Valentine Gift Ideas

I got an email today from Real Simple with Valentines Day gift suggestions. Now, I don't think too many guys, other than my husband, read this blog, but just in case, I thought I would do a Valentine's Day gift suggestion list of my own! And, it probably doesn't hurt that my husband reads this blog from time to time either ;) So, here it goes:

Philosophy Body Products
These are seriously my new favorite bath products! I received the Amazing Grace shower gel for Christmas and absolutely love it. In fact, I ration it and only use it a couple of times a week so it lasts longer. It is moisturizing, it provides a great lather and it smells divine! However, for Valentine's Day, I think these lovely scents would be very fun:

I seriously don't think anyone could go wrong with these products!

A fun gift for the baker!

While this may be a little more practical, it would still be a very cute and fun gift for those who love to cook and bake!

I bet someone could really whip up something fun with these cute little Valentine gadgets and they are all courtesy of Target. Also, if you top it off with this cute apron, courtesy of Etsy and Bodumzup, you will have one sweet gift!

Vera Bradley Products
I am a huge Vera Bradley fan and I have turned many of my friends and family into fans as well. The bags are so cute and practical and not to mention durable! There are all different types - totes, cosmetic bags, luggage and so much more!

This would be a perfect gift to use on a fun romantic getaway!

Items that Begin with "P"

These are short and simple suggestions:
* Poseys
* Pedicure
* Puppy
* Performace (tickets to a performance - Intrust Bank Arena has some great performances coming up!)
* Platinum (jewelry)

Any girl would be happy with any of these items! (No, I will not be getting a puppy, even though it would be SUPER fun!)

These are just a few of my suggestions for this Valentine's Day! Maybe you will get lucky and snag one for yourself!!

Tonight...

...I'm making a Pioneer Woman feast and watching the Grammy Red Carpet on E! while my husband works on/studies for an upcoming LEED bid. It has been a very relaxing day for us today - church, a couple of errands (including the grocery store), a visit with a couple of friends, a hair cut, some golf (of the electronic kind) and some mindless TV for B and a few naps and some fetch for the pup.

The cold weather that has happened upon us has caused me to crave some comfort food! Tonight's menu includes the PW Comfort Meatballs from the Pioneer Woman Cooks cookbook and PW's Perfect Au Gratin Potatoes. Now, if that doesn't sound like comfort food, I don't know what does?!?!

I know I need to discuss last night's game. As disappointing as it was to lose by two points, it was such an AWESOME game!! Both teams played with so much passion and from the sounds of it, the Wildcat fans inside the "Octagon of Doom" (not so sure I love that name)were also pretty passionate. I am definitely proud to be a Wildcat and can't wait for the next game!

Well, our dinner is ready and I have a very hungry husband, so I better sign off!

Sunflower Showdown!

If you follow me on Twitter, you know that we are pretty excited for today's basketball game against KU! The Cats have been playing exceptionally well this year and today's game is one of the biggest of year! ESPN Game Day is in Manhattan and from what I've heard, the K-State fans have shattered the Game Day attendance record!

Initially, we had my dad's tickets and had planned to go to the game, but being the nice sister that I am, we gave them to my brother who is a super-fan. However, since we gave them up, I've wished several times we had kept them. One of the biggest reasons for regret - Darren Sproles will be at the game today!!!! He is my favorite Wildcat athlete ever!! Not that I would have got to chat him up or hang out with him, but it would have been fun to see him in all of his San Diego Charger glory!

We plan to have some fellow K-Staters over tonight to watch the game, and we're hoping for a Wildcat victory!! We played well against Texas, so if that team can show up again, I think we will have a chance! Plus, it never hurts to beat KU!! Go Cats!!!!!

Snow Day!

...I wish!! While most of the schools in the area were closed and even a few offices, Brandon and I still had to go to work. We got about 4 inches of snow last night, so it really wasn't all that bad, but it still would have been nice to have a day at home.

Since Brandon has a truck, he decided he would take me to work. We left the house a little early to pick up my coworker so she wouldn't have to drive in by herself and make a pit-stop at Panera. Given the weather, there wasn't even a line, which is amazing for a work day morning! Brandon was not impressed with my outfit (I had on work clothes and my brown fake Uggs with my work pants tucked in), so I think he was a little embarrassed to go in with me. After I picked up our breakfast we headed to work. The roads were a little slick and snow packed, but we could definitely tell the road crews had been working on them.

After about an hour of being at work I looked out my office window and noticed the small snowflakes that had been blowing in and turned to big, fluffy snowflakes and they were so beautiful! It really looked like there was a huge pillow fight taking place outside. All in all, we probably ended up with another inch of snow by the time it was all said and done.

We worked all day, of course, but once we got home, Brandon changed his clothes to go shovel the drive way and deck. He decided to take Koby out to play in the snow. Koby doesn't typically love the snow, especially when he has to go outside to use the bathroom! But, I can't blame the guy because I sure wouldn't like to outside in the snow to use the bathroom. Anyways, since Brandon was out there with him, he had fun tearing around the yard and trying to catch the snow in his mouth.

Thankfully, we did not get the ice that our friends in Oklahoma received, so we are perfectly happy with powdery snow, even if we did have to work...

