Just ~S*T*U*F*F~

Back to School!! I'm H*A*L*F Way There!!
Aaahhhhhh first day of school! For ME!! Tonight started my first day of classes to complete my degree in Elementary Education. I'm really excited to think that I'm a Jr. this year! I'm half way there!! This semester will be full of projects, lots of writing, and tons of reading and research. It should be interesting to say the least. I'm in a pretty small class so that's pretty good, at least we will all get to know each other. This will be the same group I will be graduating with so I think that's pretty cool. My teachers are pretty good too. All in all I think it's going to be a pretty good year!

Rain, Rain Go Away~
Not really just not so much of it at one time! It has rained non-stop since yesterday. And I don't mean just rain, I mean hard rain all this time! I know we need it- my yard was looking pretty bad, not to mention the flowers and trees; but good grief! slow it down some!! Even the dog didn't want to go out! I'm just praying it doesn't flood the basement...that would be bad! I still have boxes to unpack and it would not be a good thing!! It has cooled things off a bunch! I almost even put on a sweater today.. and you know me... I never think it's cool out... but it did feel good. I guess Fall is just around the corner.

Kenton Fell Down and Broke His Crown!
Poor Kenton, last Sunday while we were at church he was playing around with some of the kids and decided to get on a tricycle and ride it down the hill.... well what he forgot was that he is too BIG for the tirc and lost control and fell all the way down the hill. He is scraped up from his head to his toe... literally!! He has a very bad scrap on his face and ear, on his shoulder, on his elbow, and on his knee. The poor child can hardly walk. I patched him up good with neosporian and bandages and gave him lots of Tylenol. And on top of all that he has a very bad cold... poor thing! All I could think of was this drawing I saw when I was a little girl of Jack and Jill and of Jack falling down the hill... it looked just like Kenton... I guess I should patch his head with brown paper... boys will be boys!!!

Peyton's Playing Soccer!
Tonight was supposed to be Peyton's first night of soccer practice but it got rained out. He was so excited about it this morning. He kept say, "we'll have practice mom, even if it's raining..." but needless to say with tons of rain out practice was called off. He was so disappointed. I can't wait to see him in his uniform! He hasn't wanted to play any sport since he was in kindergarten and I made him play baseball. Can't wait to post pics of him playing!

CuPcaKe ObSEsSiOn~

O.K. enough already!! My name is MaryLee and I'm a Cupcake-A-Holic. There, I said it! I've gone crazy lately making cupcakes. I go to bed at night thinking up new cupcake recipes. I wake up thinking up new cupcake recipes. And now I have to admit that today while in the middle of Sunday School, I had a new cupcake recipe thought... is that a form of lust? I have this notion that I want to start a cupcake business. There is the perfect place right in the middle of downtown and it would be great! I've talked to a few local people about it and they all think it's a great idea.... so what's stopping me you ask- M*O*N*E*Y~ plain and simple... you gotta have some dough to make something out of dough, and in my case, cake batter... sorry bad pun~

Anyway, I spent all day last Friday making cupcakes. I made 5 different kinds. Each better than the next. I tell you it's insanity! Now I'm not talking about the little dinky cupcakes you make for a b-day party, no I'm talking about hunkin' big jumbo cupcakes! Each are YUMMMAZZZING!! I'm trying really hard not to eat them. I've been doing a lot of walking lately so maybe that is helping... hey I'm drinking diet coke with them, doesn't that off set calories?!

So if you think you might like some really good cupcakes email me and I'll ship some to you. They are really fresh and really good! I'll let you know if I ever get the money to open a Cupcake Shoppe but for now, I'll just keep making them at home!

Sweet Cupcake Dreams~

S'mores Cupcake~ tastes just like you were sitting around a campfire!

Mountains of Hope for Children in Need!

Last Friday I ventured out and went to visit Crossnore School. Founded in 1913 by Dr's E.H. and Mary Martin Sloop, The Crossnore School is a private, non-profit children's home and school in the western North Carolina mountains, serving children who, for circumstances beyond their control, can no longer live at home, whether permanently or temporarily. Most residents live at Crossnore because their primary care givers are abusive or have neglected them to the point that their well being is threatened. Residents come from all counties in North Carolina.

While there I had the pleasure of meeting some of the most amazing people. I went to the Administrative office to let them know I was there on the campus and to see if I could get a tour. As luck would have it the lady that gives tours had just come in and I was able to get a private tour!! That's when I met Kama (I think that's how you spell her name). We hopped in the golf cart and rode all over the campus and she told me some of the best stories of all the buildings. We had a great time! She is a hoot and turns out she lives near me! Unfortunately time was up and our tour was over, I could have chatted with her all day! ~ Thanks for a fun tour!

