Landscaping

As mentioned in a previous post, we have Spring Fever in our house!! We are just dying to get out in the yard and get things planted (Brandon is probably feeling this urge a little more than me, at this moment)!! So, yesterday, we headed down to our local greenhouse to take a look at what they had. They were also having a sale for their Spring Open House, so that was even more incentive to go! We intended to buy some pansies and a new azalea to replace one we lost this winter. As we browsed their shrub selections, found lots of fun things we'd like to plant, but we never found our white azalea :( So, to waste a little more time we went to look at the ornamental trees for our front yard. If you recall, we used to have this in our front flower bed, but it was overtaking our house:

It was very pretty and we hated cutting it down, but it was a MONSTER!!! Since we cut that down, we basically tore everything out of that bed and are slowly replacing things. We've been wanting a small, ornamental tree that is pretty, but doesn't get too big. We love Japanese maples, but they are quite expensive and do not do well on the north side of the house. So, as we were browsing, one of the helpful sales people pointed us to this little beauty:

This is a lollipop tree! It will only get about 5-6 feet tall and about 5-6 feet wide. It is a type of crabapple tree, so it will get really pretty white flowers in the spring and then it will be full of dark green leaves in the summer! Another great thing is that we got this tree for a pretty darn good price, since the greenhouse was having a sale!

We also purchased some pansies, which were on the list! We chose all different shades of purple (are we KSU fans or what?!?!).

Brandon worked hard on planting the tree and laying out the soaker hose to keep our new and not-so-new plants hydrated while I planted the pansies, but I didn't get a picture of him (he claims I never get pictures of him and I suppose he is probably partially right - I always forget). So, he deserves most of the credit for all of this!!

Hopefully in the next few weeks, we'll get our flower pots out and I'll have all sorts of things to fill with plants and flowers! I just love this time of year!!

Weekend Project Update

Brandon's "Office" prank was successful, but only after a few attempts.

Attempt #1:

The first time around, he only used regular jello, but it wasn't hard enough and the top broke off.

Attempt #2:

The second time around, I suggested that he use some unflavored gelatin, in addition to the regular jello, just to give some stiffness. And, wouldn't you know, my idea worked!!!

(This is Brandon, holding the bowl upside down, demonstrating that the jello was NOT moving!)

I guess it didn't go over as well as he would have liked this morning. Apparently, one of the guys told his boss what he was doing, so he wasn't that surprised when he found his business cards this morning. Oh well!

"The Office" & A Weekend Project

So, you could say that Brandon and I are quite fond of "The Office". This is a show that I did not initially like because I hadn't sat down to watch it and really give it a chance. But, since the writer's strike basically screwed up my TV schedule, I was forced to watch re-runs of other shows. Suddenly, I saw the light and realized what a funny show this really is, much to Brandon's surprise (he doesn't think I have a very good sense of humor)! Ever since then, I don't really miss an episode, even if they are re-runs right now.

Now, you might be wondering what "The Office" has do with a weekend project. Well, let me explain. Brandon's office is a rather relaxed atmosphere. They are typically found tossing around footballs, cutting out early on Fridays and throwing parties at work for March Madness (these are just a FEW of the things they do). Well, another activity that they are often found doing is pranking each other. And by pranking, I don't mean they set a whoopie cushion in someones chair - they go to the extreme. One time, Brandon decided to screw his boss's drawers shut. Another time, he connected everything on his boss's desk together with fishing line, so when his boss pulled out his chair, everything came flying off. As you can imagine, Brandon gets pranked as well. He's found mouse traps in his desk drawers, his chair has been taken apart and just set back together so it would collapse when he sat down, etc. Well, he is now taking prank ideas from none other than "The Office". If you watch the show, you know what I'm talking about. Jim is constantly pranking Dwight, and one of his most famous pranks in the stapler in Jello:

Well, this, my friends, will be our weekend project. Brandon is determined to put something in jello and place it on his boss's desk Monday morning. I plan to let him do the messy work and I'll just be there to happily document the whole thing!

Where's Waldo???

Click here: Where's Waldo??

Do you recognize anybody in this photo???

Weekend Review

****EDIT****

Easter pictures are below!!

