Snow Day!!! (I wish...)

This is what we woke up to today:

I sure hope the groundhog doesn't see his shadow on Saturday. I'm ready for winter to be over!

Eat 'Em Up! Eat 'Em Up! KSU!!!!!

Sweet Victory!!!!!

You can read the story here: Wichita Eagle

It's the little things in life....

Brandon and I went to KC this weekend for a wedding reception, so before the reception, we decided to do a little shopping. We had to go to Crate and Barrel to pick up a gift and while we were there I found this

A beautiful cupcake tree!!

This is not a purchase I would normally make, but I still had some extra Christmas money on hand, and I have been debating on what to spend it on. You see, I'm a firm believer that you can't just deposit your Christmas/birthday money and use it as needed. In my mind, it just gets used for bills and then you have no idea what you did with the money. So, I kept my cash and decided I'd use it for something special. I have been wanting one of these for a while, but could never justify buying it. But now, I have a million and one ways I can use it. For instance, I'll be co-hosting 2 showers for Brandon's sister and my cousin Nicole in the upcoming months and I have the perfect recipes for cute little cupcakes! I also host our small group every 3 months, so I know it can be use for that. My friend Ali also gave me the idea to use it during Christmas and put Christmas ornaments in it! As I said above, sometimes, it is the little things in life that are the sweetest!

The Social Director

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Have a lovely day!

I miss....

....Kistner's

Kistner's was the flower shop that I worked at in college. It was the place that I met Brandon, the place we got to know each other, the place where we fell in love and the place we got engaged. It was the place I loved and hated - at the same time!

There are days where I long to be standing at the table, making arrangements, sipping on a Diet Cherry Coke and not having a care in the world. I loved learning how to arrange flowers, and it has become a part of me. I never considered myself a creative person, but Connie took a chance with me (probably because I had a flexible schedule and was likeable in my interview - she was desperate). I made arrangements for everything - birthdays, Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, the president of KSU, Bill Snyder, weddings and funerals. I did the flowers for my co-worker's wedding, heck, I even arranged my own flowers from Brandon (unbeknownst to me)!! I got to make people happy!

I learned how to deal with people I didn't necessarily like or agree with. I learned how to deal with grouchy customers and over zealous salesmen. I learned that my opinions aren't necessarily the opinions of others. I learned that I really hate watering plants and I hate poinsettias. I learned that I hate rats and that they are capable of eating 16 boxes of Decon, but eventually, they will die and stink up the entire place. I also learned that it is probably not a good idea to cut open rose boxes (on Valentine's Day, especially) using a brand new knife - I ended up in the emergency room and have a beautiful scar to remind me.

At the time, my life didn't seem simple. There were days I hated going to work, days I couldn't wait to get there and days I couldn't wait to get away. But, as time has passed, I realized what a great job that was. So much happened while I worked there that Kistner's really became a part of me. I miss it...

Conquer and Defeat

The Enemy

The Conquerer

The Defeat

If only I had the video camera to document the interaction between "The Enemy" and "The Conquerer"! But, since I didn't have the video camera, I will set it up for you.

I was getting ready the other morning and Koby was getting frustrated because I wasn't playing with him. Typically, when he's frustrated, he brings me his toys and whines until I kick them. Well, apparently, he decided to take matters into his own hands. You see, the above toy is large and quite heavy (adding to his frustrations, I'm sure) and he has a hard time carrying it from place to place. Well, I noticed I hadn't seen him in a few minutes and as I start to go find him, I hear him barking and whining. As I walk into the living room, I see him jumping around the toy, barking and pawing at. Obviously, trying to show it who was boss!! This episode went on for probably 5 minutes, no kidding! Finally, he showed that toy a thing or two, got it into his bed and proceeded to like and chew on it. I know I'm not doing this story justice, but I was in tears laughing at our little Koby!

Life...it continues

So, we continue in the pattern of the last few months regarding Brandon's work schedule. This too will end (so people tell me, anyway), hopefully sooner rather than later. However, we did have a great weekend. We spent Friday just lounging. I finally got around to making his birthday cake. I meant to take a picture (to post of course), but I forgot. Plus, the cake didn't look as pretty as it tasted. Maybe I'll take a picture of a slice of the cake. It would be more photogenic! (I'll do this tonight because, yes, we still have cake left!).

