GATLINBURG!

We always talk about going to Gatlinburg but for some strange reason, our plans always fall through. Well, we actually managed to pull it off! We packed everything but the kitchen sink last Saturday and headed East 3 hours on I-40. It was a BEAUTIFUL weekend and a very restful one. We had a great time and rented and a 2 bedroom cabin in Pigeon Forge. We took in downtown Gatlinburg, The Aquarium, and The Dixie Stampede. We also went and watched the gentlemen make taffy, which is so yummy and smells soooo good!! Here are some pictures from our trip.

Stephen always lets me find the cabin because he knows "roughing it" is NOT in my realm. It really STUNK that I could not get in this hot tub. However, I was glad he got to enjoy.

Here is Miss Priss and Daddy at the Dixie Stampede. Very fun!! If you go to Gatlinburg, you have to check this place out.

Here our some pics of our cabin. It drove me NUTS that this lady had her Christmas decor in FULL SWING!!!!! I mean, trees in the bathroom, outside lights, snowmen, garland...

you name it! Someone needs to tell her that Target has Easter candy out.

But overall, the cabin was really nice.

My short order cook doing what he does BEST...making dinner!!! If the medical industry goes bad, he can work at Waffle House!! HA!!

My little princess watching Dora the Explorer!!

Hope you all had a great weekend!!

XOXO-

KJ

HAPPY DAYS!

Oh, bloggers, I have missed you!! The Goodies have been crazy lately and trying to spend time together as a family of 3 before Mr. Griffin makes his debut. We had a very low key Valentine's Day. On Thursday night, all 3 of us went to Sperry's for dinner. Sperry's is a local steakhouse here in Nashville. I love it because they have a salad bar, and it reminds me of eating at Steak and Ale when I was little. On Saturday, we went to Costco and ran our usual errands and we celebrated Mr. Johnny's (aka Pappy and Stephen's father) birthday.

We cooked crab legs and filet, new potatoes and corn, and also had a delicious salad. For dessert, we had yummy carrot cake!! Paisley is obsessed with birthdays and we actually sang Happy Birthday 3 times. Hilarious. What can I say? The girl loves a party as much as her mommy.

On Sunday, we went to church and celebrated Valentine's Day with our precious church. It was a great day. We all layed down and took a nap and my husband let me sleep for about 4 hours!!

After my nap, I woke up to this:

I LOVE roses and sweet cards!! Nothing makes me happier!! Hope you all had a fun Valentine's Day and spent it with the ones you LOVE!

XOXO-

KJ

BABY GRIFFIN...NEARLY TO 34 WEEKS!!!

THANK THE GOOD LORD I AM GETTING CLOSE!!!

WEEK 34:

Your baby kind of looks like he's coated in a layer of cream cheese these days. The thick, white substance that protects her skin from pruning in the amniotic fluid is called vernix. When he's born you'll probably see some vernix lingering in hard-to-reach" places like under his arms, behind his ears and around his pee pee!

Other news from the womb this week:

The soft fur, lanugo, that covered your baby's body for much of his stay in the womb is now almost completely gone. Your baby begins to develop his own immune system, instead of relying solely on antibodies received through the placenta. This will come in handy when some grubby relative manhandles the baby without washing his hands first.

This week, your baby measures about 17¾ inches, as almost as long as an American Girl Doll (!) and weighs almost 5 pounds, as heavy as a bag of sugar, minus the cup you put in your decaf this morning.

I am so excited this is nearly OVER!!! Is that bad to say? I am not one of these people who looks great pregnant. I am also sick of answering, "How much longer?" "You will never make it!" and "You are huge." Like I really don't know that?! I am hoping my Doctor is going to remove all the fat and do a mini tummy tuck after my section! HA! I am already signed up for boot camp and Weight Watchers!! I am so ready to be skinny again. (Disclaimer: I feel very blessed to be able to have children, and do realize this is a miracle. Please don't think I am not grateful, because I am. I just don't do pregnant well.)

I have a 3D sonogram Friday, so I will definitely post some pictures!! Hope you all had a great V-Day!!

