Making the Choice

Today I've been married to the Yak Judge for five years. A half decade that seems to have flown by more quickly than I ever could have imagined. 

 

And every day for the past five years, I have made a conscious choice: I can either choose to love, respect, work with and conquer the world with this man OR I can find nit-picky things to fuss about, dwell on setbacks and be a crappy wife. I hope that if asked, the Ninja/Yak Judge would say. "She chooses the former [most of the time.]"

 

I'd like to think that both of us have come a long way from the young, naïve kids we were so many years ago. I know that we've learned a helluva lot through trials, failures, successes, new jobs, moving, loss and everyday life.

“I didn't fall in love with you. I walked into love with you, with my eyes wide open, choosing to take every step along the way. I do believe in fate and destiny, but I also believe we are only fated to do the things that we'd choose anyway. And I'd choose you; in a hundred lifetimes, in a hundred worlds, in any version of reality, I'd find you and I'd choose you”
Kiersten White, The Chaos of Stars

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Goodbye Little Trailer on the Prairie

Life has been happening at breakneck speed in our little slice of Heaven. As a blogger I have failed you, dear readers, by not updating y'all regarding our life changes, issues updates or even pictures of my adorable dog. I apologize.

So I shall start at the beginning, because where else could I start? Here's what's going down with our family and if you make it through this update there is a 101 in 1001 checklist at the bottom.


Bye bye Little Trailer on the Prairie - you've been good to us!

1. We're moving.

Yep - after living in Manhattan for almost a decade we are moving to southeast Kansas to the county where I was born and raised. We are in the final stages of purchasing a small ranch property there and are moving tomorrow. As in, 24 hours from now. Unfortunately, we haven't closed yet on the house so we are living with my dad for a few weeks until the house is ready. Brings back memories of summer breaks from college...

2. The Ninja is almost a PhD. He is wrapping up his doctoral dissertation which he will defend in early September. He has accepted a position with a swine technology and nutrition company and will start shortly after his dissertation. Real world, here he comes!

3. For some time now, this blog has addressed more than just agriculture, K-State and rodeo and it's really weighed on me because I haven't felt like I have been adhering to my rules for blogging or giving my goals any justice. However, I realize that blogging is about life and life is made up of more than advocacy - as it turns out, people like to know what is going on in our personal lives! So, going forward, I will continue to post about marriage, agriculture, rodeo, K-State, running, livestock and other topics I find interesting. In fact, in the next few months I'll even have real life ranch updates. The difference between now and the past is not the content, it's how I feel about my content. I am going to stop being ashamed of talking about the ins and outs of my life that aren't agriculture related. I may even change the blog logo and header, who knows!

And now for the 101 in 1001 update, as promised. These days are just flying by and I am needing to jump on it and get some more things accomplished!

To date, I have completed 30 goals and my challenge ends on October 26, 2016. So not halfway done but I also have a lot of goals that are in progress (21 to be exact) so I am confident I can get that number much higher. A few of the goals I have completed since the last update are below.

- Run 3 - half marathons (yes, you read that correctly) 1 - Glass City Half Marathon 4/27/14; 2 - Sioux Falls Half Marathon 9/7/14 (PR! 1:59:02); 3 - Garmin Wickedly Fast Half Marathon 4/18/15 (2:04:05); 4 - Bill Snyder Highway Half 5/23/15 (2:18:01)
I had no idea that I would complete this goal within a year! But am so glad I did - I feel great!
- Learn basic sewing machine skills
- Make a set of curtains using the sewing machine
I made my dad some curtains so that our dogs can't look in the window and give me sad eyes while we are living at his house.
- Travel internationally - Belize 2015
And we are on track to keep this one going because we are going to spend the month of December abroad!
- Organize and clean office so that it's functional for two people
 Just in time for us to leave, ha!

So there you have it - a mini life update on Buzzard and the Ninja. Anyone have any foolproof packing tips to share with me? I loathe packing, especially kitchen items and things that don't have a specific category!

Oh, and just for good measure, here's a picture of my adorable dog.


Vicious Cricket

Until next time,~ Buzzard ~

Four Years of Fighting

Thrilled to be on this journey of a lifetime with the Ninja.
Photo courtesy: LaBrisa Photography

Two [trailer] houses. A totaled car. Burst pipes. Two weddings. Four Ohio State fairs. Two Masters of Science degrees. A shattered crockpot filled with gravy. Zero babies. Most of a PhD in Animal Science.

Believe it or not, we have shoved all of those amazing experiences into 1,460 wedded-days full of celebrating, accepting, loving, fighting, laughing, compromising, competing, stressing, [blatant] honesty and joy. Today, I reflect on one of the most important items in that list: fighting.

