Persian Pit Bull

I got locked out

2010-06-22T17:43:00.001-05:00

of my blog! Tony made me some new gmail accounts for some reason so I could use ichat with my sister and for some reason it stuck on my blog. So I finally 'broke' in so I could do some posting. I really wanted to recap wedding details, but I am so behind. I am thinking it might help me figure out what I have left to do! Only 25 days! My extra time has been spent writing thank you notes, not that I am complaining and my social calendar has been extra full..again I'm not complaining! So hopefully soon I will get a post up detailing all that I have been working on! Let's hope I can do something before Friday and leaving for Miami for my bachelorette party!!

Ken Neely's is #25 on the BBQ Tour

2010-05-04T16:45:00.000-05:00

We went to Ken Neely's Hickory Bar-B Que on December 30th 2009. It is located at 7444 Winchester Road.

Diane's Review: Ken Neely's Barbecue was very good. I enjoyed the sandwich and rate it a 4. The smoked meat was very good and I enjoyed the slaw. What really makes the place is the owner. Hewas so nice an interested in us. Good food and good service would make me want to come back again.

Randy's Review: Ken Neely's is everything I conceive a fine barbecue restaurant to be. I give all aspects an overall 4.5 out of 5. I would and have recommended this restaurant to all who ask me where they can get some of the best

barbecue in Memphis.

Courtney's Review: I enjoyed my lunch at Ken Neely's. I had the pulled pork and the flavor was good. I would have preferred more crisp outside meat. Also we ordered a 12 pack and thought the portions were a little skimpy...usually places are more generous with their bulk bbq. I tried the spaghetti too and it was delicious. Loved the

sweet sauce, I recommend getting the take out, it was pretty busy and they only had 4 or 5 tables.

Brett's Review: Ken Neely's was true to the family name. Good bbq and friendly people in a good environment. Until I am proven wrong, I will always recommend bbq with a Neely's name on it. I give it a 4 out of 5.

Regina's Review: Christmas Gift Certificate, it was delicious. Ken Neely does his family proud. Meat, slaw, beans, spaghetti where all excellent. I am not a fan of ribs, but if I needed to eat some, it would be these.

Kembree's Review: I had bought a gift certificate and treated the group for an after Christmas special. I was curious

about this spot since it had a Neely's name and I had driven past it a few times. It

is a very small place, but very clean. We had a large group including the regulars and Regina brought her husband Rhea and son Drew. So I felt like we took up half of the restaurant. It is in a strip mall, so I understand the spacing. The service was great, everyone was very friendly and ordering in bulk that day was the best way to go. I had a $50 gift certificate and it fed everyone with a little left to go home with Drew. I ate the pulled pork, it was great and I enjoyed the sauce. The ribs were really good too, big and meaty. I also liked the spaghetti. I would forsure go back if I were in the are

a again. I give them a 4 out of 5.

Tony's Review: Kembree had been waiting to try Ken Neely's because she bought a gift certificate. I used to get my hair cut in the area and had passed it several times. It was a small place, I think they do a lot of carry out. I liked the pulled pork, the beans and slaw. The ribs were good and seasoned and very meaty. I would go back, I give Ken Neely's a 3.5 out of 5.

Going on 5 weeks...

2010-05-02T19:54:00.002-05:00

5 weeks of trouble with my asthma. It is very frustrating...very very frustrating. I have never had so much trouble with my asthma in my entire life! I started having trouble in high school and was diagnosed with exercise induced asthma. I had an inhaler that I used from time to time, but I haven't needed one that much unless I'm doing heavy running. When I started the Women's Running Program with the Memphis Runners, I got Singulair prescribed to me and it helped with the heavy running we did in the heat on the those Monday nights. Two years ago when I ran the St.Jude Half Marathon, I had to get emergency treatment after finishing, I had to get oxygen. So it has mainly been exercise induced issues for me. But starting this Easter just out of the blue with no exercising, I have had a lot of trouble filling up my lungs all the way. I have tried not working out, staying indoors, and lots of pills. Nothing I can say in really helping. I was on steroid for 10 days, Predisone. Yep, it didn't do much but put 4 lbs on me in one week; Conveniently the week before my bellydancing performance at Mirage in Knoxville. After that I went in for another doctor's visit and another $30 copay. This time I got Levaquin. Yes Levaquin the $25 a pill miracle that did nothing for me in 10 days. I paid $50 for 10 pills and thought my insurance must be lousy, only to find out that it saved me $198!! So in addition to the 2 prescription pills I am on Mucinex-D and Claritin, and still the Singulair. I am also on two inhalers, Provental and Symbicort. I think the Claritin and the Mucinex are really the most helpful, crazy bc they are over the counter and I was already 'self medicating' myself on those.

Being sick like this is tough, it is hindering my working out and making me overall tired! I'm trying to get really toned for the wedding and we only have 78 days! I do feel like I'm getting better, but its just sooooo slowly...5 weeks is just a long time. I even called my doctor and asked if she thought a B12 shot was a good idea. I got one on Thursday and still waiting for that to kick in I guess. I can't slow down, I've had 3 showers since my troubles and have another one on Friday night. I am doing my best to rest...I just want to feel like myself again.

Flemings Leg of the Wine Race

2010-04-29T14:45:00.000-05:00

We came out to support Brett and his two time winning Wine Race team on Sunday. They were in the first heat and Brett was the anchor. Spindini was ahead about 2 feet after Flemings had a rough start with a broken cork in their first bottle. Brett tried to be the hero, not settling for 2nd place and ran to the finish line..

Yep and that was the end of it...sorry Brett, there is always next year! Spindini ended up winning the entire thing!

Vegas Vacation Day 3

2010-04-21T14:47:00.000-05:00

Day 3, Sunday..we ventured out to Aria, the newest casino and loved it. It was very modern and wonderful. We had a drink in the lobby and Engin always meets the lovely ladies.

We had dinner at American Fish, it was delicious! It is a Michael Mina restaurant and Engin suggested it. This is the cool bar area.

My bacon wrapped Sturgeon, I think my first time eating it. The yellow stuff was squash and it was pretty gross, but the fist was wonderful! I loved it.

This was in the Aria around the Elvis theatre area, pretty cool, huh?

Yep Elvis, the King, had to give him a kiss from Memphis!

Cocktails on the patio at the end of the evening to wrap up a great trip at the Parasol Bar.

Tryst

2010-04-20T17:50:00.000-05:00

Pictures from Winter and Sabrina's 'reception' at Tryst!

Featured on Some Blogs

2010-04-19T20:15:00.002-05:00

Lennox and Lane were featured on the great Pit Bull Blog Pitter Patter. And Meredith featured my shower on Friday night on hers! We are all so famous! :)

Vegas Vacation Day 2

2010-04-16T08:00:00.001-05:00

On Day 2 in Vegas we got to catch some rays, which was really nice. It was gorgeous desert weather. The pool was really nice and it was a good day to relax and rest up for our big night. We even got in a little bit of shopping which was nice..

Winter got ready in Caesars and Jennifer, Teri and I assisted her. We got to do a mini photoshoot too, it was a lot of fun!

Tony walked Winter down the aisle for the ceremony.

After the ceremony, we got in the limo and drove down the strip. We took so many pictures in front of the Vegas sign and barely any turned out! It still was fun to see bc I have been there several times and never actually seen the sign!

We had an amazing dinner at SW Steakhouse after Engin straightend out some drama with our reservation. We sat outside and got to watch a show every few minutes.

Blogger hookup! Finally got to meet my fellow blogger friends Sammy, he joined us for dinner at SW.

What a meal! The best dessert ever! This was a funnel cake on a tree like thing, we were so stuffed, but we ate them anyway..

Need Some Wedding Flower Inspiration...

2010-04-15T07:37:00.000-05:00

Bear with me on this post. I stole these off some blogs, I am interviewing florists this weekend and wanted to show them so ideas of things I like. Although I thought I was selecting one or two pictures, I guess I got the whole page :( So I guess I will have to select each and make them bigger to show...oh well..enjoy some pretty pictures!!

BBQ Obits

2010-04-14T20:49:00.001-05:00

Condolences to the Cozy Corner Family and the Rendevous Family...some bbq legends passed this month...

