I have a lot to talk about...

...but not much time! So, here it goes, bulleted list style:

* Tonight's TV line up is AMAZING and I can't wait for the premiere of some of my favorite shows - Grey's Anatomy and The Office - unfortunately, I need to clean my house tonight too! Solution - DVR!! I'm so happy we made that purchase!!!
* We were without a computer for several days and I thought we were close to having to purchase a new one, but Brandon't co-worker fixed us up, almost... Every time I get on the internet, after about 3 minutes, I get kicked off. It must be some evil ploy to keep me from spending too much time online. Grr!!
* I decorated my house for Fall on Monday! I will post pictures soon!
* I attended a Premiere Jewelry party last week and found some earrings called "Tessa", so I naturally had to buy them! And, I signed up to have a party of my own!
* We went out to a friend's cabin last weekend and I had my first encounter with elk! Did you know elk "bugle"?
* We bought a Halloween costume for Koby - stay tuned for REALLY cute pictures!!
Okay, I'm out of time - I have a meeting to go to.

It's raining men...

**EDIT** More pictures below of Central and Tyler, just about a mile and a half south of our house!

Okay, maybe not men, but that was the first "rain" song that came to mind. But, let me tell you - it's raining and it's rainging hard!

If you know Wichita at all, you know that the streets in this city are incredibly prone to flooding, especially out west where we live. Here is a picture of the morning commute:

Basically, every major street around our house has been closed at some point today and it looks like they might be closing more. Most of the schools have let out and a lot of people have flooded basements. We're lucky that we aren't having any problems yet - hopefully it stays that way.

Brandon went home early from work since most of his sites shut down, so he's keeping a good eye on our sump pump and basement, and probably enjoying his time off. I'm guessing he's getting in a few rounds of golf with Tiger! I'm still here at work, so I hope I can find a way to get home!

It's addicting....

Koby got a new lobster - 2 hours ago....

I'm pretty sure he's addicted to the "fluff" - he couldn't wait to rip open the poor guy.

Ahhh, the good life!

It is currently 60 degrees outside, I'm in my favorite black sweat pants, our windows are open and I'm getting ready to curl up on the couch and watch the Republican National Convention speeches!

Have I mentioned that I LOVE FALL?!?!?!

Too Tired

A. Attached or Single? Totally attached to a wonderful guy!

B. Best Friend? Megan is the best!

C. Cake or Pie? Usually cake, but I'll take a good blueberry pie anyday, espeically the kind with sugar sprinkled on the crust! Yum!

D. Day of choice? I love Fridays - that sense of relief as I walk out the door from work!

E. Essential Item? I'm not sure - I guess I'd have to say Excedrin because when I need it, I need it!

F. Favorite Color? Lately, it's been green and blue.

G. Gummy Bears or Worms? Oh, definitely worms. There is just something about the firmer consistency.

H. Hometown? Pratt, Kansas

I. Favorite indulgence? Purses, or shoes - both are disgustingly addictive and fun!

J. January or July? July - there is something special about our 4th of July lake weekends! BUT, January is Brandon's birth month, so I like it too!

K. Kids? ..........

L. Life isn't complete without? CHOCOLATE!!!!!

M. Marriage date? June 3, 2006

N. Numbers of brothers and sisters? Tara, my sister and Todd, my brother.

O. Oranges or apples? Oranges, I love the juciness!

P. Phobias? Falling, face-forward on cement, tile, wood, etc and knocking out my teeth.

Q. Quotes?

R. Reason to smile? We're going to Manhattan tomorrow!!!!!!

S. Season of choice? Fall. As much as I'd love to say Spring, I really do love the nostalgia of Fall.

T. Tag 5 people: I don't know because I don't know who reads my blog.

U. Unknown fact? I have a deep down desire to have an ultra organized house, but the expectation to keep it that way turns me off.

V. Vegetable? Steamed homegrown green beans! Mmm!! Mmm! Mmmmmm!

W. Worst habit? Biting my nails when I'm nervous or bored.

X. X-Ray or Ultrasound? I've never had either, so I don't know.

Y. Your favorite food? This is constantly changing for me, but usually it's Mexican food.

Z. Zodiac sign? Leo

Old School

Last weekend, Brandon and I decided to go through our photos that we have uploaded to our computer but never printed. It was so fun to go back to our dating days and early married days and look at how much has changed. So, I thought it might be fun to take you all on a little journey:

Early dating days - look at my awful highlights!

