Borchard Bliss

Grocery Shopping with Celiac Disease

2011-01-17T06:00:00.000-06:00

Have you ever come home to 12 bags of chips, 6 packages of cookies, 6 boxes of tea bags, 2 bottles of vanilla and 4 bags of almond flour on your front porch delivered by UPS and FedEx? Well I have! That’s what I came home to on January 3rd. Don’t worry…I did actually order it.

Truth it, this part of life now for Henry and I; except for the cookies as they are mine and mine only. Haha! At $3.68 per package, Henry can get his own cookies There are some gluten-free items that I have truly loved from the first bite I’ve tasted! After 4 months of trying various products, I’ve learned some products that I definitely can take part in over and over again. That said, shopping for them at HEB, Central Market or Whole Foods consistently can really dig into your wallet. That same cookie package is nearly $5 at HEB! Knowing that, the products I know I want, I know I’ll use are now being purchased in bulk on Amazon.com. I LOVE it! This now makes me wonder why I haven’t been trying to save by shopping on Amazon in the past!!!

So how has grocery shopping changed overall? Well, as far as what ends up in the basket when I head for the checkout, it’s really not all that different. IF I am buying pasta, then I’m buying gluten-free (usually brown rice) pasta. Bread is purchased even less than before, which wasn’t often to begin with, and it’s out of the freezer section for the GF bread. Tortillas are always corn tortillas. When sausage is purchased, it is always Jimmy Dean All-Natural sausage; each of you should be buying this anyway, regardless of your diet. Crackers are always Glutino brand crackers.

Outside of the grocery store, all flour is ordered on Amazon.com and shipped to our doorstep. Currently, we have a freezer stocked with multiple bags of each of the following:

Almond Meal/Flour
Potato Starch
Potato Flour
Brown Rice Flour
Tapioca Flour/Starch
Sorghum Flour
Gluten Free All-Purpose Flour Note: I do NOT NOT NOT recommend this flour as a replacement for All-Purpose Flour in regular recipes. It’s NOT good for this whatsoever. I use this in cooking recipes only that require an all-purpose flour for thickening. This is the red-headed step child of GF flours; used only when needed
Millet Flour
White Rice Flour
Xanthan Gum

As I have mentioned before, I am excited to learn the ways of gluten free cooking/baking, which I have indeed started, and all of this starts with the grocery shopping. Once receiving this diagnosis, I was thankful that Henry and I had truly begun to change our eating habits once we married. I gradually began shopping the outside of the store more and the inside of the store less. I actually stopped shopping the chip aisle all together! Thus, my diagnosis of CD did not turn our world completely upside down because the style of grocery shopping I need to be doing was already mostly being done.

All that said, the area that seems most difficult to others when I talked about it is shopping for condiments. There are various things that Henry and I need to look for in ingredient lists on condiments that mean gluten is in the product. For instance:

modified food starch
malt and other malt ingredients
semolina
dextrin (depends on origin)

Those are just 4 of many examples that create problems in condiments or other things in the center of the grocery store.

Hopefully that sheds some light on our grocery shopping experiences these days! If you have questions, don’t hesitate to ask.

Christmas Lights!

2011-01-10T06:00:00.001-06:00

I can’t believe I forgot to share this in my Holidays 2010 post! Henry did a fabulous job with our Christmas lights this year, and I’m really proud of him. Up close, you are able to see just how precise he was when hanging them. Now, we didn’t have a full elaborate display like Christmas yard of the month or anything, but I still think they were pretty awesome!

Of course, Ember likes to be part of everything

One night, as I helped Henry put debris and leaves out for trash pickup, a woman drove by and stopped to tell Henry thank you for putting up the lights. “My son loves them and calls them the ‘star lights!” she informed him. HOW SWEET! While he may deny his happiness from that comment, I know it made him feel so good! Good job on our lights hunny!

Holidays of 2010!

2011-01-03T06:00:00.000-06:00

We hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year

We certainly did! Thanksgiving was well celebrated at the annual Kornegay Family Reunion on Thanksgiving Day. We then proceeded to Corpus Christi for the remainder of the weekend to have some relaxation time with family. During the Christmas preparation time, we were CERTAINLY busy. It seemed as though we never stopped going or doing.

One of the things we did was attend Cody and Megan Porter’s lovely Ugly Christmas Sweater party! Want to know what we wore? Have a look…

That’s right I’m a little disappointed to say that I borrowed mine from my cousin Ashlee; I love her, but she is marrying a t-sip. Sadly, we paid money for Henry’s at Walmart, but we then quickly gave it to above said t-sip (Phil). Haha! Sweet Michele Guthrie was not impressed when she walked in the house to see what we’d worn to the party. Cody agreed to take our picture, but had a difficult time doing so. The above picture is the FINAL result, but here’s some of the messups which do provide some laughter.

This one isn’t Cody’s fault…

Not really a full view of the sweaterness…

Blurry from the laughter than ensued from a picture I shall not post.

Also, catch a glimpse of the classy….girly…matching…PAID FOR AT DILLARD’S sweaters that Michele and Mike wore.

Definitely a fun time at the Porter’s. Thanks for the fun night!

The next weekend we enjoyed a wonderful pajama party with our bible study group at Stacey and Jason Metts house! Lots of fun had by all in our white elephant gift exchange of random stuff form your house you want to get rid of. I ended up with a Brazil T-shirt. Haha!

The following day we had our carpets cleaned, and they are FABULOUS! I can’t even believe how great they look. With some very awesome stuff going on in the Borchard house in January, I definitely needed them to be cleaned. If you are looking for someone to clean yours in the Houston area, I highly recommend Restore Works of Houston. My aunt and uncle use them and recommended them to us.

The following Monday, we joined Mindy and Gordon Young, Samantha and Judson Brown, Sarah Koopersmith and Brian Miculka for dinner for Mindy’s birthday. So exciting to join all of them but cool to see Sarah and Brian while they were in town from Singapore!

During the weeks before Christmas, shocking I know, I was excited to send out our Christmas cards, which are pictured at the top of this post. I love sending out Christmas cards just a little too much. The labels this year were of equal highlight to the cards.

Continuing, our Christmas plans were short but still fun and family filled. We celebrated Christmas with the Brod family on the morning of Christmas Eve. Our white elephant gift exchange was a little more fun and mischievous this year as each one of us, besides Ashlee and Phil, bought presents from from Ashlee and Phil’s wedding registries. We selected and opened gifts as normal, but, at the end of the exchange, we all yelled “Merry Christmas” at once and placed the gifts around Ashlee and Phil. Lots of fun to surprise them with a small impromptu wedding shower on Christmas.

Christmas on Corpus followed, and we did our first white elephant gift exchange in Corpus with 20 people. It was A LOT of fun, and I think we started a new tradition there as well. Eddie and Velma (Henry’s aunt and uncle) hosted a fabulous Christmas gathering on Christmas day.

Henry and I both went back to work post Christmas, but we looked forward to gathering with Carissa, Nick, Anne and Scott for NYE. I was excited for another chance to use my new camera that Mom and Dad gave me for Christmas

The six of us had a great time eating dinner, playing board games, and ringing in the new year.

Further Fun with Friends

2010-12-01T06:00:00.000-06:00

Recently, Carissa and Nick dedicated their twins, McKenna and Jillian, at church. I don’t take the most fabulous pictures, but it was a very special time! So so happy for this wonderful family!

We also had dinner with the NEWLYWEDS and Mrs. Wann Nick or Isla were able to attend, but it was so fun to sit with Stori to hear about their move to Russia as well as hear about how Kristen and Matt have been since their wedding!

We had an AMAZING weekend in College Station to for the A&M vs. texas tech game as well! It’s always great when the team is winning, too. We decided, late in the summer, to go with Anne and Scott to a game sometime in the season, and we chose the tech game. What a great game that we chose!

Recently, some friends of ours were in town, and we got to spend some time with them while they were here! Ben and Jamie Casmer now live in Arkansas, but we love hanging out with them. Both of them have wonderful outgoing personalities and are a blast to be around. Last but not least, Ash and Phil had their first wedding shower, and I just really love this pic of me and Ash!!!

Fun Times with Friends and Family

2010-11-24T06:00:00.000-06:00

Well, it’s no secret that, lately, I’ve not been good about posting. As I look back at our pictures, I see just how bad I was doing! Here’s a look at some fun we’ve had lately

Matt and Kristen’s Wedding September 25, 2010

Henry wasn’t able to attend since his cousin got married that evening, and he was a groomsman. However, I GOT TO ATTEND!

Will enjoys pics where he looks like a ladies man

I even got to see some sweet friends and their DAUGHTERS!!! Above is Sabrina and Ashlyn.

Nick and Isla

Stori and Isla

Kristen and Matt’s Wedding

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Michael and Adriana’s Wedding

As I mentioned, Henry was a groomsman in his cousin’s wedding, and both of these weddings were north of San Antonio. After I left Kristen’s wedding, I drove over to Michael’s wedding, and it looks like I got there at just the right time!

Ashlee and Phil’s Engagement Pictures!

2010-11-22T22:08:00.001-06:00

Ash and Phil took engagement pics REALLY early in the morning this past Saturday, and they look so good! No surprising however when Studio563 is behind the lens Have a look at the fabulous sneak peak! Which one is your favorite?

Ember is a winning dog!

2010-11-19T23:10:00.001-06:00

After our last post about the K-9 Fun Run, we did attend, and Ember won 2nd place in her weight category! I think she’s probably a little frustrated with her running partner costing her 1st place. She love’s him enough though that she quickly forgave him We had so much fun, and I know Henry loved having the opportunity to see this aspect of my mother’s job. We are looking forward to coming next year! You should bring your pup, too, and join us!

Up early and excited about heading to the Fun Run!

I love that she’s mid lick in this picture.

Ember and her running partner.

Crossing the finish line!

Whoop! 2nd place!

K9 Fun Run!

2010-10-17T23:22:00.002-05:00

Want to come run/walk with us and Ember this Saturday?! It’s a lot of fun! My mother’s Vet Tech program at Tomball College is hosting their 23rd annual K9 Fun Run on Saturday morning! We are excited to take Ember :) We likely won’t be dressing her up for the costume contest, but it is a lot of fun if you want to dress up your pooch!

Seriously, come out! In the past, when I’ve attended, I’ve always had a great time :)

Who: Anyone and their pup!
What: 23rd Annual Scarlett Scamper K-9 Fun Run & Costume Contest
When: Saturday, October 23, 2010
          7:30 a.m.-packet pick-up and registration
           8:30 a.m.-costume contest
          9:00 a.m-one-mile race
Where: 30555 State Highway 249     Tomball, TX 77375-4096

Happy 10th Birthday Stella!

2010-10-08T08:41:00.001-05:00

I can’t even believe it’s been 10 years since I got Stella the day after my Junior year homecoming! I know I have the picture of my face when I received it somewhere, but I can’t find it.

I seriously love this truck…sad I know, but I totally do. She has definitely served her purpose AND WILL CONTINUE TO DO SO! I’m determined that she is not going anywhere :)

Lots of other people have enjoyed her, too! AND she has seen many states her time. Most of that is thanks to Kelly ;) Thus, it’s fitting that Stella’s name is from Kelly!

While I know pride isn’t the best thing to have, I can’t help but to share how proud I am that my truck looks so similar in condition to the day I received her…minus a tailgate. I absolutely LOVE my truck!

Happy Birthday Henry!

2010-10-07T06:38:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday to best husband in the world! Ember and I are so glad we get to celebrate your 28th birthday with you :)

Who is the culprit?

2010-10-05T07:11:00.001-05:00

Yesterday, we received a package with no name and no shipping label. I DID NOT order this. Who’s the secret sender? ;) REVEAL YOURSELF! I want to have the chance to say Thank You! :)

“Wow, that sucks.”

