Eventful Memorial Day Weekend

Maggie is ready and on the way to Birmingham. This is her before going to Dog Days of Birmingham photo! OH yeah, there's an after photo!!

I had a wonderful weekend in Birmingham for Memorial Day! It had a lot to do with the little monkeys pictured below! Sweet baby girl celebrated her 1st birthday on Saturday, and she had a big birthday bash at her house!! Of course, her new baby cousin, sweet baby boy was there to celebrate with her!
Sweet baby girls mom had such a spread for all the party-goers! We had sliders, chicken fingers, spinach dip, hot bacon and swiss cheese dip, fruit, cupcakes, and a cake! We were all miserable from being so full when we left. I'm so glad I got to go to her party!

The rest of the weekend was spent relaxing by the pool and playing with those precious babies! We made some delicious cookies Monday morning before going out to the pool. They are called Cookies and Cream Peanut Butter Cookies. This recipe can be found at plainchicken.com, along with tons of other good-looking stuff!

Here is Maggie's after picture!! She was and still is tuckered out!! Goodnight all! :)

Bad Hair Day

Have you ever seen those dogs that look like mops? Well, Maggie is getting pretty close to looking like that exact dog! I was telling her when I was taking this picture that she needed a haircut, and this is the face I get. :) Luckily, she has a salon appointment next Saturday!

SO... last night I had fun at Ladies Night Out with Cara, Jana, Cindy, and Shannon. We went to Sips-N-Strokes in Hendersonville. You pay $35 for the canvas and class and an instructor teaches you how to paint a picture. This was definitely one of the more difficult paintings that I've done. It has A LOT of details! And it has paisley shapes, which are my definite nemesis when it comes to art class. Here is a picture of the finished product sitting on my kitchen table. It isn't one of my favorites, but I do think its cute, and I had fun with my friends!

Here is a picture I took in the studio last night! I like how it looks more lime green here. If you want to go see what it is actually supposed to look like, go to:

www.sipsnstrokes.com and click on the Hendersonville calendar. Find the March 25th painting and compare! :)

Ok, so I need to get off and do laundry since there is probably about 4 loads waiting on me right now. I'm trying to do better at housework. Mainly because my Mom told me that at the rate I was going, I was not going to be able to take care of a husband and child, if I always had a messy house. :) Love you Mama! :0) So have a great week, and until next time, be blessed! S :)

Long Time Gone

Yeah, so I've definitely been a long time gone! (Thanks to the Dixie Chicks for the line)... And I'm definitely not able to come back to blogging full time yet. I'm still in school and am very busy with school, work, and friends. I just passed my fifth nursing test with a B, WOO-HOO! And, I only have two more classes and tests to go before I am done with that portion of my degree!! I hope to be through with all classes and tests by the third week in June!



Today is such a beautiful day in Pleasant View. It is all blue skies and warm temperatures! Spring has definitely come early! And here's the picture to prove it:

I've got to get off now and begin the dreaded housework, since I have people coming over tomorrow evening for lifegroup! We are having a Mexican Fiesta, so I will leave you with a recipe that I am fixing for tomorrow night:

Chicken Enchilada Lasagna

1 can enchilada sauce

1/2 cup thick and chunky salsa

1 large deli rotisserie chicken, cubed (4c. cooked chicken)

1/2 c sour cream

1/2 c. sliced green onions (8 medium)

2 T. taco seasoning mix

8 corn tortillas (6-inch), cut in half

2 cups tortilla chips

1 c. chopped tomato

2 T. sliced ripe olives (optional, in my book!!)

Fresh cilantro, (also optional in my book!!)

1. Heat oven to 375 amd spray your 9X13 with cooking spray. Mix enchilada sauce and salsa in small bowl. Reserve 1/4 c. of mixture. Mix remaining enchilada mixture, the chicken, the sour cream, 1/4 cup of green onions and the taco seasoning mix.