Brayden and Lennox

2010-04-14T10:00:00.000-05:00

I liked this picture of Brayden and Lennox. Lennox hasnt been around too many kids and Brayden has only been around little Wesley, I wanted to make sure Lennox and Brayden would be good friends and always try to get them together...

Vegas Vacation Day 1

2010-04-13T07:32:00.000-05:00

Here we are in Winter and Sabrina's suite at the Wynn ready to start our Vegas adventure! Love to take pictures with the setting on the camera that allows everyone to get in. Our first stop was Minus 5 Ice Lounge in Mandalay Bay. We had the best time in there! There was an admission fee of $25 per person which included one drink. I had found a coupon in one of the books in our cap and we all got a free Tshirt. It was the best $25 drink I had ever had, they were all Russian Vodka based and whew! They really worked :) Yes, that is Elvis carved in an ice statue!

My delicious drink in a glass made of ice! I loved it, wish I could remember what was in it.

Gotta love this picture of all the girls! So cute!!

Ok, so my camera got so cold and I think it froze up a little hence the blur on the side of this photo.

Our next stop was the Cathouse Steakhouse in the Luxor Casino. We had a really good time, partly bc of our great 'feeling' coming out of Minus 5. Tony and I went for the special Pre Fix menu and got a great steak and a wonderful dessert. I will say I was disappointed in the burlesque show. The girl came out behind the glass and put on her makeup, not too much entertainment and that's what we went there for!

FABULOUS dessert of Banana Cotton Candy and Red Velvet Cupcakes...yum, yum...

We celebrated Winter's 30th again at the Cathouse since she would be getting married on her actual day!

After dinner we headed over to Peepshow with Holly Madison from Playboy and the Girls Next Door as the Star. We had tickets in the front row, which was great. The theme is around nursery rhymes but in a hip hop way. The dancing was great, but Holly was somewhat disappointing. She really doesn't have rhythm, which we saw on DWTS, but you would think something happened with her having a starring role! I did think it was kinda interesting that all the dancers had natural breasts, no implants but on Holly! Definitely entertaining and when we left, Planet Hollywood was crazy and loud and full of fun, we shoulda stayed there, but took it easy and back to Winter and Sabrina's suite to get ready for their big day the next day...

Brad's in Bartlett is #24 on our Tour

2010-04-12T10:00:00.001-05:00

We went to Brad's Bar-B-Q at 2845 Bartlett Blvd. in November 2009.

Tony's Review: I enjoyed Brad's. The service was great and friendly. I liked the sauce and the pulled pork was great. Kinda average tasting sauce and the rest, but I would go back, its in a good location. I give Brad's a 3 out of 5.

Diane's Review: Brad's was another restaurant that didn't leave a lasting impression. The barbeque was fine and I certainly would call it about average. There just wasn't much that was interesting that would make me want to go back. The waitress was very helpful and I would give the sandwich a 2 out of 5.

Randy's Review: Brad's barbeque chicken was excellent. The pork sandwich would rank a 3 out of 5 for me. The wait staff was very friendly. It would be a return trip for me however, but because of a twenty dollar overpayment, I will not return. No one contacted me after I realized we were overcharged after leaving my name and number for them. So good food, bad management.

Regina's Review: Brad's was pretty good. The meat and sauces were very good. The slaw was okay but the beans were

surely from a can and not doctored a bit. I will say that the banana pudding was delicious!

Courtney's Review: Brad's in Bartlett was a pleasant surprise. Our waitress Wendy was very friendly and knowledgeable and told us that they had some 1/2 chickens coming out of the smoker in any minute. I couldn't pass that up and ordered the chicken with a small side of pulled pork so I could taste that too. The chicken was fantastic...moist and tender with

one of the best dry rubs I've tasted so far. The pork was good too, but nothing special. It didn't have the rich smoked flavor that the chicken had. I used Brad's

mild sauce on the pork and I really liked the flavor. It wasn't too sweet and had a hint of pepper. Can't wait to go back to Brad's and get more chicken!

Brett's Review: Brad's was one of my favorites. It looked nice inside and out, which is a good sign the place was clean. The pulled bbq was good and the service was as good too. The owner even had the time to come out and chat with us for awhile. I really enjoyed this place, 4 out of 5.

Kembree's Review: Brad's in the heart of Bartlett was really a surprise to me. I had not heard of it and it was just in the center of town. There was a really cute country feeling to the place and it was clean and welcoming. Our waitress was really nice and recommended the chicken which was hot out of the smoker.

I got that with some pulled pork and wow! That was some of the best chicken in Memphis along with Cozy Corner's Cornish hens. There was a nice rub and seasoning to it. The pulled pork was good too, the sauce was nice, pretty normal, but overall a great experience in a nice part of town. We even got to witness a wedding in the outside gazebo with the drive through bbq going by...I give Brad's a 4 out of 5.

For the love of the lucky color green....

2010-04-11T16:09:00.006-05:00

We celebrated Winter's birthday at El Porton and surprised her with all of us in green, since she and Sabrina would be in Vegas for her annual St. Patrick's Day birthday.

After El Porton we went to TJ Mulligan's keeping with the Irish theme and ran into Debbie and Baha on the dancefloor.

The DJ was great and Tony got our dance on!

For St. Patrick's Day the 17th we checked out Skimo's and their Crawfish Boil, I loved the new Bud Light aluminum bottles for this year..

I'm getting married in 99 days!?!

2010-04-09T12:47:00.002-05:00

yep, and that's not the only excuse for my lack of blogging these days. I have been VERY sick this week. I think the whole Vegas Hangover, week of allergies and now the worst week of asthma I have ever had, has totally slowed me down. But I am really inspired to catch everyone up on the wonderful bbq we have been eating and all of the wedding planning I have done so far, plus some of the fun parties and events we have attended. I need to get well, this asthma is making things though for me, I didn't work out for three days and it killed me, so I decided that my lungs won't get any stronger laying in bed and I've worked out the past two days and intend on getting better by the end of the weekend....wish me luck!

Vegas Hangover Or Spring Fever?

2010-03-25T13:13:00.003-05:00

Gosh since we got back early Tuesday morning from Vegas, I have been WORN OUT! Tuesday waking up was a given, I thought I might make it to Trekking class, but no way! I felt like I was in a daze most of the morning, but thought I might catch at Kickboxing class that night...but nope! Decided to be lazy. Wednesday morning I would be fine I thought. Well my alarm went off at 6:30am for my track workout and I thought I might 'just close my eyes', well that lasted until 7:45. I missed my track workout that I love to go to. So I rushed in my slow motioness and made it to 9am kickboxing, but barely could do much there, I was just so darn sleepy. I am taking Claritin, but it takes a while to kick in. Everything is blooming and its doing everything to mess with my allergies I guess. I did make it at my normal time for Bootcamp this morning, but still felt a little sluggish. I need to catch up so I can be my normal 'full' of energy self! We barely slept in Vegas, and surely I am caught up..no??...

We sure warmed our house...

2010-03-23T20:36:00.006-05:00

Finally after living in our house for almost 4 months, we opened it up to our friends...here is a sampling of a few of the pictures...

Awww..so special Marge and Kent came from my dog walking days at the Humane Society..

Jazzercise does a body good..

and so does Bootcamp...

Hey! Gimme my camera!!

Jon and Kate..??...

Yep, the damage was done!

We will miss you in Memphis Avery!

The end of the night dance party!!

Waffle House the next morning..we sure needed it!

Who needs a Stock the Bar party!?!?

Need a new rod..

Back from Vegas..so much to talk about..

2010-03-23T10:34:00.000-05:00

...but I need to catch up on reality, such as taxes and wedding planning...TONS of pictures to come soon!!

Vegas here we come!

2010-03-18T23:00:00.001-05:00

We are headed to Las Vegas tomorrow morning early til Monday. We will be joining friends including Winter and Sabrina who are getting married as well as celebrating Winter's 30th! Can't wait. Hopefully I can catch up posting after :)

Central on Summer is #23

2010-03-13T10:08:00.001-06:00

We went to Central BBQ on Summer Avenue on October 2, 2009. We went to celebrate Randy's birthday and sat outside on the patio.

