Happy Birthday to Koby

Today is Koby's 4th Birthday!!! It's hard to believe he is getting so old...

Here he is on the day we brought him home (although he was born on June 30, we didn't get him until September).  Doesn't he look so tiny and cute?!?

Our little Koby is quite the charmer.  Just yesterday we were at the vet and he was shaking before the vet and the assistant came into the room, but the minute they stepped in he was putting on a show!  By the time we left I think he had consumed 6 or 8 treats!

 

And because he is our only "child" at this point, we have to embarrass him from time to time.  He still cowers at the sight of this lobster costume!

Koby is also quite possibly the quirkiest dog ever!  As I mentioned the other day he is scared of the toaster and often hides from it.  He also makes monkey noises when he's excited or wanting to play fetch.  We find him in the position above while he's playing with his toys and he usually gets stuck on his back.  He likes to be tucked into his bed or covered with blankets.  Since he doesn't have a tail, he wags his booty when he's excited and it looks like he's dancing.  Whenver we get peanut butter out of the cabinet he comes running and won't let us let him out of our sight until he gets a lick.  The stories could go on and on...

We love Koby and we aren't afraid to hide it.  I'm not sure what we would do without this guy greeting us every day when we get home from work, accompanying us when we work in the yard, snuggling up with us in the evenings and being a down right awesome source of entertainment! 

5 Random Things on a Monday

I'm the only person in my department today and our offices are located on a different floor than all of the other departments so I'm a little bit disengaged and isolated, thus a random thought post:

1.  I managed to do something productive today.  I searched high and low for these discontinued vases.

And when I said I searched high and low, I literally meant I called the C&B store in KC, I scoured the internet for them, I tried the online store and I finally broke down and called the catalog phone number.  The nice customer service rep informed me that they were discontinued but that she was able to find a couple somewhere in the C&B system and they will be delivered to my house in three to seven business days! Yahoo!!

2. 

I have iPhone envy and Brandon has told me I need to come up with five good reasons that I "need" the phone and the needs cannot be "wants".  So far, I have two: 1) the iPhone allows me to be more social with my friends and family by sending good pictures to them 2) AT&T (the carrier of the iPhone) is taking over the Verizon service in Pratt and 45 other counties in Kansas (which I'm sure Finney is one of them).  The only reason we still have Alltel/Verizon is because our phone calls to our parents are free since they have the same service.  So, this is a very good reason!  Now, I still need three more!  I told B that the iPhone would provide me with accurate weather radar when I'm traveling alone but for some reason, my personal safety doesn't matter.

3.  I am still trying to figure out how I can cross #9 off of my Summer Must-Do list.  A lady at work told me that she and her husband save every dime they get back in change for vacation.  She said it really doesn't take them long to save $300 or more, but I'm thinking if I want to accomplish this task this summer I should have started saving my dimes a long time ago. 

4.  I'm going to be using this for the first time ever tonight!

Do you know what it is??  I'll give you a hint - I'm using it in stir-fry.  Brandon is less than thrilled, but I think it will add a nice touch. 

5.  Our dog is scared of the toaster.  I've known this for a while now, but today I made two pieces of toast for breakfast and when I went to look for Koby, I found him hiding in our closet.  I so wish I would have snapped a picture!  He might be the weirdest dog I know!

Okay, that is all for now.  I think it is getting close to "shut down" time.

Summer Must-Do Progress Report

A few weeks ago I listed my Summer Must-Do List.  I'm happy to report I've knocked a few items off the ol' list!

1. Host a big backyard BBQ bash
2. Visit the Farmer's Market on a regular basis
3. Celebrate our 4th anniversary (check!)
   * We had a great anniversary weekend! We visited the farmer's market, had a picnic and went out to dinner at one of our favorite restaurants.  And, we exchanged gifts with a $10 limit - I got popsicle molds (to complete #6) and Brandon got frosty beer mugs.
4. Go to a Royal's game
   *We've got this one scheduled!
5. Sit on the patio and enjoy the summer evenings more frequently - with bug spray of course.
   *The completion of the patio got us one step closer to being able to really enjoy our backyard.
6. Make popsicles
   *I'm not going to officially cross this one off the list yet because I've only made one batch and I have several other recipes I want to try out before I cross it off.
7. Work on my tan
8. Wear breezy dresses more often in an effort to break out of my norm
9. Take an unexpected weekend trip somewhere new, but within driving distance - just the two of us
10. Pray for a different person everyday
11. Make mojitos (a good use of fresh mint from the Farmer's Market)
12. Take Koby to the new dog park
13. Visit my bff
    *Megan and her family spent this weekend in Wichita and we had a great time!  It's always fun to spend time with them, even if it is just relaxing around the house.  The guys did get in a little golf and Megan and I snuck off to get pedicures yesterday afternoon, but beyond that we just did a lot of hanging out and playing with Gabe. 
14. Get the basement decor finished
15. Go to a bonfire and make smores

