Sephora, Knoxville Welcomes You!

Whoot Whoot! We finally have a Sephora in Knoxville. Today is the Grand Opening of their store at West Town. I can't tell you how many times I have wished for this day to come.

I'm sure you are asking yourself, "What's the big deal?"





Well, if you look on The Ever Growing List of Random Things I Love, # 13 is bareMinerals make-up.





Up until now my only choices for acquiring my MUST HAVE make-up were to either drive to a small natural/health herbal remedy type store way out in Farragut or order my stuff on the Internet. Both options were a real pain in my a*%.


Now, FINALLY, I can get my make-up fix at the mall, like everyone else. I am sooooo happy!

My Mamaw

I get sad when I realize that I have lost all of my grandparents. Each one of them had a special place in my heart. Luckily, I did not lose any of them until I was an adult. I am grateful for all of the happy memories I have with them.

My Mamaw Franklin was my mother's mother. She was a country women from the mountains of East Tennessee. She lived a hard tough life which occasionally showed through in her personality. Nonetheless, she was my grandmother and I loved her.

We lost Mamaw in the Fall of 2006. Each of the grandchildren that attended her funeral prepared a eulogy. Here is mine:

"Everyone here today had a unique relationship with Iva Franklin. Some of you knew her as Mother, some as Mother-in-law, some as friend, and others of us knew her as Mamaw. All of us grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren had a special and different relationship with our grandmother. I am Jenni and I was only 4 months shy of being the 'baby' among Mamaw's grand kids. I want to share with you what my memories are of my Mamaw.

My earliest memories are of Mamaw and Papaw living at the farm in Walland, Tennessee. Mamaw was a hard working - no frills - no fuss kind of woman. I remember her making cheese, butter and cream from the cows she milked every day; tending the farm;
and not having a lot of time for playing with us kids. She made our time at the farm fun, though. We helped mold butter; played in the barn; named the pigs; fished in the lake; and made lightning bug night lights in old mason jars.

When Mamaw and Papaw moved to Lakeland, I was about nine. At that time, I developed a different type of relationship with Mamaw. We shared meals every weekend. We spent Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter and Birthdays together (hers and ours). She made her crafts and taught me a few of her tricks along the way. Mamaw was quite a seamstress and made my Halloween costumes for many years. They were always sure to win the costume contest! As I grew up so did our relationship. She was present for my Proms, Homecomings, Graduations and Wedding.

Mamaw was a kind, gentle and loving person. As a matter of fact for many years I thought she would let me get away with anything. Boy, was I wrong! This was a lesson I learned the hard way when she found out my friends and I decided to TP houses and 'egg' a few cars. She was very adamant that either I tell my mom or she would! I learned real quick that the wrath of Mamaw could be swift and fierce and she was NO pushover, as I had previously suspected. Trust me, I made sure that I never saw that side of my Mamaw again.

In the end Mamaw didn't know who I was. That was very hard for me, but I tried to always keep my memories in the front of my mind. Mamaw wasn't the same person I knew my whole life, but once again I was growing up and our relationship was changing.

Though all of us had a unique relationship with Iva Franklin, 'My Mamaw', we all have one thing in common - we all loved her dearly."

~Be at peace, sweet lady!

It's Love - TRUE love!

How does your husband show his love for you?

• Is it with a soft kiss on the back of your neck when you least expect it?
• Is it with a beautiful bouquet of flowers for no reason at all?
• Is it by him planning childcare and surprising you with a romantic date night?

Yes, all of these things are wonderful and a great affirmation of the love he feels for you. My Bub has done all of these at one point or another; but just yesterday, he showed his love in the most unexpected way of all.

You see, my unwanted friend, Aunt Flo, was making her monthly visit and I found myself in a horrible predicament. I used my last "harpoon" during BUNCO Friday night and really needed more supplies. Since Bub had to go into work yesterday morning I asked him if he would mind picking up a box on his way home. I knew for sure he was going to look at me like I was crazy and tell me to go to the store myself. See, Bub is a guy's guy; he don't each no quiche and he don't wear no damned pink shirts (or any shade that is closely related to it). Anyway, to my shock, he said he would pick some up for me and then asked what kind I needed. Well, since this was his "first time" I made sure to give him lots of details. I told him the Brand, size, color of the box and all other specifics; hell, I even considered taking a picture of the box with his cell phone for reference purposes. You know, that stuff can get real confusing, even if you have been buying them for 25 years. Thus the reason, women are always standing in that section of store just staring at all of the products or reading, researching and comparing the labels.