Well, I had hoped to have my pictures from the weekend downloaded by now, but I don't. So, I will do my weekend review without them:

• Friday night was filled with cleaning and cooking in preparation for my cousin's shower on Saturday and Easter dinner on Sunday. In one night, I made a double batch of 2 different fruit dips, 60 cupcakes (the number was an accident) and a quadruple batch of seasoned pretzels, and that was just for the shower!!
• Saturday morning I woke up and mopped floors and finished preparing for the shower. We had a smaller crowd than most of our family showers, but it was still fun! We had a good time talking and telling stories about the bride-to-be, eating lots of food and really just enjoying time together!
• Saturday evening, my parents spent the night with us, so that meant that Koby got lots of good QT with his grandmomma and granddaddy and his buddy, Tucker! Brandon and I got to spend some good time with them as well. Mom and I also hauled out all of my china for the first time. We had to hand wash everything because it has never been used! After we completed that task, we set the tables for Easter dinner and I filled Easter eggs to put out as the centerpiece. Mom came to the conclusion that I'm still missing some important pieces of my china, so I assume I will be receiving that as gifts for the next several birthdays! We also introduced them to The Office, but I'm not sure they enjoyed it as much as we do.
• Sunday, we woke up bright and early for Easter Sunday church. It was a bit chilly, so my dress didn't keep me all that warm. After church, we went home to start cooking for lunch. We had intended to put the ham in the oven on time bake and we managed to set the oven, but left the ham in the refrigerator!! Luckily with ham, it just has to be warmed through! I made up dinner roll dough in my bread machine, but the rolls didn't exactly rise too well. Those were really the only fiascos, so that was good. Brandon grilled some wonderful pineapple to serve with the ham, we also had roasted asparagus, cream cheese corn, a fruit salad, potatoes and left over cupcakes for dessert. The Shines, Aunt Donna and Grandpa joined us for lunch, and I think everyone was full and happy, especially my grandpa who was found sacked on the couch, snoring!
• We spent the rest of Sunday just relaxing with my parents, who ended up spending Sunday night with us as well. We went to see my aunt Donna's new home and took them on a tour of Brandon's office.

Easter Table, minus a few plates. Also, the only tablecloth I had was a white one, so my china doesn't look spectacular, but it worked okay.

Kids Table + my parents:

Part of the family eating lunch:

I hope everyone else had a very Happy Easter!

Easter

Sometimes, I feel like Easter doesn't get the celebration that it so deserves. As with any "religious" holiday, our country finds ways to tone down the real meaning of the holiday, only to escalate the commercialization of it. Easter is no exception. I did a Google search for "Easter" images. The first image that came up was the one above, and there were probably 10 other photos in the first 10 pages (there are 19,400,000 images total) that depicted the religious aspect of this holiday. All of the others were Easter bunnies, eggs, candy, etc. Now, I know I'm just as guilty of this as anyone - don't worry, I'm not perfect!

However, this year, I've been thinking more and more about the Easter story. While the birth of Jesus and Christmas is a very important part in the story of his life, in my opinion, his death on the cross and resurrection is much more important and it is truly the foundation that our faith should be built on. As I've pondered the events of this time in Christ's life, I'm just floored by the sacrifice God made, just for us, by putting his son to death on the cross. I'm not a mother yet, but I can't imagine sacrificing my child, so that others could benefit. And, all God wants us to do is accept that gift - he is giving it to us for FREE! When Jesus died on the cross, he said "..It is finished", meaning that his death on the cross was the end of the Old Law. The only thing we have to do to have a relationship with God and Jesus, is repent of our sins and accept Christ as our savior. That is all!! Then, it should be our goal to tell other's about this gift and further God's kingdom here on Earth. We don't HAVE to do it, but why wouldn't you want to?

Anyways, I'm saying all of this mainly because I wanted to take some time and to really reflect on why we are celebrating this holiday and what it really means. Yes, I have bought my Easter eggs and Easter candy and I have given Easter presents to my nieces and I plan to cook a big meal on Sunday and celebrate with my family, but I also want to really focus on Easter and Christ's death and the sacrifice that was made, just for us.

I hope you all have a very Happy Easter!!

Proposal Day

Yes, the crazy calendar strikes again!

Today is Proposal Day! I wish my calendar told me exactly what one is supposed to do on each of these crazy holidays, but it doesn't. So, I'm going to improvise - since I've already been proposed to, I'm going to tell you our proposal story:

It all started when I applied for a job at a local Manhattan flower shop - Kistner's to be exact. The owner had advertised the job on the KSU job website and she was offering to pay $8 or $9 per hour, which was a very high-paying job for Manhattan. So, I immediately applied and was interviewed within a few days. They told me in my interview that 90 people had applied for this job - I told you it was high paying! Well, later in the week, I found out that I had been chosen as 1 of 2 people to fill this full-time job!!! Hooray! Little did I know how this job would affect the rest of my life!