2010-09-28T21:23:00.001-05:00

I’ve heard this phrase a few times since hearing my “diagnosis” and sharing with others. But the truth is, unless you’ve experienced what I have over a period of 10 years, you wouldn’t really understand how this does not suck AT ALL. Just because the word “disease” is involved in the name of what supposedly “is wrong with me” does not mean that I’m wasting away or missing out on something in life. It’s quite the opposite now.

Now that a couple of doctors actually PAID ATTENTION to what I was telling them and diagnosed me correctly, despite what a few others have done in the past, I no longer have to live with one or more of the symptoms that I’ve faced on a daily basis. By labeling me with CD, I can now move on to eating food that:

makes me feel good
aids in healing my body
makes me a healthier individual
tastes better than any food I’ve eaten in my entire life (yea, that’s right, you’re missing out!)

I know there’s the wonderment of what this means for my future seeing as how there’s a minimum of 10 years damage done to my digestive system, but this has hardly been a thought in my mind. I think this has to do with the fact that I’ve been diagnosed “young” and that Dr. Flax and his nurse seemed to be so positive after hearing what I knew not only about CD but how it affects my body and my knowledge on how to prepare the right foods.

I truly am thrilled at the challenge thrown my way to create delicious food in a whole way; it was getting a little monotonous ;) You’ll be able to see Krista Kooks for more details on the food coming out of my kitchen these days.

All that said, my concerns come when thinking about the times Henry or I do not have control over what my meal selections will be or how they are prepared. Eating in Houston isn’t so bad thanks to an amazing Celiac group here in Houston as well as a decent amount of knowledge by chefs in this city. Our concerns come for when we travel to other cities or countries as well as when we eat at other people’s homes. That might sounds harsh, but, when it comes to your health, etiquette gets a little less important. This past weekend, we traveled to San Antonio. Because we stayed in a hotel (Homewood Suites), I was able to bring food I’d already prepared in order to make sure I stayed within the diet I’m supposed to. Nevertheless, we know that we’ll be able to work it out in most situations, obviously.

Overall, I’m LOVING the food I’ve been eating since the start of my diet, I’m so happy to see my body regain it’s strength, I’m thankful I FINALLY know what’s wrong with me, and I’m so glad I know how to handle all of this.

Most of all, I’m thankful for a husband that reacted in a way like no one else. He was there for me in a way that I never expected and in a way that I didn’t know was part of him. I saw a whole new side to the man I married. I can only imagine how other guys might have reacted, but he just showed me a whole new reason why he is the one God chose for me. He was there at every appt with me, asked more questions than I could think of, and never cared ONCE how this affected him. He still constantly cares to make sure that what I put in my mouth is the right thing.

Ok, I’m sure you are ready for the gushy stuff to be over ;) Next time, I’ll share how grocery shopping is a whole new world!

A CORRECT diagnosis

2010-09-27T00:10:00.001-05:00

We have a new development in our household that forever changes the rest of our lives, although it directly impacts my life. While there is much to discuss on the new subject, this particular post will be on the facts and science alone. Opinions, feelings, outcomes, future happenings, etc. will come in later posts.

In early August (I believe the 11th), I got cold/flu sick and went to see a doctor. Henry ended up having to drive me because I was SO SICK. Thus, he missed work that day. While there, I …for some strange reason…decided to bring up my history of digestive issues, which obviously was a totally separate issue. I’ve been dealing with numerous symptoms for 10 years now. I explained to the doc what I’d been through in regards to previous docs, GI docs, testing, MISDIAGNOSISES, etc., and she decided she wanted to test me for something new. I knew what that something new was, and I insisted (somewhat rudely) that she was wrong. She tested me anyway. I had to do a blood test, and thought nothing of it when I did not hear anything within 72 hours as the lab technician explained.

One week later, THE DOCTOR called; not her nurse, not the lab…THE DOCTOR. She told me that the panel she had run on me was positive. “Krista, you have Celiac disease.” Stunned…I thought of nothing better to say than, “You just turned my cooking blog upside down.”

She referred me to a GI doctor, Dr. Ira Flax. On August 31st, Henry and I met at Dr. Flax’s office and spent 2 1/2 hours with him, his nurse Helen, and a small amount of time in the lab for yet another blood test. I was being tested this time for liver damage and anemia. Both turned up negative.

Furthermore, Dr. Flax wanted to biopsy my small intestine as well as get some photographs of them. I was scheduled for an endoscopy for September 8th. Henry and I both had to take off of work. I was put under, they photographed my intestines and biopsied them as well. The results of this biopsy were no different; I still have CD.

In order to better understand what Celiac Disease is, I would highly encourage reading one of the three links below.

-CeliacCentral.org

-Celiac.org

-http://www.celiac.com/

What all of this means for me now is that I will be eating gluten free for the rest of my life as there is no pharmaceutical treatment for this diagnosis; the only treatment is to eat gluten-free. I’ve been on this diet since my biopsy was over (I was required to continue eating gluten until testing was over).

While this is not a beautiful disease to hear about when you read about the symptoms, here are the symptoms that I specifically was suffering from (that we know of, and that I’m willing to share):

-Fatigue

-Irritability

-Bloating

-Gas/Abdominal Cramping

Possible symptoms that could have been a result of this are as follows. We won’t know for sure until after being on the diet for some time.

-Headaches

-Vitamin deficiencies

-Weight gain (I HOPE THIS IS A SYMPTOM ;) )

Anyone can read for themselves, so I’ll just go ahead and put one thing to rest right NOW. Infertility is not a symptom we know was a problem for me or not as we did not try this path. For all we know, it could have been (and therefore built-in birth control) or could not have been (and we are just that talented). So no suspicions are to be made regarding that symptom ;)

Other facts and figures I think are necessary to have a look at:

One in 133 Americans have celiac disease.
Three million Americans across all races, ages and genders suffer from celiac.
95% of celiacs are undiagnosed or misdiagnosed with other conditions.
10 years is the average time a person waits to be correctly diagnosed. This is EXACTLY how long I lived with symptoms before being CORRECTLY diagnosed.
17% of celiac patients have an immediate family member who also has celiac.
Celiac disease can lead to a number of other disorders including infertility (see my note above), reduced bone density, neurological disorders, some cancers, and other autoimmune diseases.
$5,000-$12,000 is the average cost of misdiagnosis per person/per year of celiac, not including lost work time.
There are NO pharmaceutical cures for celiac disease.
A 100% gluten-free diet is the only existing treatment for celiac today.
A positive attitude, 100% of the time, helps celiacs create a gluten-free lifestyle for themselves and their affected family members.
500,000 new celiac diagnoses are expected to occur in the next 5 years thanks to efforts to raise public awareness of celiac disease.
The gluten-free marketplace is expected to reach $1.7 billion by 2010 thanks to new vendors manufacturing better tasting and more affordable products.

That is all for facts and science. As I said, there will be more posts to come on other feelings/developments/how it’s going/ etc. However, for now, this is more than enough info.

Say Grace

2010-09-17T22:19:00.001-05:00

Think I should teach Ember?!

Happy Birthday Ashlee!

2010-09-10T06:00:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday to the best cousin (aka sister ;) ) a girl could ask for!

Turks and Caicos 2010

2010-08-29T22:52:00.001-05:00

So, I know there’s probably a lot of you that are wondering why I haven’t posted on our fab vacation yet! Haha, I wonder that, too. However, I can say that life has been craaaazy busy. I’m sure I’ll catch you up on that.

However, Turks and Caicos was WONDERFUL! We both agree, however, that a 4 day stay is not enough. You need at least 5…MINIMUM! The most glorious part is, of course, the water.By far, my favorite part of the trip was laying on the beach reading a book (yes Mom, reading a book) or being in the water. It was magnificent…even for a freshwater fan like myself. I could never get tired of looking at Grace Bay. Here’s a little look at our fabulous vacation, and here’s to wishing another exotic Caribbean Island getaway comes sooner rather than later.

Oh, and here’s a look at some true Aggies ;)

Illnesses are not welcome

2010-08-12T03:45:00.001-05:00

What a day Wednesday was. First off, I went to work on Tuesday feeling fine. I mean, I thought the 2 fans that run in our bedroom might have affected me a tad, but it wasn’t anything that made me feel bad. I started to cough a little while at work, and the ladies I work with were a little concerned. I just thought it was my natural deep cough that sounded bad. However, by 2:30pm, I started to feel tightness in my chest. I thought it was a good idea to find a doc and go see them. By 5:00pm, it was hard for me to talk. Yep, it really did move that fast.

Wednesday night, I was absolutely miserable. I slept that night but not without waking up practically every hour. Wednesday morning, I still felt awful, but I thought I’d be ok enough to take care of myself for the day. Not so much. An hour after Henry left for work, my ears were pounding, and I actually felt like my equilibrium was off. When I got out of bed, I was having trouble walking in a straight line. Thus, driving myself somewhere didn’t sound wise. I asked Henry to come home and take me to the doc. By that time, I was sure whatever I had was either Strep or Flu. I had not been sick to the point of being knocked off my feet since our honeymoon when I had some sort of stomach sickness for 2 1/2 days. Rarely do I ever get THIS sick. Well, at the doc, they determined I had a fever of 100.2. Keep in mind, my normal temp is usually lower than 98.5. It’s usually 97 something. Thus, 100.2 for me is like 101 or so, I think. Also, the last time I had a fever was elementary school…REALLY! Anyway, the doc didn’t even swab me for anything, which I was surprised by, and she claims that I just have a “common cold.” Um, yea, I’m not believing that, but whatever. She drugged me up with stuff, and I’m doing what I can to get better. I slept most of the afternoon and early evening.

What feels so awful though is that, literally, on my 5th day of work, I get sick and not just any kind of sick; I can’t come to work sick. Ugh. Awesome impression. I’m just so mad about it.

Anyway, my sweet hubby and cute little pup were there for me to provide me the best medicine of all: laughter. Check out these two playing. Please excuse our mess.

Please pray that Henry doesn’t get what I have!!!

Houston Dog Show

2010-08-06T12:22:00.001-05:00

Welcome to our 100th post!!!

Saturday July 24th, Kevin, Melissa, Henry and I all went to the Dog Show at Reliant. Before I begin, guess who we saw there? :) Hint: They’ve always had multiple dogs, and they are related to me.

Melanie and Steve (my aunt and uncle)! While it was a surprise to see them, it was also not a surprise to see them :) They use to show dogs, thus the reason it wasn’t so surprising to see them.

Anyway, Melissa and I could not stop oooohing and awwwwing all of the dogs. I told Henry it was a good thing he got us a dog when he did because if we had gone to that show dog-less, I would have been in tears in less than 5 minutes easily. Melissa and I kept wondering how we were going to walk out of that show with taking another dog home!

All four of us got a really good kick out of the agility show dogs as well as obedience dogs. The tennis ball relay races were absolutely amazing. I only wish we would have done that with my Dad’s dog AC. I have no doubt she would have been CHAMPION! Even WITH no muscle in her back legs at her current age, she still manages to focus on a ball with every bit of energy she can muster. She amazes me. Anyway, I digress.

I was so excited to see that the Australian Shepards were stealing the show in the obedience shows :) Every other dog that came out, it seemed, was an Aussie. Then, as we watched the agility shows, those Australian Cattle Dogs were all about speed and bounce in getting to a tennis ball faster than the rest. It was awesome!

All four of us were highly impressed with the tons of Golden Retrievers we saw all over the show. If we would manage the hair, we were all talking about how great it would be to have one of those one day. Melissa and Kevin got to watch the Poms in their judging, while Henry and watch the Australian Cattle Dogs with the German Short Haired Pointers right next to them in the next ring. I was surprised to see myself get that excited about it even though I had no comprehension of what the judges were looking for. Ah well, at least it was fun to watch.