It Is Finished!

We have been working on a new patio project for a couple of weeks now and we finally got it finished this week!!  This all started when we decided to spruce up the backyard.  We had initially planned to build an arbor over our deck but soon realized it would cost a lot more money than we initially thought and we didn't really want to deal with the up-keep of staining it.  Then we got to looking at our sad little brick paved patio.

The patio was on the smallish side, the brick pavers were a little loose and we had weeds growing up in between them.  So, with the help of one of Brandon's sub-contractors, we decided to give it a face lift! 

Brandon began the whole process by pulling up all of the pavers and digging out a 17' x 22' area (we extended the patio to the end of the house).  Once that was done he asked a friend from work to come help him form up the area and get the sand down.

And then, because we were getting the labor as a favor from the concrete company, we waited.  And we waited some more.  Finally, two weeks after this huge sand box was made, the concrete truck showed up early Wednesday morning!

They strung a huge hose all the way back to the patio area and pumped the concrete in that way.  It was pretty fun to watch them pour it and smoosh it around.

If you are wondering, we chose to do a colored concrete which is why the concrete looks brown.  As you can see, our poor strawberries took a beating!

After they got the concrete poured, they leveled it out to make it even and then they let it set for about an hour before they started the next step.

These are the stamps they used to make the patio look like flagstone.  Unfortunately, we both had to go to work so we didn't get to see them stamp the patio.  But, from what I hear, they have to let the concrete set up enough to walk on it before they can stamp it.  Then, they throw this colored powder over the concrete to help release the stamps (and the powder gives the concrete a little character when it is all said and done).  Then, they place these rubber stamps on the concrete, tamp them down and pull them back up to get the pattern.  They have stamps in all different patterns - brick, slate tile, cobblestone and even wood grain planks.

The finished patio looks awesome!!  I was a little nervous about the color we chose, but I think it is perfect!

Brandon had just power washed the patio in these pictures so that is why it is wet.  We still have to seal it which will give it a nice shiny appearance and it will really bring out the colors and the character of the stamp. 

We are so pleased with the outcome and can't wait to get out there and make use of our new space!

Minute to Win It

Have you ever seen the NBC game show "Minute to Win It"?  If not, you should try to catch it sometime because it is pretty entertaining.  Basically, contestants have 60 seconds to complete random challenges that get more difficult with each level.  Most of the challenges use basic things that people have in their homes - balloons, Kleenex, ping pong balls, pencils, etc.

Well, this summer our small group is getting together once a month for a social time and this month was our turn to host and we recreated an at-home Minute to Win It game.  We didn't really follow the rules or the scoring system but we definitely used a few of the games and we had everyone compete against each other (girls vs. girls, boys vs. boys). 

The first game we did was Face the Cookie (watch the demo video or read the instructions).  We modified this challenge and only required players to move one cookie from their forehead to their mouth.

 

Even though we didn't get a picture, I'm proud to say I won this challenge for the girls!!

The next game we played was "This Blows".  The goal was blow up a balloon and use the air to blow plastic cups off of a table. 

Some of us were able to complete this challenge without any problems, while others of us need to practice blowing up balloons!!

The next game we played was "Rapid Fire".  Basically, we had to shoot rubber bands at a pyramid of empty cans and try to get all of the cans knocked off of the table.

Saved

The girls weren't so good at this game and we decided that was because the boys had lots of practice in shooting rubber bands in school!

The last game we played was "Nutstacker".  The goal of this game was to stack 10 nuts on top of each other using only one hand and a chopstick. 