Random Thought Post

I'm being lazy, but to my defense, I haven't done a "random" post lately! So, here it goes:

1. We got a new coffee table today!!! Pictures to come soon, but it was a table that I had looked at months ago when we got our other furniture, but today, it was on sale!!
2. I've had a new obsession with cereal lately. Honey Bunches of Oats with Almonds and Cinnamon Toast Crunch have been the cereals of choice. Even Brandon has been hit with the cravings. No, these are NOT pregnancy cravings!
3. I wore my cute silver shoes to work today and it just made me happy!
4. Brandon is taking a photography class tomorrow with two of my favorite photographers in town. I used to work with them fairly often when I worked for the agency, but don't get to see them much anymore. They told me I could come observe, but I should be prepared to model - ha! They were joking!!
5. I entered a good deed today for Do the Deed! Don't forget to track your deeds using my code, tdb2010!
6. I'm excited for the new Bible study we started with our small group! I think it will be really interesting.
7. I am annoyed by an online shopping experience that I had over Christmas. I never got my product, so I canceled the order, but we still haven't received our credit from Paypal. Ugh!
8. We are ready for the big game this weekend! Hoping the Cats can beat those Chicken Hawks!

Okay, that is about all I have. I will post pictures of our coffee table soon, along with the much over due pictures of Brandon's birthday!

New Recipe

Yes, I realize this will be my second post today. Not only is it the second post of the day, it is the second post within a few hours. But, it is an important post - I just made an awesome dinner and I want to share the recipe!

Remember how I was browsing for recipes this morning while I was waiting on Brandon? Well, this is something I do a lot of in my spare time and the recipe tonight is the result of an online recipe search from a few weeks ago. The recipe is courtesy of Cooking Light (January, 2001). I modified it just a little bit, but it is definitely worth putting in your meal rotation. Brandon gave the meal two thumbs up and I would have to agree!

Spicy Pan-Fried Sirloin Steak with Noodles

Yield: 6 servings
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 (1 3/4-pound) boneless sirloin steak, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch-thick strips (when I make this next time, I will cut it in strips and then into smaller bite-sized pieces.)
2 cups sliced onion
2 cups chopped red bell pepper
**Note: I added sliced fresh mushrooms, too.**
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
1 (14 1/4-ounce) can low-salt beef broth
5 cups cooked medium egg noodles (8 ounces uncooked pasta)

Combine the first 6 ingredients in a small bowl.

Heat olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add half of beef; cook for 1 minute on each side. Remove from pan. Repeat procedure with remaining beef; set aside.

Add onion and bell pepper to pan; sauté for 5 minutes. Stir in chili powder mixture, flour, and garlic, and sauté for 1 minute. Stir in ketchup, tomato paste, juice, and beef broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Return the beef to pan, and cook for 3 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Serve over egg noodles.

One of Those Days...

It is not very often that we wake up on Saturday morning without any plans. But today was one of those days! While it was a busy day, it wasn't a "planned" day.

We got up and had a semi-leisurely morning; frozen waffles and cereal for breakfast (not together, though - B had a waffle and I had cereal), a little TV and a quick shower. Then I accompanied Brandon to his office so he could get a few things done before Monday. I wasn't of much help to him as I was consumed with finding new recipes online, but I was there for moral support! After about an hour we headed to the mall. Brandon needed some new cologne (it's a new scent for him) and JCPenny's was having a sale on sheets. We both walked out happy and headed to lunch at Knolla's Pizza. We don't eat there very often and we always leave saying "We need to eat here more often," so maybe we'll make that happen.

After lunch, Brandon got a burst of energy and decided to tackle some yard work. By the time he was finished, we had two truckloads of rock laid (with weed barrier) along our back fence (to keep the dog from continuing to kill the grass with the path he wears while barking at the neighbor's dogs), trimmed shrubs, a shortened gate and a few other miscellaneous items completed! Talk about productive! To some this sounds like work, but to Brandon it is definitely pleasure.

While he was working, I tidied up the house, did a little laundry and made a Sonic run. I also made some AWESOME Blondies. I've been trying to find a recipe that rivals the Blonde Witches we found in NYC and I think I might have come VERY close! I highly recommend these guys to everyone!

We also watched the Cat's disappointing loss to the Cowboys. To make matters worse, my boss is an OSU Alum and I was doing a bit of smack talking on Friday - oops!

Now, tonight we plan to make dinner and just relax. We might have to break out Rummikub, our new obsession, or find a movie on TV that we can both agree on (never an easy task), but whatever we do, it will be a perfect ending to one of those perfect days!

A lot on my mind

I've had a lot on my mind lately and my blog has sort of taken a back seat to it. Our lives have been busy (I threw a Surprise birthday party for Brandon last weekend - more on that later. I'm waiting to get the video because his reaction was PRICELESS!), work has been busy and we just haven't had much time to just sit and process what is going on in the world around us.

I have been specifically burdened by the tragedy in Haiti. There is so much that we can do to help, but it kind of overwhelms me, to be honest. I know I could text HAITI and donate to the Red Cross and I'm still considering that, but I guess I want to do more that shows God's love. I've been so moved by the stories I've heard about the people of Haiti, gathered in the streets, signing praise songs to God. I've often asked myself if that is what we would do here in our country? My conclusion has pretty much been no. I think the difference is that as Americans we have so many resources that we don't always have to rely on God to pull us through tragedies. The people of Haiti are not fortunate enough to have the kind of resources that we do and therefore I have to rely on God. And then I feel guilty. Why can't I have that kind of faith? Am I too embarrassed to praise God out loud? I don't know.