After the show, Henry and I introduced Kevin and Melissa to the Black Walnut :) Another 2 people hooked. Haha! We are obsessed with that place, and I’m not sure why it’s so delicious to us. It was a super fun day, and I’m sure Ember is glad it’s just her still; I don’t think she’d like us very much if we made her share the attention we dish out ;) Haha!

Here’s a few videos of some of the AWESOME dogs at the show :)

I wish I could own a dog like this first one! It was gorgeous!

The human in this next video seems to think it’s about him and not about the dog :/

Pretty awesome dog in this next one!

Again, another super awesome dog. Sorry for my not so awesome videography skills. You can Henry in the beginning pretending he’s the dog ;)

Some tricks, more later (hopefully)

2010-07-31T06:00:00.000-05:00

Here’s a quick look at some of the commands/tricks we’ve been able to teach Ember. Some of them aren’t so sharp at this time, but they’ll get better with practice. In fact, they already have since this video was captured! We are working on others with her, so we are hoping (keeping fingers crossed) that she can learn more :)

Ellie Benkendorfer

2010-07-29T15:35:00.001-05:00

Our dear sweet friends, Brian and Lisa Benkendorfer, welcomed their first child into the world today. Sweet Ellie Ann was born at 32 1/2 weeks and is 3lbs. 7oz. She will be in the NICU for quite some time and is definitely in need of some prayers, though she has some terrific and loving parents. Please also join Henry and I in praying for Ellie’s magnificent mother, Lisa, in her healing.

Above all, I know Brian and Lisa are truly thankful to the Lord above for the support they receive, mostly from their family and also that they have wonderful baby girl!

Again, please send up prayer(s) for this new family of 3 (4 if you want to count Sarge :) )!

Watch Ember Anytime

2010-07-27T06:00:00.000-05:00

So, as you may have noticed, I’ve been posting quite a few videos of Ember on YouTube that I then share here on our blog. Well, I won’t be posting every single video here, but I did want to share our YouTube channel with you so that you can see the latest of our videos at any time!

http://www.youtube.com/user/kbtoreador

Most of the videos are of Ember, but there are other videos in there as well. Here’s a quick one to share with you just for kicks :)

Addison Joy’s Sip N’ See

2010-07-24T06:00:00.000-05:00

FINALLY! The post that lets me know I’m mostly caught up! Whoop! I am so excited to share details from our trip to Mississippi!

It’s been a long time since I’ve been there, but it was actually kind of…uh, home-like?…to be able to drive there. I’m pretty sure I drove there twice in high-school/college. I’m not positive, but I think that’s right. It’s much nicer to be able to make that drive with Henry now :) After leaving Madisonville, LA, we headed for Taylorsville which is where the Gambrell Manor (as Kelly would call it) sits. On our way, I had Henry exit Hardy St off of 59 so that I could show him a little bit of University of Southern Mississippi. He’s met so many of Kelly and Matthew’s friends from college after marrying me that I thought he should know where all these peeps came from…sort of. He really liked it! Plus, as Sally and I discussed, it was cool for me to be able to see how much it’s CHANGED since I saw it last. A&M and USM definitely have that in common right now; LOTS O’ CHANGE.

Anyway, we got to the Gambrell’s around 2:30, and Henry was able to meet sweet Addison :) We had a great time with family that evening and Laurie (Kelly’s Mom) and Kelly had prepared an amazing dinner for everyone that night! So delicious!

The next day was sweet Addison’s Sip N’ See!Sally, Laurie and I were soooo excited! Laurie did so much for this amazing little party, and you’ll see it all in the video and the photos. She did an absolutely incredible job. She made table runners with painted polka dots on them, painted polka dots on brown pots, put pretty purple flowers in the pots with fun lavender and brown crinkle paper at the base, made cute brown, lavender and light green bows to stand up in the plants, prepared some AMAZING food (more in a second), and ordered delicious cupcakes from Teresa’s bakery!

Sally made super cute life saver pacifiers, which I forgot to take a picture of, but they look like the ones I posted a picture on for Carissa’s shower. She also made a gorgeous diaper cake, which you will also see later. I made the invitations that you see above, but Laurie and Sally really helped me in getting the wording and fonts right :) They also selected the perfect invitations! I also made some cookies, which, again, you’ll see later.

So, here’s the awesome menu that Laurie put together for the Sip N’ See. It was all delicious!

Pulled Pork Sliders with Pickled Red Onions
Tequila-Lime Chicken Wings
Italian Pasta Salad
Cheesy Potatoes
Watermelon Salad
Crunchy Chinese Coleslaw

Almond Sugar Cookies
Raspberry Mint Iced Tea
Sugar-Free Lemonade

And at the Sip Station:

Assorted Hot Teas (I think had about 1.2 million different choices, hahah!)

Regular Coffee

Decaf Coffee

Hazelnut Coffee

One other specialty kind that I’ve already forgotten :/

Have a look at the setup of the food!

Here’s just a couple of my favorite pics from the Sip N’ See. Fun video Henry took…kinda.

Also, I loooooooove this video of me and Addison talking. Check out what word I got her to mimic :) Aggie? I think sooooooo!

Also, one of Kelly and Matthew’s friends made super cute shirts for 3 sweet little girls. Check it out!

Lastly, here’s a look at a video of pics from the Sip N’ See :) This is one of my favorite Animoto videos yet :)

Please also check out Sally’s blog for some great details about the Sip N’ See.

Visiting Nick, Stori and Isla in Madisonville, LA

2010-07-22T06:00:00.000-05:00

Ok, I promised stuff about Mississippi today, but it’s going to have to wait. There’s too much between seeing Nick, Stori and Isla as well as everything is Mississippi; they need their own posts :)

On our trek to Mississippi, we decided that it would be super awesome if we could stop in on Nick and Stori to not only see their house that we hadn’t seen in 2 whole years, but we could also meet sweet Isla! Pictures and videos just weren’t cutting it for us anymore :) We very much enjoyed getting to catch up with both Nick and Stori, too. It’s been since Christmas, I think, since we’ve been able to really see and talk with both of them. They were able to show us Madisonville, which is very cute by the way, and take us to one of their favorite restaurant, Friends. Loved it!

But, I’m sure they would agree, the best part of our stay there was meeting Isla! I know everyone knows this, but check out how natural my hubby is :)

Check out Isla’s outfit for dinner :)

Henry got his last few oooohs and ahhhhs in the next morning, too. Sadly, we forgot to get pics with Nick and Stori :(

We had so much fun though, and Isla is so much fun to be around!

Corpus Family Vacation and Borchard Family Pictures

2010-07-20T08:19:00.001-05:00

Ok, I’m really getting caught up now!!! The first full week of July, Henry and I took 2 different trips; one to Corpus and one to New Orleans/Mississippi. Well, this post is on the Corpus part of that trip; NO/MS is to come on Thursday.

So, July 2nd, we loaded up the car, including Ember, and we headed down to Corpus. This was Ember’s first REALLY long car ride. Henry and I were both really surprised at how well she did. Were were planning to make 3 stops, but ended up only having to make 2 because she slept sooooooo hard on the first part of the trip. She even ate her lunch in the moving car :)It’s quite odd looking at these pictures as I share these with you because she’s grown so much more since I took these pictures!

Anyway, when we arrived in Corpus on Friday, the first order of business was family pictures! Bellezza Photography took the photos, and Kateri did a great job! See, Hurricane Alex had made landfall the day before, so she was fighting some pretty tough winds to get good pictures of us. You can check out the results by clicking here. Here’s one teaser picture, but you have to go to the link above or the picture below to see more :)

Kateri did a great job, and I’m so glad that we have family pictures now! Apparently no professional pics have been taken since Justine was a baby or earlier. Glad that there’s record of her being here now :) Hehe!

Moving on, we were also impressed with how well Ember did in Corpus with her daily routine. She had nooooo problem at all with the new surroundings and getting some good sleep. Most of all, she had lots of fun playing with Eddie and Velma’s dog Boomer! He’s a Lab/Weimer mix and so so sweet!

So what did WE do in Corpus? Well, ummmm, I have absolutely 0 pictures of that :/ Sorry. Mostly it was hanging out with family, swimming in the pool, and cooking meals. Nothing specifically planned or any outings. It was a good time though. Ember and I did sleep through the July 4th fireworks though :) I feel bad that I have no pics, but I just never had my camera around me during our stay. Most of the pics above are from my phone anyways.

Anyway, we had a good time, and Ember was super cute on the car ride home! She loves her Daddy lots! Ok, well this ended up being all about Ember, sorry! We had a great time in Corpus though!

My 26th birthday

2010-07-18T13:00:00.000-05:00

Again…lateness. I’m getting caught up, I promise.

Sunday June 27th was my 26th birthday. Yep, that means next year is my golden birthday! 27 on the 27th! I’m excited about that one! Anyway, after trying out Ouisie’s Table for Katie and David’s rehearsal dinner, I was looking for a good reason to go back there. Their food is terrific! So, for dinner, my parents, Melanie & Steve, Ashlee & Phil, Alicia & Ralph, Justine, and 2 of the Borchards friends joined Henry and I for dinner. Everything was so delicious! If you haven’t tried this delicious restaurant, you totally should :)The soon-to-be-wed peeps :) So, if you haven’t seen Justine lately, this picture should be the most shocking thing in this entire post. Seriously, how did she get to be that grown up?! To be able to celebrate with friends, Henry and I planned dinner at Amazon Grill that following Tuesday. Again, if you haven’t tried this place either, you totally should! Henry and I love that place! It’s an order-at –the-counter style restaurant. Anyway, Kevin & Melissa, Kristen & Matt, Desirae & Jeremy, and Anne & Scott joined us for dinner :) Yes, I did say Anne and Scott! They are in town through November on a special assignment for Anne for work. So awesome to be able to do things with them so EASILY! Sorry, no pics from this dinner :/

Thanks to all who sent cards and joined me for dinner for my birthday! I had a blast celebrating my 26th :)

Now we get to look forward to celebrating Henry’s 28th on October 7th :)

Chase is in the Army

2010-07-15T06:00:00.000-05:00

This is yet another LATE post considering when Chase left. Sorry :/Anyway, I may have told some people, but, my cousin, Chase, has officially left for Basic Training (BT) in the Army! He left on June 22nd. Ronnie, Teresa, Ashlee, Phillip, Mom, Dad and I all went to the airport to see him off. He actually began BT on June 28th, and he will have graduation on September 2nd. From there, he will continue on in his job training that will go throughout Fall.

Ronnie, Teresa and Ashlee have already received a couple letters from him, and he seems to be doing well. He’s set some goals for himself in his PT test in order to pass with flying colors.

Here’s some more pics of Chase’s departure from IAH! Chase has a very WELL PACKED backpack. This is all he was allowed to take, so Teresa helped him pack it to the max!

Now, here is where I need your participation MORE THAN EVER! If you’d like, please leave a comment of some kind to Chase. I will print this post and it’s comments and send to Chase. Any words of encouragement that you’d like give him would be much appreciated :) Thanks!

Ann’s Baby Shower

2010-07-13T06:00:00.000-05:00

Yes, I’m even super late on this post, too. Seeing as how Abigail has already arrived and I haven’t even posted about the shower yet, I’d say that’s pretty well behind.

Regardless, here’s some of the fun details!

