My 2011 TOP TEN

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

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!

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!

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?!

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?

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

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

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!!

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!

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'

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?!

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!

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!