Everyday, I've been reminding myself and thanking God for the constant blessings in our life. Brandon and I both have stable jobs, a roof over our heads, food on our table and plenty of other "things". Should I feel guilty for this? I don't think so - we've worked hard to provide for ourselves and I don't think God looks down on that. But, I do know that we need to share our blessings with others and give what we can whenever we can.

On the bright side, there is a new "Do the Deed" campaign going on here in Wichita. Click the link to find out more about it, but basically it is a campaign encouraging people to do simple acts of kindness for other people. Simple, random acts of kindness can make someone feel so special. So, I decided I want to participate and I want to encourage all of you to participate as well. I have started a code "tdb2010" and all you have to do is follow these instructions:
1. Go to Track a Card.
2. Fill out the form (use the tdb2010 code).
3. In the description, Tell us how you received the card. Did you just find it? Did someone do a deed for you and leave a card?
4. Click submit and view your entry. You can also see how many others have entered your card’s code.
5. Jot down the code so you can come back and track the card again.
6. Now, go do a nice deed for someone and pass the card on (or the website and code). 7. Come back to the site and tell us what deed you did.
8. Check back every now and then to see if anyone else has submitted a deed using this code.

It is pretty easy and I think it will make us all feel good to do something for someone else.

Stay tuned for pics and video from Brandon's surprise party!!

The Big 3-0!

Today is Brandon's 30th birthday! Can you believe he's 30?!?! I asked him today if he thought this is where he'd be when he was 30 and he told me no. I think he thought he would have kids by this point, or at least be playing in the Major League (ha ha!). I have to remind him that I'm still young and he's still young-at-heart so we have plenty of time to have kids. And, his shot of playing in the Major League is still not out of the question. Remember the movie "The Rookie"? He did tell me that he is happy with where he is in life and that he wouldn't change anything about it! He isn't really bothered by turning 30, but he definitely didn't want to draw much attention to his birthday, but I wasn't about to let that happen!

We had a fun weekend of celebrating his birthday. I caved and gave him his birthday present Friday night. For once, I think I truly surprised him by buying him an iPod Touch. It wasn't something he had ever really mentioned wanting, but I just thought he would like it and I was right. He hasn't really put it down until this evening!

Saturday I let him sleep in a little and then we met my parents for lunch at Sabor in Old Town and then we went shopping. He used some birthday money to buy a few iPod accessories and some running clothes and then we picked up a surprise cookie cake from my siblings.

It's not the best picture, but it says "Happy Birthday Old Geezer!" - Someone had to give him a little bit of a hard time!

Later in the evening we headed to Bonefish for dinner and then came home to be surprised by his parents who came to town for his birthday (I was in on the surprise)! They also brought along a surprise of their own - a new tool chest for the garage (I don't have a picture yet)! He was totally caught off guard :)

Finally today, his real birthday, we had a leisurely morning and then headed to church. Then, we came home and prepared for his family birthday dinner with his parents, sister and brother-in-law and my aunts and uncle and cousins. Since Brandon's favorite food is pizza, I decided to do a homemade pizza bar. I made PW's Pizza Dough (courtesy of my PW cookbook!) and we rolled out a personal sized pizza crust for everyone and then had an array of toppings and let everyone make their own pizza. After lunch we did cake and ice cream, complete with 30 candles on the cake. He definitely didn't show his age because he pretty much blew all of the candles out with one breath!

We capped off the afternoon with a few rounds of Rummikub and Quiddler and then said our good-byes to his parents.

I would be remiss if I didn't brag on Brandon a little bit on his birthday. I'm not sure if any of you know this or not, but I'm one lucky girl to be married to this guy!! He's a great leader in our marriage, he keeps me on my toes with his silly antics and funny jokes, he's a hard worker and he has developed a passion for his job and thus for projects around the house, he loves being active and is always looking for new fun things to do, he isn't afraid to try something new (i.e. photography), he knows when to give and he knows when to hold back, he's sensitive, he loves our dog like a child (even if he won't admit it) and he's my best friend!

Happy 30th Birthday, honey!

Not Sleeping

Lately, I haven't been sleeping very well. I wake up at all hours of the night and then fall back asleep. Then, I wake up around 6:00 a.m. and toss and turn, willing myself to go back to sleep for several minutes until I finally just decide to get up. This was especially frustrating during my vacation! If any of you follow me on Twitter or are one of my Facebook friends, you might have noticed my early morning posts. It has become a huge problem.

I've noticed been slightly uncomfortable in our bed lately, so I decided the combination of worn out pillows and a memory foam mattress pad that I don't think I like anymore might be the problem. Tonight, I enlisted my lovely husband to help me move the old mattress and memory foam mattress pad to the basement and move the mattress from the basement up to our room. The basement mattress is the first mattress that Brandon and I purchased when we got married, but when we bought the memory foam mattress pad, we had to use the old, hand-me-down mattress because it didn't have a pillow top. I'm going to try this "fix" out for a while and see if it makes a difference.

If not, I googled "sleep remedies" and some suggestions I found were taking wild lettuce pills, drinking warm milk (the thought of that literally makes me want to throw up!), wiggle both sets of toes, at the same time, 12 times, sleep with your feet facing south and your head north, get up earlier, rub your stomach (and reap the benefit of weight loss because it stimulates the digestive system) and a few more I won't mention. Let's just hope that the mattress and pillow switch-a-roo work. Otherwise, I'm afraid Brandon will think I've really jumped off the deep end!