Adrienne and I had some fun planning this for Ann. Our menu consisted of the following:

Pampered Chef Chicken Club Crescents (individual sized instead of in ring form)

Hummus

Spinach and Bacon Dip

Fruit and Vegetables

Cotton Candy Jelly Bellies

Lime Jelly Bellies

M&M Pretzels

Almond White Cake with Raspberry Filling

Almond Sugar Cookies

Fat Free White Milk

1% Chocolate Milk

1% Strawberry Milk

Pink Lemonade

Tea

Lime Water

Adrienne also brought some great arrangements of flowers to accent our display of food and drinks :)

Along our accent wall in our dining room, I hung some green fabric that matched the invitations. I also printed some pics of Ann and Adam’s wedding as well as some maternity pics and hung those on the green fabric as well.

I think the best part of everything set up though was THE CAKE!!! We were able to order a delicious cake from Kakes by Klassic! She did an absolute fabulous job and matched the invitation PERFECTLY! Best of all, it tasted AMAZING!

Here’s a look at the fun we had :)

To D.C. to meet Addison Joy

2010-07-11T18:31:00.001-05:00

Well, Henry and I are back from our week+ long vacay, but there will be more to come on that. I have more stuff to catch up on from May and June, believe it or not.

I am elated that Kelly and Matthew have a their new bundle of joy as of April 1, 2010, and, to somewhat fulfill my excitement, I booked a trip to meet her in May. I was there for 4 days just after Carissa’s baby shower. That said, I’m seriously ashamed that I have been so incredibly busy that I couldn’t post about this fabulous trip until nearly one month later. So wrong!!! Nonetheless, I’m glad I can share some about her, but just know that this info on her development is OF COURSE outdated, and you should see the Grant Gang’s blog for more updates on how she is now :)

I left Houston EARLY early on Monday morning and flew to D.C. I met Kelly and Addison at a Metro stop NE of DC, and we traveled back to her apartment. Unfortunately, Matthew had to be away for training with work for 11 days, so I didn’t get to see him. Kelly, Addison, Piper and I hung out for 4 days and pretty much just played with Addison and did stuff for her. That’s the fun of it!!! :) Throughout my stay, I think Kelly would agree that the pic below is her absolute favorite:At the time, Kelly didn’t have any pictures to prove Addison was smiling, but I caught her in a full grin while she talked on the phone with her Daddy :)

Here’s a fun video of Addison and you can catch glimpses of Piper playing with Addison!

Addison was able to talk to her Mia, too! Mia is Kelly’s mom :)

Addison was also working very hard on rolling over from her stomach to her back. She successfully did this the day after I left :)

Here’s a few other fun glimpses at Addison:”I’m ready for toe-touches, Mom!” Big beautiful eyes This crunchy paper on her belly was lots of fun for her to play with. Check out the length on this almost 2 month old :) Mommy playing with her sweet girl.

And because Piper matters, too ;)Here’s some of my faves of me and the sweet girl :) Pretty soon I’ll be able to show you how much she’s changed with info on her from this past weekend :)

Ember’s First Rain Shower, Mile Walk and Bath

2010-06-29T11:57:00.001-05:00

This is really short and quick since the video is long :) Last night, the two of us decided to take Ember on a mile long walk as her previous walks were barely 1/4 mile. As we neared the end of the walk it started to rain! We figured now was as good a time as any to give Ember her first bath since she was already wet…and so were we :) Here’s a look at Ember’s first bath!

Happy Birthday Mom!

2010-06-28T07:26:00.001-05:00

Alicia celebrates her birthday today! Happy Birthday! We love you!

Update on Ember

2010-06-28T00:01:00.000-05:00

Wow, so we are learning more and more about this sweet puppy every day! After talking with Mom more and looking at pics online, we are thinking she looks more like she has German Shorthaired Pointer in her. Want to know why? Look at one of them: Source of photo

Click the source to see more photos of this breed.

I think this photo shows that this breed has so many similarities to sweet Ember! We still think her other half is likely Australian Cattle Dog, but it’s possible it could also be Australian Shepard. Additionally, Mom believes, after checking her teeth, that she probably wasn’t quite 3 months when we got her. She’s thinking maybe 10 weeks. If that’s so, then we NOW have a 3 month old :)

She’s growing so fast, and I can see it! I can also feel it when I pick her up, haha! I think she’s likely 15 pounds by now, and she was 12 when we got her. I’ll find out at her Vet appt today her actual weight.

Here’s some new pics of her lately!I took this pic early in the morning on June 20th as it shows some big green sleepies in her eyes :( I think she just has grass allergies, and the freshly mowed lawn flared her up.My sneaky little girl ;) While I was on the computer, she decided she wanted to lay in the office with me :) She was playing a little rough with Uncle Ronnie; playful little girl.She loves her granddaddy!While she loves being at Grandmommy and Granddaddy’s house, she’s always one tired puppy at the end of the day!She is no stranger to car rides, and she was certainly ready to ride home sleeping after a long day! She REALLY loves her Aunt Justine! She even used her as a pillow!

She was having lots of fun playing with her Daddy!

We give her this Kong toy to play with and chew on which is stuffed with treats that she has to fish out of it. This time, she had some unusually difficult treats to get out, and it took her an hour! Lots of entertainment :)

Her Aunt Ashlee has also successfully taught her to lay down on command! Whoop!

We are loving our sweet Ember!

Dad’s Birthday Celebration

2010-06-27T00:39:00.001-05:00

Friday, my Dad was SUPPOSED to be surprised with two birthday celebrations, but only one was truly a surprise. We left early Friday morning to head to my parents’ house. Henry told Dad to get ready because he was taking him golfing. Along with Henry and Dad, Dad’s long-time friend, Mike Espinedo and his wife, came down from Dallas so that Mike could go golfing with them. To complete their group of four, my Uncle Ronnie also joined them. To my understanding, my Dad was certainly surprised, very thankful, and they all had a great time golfing at Augusta Pines…minus the serious heat and humidity that day.

Post golfing, Mom and I had setup a surprise party for him that evening. Well…somehow he found out about it, but that was basically expected by anyone that knows him :) He was able to celebrate with lots of friends, and I am so thankful to each one of you that was able to come! THANK YOU!!!! Here are a few pics from the party and the whole day. This is Mike :)Here are some photo slideshows that I made for Dad. The first is earlier years and the second is more recent years.

Hope you enjoyed your birthday Dad!

Happy 50th Birthday Dad!

2010-06-25T10:00:00.000-05:00

We love you!

Ember’s a smart girl!

2010-06-18T09:10:00.001-05:00

Henry and I are discovering what an extremely smart dog we have on our hands! Yes, she has improving to do in areas, but I’m baffled at the improvement she has made already!

I’ve already informed you of her quick learning of “Sit.” Even better though, she can do it with only a hand motion now :) She doesn’t need to actually hear the word! I’m still working on laydown. She doesn’t grasp that yet.

On Wednesday, we allowed her to take another car ride with us to deliver food to friends in our bible study. They have a new addition as well, but much more important: they have a 10 day old baby boy! Anyway, Ember did pretty well in car. Mommy should have stopped and let her use the RR, so her accidents are not her fault; they are Mommy’s fault.

She was able to play with our friends’ lab when we got to their house, and she played great! She wore herself out, too! On the way home, she actually laid down and was quite sleepy. It was too cute not to photograph :)That’s one worn out puppy!

Yesterday, I went to Walmart for a bit during one of her naps and decided to get her a new toy :) She’s already begun the destruction process on this one, too :)Last night, her Granddaddy and Grandmommy came over to meet her and play with her! She was really good and greeted them with love. They even brought her some treats and new toys to play with! She was a little over stimulated at first, but it definitely didn’t last long. Then, her granddaddy taught her to play ball!

At the end of this 2nd video, she plops down because she was already so tired from having chased the ball so much :) Ember is in love with her new toys and her new playground!

We still haven’t introduced her to half of the house yet. We are waiting for a while to do that.

We love our new sweet puppy!

Her name is Ember!

2010-06-15T17:12:00.001-05:00

We decided to name this sweet little girl ‘Ember.’ Congrats to my Mom for making the winning suggestion :) I suppose it’s only fair since I named Summer. ;)

As you might be able to tell, Ember took her SECOND car ride. On Monday morning, she and I went to her first Vet visit. She got to experience a ride in Stella!

I’ve learned that she really does like car rides. I can she she’s skittish, as all dogs are, at the newness of it, but she loves to look out the window at the surroundings, the air from the A/C on her face, and truly wants to walk over to Mommy’s lap sometimes.

I wasn’t planning on taking her so quick after her surgery, but her first potty trip outside on Monday morning showed me that she had some creatures in her. Thus, I decided we should get it medicated right away. She did so well at the Vet! I honestly think she likes her Doc better than me, haha! She weighs 12 pounds and her Doc said she looks great. She did have tapeworms, but she looks to be fine now after her meds.

I love this picture. After being awake longer than she’s used to, riding in the car, going to the vet, and many other new experiences, I had a tired puppy on my hands! She laid down in her seat and started to close her eyes.

Later that evening, her Daddy came home and started to play with her! However, her biting is the big problem we are working on. I love this video because, to me, her behavior really shows that she understands that Daddy is Alpha and she better not mess with him. That said, she still loves him and wants to play, as you can see…

In this next video, she’s playing with her toy, which had already been partially destroyed. Mommy sewed it up during her 3pm-5pm nap though.

That said, the stuffing has since been destroyed, squeaker removed, and we are now left with just the rope. What a shocker.

Today I also finally got a good shot of her during her nap in her crate. She has finally learned that the pillows I put in there for her are comfortable. Her Daddy successfully taught her to sit on command last night! I couldn’t believe it! Just one day, and she’s already sitting. She is also very well trained at using the restroom outside, too. I am just astonished at how quickly she is learning.

Hopefully my next report has just as much to say!

Our New Puppy!

2010-06-13T20:34:00.001-05:00

There’s not much to say as the pics and videos are WAY cuter :) She’s 3 months old. No name for her yet as we are still unsure. Suggestions are welcome :)

Happy Birthday Emily!

2010-06-11T00:01:00.000-05:00

A sweet, caring, dedicated and clever young lady :)

We can’t wait to celebrate with you! Love you lots and have a terrific birthday!!!

Carissa’s Beautiful Twins Baby Shower

2010-06-10T06:00:00.000-05:00

On May 15th, Rachel, Hayley, Hayley’s Mom and I put together a super duper cute twins baby shower for Carissa! It was so much fun, and I know much appreciated. Hayley’s mother did a fabulous job decorating her home for Carissa. Here’s a look at the invitations we created for the shower, but of course, for privacy reasons, I’ve whited some things out.

And the enclosure to go with it! This is helpful, I think, because you can take this enclosure to the stores that the honoree is registered at without having to bring the entire invitation. This was only a 2.5” x 2.5” card. Now, I didn’t get many pics of the action at the shower, but in my true Krista Kooks form, I got pics of ALL the food :)

Hayley and her Mom made these. They are little trees with baby stuff pinned all over them. Anything from booties or bibs to onesies and bows :) There were two of these trees.

These are Hayley’s chicken crescents :) Petit Fours! Yum! From Maureen’s Bakery in Sugarland.Cucumber sandwiches and pimento cheese sandwiches. Fruit Kabobs! Hayley’s Spinach balls :) Beverages Table. The ever-famous Coffee Punch. I’m confident I drank half of this punch. There were two of these on the beverage table since it’s, obviously, twins :) Life Saver/Jelly Belly pacifiers! Cynthia was able to fly down for the weekend to be here for Carissa’s shower, and I just LOVE this picture! Thanks Rachel!

It was a lot of fun to be able to do this for Carissa, and Henry and I are so looking forward to the arrival of their twin girls!

Mother’s Day 2010

2010-06-08T19:43:00.001-05:00

I know I know, I haven’t updated on hardly anything for over a month, and I don’t apologize for it. Henry and I have done a lot of living in the past month, and it’s been fun…for the most part.