Brett's Review: Central on Summer was delicious as usual. I got the sausage and cheese plate for the table and except for the sausage coming out lukewarm it was pretty good. My bbq sandwich was delicious as usual. I love the new big screen TV's they added earlier this year. Since it was kinda crowded inside, we sat outside on the front patio and had a very pleasant lunch. Central on Summer gets a 4 out of 5 for me.

Courtney's Review: I have always been a fan of Central bbq and I always order the pork sandwich. This time I decided to try something different and ordered the smoked

turkey sandwich. So good! They slice the turkey really thin so its easy to eat and it has such a great smoked flavor. I topped it with their mild BBQ sauce and it was delicious. I'll definitely order that again.

Kembree's Review: Gosh, I don't know what it is..I just don't see what is so special about Central BBQ...we

decided to do this 2nd location so we could get a better experience and I am sorry Central, I just didn't. The customer service when ordering was okay, I asked a question and got a finger point. I got the sandwich and it was not as hot in temperature as I would have wanted. It was average, just plain average. The mac and cheese was gross and the fries were plain. The sausage and cheese were ok..the presentation was nice. I mean I loved sitting outside and the weather was gorgeous. As Brett mentioned they had TV's inside, maybe it would be fun to watch a game here..

The best part was celebrating Randy's birthday and the Muddy's cupcakes that Diane brought for Randy's birthday celebration. Central always wins the reader's polls in the CA and the Flyer, but I think these people have never tried anything else, which is sad. Central gets a 3.5 out of 5 from me.

Tony's Review: I didn't care for the ribs at the other Central location, too greasy for me. All we hear about is how good this place is. Giving it a second try, the experience was alright. The

food is average and the service is okay. The sandwich was dry, but the sauce was pretty good. There are so many other spots in Memphis to check out. I give it a 3 out of 5.

Diane's Review: Central on Summer was not a real standout. I will just say average and give it a 3 out of 5. One of the things I didn't like was the inside. It was dark and certainly not cheerful. Since we dined outside, it was more pleasant.

Randy's Review: More outstanding than the actual bbq was my birthday celebration. It was celebrated al fresco at Central's suburban location. Nothing to complain about, but nothing to rave about either. I give the sandwich a 3 out of 5.

Sleepy Time

2010-03-12T15:15:00.001-06:00

Have you eaten Fried Chicken?

2010-03-11T14:40:00.000-06:00

Yep, this is it, the Best Fried Chicken! Right across the street from what is so far on our tour, the Best BBQ. In Mason TN.

The sign is true...

Do you like how I can pose with a bag of fried chicken?

Yep, pretty much in the middle of nowhere...

Oscar Red Carpet Dresses I didnt like..

2010-03-09T07:29:00.003-06:00

I mean this one wasn't so bad, but kinda Star Trek meets the Middle East for me. I'm sure she coulda found something better..

Faith, you are not representing Nashville in a good way. What's up with the lace print pantyhose!?

Her dress was ok..but I had to put her on here bc her skin looked so bad in HD and I love SJP! Come on...would Carrie let that go? Garnier is not working..

Great color, great cut, awful swirly things on the boobs...why would they put those on there? Extra fabric?

Two words..IRON IT!

My Top 4 Faves on the Red Carpet last night..

2010-03-08T16:26:00.000-06:00

Love this fit and flare dress on Elizabeth Banks. Love the fit, the color, I just love it all. I could wear this!

Wow, no one ever does a floral or a print, and I love this sweetheart with a gorgeous flare out. The colors are perfect.

I wanna be Demi Moore when I grow up and look like this..this dress matches her skin, and again another fit and flare that I loved.

This could be a wedding dress for the right woman, darn, I already have mine or I might have gone out for this one..good look J-Lo!

Oscar Red Carpet Faves

2010-03-08T11:11:00.002-06:00

She so doesn't look like her parents are polygamists here. This dress goes well with her skin and her hair looks great!

She has a fab body and this color is great for her, she looks more grown up than she normally does.

Very flattering for her body, the silver flower accents look great where they are placed.

I am not crazy about the flower in her hair, but it is a tribute, so I can go with it. This shape, cut and color looks great on her.

Wow, I love red and I love this rich red on her, she looks super hot!

I know its a little crazy, different, but I really like it! I like the color on her and the cut of this poufy bottom dress. Reminds me of tissue paper pomanders..

Bozo's Hot Pit Bar-B-Q is #22

2010-03-07T16:00:00.000-06:00

Bozo's Hot Pit Bar-B-Q was our 22nd stop on the tour.

342 Highway 70 East in Mason, TN

We visited Bozo's in September 2009

Courtney's Review: We've been talking about Bozo's since we started the tour and it was well worth the wait. For starters, the service was excellent. Warm friendly staff and the owner couldn't have been nicer. He talked to us for a long time, telling us the story of Bozo's. I ordered the jumbo sandwich and it was

excellent. A great thing about Bozo's is all of the

choices you have with ordering. You can choose

pulled or chopped meat, inside or outside meat, and they have three sauces to choose from. I chose pulled meat with a medium sauce and it was wonderful. I also ordered hushpuppies as my side and they were so good! They were homemaid with the perfect amount

of onion. The chocolate

pie was just okay..next time I will skip the dessert and go for more hushpuppies. Definitely worth the drive out to Bozo's.

Regina's Review: worth the trip! The new owner's attempt to keep all the old recipes was a success!

Kembree's Review: We kept hearing about this place and have been working up enough time in everyone schedule to get there. Really from Cordova it didn't take that long. It is off of exit 35 off of Interstate 40 and then from there a little ways down Highway 70. The scenery is gorgeous, even passing a 'Home

of Isaac Hayes' sign on the way, and passing the 'World Famous' Original location of Gus's Fried Chicken. Bozo's has a fun 50's style feel when you walk in the door. We sat down and had a very

friendly, enthusiastic and helpful waitress, as read in other re

views, we don't always get that. The owner even came out and introduced himself, and I was flattering that he recognized me as a local bellydancer. The pulled pork sandwich is what I got and it was great. We got

choices of how we wanted the meat and options of sauces. I liked the medium and even got a bottle to take home. The hushpuppies were my side item of choice and they were little tiny and delicious. I thought a cute old school touch was their candy selection at check out. Bozo's was the best so far and well worth the drive I give it a 5 out of 5.

Brett's Review: Bozo's was one heck of a drive. It took me 35-45 minutes to get there from East Memphis. The bbq was very delicious and I even had some cake for dessert. If it were not for the location, I would definitely go back. I give it a 4 out of 5.

Diane's Review: Bozo

's was my favorite. The sandwich was excellent, I would give it a 4.5. The owner seemed to be gracious and helpful I can't wait for a trip back.

Tony's Review: I didn't get to go when the group did, but since Kembree liked it so much she brought it back to me. The ribs and the pulled pork were great. I really liked them both. The ribs were seasoned well and the sauce was perfect. Its a perfect stop on my way back from Jackson

when I'm there for work. I can't wait to go back and try Bozo's again.

Randy's Review: Drive a little and enjoy a lot. There is a reason that Memphian's have been driving to Bozo's in Mason, TN for many years. Even though the restaurant is under new management, the quality remains the same. Everything considered, Bozo's is a 4+ for me.

Gummi Bears, Soft Batch Chocolate Chip Cookies, Salt and Vinegar Chips, and Sour Cream

2010-03-04T12:59:00.003-06:00

Went to the grocery store on Sunday night. I have these $5 off coupons in the Entertainment Coupon book that are good for each month and I hadn't used the one for February yet. I rushed in and bought about $100 worth of the usual things. The next day Tony tells me that I was shopping for me, and totally forgot about him. He said that there were several things he wanted...so today after Bootcamp I ran back in the good Kroger on Germantown Parkway. I can't help the Lakeland Kroger pretty much sucks and really doesn't have everything, and I forget about Tony's staples. So today he got 2 lb bags of gummi worms and gummi bears, we both love them, but I think Tony has to have them to get through the day. Kroger brand Soft Batch cookies for $1.99. Do you know how much the Keebler brand costs..??.. $4.79 for less than you get with the Kroger brand. I personally prefer regular (hard) chocolate chip cookies, or freshly baked one, so let's see if the Kroger brand will do for him. Salt and Vinegar chips, gosh I love these too! They can't be good for you! I got the Pringles version of these. And last but not least..we couldn't have 'Taco Night' without sour cream! Yuck, I hate sour cream, but he has to have that too...I guess I am now a good wife to be with these items in our pantry.