Saturday, we went up to his office to move his desk and belongings to the new addition. Can I just say this...what a mess!! Everyone else had moved their stuff, but the Project Manager (Brandon) for the new office addition. So, I dusted everything, he organized and rearranged and we got him all set up, temporarily, at least. The new addition is pretty incredible! It is HUGE!! Again, no pictures, but I'm sure Brandon will snap a few at some point. Then, we spent the rest of the evening at home. I made spaghetti and meatballs and we just enjoyed ourselves.

Sunday, we went to church and then set out to do a few errands. One of those errands was to order the chest of drawers that matches our new bedroom furniture (we didn't originally order this because we didn't know how the rest of the furniture would fit). Well, come to find out, we picked out like the most popular bedroom set there. It is so popular, that they are having to make more furniture!!!! Can you believe it?!?! So, we will have to wait for our dear chest of drawers until the END OF APRIL!!! Ahhhhh! I did ask what the wait would have been had we ordered it when we placed our original order and they told us that there were people still waiting for the chest and they ordered at the end of December. So, I guess we're not alone. We also watched the Patriots vs. Chargers game. I was so sad that the Chargers lost. I LOVE Darren Sproles and think he is the greatest and watching him play, you could just see the excitement and passion he has for the game. It's too bad they didn't make it to the Super Bowl :( I was a little disappointed in Brandon, who later confessed that he was rooting for the Patriots!! We have K-State connections to the Chargers, so I just didn't understand why he wanted the Patriots to win, especially since they win all of the time, along with all of the other Boston teams. Yeah, Yeah, I know they are going for something special with an undefeated season and all, but STILL!!!

Well, that is about all for now. I promise I will have a picture post tomorrow, after all, I think they are more interesting anyway!

Rubbing Elbows...

(Brandon with Mike Huckabee)

I see what Brandon does in his "down" time in South Carolina. Who knew he was a political hob-knobber?!?!

Oh Happy Day!

Today is a beautiful day! The sun is shining, there is not much wind, I had lunch at the beloved Frank's (or properly the China Cafe) and my wonderful husband is on his way home (which is the greatest part of the day)! Even though Brandon has been traveling quite a bit lately and I've started getting used to him being gone, I still anticipate his return quite a bit! I miss having my friend around all the time. Even during the mundane things like folding laundry (yes honey, I know you think I only miss you during laundry because you typically end up doing it, but it's not true!), cleaning up the dishes, watching TV, etc. There is just this silence in the house when he's gone. Needless to say, I'm ready for him to come home!

We have a busy weekend planned. We sign loan papers for his new truck today (after I pick him up at the airport), I'm going grocery shopping for real, for the first time since before Thanksgiving, I'd suspect, I'm going to cook dinner and we're going to lounge tonight. Then, we get up bright and early in the morning to pick up his new truck, stop by the hospital to visit our friends who are having a baby today and then head to Greensburg to deliver the old truck to Brandon's mom. I'm not looking forward to driving to Greensburg because we'll be in 2 different cars. I really hate driving 2 cars anywhere, let alone for 2 hours!! Ick!! Oh well, though! We're happy the little red truck is going to a good home! We'll also stop in Pratt on our way home so Brandon can show off his new wheels to my parents! We might even snag some Taco D while we're there..yum yum!! Then, on Sunday, I have to help with check-in for the children's Sunday School, we'll go to church and then, I bet we lounge all day. Poor Brandon has been working some late hours, so I know he'll want to crash!

Well, I guess that is all I have for now. But, here is a little something that is sure to kick your weekend off right :)

Sorry, I couldn't figure out how to flip this one. My program wasn't working right...ughh!

random thoughts for the day

I'm starting this post with not much to say, however, here are some thoughts:

1. What is with this crazy weather? We had a blizzard on Dec. 22, the snow just melted over the weekend, due to the 60 degree weather, it was dark and dreary on Monday, cold and windy yesterday and near 50 degrees today! I don't get it!

2. Brandon bought a truck this weekend. Weird part about it, of all the trucks we looked at, the 1 truck we decided to call on was a business friend of my dad's and a former co-worker of my aunt's. This world is sooooo small!

