Ode to My Parents

Today is my parent's anniversary. I believe they have been married for 36 or 37 years. In those 36 or 37 years, they have had three children, six dogs, nine horses, a handful of cats, three granddogs, three granddaughters, three college tuition payments, three weddings, a few wrecked vehicles, a lot of late nights, a lot of teary phone calls and so much more. It is truly unfathomable for me to imagine all they have been through together.

However, what shocks me the most is the fact that after 35+ years, they still maintain a strong, Godly marriage. In this day and age when marriages don't seem like they last forever, I feel very fortunate to have two parents who are so committed to one another and to their family. Of course, they have seen their fair share of bumps in the road, but they have worked through those times and made themselves better in the end.

As Brandon and I are heading into our fourth year of marriage, I'm thankful for the example my parents have set for me and the lessons they have taught me about loving unconditionally, putting God first in our marriage, seeing each other through thick and thin and being able to laugh at yourself and not take some things too seriously.

I don't think either of my parents read my blog too often, but just in case they do (and I don't know it), I want to wish them a very Happy Anniversary!! I love you both very much!!

P.S. I really wanted to post a couple of pictures of my parents together, but for some reason, I couldn't find ANY!! So Mom and Dad, the next time we're together, we need to snap a few pictures of you two :)

Insomnia

Last night, I went to bed around my usual time, but I wasn't all that tired. Then, around 2:30 am, I woke up and felt wide awake! I tried counting backwards from 100, twice. I tried saying the ABCs backwards, several times. Then, I started thinking about work things that were really not a big deal, but at 2:30 am seemed like huge issues. After I talked myself down from that, I started singing stupid songs. This whole deal lasted at least an hour maybe more. Finally, I got up and went to the kitchen to get a drink and went back to bed and eventually fell back asleep. Needless to say, I was awfully sleepy today, but I had a lot to do, so my day went by pretty fast.

So, in an effort to not go to bed tonight wide awake, I'm blogging. But, because I don't have too much going on right now, I'll just post some random thoughts:

* I started making my Christmas list this week. It seems the older I get, the less I have to put on my list, but what does make my list is never cheap! Some of the items on this years list are: Money towards lamps and tables for the living room, a new casual winter coat, a large beverage dispenser and pajamas.
* We've been having a really good time at small group lately. I'm really glad to have these friends in my life.
* I can't believe it is almost NOVEMBER!! This year has just flown by. I remember when we were planning our NYC trip, it seemed so far away and now it seems like we were there such a long time ago.
* I've learned that I can't make no-bake desserts to save my life! I've never been able to make no-bake cookies, much to Brandon's dismay and this week, I tried a peanut butter coated snack mix that turned out more like powdered sugar covered cereal.
* Our dog is getting quirkier and quirkier the older he gets. Just tonight, we decided to leave him out of the bedroom during small group and he was fine for the most part. But then he decided to take his rope and toss it in the air right in front of the tv (we are doing a dvd lead study). Then, he started rolling on his back and chewing on his rope at the same time. He has also decided he hates the toaster! Every time we get it out, we find him shaking under the kitchen table.
* I'm so happy that The Office is back to it's old ways. I was beginning to wonder about the story line, but this year we have been very pleased! Yay for Jim and Pam!
* With all of the sad news that we keep hearing, I've been trying very hard to not take anything for granted and appreciate everything! You just never know what the next day could bring.
* The cardigan post last week was dedicated to my loving husband. I have been very attracted to cardigans this season because I love the layered look and I just think they are fun, but he has distinctly different views. He even had the audacity to compare me to Angela from The Office!! Thank you to all of you who chimed in on the issue. You helped me in my defense :)

Okay, I think that is all for now. I am getting a little bit sleepy. Let's hope I don't wake up tonight singing the new Black Eyed Peas song...

Not Yet Complete, But Almost

Remember when I posted about our living room painting project over Memorial Weekend? Well, I realized a while ago that I had never posted the (almost) finished product! So today I snapped a few pics:

Here is the loveseat with the new pillows

And a closer view of the pillows

Honestly, I don't think I would have put these fabrics together if I would have just pulled them from the books, but I had a lovely (and free!) consultant who helped me pull everything together!

Here is a picture of the chair, which might be my favorite part of the room!

We still need to get some sort of funky ottoman so we can prop our feet up, but I haven't found the perfect one yet.

We also got a really fun rug to pull the entire room together. The rug came from a company that allows you to pick the design and colors (kind of like paint by number), so we were able to get the perfect colors to coordinate with the rest of the room.

Slowly but sure, I've been able to accessorize the room. I got these purple vases for a steal at Z Gallerie.