Being the snoop I am I wasn't satisfied with my private tour and had to snoop around on my own. While I was out poking my head around in different buildings I ran across the Weaving Museum. WOW... I was right at home! This building had been on the campus just about as long as the school had. However, it did catch on fire at one time but was quickly rebuilt- which by the way was rebuilt by most of the kids on campus! There in the Weaving Museum is where I met Heather! Man, she was also so very nice and eager to show me around. She began to show me all the weaving looms and tell me the most interesting stories about all the women who used to weave. As she told me these stories rich in history I felt as if the weaving pioneers were right there with us! Just to touch the wood on the machines that the previous weavers had touched was the coolest thing! By the way, they sell the pieces they weave, and let me tell you they are worth every penny!! To say they are beautiful is not enough, they are truly works of art!

Another person I got to meet was the Director of the Child Care Program. Vergie (I'm sure that's not how you spell her name either... ). She was able to show me all around the child care center and introduce me to the sweetest kids I've ever met. They were so happy and having so much fun learning and playing! What a treat!

The campus is simply beautiful! There are many bronze statues of children playing and discovering life. They are so lifelike! I had to take pictures of all of them. Another beautiful building was The Sloop Chapel. It was built in 1957 in honor of Dr. E.H. Sloop the husband of Dr. Mary Martin Sloop. Inside the chapel is a hidden gem, a Fresco by Ben Long entitled Suffer the Little Children. It is breathtaking!

I wanted to stay all day. I could see how there are Miracles in the Mountains at work everyday! What a great day! Thanks to everyone at Crossnore for all the work you do and especially to my new friends! Be sure to check out their website: http://www.crossnoreschool.org/

OpTiCaL illUSiOn?

It's that time of year... time for the carnival to come to town. They roll in sometime in the middle of the night to an empty lot and ~B*A*M~ the next thing you know, there is a lot FULL of rides, attractions, prizes to win, and lots of FOOD! It has always amazed me how they set it all up in the blink of an eye. I have always had some kind of strange attraction to carnivals and fairs. I don't know if its all the colors, lights, loud shouting as you walk past the balloons to pop, or watching all the people in general-- but whatever it is... if there is a carnival or fair.. you can bet I'll be there. So when I saw the first poster go up in town for the carnival I was counting down the days!

Now that I have children the other part of going to the carnival is watching them ride the rides and take in all the hype that goes along with the Big Attraction. They love riding the rides. Peyton especially- he is a "ride chaser" kinda like I am a "storm chaser". The bigger and faster the better. He has always loved riding them. I think the first big ride he rode was when he was 3 years old. He saw those lights on that ferris wheel and he was hooked. Now I'll admit I am a big chicken when it comes to that monster. You wouldn't catch me on that thing for all the caramel apples in town! So that time Ken had to ride with him and it was at that point that Peyton was hooked! Needless to say now that he is almost 12, this year was no different! He had to ride all the rides known to any Carney man! It is great watching him and the joy he gets from all the big wind!

But alas all good things must come to an end... the carnival was over last week and without a blink of an eye... all the rides were packed, all the prizes were tucked away, and all the food was gone. The lot was clear and there was no sign of it ever being in town- how strange~ how DO they do that!!!

Where Did Summer Go?!?

It's crazy how fast this summer has gone by! We have been so busy and unfortunately I've been so busy I haven't been blogging like I want to. OK... so first things first... we got the hot tub up and running~ it has been great! The nights here are so cool and the hot water feels great after a long day of painting... which I have been doing a lot of! I made a trip back to Nashville the later part of July to see mother; get her to a doctor's appointment, get her moved, and try to get some shopping done (which I miss sooo much!).

Haven't Lost My Marbles Yet~
Spruce Pine is known as Gem Country. They just had a huge gem festival here and of course we had to check it out! I have never seen so many beautiful gems. I couldn't resist taking pictures of these beautiful stones and marbles. It was pretty early in the day and the sun reflected their beauty just right!

First Day of School~ Already?!?!
Wow, I can’t believe it! It’s that time of year again, time for another year of school. I can honestly say that I’m not ready. This has been a great summer, one I’ll never forget; mainly because I’ve been able to be home with the boys- that’s something I’ve never been able to do. And it’s been great!!! But it went by too fast- boo hoo!! I wish we could have done more “stuff” around the house or around town together- other than me painting.. but then again I don’t think they would have enjoyed it as much as me…

So on to the new school year~ So the boys are both at the same school and they really like it! They like their teachers and classes – but most of all they LOVE not having to wear uniforms!! I have to say that while I do love the uniforms, it’s nice to see kids in “regular” clothes :o) the boys are getting so big, they hated Ken and me walking them into the building… and especially me taking pictures…. but I couldn’t resist! Here’s to a wonderful school year!!