XOXO-KJ

VALENTINES!!!

BIG HUGS go out to Uncle Eric and Aunt Julie for this Valentine's happy!!! Paisley thinks this apron and hat are the greatest things EVER!! What are your plans for Valentine's Day? We are going to stay in and I am going to attempt fondue and crab legs! Wish me luck!! Hopefully, I won't burn the house down!!

HA!!

IS THIS FACE CUTE OR WHAT???

GRAMMY BROUGHT HER THIS CUTE BIB...

THANKS GRAMMY! LOVE YOU!

XOXO

KJ

SUPERBOWL PICS!!

We had such a fun Superbowl party!! Our SS class came over and we had a great time. One of the sweet girls in our class named Erin made these peanut butter brownies and these Oatmeal Butterscotch cookies. The recipe for the cookies are below. I will try and get the brownie recipe. Hope you all had a great time celebrating. I was shocked at the Saints and very happy that they pulled off the victory!!! I forgot to take pictures of the kids but did get some good ones of the food. HA!

We even broke out the popcorn machine for the party!!! So fun!!!!

I made this YUMMY and healthy chili and it turned out delicious! Hope you like!

TURKEY AND CORN CHILI

• 1 tablespoon (1 turn around the pan in a slow stream) extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 large bell pepper, red or green, chopped (use up leftover pepper strips from crudite tray if you have them)
• 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1 bay leaf, fresh or dried
• 1 1/2 pounds light and dark meat cooked turkey meat, diced
• 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons (a palm full) chili powder
• 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons (a palm full) ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon to 2 teaspoons (several drops) cayenne pepper sauce
• Coarse salt
• 2 cups frozen corn kernels or leftover prepared corn
• 1 (32-ounce) can chunky style crushed tomatoes
• 2 cups prepared chicken stock or broth, paper container or canned
• 2 scallions, white and greens, chopped

Directions

Heat a deep pot over medium high heat. Work close to the stove for your chopping. Add oil to your pot, 1 turn of the pan, and add vegetables as you chop them.

Add bay leaf and cook vegetables 5 minutes, stirring frequently, reducing heat if veggies start to stick. Stir in diced turkey meat and season with chili powder, cumin, and cayenne sauce. Season with a little salt, to taste. Add corn, tomatoes, and broth. Combine your chili well, adjust seasonings, reduce heat to medium low, and simmer for 7 to 10 minutes. Garnish chili with chopped scallions.

Oatmeal Butterscotch Cookies:

• 
  
• 3/4 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups rolled oats
• 1 2/3 cups butterscotch chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl beat the butter or margarine, white sugar and brown sugar together. Add the eggs and vanilla, beating well.
3. Stir together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and stir until blended. Stir in the oats and the butterscotch chips. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet.
4. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, until the edges begin to brown.

WAY TO GO SAINTS!!

XOXO-

KJ

MY FAVORITE THINGS!

Kelly's Korner Blog had a Show Us Your Life section on favorite things.

Here is my list:

1. Ridiculously HOT WATER. I love to take a hot bath, read some glossy magazines, and drink a huge glass of ice water. I am seriously asking for a tankless hot water heater for Valentine's Day! HA!!

2. Shopping all day at the mall, finding some great sales, and then eating cookies and an icee on the drive home.

3. Growing up, my daddy would cut the grass and then grill out hamburgers. And we would eat on the patio. And then come in a really cold house and have a huge tickle fight on my parents bed. I love those memories. The smell of summer and family!!!

4. Being in the Grove on saturday before a big OLE MISS football game is so EXCITING. There is nothing quite like hearing Dixie, seeing the acres of tents in a sea of red and blue, all the little boys dreaming of being the next Manning. It is truly nostalgic!

5. A perfect Friday night would be spending time with Paisley and Stephen, grilling steaks, shrimp, and corn on the cob. Having a glass of chardonnay. And playing a mean game of Apples to Apples, Scrabble, or watching The Travel Channel.

6. A clean house, car, and office. And my closet. I am a little bit of a neat freak and completely OCD about cleaning. And having a laundry fairy at all times who could make that room spotless, too!