None of us completed this challenge in 60 seconds, but I am PROUD to say my tower was the only one to remain standing once I got all 10 nuts stacked :)

After we finished playing games, we had an ice cream sundae bar and enjoyed the evening outside!

Weekend Recipes

We have had a pretty productive weekend (laundry, errands, yard work, deck staining, etc.) and it was topped off by a delicious Sunday dinner (mostly) on the grill.

We had marinated grilled pork chops, grilled potatoes and fresh green beans from the farmer's market (at least for me).

The pork chop marinade is a recipe my grandma used to make and is one of my all time favorite summer recipes!  It can be used for pork chops or pork tenderloin.  This is definitely a recipe you should try soon!

Marinated Pork Chops

4 pork chops (I used two very large, boneless pork chops)

12 oz. lemonade concentrate, thawed

2/3 c. soy sauce

2 tsp. season salt

1 tsp. celery salt

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

Combine all ingredients in a shallow dish and marinate for 24 hours, rotating half-way through.  

I also tried another new recipe, peanut butter bites, tonight that I found here.  These remind me of the peanut butter balls that people make around Christmas time.  I had all of the ingredients on hand and it honestly took me 15 minutes from start to finish (with the exception of the cooling time).  And, they are REALLY good and REALLY addicting!!

Peanut Butter Bites

 

3/4 cup oats

1/2 cup peanut butter

1 tbs honey

3/4 cup chocolate chips

Lightly coat a baking sheet with cooking spray. Stir together the oats, peanut butter, and honey. Roll them into 1 inch (walnut sized) balls and place them on the cookie sheet. Melt chocolate chips in the microwave in 30 second intervals, until smooth. Dip peanut butter bites in the melted chocolate to coat. Return to the cookie sheet and refrigerate until set. Place in a zip-top bag (or just devour). 

I hope you had a lovely weekend!!

It has been a LOOOONG week.

This week has seemed to drag on forever!  Maybe it is the copious amount of meetings that have taken place this week, the 3600 newsletters I had to stuff (with the help of a few others) or perhaps that we have been waiting to get our new patio poured or the fact that I got up yesterday morning thinking it was Friday or that I couldn't sleep last night and kept dreaming about the Real Housewives of NY (I dvr'd a marathon yesterday since I had never seen any of those shows - and now I'm hooked).    Whatever the reason, I am so glad that it is finally Friday!  Amidst all the craziness of the week, I have a couple of interesting stories to share:

On Wednesday, as I was driving to work I saw some people off to the left of the road.  Now, this particular stretch of road has a train track that runs down the left side with about a 10 foot tall metal fence that separates it from a sidewalk and the street.  As I got closer to where the people were I noticed that a deer was hanging from the fence by its back legs.  At first I thought it was fake but then I realized that the deer was in fact real and that these people were trying to dislodge it from the fence.  You have to remember this is during the morning drive to work so there were lots of cars and not much time for me to take in this whole situation.  I could see that the deer was still alive because its mouth was moving and I could see that the men in the group were trying to free the deer and a woman was on her phone.  As I kept driving, I eventually past the scene but I could still see out of my rear view mirror.  I looked back and saw that they got the deer off the fence and just as I was about to look away (I was at a stop light by this time) I saw the deer try to jump the fence again but he didn't make it over and fell to the ground.  My heart was broken. 

I felt so bad for that deer for so many reasons and I felt helpless.  So, I called Brandon to tell him about this and he really didn't have much sympathy.  I know there are a lot of deer around, but I guess the animal lover in me still hates for the deer to be in pain.  On my way home I didn't see any remnants of the deer so I'm guess he either found his way or was put out of his misery.  Either way, I wish I wouldn't have seen it at all!

Another day this week (not sure which one) I stopped at QT on my way to work to get a Vitamin Water.  As I was standing at the refrigerator debating which flavor to get, I noticed a guy who appeared to be homeless lingering by the soda fountain taste testing all of the different slushes and sodas.  Basically he would fill up a 32 oz cup about a quarter of the way, chug the drink and move on to the next flavor.  I was a bit disgusted by this and it makes me not want to ever use the self-serve fountain again!  I know that I drink out of straws and most likely my mouth or the contents of my cup will never touch the outside of the cup which touches the lever of the soda fountain, but it still grosses me out a little bit. 