So, I started working there, as often as possible and enjoyed it very much. I got along well with the other girl who was hired and the delivery guys seemed pretty cool too (they were also college guys who had a pretty easy, but good paying job). At the time, I had a boyfriend and didn't really give much thought to these other guys. Well, as time went on, I got to be pretty good friends with one of them in particular - his name was Brandon. We would go out on big deliveries together and do plant maintenance at local banks, the hospital and a few other buildings in town. Through this, we got to know each other pretty well. We even had some Garden City connections in common. As time went on, my relationship started falling apart and we eventually broke up. Brandon had also been in a relationship that didn't exactly turn out the way he had hoped. So, we would console each other and talk about life in general and go about our ways.

Well, one day, several weeks after I had broken up with my boyfriend, Brandon and I were on delivery together and we were discussing the upcoming Big XII Championship football game. He was telling me that he and his roommates were having a watch party and I should come. Of course, I wasn't going to go by myself to this house where I didn't know anyone. For all I knew, Brandon wouldn't pay any attention to me and I'd look like a fool. So, I told him we'd see. Then, after we left work that day (remember, we had been out on delivery together all afternoon), Brandon called me to see if I would be interested in going to dinner and then coming to the watch party as his date. Of course, I said I'd be happy to. At least I knew he wanted me there as just wasn't being kind.

So, on December 6, 2003, Brandon and I had our first date. Since we were such good friends, I really wasn't all that nervous. In fact, he took me to dinner at CoCo Bolos, which is my all time favorite restaurant and I devoured my entire meal - the Black and White Pizza!! Yep, that's me, making quite the first impression.

Now, fast forward to December 6, 2004 - our first dating anniversary. I show up to work and go about my day getting deliveries ready. I notice the bouquet of 12 Lipstick roses, which just happen to be my favorite, sitting there with no card and looking a little messy. I ask Connie who they were for and she said a friend of hers. So, since they were my favorite flowers, I took it upon myself to spruce them up a little and put them in the delivery box. Brandon then comes in and takes the delivery out and that was that. When I returned back to my sorority house, I notice this big bouquet of Lipstick roses on the entry table with a card for me. Yes, my friends, those were my roses, that I sort of arranged! I called Brandon to thank him and I think we went out for dinner that evening and I thoroughly enjoyed my roses all week!

The following Friday night, Brandon had made arrangements for us to go grab a quick dinner, since my house didn't serve meals on Friday nights. Again, we had been on delivery that day and as we left, I told him I would go home to shower and get ready and I'd cal him when I was finished. I took my time and ended up calling my friend Megan for a chat. During my conversation with her, I get a phone call from Brandon. Apparently, after we left work, Connie called him to tell him he needed to pay her for the roses he sent me earlier in the week. This seemed odd to me because she never made us pay for flowers, but stranger things have happened, so I said okay and told him to come get me when he was finished, that I was running behind a bit. As I'm straightening my hair, I get another call from him - his truck died at the shop and he needed me to come get him. I told him I was still getting ready and to call one of his roommates to come out there. Well, he didn't want to do that and was quite insistent on me coming to get him. So, I threw my frizzy hair in a pony tail and off I went. By this time, it was getting dark outside, so when I pulled into the shop, I couldn't really see him, but I could see that he was standing by his truck with the hood up. I sat in the car and waited for a minute, thinking he would come get in, but he never did. So, I got out of the car and headed his way. Just as I did that, he walks out from behind his truck, all dressed up in a sport coat and tie, holding a red rose. I wasn't quite sure what to think because talk of our engagement hadn't gone exactly as planned with my parents. They loved Brandon, but didn't know if we were quite ready for marriage. But, I was wrong. Brandon got down on one knee, pulled out a box and asked me to be his wife! I was so shocked that I can't even remember what I said and I know I didn't cry, much to his dissatisfaction! Then, he asked me if I had seen the sign driving in and I said no. As I looked up to read it, it said "Tessa Bohn, will you marry me?" - I didn't even NOTICE that when I walked in. And to top it all off, our boss and one of Brandon's friends were there taking pictures!! (I wish I had them digitized, so you could see the sign and realize what a dope I am for not seeing it. I mean, it was lit up and everything!).

So, there you have it. The story of how I became Mrs. Brandon Brungardt!

Bad luck....

