything together, begin placing hot glue on the ornaments and placing them around your picture frame....You know....just like this!

And there you have it! It's that easy! I did another project just like this, but instead of using a picture frame, I used a giant mirror. The picture frame was $4.00, the ornaments for two different colors were $2.00. I already had the glue and glue sticks....
Now I need to find my gold wire-edged ribbon and make a FLASHY bow around the top corner!
Please feel free to copy me or to go out on a limb and piggyback off of my ideas. I'm sure that's probably what I did somewhere along the way!
I hope you have a wonderful afternoon!

WOW!

Be here tomorrow....say around noon....I have a SUPER fun, easy, inexpensive craft idea and I'm going to be posting my very first tutorial on how to make it!
I promise you won't want to miss it!

Picture Perfect Opportunity

Hey Y'all! Hope things are well with you, wherever you are.
Just wanted to share the pictures I took of Robbie yesterday afternoon here around The Doublewide! He is growing up so fast! We have a wall near the kitchen where I keep track of his growth by marking his height and then putting the date. He's grown 2 inches since October 17th! WOW! He's also gone from a 3T pants to a 4T! My wallet hates it but it makes my heart happy!
Enjoy the pictures!