A family rafting trip in Colorado

My one and only time to go golfing with Brandon

Our candle-lighting at my sorority to announce our engagement - also known as the worst night of Brandon's life!

One of my first official "Brungardt" photos (we were still engaged at this time)

Pumpkin carving in college

The annual Bohn Thanksgiving Hunt (this is the ONLY evidence that a bird has EVER been shot)

Wedding shower

Our Honeymoon

Our first picture in our first apartment (disclaimer: Brandon is NOT naked!)

Our first house (and current house, but this is a "before" picture!)

Our first family photo

Our first Christmas

Our first family vacation - Charleston, SC

And, the most recent picture

I hope you enjoyed our little "walk back in time". This is obviously just a sampling, but it is so fun to look at how things have changed over the past 5 years, especially my hair!!!

Who asks that???

Well, the survey indicated that most people like reading about our strange and mundane lives, so here is a good story for you!

Today, I went to get pedicures with my friends Ali and Emily. We went to one of the Asian places, so I couldn't understand the staff very good as it was, however it was a very nice place. As we arrived, we picked out our colors (I picked a really pretty shade of purple by OPI - I didn't write the name down and now I'm mad because I really liked it - beside the point) and went to our chairs. I sat and let me feet soak for a little bit, while my guy got wrapped up with another client. Once he came, he grabbed the massage chair controler and turned on the vibrating function - I did not ask for this, but I guess he thought I needed it. As I fumbled with the remote, trying to turn off the darn vibrator, he started my pedicure. He never said much to me the whole time, but that was okay, I was having more fun chit-chatting with my friends. Once he was almost finished painting my toe nails, he looks up at me and asks a question, but I couldn't understand him, so I asked to him repeat himself. So, he stopped painting and said "Ma'am, do you chew your toenails? They are too short!" - I was slightly taken back and politely told him no, that I didn't chew my toenails, but that I like to keep them short. My friends had finished up their appointments and were sitting in the waiting area, so I just had to sit there, blankly, not knowing what to say from there. I just couldn't believe it!!! Who asks that kind of thing? I mean, why couldn't he have asked if I just happened to trim them too short recently? Anyway, the end result was good, and if you recognize the color on my toes, please send me a message!

Tomatoes

We have a problem. We have too many tomatoes!! When we planted our cute little tomatoe plants a while back, I never dreamed they would grow to be so enormous. See for yourself:

They are so big, that they are fighting for space and so far, the large tomato plant is winning that battle. But, never fear, the cherry tomato plant is kicking the large tomato plant's hiney when it comes to the actual reproduction (is that the right term?)! Thus crating my problem - I had to throw out quite a few cherry tomatoes the other day because we can't eat them fast enough.

So, I need help! What can I do with all of these darn things? I plan to make some yummy homemade bruschetta this week to accompany an italian meal I have planned, and I could probably make some salsa once my large tomatoes start to produce more frequently, but I just don't think cherry tomatoes will make the best salsa. So, any suggestions? I'm desperate!!!

New Features - Revisited

***EDIT***

I lied - I guess they are updating. I just looked over at my RSS feeds and as I was typing, the good ol' Pioneer Woman Cooks feed updated!! Halleuia!!!

*************************************************************************************

Okay, so I was all excited about adding the RSS feeds to my site, but it doesn't appear that the links are working properly - they aren't updating themselves. I'm bummed! So, if you know what I can do to make them update, please let me know. Otherwise, they will just sit there, with the same information forever!

New Features

I don't have much time to blog right now. Koby is dropping his ball in my lap and whining for me to throw it. I was supposed to go to the grocery store tonight, but got distracted by Target and Maurices. And, I'm getting up VERY early to head to OKC tomorrow.

But, check out my new RSS feeds to the right! Now all of you can keep up with my new hero, The Pioneerwoman! You will fall in love, I promise!

Oh yeah, and I have an RSS to People.com updates. Call me shallow, but I love celebrity gossip!!

Also, I'm thinking I'm going to revamp my blog topics. I feel like I tend to blog about boring and mundane things, so please take answer my poll question to the right and help me out!

Have a fab weekend!

Whew!!!

Life is flying by these days. I can hardly believe it is almost the middle of August. Where has the summer gone? We've had so much going on that I hardly know where to start.