As he left for work, I felt like I was sending my child off on a mission where he was doomed for failure. But, I was determined to praise his efforts when he returned, no matter what he carried through the door. Imagine my surprise when he called me on his way home from work and asked if I need anything else form Walmart. Walmart? On a Saturday? Was he crazy? I had expected he would stop at Kroger where he could be a little more inconspicuous; but NO, not Bub. He decided to learn to swim in the BIG pool!

So, to all of you ladies out there, my husband REALLY does love me. And now I know that he will do anything for me. His love has no limits (except the whole pink shirt thing). Yes, you can be jealous; it's ok. And if you happened to be in the feminine product aisle at Walmart yesterday morning, you probably encountered Bub and didn't even know it. He was the one on his cell phone asking his wife, "Did you want the ones with the gentle glide applicator?"

I love you, too, Bubby!!!!!!!!!!!!

Who'd A Thunk It

I am a newcomer to this whole blogging thing and can't believe that I have been given an award. Of course, this really doesn't count because it came from my ThiThi. (But we don't have to tell anyone, now do we?)

I am glad that she enjoys my ramblings, and hopefully a few others might, also. I am truly honored to put this award on my blog. Thanks to all of you that stop by.

Because I am so new to the whole blogging thing, I don't have 10 people to pass this on to. Actually, almost all of the blogs I follow have already received the award from my sis. I do have one person to pass this along to, though.

• Mary and her Three Miracles brighten my day. I am so happy that her journey has led her to such happiness and love. Mary writes about her family life and her three blessings, James, Riley and Madeline. Keep up the good work.

Just A Little FYI

When you have a stopped up garbage disposal don't get fooled when the water starts to recede. You see, if you turn on the disposal at this point anything that is in the pipes will get blown out of the other sink drain.

In my efforts to clean the house for BUNCO, I was feverishly working in the kitchen. I had some turkey soup that needed to be thrown out, so I put it down the disposal. Well, I guess the disposal didn't like the soup because it got all choked up on it. Since we didn't have any Drain-O I decided to try the plunger instead. As I used the plunger, first on the disposal side, then on the sink side, the water started going down. I thought I had conquered the stoppage without having to let Bub know anything about it (he get's pissed every time I put a lot of stuff in the disposal). As the water was almost down, I decided to turn on the disposal to clear that side a little faster. Well, I'm no plumber but what happened next just seems a little wrong. As I know it, the function of a sink is to let water drain downward through the pipes. However, apparently when there is a blockage the force from the disposal makes everything work backwards because I created a volcano in the sink and it was blowing turkey lava all over my kitchen. I can now say that I have pieces of turkey and sludge and broth all over the cabinets, the walls and the floor. (So much for not having to let Bub know.) Now I am waiting for my sweet hubby to get home from work so that he can unstop the sink and I can begin the decontamination of the kitchen. If I don't post anything for a while, you will know that I am trying to recover from salmonella poisoning.

We're Back.....

Yes, we made it home from our trip without any major occurences. Of course, we all had a blast and it was nice getting to see everyone again.

I would recommend St. Simon's Island if you are wanting to vacation in a quiet and laid back ocean front community. The town is very quaint and non-commercialized. (I think we only saw one Putt Putt course on the island.) I wish we could have stayed longer so that we could wander around and see more of the island's treasures. It seems that vacations always end too soon.

Now that I am home I am gearing up for a big BUNCO game at my house this Friday. Yes, I play BUNCO. The girls I play with are a hoot and normally there is just a little bit of silliness going on. Since I am hostessing this month, I get to choose the theme. Well, I decided to have a pajama party; so, everyone is coming in their p.j.'s and I am serving them brunch. (since it's breakfast at dinner, I guess it would be brinner?) This should be another fun evening. Keep your fingers crossed that I win the big jackpot!

A Valentine To Remember

I want to start by wishing everyone a very loverly Valentine's Day. I hope all of you get a smooch from someone you love, today!

As for me, I am spending Valentine's Day with Kaylea, ThiThi, Mom and Jim Bob. We have already enjoyed the traditional Dove Chocolate breakfast. Oh, you mean everyone doesn't eat Dove Chocolates for breakfast on Valentine's Day? Wow, I thought that was a given.

I was reading ThiThi's blog entry the other day about her first Valentine's gift and it got me thinking. I really don't remember the first boy that I bought a Valentine's for. Though, I'm sure it was probably in 4th grade when Dinky Smith was my boyfriend, but I'm not real sure (sorry, Dinky). I will, however, share my first Valentine's memory with everyone.