I'm not sure what is with the day today, but there is something that is against us! First, I wake up this morning with a horrible sore throat, then at 4:02 pm, my mom calls to tell me she's headed to the lake because their house has flooded, then at 4:32 pm, Brandon calls to tell me the engine in his "new-to-us" truck is over heating. What else can possibly go wrong today???

American Chocolate Week

According to my handy "crazy calendar", March 17-22 is American Chocolate Week!!! This is something I've been missing in my life - an entire week, dedicated to all things chocolate!!! So, in honor of this week, I've decided to list (or rather show), my favorite chocolatey treats!

In my opinion, there is nothing better than a slice of moist, chocolate cake or a super indulgent chocolate cupcake:

For a mid-day "pick-me-up", I seem to turn to a Peanut Butter Twix, which has the perfect combination of peanut butter and chocolate or Peanut Butter M&M's:

Brandon and I are often found craving another peanut butter and chocolate combination, although this one comes in the frozen form - Coldstone's Peanut Butter Cup Perfection:

I also love chocolate cookies of any kind, as long as they don't have nuts. I'm especially fond of chocolate crinkles and of course, chocolate chip:

Paula Deen makes a mean Chocolate Bread Pudding, but I'll warn you, a little goes a LOOOONG way!!!:

This is probably enough chocolate to keep you salivating all day or all week!!! Happy American Chocolate Week!!!!

Weekend Review

It was a whirlwind of a weekend! Here is the brief rundown:

• Brandon arrived home from Vegas at 7:00 Friday evening. We raced home, grabbed some pizza and did ALL of our laundry and packed for the weekend.
• We left our house at 7:10 Saturday morning, to head to KC. Brandon was going to the Big XII basketball tournament with my dad, brother and brother-in-law, and I was going shopping and then meeting Brandon's mom, aunts and his sister, Ashley, for her bachelorette party. Us girls, went to the hotel, got ready, and started the party. I arrived back at my brother's house around 10:45 pm (I had to opt out of some of the festivities because I was not feeling so great).
• We got up at 7:15 am on Sunday, because our dog doesn't sleep any longer than that, played with our niece, and headed to my sister's house around 10:00 to have brunch and celebrate my dad's birthday, and to have a chance to see my aunt and uncle from LA who were passing through KC. Their daughter, Kendall, swam in the NCAA swim meet in Columbia, MO over the weekend.
• We left KC around 2:30 and arrived home by 5:00, we unloaded the car and I went to the grocery store to grab some stuff for dinner and to get ingredients for a small group service project that we're doing tonight. We made dinner, cleaned up dishes, did a couple loads of laundry and I'm pretty sure I was asleep by 9:30 pm. Poor Brandon, though, struggled all night because he is congested and worn out from his week in Vegas, the time change and the lack of sleep over the weekend.

And, to top it all off, this week is not going to be much better. We are doing our small group service project tonight. We're making some Easter treats for the church staff to show our appreciation. Then, I'll be making food and helping prepare for my cousin's wedding shower over the weekend, along with making food, cleaning the house and hosting Easter dinner for my parent's and aunt and uncle and their family and my other aunt who lives in town! Whew!! I'm already tired!

Hopefully, I'll have something much more interesting to post later in the week. In the meantime, have a Happy St. Patty's Day!

You have to read this!!!!!!!!!

Check this out:

Sheriff: Woman sat on boyfriend's toilet for 2 years

Can you believe this???????

Spring Fever and A Green Thumb

The warm weather this week has caused a bit of a spring fever at my house. We were dying to get out in the yard over the weekend to clean things up, but we know there is still a chance of a freeze, so we decided to leave it alone for a while. So, to take the place of that, I decided to plant indoor plants! This was the next best thing to doing outdoor yard work, and it brings a bit of the outdoors in.

So, my first "green thumb" project was 3 different ferns for the basement bedroom. I don't know what kind they are, but they are cute and fun!

My second project came to me yesterday as I was driving to work. I've been wanting to plant a few herbs for a while now. Last year, I tried to grown them from seeds and that didn't turn out so well. So, this year, I was determined to buy plants and grown them that way. Well, I didn't take my normal route to work, due to an accident, so as I was driving down Seneca, I passed Dutch's, a big greenhouse and knew I had to go in. So, over my lunch break, I decided to go back and check out their selection. Much to my delight, they had several varieties of herbs to choose from!! So, I chose basil, dill and parsley. I took my time to pick out the prettiest or most promising plants, found a few terracotta pots and was on my way. Now, let's just hope I can keep them alive!

The dill is on the left, parsley in the back and the basil up front. All of the basil plants were pretty small, so I hope this one survives!