Michael Vick Nude?

2010-02-22T17:57:00.002-06:00

Playgirl wants to pay Michael Vick a $1 million dollar donation to PETA for him to pose nude. Now, no brainer he has a great body, but who wants to see it? I'm not even sure that PETA is Pit Bull friendly...is it? I mean it would be good for the donation, but ugh, let's quit giving him exposure...especially this kind!

#21 Boss Hog B-B-Q in Southaven

2010-02-17T20:40:00.001-06:00

We went to Boss Hog B-B-Q on Monday August 24th in Southaven, MS on Goodman Road.

Diane's Review: Boss Hogg was a small bbq restaurant with a few tables. The bbq was edible, but certainly not memorable. I would give the sandwich a 2. The only impression the restaurant left with me was that the service wasn't very good. Maybe the waitress was overworked or was having a bad day. I would not go back, there were too many other good places with better food and ambiance.

Kembree's Review: Well this was my birthday bbq, and Brett's and wow we couldn't have picked a worse spot, well maybe we could have, but this place was pretty lacking. No atmosphere and in a strip mall, but what drew me to it was a good website advertising coupons and birthday specials. No birthday atmosphere at all. The bbq was just okay, the average run of the mill, and had fried corn on the cob which sounded good, but was FREEZING cold in the center..it was pretty gross. I would give the bbq sandwich a 2 out of 5. And I don't even need to touch on the bad service and how she ignored me

a couple of times.

Randy's Review: Boss Hogg was so mediocre I don't remember the food or even being there. Considering the amnesia that I have from such boring bbq, I give them a 2.5 out of 5.

Regina's Review: Not very good and the service was not friendly.

Courtney's Review: I had the pulled pork sandwich and I really liked it. the bbq sauce was one of my favorites so far. The meat was flavorful and tender and it even came on a toasted bun. The fries were pretty bad, frozen and then fried and served at room temperature. What will keep me from going back was the terrible service from our waitress. She was so rude an apparently hates her job. We have been to too many places with good food and better service to waste the gas to drive out to Boss Hoggs.

Tony's Review: Went here for Kembree's and Brett's birthday. It was okay. I have had better, its near one of the hospitals I call on, but I don't see myself returning here. The service was too bad and some of the food was cold. I give Boss Hogg's a 2 out of 5..mostly for lack of atmosphere.

Brett's Review: this place was really bad! Room temp frys are gross. Beans that taste like the canned pork&beans I ate as a kid are gross. A waitress who's attitude was the only thing uglier than her appearance was insulting. Seriously, if it's 12:30 and 7 out of the 10 people in the restaurant are at one table you might wanna be nice to them. The one nice thing I have to say about this sorry excuse for a restaurant is the BBQ sauce was pretty good. However, that is still tainted. It looked disgusting. Warm up some tomato paste in a pot then let it sit till it cools again. Now put that sauce on pulled pork ordered from sysco. How appetizing does that sound? I give Boss Hog a very generous 0.5/5. Never ever go here.

I will sporting some purple this fall..

2010-02-17T20:00:00.001-06:00

Go Ravens!

Stay Tuned...

2010-02-16T21:20:00.002-06:00

I have too much in my head to post something. I need to make a list and just get on it! After our housewarming this week I will be on it..stay tuned..

Menu for the Purrfect Evening

2010-02-05T12:59:00.004-06:00

Menu for The Purrrfect Evening

Saturday February 13, 2010

The Liquid Kitty Lounge-Wines

Shrimp Tower

Chrispy Chicken with Honey Mustard

Mini Pork Tenderloin Sandwiches with Apple Chutney

Cheese Tortellini in Vodka Sauce

Chicken Sausage in Puff Pastry

Swedish Meatballs

Buns with Salmon, Creme Fraiche and Caviar

Humus with Pita

Spinach and Artichoke Dip with Pita

Roasted Vegetables

Assorted Cheeses and Olives

The Pink Panther Parlor-Brandies and Scotches

Chocolate Fountain

Assorted Cookie and Tart Tray

Caramel Cake

Cheesecake

Carrot Cake

Creme Brule

The Pussycat Lounge-Cordials

Assorted Gourmet Chocolates

Sounds fabulous doesn't it! I will be there....

For the FIRST time in THREE months..

2010-01-27T18:58:00.002-06:00

Actually the first time ever! In our old house my car was the only one in the garage! We worked out tails off today. It was such a pretty day and I was really determined to do this. Yep exactly three months and after box after box..moving, throwing away, making a garage sale pile..WE DID IT!!

Fire at Pet's Choice Vet Clinic

2010-01-27T09:24:00.001-06:00

Please be thinking about Dr. Shaw, the vet who saved Savior, there was a bad fire at his clinic last night, one pit bull lost its life...so sad.

Top 5 on the BBQ Tour through 20 stops

2010-01-26T08:40:00.003-06:00

Diane's Top 5

1. Interstate

2. A & R

3. Tom's

4. Bar-B-Q Shop

5. Payne's

Randy's Top 5

1. Interstate

2.Toms

3.Bar-B-Q Shop

4. A & R

5. Payne's

Brett's Top 5

1. Bar-B-Q Shop

2. A & R

3. Interstate

4. Captain John's

5. Blue's City Cafe

Regina's Top 5

1. Interstate

2. Neely's

3. Tom's

4. Bar-B-Q-Shop

5. Payne's

Kembree's Top 5

1. Payne's

2. Cozy Corner

3. Interstate

4. Tom's

5. TIE Old Style Bar-B-Q/A &R

Courtney's Top 5

1. Tom's

2. A & R

3. Payne's

4. BarbaRosa's

5. TIE Central and Captain John's

Tony's Top 5

1. Cozy Corner

2. Payne's

3. Old Style Bar-B-Q

4. Neely's

5. Interstate

Remember this is our top 5 out of the first 10 we visited. If you want to review where we have been. Click on BBQ on Labels...

The Purrrrfect Evening-lounge style

2010-01-25T21:32:00.001-06:00

Let me know if you need more info. The $75 for the ticket will spay or neuter 3 feral cats here in Memphis. What a great way to spend your Valentine's and REALLY give back to the community!

Wonder if this would work in Memphis?

2010-01-23T18:00:00.001-06:00

Hmmmm...wonder if we should adopt a campaign like this!? It might work..worth a try as long as cats and dogs are getting fixed!

Shamus and Ariel's Wedding..

2010-01-23T13:18:00.001-06:00

It was a clear, but windy day, so Ariel and Shamus got to have their wedding outside with the golf course as the back drop. Grandma Brown was escorted by Adrian. Don't the Brown boys look so handsome? I wasn't a fan of the Ivory tuxes at first, but with them all together I thought it looked nicer than I thought. I will admit that. These guys would look good in anything really.

Kaleb was adorable! I can't believe at 17 months we walked down that aisle alone. He did a great job.

The kiss seals it!

I look so windblown here, but had to get a picture with this cute little boy!

This one actually turned out nice of us.

Tony giving his Best Man speech. He did a great job!

Shamus, Tonya and Tony

Cutting the cake..always have to get a picture of the cake!

I'm still a single lady right!?!?!

This partition outside the reception became the area where everyone took shots like they were in the club..

The end of the night...it was a fun night! Whew..we were tired!

Pre Wedding Ariel and Shamus

2010-01-22T15:20:00.000-06:00

We went to Cracker Barrel for the rehearsal lunch...the party practiced for a few hours and I met them at the restaurant. We got some time with Tony's nephew Kaleb and Tonya really enjoyed all the whipped creme for her hot chocolates.

Later that night we got to eat some yummy sushi at Ronin, which I was so happy to find near our hotel. The last time we were in Daytona we ate at Aunt Catfish, which was super country. This place was totally trendy and a place we would hang out in Memphis.

After dinner we hosted the party in our room and got in major trouble with our neighbors...ooops! The crazy guy next door came in with his 5 year old daughter in pajamas to tell us they were having to move rooms. Well...go on then! I couldn't believe we had that many people in our room, but it was nice for Tony's family to all get to be together after so many years.