Currently, as in this very moment, I'm sitting at my aunt's house, using her computer while Brandon preps her floors to be tiled. He's been working for the past two nights and will be working all weekend to lay tile in her kitchen, hallway, bathroom and entry way. Brandon got the itch to lay tile after he and his dad did our kitchen backsplashes, so my aunt has graciously let him practice on her floor. Really, it's a win-win for both parties - she gets her floors redone at a cheaper rate and Brandon gets the practice. And, I'm just here for support! I really don't have a role in all of this. So, if you can't find us in the next few days, we'll be here!

This past weekend, I turned 25 - yes, a whole quarter of a century. It feels good to be 25, but nothing too exciting, except that I can drive a rental car now. I had a wodnerful birthday, though. We celebrated the weekend before with my family in KC, then we went back to KC with Brandon's family for a Royals game on Saturday. We visited the new Power and Light district downtown for lunch, did a little shopping and then went to the game. It was miserably hot, but we made it through - thank goodness the concession stand only made you pay $6 for the first cup of water!

My new job has also kept me extremely busy, which is good. I pretty much learn somethign new everyday!! I just mailed out my first printed newsletter and I must say, I'm pretty proud of myself. The newsletter turned out great and was a good confidence buidler. You see, part of the job requirement was that I write and update the design template for the newsletter, and that was not something I had ever done before, but I was confident I could do it. So, to see the final product was such a relief! We have so many projects in the near future, that I'm not sure the pace is going to slow down for a while. We're in the beginning stages of over-hauling our website and working up a 2009 marketing plan. So, I have a lot on my plate, but you know what, I wouldn't trade it for anything!

Brandon leaves next week to go to NYC with his good friend Nate and his boss from Key. They have tickets to watch the Royals vs. Yankees at Yankee Stadium, so he's pretty stoked! I'm excited for him, too. I know this is something he'll never forget. I can't imagine how excited he'll be once he actually gets there. He asked me what I want him to bring me back as a momento and I told him that I would like something in a blue boxes! I doubt I'll get anything, but it's worth a try, right?

While Brandon is gone, I'm going to go visit my pregnant friend, Megan! We typically celebrate our birthdays together, so I figured this would be the perfect time! However, Megan is a year older than me, so she'll be 26, while I'm just 25!! I told her the other to just wait until she turns 40 and I'm still 39 - she's never going to hear the end of it!!

Well, that is pretty much life in a nutshell. Maybe we'll slow down one of these days!

Helloooooooooooo????

Is anybody out there?

I know it has been a while since I've posted - I've probably lost some of you. But, I have reasons!! This new job is keeping me sooo busy that I'm having trouble finding the time to post. So, it is certainly a good problem to have, but I do miss my blog. So, I'm going to promise to update about the new job and such soon, but I just can't do it right now. I have work to do!!!!

Picture Recap

I know I told you last week that I would post pictures from Koby's birthday, so here thay are:

The Birthday Boy!

His birthday treats

The presents

The pup after a fun day of playing

4th of July

We had a great time at the lake. Rather than writing a long and drawn out recap, I'll just post the pictures!

Thursday morning, we all got up and went to the blueberry farm. We had a successful trip and ended up taking home 20 pounds of freshly picked blueberries (picked by us!).

Thursday afternoon, we all went out on the boat to do a little swimming and tubing.

Friday morning was a little rainy, so we were slept in and hung around the house most of the morning. Brandon decided to try his hand at some fishing and was pretty successful! Once we got out on the lake, we met up with my mom's sister and her family for a little swimming.

Friday evening, we got cleaned up and went to my aunt's lake house for a 4th of July BBQ and then went back to our house for a small fireworks show!

Saturday was another lazy morning because it was raining. Mom and Tara ran to Holiday Island to go to the grocery store, so the rest of us broke out our new Wii and had a little fun. Once the rain stopped, we headed out on the boat for lunch at The Port Grill and a little knee-boarding and tubing. Then that evening, we had an encore of fireworks - sort of. Brandon and Todd thought it would be fun to shoot roman candles and let my little baby, Koby, chase the fire balls. Poor thing, Todd almost shot one up his hiney (Koby's that is). The picture below is me trying to tell Koby that chasing fire balls is not a good idea!

All in all, it was a great weekend! And just to leave you with something cute, here are the girls taking their first bath together!

Confession.

****EDIT****

I. QUIT. My pick never ends up being "the one"!

Disclaimer: This is not the post with pictures!

I have a confession to make....