I just love the way they look on the buffet!

My mom and dad bought me these lovely little vases for my birthday

As you can see, we DESPERATELY need a large painting or picture over our fireplace. I would love to have something custom painted because I haven't found anything that I love that would go with the room, but I think it would cost us an arm and a leg. Anyone know of a really great painter who would like a small project for not a lot of money?

Finally, we hung some curtains in the dining area of our kitchen. Our upstairs is pretty open, so we carried the paint scheme through to the kitchen. I was a little nervous to add such a large splash of purple, but I think the curtains turned out really nice!

Now the only items we have left to buy are a coffee table and end table and a few lamps and of course, the artwork. At the moment, the lighting in our living room is terrible, so I'm looking for some neat floor lamps and a table lamp. I also need one more window treatment one the window above the sink, but I just haven't found anything that I love.

So, there is the sneak peek at our living room. Hopefully, by the end of the year or early next year, I will have all of the other pieces and it will FINALLY be done!

Weekend Wrap-Up

Well, another weekend has just flown by here at the Brungardt household. Before I go into the specifics, I just have to show you this:

Yes, that is right - the Cats "PUMMELED" the Aggies last night! We were fortunate enough to be at the game and it was so fun! To be honest, after last week, we were not terribly hopeful, so this game came as quite a surprise! Go Cats!

Okay, so on with the weekend:

Friday was a pretty low-key night; I'm not sure we even ate dinner. We caught up on our Thursday night TV that we missed (I had a jewelry party) and I fell asleep half-way through Private Practice.

Saturday morning was also pretty-low key. We ran a couple of errands before heading to Manhattan for the game. I just have to say, I LOVE Manhattan in the fall and I LOVE Manhattan on game day! The area is so pretty with all of the trees turning colors and the town is just a buzz on game day.

We got to the stadium early and tailgated with some friends before the game. Brandon and I were introduced to a new game, Stump. Basically, you take a tree stump, a hammer and some nails and you take turns trying to hit the other players nails into the stump. The person who's nail is still not hammered into the stump by the end of the game is the winner. I will go ahead and gloat as I won a few rounds! The game didn't start until 6:00, so we got home pretty late last night.

Today was filled with a lot of errands - a grocery store run, got the car serviced, bought Brandon some new jeans. And now, we're watching "The Proposal" - a perfect ending to the weekend!

Taking a Poll

I know I haven't posted in a couple of days, but before I do, I need to take a poll. I'm not sure how many guys read this blog vs. girls, but the poll is for everyone (and the answers will be important)!

Okay, so here is the question:

What do you think of this fall's cardigan fashion trend for girls?

Just leave me a comment with your thoughts and then in the next few days, I will share with you a great cardigan debate!

So Long, Farewell

Well, I've decided that its time for my Domestic Haven blog to go. It is just too hard to keep up two blogs at this point in time. So, from now on, if I have new recipes to share (as I do today), I will just post them here. Domestic Haven was a good thought in theory, but I just didn't have the time to maintain it correctly.

I have two recipes to post today! One comes from my friend Tracie who shares my love for So Long Saloon (a restaurant in Manhattan) and The Bird sandwich that is on their menu. She decided that she would try to recreate the sandwich and in my opinion, she hit a home run with this one!

The Bird
1 lb boneless chicken breasts, pounded thin
1/4 c. lime juice
2 T. canola oil
1 T. white vinegar
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. salt
1-2 jalepenos, sliced
Bacon - enough for each sandwich
Guacamole (we made our own using the McCormicks mix that you find in the produce section and added tomatoes, cilantro and red onion)
Pepper Jack cheese slices
Lettuce, tomato, onion (optional)

Homestyle white bread

Mix together the lime juice, oil, vinegar, cumin, salt and jalepenos. Add chicken and marinate for an hour or so. Remove the chicken from the marinade and place on a hot grill and cook through. Meanwhile, make the guacamole and cook the bacon. When the chicken is finished grilling, let it stand while the bread toasts. To assemble, place one slice of the bread on the plate, add the guacamole, chicken, cheese, bacon, lettuce, tomato and onion (if using)and top with the other piece of bread.

I served this with baked sweet potato fries and a fruit salad.

The next recipe I have, I received from a coworker and boy am I glad she passed it on! This is the PERFECT recipe for a cool fall morning or a holiday breakfast.

Pumpkin-Ginger Pancakes
1 c. all-purpose flour
2 T. firmly packed brown sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp. salt
1 large egg
3/4 c. milk
3/4 c. canned pumpkin
1/4 c. plain low-fat or non-fat yogurt
2 T. butter, melted
maple syrup

In a large bowl, stir together, flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt. In another bowl, mix egg, milk, pumpkin, yogurt and butter until well blended. Stir egg mixture into flour mixture just until evenly moistened.

