Brandi's Place

This weekend was like a little mini college reunion. Jim was in from NYC and we headed to OKC for the Skanche wedding. Jeremy and Sarah Sanchez are finally married. We celebrated this fabulous event in Kingfisher along w/ JKill and Anna, JB and Jim. Sarah was a gorgeous bride, I wanted to steal her dress. And if you're ever in need of a dance partner, you should give Jeremy's dad a call- yowza! That boy can dance! We couldn't be happier for the two of them and wish them so much luck!

A huge monster thanks go out to Barb and Robert Crews (Jim's parents). They let us stay in their famous Raggedy Ann room and in THE MOST comfortable bed I've EVER slept in. The next day was Eli's third birthday (Jim's nephew) and we were invited to stay and party. And party we did. There was a Spongebob Moon Bounce in the backyard and we bounced. And the boys did flips. And we laughed and we yelled and we jumped some more. And 10 minutes later we were laying in a pile in the middle of the moon bounce with our lungs on fires, knees aching, heads swimming and nausea fastly setting in. WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN?!! Since when do I get beat up by a moon bounce? Ugh!

It was a great weekend to catch up with old friends. So great to see everyone and HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Posted by BrandiK at 10/31/2005 08:42:00 PM | Permalink | Comments

Last night we went to a friend's surprise birthday party. Strangely enough, it actually worked. I've NEVER been to a surprise party where the guest of honor actually had no clue and didn't have to fake their reaction. It was a really good time. We stayed outside, except when I went in to get more food. There was a cozy little chimenea that we stayed huddled around. A few people kept using the flame launching out the top to light their cigarettes. I just knew someone was going to leave there looking like Seal. Yikes!

Ok, so the night wasn't all smooth for me. I decided I wanted to curl my hair for last night. Now, yes, it curls all by itself thanks to that bitch mother nature. (you thought I was just going to say mother, didn't you?! not hardly.) But I wanted curling iron curls- big fluffy fun curls. And it worked. I'd never done that on my own before, without the aid of a stylist. However, now I know why all those girls growing up blamed their hickies on the curling iron- because when you lay that thing across your bare flesh and fries it just a little, it looks just like a hicky. Yes, I'm the proud new owner of a curling iron hicky and it HURTS!!! I am going to Jeremy's and Sarah's wedding reception tonight, I pray that no one can see it. I'll have to arrange my hair in such a fashion.

Then, as we are headed for the front door to leave last night, I look down and my left hand is NAKED! As in, holy fruitcakes, where the HELL is my wedding ring?!?!?!?! I shoot Shelton this look from across the room that looks vaguely like, I believe my very own liver just dropped OUT of my body and umm, how do I put it back in. Apparently the look was loud enough to make the whole room stop because our host's mother comes up and wants to know what is wrong and the whole room starts scrambling. My stomach had reached the bottom most pit it could find. This is a huge house, with a huge backyard, and a lot of people I don't know. Luckily Shelton went out to where we had been sitting and a new group of people were in place. He asked if anyone had seen a ring and someone held up their pinky and there she was. He said it was lying on the ground when they all sat down. My only explanation would be that I was so cold outside that it slid right off my finger.

Posted by BrandiK at 10/29/2005 08:38:00 AM | Permalink | Comments

Ok, I’m seriously behind in posting. It’s been quite a busy week. And while my posts tend to turn into mini-novels of my life, I will try to keep this short and sweet.

Extreme Home Makeover
I went. I built. I saw. It was a really awesome experience. Just to be there and see how it all comes together. I helped plant trees at the front of the house. So when you see the show, looking at the house, they are the first 2 pines on the left. I also helped build this cool little hedge apple tree candle holder- think big yellow wooden balls. We also helped build and paint the chicken coop on the property and a number of other little projects. Got to see up close and personal all of the cast. Pics only with Ty, a co-worker not me. See the pics on my Flickr. Just so you know, the cast, except for Ed, I didn’t see a single one of them working EVER. I still like the show and the house is way cool. All I can say w/o getting sewed by the man.

Wedding
I went to a co-worker’s wedding last weekend. It was possibly one of the best weddings I’ve ever been to. It was the first full-on Catholic mass wedding that I’d ever been to. It was a beautiful ceremony and the party went allllll night long. I was my typical wedding drunk self and danced til I couldn’t shake it anymore. Most of our office was there and it was a damn good time.