Here’s just a quick look at what I was able to make for my wonderful grandmother and great Aunt for Mother’s Day as a gift from the entire family (Dad, Mom, Ronnie, Teresa, Ash, Chase, Henry and me)! I have tons of improvement to do in this area, but I’m decently happy with the results.

I wish I had pictures of what they looked like after the lilies opened. “What did you get your Mom, Krista?” Uh….time with me and Henry :)

PawPaw

2010-05-30T10:57:00.001-05:00

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/houstonchronicle/obituary.aspx?n=billy-raye-brod&pid=143200969

She’s 13!!!!

2010-05-12T06:00:00.000-05:00

Oh my goodness. I can’t even believe that Justine Marie is already 13 years old :)And you thought EMILY was the meteorologist ;) J/K. This is from when Alicia, Justine, Henry and I went to watch Emily in studio back in November. She’s pointing to Houston for us.

Back to the point of this post. It’s hard for Henry and I to believe that just two years ago, this was Justine.

She’s truly growing into a mature young lady :)Happy Birthday sweet Justine! Henry and I love you so much!

Long Time No See

2010-05-06T06:00:00.000-05:00

Sorry for my slackerness! I had promised more details on our trip to San Antonio during the last weekend of April. We really had a blast.

Friday when we arrived in SA, we went straight to Quarry Golf Club so that Henry could play some golf :) I had fun riding in the cart next to Henry and watching him play his FAVORITE game! :)

Later that night, we decided to try out another Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives restaurant. We drove in towards downtown to try out The Cove. We loved it! The atmosphere is really fun, lots of families, but still really good HEALTHY food! We were so glad we tried it out! We also tried out Red Mango for dessert, which was new to us. Very delicious though!

The next morning present the ‘Long Time No See’ part of the weekend :). When I was in Elementary School, I attended the YMCA After School program in the cafeteria of our school. One of my counselors, Kathy, kept in touch with me long after Elementary school. We wrote letters to one another, she was great about spending time with me when she could, and even allowed me to be a part of her wedding. The last we remember seeing one another was her baby shower for her first son. We lost touch :/

My parents and I were really bummed when we couldn’t find her for Henry and I’s wedding 2 years ago. Several months ago, I received a Facebook alert on my phone, and it was a friend request from Kathy!!! I started flipping out and Henry thought something was wrong. Haha! I mean, it’s been about 9 or 10 years since we had spoken last. I was really excited.

Well, she, her husband, and 3 boys are in San Antonio now! We were able to make arrangements for all of us to get together for brunch that Saturday morning. We were both really excited to see one another :)After brunch, we joined them all on a trip to Bass Pro Shop and enjoyed watching the boys’ faces light up :) Sadly, I failed in capturing a picture of their youngest, Caleb, but the above pics are of Brandon and Alex.

It’s nice to be reconnected again!

After brunch, Henry and I went shopping for our first time at La Canterra, and I got some good stuff :)

It was a fun weekend in San Antonio!

Our New Backyard!

2010-05-03T18:04:00.001-05:00

Oh finally!!! It’s ALL done!!! Remember the post I made from before that showed the massive Borchard pond in our yard? If not, look here really quick. Did you SEE all of that water?!

Ok, so, check out this photo before the landscapers (Turf Plus) came to begin the work, and take note of the trees that are labeled. Notice the trees. Also, in the bottom left corner there is an oleander plant and a large rock underneath it.

Now, here’s the new backyard!Check out the 4 less trees! Notice the Oleander is gone :) There’s also a LOT MORE GRASS!

Now here is a more detailed look at the in process stuff. During: Lots of shoveling done on Thursday and Friday! After:

These pictures start to show the drain installation process. They tied the downspout on our garage into the drain that eventually runs out to the street. During: After (same as above picture, but it shows the finished product here): This is along our neighbor’s fence. During:After:

This is the area right next to our garage and just behind our deck where the large rock sits. During: This is an extreme difference mostly because of all the new grass!After: This is a look at the ground area underneath our Magnolia tree. During: Some much grass! After: We hope all the new drainage will prevent this from happening again: We are so excited about our first MAJOR project completed!

Rebekah and Will’s Wedding

2010-04-25T16:39:00.001-05:00

This weekend, Henry and I went to San Antonio for a wedding for some of our friends: Rebekah and Will. While there’s more details to come and other stuff we did in SA, I’m just going to keep this post all about Rebekah and Will :)

The two of them had a gorgeous wedding at Red Berry Mansion in San Antonio, and it was all outdoors. Rebekah looked gorgeous, as she always does :), and the details were great, too! In keeping with my posts lately, I made another fun video of the pictures that both and Henry and I took.

You’ll also get to see some of our other friends in these pictures including Ben, Jamie, Matt, Tracy, Lacy, Jared, Jess.

Enjoy, and let me know what you think of all these videos I’ve been making :)

Katie and David’s Wedding

2010-04-14T05:00:00.000-05:00

Congratulations to the new Tennent couple! Katie Shinn…er, Katie Tennent…and I worked together in the Aggie Ring Office. We became great friends quite quickly, and we have kept in touch since then. My favorite memory of Katie is that she was the first one back in College Station to really congratulate me after Henry and I got engaged. After our weekend of celebrating, I returned to work that Monday to find a flower and Knot magazine waiting for me at my desk over in Traveling Aggies :) She made me feel like a truly special NEW fiancé that day :)

Nonetheless, I was so excited to be able to help Katie with HER big day! She and David tied the knot on March 27th. David’s family hosted a MAGNIFICENT rehearsal dinner at Ousie’s Table on the 26th. The company and food were absolutely terrific. Here’s a funny pic from that evening. Henry ordered the delectable Chicken Fried Steak, and this is what accompanied his meal…Have you ever seen a smaller bottle of Tobasco?!

Anyway, I didn’t get any pictures of the ceremony at the chapel or any pictures of the reception hardly, but I did get a lot of pictures of the details beforehand :) Have a look…

Thank you so much, Katie and David, for allowing us to be a part of your special day! It was magnificent!

Reception: Trevisio Restaurant
Florist: Petals by Design
Photographer: Studio Capture (not of any of the pics posted in this post though, just of the portrait in the pictures)

Blessing is named Addison Joy :)

2010-04-10T15:11:00.000-05:00

Ok, I can’t stand it, and I want to scream with excitement! I’m writing this on April 2nd, but I’m saving and holding onto this until Kelly or Matthew has the chance to blog about this themselves, first. It’s only fair :) Writing about it now though is therapeutic for me and makes me feel like I was able to scream about this amazing little girl that was born last night (er, April 1st at 9:16pm ET)! She was 9lbs 7 ounces and 22 inches long.

Mom endured 38 hours of labor and spent the last 4 pushing to bring Addison Joy into the world. God bless her.
Dad was there every step of the way!
Even sweet Mia (Kelly’s mom) was able to be there for sweet Addison’s arrival.

I could not be prouder or happier for my wonderful friend, sister and compadre, Kelly. I never imagined in 1997 that this girl acting silly next to me would grow to mean so much, nor did I think I would be anxiously awaiting the birth of her first child. She’s a beautiful Mom with an adorable daughter, and I can’t wait to see them! …and Matthew and Piper, too, of course!

P.S. Check out this adorable picture of her in the beanie her Aunt Krista and Uncle Henry got her :)

Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo 2010

2010-04-09T06:00:00.000-05:00

Well, I’m certainly late posting this update! That said, I put a little more work into than normal :) I hope you like!

This year, we had the opportunity to see Darius Rucker, Keith Urban and the Black Eyed Peas. Unfortunately, I do not have a single pic from the BEP concert, sorry. We did get to take Rachel and Patrick with us though! It was a lot of fun.

Ann Theall invited Henry and I to join her and Adrienne for the Darius Rucker concert, and we had a blast. I’m so excited to meet Miss Abigail when she becomes the daughter to Adam and Anne in late June or early July!

Henry and I were certain after last year’s performance that we would go see Keith Urban again. Oh and did we! We had awesome seats. We sat club level, front row!!!! We were in the middle of the stadium, also, so we got to see a lot of action. Those are probably the best seats we’ve ever had in Reliant.

Here’s a video of pictures from both the Darius Rucker concert and the Keith Urban concert. Note, there is sound; consider yourself warned.

What do you think? :)

Also, here’s some funny videos of Henry and I during the Darius Rucker concert. FYI, I’m very aware that I cannot sing to save my life.

Watch Henry at the end of this video. It cracks me up!

Lastly, here’s some cool videos from the rodeo portion of the evening at Keith Urban. The bulls that night were unusually crazier than normal.

In this first one, The bull wouldn't go back in the chute and kept charging at the gates a little. The rider had been off of him for a while now. He was definitely not being cooperative.

This next ride goes really fast. You can see the rider get bucked off and then the bull tries to go after each of the three rodeo clowns before he goes into the chute. Crazy!

This last one you can tell the bull is just oh-so-clever.

HLSR was really fun this year, and I can’t wait for next year! One day, it’d be great to be able to go to the cook-off! I’ve never been :(

Our Wonderful New Sheets

2010-04-07T06:00:00.000-05:00

I mentioned before in our 2nd Anniversary post that we had purchased new sheets as a gift to one another for our anniversary seeing as how the 2nd anniversary gift is supposed to be cotton, traditionally.

After about 2 weeks of enjoying these lovely sheets, we can definitely say that they were worth it! 800 thread count Egyptian cotton calls our name every night :) We actually strayed away from the typical white that we have had in the past and got silver. Who knew?! I’m sure you all thought I’d purchase in the red, black, or white categories, but we actually got silver!

Now, it’s not absolutely the perfect color choice for our bedroom, but I was trying to think towards the future. You see, guests will sleep on these sheets sooner than later, we hope :) This furniture and bedding will move into the guest room and take on a whole new look once Henry and I are able to purchase new bedroom furniture for ourselves.

Nonetheless, we are loving these sheets for now, and I’m sleeping WAY more than I was before. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea…

Henry’s Great Accomplishment

2010-04-05T06:00:00.000-05:00

Some of you might be aware that of what Henry has been working towards over the last few months, but I haven’t shared before…only because he wouldn’t let me.

At the beginning of January, Henry started a weight loss competition at work with his co-workers, and Henry is leading the competition. By leading, I don’t necessarily mean winning, I just mean he began the competition. This is Henry at Christmas time this year. He’s been committed to this change of lifestyle and really been focusing on what he eats when he’s out to lunch or dinner as well as making sure he’s active at least twice a week, and most of the time it’s much more than that.

Surprisingly, I do not have a current picture of him that is not just a headshot. I know I know. How can that be, right?

Well, I can tell you he’s lost over 15 pounds, and there’s a good chance that he’s lost 20. I’m just not positive about that one.

The competition at work ends on April 12th, and I know it would be great if he had one last fabulous push! Send words of encouragement his way as it would be wonderful for him, I know :)

He has an overall goal of getting back down to around the size that the was when we started dating, but that is a goal he hopes to reach by the end of the year I believe, not by April 12th :)

The competition at work does have a monetary prize. Each of the individuals in the competition put in $20. There are two categories: % of weight lost and % of body fat lost. I know he is currently somewhere at the top of the board in weight loss, but I don’t know his actual placement.

We’ll let you know how it goes! :)

I want a Dog!

2010-04-03T12:33:00.001-05:00

That is all.

Just me…wanting a dog..REALLY REALLY bad.

