Birthday Party Time!

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!

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

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??!!!

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!

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....

...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....