We all survived...without scratches too!

Well....another Christmas has come and gone! Can you believe it already? I think I left y'all with the story of taking Robbie to the ER for a high fever that we couldn't get to break...that was on a Friday night. It took him til Tuesday to be up to speed.
On Wednesday, me and Big Daddy took him to see "The Chipmunks...The Squeakquel." It was precious and he loved it! This was his first time going to "The Movie House" to watch a movie and he did awesome! He got a little squirmy toward the end, but I had so much fun while he sat between me and Big Daddy, munchin' on popcorn and $4.00 gummy bears, watchin' and laughin'!

Then on the way home from the movie, I called my hairdresser and she cut his hair! Me and Big Daddy have been wanting to do this for awhile so we just went on a whim and had it done! It's so cute--makes him look older and that part I don't like!
Here's my little man with my hairdresser, Leslie before the cut:
During the cut:
After the cut! Ain't he precious?!
We then went to church and had a great service.
For Christmas Eve, we met Big Daddy's dad and step-mom at Sagebrush Steakhouse in Lincolnton and exchanged gifts with them. They got Robbie a toddler bicycle with training wheels and a HUGE Little Tykes adjustable baskeball goal. You should see him with his Lightening McQueen helmet and riding gloves too! It's hilarious! You can barely see his little sweet face!
We then drove to Wilkesboro for Christmas with Big Daddy's mama's family. She surprised me and Big Daddy with pictures from Sears. She snuck Robbie out when he spent the day with her awhile back and had his portraits done. They're adorable and I thought that was the BEST thing she did for us!
Then Christmas Morning, Robbie woke to seeing this in the den:
It was fabulous for him and so sweet for me! It was all I could do not to just lose it! He was so excited and was saying, "Look Mama! Oohhh..Ohhh...It's all so cute!"
Inside I thanked God again for making me a mama. I'm telling you there's no other feeling or no words to describe what sheer joy it is to see your youngin' experience Christmas morning after Santa had stopped in! After awhile, my mama and daddy and Big Daddy's mama came over for breakfast. Me and Big Daddy showed out by making bacon, some homemade sausage, scrambled eggs, grits, toast, and strawberry muffins. It was soo good and we almost popped from eating it all!
We laid around and played with Robbie and his toys until suppertime. Then the rest of my family came over and we celebrated Christmas with them. My brother and his family made their semi-annual appearance but we really did enjoy visiting and laughing.
So now we're back to Monday and I'm looking online for things to spend my Christmas Money on! We do have to pay our property taxes for the year with it, but the rest I'm gonna get some goodies with!
I hope you had a wonderful week last week and your week is a great one!
Big Daddy is back to work today so it's just me and Robbie hanging out at The Doublewide. We're going with his "girlfriend Cydney" and his cousins to Monkey Joe's but other than that, we have no real major plans---which is just how I like it!

Wild Weekend!

Hey Y'all!
I hope you've had a great weekend. For those of you who have to go to work in the morning, I'll think about you when I roll over and hit snooze.....oops never mind...I won't be setting the old alarm clock tonight! I'm off for the next two weeks.
We've sure had a wild weekend here at The Doublewide. First of all, we had a little ice, sleet, and snow Friday morning after we got to school. It got pretty bad, pretty quick, so they dismissed at noon. I was so excited to be starting our Christmas Break early! After leaving school, I went and picked up Robbie at daycare, stopped in the grocery store for bread and milk (ha ha) and then we came home. I THOUGHT we were in for the night, but it wasn't to be.
Robbie had a cough Thursday evening and Friday morning. It wasn't terrible, but it was noticeable. By Friday night at 10:00 he had a 103.9 fever and was shaking with chills. Me and Big Daddy roughed the ice and slick roads and headed to the ER. We're not ones to run to the hospital at the first sign of a fever, but he couldn't breathe well and he said his chest and eyes were hurting. When we checked in, his temp was 102.6 but his pulse rate was 179...I almost cried because whatever it was that was wrong with him literally came on all of a sudden.
They did a chest x-ray and a strep test, both of which showed no signs of pneumonia or strep but they couldn't get his fever down. At one point it actually went up to 102.9....finally they got it to 100.9 and we were able to come home--at 2:00 AM. Dr. said all he could figure was that it was some kind of virus and it would have to run its course.
So.....
We laid around here all day yesterday but invited my parents and my sister, Doodah and Chad her hubby, for supper. I fixed ham, potato salad, green beans, leftover speckled beans, and toast. It was really good to have them here!
This morning, I had to get ready for church all by myself. His fever still isn't down to normal. We're doing 3 breathing treatments a day and giving Tylenol and Motrin like we're supposed to.
Our choir's Christmas Cantata was wonderful this morning. We also had almost 50 poinsettias in the church that were placed in memory or in honor of someone. That's always a special time where we remember those celebrating Christmas in Heaven.
So....after we finished, I didn't stay to eat. We always have a big covered dish lunch after church on the Sunday before Christmas, but my heart was here, at The Doublewide with my two main men.
Please say a little prayer for Robbie that he gets to feeling better and that God will use His great and mighty hand and heal our little boy from whatever that virus is.
I hope y'all have a great day tomorrow!
I'll be back to post some Doublewide Christmas Pictures! WOOHOO---Oh, simmer down...I know you can hardly wait, right?!