Have a Happy Easter :)

Our Second Anniversary Trip

2010-03-24T22:32:00.001-05:00

Well, this weekend we planned a trip to Dallas for our 2nd anniversary :) It was really fun! We weren’t wrapped up in doing anything special; just getting away and having time together. We decided to stay at the W Hotel Dallas. Below are some pics of the hotel. (Click image for source)

The hotel is pretty, and the bathroom rain shower is awesome. However, overall, we weren’t entirely pleased with the hotel. We’ll be returning to our Hilton favorites :)

Saturday night, we just had a chill night and ate at Desperado’s on Greenville. We did a little bit of shopping as well. It also snowed a lot!!! The picture below is a picture we took with our sunroof open as it was snowing :)

Sunday, we woke up, and look how much snow there was! If you see white, it was snow :)

We worked out at the fabulous fitness center at the W first on Sunday. Then, we got ready as we were headed to surprise my friend Cynthia for her birthday! Henry and I schemed with Mike to come in and surprise her. We met them at La Duni for lunch. I wish I had captured her reaction on film somehow because it was awesome. She was SOOOOO excited and shocked. I didn’t tell her, but people started looking as she being shreaking, hahaha! It was really cute. We went to their house and hung out a bit afterwards, too. Later that night, Henry took me to the Old Warsaw for dinner.

Monday, we, again, worked out and got ready to check out and leave Dallas. We decided to go to lunch at Twisted Root Burger Company after having seen it in the past on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. We then went and did a little more shopping for our anniversary present! It was Henry’s idea that we get new bed sheets since the traditional second anniversary gift is cotton. Isn’t he awesome?! We decided on some Hotel Collection 800 thread count Egyptian Cotton sheets at Macy’s :)

Following our activities in Dallas, we also wanted to surprise our friend Courtney for her birthday! We also schemed with Will to surprise her. I finally remembered to get her reaction, so have a look at the video here. Sorry…I’m not a good videographer.

I love the beginning when Henry says we are surprising ‘Corky’ because that’s what Courtney’s nieces and nephews call her :) We went to dinner with them at Villa Montez. After staying the night with them, Henry and I got up early and drove back to Houston.

Tuesday afternoon, we went to Bergamos Spa in Friendswood and got a couples massage. It was awesome!

It was a great anniversary and we are so excited to have celebrated two wonderful years!

It's 2 Years Today!

2010-03-22T06:00:00.011-05:00

It's baffling to us that this could really be our second year Anniversary. My interactions take me back to Briscoe Manor at times and also allow me the opportunity to see those that helped us (Vendors and such), and I still can't believe that they were putting together our wedding a whole 2 years ago! It doesn't seem real.

First, have a look at where it all started.

Then enjoy some of the pics (er, the only pics) we have together from this 2nd year of marraige!

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

Thanks to everyone for all that you have done for us in our marraige; the prayer, support and encouragement. We both feel that we were so much more prepared for a life together than we ever realized!

Happy Birthday Courtney!

2010-03-22T05:45:00.000-05:00

You were right! I will never forget your birthday :)

Happy Birthday Cynthia!

2010-03-21T06:00:00.000-05:00

Hope your day is as fabulous as you are!

Laura Beth and David are Married!

2010-03-14T11:32:00.002-05:00

I'm not sure many people know about this, but since last June, I believe, I've been helping Laura Beth plan her wedding from time to time. This weekend was the big weekend and what a fabulous weekend it was to have a wedding :) The weather could not have been more ideal! Henry and I didn't get to take many photos since he was a groomsman, and...well, I was all over the place ;) Here's a little bit of what the two of us did capture. It was a packed house!!

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.
Venue: The parador
Caterer: Behind the Bash
Photographer (not of these pics though; the ones IN the photos): Monkey Tree Photography
Florist: Special Arrangements
Event Producer: Jason Garcia at LG Entertainers
Cakes: Cakes by Michelle

Happy Birthday Mom!

2010-03-12T09:01:00.001-06:00

Hope you have a fabulous birthday!

Please wish my beautiful mother a Happy Birthday by leaving a comment below or posting on her wall on Facebook :)

Love you Mom!

House Items Done and Those On the List

2010-03-10T01:07:00.001-06:00

It might come as no surprise that we have a list on our computer of the items we have done and plan to do to our home with estimates of cost as well as ranking of preference to what’s more important. However, what might come as a surprise is that Henry made that list :) Yes yes, I must boast for him! For that reason, in addition to my blogging and photographing, I can really SEE just how much we have done here since we moved in just 4 months ago! Not only is it a list of what we have done to the house but also a list of things we have purchased for a home.

So, here’s everything we have done:

Replaced light fixture in hallway with this one. Blogged about it here.
Dad and Henry cleaned up the back side of the house where the breaker box was (and made it very challenging for the Uverse people {snicker snicker}). Blogged about it here.
Repaired the doorbell button at the front door. It works!
Ordered the most fabulous washer and dryer ever! Blogged about it here.
I painted like a mad woman all over the house. Blogged about that here, here, here and here, but still haven’t showed all of it.
I sanded down the texture of the ceiling in the office and repainted the ceiling. Blogged about it here.
Henry and Justin removed the old laundry room cabinets.
Henry repaired the sheetrock in the laundry room and did a FABULOUS job.
I painted the laundry room.
Henry installed new shelving that I purchased from Ikea.
Henry and Kevin installed the most fabulous washer and dryer ever! Blogged about 7-11 here.
Henry repaired a hole he made in the ceiling. Blogged about that here w/ a video ;)
Installed a new breakfast area light. Blogged about it here.
Installed a new bedroom ceiling fan. Blogged about that here.
Henry got a new weed eater :)
Installed a new entryway light. Blogged about it here.
Had our curb address repainted (pics to come later).
Replaced circa 1971 garage door opener with hefty, sturdy, Craftsman 2010 garage door opener! (pics to come later)

I’d say that’s a pretty decent list of stuff! Don’t you? Well, the list is still pretty long of stuff we want to do, but I like that as it gives us something to work towards. Currently, this is the problem that troubles us.

This is what happens when we get a GOOD HARD rain. You can tell from the date on the photos when this rain occurred. That week was nothing but rain, and that type of weather is not uncommon in Houston. Thus, this isn’t going to be a rare problem. Henry and I are currently working on a plan to fix this so that hopefully more than just 2 legged creatures can walk around back there ;) We also hope to have trees trimmed as well. After that, it’s the water heater and the oven. Yep, the projects do get more expensive, but it should be worth it!

Kidney for Kendrick

2010-03-09T14:25:00.002-06:00

Over the last 2 to 3 weeks, Henry and I have been working with the community group that we joined at Crossbridge Church. This is, in fact, the same church that Carissa and Nick attend, for those that know them :) We are currently seeing what God has for us, and we are considering two churches at this time. Nonetheless, we are planning to be with this community group for the duration of the current bible study that the group is doing. The church is really working towards trying to be better servants, thus community groups become those that facilitate that. A member of the group found a great opportunity, and we put together a garage sale/bake sale/raffle for this young man, Kendrick, who is is in need of a kidney due to kidney failure. Yes, of course I made something for the bake sale :) I made these.
Last week, Henry and I pulled out all of those boxes we had marked GARAGE SALE over the past couple of moves that we had made. I’d been waiting for a garage sale to happen so that I could get rid of this stuff, but both of us honestly thought we’d be at the community garage sale here in Westbury sitting at a table trying to get rid of it all. I’m happy to say that we didn’t have to do that and were able to donate so much of our stuff to a much better cause than ourselves.

We were up and ready to go at 5:50am and unloading Stella by 7:15am at the garage sale location. There were lots and lots of visitors, thank the Lord! Granted, this picture is mostly just of us in the community group :) Just a little snapshot of Eden, Carissa, Trudy, Kimberly and me while I was breaking from directing traffic :),
As you can tell, Trudy was ready to collect the money! :) Yes, I did say above that I was directing traffic. Henry and I stood out in the street, (one on one side and one on the other) directing cars to the proper location since it was slightly confusing to find. For somewhere between 2-3 hours total, I was like a cop directing traffic. My arm defintely hurt the next morning, Haha! It was fun though :)
Oh, and just for kicks, because she’s just so adorable, check out sweet Eden :)
Anyway, Henry and I were so thankful to come home and know that we had cleared out so much stuff from our house. The most important thing though was that, as a group, were were able to raise so much money to help not only Kendrick’s family, but the family who is donating a kidney to Kendrick as well. By the way, his donor happens to be his boss.

The New Entryway Light

2010-03-04T18:38:00.001-06:00

It’s finally in! The Entryway light, though ordered on December 22nd, came in last Friday :) Last night, Henry installed it for me! Remember what it looked like before?

Now, here’s the new light!

Henry and I realized part of the reason why we disliked the first light so much when we took it down; there was only one bulb in it. Granted, that’s not the only reason, but we knew the amount of light was one of the reasons. I feel like the new light fits in so much better with the door and the overall feel of the entryway. Who knew an entryway could be so important, right?

So what do you think of the change?

Valentine’s Day

2010-02-18T00:56:00.004-06:00

Wow, I know this is really late, but I’m finally getting to share our fab weekend plans! Sorry, I didn’t take any pics, so good ol’ reading is all I have for ya.

Friday night, Henry and I decided to see Valentine’s Day. I actually thought it was really good, and Henry agreed that it was better than most chic movies. We then tried out Amazon Grill, which we had never been to. We both really liked it and look forward to going back! Afterwards, my hubby decided to take me to The Chocolate Bar! After sharing the details of our awesome night out with Kelly G., Blessing began to become very eager about visiting the Chocolate Bar when he/she brings her Mommy and Daddy to Houston one day :)

Saturday, we, of course, slept in; I until 10:30am and Henry…well, he’s a Borchard…he slept until the P.M. ;) We then made a trip to Lowe’s, Chick Fila (yum!), Henry fertilized and I washed our vehicles :) P.S. Black Pearl is OFFCIALLY out of warranty after only a year and a half as she reached 36,000 miles. Anyway, that evening we went to Gugliani’s for dinner since there is one by our house now! Very yummy. Henry then let me try Piccomolo for the first time :) Not the same as Italy, but not bad either

Sunday, we continued our search for a new church and did a 2nd visit at Grace Bible Church in the Heights. Just when I thought the service was over, we, of course were not noticed since we don’t know anyone there, and we were headed out the church…

“Krista!”

“OMG. I didn’t wear makeup. No one here knows me. Who is this calling my name?!”

Haha, it was Lydia! Lydia worked with Anne, my ol’ roomate, when Anne was at BP. Lydia is such a sweet girl, and I was very excited to see her. Shocked and confused at first, yes, but still very cool to see her.

That afternoon, Henry and I exchanged V-day gifts. I got him cufflinks as he has been begging me for some for over a year. I finally listened :) He was very very excited!

He got me one of the best cards ever that totally fits our relationship. I was very impressed with his efforts already. Then he did his trademark gift; self-printed gift certificates for things he knows I want. Haha! I’ve gotten many of these over the years, and I love them. So creative and definitely a “Henry” thing :) He is going to let me get one of my bridals printed as well as one of our wedding photos printed and have them both custom framed :) He also wants us to get a couples massage together. I requested that we save that for our anniversary which is just about a month away! Crazy that 2 years have almost gone by. He also got me some stuff from Vickie’s, but…I returned it. I know, I’m bad. I felt the other stuff was generous enough!

Anyway, Henry’s had a lot of work going on this week and man…my career in domestic engineering has been very rough this week! I’m just so busy! Speaking of which, it calls for an early morning so I better head to bed! ;)

Breakfast Area Light

2010-02-09T11:12:00.003-06:00

Back at the beginning of December, Henry and I had all we could take with the original light that came with our home purchase in the breakfast area. Our heads had knocked it enough, and we were concerned that it was falling farther and farther out of the ceiling. Yikes! You can see from the picture below that the light is not hanging straight, is way too long, and is just all wrong from the year 1968. Thus, it came down!