Bye-Bye Teeth
I went to meet my surgeon this morning. He’ll be removing my wisdom teeth on the 10th. Thinking about it makes me want to pull my own finger nails out.

Wedding #2
We are going to OKC tomorrow for the wedding of some college friends. I’m really glad that Jeremy and Sarah have finally gotten hitched. They are pretty awesome. I’m really anxious to see so many people from college, many I haven’t seen since graduation. We are going to crash at Barb’s and sleep in the Raggedy Ann room- doesn’t get much better than that.

Work
I’m on day 2 of vacation this week. My anniversary with Associated is next week (can you believe it??) so I’m trying to use it all up before I lose it. Next week I’m taking 2 half days and then a few days later my 40 days refills. How nice.

Posted by BrandiK at 10/28/2005 04:51:00 PM | Permalink | Comments

Wichita is buzzing about the fact that just a few minutes outside of town, the Extreme Home Makeover team is busy dozing and building a new home. Yesterday was the demolition day and they have to be finished by Saturday evening I believe. Besides the fact that THE Ty Pennington is the closest to me that he's ever been, you are probably wondering why I care enough about this to write. Well, I will gladly tell you. Friday afternoon I'm going out with a bunch of co-workers and we get to work on the house. Could I BE anymore excited? No, I don't think so. You can bet your best Sunday panties on the fact that I will be filling you in alllllll the dirty little details.

Posted by BrandiK at 10/19/2005 06:41:00 PM | Permalink | Comments

I woke up yesterday morning exhausted. And I woke up in a terribly grumpy mood that subsided about 9:00 this morning. We went to Moore for the weekend to visit Shelton's family and spent every moment sitting and talking and sleeping. It was oh-so nice. And as anyone who has ever spent a weekend sitting and talking and sleeping knows- it can become very tiring. All I wanted to do yesterday was get home to my couch. That was it. I wanted to make the 2.5 hour drive, put on my pajamas and a sweatshirt and settle in for my 4 hour night of Sunday night TV bliss.

But first we had to make a pit stop at my parents house just west of Wichita. My brother Kyle and his girlfriend LaRenda made a surprise visit this weekend. We spent about an hour with them before they needed to head back to Joplin.

When we FINALLY made it home there was a cute little sidewalk chalk message on the steps up the front door- Welcome Home, Hi Sis!. Cute little message. When we opened the front door Shelton said the door was unlocked and when I walked in and saw that the clock was hanging in a place that it was not hanging when we left town on Friday- I froze. I looked at Shelton and said, "I do not want to walk up these stairs." And I don't think he had quite caught on to the fact that Goldilocks and her gang had invaded our home over the weekend.

Who was our gang? My parents and Kyle and LaRenda and the housekey that they may not have possession of much longer.

I told him that I would have a panic attack when we got to the top of the stairs. He looked at me a little bewildered and I explained that when we turned the corner at the top of stairs, not one thing was going to be in the right place. And I was right (as usual). My chest seized up in a tightness that made me think I'd spend the rest of the evening in the ER.

The living room furniture was in the dining room and vice versa. Things on the wall were hung in all the wrong places. All of my picture frames were rearranged and upside-down. The contents of my kitchen cabinets had been completely switched around. The horror of seeing my shoe rack (the kind with pockets that hangs on the door) in utter disarray was the cherry on top. That is when I thought the tears would finally break. But no- NO NO, are you aware that a sundae can actually have cherries ON TOP of cherries? Well it can.

Shelton had informed me that the bandits had hit the pantry as well. OH MY GOD. Rotel was on the same shelf as the bread, soup next to the chips- chaos. Absolute, heart-stopping chaos.

It took about half an hour to complete the process of putting everything back in order. I just dropped when it was over. '

My parents are on their way over and we are going to discuss key priviliges. And when we finish discussing key priviliges, I'm going to remind them that payback is a BIIIIIIIIITCH!