We started the 30 Day Shred workout this week.  On Monday and Tuesday we got up at 5:30 a.m., we skipped Wednesday and then we did it again last night.  So far, I really like the workout and it helps that Brandon is doing it with me!  Basically, it is a 20 minute workout with three different circuits that are made up of three minutes of strength, two minutes of cardio and one minute of abs.  It may not sound all that hard but I think even Brandon will admit that it is harder than he anticipated.  And, I think I can already tell a bit of a difference (or maybe it's just my imagination)!  Hallelujah!!

We are hoping to have a pretty low-key next couple of days - a visit to the farmer's market, a BBQ, and browsing for items for our soon-to-be patio. If only the weekend would last as long as the work week....

A Weekend in GC

This past weekend we headed to GC for Brandon's cousin's wedding.  Getting out of town took forever since I had planned to get off work earlier than I did.  I had a couple of errands to run before we left, I needed to get gas in my car and we had to drop off a truck that Brandon had borrowed from a co-worker.  So, we had two cars while we ran my last minute errands and got gas and we had a dog to deal with on top of it all.  We finally got on the road about 45 minutes later.

We made it to GC in good time, despite two, yes two, stops in Pratt.  I had to go to the bathroom REALLY bad and couldn't wait for Taco D, where we were having dinner, so I made Brandon stop at the first possible place inside the city limits - Taco Bell!  Ha ha!  He was less than pleased to have to do this, but he did it :)

Once we got the car unpacked, we headed over to Brandon's grandma's (his dad's mom) house to visit since we wouldn't be seeing her much over the weekend.  After that we headed to his other grandma's house to see his uncle who drove in from Minnesota for the weekend.  By the time we got home we were all pretty much ready to head to bed because we had a BIG day planned on Saturday.  Brandon and some of the other guys in his family were headed out to play golf and Brandon's mom had planned a fun day for the girls.

We started off our morning with a group walk at 7:00 a.m. There were five ladies and three dogs.  It was surprisingly steamy for being so early so we didn't walk as long as we had planned.  After the walk, we got cleaned up and headed downtown to a fun coffee shop and met up with the rest of the crew.  Right when we sat down, a state legislator who was campaigning for Secretary of State came up and started talking to us.  We listened to him for a couple of minutes and then he went to do an interview.  Little did we know that a few of us would get in the background of the photo that would appear on the front page of the GC Telegram!! 

I'm so glad my bra strap was hanging out for the whole town to see.  How sweet is that?!?!

The annual Beef Empire Days were also taking place and we had great seats for the parade, but we were more interested in shopping than watching the parade!  We shopped around at a few of the local stores until it was time to head home to grab lunch and get ready for the wedding.

These are the only pictures that we got of the wedding and I had to steal them from Ashley.

We had fun watching B's cousin get married.  Ashley was a cake cutter during the reception and I noticed the cake line starting to form and wasn't sure how she was going to keep up so I went to help her.  This was the first time I had ever cut a wedding cake and I can honestly say I have a whole new respect for this wedding "job."  Wowzers!  It is way more complicated than it looks, but we managed and got everyone served :)

After the wedding reception, we headed back home to get changed and then went to one of the local hotels for a big family dinner.  We had so much fun hanging out with everyone from Brandon's mom's side of the family!  There is never a dull moment....ever!!

Sunday morning was pretty quiet since Ash had to leave Saturday night.  We went to church with Brandon's parents and then went to El Zarape, our favorite local Mexican restaurant, for lunch.  I think we overwhelmed the owner as he got a little bit snippy with Brandon's mom when she asked to get a table for 11, but I think he got over it.  Every time we go to El Zarape we always bring back their salsa.  In fact, we've brought back so many jars that Brandon has turned them into screw/nail/bolt holders in the garage.  Well this time, we decided to make the trip count and we bought two 32 ounce jars of salsa!!  This should last us a while!

After lunch we pretty much packed up the car and headed home.  We always wish we could stay longer but we'll be back soon!

Catching Up

I have a great post planned about this past weekend, but I'm waiting to get a couple of pictures from Brandon's sister.  I've decided I like to include pictures in my posts when possible because I think it makes things more interesting. 