15 Years Ago....

15 Years ago today....at about this time actually....I was standing in line at Sam's, trying to buy an armload of vegetables to make sure we'd have enough at our reception.
A friend of mine, also named Machelle (spelled different from mine), played piano in our wedding and she was with me. She had driven about 3 hours and had spent the night with me before I got married.
Anyway....I had dreamed of my wedding all my life--just like anybody else. I just never dreamed I'd be in Sam's Wholesale Club 4 hours before my wedding, buying veggies! HAHAHA
Anyway...today is mine and Big Daddy's 15th Anniversary....
He's just the best thing ever! Somedays I could mash his face in and other days I could kiss his face off. If you've been married awhile, you know what I mean!
Seriously though y'all, I could not live without this man. He is such a wonderful daddy and is hilarious when you get to know him. I can't tell you how many times I've peed my britches laughing at something he's said.
He's got the biggest heart of anybody I know. I am so thankful that God sent him to me. He was such an answer to my prayers!
Happy 15th Anniversary Big Daddy! I love you More and More each day!

Sweets!

Hey Y'all!
Hope you're all doing great today! As it's Wednesday, and the middle of the week, I am getting more and more excited about Christmas vacation now!
This week my 7th and 8th graders have been cooking--nothing too hard or too fancy though because I only have 43 minutes with them. So today, we made "White Trash". I've also heard it called Nuts and Bolts, Puppy Chow, etc. Just look how fabulous this is!

If you'd like the recipe for the white trash, click here.
Also, a guy I work with is getting married this Saturday. Our group is sponsoring a shower for him after school today. I signed up to bring the mints. Y'all---me and my mama made these for the reception at mine and Big Daddy's wedding but they're so good...They're cream cheese mints, you've had them, right? If not, click here for that recipe and feast your eyes on this:

YUMMY!!!
Now, night before last we had "Breakfast for Supper." It was wonderful as Big Daddy bought the sausage from a man he works with. They make their own when they kill hogs. Y'all--this is the BEST sausage I've ever tasted. Here's some pictures of our supper while we were cooking it:
Here's the sausage as we were getting it ready to fry!
Nothing beats cooking in a cast iron frying pan!Robbie loves helping in the kitchen! I let him stir the grits very slowly. He's growing too fast for me!
See that butter??Mmmmmm....
Ok now that you're starving, go eat something!
Have a great day!

In This Picture....

In this one picture, I see:
1. A homemade angel I made with my students about 10 years ago using little wooden hearts, mini wooden flowerpots, glittery pipe cleaners, a mini Sharpie, buttons, spanish moss for hair and a hot glue gun. I remember the hot glue burns on my fingers that blistered almost! Every year as I put these different angels on my tree, I say a prayer for all of my former students--wherever they are or whatever path their lives have taken. I pray for their success, their happiness, and their futures. I'm glad God picked them to be MY students for the small amount of time I've had them.

2. I see an ornament that a former principal of mine gave me. Way back then we used to have "Secret Santas" the week before we got out for Christmas Break. He had drawn my name and his wife was a wonderful shopper! I got a whole set of these funky oblong ornaments and they were hand painted. This principal was also a preacher. Everytime we ate he always made sure we had a prayer to bless our meal; every single morning during the school year, our students observed a moment of silence. I miss those days and I miss having a principal who isn't ashamed or afraid to pray. I remember Mr. Charles Ashley every year as I hang these ornaments up. I pray for him and his family and for God to richly bless him and his church family as he still ministers nearby. I thank God for allowing me to work for such a great man!