Posted by BrandiK at 10/17/2005 08:53:00 PM | Permalink | Comments

Wednesday night I was kicked back watching the all-important third episode of One Tree Hill. There's a lot going on- Nathan and Haley are at a vulnerable point in their marriage (seniors in high school mind you), Lucas and Brooke don't know how to love each other, Payton just found out who her real cocaine loving mom is- There is A LOT going on folks! And it is all too important to miss. I mean, good lord, is Dan going to find out who tried to burn down the auto dealership? I DON'T KNOW.

So, I'm maybe 15 minutes in and the 18-year olds played by 27-year olds are setting up their very public, very underage beach booze party when I hear this CHIRP! (seriously, when I was in high school, if you wanted to drink you had to find the very back 90th acre of somebody's farm land and hide- not dance around all drunken like in the MIDDLE OF THE BEACH where the police can find you.

Ok, so I hear the CHIRP and then NO SOUND. None. Silence. So that I don't miss a single second of the show, I immediately hit mute to bring up the closed captioning. I probably read better than I listen so I'm thinking this is no problem. Must be some glitch at the station, I mean, afterall, it is WB. Every couple seconds I mute/unmute to find the sound. It's still not on. At commercial, I flip to other channels- NO SOUND. I. Am. Starting. To. Panic. Brandi, it's ok.

So, I watch the entire episode in deaf mode- closed captioning. Thank GOD for the deaf, and I mean that in the nicest way possible because I would not have heard the fight between Lucas' mom and Dan. I am kind of concerned for the deaf though. Seriously- closed captioning has GOT to be typed in by a VERY drunk man who doesn't speak english. This is what it looked like-

DO YO UWAN TTO GO WITHH THE STOOORE AFHTER WEORK TO DA ?Y

WHAT IS THAT?!??! Sometimes whole sentences would be missing, whole portions of sentences would be missing. Ridiculous. Nevertheless, I was thankful for this tool on Wednesday night.

I went ahead and killed the TV after One Tree Hill because I couldn't handle 2 more hours of this silent nonsense. It was then that Shelton made the AWFUL diagnosis- Our TV had lost its sound. That's the equivialent of the doctor coming in and telling me that my left ventrical had stopped working. FIX IT- FIX IT RIGHT NOW! OH MY GOD!

Thursday night Shelton brought the TV in from the office. And I never thought the living room TV was huge, and I never thought the office TV was small- BUT THEY ARE. I felt like I was watching TV on a postage stamp. We have got to remedy this situation. It's not right for me to live this way- for any American to live this way.

When I was a kid we had a similar family emergency. One Saturday afternoon my Dad SCREAMS from the living room-
"Kids, get in here, we've got a family emergency!!!"

And folks, he was serious. As in, I was thinking- oh God, I do not want to go in there because mom has some irreversible disease and who is going to drive me to school and why can't she just have my liver? "Emergency"- that is what he said and that is what his tone said.
We get in there and he's all, "Kids, sit down. Umm, the TV just blew up." WHAT?!?!?!?!

Dad- "We were watching [probably some ridiculous John Wayne movie] and the TV just blew up, it's dead."

In my brain- Ok, so mom isn't dieing and I get to keep my liver? Why are we in here again?

Dad- "Brandi, how much money do you have in your savings account? We have to go get a new TV TODAY!!!"

In my brain- you want what?! Crazy ass.

Brandi outloud- "I don't know, a few hundred dollars?"

Dad- "Ok, we're going to have to borrow that and we'll pay you back later."

Later that day, a shiny new TV came home. So now all I can think is- why the hell haven't Shelton and I had kids yet so we can go buy a new TV with their hard-earned babysitting money?!?!

Posted by BrandiK at 10/15/2005 10:15:00 AM | Permalink | Comments

Get out those crisp dollars and shiny quarters for scratchin', by golly, Oklahoma got a lottery! As of this morning, Oklahoma was the 41st to join the ranks of all those scandalous gambling states. The lottery was voted in last fall, overwhelmingly, and finally rolled out today. Congratulations Oklahoma!

It took forever to pass because the Bible-pounders were freaking out about themselves and their children's souls forever burning in the hell fires because they spent a buck and won 5, or maybe they didn't win any. To this I say, like I do all other issues like porn and booze and other unhealthy sins of the mortal flesh- IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT, DON'T DO IT! That easy. Otherwise, quitcher bitchin and live your life the way you choose and let others live theirs. You're only accountable for yourself in the end.