2009 In Review

As we were trying to decide whether or not to write a 2009 Christmas letter, we realized we really didn't have a very exciting year. We didn't have any major life changes to announce, so it just felt a little "flat". However, we do realize we were extremely blessed with good health, stable jobs, a roof over our heads, etc. But, in honor of the New Year, here is a recap of 2009 in the Brungardt household:

* We rang in 2009 with Brandon's family in Garden City.

* In January, we celebrated Brandon's 29th birthday!! And immediately began talking about how we couldn't believe he was going to be 30 :)
* Brandon got a new camera and started taking an active interest in photography.
* I started taking a bigger role within the children's department at church and we continued to lead our small group.
* I got inspired to do something new with our upstairs furniture and we successfully sold the red couches on Craig's List for exactly what we asked for them! This was before the Craig's List Killer surfaced; we haven't used Craig's List since.
* Brandon's sister and brother-in-law found out they'd be moving to Newton and his brother-in-law lived with us for a couple of months in the spring while his sister was still teaching school.
* We did our yearly Lake Clean Up weekend.
* We finished our living room including painting pretty much the entire upstairs! Thanks to some help from Brandon's parents, it went pretty quickly. You can see the finished product here. * We celebrated our third wedding anniversary on June 3rd!

* We had our annual family get-together at Table Rock Lake.

* We finally launched our new website at work. This was a project that we started when I started my new job in July of 2008. It honestly felt like I gave birth to that thing!
* I turned 26 in August and continued to give Brandon a hard time about turning 30!
* This little girl joined the family in August!

* Quite possibly the most exciting part of 2009 was our trip to NYC! You can read about it here, and here, and here and here. Honestly, I wish we could put this is every end of year recap!!! The best trip ever!
* This fall, we spent quite a bit of time in Manhattan, cheering on the Cats!

* Brandon went to Hays to celebrate the 10 year anniversary of the FHSU baseball team taking 2nd in Nationals.

* We experienced tragedy and sadness this year as we had family diagnosed with cancer and we lost another member of our family to a tragic accident.
* The economy also affected both of our jobs financially, but we are thankful to still be employed in a time when not everyone, especially in our city, have been so lucky.

We are anxiously awaiting what 2010 has to offer and hope it holds many blessing for everyone!

Things I've Learned During My Vacation

This week has officially been a vacation week for me. Our office closed for the week, so we all got a bonus week of vacation! Typically, when I'm on vacation, I'm not in town so this has been a different experience for me. I've only been "free" for two days, but I've already learned a few things:

1. Sleeping in when your husband still has to get up for work is nearly impossible.
2. Since I'm awake, I'm more motivated to get in the shower and get ready. It sure beats stumbling into the shower when I'm still half asleep.
3. I really like watching morning TV, but afternoon TV isn't so great. I've never been much of a soap opera fan.
4. I much prefer to go to the grocery store on Monday morning rather than on the weekend.
5. Panera is significantly less busy on a weekday morning than a weekend morning and in return, much more enjoyable when visiting with a friend.
6. Koby really likes that I'm home and continually reminds me of his delight by following me around with his toys begging me to throw them.
7. My days don't seem so "routine", which is quite refreshing!
8. I can actually have dinner on the table before 6:30 p.m.
9. It is A LOT easier to keep the house picked up when I'm home to stay on top of it rather than letting it all pile up for the weekend (I want to get better about picking up during the week!).
10. I miss visiting with my co-workers and find myself wondering what they are doing with their free time.

I think I could get used to this kind of vacation every year! The extra time to just be at home has really been refreshing to me. I'm afraid the rest of the week is going to go by way too fast...

Here We Go Again

Yes, it is that time of year when we are all thinking about those New Year's Resolutions that we didn't fulfill and trying to figure out what to put on our 2010 list.

Here is my New Year's Resolution blog for 2009. I started out the year with the best of intentions. I lost close to eight pounds and developed a pretty good strategy for eating healthy and exercising. However, healthy snacks only taste good for so long and I like to cook and bake too much, so I slowly fell off the wagon and gained most of the weight back. FAIL!!!

I also tried my best to get better organized, but if you were to look in my storage room, closets and cabinets today, this is what you would see:

Please excuse the poor photo quality, I had to use the old camera.)

Clutter!!!! Now, there are a few systems in place to keep things semi-organized: a shoe rack that serves as storage for miscellaneous items in the hall closet, hooks installed in our bedroom closet to hold purses and bags, and shelving and storage totes in the basement storage room, so my resolution wasn't a total fail, but I did fail to maintain the organization. After a while, things just get put on the shelves without finding a place for those items and stuff just gets shoved in a pocket in the closet without really knowing where it ended up. I also failed in the kitchen. After taking everything out of the cabinets and moving them around to places I felt were more appropriate or accessible, the cabinets ended up the same - ingredients shoved where ever they would fit, stuff stacked on top of each other just waiting to come tumbling down at any second, etc.

So, this year my resolutions will be to build on last years resolutions and try to maintain them through out the year. Since I'm off work this week, I plan to get a head start on home organization. I'm going to clean out and purge all of the closets and then I'm going to research some storage solutions and put them into practice. Hopefully, I can develop some sort of system that makes sense and is easy to maintain.

As far as the eating healthy and exercising, this HAS to start soon. I know we can do it, it is just a matter of making conscious decisions and only allowing myself to cheat every now and then and not everyday.

I also have a new resolution in 2010: Limit my caffeine!! This is something that I've needed to do for quite some time and I just figure it is better to start now rather than put it off any longer. I get pretty bad headaches and I need to try to eliminate sources for these headaches and I think caffeine could be one of them. I also know I will most likely feel better all the way around if I cut down my caffeine intake.