I spent last night writing an article for our church newsletter.  This is the first article I have written for the church so I'm a little nervous to send it because I'm not totally sure what they are expecting.  I had all of the information handed to me, I just had to compile and condense it.  Hopefully it will pass the test :) 

I also tried out a new side dish recipe last night and I liked it pretty well.  I had some cucumbers, tomatoes and fresh dill leftover from our trip to the farmer's market a couple of weeks ago and I needed to get them used up because I plan on going again this weekend.  I'm not sure if Brandon liked the salad too much, though.

Cucumber Dill Salad (source: Kraft Foods)

1/2 cup Reduced Fat Sour Cream

1/4 cup MIRACLE WHIP Light Dressing

2 Tbsp. chopped fresh dill

1 Tbsp. lemon juice

2 large cucumbers, sliced

1/4 tsp. black pepper

MIX sour cream, dressing, dill and lemon juice.
POUR over cucumbers in large bowl; toss to coat.
SPRINKLE with pepper.

*I added cherry tomatoes to mine and also added some seasoned salt.  I thought the dressing was a tad bit bland.  I think it would also be good with some red onion thrown in the mix.

I served the salad with grilled BBQ chicken and Ore Ida Crispy Crowns (my new love!).

Must. Keep. Going.

This has been a bit of a crazy past couple of weeks.  It seems I haven't been home much in the evenings and our weekends have been busy so I haven't had a lot of time to blog.  To illustrate this point, I calculated that I worked 26 of the past 48 hours.  Its days like these that make me wish I got paid overtime.  Also, I don't think my house has been cleaned since before Memorial Weekend, and I've had more dishes stacked up in my sink over the past couple of weeks than I have had all year.  I also haven't cooked dinner much, which is hard for me.  And, I have intended to make these and these for the past couple of weeks and by the time I get home at night baking is the last thing I have time for.

On top of all of this, Brandon and I started the 30-Day Shred dvd workout on Sunday.  I pretty much couldn't walk on Monday and Tuesday and apparently it showed.  My boss (the president of the Chamber) asked me if I had ridden horses over the weekend.  Ummm can you say EMBARRASSING?!?!  Sadly, we haven't done the workout again since Sunday because I haven't been home in the evenings and we haven't exactly been able to yank ourselves out of bed in the mornings.  So guess what?!?!  I'll be feeling as though I've been "riding horses" again tomorrow...ughh!

I must keep going though.  We are packing up for GC this weekend to attend Brandon's cousin's wedding and then we're getting a new patio poured early next week.  I'm sure a day will come when I appreciate the busyness so I suppose I should enjoy it now...

My Summer Must-Do List

I've seen a few different blogs where people are listing their "Summer Must-Do's" so I thought I would make one myself!

1. Host a big backyard BBQ bash
2. Visit the Farmer's Market on a regular basis
3. Celebrate our 4th anniversary (check!)
4. Go to a Royal's game
5. Sit on the patio and enjoy the summer evenings more frequently - with bug spray of course.
6. Make popcicles
7. Work on my tan
8. Wear breezy dresses more often in an effort to break out of my norm
9. Take an unexpected weekend trip somewhere new, but within driving distance - just the two of us
10. Pray for a different person everyday
11. Make mojitos (a good use of fresh mint from the Farmer's Market)
12. Take Koby to the new dog park
13. Visit my bff
14. Get the basement decor finished
15. Go to a bonfire and make smores

So, what have I left off my list?  Any other "Summer Must-Do's" that you know of or think I/we should try?

Four Years Ago...

...I became a wife and Brandon became a husband. 

 

...We pledged "for better and for worse", we read Ecclesiastes 4:7-12 and pledged to keep God the center of our marriage. 

 

In these four years, I can guarantee we've lived out "for better and for worse", we've realized that two is better than one and that keeping God in the center of our marriage sure makes things a lot easier.

I am so thankful for Brandon and for our marriage because I couldn't imagine walking through life with anyone else.  We have a lot of fun, we've shown a lot of grace towards each other, we've learned a lot about ourselves, we've faced trials and tribulations, and we've made a lot of memories. 

Thank you, Brandon, for being a fantastic husband and a wonderful best friend!  You make my days brighter and my life a little more exciting :)