It also took forever to pass because the Native Americans were freaked out about losing all those people in their casinos. Well, I'm sure it's a win-win for everyone because when you want to gamble, you're gonna gamble.

Personally, I don't have a problem with the lottery. It will bring in A LOT of much needed money for education, 30% of all monies earned, money that the fat-ass politicians aren't going to give up.

So I've said my peace. I never mean to offend anyone- so I apologize if I did. I'm not out to get anyone on here, just speakin' my mind. I also LOVE Oklahoma and miss it often. But seriously, sometimes, it's a little backwards.

Posted by BrandiK at 10/12/2005 10:02:00 PM | Permalink | Comments

Yesterday went from total let down to totally alright. Following the devastating and pretty much expected loss to texas we headed home to take naps. And they were good naps. The kind you can only get on the couch on a Saturday afternoon after stuffing yourself with barbecue and brownies all afternoon.

I decided I did not want to veg out for yet another night and while I wanted to go to the movies, just sitting in a theater for 2 or 3 hours is really no different than vegging on my own couch for 2 or 3 hours. Then I remembered the drive-in movie. I haven't been since I was a kid (Batman Returns) and it is seriously one of my favorite memories. Shelton had never been. So we packed up blankets and pillows and headed out to the drive-in. It is one of the few left in the whole country which is really pretty sad. For $10 bucks you can get your entire car load in, much cheaper than the theater. We watched Just Like Heaven with Reese Witherspoon and Jon Heder (napoleon dynamite). It was a cute little romantic comedy. We had a really good time. Last night was the end-of-season so we will have to wait until spring.

After that we headed to Old Town to meet up with a few friends, one of which was having a birthday. After a couple drinks I realized I hadn't eaten since about noon and it was now 11- HUNGRY! Shelton packed me up and headed home in search of the perfect fast-food pit stop. McDonalds had been decided on until we remembered that taco bueno is at the SAME INTERSECTION. We didn't have to go out of our way to get to bueno it was on the way home. I do not think I have ever eaten food in the manner in which I ate that nacho salad last night. Shelton used the word "snarfed." I think I only stopped to breathe when I was finished. But DEAR GOD it was incredibly tasty. No, not incredibly tasty, it was the dreamiest mexican food I've EVER eaten from a styrofoam box.

Posted by BrandiK at 10/09/2005 02:11:00 PM | Permalink | Comments

Probably one of my top 5 least favorite things in the world would have to be going to the dentist. I get the absolute worst case of toe-curlin heeby jeebies ever. And it is not because of some tragic root canal memory or any other logical reason, I just get completely freaked out by those people and their pointy objects rooting around inside my mouth. I mean, really, I get worried when a Dorito goes in my mouth the wrong way and pokes my cheek, or toast rubs the roof of my mouth raw. I like things to stay copasetic in there.

I haven't been to the dentist in a year and a half. Some of you are probably thinking that's gross. The truth is, the trip before that it was 5 years, so I'm making progress. I just avoid it as much as possible. I've never had ANYTHING done to my mouth except cleaning. No cavaities. No orthodontic work. Nothing.

When the dentist came in yesterday, he and his nurse-woman just ooohed and ahhhed over how gorgeous my teeth were and how perfect they were and I'm so lucky- BLAH BLAH BLAH. Good night, they're just teeth! I just smiled and told them I'm a Crest kid. I've used Crest my whole life and don't plan on switching. I brush once a day and floss maybe once a month. Look at them pearly whites baby!

He is going to take my wisdom teeth. (Insert toe-curled heeby jeeby dance) I was born w/o the bottom two, so I guess I score there. But the top two have finally come in and they are bothering me. The left tooth always rubs my cheek and creates little sores. There is not enough room on either side to get my toothbrush in so that can only lead to trouble. I'll probably do it in a couple of weeks.

Two cool things about my trip to the dentist yesterday- they wore GRAPE FLAVORED GLOVES!!! I mean, are you kidding me? If I had those things I'd just wear them all day long and lick my fingers. Secondly, a car hit an electrical pole outside, so a good 75% of my cleaning was done sans electric. That means there was no sucky device and they looked at my teeth with a flashlight. At least I didn't have to reschedule.