So, there you have it, my 2010 resolutions! I hope you all had a Merry Christmas and are looking forward to the new year.

Christmas Eve

I'm currently sitting at Pam's kitchen table staring out the window, watching the wind blow and there is absolutely no snow on the ground. We decided to make the trip yesterday for fear that we would be trapped in Wichita by the last great snow storm of '09, but I think the weathermen decided to just give us a little scare. We made the whole trip without seeing even one snowflake. I guess it is better to be safe than sorry!

As we were driving to GC, we were between a couple of small towns when we noticed a HUGE mass of deer south of the highway. And by huge mass I'm talking more than 150 deer between two or three fields in a span of less than one mile. We couldn't believe our eyes. I suggested to Brandon that maybe they were decoys and he informed me that decoys don't bounce around the fields. In my defense, I made the comment when we first saw the deer and they had their heads down eating. Lucky for us, they were not moving towards the road and seemed pretty content where they were.

We're taking it pretty easy today. Just doing some cooking and preparing for tomorrow's Christmas dinner. It is nice to have a few days to relax with family and enjoy our time together. Sometimes the hussle and bussle of the holidays doesn't always allow for time to just be together. I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas and takes a few minutes to really think about how the birth of Christ has changed our world and our lives forever.

Merry Christmas!!

We've Been Busy

This time of year is always full of lots of "stuff" - work parties, friend's parties, family get-togethers, cookie baking, shopping, tying up loose ends at work before Christmas break and so much more. This doesn't leave too much time for blogging. But, have no fear, I will have lots of stories (and pictures) soon!

Tonight for instance, our small group baked over 600 cookies for the Angel Tree ministry at church. My friend, Emily, took lots of pictures and I hope to post those soon. Let's just say we had 10 lbs of butter and five pounds of sugar!!

I also plan to do a small recap of 2009 since we didn't write a Christmas letter this year. I want to be able to remember the highlights and maybe not so great things from this year. After all, I want to keep it real here.

We have a Christmas celebration with my family this weekend, so I will be back next week with a better update!

Coupons

Lately, I've been doing a lot of online browsing for decorative inspiration and also for fun Christmas gift ideas. And, thanks to a few tips, I've learned to google coupons for different stores or products and have actually found some really great deals!!

I know my mom has a friend who searches for coupons before she leaves her house to go shopping and always has an arsenal of discounts and buy one get ones, but for some reason to me it just seemed like a lot of work for not much in return. I guess you could say my time is money because I don't always have all the time in the world to do much searching. I'm also not a fan of shopping around to find the best price. But, like I said, I've been doing a lot of online browsing which allows me more time to search for deals.

Just this week, I found a coupon for free shipping on our Christmas cards and I found a 20% off coupon for a couple of fun Christmas gifts! I simply just typed in the product I was looking for and added "coupon" to the end and viola!

Aside from online, I've also been receiving TONS of coupons in the mail, mostly from the usual suspects like Kohls and Pennys, but some not so usual like Gap and Express. And, these coupons haven't been just 10% off, they've been more like 20% - 30% off or a certain amount of money off of a purchase, etc.

I'm sure a lot of it is just the retailers trying anything possible to get people in their stores or to their websites this Christmas season and I'm sure it is working for the most part, but I'm curious if they will continue to offer coupons and discounts as the year goes on? It sure does make it more fun to shop (and it makes my husband happier)!

Great Gift Ideas

Check out these super clever (and budget friendly) gift ideas! One of the many reasons I love Young House Love!

It's the Little Things in Life

I recently received my copy of The Pioneer Woman Cooks cookbook thanks to Tara and Natalie who attended her book signing in KC a few weeks ago.

I know it took A LOT for them to HAVE to attend, but I appreciate them taking one for the team :) (disclaimer: I really don't think I had to force them to go!).

As I was browsing through the cookbook during Thanksgiving weekend, I found several recipes that I plan to try, but the one that stuck out most to my husband and the one he has been salivating about ever since: Eggs in a Hole!! He just thought this was the best idea, since his favorite part of an egg over easy is dipping his toast in the runny yolk (gaaaaggg!!! I really HATE eggs, so the thought of a runny yolk makes me a little uneasy!). Anyways, he has been asking me to make this fine recipe (quite possibly the easiest in the book) since Thanksgiving and we finally bought some bread over the weekend so he could have it for breakfast this morning. And let me tell you, he was excited! Sometimes, it's the little things in life that make it so rewarding!

And if you're wondering, I recommend the brisket and plan to try the pizza dough, French Breakfast Puffs, and cinnamon rolls!

Thankful

So I'm a little late on my Thanksgiving post, but I got distracted by this

and this

and this

and this

and by cooking, playing, taking family pictures, doing a little Black Friday shopping in the big metropolis of Pratt and just hanging out that I just didn't have time to get a post written.

However, this year I was inspired by this column to mention the little things that I am grateful for. As Suzanne mentions, we are all grateful for our family, our health, our friends, our jobs, etc. I don't want to down play any of these things because I know first hand that each of these are precious. With all that our friends and family have been through this past year, I've come to realize more and more how lucky we are to be healthy, have jobs and have our family members with us. But, this year, I want to remember the little things that I'm thankful for, so here it goes:

WICKED, cookbooks, The Pioneer Woman, social media, lunch dates with my friends, my candy dish at work (if you have candy on your desk, more people come to see you!), Sonic Happy Hour, cardigans, Coldstone, Brandon's camera and his desire to capture memories, my failed attempt to grow a hibiscus (nothing like being humbled by a stupid plant), learning life lessons at unexpected times, DVR, Dancing With The Stars, Real Simple, daily recipes in my inbox, vacation days, and last but not least, my blog which provides me an outlet to just be me!

