Sad, Glad, Good, Bad

This is my final post from Tennessee.  A few weeks ago (like 2) Jameson was told by the Kiewit uppity ups that they wanted him at the home office in Lenexa, KS as soon as possible (like now).  Apparently they’re switching things up and scratching the old plan, which was to keep us here until next year.  So to make a short story even shorter, we’ve already flown out to Kansas and found a place to live.  I’m packing with the movers this week and Jameson and I are driving to our new home this weekend.

I’m sad to be leaving, but happy to be going.  Jameson and I have had a lot of fun here, but it’s always exciting to move somewhere new and start fresh.  I think it would be fun to move and assume a new identity like in the witness protection program.  I’ve considered taking on a British accent to see how long I can get away with it, but Jameson would be my downfall.  His accents start out British then morph into a Scottish Australian hybrid.  Bless his linguistically challenged heart.  So maybe I’ll just stick to my boring old nonaccent, but one of these moves I just might try it.

I’ve been thinking of the things I will miss about this place and just as importantly the things I will not.  Here are a few:

I’ll miss watching the turtles swimming lazily under my balcony.

I won’t miss swerving to miss dead rotting possums in the middles of the road.

I’ll miss living out in the country.

I wont miss having to drive an hour to reach a decent restaurant.

I’ll miss the sweet sound of a southern accent.

I won’t miss needing a translator to understand the hillbillies.

I’ll miss the friendly smiles of strangers.

I won’t miss meth mouth.

I’ll miss the complete shut down of the entire town at the first hint of snow.

I won’t miss the complete shut down of the entire town at the first hint of snow.

I’ll miss my job and the awesome people I got to work with.

I won’t miss patients handing me urine, poop specimens, and other bodily fluids through my window and disclosing unnecessary details of a graphic nature in the assumption that I am some form of nurse just because I work at a doctor’s office.

I have a lot of mixed feelings about leaving the south, but I’m taking with me many great memories of both wonderful and wonderfully crazy folks and awesome places.  I am grateful for the blessing it has been to live in Tennessee and I hope we’ll get back here some day. 

So long Tennessee!

BTW - Any suggestions on the name of my new Kansas blog?  I thought Tornado Jane would be appropriate, but gosh darn it, it's already taken so I'm opening it up to the public for suggestions.  And if you're wondering why all my blogs have Jane in them... well just because.

Jameson and a friend took a vacation day and went fishing with a real pro.  Clearly going with an expert makes a difference.  A gigantic 14 lb difference.  

They were on the lake for about 14 hours.  I got to join them for about 4 hours and had an truly fishtastic time.

We even got to eat these fish and they were absolutely delicious.  This is coming from a girl who hates all things seafood. 

I caught that.  I'm awesome. 

Jameson is sad that he's leaving just as his Kiewit softball team is starting their season.  He got to play with them twice.  They lost both games, but he sure looks saucey in that baseball jersey.  

Swing batta!

Sharks, Barks and National Parks

Happy spring everyone!  I realize that spring may not have sprung in your part of the world, but here in the great Tennessee Valley spring is everywhere from white blossoming trees to the sound of fishing boats cruising outside my window at night.  I love spring. I love it love it love it!

So what's new with us?  Well Jameson is still the cutest little business manager you've ever seen on the coolest power plant east of the Mississippi, wait... are we east of the mississippi?  Anyway he works really hard all week long so we make it a point to play just as hard on the weekends and man have we played!  In the last month we've been to Chattanooga twice, ventured through Rock City,  attended Knoxville's annual Mardi Growl celebration, checked out some hundred year old hillbilly cabins, hiked a waterfall and by hiked I mean straddled boulders and scooted on my tooshy till I was too paralyzed with fear to scoot any farther, we ran a 5k and by ran I mean walked, we visited the country's coolest aquarium twice, ate a million cinnamon roles, and best of all we got to do most of this stuff with two of our best friends, Weston & Nelsy, who flew all the way out here to chill with us for awhile.

Yep sometimes it seems there's no end in site to the good times around here and then I remember that I still have a job and have wake up in the early morn to get coughed on all day by staff infected rednecks at the doctors office.  Actually I really like my job and most of the rednecks.  So all in all we're pretty happy go lucky round these parts and we hope you, our fantastic friends and family, are doing just as well.

So I made this cake for a church dessert auction and 30 seconds before I got to the church, it plopped over and died.  I made it a note that read, "I've been in a car accident, but I still taste amazing."  A family bought it  for $30.  Was my cake that great or was the family that charitable?  Hmm...