Tikia was celebrating her 30th birthday and made sure to tell me that she doesnt mind what pictures I post and where, bc she doesnt care! :) Love that! Live your life!

The next day as Tony practiced more and got ready for the wedding, I took a long walk on the beach...I saw a lot of sites...

Orlando for the day...

2010-01-21T20:30:00.000-06:00

We flew into Orlando on Friday instead of Daytona Beach this time. Tony's brother lives in Port Orange right outside of Daytona and we like to stay in Daytona Shores. The plane is bigger and the flight is a nonstop into Orlando, so we did it this time. We had some fabulous seafood at Fulton's in Downtown Disney. I really wanted to check out Disney or Universal Studios, but its almost $80 each to go...and since it was already an expensive trip on MLK holiday weekend, we decided to just hang out and walk around Downtown Disney. The ladies at the airport kept suggestion Holy Land, and I couldn't understand what they were saying. We kept asking..until we passed Holy Land, and yep that's what they were saying! The cute birds above were hanging around on the boat/restaurant we were eating in. Did I mention how good the food was? Ahhh fresh Florida seafood! YUM...
My nephew Brayden is just SOOO into Legos, well we went to the Lego's Store were I got him some cute stuff and took pictures with all the lego creations. Here I am with Lego Jesse (for you Kelly) and the rest of the dog walking crew...reminds me of my dog walking days at the Humane Society...shout out to my Wednesday group!

So we were walking around all the stores and in the window there were 'bride' and 'groom' ears. Well they were out of the bride ones, so I had to deal with the Ed Hardy version. Gosh you can buy ANYTHING Disney in these stores..its amazing.

20th Stop on the tour... Blues City Cafe

2010-01-21T04:00:00.001-06:00

We went to Blues City Cafe on Sunday August 8th. Tony and I had just gotten engaged, so it was a fun atmosphere with the Johnny Cash cover band singing "Ring of Fire" to us and making it all fun for us. Kelly and Loren joined in on the fun too!

Brett's Review: This place was a lot of fun. I believe we were the only locals in there. I have lived in Memphis my entire life and have never been there. Honestly I didn't realize they even had bbq. However, their ribs were fantastic. I'm more of a dry rib fan, which they don't sell, but if you are looking for wet ribs I'd definitely recommend you go there. The live entertainment, a guy who looked like Phil Spector and Bob Dylan's love child and sang like Johnny Cash was great. The service was very good as well. To sum it all up, this is a touristy spot and because of that, I probably wouldn't go back, but they definitely send tourists home talking about how good Memphis BBQ (which is traditionally dry is. BCC is a 4.5 out of 5 for me.

Regina's Review: Since ribs were the only offering on a Sunday evening Rhea and I split a slab. I am glad the sauce was on the side because I did not like it. I liked the way the ribs had some charred pieces from the grill, they had a nice smokey flavor and were not overcooked. There were tons of French fries and a one little ramekin of slaw and one little ramekin of beans. I like my beans and slaw and would have preferred more even thought they were a little doctored up and the canned variety. Rhea was not impressed, he thought the ribs were greasy. He liked the sauce and loved the fries so I guess he didn't leave hungry.

Courtney's Review: For a touristy joint on Beale St, I thought Blues City served pretty good BBQ...or I should say ribs and rib neat because they don't do offer pork shoulder on the weekend. We started with the sausage plate and the sausage was really good. Good amount of spice and I loved the BBQ dipping sauce they served with it. I ordered the salad topped with rib meat and it was delicious. The meat provided so much flavor that I didn't even need to add the dressing. I would definitely order that again.

Kembree's Review: The atmosphere was perfect. It was very touristy, but that is what we were coming into. I too had the ribs, not a lot of choice on the bbq end of things..but I did like them. I don't like the fatty parts or having to pull them off with your teeth and meat getting all stuck in there, so these fall off the bone, kinda greasy ribs were pretty

darn good to me! The fries were good too. I think if you want a fun atmosphere with live music come, but don't count on this place as the best in town, the best atmosphere with bbq on the side. They didn't have enough 'que' on the menu really to give it a ranking as we have had so far on the 'tour'. I give Blues City a 3.5.

Randy's Review: I found the ribs to be a little 'too falling off ' the bone. The smoked taste was good, but excessively wet and greasy. In retrospect I feel they were properly prepared for wet ribs, but they couldn't overcome the lesser quality of the cut of the ribs (too much

fat). The venue was great, the music was entertaining and the company, it goes without saying, was superb. Blues City functions well to its intent; a place for tourists to eat what is told is

'Memphis Barbeque' and listen to the blues.

Diane's Review: I was disappointed in not being able to try the barbeque sandwich; however the ribs were pretty good. The were too greasy and wet to taste. I like the crisper and drier ones. They weren't objectionable. I felt the place was a bit of a tourist trap because of its proximity to downtown. All in all, I had rather be a tourist and seek out Rendevous for the ribs that I have had before, not on our tour.

Tony's Review: We had a good time at Blues City Cafe. I usually get the ribs and these

were all right. The flavor was good, but not the best ones, I think these are boiled and just ready because they came out way to fast. I would give them a 3 out of 5.

Top 15 NBA Jerseys

2010-01-20T21:24:00.002-06:00

1. Kobe Bryant (notes), Lakers
2. LeBron James, Cavaliers
3. Dwight Howard, Magic
4. Derrick Rose, Bulls
5. Dwyane Wade, Heat
6. Kevin Garnett (notes), Celtics
7. Chris Paul, Hornets
8. Paul Pierce (notes), Celtics
9. Shaquille O'Neal (notes), Cavaliers
10. Pau Gasol (notes), Lakers
11. Carmelo Anthony (notes), Nuggets
12. Steve Nash (notes), Suns
13. David Lee (notes), Knicks

14. Allen Iverson (notes), 76ers
15. Kevin Durant (notes), Thunder

Pretty interesting that 2 of our Former Grizz made the list...none current.

Facebook

2010-01-20T15:30:00.002-06:00

So I signed up. January 1st to be exact. I really didn't want to, but I was missing out on a lot of pictures that everyone only posts on there. The photographer from the NYE party we went to did just that. So New Year's Day I joined. Its pretty cool to reconnect with some people....but I REALLY felt like I did a good job with keeping in touch with most people hence our almost 500 person guest list for our wedding. No rooms to include a few more randoms I haven't spoken to since middle school. Also all the games are really crazy on there..Farmville, Mafia Wars, sending someone a fake plant or a fake dog...I just don't get it. I don't have time for it. It kinda bogs up everything if you ask me. The first 2 weeks I was on I sat back and let people 'find' me so I wouldn't be so overwhelmed..but its nice now to find family I haven't spoken too. And with Tony's brother getting married this weekend..it was nice to connect with some of his family I just met. So basically Facebook is cool, I'm glad I joined, but I still like blogging better!!

So starts the Dooley era...

2010-01-16T08:54:00.003-06:00

Yep all my life all I have known was Johnny Majors, Phillip Fulmer..briefly Lane Kiffin..now Derek Dooley. I had never heard of Derek Dooley until yesterday. When I got off the plane and had texts of Dooley..the only one I knew of was Vince..a GA Bulldog. But now Dooley is our Coach. What, no shot for Kippy Brown? Why not? Why not give him a chance? I am not sure what went down with all the other coaching rumors..Coach Cut, Lovie, etc. etc....but now its Dooley and I will stand behind him to save our recruiting class and give us a good season. Its just so weird that we have another new coach to get used to. Word of advice for Dooley..Keep Kippy on your staff! Go Vols!

Not a creature was stirring...