I guess it was Valentine's Day 1971. I remember my Poppy roaring up in front of the house in his old red Jeep. He came inside carrying two cards and a BIG pink heart. I was so excited when he presented the cards and that beautiful heart to ThiThi and me. My excitement only grew when we opened the box and found that it was filled with chocolates. I am assuming that ThiThi was pretty excited as well, since Mom took a picture of us with the Chocolates. Those were probably the best cream filled chocolates I have ever eaten, because they were from my Poppy.

He always knew how to make me feel special, even when I was two. I love you, Poppy!

2008 Annual Hen and Chick Trip

Well, all of you that read ThiThi's blog know that we are getting ready to leave for our annual President's Day weekend trip. The really neat part is that only girls go on this outing. We kindly refer to the trip as our "Hen and Chick" gathering. The participants are usually the same each year, with only a few new comers and/or absences. The gang, this year, consists of:

Aunt Shashan (Mom's oldest sister)
Aunt Witch (Mom's older sister)
Dawn and Laura (Aunt Witch's daughter and grand daughter)
Mom
ThiThi, Me and Kaylea (Mom's daughters and grand daughter, duh)
Ethel (Mom's 1st cousin)
Manda, Gracie Mae and Em (Ethel's daughter and two grand daughters)
Chris (Ethel's Sister-in-law)

We range in age from 70(ish) down to 2(ish). You might wonder if we really have fun since there is such a drastic age difference in our Hens and Chicks. Well, I speak for Kaylea and myself in saying, we always have a blast. The weekend normally includes lots of shopping, eating, touring and then some more shopping, eating and touring. There are a few other traditions associated with the trip, like going on a ghost tour; visiting a lighthouse; and adding a charm to our Hen and Chick charm bracelets.

In years past we have gone to Savannah, Charleston, then back to Savannah again. Last year, the group went to St. Augustine, but Mom, ThiThi, Kaylea and I could not make the trip. You see, we had this little thing called "ThiThi's wedding" the following weekend. I think we had a good enough excuse for being absent.

The excitement is building and we can't wait for Friday; however, luckily we are hitting the road today and leaving East TN and all of its ice and flurries behind. (Thank you to Sevier County for adding 2 sick days to our 4 day winter break. Kudos to Jackie!) We are getting ready to head south to Mom's where we will be staying until Friday morning. Then Mom and all of her "girls" will mosey on over to St. Simon's Island. The warm weather will be a welcome change, but it did make packing a little challenging. It is hard to pack for warm weather when you are looking out the window and watching snowflakes the size of chicken feathers falling from the heavens. Another challenge was the fact that my child has outgrown all of her summer clothes and shoes. Oh well, hopefully she won't melt into a little puddle on the beach in her turtleneck and snow boots (just kidding). Things weren't quite that bad, but she will be wearing jeans the whole trip because that's all that fits.

I'm sure either ThiThi or I will make some sort of post over the weekend. And if Kaylea does anything "blonde and Kaylea-ish" I'm sure I will post that, also. I hope everyone has a nice holiday weekend. Stay safe and have fun.

Date Night

I always look forward to having Date Night with Bub. I guess we are very lucky in the respect that his parents live very close and love to have Kaylea come to their house on Friday nights. She usually spends the night with them about twice a month.

I'm not sure what we will do tonight. I know it will involve going out to eat, but other than that, who knows!!! We have been known to go get take-out and rent a movie. I guess a "date" for us doesn't have the same meaning as it did in the early days. Nowadays anytime that we are alone it is a "date".

Whatever the evening brings, I'm sure it will be enjoyed by both of us.

P.S. Please, no phone calls after 9:00 pm (just kiddin!!!)

Predators Don't Always Fit The Stereotype!

Let's just call me shocked and angry today. This morning a friend from High School sent me a link to a story in todays Tampa Tribune. It just so happens that a fellow classmate of mine was arrested yesterday and charged with producing child pornography. Apparently he is facing eight counts of using a child in a sexual performance. The real kicker is that he worked for the state of Florida in DCF (Department of Child and Family). You can read all of the ugly details here.

This is very shocking because the guy was really popular in High School and was NOT the type of person you would ever imagine doing something as horrific as this. He was involved in the school newspaper, an editor on the school's literary publication, an officer in the Pep Club and active in the school orchestra. He was always very outgoing and charming; a very pleasant person to be around.

I guess all of his accolades are the reason I am so angry. I can't believe a person can have such an amazing outward appearance and be so evil/sick inside. People like him scare the hell out of me. I have always tried to warn my daughter of the dangers in this world. But a person such as this would raise no warning flags, until it was too late.

For everyone out there that thinks this could never happen to their family......BEWARE. A predator doesn't always look or act scary.

Why Tennessee?

Well, this was the sight from my front porch yesterday morning. Who can argue with this?