I have become uncontrollably addicted to this season of The Bachelorette! I didn't start watching it until about a month ago, but it has taken over my love of Jon and Kate. Now, don't get me wrong, Jon and Kate are still set up to record on our DVR every week, I just don't watch them live, like I used to. This is a sad, sad deal for me. I swore I would never get hooked on The Bachelor/Bachelorette again after the stupid season with Charlie O'Connel. However, I'm totally into this season. Maybe it's because the bachelorette is so strong and says what she thinks and isn't afraid of the outcome? Who knows, but next week is the finale and I'm so perplexed by who she will choose - in my opinion, the two guys are so different from one another. But, maybe that was her strategy?!?!

Okay, I'm done confessing.....

Bad Blogger.

I know it's been a while since I've last blogged, but I have reasons!!!

First of all, I have gone through a pretty major life change - I got a new job!!! As many of you know, I've been on the job hunt for a while and now, I can finally say I've got a new job!! I gave my 2 weeks notice last Wednesday, so my last day at Armstrong|Shank will be July 9th. I will start my new job, as the communications manager at the Wichita Metro Chamber of Commerce on July 14th. So, needless to say, I've been a little busy interviewing, doing a writing test, being offered the job, mustering up the courage to tell my boss I was quitting and then cleaning out files and emails and writing client status reports.

Secondly, it just seems we've been busy lately, but I'm not really sure what we've been doing. Apparently, nothing too exciting or else I would have made a point to blog about it. We are in the process of painting our bathroom (finally!) and getting our house back in order after the kitchen construction. We have 2 coats of paint on the walls, but we still have to figure out how we're going to do our faux finish. I doubt this will be finished before we leave for our 4th of July vacation.

Speaking of 4th of July, we're leaving tomorrow for our annual lake trip! We will be down there with all of my family and all of my aunt's family (our only family on my mom's side), so it should be a good time! We're going to be on the lake most of the time, but we are making a point to get to the blueberry farm nearby. It's this huge farm where you can pick your own blueberries and take them home. They also sell the biggest blueberry muffins I've ever seen. Seriously, they look like small cakes..mmmm!! Somehow, I've got to find time to make my goodies before we leave...

We also celebrated Koby's 2nd birthday yesterday!! I can't believe my baby is 2 already ;) Ha ha!! We took him to Petsmart on Saturday and let him pick out his birthday gifts. I have pictures of everything, but forgot to send them to myself so I could post them, so stay tuned! I also hope to have a video of the festivities!

Tonight, we're having a luau with our small group. We're making "tropical" food and dressing up in our best island gear. My friend Ali is hosting and I hear she has quite the party planned! I can't wait! Maybe I'll be able to sneak a few pictures to post on here!

Well, there is a quick run down of what has been going on. I promise to have more pictures in my next post!

Have a wonderful day!

Some days you feel like a nut...

..and some days you don't.

It seems as if I've come down with the crud (crud, as defined by me, is a sore throat, clogged ears and phlem in your throat). It started Tuesday evening with a non-threatening sore throat that got a little more sore on Wednesday and then went full-throttle yesterday. Now, today, my ears are feeling a bit clogged and I think the phlem is going to my chest, which is never a good thing. So, I'll be visiting the doctor this afternoon and will hopefully be given some miracle drug to make it all go away.

I don't normally go to the doctor for the crud, but recent history would tell me that the crud is sticking around a long time. My mom had it for a few weeks, Brandon's parents both had it, Pam longer than Craig, and it has spread around our office a few times. And, since I want to be healthy for our 4th of July festivities at the lake, I want to get rid of it now.

I was planning to paint our bathroom this weekend, but we may have to put those plans off now. I also had big plans to clean out our kitchen cabinets and purge some of the stuff that is either expired or hasn't been touched since we got married. Again, that may not happen. Maybe I'll just rent "27 Dresses" instead. I'm sure Brandon would love to watch that with me :)

Kitchen Makeover.

This past weekend Brandon and his dad made-over our kitchen. I can't begin to express how happy I am with the results! We went from outdated 80's to updated and modern. See for yourself (I don't have pictures of the kitchen before the tile was removed, so picture shiny white tile with a dull mauve border)!

Please remember that the kitchen is not finished. I haven't really put anything back in it's place and we're still missing a couple of switch plates. But, this gives you an idea!

Tomorrow, I will post pictures from the rest of the weekend - the workmen, the foosball tournament and some very sleepy puppies!