Place non-stick grilled or a 12-inch frying pan over medium heat (350 degrees); when hot, coat lightly with butter and adjust heat to maintain temperature (I used non-stick cooking spray on my griddle). Spoon batter in 1/3 cup portions onto griddle and gently spread into 4-inch rounds. Cook until pancakes are browned on the bottom and edges begin to look dry, 2 to 3 minutes; turn with a wide spatula and brown on other sides, 2 to 3 minutes longer. As pancakes are cooked, transfer to baking sheets and keep warm in a 200 degree oven. Serve with warm maple syrup.

Side note: My pancakes seemed to take longer than the 2 to 3 minutes as the recipe states.

You should make these pancakes, soon! I promise you will love them!

Tis the Season...

...I wish I was talking about Christmas, but that would be crazy since it is only October 6th!

This season that I speak of is the my season of life. As many of you know, seasons come and go. Some are short, while others seem to drag on and on, yet they all hold a special meaning or a grand learning experience or maybe even a regret. Lately, I've been in a really strange season of life. There are a lot of situations that are contributing to this season right now (work, church, friend/family relationships, sicknesses (not us), etc.) and it all just seems so overwhelming. Sometimes, I really just want to hit the "pause" button in order to catch my breath for a minute, but I have to keep reminding myself that "this too shall pass" and I will look back and realize that there was a lesson to be learned here. Maybe that lesson will be about patience or maybe it will be something about priorities or empathy or faith and trust. Whatever the lesson, I know I will be grateful.

A common theme that has been coming up in all of these situations (and conversations) is that God works in funny ways and the He really does have a plan for our lives. I think the most enjoyable part of starting a new season of life is looking back on the previous season and being able to see how the plan unfolded. So, I will be patient, continue the pep talks (such as this post) and continue to chug along until the next season comes along.

In other more traditional "seasonal" topics, I made pumpkin chocolate chip muffins last night! I tried to lighten up the recipe by using applesauce instead of oil and they turned out okay; they still taste great, but the texture is a little funny. Next time, I think I might do half and half (oil and applesauce that is, not the cream mixture). I also found a recipe for pumpkin pancakes that I plan to try this weekend. And, I met a couple of friends for lunch yesterday and the cafe we were eating at was serving pumpkin cheesecake gelato!!! YUM!! Have I mentioned that Fall is my absolute favorite time of year?!?!

Weekend Wrap Up

We had a great three day weekend, but like always, it went by too fast!

On Friday, Brandon played in the KLA golf tournament with my dad, brother and brother-in-law in Manhattan. Last year, they won the entire tournament, but this year they had to battle the strong winds and ended up winning their flight. While the boys played golf, I drove up to KC to hang out with my sister and her girls. E and I played and then I put her down for her nap, while Tara put I down for her nap. After the girls got up, E and I made cupcakes! Boy was that an experience! I let her crack the eggs, use the mixer and help me scoop the batter into the muffin tins. Once they had baked, I let her frost the cupcakes and then she put the "sprinklers" on (her word for sprinkles). We had a great time and she couldn't wait to tell her dad and Uncle B about the cupcakes when they got home from golfing. We have pictures of our baking day, but they are on Tara's camera so I'll have to wait to post them.

On Saturday, we got up and made breakfast and played for a while before Brandon and I had to leave to meet Todd and Natalie for the KSU game at Arrowhead Stadium. Little L was staying with her grandma and grandpa and they were even brave enough to keep Koby too! It sounds like L was having so much fun with the dogs, that she forgot to take a nap! We all had a great time at the game, and KSU even pulled out a win!!! We were a little bit cold at first, but the sun came out during the second half and we almost got hot. After the game, we took it easy and ordered pizza and watched the other football games that were on TV. L and I played the mermaid game that Brandon and I got her for her birthday and then she spent the rest of the evening chasing Koby until it was time for her to go to bed.

Then, we got up this morning and headed to Panera for breakfast and then Brandon and I came home. We had a lot to get done before the week started. We needed to run to the garden center to take advantage of a discount that expired today. We needed to find a bush to replace one we lost this summer. We also needed to get some fertilizer for the yard. Once we got home, Brandon started the yard work and I finished our weekly menu and grocery list and headed to the store. After I got the groceries put away, I picked up the house, cleaned the kitchen and mopped the floors. I also tried a new recipe for dinner, compliments of my friend Tracie and it was delicious!!

Now, it is that time where I wish we had just one more day in the weekend, but alas, tomorrow is Monday and that means back to the daily grind...