2. Spoon reserved mixture enchilada sauce in bottom of baking dish. Arrange 8 tortilla pieces over sauce, overlapping when necessary. Spoon half of chicken mixture over tortillas; sprinkle with 2/3 c. of the cheese. Repeat layers. Cover with foil.

3. Bake 30-35 minutesor until hot. Layer tortilla chips, tomato, olive, remaining green onions and remaining 2/3 c cheese over top of casserole. Bake uncovered 5 minutes longer. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. Garnish with cilantro leaves.

So enjoy the recipe, and until next time, be blessed!! S :)

Landry Kate

I just had to put up a quick post about my new cousin who was born on Friday, May 28th! I posted a blog back in October when I found out that my cousin was expecting. Both Amy (the mom) and her sister Emily live down south of Tennessee, so I got up bright and early Friday morning and drove on down. Emily and her husband were very nice to let Maggie and I spend the night on Friday! So little miss made her debut just after noon on Friday, weighing in at 7lbs, 7oz and measuring at 20 1/2 inches. Mom and daughter both did perfectly! I got to hold her not long after she was born, and I remember thinking to myself, she is as light as a feather! She already had that wonderful baby smell!! I am so thankful for this new little life, and I can't wait to watch her grow! Here are some pictures of this beautiful precious angel!
Well, school is going along. I passed my first test, and my second is coming up soon. I really miss having time to get on here and blog, but it won't last for long! So until next time, be blessed!! S :)

Weekend fun!

Hey y'all,
I thought I would fill you in on my fun-filled weekend in Gatlinburg. One of my best-good friends (name that movie) and I went on a weekend getaway to the Winterfest conference held at the Convention Center. It is mainly for teens, but anyone can attend and the worship is always awesome! Oh and we dragged her Mom along with us...

The picture below was taken before I left as I was packing my suitcase... Maggie wanted to go really bad. Some friends, Sarah and Luke, were so nice to keep her for me. Thanks Luke and Sarah! Maggie had a blast.

Here is the nice welcome sign. The theme of the weekend was all about The Veil. We talked about how we are sometimes blinded to seeing the Truth that God wants us to see. We are blinded by veils, and these veils can be many different things. It can be any sin that keeps us separate from God. They had many guest speakers. The main guy was Jeff Walling. He did a great job in making these points.

Cara and I on our first night of Winterfest, we are so excited!!

There were over 6500 people on hand to join in a wonderful worship weekend! Most people brought big huge youth groups, so in order to keep everyone together, they made big signs on tall posts to make sure all the kids could find their groups. All of the signs were cute, and I wish I would have been able to get some close-up pictures. One creative group had a big tree branch that they carried around like a Christmas tree.

Cara and I pause for a photo-op while waiting to go into the Convention Center.

Cara and her mom, Stephanie... I hope we didn't wear her out!

Here is a view of the set-up inside. We had great seats!

Gatlinburg is not short on supply of beautiful views. This was our view at The Peddler, where we ate supper on Friday night. This is a really nice old restaurant which is known for its' salad bar and steaks. I have never seen so many toppings for a salad in my life. The "steak peddler" comes to your table with a two big slabs of beef. Our peddler had a huge cut of ribeyes and NY strips, and he cut our steaks to our specifications. You can also order off the menu... Try call-ahead seating at 4pm, in order to get creek side seats as seen below...

We also went to a restaurant called Park Grill Steakhouse. They are owned by the same people who own The Peddler, so they also had the awesome salad bar. The restaurant looks like a huge lodge on the outside and the inside is no different... high ceilings, "lodge" type decorations, beautiful hardwoods and great food! I got the pecan crusted chicken with garlic mashed potatoes, and it was pretty good. However, the dessert was so awesome. Pictured below, you have a brownie on bottom, then a layer of vanilla ice cream, and another brownie, all topped with chocolate sauce and caramel. They even put a cute bear-print on top of the dessert with cocoa powder!