3. I see a red-white-and-green little crocheted round ornament. It may not look like a whole lot, but it is very special to me. About 13 years ago, I took my fourth graders to sing Christmas carols at our local nursing home. While there I ran into Miss Annie Thompson. She was the first female mail-lady in my hometown. I spent many Saturdays in her room, learning to crochet. She was so tickled to be teaching a teacher! I learned more than just how to crochet, I learned a lot about her too! She went BACK to high school at age 27 and graduated. She had one son and he visited every Saturday after I left. She lost a set of twins due to a tubal pregnancy that nearly took her life. Everyday her husband, who worked for the Sherriff's Dept. would come home for lunch. One particular day, he kissed her goodbye as he headed out the door. On the way down the front porch steps, he dropped dead of a heart-attack. She lived to be 95 years old and her mind was as sharp as a tack and I remember Miss Annie every year as I hang up this ornament and I thank God that He made her a part of my life!

4. On that tree I see a brass piano ornament that an old friend, Andrea Deaton, gave me for Christmas while we were are Mars Hill College. It had my name engraved on it and I LOVED getting this as a gift! Every year when I hang this ornament, I thank God for sending me to Mars Hill and for allowing me to make it through there. I thank Him for all of the experiences I shared with friends there, for new friendships made that still are precious, and for all of the "Life Lessons" I learned during those four years. I wouldn't go back and do it all over again, but I'm thankful for that experience.

5. I see a candle ornament from my "Unit Leader", Paula. This was given to me in 2000. We sold PartyLite together for about 4 years. I think a LOT of this girl and admire her hard work. She is very involved in doing missions trips with her church as she's a nurse and volunteers her expertise! She has one of the biggest hearts and would do anything for you! Every year, when I hang up this ornament, I pray for Paula and her husband Mike and their daughter, Gracie. I thank God that He put them in my life and for what they mean to me and to others.

6. I see an ivory long glass ornament with silver glittery glass beads glued on it. This was my ornament that I won last year at our school's Christmas party. I loved it and even though all of my ornaments are kindof hodge-podge, I thought it would give a little "class" to my tree. Every year when I hang this ornament, I thank God for letting me work with a group of wonderful people. The staff at my school is the backbone of this building. We're tight but flexible and I thank God for each of them.

Seriously--this was just one shot that I took at random that inspired this post. I hope you have a wonderful day today!
Find something to thank God for because He sent us HIS BEST!

I'm a WINNER!

Hey Y'all!

I am so glad it's Finally FRIDAY and to help in the celebrating of the week coming to an end, I checked JaneSays' blog this morning and found that I won a giveaway of hers!
She's been doing the giveaways daily and I don't know how much longer she's planning on doing them, but she's got come GREAT items!
Check out her blog and her giveaways by clicking HERE!
Here's what I was lucky enough to win today:

I know, RIGHT!
Anyway hope you have a great weekend!
See you here tomorrow!

WOOHOO!

Just thought I'd hop on here really quick and give a PRAISE THE LORD and an AMEN!
School was just dismissed because our town's Christmas Parade is this afternoon. I'm thinking I'm going to go home and take a nap and then pick Robbie up from daycare to head to the parade.
Check out the bookmark I made early this morning. I LOVE it!! And...here's a close-up of the bookmark. Just so you know, it did take awhile to finish it as I hot glued the ric-rac onto the large craft stick. The top medallion was made hand-stitching ric-rac onto a felt circle and the back is covered with another felt circle. Really easy and really cute! This would make a great last-minute gift for that girlfriend who has everything already!
Y'all have a great day and be blessed!
Michelle

Christmas Craftiness

Hey Y'all!
I hope you are having a good week so far. I am SOOO ready for Christmas Break--whew!
I just wanted to share a few pictures of some items I made yesterday!
First, I made these cute little paper cones. I think I could become addicted to making these...Then I decided I would made a MERRY CHRISTMAS banner for my classroom. I used 2 inch circles cut using my Cricut. Then I printed out the letters and punched them with a 1 7/16" scalloped edge circle punch. Strung them up with some cute tiny lace trim and wah-lah! There you go!
Finally, I saw somewhere on a blog how to take old candlesticks and old plates to make cute serving pieces. I took some Gorilla Glue and glued these plates to the candle holders. I think they're precious--just precious!

See you tomorrow!
Have a blessed day!

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'?