A Little Product Review

I haven't done a product review in a while, so I thought I would list out some of my new favorites!

The first new (to me) product is Vitamin Water. On a recent trip to Manhattan, we stopped at Quick Trip to pick up some drinks, but it was EARLY in the morning and I didn't need a soda, so I decided to try this out. I first tried to Fruit Punch flavor and really liked it. Then, the next weekend, we did the same thing and I tried the Tropical Citrus flavor and liked it just as much. The water is full of different vitamins, ranging from Vitamin-C to b12, b3, etc., and it is only 10 calories per serving. And, to top it off, it is naturally sweetened so it doesn't contain that nasty aspertame! Since then, Dillons has had Vitamin Water on sale for $.88 a bottle, compared to the $1.60 at Quick Trip, so I have been stocking up. My new favorite flavors are the Grape Raspberry and the Berry Cherry! Brandon thinks they taste like slightly watered-down Gatorade, but I think they are much better than that.

The second product (or products in this case) are the Mrs. Meyers Clean Day products. I have had my eye on the Mrs. Meyers line of cleaning products for some time because they are "green" and they all smell so good! However, I could only find them at the Whole Foods store and they were a little expensive. But, lately Target has been carrying a limited line and it is cheaper than the Whole Foods line! The first product that I purchased was the all-purpose cleaner, in the Lavender scent. Friends, I have never found a cleaner that has cleaned my floors as well as this stuff!! A little dab goes a long way and it makes my floors clean and shiny without any leftover residue. I've also used the hand soap in the Lemon Verbena, Lavender and Basil scent and the liquid dish soap in the Lavender and Basil scents. All of the scents smell so fresh and the soap doesn't leave your hands feeling all dry. The soaps have lasted a long time, because again, a little goes a long way. My favorite scent is Basil followed by the Lavender. I hear the Geranium scent smells pretty good too, but Target doesn't carry that line yet.

I'm not sure shoes fall under the "product" category like the items above, but this pair of shoes is definitely working its way to my favorite shoe! I just purchased these fine beauties this weekend at Payless. I've been looking for cute silver flats since last spring, but all of the flats I liked were pretty expensive. The other day, I was browsing around on the internet and found these and thought I would at least check the local store. I haven't had the best luck with Payless in the past because I have a more narrow foot and their shoes tend to be a little wide for me. So, I found them in the store, tried them on and bought them in a matter of about five minutes. They certainly aren't shoes I would wear if I were doing a lot of walking, but they are great to slip on with some jeans! And, they are pretty comfortable!

That is all I have for now. We're heading to Pratt for Thanksgiving, but I hope to have a Thanksgiving post ready for tomorrow. We have A LOT to be thankful for this year (and no, I'm not pregnant!).

Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Cookies - YUM!

I have been wanting to try a new recipe for pumpkin snickerdoodle cookies, but haven't had too much time lately. Then, today our schedule was pretty empty, so I busted out the Kitchen Aid mixer and got to work.

I'm not the biggest fan of snickerdoodle cookies, but I absolutely LOVE anything with pumpkin, so I figured they were worth a shot. Plus, the rolling sugar mixture intrigued me - sugar, cinnamon, ginger and all spice!

The pumpkin flavor is not overwhelming, although I would appreciate a little more, but the cookies are soft and chewy and wonderful! They texture is a lot like my mom's Lazy Sugar Cookies (I will have to post this recipe sometime soon - a perfect Christmas cookie) with added fall flavors. I will definitely make the cookies again!

Pumpkin Snickerdoodles

COOKIES:
2 sticks butter (1 cup), at room temperature
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup pure pumpkin puree
1 large egg
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

ROLLING SUGAR:
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp allspice

1. In a large bowl, cream butter with an electric mixer until fluffy. Add sugar and pumpkin puree and beat well. Mix in egg and vanilla, scraping down sides of the bowl to incorporate all of the ingredients.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and ground cinnamon. Beat flour mixture into liquid mixture a little at a time until incorporated.

3. Cover dough with plastic and chill at least an hour, or until dough becomes slightly firm.

4. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper (or spray with nonstick spray). Mix rolling sugar in a small bowl.

5. Remove cookie dough from refrigerator. Use a medium cookie scoop (1 1/2 Tbsp.) or a large spoon to scoop out dough and roll into balls. Use your hands to roll the balls in the cinnamon sugar and make sure they’re coated really well. Place 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Use a glass with a nice, flat bottom to dip in sugar and flatten the balls.

6. Bake at 350°F. for 10 to 14 minutes, or until they are slightly firm to the touch. Let cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes or so, then remove them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Yield: About 3 dozen

Cooking Tips *Store in an airtight container. These cookies freeze well too. Place them in freezer zip bag and remove from freezer when the craving hits.

Recipe courtesy of Recipe Girl

Houston, We Have a Problem

Last night, we had our annual meeting for work. It is one of our biggest events of the year that brings our members and members of the community together to celebrate the Chamber's accomplishments, celebrate our city and listen to a national speaker.