We found a semi-flushmount from Lowe's to replace the outdated light, and my fabulous husband installed it!

So much better!

....and less Advil.

Creative Multi-Photo Frame

2010-02-07T01:47:00.005-06:00

So, for anyone that knew me in high school, you probably remember that I was a total frame-aholic. Seriously, I could never get enough picture frames. They were ALWAYS on my wish list!

Well, of course, now I want to purge myself of the unnecessary amounts that I have. As I continued to open boxes in our unpacking process, I noticed that I had quite a number of wooden frames. I thought of something I could do with all of them! Henry thought I was totally crazy....but that never stops me ;)

Here are the excess of frames we started with, and there were actually more that were added to this.

After MUCH wood glue, drilling, and piecing the frames together, we decided to go with a design sort of like this. It really ended up being less rows and more columns.

Then, I did some spray painting and added some finish to it as well. I made the entire thing hangable, and here it rests on our accent wall in the dining room!

This next picture shows the color a little better. It's actually Espresso and not so brown as these pictures depict.

What do you think?

Pssssst, Grant family, that's you in the top right corner ;)

Wedding Weekend

2010-02-06T16:28:00.005-06:00

Last weekend, Henry and I were invited to 3 weddings. Well, math can tell you that we aren't going to make all three :)

I was already committed to helping with a family friend's wedding. Kristen Benkendorfer married Kyle Fluker on January 30th in Spring, and I was fortunate enough to be allowed to be a part of the festivities! I had a blast helping throughout the planning process a little bit and then continuing my help during the weekend. I don't have any of my own pics to share since Henry had the camera with him (more on that in a sec), but I'm borrowing one of Emily's pics from the wedding :)Henry and I didn't want to skip out on some other good friend and their fabulous wedding either. Thus, we decided to split up. While I was at Kristen and Kyle's wedding, Henry was in the Midland/Odessa area at Jamie and Ben's wedding!

I sent the camera with Henry, and he did fabulous by taking 90-100 pictures so that I could see the wedding via photos. He knows how upset I was to have missed Jamie and Ben's wedding, and he also knows there were some tears shed over me not being to come (my tears, FYI). Anyway, I know he had a fabulous time with all of our friends!!!

Thus, one wedding had to be missed :( Sadly, we missed Adam Robeau and Lindsay Luxardo getting hitched. Sorry guys! We hope it was a fabulous wedding!

Congrats to all of you, and thanks for inviting us to be a part it!

Stella/KB's Toy at 120,000 miles!

2010-02-06T13:38:00.002-06:00

Yes, that's right, KB's Toy is still alive and kickin'! I'm sorry, but I'm just extremely proud of my 9 year and 4 month old prized possession.

I know there are a lot of people who thought I was spoiled only child when I got my truck and probably thought I'd wreck a brand new vehicle or 'ask Daddy for something new in 2 years.'

Who's laughing now?!

I don't think even my parents realized how much I would love this truck when they gave it to me. I tried to hold back tears of excitement when I got my truck, but what's the use? I cried, and I'm proud of it...now. I really didn't think I'd get the EXACT truck I hoped for; after all, I literally though it was a dream. A 16-year-old dream.

I mean, how many people can say they are still driving their first vehicle at my age? I know there are some out there, I understand that, but it's not a lot of people, I think.

Nevertheless, I'm quite proud of how well I've maintained her, kept up with her, kept her clean, and wowed lube shops when they realize just how old she is :) It always brings a smile to my face when they guess it's a 2003, but she's really a 2000 :)

A huge thank you to my parents for paying for it (let's be honest). KB's Toy shows no sign of backing down or giving me any problems (knock on wood). In my opinion, she still runs as good as the day I got her. How's that for all of you that dogged me getting a Ford?! Fix or Repair Daily my rear end. Are YOU still driving the same Chevy you were the day you said that to me?

I'm sorry; God could totally show me that pride is too much for this, I'm sure, but I really am proud of this one earthly possession. I hope to still be proud when she's 15 and 20 years old. I'm hoping we can at least keep her until 15 years because then it's only 10 more until she's an antique! I'm not going to lie...I really do want to keep her that long.

Ok, thus ends my Ode to Stella.

I love my truck!

Our Entryway

2010-02-06T13:13:00.009-06:00

This is the before. I took this photo during our option period.

Here's the after! :)

Well, this is not actually anything new, but it's new to our blog :) We finished painting our entryway the week of Christmas. We then hung our crosses on the wall, and that's really all that is new in here. Our front door was new, but was part of the home when we purchased it. The light fixture is awful, but we are waiting for that improvement to come in the mail. We ordered a new light right before Christmas, but it's been backordered since then. We are told it will come in the first week of March.

We'll see about that.

The color we painted in here is Latte from Sherwin-Williams.

Oh wow, January!

2010-01-27T21:28:00.002-06:00

Wow, could I BE any more horrible about posting lately?! It's been pretty busy around here since 2010 got started, so I suppose that's a good thing.

First off, Henry and I rang in the new year with Kevin and Melissa. We decided to eat at a low key restaurant to avoid the crowds, so we had some seriously good Italian food at 2 Brothers Pasta by our old apartment. Then we headed to Big Tex for dancing!
They had party favors at every table, so we got a silly with those :)

New Years was really fun :) Since I'm on the subject of Kevin and Melissa, they celebrated their 2nd Anniversary yesterday. Happy Anniversary guys!

I've done a lot more tidying up the house this month as well as selling some things on Ebay and Amazon. That's been a huge help for us getting some stuff out of the house.

Henry has actually started a weight loss competition with 11 of his coworkers, and it ends in early April. Any extra words of encouragement that you can give him (or us) would be great! I would give you an update on his progress, but he says I'm not allowed to yet :/ Sorry!

This past weekend we had a couple of Open House parties to officially celebrate our new house! I'm pretty mad at myself for forgetting to take pictures! What was I thinking? Anyway, it was great to have friends and family come to celebrate with us and see the work we've done at making this place our own :)

I promise not to shy away from blogging so much, and I'll have more pics soon of how the house looks!

Me from A to Z!

2010-01-12T10:21:00.002-06:00

Stori tagged me (well, not specifically, but I know she was thinking it ;) ), and I'm tagging Kelly, Brittany and K.C.!

A -Age: 25
B -Bed size: Queen (hopefully getting a King soon!)
C- Chore you hate: Cleaning the toilets, which is why Henry does that specific part of the bathroom. I do the rest :)
D- Dog's Name: Not fair. Make me cry. I want a dog!
E- Essential starts to your day: Breakfast and time on the computer- bad habit!
F- Favorite Color: This is hard. Black, white or red?!
G- Gold, Silver, or Platinum: Depends on what is is.
H- Height: 5'8"
I- Instruments you play: YEA RIGHT! I'm not musically inclined at all!
J- Job Title: Domestic Engineer :)
K- Kids: None!
L-Living Arrangements: A house, with my husband. (Stealing Stori's answer :) )
M- Moms name: Joyce
N- Nicknames: Henry calls me Hunny. Parents call me 'Sis' or 'Krissy' or 'KB.'
O- Overnight stay in the hospital other then Birth: I think when my tonsils where removed.
P- Pet Peeve: Slurping and chewing ice. Clearly this is when other people do it. (Sorry, but it's true.)
Q- Quote from a movie: I dunno...
R- Right or Left handed: Right
S- Siblings: It's just me :) But I do have 2 incredibly close cousins; Ashlee and Chase! I also have 2 sisters-in-law; Emily and Justine!
T- Time you wake up: When I want to.
U- Underwear: Victoria's Secret Supersoft Hiphuggers from Body by Victoria (specific enough? :) )
V- Vegetable you dislike: Beets
W- Ways you run late: Let me count the ways...
X- X-rays you've had: I think my lungs one time, but I'm not sure.
Y- Yummy food you make: EVERYTHING! :)
Z- Zoo Favorite: Giraffes

Divine Master Bedroom!

2009-12-31T11:43:00.007-06:00

I saved our master bedroom for our 50th post! I feel it's necessary as I'm most proud of our master bedroom throughout this whole house. Each has something special about it, but I love our master bedroom.

What did we do in our master bedroom? First, I painted. Henry helped a little ;), but he did pick the fabulous paint color! He selected Warm Stone from Sherwin Williams. The next thing we knew, our furniture was moved in. Then, just last week, we took down the nasty old ceiling fan and replaced it with a new one (Henry's Christmas present)! We don't have curtains yet, but I'm thinking about getting these.

So, here we go with the before and after shots!

Yes, I am watching FRIENDS :)

And here's the new ceiling fan! It's the 52" Ashlar, Antique Silver Ceiling Fan from Quorum International.

So, what do you think?!

Christmas at the Borchards!

2009-12-26T14:02:00.006-06:00

Christmas was a success yesterday and was held in our new home! Somehow, all the stars aligned and we got everyone here at our house yesterday for Christmas. It was perfect! Doug, Joyce, Ronnie, Teresa, Ashlee, Philip, Chase, Melanie, Steve, Nana, Ralph, Alicia, Emily and Justine (plus Bella, too) were all here for Christmas. We had a great time enjoying everyone's company and having dinner together.

Our really exciting fun came when we all congregated in the living room for our Chinese Christmas gift exchange. Man, did we get rowdy, but it was all in good fun!
Ronnie was first to go. Everyone had to wear my Victoria's Secret Santa hat while it was their turn in the gift exchange.

Ronnie got a sprayer to attach on your water hose..

Mom liked the Santa hat.

Now she has to choose a present!

Ralph was next, and Mom and Ronnie are already trying to persuade him to steal their gifts!

I think he wishes he would have stolen.

Philip is being persuaded to steal gifts.

Now Ash is trying to decided for her present.

Chase looks adorable, in my opinion.

Chase didn't quite get what he thought he would. A platter? To serve what?

Dad trying to scheme on what he will steal.

Alicia posing for her turn in the gift exchange!

Henry's turn!

Teresa telling us, "What? It's just a hat!"

Justine's ready for her turn!

Nana wants to know what is up for grabs!

Emily was made for that hat!

Then we took a family photo! I love this picture!

Thanks familia for all joining us for Christmas :) You made a very special day for Henry and I!

Dining Room is Getting There!

2009-12-19T10:46:00.004-06:00

Sorry all! I know it's been a while, and I hope some of you are visiting because you got a Christmas Card and it had this crazy blog address, thus you decided to try it out! Am I right? If so, please leave a comment :) Henry and I want to hear!

Anyway, I've been working on the house a lot more lately, and I'm about to bombard you with some more updates! I'm going to start with the dining room though because I haven't fully decided how much I like it yet. I think it's because I know it's not complete.

On our wish list is a table to accommodate up to 12 people :) Yes, I want to serve meals to LOTS of you! :) We also have NO LIGHT IN THERE! What the heck! I mean, yes there's a huge bay window, but there is no light in dining room. Ridiculous!

Here are 2 pics from the original listing on the house.
This first picture looks at the dining room from the bay window at the front of the house.

This second picture looks across the dining room from the entry way and onto our office (that room with the weird window).

This is our dining room now! I painted the back wall as an accent wall in Sherwin Williams Arresting Auburn. The other wall (and remaining walls) have been painted a light color on the same swatch which is Sherwin Williams Glamour. Currently, our dining table is in the back of the room, but that will change once I get my big dining table :)

This is the same picture from above where you are looking from the entry way, across the dining room and into the office.

Here is the picture from the middle of the room looking towards the front of the house at the bay window. Those curtains are actually from Walmart :) I LOVE them. I haven't decided if I think this is the best room for them, but I like them for now.