And finally, a cute pic to brighten your day!!!

Isn't he a handsome guy?!?!?!

T-I-R-E-D

I'm exhausted this morning. We had quite a weekend and most of it took place between 12:30 pm yesterday to 5:45 am today!! We spent yesterday with Brandon's mom and sister. They were in town to do some major shopping for his sister's wedding. We started off at Sam's Club, filled two carts and almost an entire trunk. Then, we went to Party City, Kohl's, Linens and Things, Gap, Brandon's office, and then back home. We fixed dinner and had to run to Kohl's again because the clerk forgot to take the security tag off of Brandon's new swimming trunks. Then, we ended up doing a little more shopping and Brandon's mom and I walked out with new purses (mine replaces my favorite black purse that broke). Then, we went back home, and Pam showed me how to make homemade bierocks (an old German dish). Well, it was all good until we realized the bierocks had to cool before we could put them in the fridge. So, at 11:00 last night, we're sitting on our deck, with 3 pans of bierocks and towels trying to get them to cool down. In the mean time, Brandon was packing for his trip and calling me in to iron shirts and pants for him. Finally, we woke up at 5:30 this morning, and I took him and his co-worker to the airport so they could catch their 7:00 flight.

Needless to say, I'll be downing the caffeine today and going to bed early - right after I watch "Jon and Kate Plus 8", that is!!!

What is your middle name????

In honor of "Middle Name Pride Day", I'm proud to say my middle name is Denise! I was given my mom's middle name and I plan to carry it on to our daughter, someday. In elementary school, I was always teased that my middle name was "Dennis", but other than that I've never had an issues with it!

Now, it is your turn!

Did You Know????

Did you know that March (and every other month) is a month of all kinds of observances??? For instance, "Adopt A Rescued Guinea Pig Month", "Employee Spirit Month", "National Eye Donor Month", "National Umbrella Month", "Play the Recorder Month", "National Professional Pet Sitters Week", "American Chocolate Week" (there is such a thing?!?!!), and the list goes on and on!!!

I was reading The Eagle today and came across a column about embarrassing middle names. According to the columnist, March 7th is Middle Name Pride Day! So, in honor of the"holiday", I want all of my visitors (I know you're out there, I have a counter!!!) to put their shame aside and leave me a message with their middle name!

Also, in case you were wondering, today is "National Name Tag Day", so those of you who have to wear name tags at your job or school or whatever, you should be wearing them with pride today!! And, stay tuned for more interesting "observances"!

FRUSTRATED!!!!

So, as most of you know, we repainted our basement bathroom. I toiled with what colors I wanted to accent with and finally decided on a color. So, I go to look for towels and wouldn't you know, Target is discontinuing the towel color that I like. So, I bought what they had and thought I would check another store to see if they had the pieces I was missing. Well, they didn't. So, I asked my mother-in-law to check at her Target. In the mean time, I thought I would check Dillards and JCPenney to see what they had. Well, they had the colors I wanted, but Dillards didn't have 2 full sets and JCPenney only sells theirs online. I could purchase what Dillards has and order what is missing online, but then I have to pay for shipping because Dillards doesn't ship from store to store. You either have to order it online or physically drive from store to store looking for what you need. Ughhh....Decorating is HARD!!!! Let's hope Pam finds what I need at her Target!!!!

Once I get the towels and a few little accessory pieces, I hope to have pictures posted! I'm really excited about what we've done!

New Project

Not much going on in the Brungardt household these days. Our weekend was fun, for both of us! I hope to have a "dog park" post soon. I haven't downloaded my pictures yet.

I do have a new project, though. I've decided to put together a "Bohn Family cookbook"! My dad is the oldest of 8 kids (4 boys and 4 girls) and the family is full of wonderful cooks. I am always kicking myself for not taking time to get recipes after family events, so I've decided to collect recipes from everyone and assemble the cookbook. I researched different websites that specialize in printing and binding cookbooks like this, but most of them are quite expensive and require minimum orders of 25 or more. So, I'm going to format and print the cookbook myself and assemble them into 3-ring binders for all of the women in my dad's family. I'm really looking forward to it, and I think it will be something everyone enjoys.

Other than that, we're about ready to embark on a VERY full next couple of months! We have something going on the next 3 weekends and then every weekend in April - Ick! However, it seems that every Spring is full, so this Spring will be no different!

I hope everyone is enjoying the sunshine! Hopefully, we're out of the yucky weather pattern for this year!