3. My dog is quite routine. I've always known this, but maybe I just pay more attention when Brandon travels. For example, in the morning, he gets up with the alarm, crawls out from under the covers, leans on me, licks my face and jumps off the bed. He then sits there and waits, while I get up and brush my teeth. Then, he takes the same route from our bedroom to the back door (he doesn't cut through the kitchen, he goes around the kitchen), he runs down the steps, squats, and comes right back in and goes directly to his bowl. If his bowl is full of food, he eats, if I haven't gotten to it yet, he licks it and then sits there and waits. That, however, is just an example!

4. I'm already tired of the political campaigns and it is only January. We still have nearly 10 months left...ughhh!

5. I'm sick of TV right now, mostly due to the writer's strike. I'm not sure I'm going to be able to live with myself if the only TV options are "reality" shows. Don't get me wrong, I love reality TV, but the new shows just aren't doing it for me. I guess that gives me reason to work on one of my new year's resolutions - Reading!

6. I ripped the back hem of my pants today, due to my clumsy ways. Somehow, I managed to get the heel of my boot caught in them as I bent down to get Koby a treat. I was already running late and I didn't have time to change, so I'm walking around with a loose hem on my right pant-leg. Oh well...

7. My friend Tracie sent me an article from Yahoo!, listing the top 5 jobs. PR and Advertising made the list. Funny!

8. Brandon's birthday is tomorrow, so I sent him a goodie basket to work yesterday (so he could enjoy it for most of the week). He was mad. He doesn't like to draw attention to his birthday. Party pooper!!

9. I want to see the movie 27 Dresses. I think I would like it.

Okay, I think that is all for now!

New Year's Resolutions

Happy 2008! I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year!! We had a great, relaxing holiday. In fact, it was so relaxing we failed to take very many pictures, thus I don't have much to show all of you (all 4 of you, that is). I was happy that I was able to spend some quality time with Brandon, since he's been traveling so much lately. We got a special dose of QT as we waited, trapped in our house, for a blizzard to pass so we could travel to Garden City. However, we ended up making the drive (after waiting around for 6 hours) and arrived safe and sound!

So, I don't typically make New Year's resolutions, but this year, I'm going to try. I'm not going to set definite goals that I ultimately ignore or can't achieve (for example - lose x amount of pounds, spend x amount of time doing this or that, etc.). Instead, I'm going to set more general goals/resolutions and hope those turn into more monumental things. So here it goes:

Try to live a healthier life by eating better and exercising more. I'm going to try to cut out soda, limit my sweets, eat more vegetables and move around more. I don't want to be chained to a regimented diet or work-out. I just want to be healthier.

Reorganize and thoroughly clean my house and keep it that way (this will take a little help from the husband, of course). I want everything in my house to have a place and to stay in that place. I want to clean out and organize closets, move furniture around so it is functional and not just taking up space, buy organizing baskets, totes, whatever it takes and label them so we know what is supposed to be there, clean out and get rid of duplicate items (and resolve not to buy duplicates simply because I can't find the original - this is mainly for the kitchen), build a "pantry" cabinet in the kitchen to allow for more space so my cabinets are not over-flowing and clean underneath the beds (we tend to put things there simply because we don't know where else to put them). I also want to have a simple cleaning routine that doesn't take 4 hours to complete.

Spend more quality time with Brandon that doesn't involve house work, errands, etc. I'm not set on doing something every week or anything, I just want to spend more time together doing things we enjoy. This could be going to get ice cream, going to the driving range, watching movies, playing foosball, etc.

Volunteer some of my time at the church. I'm not sure what areas I want to serve in exactly or in what capacity I want to volunteer, but I want to do something. Our church has is huge and is always looking for people to help with annual projects, weekly information booths, baking cookies for new visitors, etc. So, basically any help will be worth it.

Read!!! I hate reading and honestly, haven't read a book in several years. However, I know reading is good for the brain, so I want to read. In my opinion, it could be a book, a magazine or the newspaper, whatever it is, I want to spend time reading it and not just glance through it. Any good book suggestions???

Now, how is that for resolutions??? First on the list - take down the Christmas decorations!