2010-01-13T17:10:00.004-06:00

...well Lane was sure stirring. This is a late Christmas story I wanted to post. Christmas Eve Eve I found an awesome dog bed for under $20 at TJ Maxx that I had seen elsewhere for over $40, so I was super excited! And it was creme and brown so it matched our decor and the creme would be great for our Lane 'shedding fur everywhere in the house' situation. So I gave it to the dogs and immediately Lane was really into it, much for than Lennox. So I'm all around the house doing laundry and such and we kept hearing this scratching noise coming from the wall. Literally IN the wall between the pantry and the oven. Very odd bc there is only about 5 inches of wall separating and it was coming from there. I had called Lennox and Lane in there to 'get it' whatever it was and they acted very Uninterested. The noise kept coming back...ugh..dreading what the heck that noise was, but it was so darn loud, and who is going to come out to our house at this time and how much is it going to cost us. So the noise/scratching pretty much stopped and I kept doing what I was doing, Tony was working on my shoe shelf in the closet and just going about the evening. So...next thing I know Lane is on the bed eating something..he is really quiet and Lennox is just sitting on the rug, they think is their bed, anyway I call Lane and he won't come. So I go over and see what he has. Lane will pick up a nail off the ground and chew on it if we let him and since moving all kinda of 'crap' is on the floor. So I have to keep an eye on Lane. Well I walk over to his brand new creme bed and...well something wet and dark brown was on the bed. To be honest I thought at first it was throw up or poop and he was eating it to cover it up. Well after looking closely I saw red everywhere..then...a long tail. EWWWWW....AHHHHHH...Screams...yells...TONY!!!!!!.....Tony rushes in and yep! Its a baby mouse!!!! Tony picks in up and throws it away in the garbage and I guess analyzed it (the poor thing had a hole in his little head). Blood was everywhere on the new bed and luckily after immediately throwing it in the washing machine it actually came out! Gross Christmas story I know...but one I needed to share...rest in peace little Christmas Mouse...

Welcoming 2010 with the Prices's

2010-01-12T16:48:00.006-06:00

Neisha and Peerless invited us to the New Year's Eve party in good 'ol Braselton GA! The live in a GORGEOUS neighborhood near Chateau Elan. I still want to go back and do a wine tasting there. Here is Peerless and Tony looking hot :) This is early in the night..

I love this picture of me and Tony, but why did I cut off his head, better question, why do I always do this!? I guess cause he's too tall...or I'm too short

Me and the host

Yep, breaking in down..

Yep, and one more time!

It is almost 2010!!! Pop that bottle!

First kiss of 2010

Me and Neisha..I think I am trying to toast her!

This picture, I look like my brother Kamron, I got this signature move from him!

Not sure what this means!...

Time to go..best wishes for 2010!

Down goes #1

2010-01-10T17:53:00.000-06:00

Go Vols!!

Tyler Smith dismissed

2010-01-08T18:05:00.000-06:00

I cannot STAND it when people are given an amazing opportunity, and squander it with a bad decision. I know he is young and it is obvious that my alma matre needs help with mentoring these student athletes, but these guys also need to understand what an opportunity they just WASTED. So disappointing....and coming off a HUGE win at Memphis. So embarrassing...

Christmas Take Two with Brayden and Addison

2010-01-08T12:33:00.000-06:00

Tony, Addison and Brayden as a 3 headed monster!

shows of her dollhouse from Santa..

Brayden and his GeoTrax from Santa

Presents from me and Tony!

Brayden and Addison wanted to ride the Pink Pig..an Atlanta tradition..

In Lenox mall :) Cheese!

Chickfila Hospitality

2010-01-07T10:46:00.003-06:00

So we didn't go to the Peach..I mean ChickFilA bowl, but we sure hung out in the hospitality suite the night before. We got to catch up with a lot of good friends and have some cocktails and most importantly..my favorite..ChickFilA sandwiches :) We saw Jessica and Jerome, Deon and Kippy and one of my favorites Gus Manning!

Tony's Lauderdale buddy who now works at UT..small world huh!?

Yep...took a couple for the road...heck my purse was big enough!

The $24 Bandage

2010-01-06T14:04:00.002-06:00

Did your DOGS get a Swine Flu Shot?

2010-01-05T22:25:00.000-06:00

So we packed up our car the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, got the dogs ready for their long weekend at the kennel and when we walk in the door there were signs everywhere stating dogs must have the Swine Flu Shot before staying. Ok, so I had called the Friday before to make their reservation and nothing was mentioned of it. I expressed that to the front desk who didn't seem to care either way and the vet tech who express how serious it was and how a lot of pet owners were going to be upset this year about their pets being sick, and she stressed seriously sick. Ok, so how much is this shot? $27 per dog and then a followup shot two weeks later for $27. They handed us a brochure with information and highlighted states that had infected dogs/cases, Tennessee was not even a highlighted state! But the office staff and vet techs told us that 'it was coming'. We asked to speak to the vet, who was not there. This is not our vet, but we kennel Lennox and Lane at a place where there is an animal hospital and behind it is a 'pet resort'. They really like it, the people are nice and *key*, they have covered kennels. Lennox has escaped from several kennels and is banned from 2 here in Memphis and one in Atlanta. Well one of those has closed here in Memphis, so I guess just one in Memphis he is banned from. So what do you do, but get the dang shot and hit the road for Thanksgiving, we were already late? The whole drive I was constantly thinking, I hope they didn't have a reaction to it, thinking what the heck is that shot? So fast forward to two weekends ago when we went to Nashville, we still hadn't gotten a phone call from the vet, the vet tech or the rep for the drug (shot), but we had to kennel the dogs and get their second shot, bc who knows who else is going to start asking for this shot. Well when Lennox was in there, he got a Hematoma and they had to drain it. In total it cost $100 for this, but what really got me, really got me...was on the itemized bill...$24 for a bandage. Yep $24 for the bandage tape stuff to wrap around his ear. Kinda was the straw that ended our relationship with them, for now atleast. Heck this place is 22 miles from my house and not in the best neighborhood. So this past weekend for New Year's we kenneled them at Eads Animal Hospital about 9 miles from here and I think they really liked it. Well they did tell me Lennox kept peeing in his kennel..and they referred to Lane as a 'she', but they are asleep on my lap now.

So Tony and I aren't even vaccinated with the swine flu shot, but Lennox and Lane are!

Scenes from our Christmas..

2010-01-04T16:05:00.002-06:00

The boys opening presents...well..Lennox opening and Lane eating the paper.

Shoe Shine Kit, what I have always wanted, Tony says.

Tony didn't wrap my present! Diane did :)

Lane is wondering where his next present is.

A Shuffle! Yeah! Lane get excited!

Lennox and Lane want to help Tony with his golf ball snow globe puzzle.

MY PRESENT! MINE!

Yes Lennox, its AppleTV!!

Time for the boys stockings..

My boys..

Our family on Christmas morning..

At the Jones Home and Firebirds

2010-01-04T08:00:00.002-06:00

We had a lot of fun at Randy and Diane's Happy Hour Christmas Party. Lots of Cosmos for everyone!

After the party we went to the Fox and Hound and I got to meet UFC's and Memphis's own..Rampage, sporting the mohawk, soon to be Mr. T in the upcoming remake. He was super nice and I don't even watch UFC that much, so I couldn't really hold a convo on that!!

The next night we went to Firebird's for Happy Hour! Yummy drinks there too!

Well we got one!

2010-01-01T11:22:00.000-06:00

Happy 2010...we got one win for the Vols yesterday...and it was pretty important for me and Tony who have to always here the trash talk from the Memphis fans. So we beat you in both sports this year Tiger fans..BOTH. But too bad we couldnt have a double/doulbe and win the ChickfilA Peach bowl. We could only play one half I guess. And now some crazy gun charges for the bball guys in Knoxville...ugh I hope this is a mistake!

Beat the Tigers and the Hokies!!

2009-12-31T11:00:00.000-06:00

So we are in Atlanta for NYE, not going to the Peach Bowl, but we are here in all the orange cheering for the Vols today to beat Memphis in basketball and the Virginia Tech in the Chickfila Peach Bowl. We are going to Neisha and Peerless's NYE celebration so we have to miss going to the game, but went to the team hotel last night and hung out with a lot of our friends. Go VOLS x 2 today!!!

Savior's Christmas

2009-12-30T09:20:00.003-06:00

Savior got her own Christmas special this year because of her wonderful heartwarming story. Looks like she has a home to go to thanks to our hero Mario and the help of Kathy and Dr. Shaw. We have another angel (who reads this blog) who has paid for her eye surgery. Savior will lose her left eye due to some trauma before being thrown from the pickup truck. So sad..but she is in pain with that eye hurting and needs it to be removed. She also is on her heartworm meds and hopefully will be completely healthy again. With the help of a few people this dog will have a good home and a new life...what more do you need for a Christmas Miracle?

