Watch Out Gayle!!

Did anyone watch Oprah on Friday? I'm always a little behind bc I Tivo everything, to my defense I wasn't even in town on Friday, but I heard Justin Timberlake was on there, so I had to watch when I had a free moment today. Ok, great show, but Gayle said something that REALLY made me mad, so mad that I am going to write a letter to her and Oprah. Gayle and Oprah were so excited to see what kind of dogs Justin had. They show a picture of his two Boxers and one Pit Bull. Oprah made some comment like, "Oh you have some dogs". Oprah I commend your efforts on getting people to adopt dogs, but come on, we all can't have Cocker Spaniels or Golden Retrievers. Yes some of us have "dogs" as you made that special tone in your voice. Gayle then says "Aren't you scared your dog is going to turn on you?" "That's what they say about Pit Bulls". Ohhh she drew blood if you ask me, I took offense on that and they will be getting a letter from me. I wish Justin would have stood up for his Tina better. I think Tina is actually Jessica's dog, but whatever. I already was a little irritated that Oprah didn't do a show on Michael Vick or his rehabilitated dogs..BOOO Gayle! I would love Gayle to come meet my boys or any of the other wonderful Pits I know! It's on Gayle!!!

Drink Your Blues Away Memphis Fans!

River Oaks is having the most unique promotion. I'm not a Memphis fan, but I sure could partake in this offer...

Drink and Eat Your Calipari Blue Away!

Wash the Calipari's away with 3 Dollar Drinks

$3 Mixed Drinks from 5pm-10pm

$2 Domestic Beers

25% off the Entire Wine List

Offer Good from 3/31-4/3

They have reduced their prices for all the loyal Memphians (not me, but I can pretend) that need a moment of silence!

Welcome to the SEC Coach Cal!!

3 Boys on the Couch

Shannon took these pictures of my 3 boys the day of our Garage Sale..yes the girls were outside freezing, working, selling and this is what the boys were doing..just kidding..Shannon and Tony did a lot and Lennox and Lane did their best Guard Dog impressions. Lennox and Lane really think of themselves as small lap dogs and always have to BOTH be on top of anyone in this spot on the couch. Thanks for the pictures Shannon..

Please Eat Chili's Wolfchase Today!!

My friend Eric that run's the Gage Foundation here in Memphis just sent this to me. It's last minute, yes, but I'm sure most of you don't have Monday night plans, do you? The manager at Chili's is going to match this offer and donate 20% of what you eat to the Gage Foundation that does a lot of animal abuse work her locally and a lot with Pit Bulls. Read about Gage's Story here. Please print this and take it to Chili's tonight, even if you pick up takeout..its for a wonderful cause..THANKS!

The best rapper alive?

Wow, so one of the best concerts I've been to was a week ago, but I'm finally having time to actually sit down and gather my thoughts. I heard about the show only a few weeks before and less than a week before the tickets went on sale. I asked Brett for his suitetickets, but just in case, I bought some great ones the second they went on sale. Brett came through, but it was pretty tough to find someone to take the two extra I had, and I realized that most of my friends (about all) weren't really into Lil Wayne like us. I'm probably one of the only girls that is die hard into hip hop, like getting everything as soon as it comes out and becoming a music snob, bc I only want to listen to the newest things out. The radio here bumps things months and almost a year after they come out. Tony always takes credit for helping me stay current, but I've been like that my whole adult life. I didn't know a single sole going to the show! Tony saw some kids he trained at D1, and Marlon Brown (GA Traitor) was in the suite right next to us. That suite really had a good time! :)  Luckily after a few texts, we got a hold of Chris who was intown and was more than happy to take the two tickets off our hands. Chris is really down for anything, which is great. So Chris came to pick us up in his gorgeous new car, that Tony is totally in love with. We had dinner and drinks at Sole, which was pretty much a major disappointment. We had been there once before, but this time they were a little unprepared. They were out of chicken breast, chicken fingers, calamari, Stella, Red Bull and who knows what else we didn't ask for. Tony ordered the $26 oysters (for a dozen) and we spilt the burger. I will say the burger was amazing, like the Interim burger.  Chris didn't even eat, he thought the Forum might have something better than Sole had on their menu. Our waiter actually was nice and went and got me a Sugarfree Red Bull from the gift shop...We might give Sole another try, but not anytime soon...