Our speaker for this year was Gene Kranz, a NASA flight control director, but more specifically known as the man who was responsible for getting the Apollo 13 astronauts back to Earth alive. For a more current reference, think Ed Harris in the movie, Apollo 13.

I was somewhat aware of the Apollo 13 story, but have never really been too interested in space travel. However, after last night, my hat goes off to these men. Did you know that the average age of his team who worked on the Apollo 13 mission was 26 years old??? That is my age!

Mr. Kranz was a great mix of serious and funny and realistic. He talked a lot about how he handled the stress of the job. He was trained as a fighter pilot, so keeping his cool during intense situations was something he was used to. He said that there was a huge amount of trust between the Mission Control team and the astronauts and if they didn't trust each other, they wouldn't have been able to make the tough decisions that would normally take days and weeks in minutes and hours. An interesting thought for the business community during these tough economic times.

After the speech, Brandon and I had an opportunity to meet Mr. Kranz at the VIP reception (we were only VIP because I work there..ha ha!)

Oh yeah, and we organized for the Kansas Cosmosphere to come and make space ice cream!!

It was a fun night and this weekend, I think we're going to rent the movie again!

BUNCO!!

My friend, Emily, started a Bunco group this fall and it has been so much fun! I know a lot of people think Bunco is just a chance for girls to get together and chit chat and eat good food and really, I think they are right :)

Tomorrow, I am hosting the group at my house, so I've been busy cooking and cleaning today. I really wanted to have a fun theme, but I was getting too caught up in it and wasn't finding items that I loved, so I just bought some cute plates and napkins and I'm making easy, but good food. On the menu: pumpkin chocolate chip muffins, spicy hummus with pita chips and veggies, veggie pizza and a gooey peanut butter cereal mix (this doesn't really have a good name).

We also do fun gifts for the winners and losers. I did come up with a good theme for the prizes, but since they are supposed to be surprises, I can't mention them yet. There is one I've thought about keeping for myself though...

Hopefully I will remember to take some pictures to post tomorrow. But, we might be too busy having fun!

Never Take Anything for Granted

This week has been hard. On Wednesday, we said goodbye to my 22 year old cousin who was killed in a motorcycle accident over the weekend. When a young person's life is cut short it is an unnatural process for everyone. My heart goes out to his family - my aunt, uncle and two cousins. They are searching the depths of their hearts to understand why this happened, to somehow find peace and to move on with their new life. Nothing will ever be the same for them, nothing. While I'm not writing this post for sympathy for me, I am writing it to remember the lessons I learned this week.

The first lesson: invest in the people around you. This side of my family is large. My dad is one of eight kids and there are 18 cousins, so I am not close to every single one of them. Yes, I "chaperoned" my cousin and his two brothers for a week when I was in college and yes, we would see them at least once a year at Christmas, but beyond that we didn't really know too much about each other. As I sat at the memorial service and listened to the stories about him, it made me sad to realize that I didn't know about his anal ways or how loyal he was or how frugal he was (he and Brandon really had a lot of things in common..he he!). I never invested much time in his life or finding out more about him. So, from now on, I'm going to take the time to invest in people - find out what makes them tick, what they like and dislike, ask them questions about their life and not worry so much about mine.

The second lesson: appreciate the time you have with people. As I mentioned above, Kyle's life was taken too soon. We all get caught up in the day-to-day business of our lives, but if we think about it, we're all only on this earth for a limited amount of time and so why do we take that time for granted? I know that I can get caught up focusing negative aspects of life and in other people; for instance, sometimes instead of appreciating the time I have with some people, I dread it because I always try to figure out what might go wrong. Or instead of see the positive in people, I focus more on their short-comings. Now, I think I will quit worrying about all of that and just enjoy the time I have been given because you just never know when it might all come to a screeching halt.

The third lesson: tell people how you feel about them. Kyle's brother spoke at the service and said that he and Kyle never told each other how they felt, but that they just always knew. Going back to my last point, you never know how much time you have with someone, so instead of putting off telling them how you feel because it might be awkward, just tell them! A simple "I love you" or "I really admire you" or "I appreciate you" might go a long way and you won't ever have any regrets.

The fourth lesson: always be willing to pitch in and help. Once we received the news, our family immediately started figuring out what needed to be done to help out. Two of my aunts and my mom jumped in the car and headed down to Tulsa not knowing what might face them, but they were willing and ready to do whatever needed to be done. They did everything from cleaning house, to running errands, to shopping for clothes. Some of the tasks may not have seemed that important, but I know in the grand scheme of things, it made my aunt's life a little easier in the midst of all she was dealing with. I know I can be selfish with my time and I can let my job or my chores get in the way of making myself available to others. Even if it is just a couple of hours, I want to take the time to help someone in need.

Saying goodbye to Kyle was hard. And, watching loved ones in so much pain was really hard. But, I know Kyle has touched the lives of people he may not have even known and he has opened the eyes of those he did know. Please keep his family in your prayers, especially with the holidays just around the corner. They have a long road ahead of them and as I mentioned, their lives have changed forever and they are just starting to traverse through this "new" life.

Blogging for a Purpose

Most people start blogs for a purpose: to keep family informed about what is going on, to blog about a specific interest (cooking, decorating, sports, etc.), to share information about a specific industry (health care, advertising, banking, etc.) and many more reasons. However, lately I've been reading blogs from normal people, not The Pioneer Woman, Young House Love types, just normal people who blog a lot, and they have been asked by companies to "review" products and write about them (Allyson this is NOT you! I love your Etsy finds of the week because you choose to do it as a way to help others - a totally different thing). To me, this takes away a little bit of the author's authenticity.