Tail to Tail

2009-12-29T17:20:00.000-06:00

Dolphins in Nashville...

2009-12-28T15:14:00.000-06:00

We went to the Titans/Dolphins game in Nashville last weekend and got to catch up with Gibril, Tony's college roommate. We had not seen him in probably a year, it seems like everytime we are in Miami, he's in Atlanta and when we are in Atlanta he's not there. I even ran into Jason Allen, Tony's other roommate when I checked us in the hotel. Good to see old friends. We had a great dinner at Demo's downtown. I had a wonderful steak and pasta combo that they are known for. We were teasing Gibril bc he was so cold on our 4 block walk to the restaurant. Must be nice to be in sunny Miami now :)

We had some good food at the brewery on the way to the game, gosh I was so already stressing about how cold it was going to be.

Well, as I expected we were 3 rows from the very top. I hate that they give the visiting team such lousy seats. I mean we weren't really cheering either way, just when Gibril did good and well that's right we needed them to stop Chris Johnson, which they did for all purposes that we needed for Fantasy Football.

We saw "The Flame" or whatever he calls himself. I like that even though the Titans are a newer team, they have these crazy fans..

Glued to FantasyCast

2009-12-27T14:05:00.006-06:00

Yep, Brindle Invasion (us) are in the Memphis Ballers finals for Fantasy Football. We are playing the Hudmuffins (Katie and Michael) and can't stop staring at FantasyCast on ESPN. Tony and I are both in the kitchen standing at the counter watching our score. We have all players in for the early games now except for Michael Crabtree who was a new addition to our roster this week. We benched my Persian fave TJ Houshmanzadeh in favor of Crabtree and I'm kinda sweating about it. Money on the line here...money that would come in handy for a new King Size bed we are saving up for :)

UPDATE: Halftime of Sunday Night Football and we are only up by 9. They have Miles Austin and Fred Davis with the second half to play and Adrian Peterson 2moro night :( Atleast we made all the correct decisions on our roster that we could, no one on our bench blew up or anything. So we did all we could do...we need Shannon to put a Turf Toe hex on their players!

AX Delta Pi Christmas Dinner at Flight

2009-12-26T18:04:00.004-06:00

Wow, what a great restaurant. We all kept wondering why we had not been here before. The food was delicious and the service was outstanding. Flight, in the former Stella location, which I loved, has been open for 7 months. All the drinks and food are served in flights, which are sets of three or in small plates. They also have a few featured specials in 'normal' size portions and you can get your wine or salad 'normal' sized too. Brooke got a 'normal' plate with a steak topped with Stone Crabs, she loved it. I wanted to try things in the 'flight' style and I'm glad I did, but forsure only needed two servings instead of three of the main course, but I couldn't decide on just two. Flight was wonderful, but keep in mind, it is VERY pricey...with tax and tip my meal was in the $60 range.

I had the wedge salad that came with blue cheese dressing. I am not a fan of blue cheese so I got the andouille sausage vinaigrette instead and LOVED it. Look how pretty it is!

I had the chicken with potatoes, the redfish with spaghetti squash and the fillet with mashed potatoes. I loved all three, but really stuffed myself..Next time I will get two and try to split a dessert. The dessert menu looked amazing. Can you tell I liked my meal?

You can't see them here, but I was super excited to debut my first pair of over the knee boots that I had to order online since I couldn't find any in Memphis. Love them too :)

Wine Tasting with the Roberson's

2009-12-26T12:30:00.000-06:00

We did a fun wine tasting at Regina and Rhea's with the Jazzercise crew. We each brought 2 bottles, one for all of us to taste and another to trade. I really liked all of the wines, and we ended up with Randy and Diane's bottle: Gascon Argentenian Malbec. We can't wait to open it.

We brought the first bottle, Fuego and took home the second bottle.

Dirty Santa Party at the Kinney's

2009-12-26T09:00:00.000-06:00

We went to a fun Dirty Santa party at Brenda and Jared's last week. I'm not sure why I don't have a picture with Brenda, but we got to see cute little Grady again. We actually got a GREAT Dirty Santa gift with the Crown Royal gift set :) Tony was very happy...

Greg showing off his 'ugly' sweater

From Our Backyard to Yours...

2009-12-25T16:00:00.001-06:00

Merry Christmas!

Presents ready to be delivered to friends..

2009-12-25T06:00:00.000-06:00

Savior Update at Pet's Choice Vet Clinic

2009-12-24T14:00:00.001-06:00

Well here she is. These pictures were taken 5 day after being thrown from a car on the interstate. Her head and eye injuries were the worst to look at. She has puncture wounds all in her pretty little head. She has that great short Pit Bull face, almost catlike to me. She is very skinny and has very long droopy nipples where she must have recently nursed some puppies. She is affectionate, but totally aware of her surroundings, very cautious of the dogs coming and going. Very friendly and loved all the treats we gave her.

Julie and I loved on her for a long while right here in the hallway, it was so cold outside that she wanted to be inside.

She really took to Julie and sat on her lap for a long time.

Kathy came and had Dr. Shaw take some pictures with her in her Santa hat :) Remember, donations are still needed for her care...contact me if you want to help.

Majestic Ugly Christmas Sweaters

2009-12-24T08:00:00.000-06:00

We went to Majestic to watch National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation and to try to win the ugly Christmas Sweater contest. Tony wore his Stein Mart plus size Woman shirt from 2 years ago, Brooke wore a nice cow one from middle school, Julie wore a handmedown from her stepmom's mom and I borrowed one last minute from my neighbor Julie. I opted for the traditional dinner with bourbon ham that was so delicious, roasted potatoes, homemade biscuits and they even substituted the green bean casserole for me for their great fries.

The dessert was an amazing strawberry trifle.

Kelly made it in time for dinner in her Walgreen's special. It was a lot of fun to watch the movie on the big screen.

This was the big winner...not any of us, I think Brooke was robbed personally.

Shannon's 40th at Marciano's

2009-12-23T15:25:00.000-06:00

We had a wonderful time celebrating Shannon's birthday with wonderful friends, food and drinks at Marciano's.

One of my faves, you'd think they'd just met! hehehe

Another favorite!!

Neighborhood 50th and Christmas Party

2009-12-22T20:00:00.002-06:00

We have such a great neighborhood that we have moved into. I couldn't ask for friendlier neighbors. We got invited to a 50th birthday for a neighbor we hadn't even met yet :) It was a lot of fun and Debbie and Baha's house was decorated so beautifully. They had a huge ornament exchange with get this...50 women swapping ornaments just two nights before! For some reason I didn't take pictures that night, but it was a blast as well.

Running in 23 degrees...

2009-12-22T15:11:00.000-06:00

Yep, it was pretty darn cold running the St Jude 5k this year. I love doing it for the cause, the crowd, the excitement and well because its one of the only ones Tony will do with me. The morning started out crazy with my windshield being frozen and it taking us forever to get the ice off and running late to get there and park. But we made it in time and had a good race. We even made it over to the Peabody to check out the decorations, tree and gingerbread houses.

I don't know if you want to even bother reading this article..

2009-12-22T09:12:00.000-06:00

Are you kidding me? They are stating that dogs are leaving a worse 'carbon footprint' than SUV's! Their poop is toxic and cat's are worse they state. No one had anything else better with their time then to calculate this? I think most of us pick up the doggie poop and don't let it run into the streams and lakes to kill the fishies and birds..right? And they suggest hens and rabbits as pets...well bc in the end you can eat them...ok sorry for a waste of your time..back to wrapping presents :)

Ying Yang Pit Bulls

2009-12-22T08:30:00.000-06:00

Gotta Stop Chris Johnson

2009-12-20T08:47:00.003-06:00

In Nashville for Titans/Dophins game...Titans are my local team, but the Dolphins Tony's childhood fave...plus we need Gibril and the Dophin's D to stop Chris Johnson so Shannon's Fantasy Team won't beat us!! Go Fins! :) Oh and Go Vince Young on our bench :)

Gosh I miss this in Memphis....