The reason we walked the 5k.  Our adorable nephew, Camden, is not a 5k fan.  Jameson was a sport and carried him most of the way.  Good practice for dadhood, no?  (No, I'm not pregnant.)

 I need this dog.  He was definitely one of the cutest of the pooches at Mardi Growl.

 I would never do this to a dog, but... it's pretty darn funny.  

Jameson took us all on a tour of his power plant.  Kind of like when Mr. Rogers would take us on a tour of a candy factory, but all the workers here swear and chew tobacco.  

I need this dog too.  He was just hanging out at Rock City.  

The Chattanooga Aquarium is rad.  Can you spot the giant turtle bum at the top of our picture?  He was a little to fast for our shutter speed.  Darn those speedy turtles!

The candy barrels at the Mast General Store.  They sell their candy by the pound here.  Jameson usually spends about $20 every time we go.  That reminds me, I need to find a dentist.

A kiss from my lover at Lover's Leap in Rock City.  Aw, how special. 

Yep, I'm still a dork.

Straddling.

Scooting.

I win!

So this is Bumble Bee.  The real Bumble Bee from the Transformers movie.  One of the many random artifacts in a random mountain town full of random people and kitschy shops.  

Our wonderfully goofy friends, Weston and Nelsy, atop a cardboard hill or rather a hill covered with cardboard squares that were supposed to be used like sleds.  Jameson can verify, they don't work.  

Mixed Christmas

Hey friends!  Did you all have a happy Christmas?   I hope you all were able to spend time with your families and soak up the warmth of the holidays.  We had a mixed Christmas.  We had both a lot of fun and also a healthy dose of real life.  I'll start with the bummer stuff and then move on to happier things.

My parents were planning to come out here to see us and to spend Christmas in Asheville, NC.  All that changed last Saturday when my dad was scraping snow off his car, slipped, and broke his wrist and hip.  He has since spent a week in the hospital, had a 7 hour surgery, and will be spending the next 3 to 5 months in a rehab center.   My dad is doing as well as can be expected and we hope that he will recover quickly, but this was a big reminder to me of just how quickly life can change.   If you're the praying kind, please remember him in your prayers.  If you're not, give it a try and mention my dad.

Even though we missed spending time with the folks, we still had an awesome time in Asheville.  We had the best BBQ I've ever had in my life, we toured the biggest single family residence in the country, we gorged ourselves on handmade European truffles, saw 2 movies, spent Christmas Eve in a charming B&B, and woke up to an unexpected white Christmas.  So minus the bummer about my dad, we had a wonderful Christmas and we are so grateful for the blessings in our lives, most of all for our families who mean the world to us.

We love you all and wish you the very best in 2011!

A few weeks ago Jameson gave me a tour of his job site.  

It was like watching Mega Builders live.  Very cool. 

One morning I went outside and saw my car cocooned in a 1/4 inch of ice.  I got inside, rolled down the glass window and took a shot of the ice window. 

Best darn BBQ to ever crossed my lips

The homes in Asheville are perfect.  I want one. 

The Biltmore Estate.  This place was all decked out for Christmas.  It was definitely one of the coolest places I've ever seen. 

Family, Turkey, & Jazz

What a season! The last two months have been filled with family, trips, and holidays and we have loved it! I got to go home for Halloween and see my fam, Jameson and I took a trip to Atlanta to watch the Jazz scat all over the Hawks, and Jameson's family came in last week for Thanksgiving and an early Christmas.  Oh and we rearranged our condo to accommodate our new flat screen!  The time has flown and now I can't believe the year is almost over.

I hope ya'll are having as much fun as we are and if you're not then you should come down here.  Seriously, there's just something about the South that makes life feel a bit more grand and a lot more genuine.   So come on down.  We'll put you up and I'll make you pancakes!

Be sure to check out my new blog beautifuleveryday.blogspot.com.  It's just a little project I'm working on.

Me & Natt on Halloween.  

We thought Jameson would be in mortal peril wearing a Jazz jersey in DT Atlanta, but there were lots of Jazz fans, some more obnoxious than others, so we blended in. 

Yahoo!  We won.

We went to Dollywood last week and got stuck on a ride.  At first I was a little scared, but pretty soon all the blood settled at the back of my head and then I couldn't really feel anything so that was good.  Eventually they pulled us out on the catwalk.  Thanks for the memories Dolly!

Dollywood was actually a ton of fun.  

Fall for Me!

Happy fall everybody!  Autumn is in full bloom here and I'm loving it.  The leaves are just starting to change, the air is fresh and crispy, and Halloween (the best holiday of the year) is just a few weeks away.  The only thing I don't love about this particular October is that I turned 30 last week.  I'm not one of those women (yeah I can't say girl anymore, I'm officially a woman) who's always lying about her age, but 30 is just so... I don't know, but I'm not thrilled about it.