Posted by BrandiK at 10/08/2005 06:09:00 PM | Permalink | Comments

All week my blood pressure has been a little higher. My heart a little more sensitive. And my fingers permanent locked in the upside-down longhorn position.

It's OU/texas baby!!!

I'm a little more nervous than I've EVER been going into this all-important annual throwdown. We've won 5 in a row. As long as I've been a tuition-paying Sooner, we've beat the Longhorns. I'm scared that this might be the year they take it back.

BUT- I'm a strong and faithful Sooner and I will not give up an ounce of hope until I see that final score; and at that time, I hope it says "better luck next time suckers!"- to the Longhorns.

Posted by BrandiK at 10/06/2005 01:04:00 PM | Permalink | Comments

I'm pretty excited because I am volunteering for the organization called Compeer. I will participate in their Lunch Buddy program. Once a week I will go to have lunch w/ an elementary child. We will spend 45 minutes hanging out, eating lunch, talking, playing and whatever else we decide to do. I picked out my little girl today. She is a third grader. And judging from her personality profile, seems like she is going to be a spunky and fun little booger! I'm anxious to meet her next week and get started. Since I can't reveal her name, I am going to call her Megan.

Most of the children in this program come from incredibly low socio-economic households, parents with criminal histories; they can be one of many children and sometimes come from single parent homes. We were told that these kids have behavior issues, sometimes the meals they eat at school are the only meals they get. This is such a 180 from the life that I have lived that I'm having a hard time wrapping my brain around it. I haven't met this little girl, or any of the other children, and I can't help but feel like I want to help them conquer the world. I almost feel guilty going in there with all the good fortune I have.

My goal is to go in and make her smile and laugh a few more times in a day than normal. She says she has difficulty reading and I want to help her overcome that and see how fun and easy it really can be. I want her to feel like someone looks forward to seeing her and no matter how busy my day is, she'll feel like she's important enough to put all of that on hold.

I am anxious to get started and while a lot of what we do and say has to remain confidential, I will keep everyone posted on how Megan and I are doing.

Posted by BrandiK at 10/04/2005 07:58:00 PM | Permalink | Comments

Wednesday afternoon one of our media girls came to my desk with 4 tickets to this weekend's OU/K-State game. So I thanked her in a very obnoxious manner because I was so super excited!!! Then, it was time for my conscience to kick in. We had already made plans with my family and several friends to get together for a big watch party. I called my cousin Wade, and his wife, Jeni, and invited them down for the game. Wade graduated from K-State. We both had to start calling and cancelling with people. I really felt bad, I really did. But I knew any one of them would have done the same thing had they had the same opportunity, and I would have encouraged it.

We left town Saturday morning about 9am. We drove straight from Wichita to the stadium. We met up with a friend of Wade's in Norman and made our way in search of the perfect tailgating space. We definitely found it. A nice open space with a great view of the stadium. We laid around, ate our food, enjoyed good conversation and got all sorts of ready for the football game.

At one point, I saw a guy who looked vaguely familiar, but of course passed it off as one of those look alike situations. Turns out he recognized me too because I caught him staring. He walked over and it turned out to be he and another guy I went to high school with. I'm still kind of shocked over the whoel thing. They were both fairly good friends in school, one of which was an ex-boyfriend. It was so nice to hear where the last 6 years has taken them.
Do you ever see people you used to know and recognize them and wonder if people ever do the same with you? Guess that answers that.

It was a really exciting game. I tried to contain the sheer excitement I was experiencing because I didn't want to stomp on the Wildcat toes of Wade and Jeni. And while the inside of the stadium was alive with football frenzy, outside the stadium was less exciting. Unfortunately a man decided his time had ended and during the second quarter killed himself on campus just outside the stadium. He blew himself up with a bomb. We all heard the explosion but shrugged it off as thunder. The school did a fantastic job of keeping it under wraps and not creating hysteria- considering we were not in any danger.

We made it home this evening, worn out. Thanks to Wade and Jeni for making it a really fun and memorable weekend. Now, let the stomach butterflies take flight as we prepare for OU/Texas. Six years in a row?!?!

Posted by BrandiK at 10/02/2005 07:47:00 PM | Permalink | Comments