2009-12-19T11:02:00.001-06:00

A Persian Restaurant!!! Ugh..I miss Caspian! We went to Persepolis when we were in Atlanta, I love it!! Koobideh and Chicken Kabob...I want some right now!

Congrats Kippy!!

2009-12-17T16:52:00.001-06:00

I am so pleased with UT's latest hiring of the best wide receivers coach out there...Kippy Brown!!! Bringing the Vols back to their old days of Wide Receiver U! I can't wait!! Congrats Kippy!!

This is going in my favorites folder

2009-12-16T14:04:00.000-06:00

Maax is 15!

2009-12-15T17:31:00.000-06:00

My families dog in Knoxville, Maax a West Highland Terrier, turned 15 today! My mom sent this today from her camera phone and I can't figure out how to turn it. He looks as young as ever! Happy Birthday Maax!!!

Faves from Thanksgiving...

2009-12-15T13:36:00.007-06:00

Hiding under the living room chairs

Being good at the kid's table

Addison loves Tabitha and Josh's doggie

Jumping in the leaves..

Legos..

Wesley the sweetest dog ever..

Addison wants Wesley to wear her 'cute' (bow)

She's a little monkey!

Yum, grilled cheese..

Bowling..

Ice Cream...

Addison's Curls

2009-12-14T15:00:00.000-06:00

Way past her bed time my niece Addison just wanted to jump and jump and play dress up in Tony's shoes...

What we ate for Thanksgiving

2009-12-14T12:36:00.003-06:00

I made this...yep just the salad, but it was yummy!

This is what I ate..yep I'm so picky! I had a roll too! :)

Pat Patriot a Prostitute?

2009-12-11T20:17:00.002-06:00

This is pretty hilarious!! Hope it doesnt effect our Fantasy QB!

Better late than never..Lennox turns 6!

2009-12-10T20:00:00.003-06:00

Lennox turned 6 on October 22nd and he didnt get his party until over a month later..such bad parents are we, but atleast he still got a yummy cake. I decided to dress them up in former Vols jerseys this year and it was fun!

Mom, my hat is getting in the way...can you come fix it?

Is there any more up here?

How to help Savior...

2009-12-10T07:30:00.000-06:00

I talked to Mario today and he gave me the info for Savior..

HI YES THE VET CLINIC IS

PETS CHOICE ANIMAL CLINIC

1396 EAST SHELBY DRIVE

MEMPHIS TN. 38116

901-881-6212
MAKE SURE YOU MARK IT FOR SAVIOR OR WHEN YOU CALL IT IN!

Mario is a Hero-Dog Thrown from Truck During Rush Hour

2009-12-08T15:46:00.001-06:00

People can be horrible! Mario is a hero for saving this girl.

Where am I?

2009-12-06T13:33:00.001-06:00

Ok So its been a week...I will get to catching up on the blog..the house, wedding planning, board meeting, Christmas parties, birthday parties have consumed me!!

25....whew!

2009-11-28T21:33:00.003-06:00

How now..

2009-11-27T14:30:00.001-06:00

The best ice cream...might be better than Mint Chocolate Chip....omg!!! YUM!

Thankful in the ATL

2009-11-26T18:15:00.002-06:00

Just finished off a great meal with my family in Atlanta...I'm thankful for my boys who are in the kennel in Memphis, I'm sad and wish they were here with us....I'm missing them right now..but thankful to be around a lot of my family, especially my niece and nephew. Lots of pictures to come!!

The Grove aftergame afterparty

2009-11-25T23:00:00.000-06:00

Andrea and Tami

Engin loving his wiener

Awake one minute

Asleep the next..guess that's what almost 40 does to ya!

Gameday at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium

2009-11-25T08:00:00.000-06:00

We had a lot of fun for the most part of the game until #22 ran all over our defense and we couldn't take it anymore, well and we wanted to go back to The Grove! The fans around us were super nice too as well as the best weather we could have asked for!

Eli Manning shows his Rebel Pride

Ole Miss's little Hip Hop guy

I guess this is Colonel Rebel, not Colonel Sanders

And your guest speaker didn't show up...??

2009-11-24T14:52:00.000-06:00

This post was to be before the last one, I accidentally missed it, but we went to a Big Orange Caravan event at the Racquet Club the Thursday before the Ole Miss game and were listen to two guest speakers. Two guys that played football at UT when I was there, back in the old days I feel like when I tell Tony about it. Anyway, so they didn't show and literally minutes before Mark Ingram asked Tony to speak about his recruitment and his experience at UT. He did a great job, especially for he having about 3 minutes to prepare. We met some nice Vols there too and they took some pictures of us and Kelly.

Orange Jello Shots Anyone?

2009-11-24T07:00:00.000-06:00

So we got to the PetsHotel a little after 7am on Saturday morning to drop the boys off for the day to head down to Oxford for the UT game! Winter and Sabrina met us and had Jello Shots waiting..jello shots became the theme of the day. We got a guy to set up a tent for us and there was going to be 20 of us in it!

Haley Kelly and I were rocking the orange and brown. I said we could have been in a girls group or band.

Tony and Brooke

All the girls..too bad the light was so bright in the background!!

Jello Shots!! Take Two

The Boston/NYC guys that we met in the tent next door, we shared shots with them, these guys go to one SEC game a year and this one was it this year.

Jello Shots Take Three

Jello Shots Take Four

Jello Shots Take Five

Kelly and Kelly with their Jello Shots

Great way to sneak it in!

Showing off the T's

Thought this pink tent was cute!

RIP UGA

2009-11-23T11:01:00.000-06:00

He might have been the cutest one yet...so wrinkled and stocky...he didn't live that long..RIP little guy...

The South isn't rising with the KKK

2009-11-23T10:41:00.004-06:00

Wow, so the KKK did indeed protest at the Ole Miss campus this weekend when they played LSU and were 'shouted down' with students counter protesting them. Good for them. I can't get over the KKK on this campus, because you want to think Ole Miss isn't how it was in the 60's. But I have to say I don't see this helping with their recruiting in any sport for that matter. Ya, go to Ole Miss and you might have the KKK protesting "The South Will Rise Again" being chanted during the games...yep Lane Kiffin hope you will use that one. Ole Miss did kick our butts this year!! We had a fabulous time in The Grove..pictures coming soon, but I'm so glad the Clan didn't ruin our weekend.

Stupendous SpayTacular

2009-11-22T15:19:00.001-06:00

Wow, so The MidSouth Spay and Neuter Services SpayTacular was a great event raising so much money to keep low cost spays and neuters available in our area. A record amount of money was raised and I really want to thank my friends who helped support this event by attend and donating!! It REALLY means a lot to me to have support from my friends on something that really means a lot to me. With all the craziness we have had in the past month finding out all the horrible things being done at Memphis Animal Services (The Pound), it is just more and more important for pets to be 'fixed' and its wonderful we have a place that offers this at a low cost. So.....Thank you to Carlos from Folks Folly, Regina from Jazzercise, Chris and Winter from Platinum Jewelers, Julie from Cake Couture and Randy and Diane for their donations and contributions. And my fabulous friends (pictured below in our 'Mafia' Family photo) Shannon and Andrea, Ernie and Jennifer, Tony (my love), Greg and Julie, Tami and Matt, and Kelly. And to Loren who was bidding on the silent auction from Chicago! Thank you so much all of you I am thrilled to have the support. Barbara Standing was the chair of the event and did an amazing job, so hats off to her as well. She wrote a great article that featured a picture of Julie and I in the Commercial Appeal and Shannon was sweet and took a lot of pictures that afternoon as well.

Tami and Matt

Jennifer and Ernie

Greg and Julie

Andrea and Shannon

Philanthropic Alpha Chi Sisters

With Tony

Yes, the boys have a new fence!

2009-11-21T13:42:00.000-06:00

Well it took long enough, but the boys have a new fence! The fencing company put up a temporary chain link one while they built ours but with all the rain, it took almost 2 weeks to complete it! So we got shadowbox on one side and iron along the back to keep our view. When they started putting up the iron I noticed that there were the pointed ends that I specifically didn't want because I am always a worst case scenario person and I thought, what if the boys are jumping trying to get at a deer or squirrel and their collars get hung!? No way, so I had they guys add an additional bar on top and along the bottom for extra security.

This was our old fence

And the new one!