My Sister's Birthday Present

                                                                              

Hey Y'all!  Last Thursday I posted about making these flowers and how I hoped to be able to show you what I did with them....
I googled quotes about sisters and picked my favorite.  Then I wrote it on some muslin and did embroidery in dark brown.  I found an old picture frame at our local thrift shop awhile back for $2.00 and I spray painted it black.
Then I added the flowers at the bottom and it was finished.  I just thought about doing it on Thursday morning and had to have it finished by Thursday night.  It's not perfect, there's too much space in between the writing and the flowers, but I made it for my sister and she loved getting it as much as I loved making it for her!
Doing embroidery like that is so much fun.  It personalizes the piece because it's YOUR handwriting instead of somebody else's.  If you do this type of craft, I recommend doing your own handwriting and rolling with it.  Years down the road, hopefully, someone will say, "My great-great grandmother embroidered this herself and it's in her handwriting!"
Seems to me that it makes it THAT much more special!
Y'all have a great day today!
I'm taking Robbie to the library after school to get our weekly 21 books! (3 per night..no exceptions..hee hee)

Back In The Day.....

Hey Y'all!  I hope you had a wonderful weekend!  We sure did!
I was looking through some old, and boy I do mean O-to-the-L-D pictures that are on this computer.  Thought I'd share a few of them with you today for my post!
This is from Easter Weekend, my freshman year of college.  All four girls came home with me to spend the weekend at my grandparents house.  My Pappaw Fred had quite a collection of hats, and we took advantage of it!  In case you can't find Waldo, I'm the one kneeling.

Another pic of times in the music building at Mars Hill College.  I'm the one having my face smashed/hidden.

Me and Mammaw.  Taken before dimentia set in....

Me and my sister, Amanda.  This was taken at Big Daddy's suprise 30th birthday party

Me and Big Daddy in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park...a total stranger took this for us!

Me and Big Daddy chillaxin....Oh how I adore this picture!

Robbie's 1 year pictures....one of my favorites!  Couldn't you just gnaw those chubby cheeks off?

Big Daddy and Robbie on St. Patricks Day, 2008
Pumpkin Patch--October 2009

Thanks for taking a trip with me down memory lane.  Which picture is your favorite?

Flower Power

Hey Y'all!

Today will be a LONG day for me.  It's Parent Conference Days in our School System.  Today is a day for parents to come and meet with their children's teachers to check progress as the school year draws to an end.
I'm pretty lucky since most kids do really well in my classes.  They enjoy "hands-on" projects like sewing, cooking, etc. so their grades are usually better here than in their math or language arts classes.
Regardless, I have to stay at school until 7:00 PM tonight---and today is my sister's birthday.  She is turning 33 today!  Hopefully we'll all go eat something REALLY good for supper tonight to help celebrate!
I've been busy working on some different fabric flowers.  I've been looking online for different tutorials and have been having so much fun making these fun cuties!

Hopefully nobody's parents will show up to see me this afternoon....maybe I can finish this project and be able to show you tomorrow!
Have a great day today!

You Ain't From Around Here, Are Ya?!

Hey Y'all! 
Last week was our Spring Break here at The Doublewide.  Thanks to Facebook, I have reconnected with lots of old friends from high school and college.
One of my friends in particular, is Freddie.  I met Freddie when we were new freshmen at Mars Hill College back during the fall of 1989.  We were both music majors--he in music performance and I in music education.  (Obviously, my major changed to education in general...just didn't want to confuse anyone!)