Besides that minor chronological hiccup, Jameson and I are happy and healthy and trying to experience everything Tennessee has to offer.  I just found out that there's an elephant sanctuary west of Nashville where an elephant named Tara and a yellow lab named Bella are best friends!  I watched this whole special on Animal Planet about unlikely animal pals and found out about this dynamic duo who live a few hours away.  Well it's like 5 hours away, but I think the drive would be worth seeing a elephant and a dog who love each other don't you?  I'm going and Jameson can come if he wants to.  


Speaking of furry friends, I have made a few of my own.  Although we're not allowed to have a dog in our condo, I'm not giving up on my need for canine companionship.  A few weeks ago Jameson and I visited the local animal shelter and became volunteer dog walkers.   Because they are overflowing with unwanted puppies, (how that's true, I have no clue) I can get a new puppy every day of the week!  Yes I have to take them back after a few hours which is really hard, but it's better than no puppy at all.  I take them to the park and try to teach them tricks.  It doesn't work, but I love it!  Last time I dropped one off I spotted two new puppies that were begging me to play with them.  I don't think I'm ready for two at a time, but I'll probably try it anyway.  It's remarkable how happy puppies can make you feel. 


I hope you're all doing well and loving life.  If you're not, spend a day with a puppy.  I promise you'll feel better.

I named this guy Blue.  He looked just like a pound puppy.  Remember those?

This was the first guy I took to the park.  He was super fat.  

So cute.

The UT game.  It was fun until it wasn't.  We got rained out. 

Our friends, Matt & Sarah.  Matt works at Kiewit too.

Hiking in the Smokies.  Why do they always look  so smoky?

This was at Clingman's Dome.  It's a tower at the highest point in Smokies.  It was really beautiful.

Where have all the rednecks gone?

Hey friends!  How do you like the new look of my blog?  I decided to go super girly, because the truth is, I am super girly.  I hope you are all having a fantastic summer.  It's hard to believe it's coming to a close, but that's fine with me because fall is my favorite season and Halloween is my favorite holiday!  Jameson and I already have tickets to the first University of Tennessee football game and I'm itching to break out all my fall decor.  It's still 90+ degrees outside, but my mind has moved on to fall.

We have been extremely busy since the last post; Jameson turned 27, we took a trip to Atlanta (which, by the way, was not at all what I thought it would be.  I think I need to head to Savannah to satisfy my romantic antebellum visions of hoop skirts and lemonade on the terrace), but best of all Jameson and I got to participate in a southern tradition few will get the chance to enjoy.

Up until now we've encountered just a handful of the honky tonk folk we expected when we moved to Tennessee.  A lot of people down here don't even have accents.  We were starting to think all the movies and TV shows that filled our minds with redneck folklore were full of it, but 2 weeks ago we were invited by our landlord, who happens to be the nicest guy on the planet, to the mecca of all things white trash where we discovered where all those rednecks have been hiding, NASCAR!  Nestled in the hills of the small town of Bristol, TN lies a mammoth 160,000 seat stadium known as the fasted 1/2 mile in the world.  We had to park about 1/2 mile away and walk through literally thousands of camper trailers and mullets to get inside, but once we found our seats and the race began I admit I caught a bit of NASCAR fever.  Watching those cars speed around that tiny track with deafening power that rattles your chest was one of the coolest feelings I've ever experienced.  I'm not saying I'm ready to put a couch on my front porch and a confederate flag on the grill of my RAV 4, but there's a lot more to the sport than I thought and being there is nothing like watching it on TV.  It was awesome and I'm so glad we got to go.

We are looking forward to this weekend as we are headed to Alabama to see Jameson's sister for the holiday.  I hope you all have plans to party this weekend and that you are all safe and happy.  Happy Labor Day!  Do we say that?  Happy Labor Day?  Well I guess I do!  Hey if any of you need a laugh and haven't seen this already, watch this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzNhaLUT520 then watch this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMtZfW2z9dw.

Yay! Our first fish, we let it go, it was dumb.

Didn't catch anything, but it was fun.

This is from our balcony, we get one of these every night. 

It was so loud, so incredibly loud.  At night I can still hear the engines!

So remember how I said we've only run into a few Billy Bobs, well here's one.  

Yes that is a beer coozy around his neck and he is complete with pink crocs. 

 He runs the marina by our condo and I can't understand a word he says.

I bought this chair for $15 on craig's list. 

Voila!  I'm trying to be handy and crafty.  Pretty good for my first run, no?

Yeah, I make stuff.