I know this isn't a beautiful picture, but I added some sconces on the side of the window as well as hung a few other things in the dining room. I'm still working on more stuff in here, but I think the paint is the biggest thing.

So, what do you think? Come on out if you are lurking! We want to hear your thoughts :)

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-08T23:41:00.001-06:00

Moving Announcement Made :)

2009-12-07T14:15:00.002-06:00

Our moving announcement has been made! I love the design :) Obviously you can tell that some info has been cloned out as I don't want the WWW to know our info, but you get the idea. I had a graphic designer on Etsy.com design it for me, and she did a terrific job! You should check out Go Against the Grain. Our design only cost us $20!!! I thought that was an incredibly fair price. I provided her the photo, told her I thought it best it not be black, white, and red (LOL!), and mentioned some fonts I've liked in the past. That's it! And the above design is what she came up with :) Henry and I were VERY pleased :)

There's not much more going on with our house at this point that is really picture worthy. We are just trying to find places for things right now. That's it. Sorry...

However, I do have this awesome video of my husband trying to fix the hole he made in our ceiling. There's not much that you can see as he is in the attic, but it's really just funny to hear him yell. LOL! You can hear my trying not to laugh too hard. He was nailing in 3 boards to crossbeams in the attic. The first board, well, I laughed really hard but didn't have the camera. After I handed him the 2nd board, I DASHED for the camera. I was hoping to catch something good, and oh did I! I don't know how funny it will be for you, but I laughed sooooo hard!

Ooooohh, man! I love my husband...

A Fabulous Place to Clean Clothes

2009-12-03T10:28:00.005-06:00

Confession: I, Krista Borchard, LIKE to do laundry. I know...I know. Why? I'm not sure. You would think that doing my family's laundry from 6th grade on would make me turn into a wife that pawns all laundry responsibility on my husband. Apparently, that's not the case. All of my roommates in college could probably attest that I was slightly odd about caring about our laundry area. I mean, I didn't care about it as much as I do about the room in our house now, but I did care.

Anyhow, moving onto the Borchard Casa laundry room! While this is not the finished product, I'll show you the start to finish of what we did.

First off, this picture was taken before we closed. It shows damage on the back wall where the wall meets the floor. Henry removed the sheet rock along the wall, replaced it, taped, floated, re-textured, then I repainted the walls. You can't see the improved wall though because it's behind the washer and dryer.
This picture is of the opposite side of our laundry room. I don't have a NEW picture of this side of the laundry room, but this pic shows what the room basically looked like before. BLAH!

TADA! Our New Laundry Room!

We had some old crappy cabinets in here that were just not salvageable. Justin and Henry removed them, and I bought new shelving from Ikea to put in! That Cheer up on the top shelf is up for grabs by the way. I painted the laundry room March Wind from Sherwin Williams.

Check out our new washer and dryer! I'm in heaven! We decided to get the Maytag Bravos washer and dryer. Click on the words to see the models we selected. Yes, I was doing a load of laundry at the time of this picture taking :)

So beautiful. :) Now my truck, phone, laptop and washer & dryer all match! LOL!

I bought these spiffy hooks that will hold whatever we need them to, but they fold up when you aren't using them.

So what do you think?! I'm totally in love with this room now :)

Thanksgiving 2009

2009-11-27T01:06:00.004-06:00

I have more pictures than words for this post as a picture says a thousand words! Henry and I did our traditional Thanksgiving today. We joined the Kornegay family at our annual family reunion for lunch, and the Brods got a few pics after lunch.

After the reunion, we headed to Corpus, and we are enjoying time with the Borchards now! We had fun watching the A&M vs. tu game tonight even though we watched a loss. The Ags made them sweat, so it was still an exciting game to watch!

We are also, obviously, taking a nice break from home improvements. I should have some pics to show you soon of the office and the laundry room!

Laundry Space Saver

2009-11-19T14:07:00.005-06:00

So, do you have a laundry basket anything like this?

Most people do. After all, it is a LAUNDRY basket!

However, for my first year of college, my parents let me wander The Container Store to get some things I wanted for college. I decided on this fancy cube not knowing what I would use it for. I just thought, "Well, it has to be useful somehow!"

I have the large one which is a 16" cube. Well, even in 2009 (I bought the cube in 2002), I'm still using this laundry cube for all of my laundry loads! Henry and I have other bags and sorts for storage, but for taking out of the dryer and holding while folding, we use this awesome cube. The cube collapses like the drawing below.
The cube becomes a 16" square; it goes from cube to square! Thus, it slide right in between say, your washer and dryer! Then, you don't have this bulky laundry basket sitting out on top of your washer and dryer or taking up other space in your laundry room or closet.

Just had to share my awesome purchase from...7 years ago :)

OMG, how cute!

2009-11-18T09:20:00.004-06:00

Ok, there is no way you cannot think this is just absolutely adorable! This is Henry's...wait...Henry and I's (yey, I an say that!) second cousin! Her name is Tori (Victoria) and she is the daughter of Joseph and Samantha. Joseph is Henry's cousin and married Samantha. Sam is wonderful about sending out pictures of this beautiful girl, and she sent me this one this morning!

Makes my heart so happy! She's holding the 12th man towels that we handed out at our wedding. They were used as our getaway item :) See...Anyway, I just had to share this adorable picture of sweet Tori! Love her and her wonderful parents!

Minor Improvements

2009-11-12T10:35:00.005-06:00

Ok, so we haven't done tooooo much yet, but here's what I have pics of to share so far.

First off, this is what the brick wall in our living room looked like before...

...then I painted it!

Much whiter now, and we like it that way!

Next, I've added a few decorative items to our guest bath. That means it's for YOU! :) Once we get furniture for the guest rooms, you can all come stay :)

I've been waiting to use this shower curtain for over a year and a half! I love it :)

Thoughts?

We've also fixed our door bell button, Dad and Henry cleaned up the backside of our house clearing it of unnecessary wiring, we replaced the light fixture in our hallway, aaaaand that's all the non picture stuff I can think of right now.

A larger and more tedious task was the ceiling in our office. OMG! I started scraping and quickly determined that scraping is an insane task. I turned to a power tool :) I got the sander and heavy grit paper and went to town. Then I painted the ceiling, and this is the after result!

I'm in the process of painting the office right now, so that should be a new update soon. Plus, our living room and bedroom are painted, but they still need a little cleaning before pics are taken ;)

So what do you think so far?!

Workin' on the House

2009-11-03T21:28:00.004-06:00

Man, we have been going and going like the Energizer bunny! We've been able to take a little rest this evening. We started working on the house on October 27th, and we've already made some good progress, I think :)

First off, I bought some paint samples and painted posterboard for Henry to see the colors on any wall we wanted to see them on. Well, turns out we are only using 2 of those 4 colors. I then bought 2 more paints samples, and we aren't using either of those. Haha!

We did determine that we wanted to paint our bedroom Warm Stone from Sherwin Williams. You can click here to click on the color to see it. We thought it would go very well with our Espresso furniture and some good white accents. Not to mention, my hubby likes darkness when he sleeps, so that should help him sleep a little better ;) For the living room, Henry was a big help in helping me choose the color Hopsack. I originally was thinking about Chateau Brown, but, after painting the bedroom, I knew that would just be too dark. I then thought Mocha would be a terrific color, but, on our living room walls with our lighting, it just looked so 1980's Mauve! I know, I know; how can Mocha look Mauve?! I'm serious, it did. Henry was able to head to Sherwin-Williams for me and ask for something with the same color combination but with less Maroon in it :) Thus, we have Hopsack! Thanks Mom for helping me paint the living room!

Though I haven't painted the dining room yet, I'm pretty sure I want to paint that room a little differently than the other 2 rooms. I'd like to do an accent wall and then paint the other 3 walls a different color. Here's what I'm thinking about currently:

Arresting Auburn for the accent wall-this color looks muck more wine-like on the swatch
Glamour for the other 3 walls

Now, this next room color is going to be shocking I'm sure, but don't jump too far out of your chair with shock :) Our office is going to be color matched to be Aggie Maroon. Oh yes...it's true. For the entryway, hallway, and 2 extra bedrooms, we made an easy and quick decision to paint the color Latte.

We also have a huge brick wall in our living room that I primed first, then painted it Extra White in oil-based paint. It shines now :)

As for our kitchen, bathrooms, and laundry room, I have no idea! I'm thinking about just leaving them as they are. I know for sure that our hall bathroom will have black and white accents (shocker, I know), but I don't want to paint the whole bathroom red! I dunno. Any advice?

On the outside of the house, Dad and Henry cleaned up the backside where the meter, breaker box, and telephone box where as there were soooo many wires that had been installed from various providers over many many years. Now, the clutter is gone and is not such a huge eyesore :) Thanks boys!

I also got some exciting new shiny things for the house! I know it sounds crazy that I would be this excited, but look....

Yes, it's true. Now my truck, phone, laptop, washer and dryer all match! How dorky, right?

Oh, I can't believe I haven't bragged more on Henry! Sorry hunny :/ He also installed a new light fixture for our hallway! We found a steal of a deal at Ikea for this new fixture :) He also got to mow our lawn for the first time yesterday; it was really cute.

Ok, well, I hope that provides a good update for the house so far! I'm sure there will be more to come later :)

We're Homeowners!

2009-10-23T18:12:00.000-05:00

There's not much more to say than that at this point, LOL! We closed today, and everything went smoothly...er, as smoothly as signing 100 pieces of paper can go. No pictures yet. Once we get everything set up, I can post pictures.

Whoop!

Closing Tomorrow and What's Been Going On?

2009-10-22T19:24:00.002-05:00

I know I'm not updating as often as I should be, but I'm just so scared to jinx anything! Maybe I'm a little too superstitious.

We are officially closing tomorrow! Crazy to think that we two crazy people are going to own a house...yikes. For your entertainment, perhaps I should film a lot of our 'homeowner firsts.'

Other than waiting on closing to occur on our house, we celebrated Henry's birthday, helped move some friends, and I did some job stuff. For Henry's birthday, we celebrated on his birthday with friends down here in Webster at BJ's Brewery; thanks David, Christine, Laura Beth, David, Kevin, Melissa, Nicole and Isaac for coming to dinner! That Friday night, we joined Mom, Dad, Teresa and Ashlee for dinner Pappasitto's! Yey for Fajita's....and Sangria ;) This past weekend, we got to celebrate a long 7 month remodel with our friends Kevin and Melissa by finally being able to move them in to their newly refurbished and renewed home!!!! A fire tragedy occurred on March 15th, but all is totally better now with their beautiful home! Henry and I helped move in and setup their new home, though I know they still have a lot of boxes to sort through from the restoration company. We know it's been such a long and trying 7 months, so we are so happy to see them happy. This week, I've had 2 job interviews that will hopefully be fruitful; please pray that they are! I know my husband would love to have me back at work :) My time of relaxation is over in his book, haha!

This weekend we are heading to the Valley for a friend's wedding and to see the Borchards!

Happy Birthday Henry!

2009-10-07T09:56:00.001-05:00

A great husband, son, and brother! Happy Birthday Hunny!!!

Henry's so funny!

2009-10-04T21:09:00.002-05:00

Ok, so this was a video from last December, but I found it while browsing through our computer files. Once again, I laughed hysterically! You have to watch...it's just too funny...especially if you know the silly side of my sweet husband! HAHAHAHAH!

Breast Cancer Project

2009-10-01T12:13:00.002-05:00

Ok, I'm working on a project for Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and I need your help. I'm looking for names of people you know, or even if it's you, that have had or currently have breast cancer. I know that might sound a little odd, but trust me, it's going to be cool. So, if you have any names, can you share them with me? You can either leave a comment here or send me and email at kristabrod@hotmail.com. The sooner you send them the better!!! Thanks!