I'm in the middle and Freddie is on the left.
He was hilarious and I knew from the beginning that we were gonna be great friends.  He and I had a lot in common...mainly our love for all things country!  I'm telling you..we were in a college in the North Carolina Mountains, but were surrounded by Yankees who made fun of the south and our accents! (hee-hee) Now, if you're a Yankee--I won't hold it against you...I PROMISE!  But don't come to where I live, and make fun of MY people, and our traditions to my face and expect me to say nothing!  If it was sooo good up North, why are you HERE?!  I-95 runs both ways, my friend.  Seriously though, I'm very proud of my heritage, my ancestry, my family and my community.  I don't take too kindly to people being negative and talking SMACK. If you "ain't from these parts", we already can tell.  YOUR accent is the one that's foreign, not ours.  Welcome to The South Pal....Love it or Leave it! 
So last week, Big Daddy, Robbie and I went to see  Freddie and his wife Kay.  They live near Pigeon Forge, TN and I couldn't wait to see them.  Freddie and I haven't seen each other since Mother's Day, 1993, when we both graduated from college.  I'd never even laid eyes on Kay, but had talked to her on the phone enough to know that I liked her already.  We arrived late Monday night and stayed until Thursday morning.
Lots of eatin', laughin', shoppin', Wii-Playin', Weenie-Roastin', went on and I must say that I felt so much at home staying with them.
You should really hear Freddie play the piano and sing.  God has really given him a tremendous talent!
Freddie painted me a mailbox.  Couldn't you just DIE?!

Spending Time with His Daddy

This past weekend, Big Daddy got to do something he's looked forward to in since we adopted Robbie.  They finally got to go fishing together!
We have a friend who's got a stocked pond about two miles from The Doublewide.
As I set out with my mama to go to yard sales, Big Daddy and Robbie headed out to go on their first of many I'm sure, fishing trips!
Big Daddy says the fish were biting wonderfully!  Says Robbie caught 25 or more fish.
I wish y'all could hear Robbie telling the story about how he accidentally threw his fishing pole in the pond and how his daddy had to "go fishing for a fishing pole."
He gets so excited while telling it, that by the end of the story, he's practically yelling!
They had a great time, but Big Daddy was NOT happy with the fact that my camera's battery was dead, because I'm a big loser, because I forgot to charge it the night before.  He didn't get a picture of Robbie's first catch.  You know what they say, "If Big Daddy ain't happy, ain't nobody happy!"
Have a great day today!

I Think I Wanna......

write a book. Seriously....Historical Fiction....a splash of romance....a LOT of my personal family history....involving a very special place nearby...

Well....we can dream can't we?  I really would love to write a book someday.Nicholas Sparks made his millions by thinking the same thing one day and now look at him!
Anyway...it's been on my mind all weekend...plots...twists and turns...etc.
Don't know if it will ever happen, but I'd like to at least try...maybe...hee hee!

Spring Break Solitude

Hey Y'all!
Hope things are well your way!  Here are a few pictures of what's been going on around The Doublewide for the past couple of weeks.
I promise to do better.  Starting Monday, I'll be blogging everyday...hopefully!
Anyway, until then, please enjoy the pictures: 
First of all....we had an Easter Egg Hunt at church....

Then we went to Sunrise Service at church at 6:30 AM...but who takes pictures THAT early??!  Afterwards, we went to regular services:




Then, guess who fell asleep during preaching?


After preaching, we took some pictures outside....
This is me and my little sister, Doodah:

Me and my best friend, Sharon:


Finally, a family shot of all three of us:

Also, Robbie and Cydney had to have their "time" in....These pictures are absolutely adorable!




Then, we headed to stay with a friend of mine from college that I haven't seen since we graduated way back in May of 1993---to save you the trouble, it's been 17 years.  Freddie and Kay-Kay were the bests hosts EVER!  We had so much fun!
While in Tennessee, we found this old house.  It is ONE of FOUR that are for sale....with 7 acres...for only 1 million dollars!  I'm telling you if I had that much money, I'd buy them and rent those suckers out...or leave here and go run a group of four Bed and Breakfasts....
Anyway....here's the picture of the most beautiful house of the four and of course, it's my FAVORITE shade of pink:

Breath-taking, right?!
Hope Y'all have a great weekend.  See you Monday!