Now, some of you may say "Tessa, you have an advertising background, isn't 'Word of Mouth' advertising one of the best tactics?" and to that I would say "yes", but only if it is authentic. Knowing that someone has been asked to pimp a product on their blog or their Twitter page is not very authentic. In fact, (I'm going let you in on a secret that may make me shallow)I used to follow Kim Kardashian on Twitter because I think the Kardashian family is absolutely ridiculous and it intrigues me. However, the ENTIRE family started tweeting about some weight-loss drug that they were paid to promote. Then, a while later they were ALL tweeting about some new cupcake company in LA, who just happened to be supplying the cupcakes for a family wedding. Well, as a result, I quite following them because all it was was advertisements, not a personal look into their lives.

So, this takes me back to the bloggers. Most of these bloggers are just normal people who were sharing pieces of their lives and now all of the sudden, because they have large followings, they are being asked to review and write about products. It's just not my thing. Had they started out with that purpose, maybe I wouldn't be so critical.

Also, I know that the Pioneer Woman started out as a random blogger who just wanted to share her life on a cattle ranch, but she has taken steps to purposely market herself and I like her for that. I think she blogs with a purpose and she tells the reader when a giveaway is sponsored by such and such or when she's cooking recipes for brand XYZ. She doesn't act like she's just taking the time to review these products or share these giveaways because it is coming from the bottom of her heart (which sometimes she does because she's just that cool!).

Missing My Food Blog

Remember how I took down my food blog? I still believe it was a good decision, but there is something I miss - my blog lists of all things food/recipes/home stuff. I really didn't have time to maintain that blog anymore and really food/recipes/home stuff is part of my life, so it might as well be included on the main blog, but I miss being able to see when all of my favorite bloggers posted new ideas, recipes, etc.

I've tried to use Google Reader and I assume if I tried a little harder, I would probably like it. After all, it does collect ALL of my favorite blogs in one place and updates my list with the most current post. But, I really just miss going to my blog and clicking on the different posts. I know I could add them to this blog, but I feel like it just junks it up since I already have so much and I'm afraid it will take away from MY posts ;) Ha ha!

So here's the question - do you want to see which blogs I like to read on a daily basis or do you just come here to find out what we're up to? This is a burning question here so let me know what you think!

In other news, the big Sunflower Showdown is this weekend in Manhattan! I'm really hoping with whip up on those Chicken Hawks or Gay Birds, as my brother calls them. We REALLY need this win. We'll be there, sporting our purple and cheering LOUD, VERY LOUD! Go Cats!

Abbreviated Weekend Wrap Up

I know, I know. It seems my posts as of late mostly revolve around the weekend and what we did and that isn't always so exciting, so this week will be abbreviated and then I have a new story at the end!

Friday was a pretty low-key night. We took a late trip to Target to pick up a few things. While we were there, we ran into a girl (I say girl, she was probably in her late 20's or early 30's) who was quite dressed up for a late evening trip to Target. We first spotted her in line at Starbucks. She was wearing a cute black top with a white short satin bubble skirt and thigh-high black healed boots. She was draped in jewelry and her hair was all done up. We kept walking and minding our own business, but we kept running into her - we saw her in the Christmas section, the housewares section, the clothing, everywhere and she never had anything in her hands. Maybe she was wasting time before a hot date or maybe she had been on a date and it didn't go so well. Needless to say, I felt a little underdressed in my jeans and hoodie!

Saturday was a pretty productive day. We both got on the treadmill and then I picked up the house and went grocery shopping while Brandon mowed and cleaned up the garage. Then, I went out and about with Brandon's mom, sister and aunt while he stayed home and played Tiger Woods golf on the Wii. Then, we all ordered pizza for dinner and we watched the KSU vs. OU game and answered the door for the few trick-or-treaters that stopped by. Our favorite was Jacob, the little monkey (and our friend's little boy!). I must say, how about them Cats! Even though we lost, we still played a great game!

Sunday was a pretty typical day. We went to church and then had a small group focus group after church. Then, I went to do a little shoe shopping and ended up leaving TJ Maxx with a few steals! I got two purple vases for the top of my kitchen cabinets and a leather ottoman to go with the purple chair in our living room. The rest of the day was spent just relaxing and hanging out. It was definitely nice to be home with relatively little to do! That doesn't happen too often.

As I mentioned above, Brandon and I both got on the treadmill Saturday morning. We're pledging to do this every morning for a while. We have both gotten a little lazy in the exercise area (me especially) and decided that if we would work out in the morning, then it would be done for the day and we wouldn't have to worry about it in the evenings after we've been working all day. We decided that I would get up and get on the treadmill first since it takes me longer to get ready for work, but I knew I would lose motivation if Brandon was not up as well. The thought of him being all nice and snuggled into bed while I'm up sweating isn't much motivation. So, he agreed, but only on one condition - I have to iron all of his work shirts ahead of time so he doesn't have to wait on me before work. As much as I hate ironing, I took him up on his offer.

So, this mornign, I got up a little before 6:00 am and hopped on the treadmill and Brandon was up and awake - he had to let the dog out - watching TV. I was finished around 6:20 and got in the shower and got ready. I was so speedy, that I had time to get a roast in the crock pot and sit down for breakfast! If I can keep this up, I think I will be much more productive and I will feel so much better. So, wish us luck!!