On to the concert..we walked in about 5 minutes after 7pm and two guys were on the stage..never figured out who they were, but they were off in minutes. Next came a

 group of girls droppin it like its hot, and didn't figure out who they were either. I later read

 that it was Electrik Red, and the song they kept singing was "Drink in my Cup"(Tony liked it).  Next on was Keri Hilson, who I was looking forward to bc I am totally loving "Turning Me On", and always loved "Energy" and her on the hook for "The Way I Are". Her performance was pretty good, kinda weak with only two average backup dancers.  I was hoping Wayne would

come out on stage with her, but didn't. She's an Atlanta girl and kept hyping up how she's been to Memphis so many times. Gym Class Heros came on next and I was VERY impressed with them. They put on a great live performance and show. Tony really liked them as well and we both didn't realize that we knew so many songs they performed. They have like a rock/rap vibe, very high energy. After GCH performed for just under an hour, T-Pain's stage was set up for his performance. T-Pain is known as the Ring Leader and her sure lived up to his moniker. T-Pain is a song-writer, producer, rapper, and musician, you name it, he does it, all at 24 years old. He has so many hits, you forget..but he did about all of them. "Kiss Kiss", "Low", "The Good Life", "Got Money", "Bartender", 

 "I'm So Hood", "She Got It", "Buy You A Drank", "Green Light", "The Boss", "Chopped and Screwed", "Can't Believe It" and one of my current faves, "Blame It" on the a-a-a-a-alcohol...I sure have used that excuse for a lot of things. "Blame it on the Goose, gotcha feelin loose"..Ok..back to the concert. T-Pain, rapped, sang, danced, played the drums, keyboard and the guitar. T-Pain is known for the use of Auto-Tune. It's the process 

of changing your voice or pitch and he is the master of it, that's why he's on everyone's hook. I didn't know how T-Pain would be in concert, but will all the dancing and circus themed entertainment, I was just so pleased and would love to see him again. BRING ON Lil Wayne...He pops up from the center of the stage and starts things off with Mr. Carter, one of my favorites! Jay-Z's voice was just played so they could pull off this collaboration. I love the song, but surprised, bc I didn't realize it would be so popular with the audience. Who am I kidding any hip hop fan knows this song! His presence was amazing. Small in stature, but extremely mesmerizing with his raspy voice and perfect flow. All of 26 years old and wise beyond his years with what he is rapping about. There has been a lot for Lil Wayne to see in his short life. He performed all of his hits, when he did "Lollipop", it was like the first time I had heard it. Wayne even brought some of his protege's

on stage, Chuckee and another little guy, I didn't care for them. But Keri Hilson came on stage to do "Turnin Me On" again this time with Lil Wayne's part included. I gave the people in the suite a show on that one, I think Tony was turnin a little red with my video vixen moves. :) The only song not performed that I really like was "Georgia Bush" about Lil Wayne's Katrina experience. Lil Wayne is not attractive to me, but how intelligent his rhymes are and his performance level just makes him attractive. Lil Wayne

 ended the show putting on a boxer's robe and saying "The Best Rapper Alive".  The show finally wrapped up around 11:45pm.  Whew, is Lil Wayne the Best Rapper Alive? I will have to say he is for sure one of them. The things he raps about and says are so intelligent,  yet sometimes in a comical way.  I really like his style. We saw Jay-Z less than a year ago in Vegas and Tony might disagree and say Jay-Z is the Best, but Lil Wayne is for sure up there, especially for his age and how long he's been in the game. 

After the show, Tony and I had to make a Run for the Border and get some Taco Bell, what!? I never, ever eat Taco Bell, but being the only thing open, 

it was just needed. I had a yummy quesadilla to end the evening. 

Bye-Bye Lipstick

I heard it is officially cancelled! Boooooo....

Belly and Brows

Saturday Brow Gal had their Grand Opening. It was a lot of fun..not to mention my bellydancing debut after a 9 month break. I'm not dancing with Pyramid Dancers anymore and am doing things on my own now, so its really nice to start things up again. I'm so glad I had a lot of support from friends.  Stefanee did a great job with getting the Grand Opening together with lots of great food and a wonderful BrowGalTini. The Tigers played at 2:20pm and right in the middle of the event , but it didn't stop many and I donned my blue to get in the theme. Tasha did my brows and makeup for the day and I couldn't have been happier with the results. They even had a great drawing for Brows for an entire year, and guess who won!?! Andrea! :) Lucky Girl!

Dancing again..

Wow I can still do these...

Veil work..

With Christine and Julie before the Tiger's Game

With the original Brow Gal Stefanee and Dane! 

Everyone clap! 

Belly..Belly..

With the Brow Gals..

Tami, Lynne and Courtney came out for support

Nicole, me, Andrea (the big winner) and Jessica

Well I had to get one with my boys at home! 

Captain John's Old Tyme Pit Barbecue-Collierville Number 11

We went to Captain John's Old Tyme Pit Barbecue in Collierville on February 26, 2009. I had called ahead and learned that the son of the 2nd owner's Shane, now owns and runs the restaurant. This was originally a franchise, a pilot bought it and ran it under Captain John's for six years until Shane and his family bought it about 20 years ago. It is right off Highway 72 and right off Bill Morris Parkway (385) exit Highway 72. 

