Work Lately

I love my job and the ability to travel all over the state to meet some of the coolest folks! I have literally been from state line to state line, north to south and east to west. I have hit all four borders of the state of Georgia since November. While the long hours in the car and being away from home get tiring, I wouldn’t trade it for the world!

Goodson Pecans in Leesburg, Georgia makes the most amazing thing ever: pecan butter. It is perfect for my little rascal that is allergic to peanuts and I can just eat it straight from the jar with a spoon!

 

I spoke to a group in Hiawassee about my experience in my ag leadership program, AGL, and told them about my job across the state. Of course, I had to stop in Ellijay for some fresh Georgia apples. The “pink lady” variety was just in season and it is my absolute favorite.

 

The Savannah Food and Wine Festival was a great time to promote Georgia Grown. I got to hang out with Yumion the Vidalia onion mascot and snagged up the last jar of Abby J’s sweet fire pickles. They are divine.

 

  

I spent a few trips meeting with my favorite girls at White Oak Pastures. I was able to stay at one of the on-farm cabins and even snagged a “locally grown” onesie for our newest addition.

 

I visited the E. D. Rivers house in Lakeland.

  

We also got to visit Still Pond Winery and Distillery in Arlington.

  

Gin Creek hosted a group I was with for a tour and tasting (none for me though!)

One of my very first clients Lauri Jo from Lauri Jo’s Southern Style Canning is introducing several new flavors this year. I bought two different ones to try.

And finally I got a new experience: south Georgia winter strawberries at Southern Grace Farms in Enigma. It was amazing to have fresh berries in January!

Tennessee Mountain Christmas Trip

I mentioned that we had a mini Christmas gift exchange at Suzi and David’s house before Christmas. That is because Mama and Daddy decided to rent a cabin just outside of Townsend, Tennessee for a week between Christmas and New Year’s. Never fear, I still got my beloved Chick-Fil-A calendar and card from Mama! It has become an annual tradition.

On the way north, we stopped at the Varsity for Wyatt’s first visit. Justin found an old-school barber shop and got a traditional straight razor shave and a haircut. Poor Wyatt got buzzed a little too short thanks to my miscommunication with the hair stylist.

 

We had a ton of fun but managed to miss out on a single family group photo. We had a house full: Mama and Daddy, Sami, Suzi, David, Liam, Aunt Patty, Uncle Roger, our cousins Phillip and Claire, and the three of us. We managed to not kill each other and the guys managed to down several jars of Smoky Mountain ({legal) moonshine.

 

I swore I would never take those old timey photos where you dress up like a saloon patron but I remember finding some from Justin’s Papa and Granny and the laughs they conjured up were worth the crazy experience.

 

We were on our way back from the flea market when Justin saw the helicopter service that we used for a tour on our honeymoon. They were advertising rides for $9 a person. I told him it was too good to be true but he called and that’s exactly what they were offering—a short up and down trip for about 10 minutes. Wyatt had never been nor had Sami so we took advantage of the deal and had a great time. Wyatt especially liked it because he got to sit in the front with the pilot.

Justin, Wyatt, and I got up long before dawn to visit Cades Cove in hopes that we would see lots of beautiful animals. We were blessed too! We got to see handfuls of deer, turkeys, and even a coyote. Wyatt enjoyed swapping between his binoculars and his gun to pretend he was hunting.

 

I didn’t get too many souvenirs. Most of the shopping I did was practical. I checked out the maternity store and stocked up on a pretty decent wardrobe. I was fortunate, however, to find this gorgeous tobacco basket. It is probably 4 feet square and I snagged it for $20! We had a great time and I look forward to seeing what other adventures hold for us in 2016.

  

Christmas 2015

We had an unseasonably warm Christmas break this year. Wyatt was playing in the water with May days before Christmas in shorts and a tee shirt. I remember the first year we lived down here (1992), my mama and daddy were amazed that we were riding our new bikes on Christmas morning in shorts and a tee shirt. I guess that makes it less unusual than I thought.

Ashburn Christmas Parade and festivities

Wyatt had fun wearing his Olaf pajamas to his school Christmas party. He made the cutest ornaments and his letter to Santa said he wanted a hotdog grill and a steak grill. I guess this mama just didn’t realize they were different!

  

 

We celebrated a mini Christmas gift exchange at Suzi and David’s house. This first picture is hilarous. David found a picture of me from elementary school wearing a cat tapestry vest. He gave me a hard time about it so I bought one for him for Christmas one year and made him wear it. So for the past several years we have re-gifted the vest to each other. This year he one-upped me and found this tacky tie-dyed cat shirt and made me wear it to Christmas Eve at Mama and Daddy’s house. Sami caught me in this picture laughing so hard I was crying when I opened it. Sami got me the oldest Christmas present of the night with an antique egg scale. We use it to size our eggs from the chickens. Wyatt loves it almost as much as I do!

  

Christmas morning was fun and relaxing. Justin was able to get off duty early so he could be there when Wyatt woke up. I love spending quiet time with them on Christmas mornings and watching Wyatt get so excited about the fun stuff he gets. Justin got on the floor and played with Wyatt’s new toys almost as much as Wy did!

 

My boys showed out this year. I got the dough bowl I have been dreaming of and a treasured key chain from Justin and Wyatt with their hand outlines and a ring from Wyatt with his name on it. I am a spoiled person for sure!

 

Christmas Mini Photo Session

I absolutely love that my sister is a photographer and wants to capture Wyatt growing up. I couldn’t imagine anyone else doing as good a job as she does. We had fun doing this quick photo session at her studio one afternoon. She got these amazing photos in 20 minutes with no hassle out of Wyatt! She got him to make a mean face and he is just too much!

  

Justin won this Christmas puppy—appropriately named Christmas by Wyatt—and he had to make his photo debut too.

 

We even stole another one of Sami’s client’s ideas and brought a stack of Christmas books for Wyatt to peruse.

While I was very unprepared (no makeup and a pony tail) I am glad Sami even managed to capture some pictures of me reading to him too!

2015 Christmas Tree

I absolutely love going to the Christmas tree farm and getting our annual tree! I am a die-hard supporter of the Georgia Grown program but the one thing I spring for from out of state on purpose is a North Carolina fir. The smell is intoxicating.

  

After taking our annual Christmas tree selfie, I was happy to see I had five years of this tradition to put together in a photo collage. I can’t wait to add our fourth family member to the shot next year!

Wyatt even got his own little tree again this year. We had fun sticking tipless arrows in it and even topping it with a turkey decoy. He thought that was the coolest thing ever.

   

Wyatt was happy to see that his Elf on the Shelf, Marshmallow, arrived the next day and brought him a small gift under his tree.

We didn’t buy any ornaments this year (a big mistake on my part!) but I did craft a few at a Young Farmers meeting. Liam also bought his cousin Wyatt this big brother ornament. He is so sweet. I think this was the most exciting ornament we have had in a while!

 

Our Christmas lights were amazing this year. We found Star Shower laser lights on sale at Black Friday at Home Depot. They gave the house a magical feel and were set up within 20 minutes by the time we hunted down extension cords.