So in case you can't tell, we had a great time!! I didn't get a whole lot of sleep, but it was so worth it! It was absolutely beautiful every day with sunshine and bright blue skies. The temperature was very warm on Saturday and Sunday!!
Now, its back to the real world, and today is really special too. I start school tonight to begin work on getting my RN degree! One of my BFFs sent me some pretty flowers to celebrate going back to school. The card says, "Good luck on your first day of school. Kick butt and take names!" I just love her, we went through nursing school together about 5 years ago, so she knows how difficult it can be! Here is a picture of the flowers... aren't they beautiful!
So, I did a long post, because I am not really sure how often I will be able to blog with all this school going on. I will try to keep up when I can, but I am not making any promises!! I should be done with school in about a year! Woo-Hoo!
Prayers are greatly appreciated!! Until next time, be blessed! S :)

Valentine Metamorphosis

It's time for Metamorphosis Monday... Valentine's edition. A few weeks back I posted a scrumptious cookie recipe for Foodie Friday, involving both peanut butter and chocolate. They were so easy and yummy I thought I would spruce them up a bit for Valentine's day.



Before:

After:
All it took was a little shaping and they were transformed into cute hearts.



I was in the baking mood to celebrate today, so I baked these up this morning before going to bed. I thought my co-workers would like a little treat, so I used some treat bags that I found at Wal-Mart and added in some cookies...

All dressed up and ready to go!
So there you have it, short and sweet. Click on over to Between Naps on the Porch and see all the lovely transformations. Thanks again Susan for sponsoring this fun Monday tradition!! Here's the link: http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/

Happy Monday! Until next time, be blessed! S :)

*February 12, 2010*

Good morning to all,

It is a chilly 11 degrees here this morning!! I hope everyone is staying warm with this big snowy mess coming through the South. I know one thing, I am tired of snow! I made the mistake of whining about the fact that I haven't seen a good snow since moving up here! Well, did I ever get what I asked for!!

Last weekend, I was in LA visiting my Dad and step-mom. The weather was sunny and warm for the most part. Then on Monday, I fly back to Tennessee and what is waiting on me... snow! 4 inches of snow fell that night! So needless to say, y'all can have the snow... my cup runneth over! :)

Here is a picture from my fast weekend trip to California

We drove out to Palm Springs on Sunday and enjoyed the 68 degree weather! How nice!!

Okay, enough whining and pouting, moving on to Foodie Friday!! Since it's Valentine weekend, I thought I would post a chocolate recipe that I just found. I haven't even made this one yet, but you better believe I will be making it soon!!
Fudge Brownie Pie with Caramel Sauce (from Betty Crocker)

1 refrigerated pie crust, softened per box directions

1 cup butter

2 cups sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla

4 eggs, slightly beaten

1 1/2 cups AP flour

3/4 cup unsweetened baking cocoa

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup semisweet chocolate chunks

1 cup chopped pecans

1 (14 oz) bag caramels, unwrapped

2/3 cup half-and-half

Heat oven to 350. Place pie crust in 9 inch glass pie plate as directed on box. In 2-qt saucepan, melt butter over low heat; remove from heat. Stir in sugar, vanilla, and eggs until well blended. Stir in flour, cocoa, and salt until smooth. Stir in chocolate chunks and pecans. Spread evenly in pie crust. Bake 45-50 minutes or until set. Cool 1 hour.

Meanwhile, in 2-qt saucepan, heat caramels and half-and-half over low heat, stirring constantly, until caramels are melted and mixture is smooth. Serve hot caramel sauce over each serving.

Be sure to stop by Designs by Gollum to see all the other yummy recipes! I am sure she is already overflowing with Valentine's Day recipes! Here's the link: http://designsbygollum.blogspot.com/

*Another sweet treat, my nephew was born at 1:53 this morning. He was 7lbs 4 oz and 20 1/2 inches long! Welcome Caanon!! I can't wait to meet you!!*

Happy Valentine's Day! Be sure and be thankful for your Valentine.

Until next time, be blessed! S :)