Courtney's Review: 

Captain John's was a pleasant surprise. I had never been there and had barely heard of it, but will definitely go back.  As soon as you enter, the smokey smell of the bbq hits you so you know they're cooking on site (which was one of the disappointments of Gridley's). We even saw them chopping the pork shoulder in the back...another good sign. I thought the pork sandwich was really good. Tender, moist meat with a smokey flavor. The sauce was good, too, although I prefer mine just a little bit sweeter. The owner was very friendly and gave us some history about the restaurant. It's a little out of the way but it's so close to 385 you can get there fairly quick from any part of the city. 

Diane's Review: The barbecue sandwich was good. I liked it because it wasn't swimming in the sauce. The beans were average. I would give the sandwich a 3.

Randy's Review:  I liked the brown barbecue and would give it a 3.5. There was nothing memorable about it. That's just not to say it was bad. Basically if you consider all the bbq joints we've been to, I really couldn't say one was horrible. Maybe that means that as a whole, Memphis has pretty good barbeque. 

Kembree's Review: I really liked what the place looked like as we pulled up to it. It looked like an old 50's diner, but in a nostalgic way, not a run down way. Walking in the door, you smelled 

what you were supposed to smell, the smokey bbq smells. I got the bbq plate with fries and onion rings. Both side

were good, normal, nothing special, but the bbq sandwich was really good. It was a great size and stayed in the bun for the most part. I liked the flavor, not perfect, but really good for a place we weren't sure about. Shane the owner came out and made sure we were ok after I had called and asked a few questions. I give the sandwich a 3.5 out of 5. Much better than Gridley's. 

Regina's Review: This was a pleasant surprise for me. I have driven by this place hundreds of times. I would choose this over the other bbq joint in Collierville. I enjoyed smelling the

 pit when we walked in hearing the chopping. We even saw an employee get meat off the pit. The meat was smoky, the sauce was tasty, beans were fair. Overall, Yummy. The owner's history lesson was great. 

Brett's Review: Captain John's was a surprise. I lived in Collierville for almost 10 years and I never knew it was there. I had a great bbq sandwich that came recommended this time. The owner came and said hello and even gave us a bit of history. I say 5 out of 5 on this one. 

Loren's Review: With my unsophisticated palette I liked Captain John's bc it was moist and spicy taste was jut right. The portions at Captain John's were generous and the owner was friendly and accommodating. 

A Dog's Life

Lil Wayne Review to come..I promise..

Friday I attended "A Dog's Life" exhibit at the Memphis College of Art in the main gallery of Rust Hall. Artist Beth Edwards organized the event as a fundraiser for the Humane Society of Memphis and Shelby County. I sent the press release to RSVP's blog and got an email back from the editor asking if I would do a write up and take pictures at the event for their magazine. Me, a photographer!? Well of course I didn't mind helping get some exposure for my favorite charity! The exhibit runs through April 10th and is a must see. All styles of art including painting, and sketching of dogs are displayed from small dogs with their toys on a couch, to dogs marching off the war with soldiers, and dogs rescued from Hurricane Katrina. What is nice about this exhibit is varied painting styles are used by the 35 artists. A silent auction was held of Beth Edward's "Brown Dog" and $950 was raised for the Humane Society. Those who attended received a poster print of Tina Newberry's "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly" in exchange for a donation to the Humane Society. It was a really nice event that I'm glad I attended. Go check it out when you have time. 

Beth Edwards, artist Jed Jackson and Butch Lulloff of the Humane Society

Artist Beth Edwards and myself with "Brown Dog"

What a show..

I am still recovering and will talk all about it soon..whew! 

Lil Wayne Concert Tonight

I Can't Wait!

An Irish Girl's Birthday

So it was St. Patrick's Day and Winter's birthday was a couple days to away, so we decided to celebrate! Why wouldn't a red headed Irish girl want to celebrate her bday on a beer drinking green holiday!? We all crammed into one table at TJ Mulligan's Trinity location and had a wonderful time. Tony was in Arkansas with his boss so he missed all the fun! 

Shannon, Tami and Avery the Kings and Queen of the iPhone

with Mike and Winter

Shannon borrowing Winter's festive hat for a new look

With Winter the Birthday Girl!

Shannon and Avery are always down for some fun!

Winter and Mike enjoying their green beer!

Vols Season Over by a close one!

I'm bummed the guys lost today, but Shannon finished up the video from our Ole Miss road trip. You must check it out..

Persian Grandfather's

Kamron has been scanning a lot of old family pictures lately and has been emailing them to me. In honor of New Year, here are some..I never got to meet either of them. The one above is of my brother Kamron, Sister Mika and my Dad Kami at a wedding this summer.  Its crazy to me how my Dad and Brother have the same eyes as my Grandfather.

This is my Dad's Dad, so my Grandfather

This is my Grandmother's Father, so my Great Grandfather