7. Fast food. I have a terrible addiction to it. I like fruits and vegetables, too. But I LOVE some Sonic.

8. Diet Cokes.

9. Coupons. Having a coupon makes me ridiculously giddy.

10. I LOVE me a shower, make-up, blow out, and some perfume. And then a romantic date with my husband when opens my door, pulls out my chair, and limits talking about work for at least 1/3 of the dinner! I also LOVE it when he writes me notes. They are so sweet and thoughtful and he is a MUCH better writer than I am. I also loves it when he buys me jewelry just because, especially charms for my bracelet. They are so thoughtful. If you are reading this, I love you babe :)

Some of my others would be lipgloss, sundresses, spraytans, perfume, cooking supper for my family, the book of Phillipians, going to church on Sunday and singing hymns and thinking about the meanings, spending time with good girlfriends, making breakfast on saturday mornings, going on family walks at Crockett Park, laughing, late night talks with my husband, baking for others, doing things for people out of the blue, Dave Ramsey humor, writing down my goals for the day and making to do lists and crossing things off, the Dollar Store, E-Bay, and Etsy. My daughter's laughter and the sound of her little feet running through the house. Being with my family, hugging on them, telling them how much I love them and miss them, and how important they are. Praying for others who are less fortunate than I am, especially when I don't question how they got there, I just pray for them. I love going to Orange Beach in the summer and playing with my nieces and nephew. I love going out at night and eating great seafood. I also love taking trips with just me and the hubby. I think alone time in marriage is so important. I love compliments and sweet notes from friends. Just because. I LOVE taking Paisley and doing fun stuff just because. Like going to Chuck E Cheeses. And the library. And painting her nails. And the Frist. And the park. I want her to have such a FUN childhood. I guess to sum me up, I just enjoy life, don't take myself too seriously, and adore my family and friends!

What is your list?

XOXO

KJ

SUPERBOWL SUNDAY!!!!

I am definitely pulling for the Saints since the Titans aren't playing!! Hope you all have a very nice Sunday. We are hosting our Sunday School class tonight. Look at all these cute pictures of food I found for some ideas:

I am making turkey and corn chili, spinach dip, guacamole, fruit skewers and corn dogs for the kids, and picked up a cute football cake from Publix. I will definitely take some pictures!! Hope you all have a great night, regardless who wins!!! XOXO KJ

I HAVE MISSED Y'ALL!

I am sorry I have not blogged much this week. It has be cra-zy!! The snow put a MAJOR damper on things this week. We seriously could not get out of our driveway and neighborhood on Saturday or Sunday, so flying to San Diego for work was out. My husband decided to brave it out on Monday morning. It was terrible, but we made it!!! My in-laws came to help out with Paisley, so my father-in-law took me to the airport and I flew direct on Southwest on Monday afternoon. It was an easy flight and I LOVE San Diego. It is a beautiful, fun city!!! Definitely my favorite place I have visited in California!!

I know you all cannot believe I flew to San Diego being nearly 8 months pregnant, but the truth is if I would have stayed home, I would have worked much harder all week and next. So I decided to brave the flight and go!

Our National Sales Meetings are so fun! Even though the pharmacuetical industry has changed so much over the past few years, it is still a great place to be. I feel VERY fortunate to be in dermatology, also. I LOVE it. The only downside is having to travel. But overall, it is great. I have been with my current company for 5 years and there has been a buyout, we have been sold twice, two realignments, and MANY new drugs and lost some. But the change helps it NEVER get boring. Some of the girls I work with...I will be friends with the rest of my life. And we sales folks know how to have fun! It is so great to let loose one week a year. This year, we stayed at the Paradise Point Resort and Spa in San Diego, California. It was super nice. We usually have one free day, so instead of heading to the zoo, I stayed at the resort and got a massage. It was great!! The last night we were there, we went on a fabulous dinner cruise around San Diego. Such a great way to end the week. I even had to dance a little when they started playing

Push It by SNP. HA!!!

Hope you all had a great week. I will be back in full force tomorrow!!

XOXO-

KJ