Robert Louis Stevenson once said, "Marriage is one long conversation chequered by disputes."

Accurate, Mr. Stevenson.

It's truth time, peeps. Here are the many ways we fight in marriage.

- With each other

This is the obvious one. For those of you who aren't married, take it from me. The arguments don't stop once you say 'I do.' Little things like taking out the garbage can, under the wrong circumstances, yield just as big of an argument as the decision as when to buy a house. God made us all differently, which means that we all have varying opinions and when thrown into a small space with another human, we inevitably will have disagreements. But how you handle these disagreements will be the true test of your relationship. Can you learn to compromise and move on together? Or will you fail to learn from past experiences and let resentment fester? The choice is, as cliché as it sounds, up to you.

Let's not forget, that arguments are a form of communication. And if you aren't communicating, it's going to be hard to plan your life, make decisions, move forward and grow. So it's ok to get in a heated discussion about when the next chapter of your life will start or how many candles you need in your house or what brand of salsa to buy. But let's just try to keep it civil, people. Above the belt and no snarky comments that can seriously cause damage to your relationship. That whole "sticks and stones may break my bones" shtick is a crock of Crisco. Words can, and do, hurt - so be nice and play fair.

- With ourselves.

You might wonder how I fight with myself in my marriage. And, building upon that, how does winning a fight against myself help my marriage?

I'm a competitive person and I like to have the last word. I especially love to have the last word when I'm right and someone else is wrong. All of these compounded together can make me an especially unpleasant person in the heat of an argument. It's a constant struggle for me to beat back my snarky side when I desire to make a point, and instead let the sweeter voice of reason win, hence allowing peace to come to our humble little trailer.

By fighting with my inner demon, and winning, I am making a conscious effort to be the best version of myself that I can be for the sake of my marriage and my personal wellbeing.

- For each other.

This is the most important fight you will have in your marriage. No I am not talking about throwing punches in honor of your betrothed - although I would not hesitate to do so if provoked. I am talking about a spiritual and emotional fight for each other.

There is a huge enemy to your marriage and his name is Satan. The enemy will fight to plant doubts and fears in your marriage. The enemy will make you think that one disagreement is a sign to end your commitment. The enemy will tempt you and your spouse with other men and women, with ideas of "bigger and better." Ignore that bastard, link arms with your spouse, get down on your knees and work together towards a strong marriage that is rooted in faith and prayer. If you don't fight for each other and put each other first, no one is going to do it for you. It's up to you and your partner to find strength in your faith and make the commitment to work through the crappy days and relish the exciting ones.

As I've mentioned before, marriage is far from easy. It's the most challenging, yet most rewarding, endeavor I've ever undertaken and is equally as frightening as it is enthralling. A loving, gratifying marriage is worth fighting for but both people have to be engaged in the fight. I am a firm believer that a few bad fights are the fee you pay for the most exhilarating experience of your life. Suck it up folks, make some sacrifices in order for a lifetime of happiness with the one you love.

Alright, here's where you come in - do you think I'm completely off-base? What are your thoughts on marriage and making it last?

Until next time
~ Buzzard ~

p.s. I want to stress the "zero babies" part of this blog post. The eggo is not preggo. That is all.

The Ninja did not contribute to this blog post but he did review and edit so anything embarrassing has been approved.

A Lesson in Patience, Pigs and Passers-by

 

A few weeks back I posted some photos from a wonderful weekend trip to Ohio wherein the Ninja's middle sister won the Grand Champion Market Hog at the Ohio State Fair. This accomplishment, which I should mention is a family win and not just limited to her, earned her and her hog a spot in the coveted Sale of Champions. The prestigious sale takes place the day after the champion is chosen however, the sale is held in a different building than the show, which is approximately 1/2 mile away from the show barn. The exhibitor, pig and entourage must make this trek, on foot, in the middle of a usually-sweltering summer day in Ohio. Did I mention it's at a state fair?

A small portion of the entourage leaving the pig pavilion

That means there are people EVERYWHERE. So imagine this scenario if you will:
A large hog that has only ever been around three or four people at one time is now thrust into the midst of hundreds of spectators, many of whom are small and screaming, at every junction. The pig is hot, scared and obviously, not on a leash. Throw in an entourage of family members and fair goers who don't understand boundaries and you can see how trouble can brew and stress can build.



Walking a pig down the midway is no small task

I must pause to share how excessively proud I was, and still am, of the Ninja's little sister. During this 1/2 mile walk, which seemed to last for hours, her pig became "grouchy," for lack of a better word, and several times tried to turn away from the path and go back to the barn, ignoring her directional guidance. Fair goers offered several comments, some of the most memorable being:

• You should put that pig on a leash! (To which I promptly responded, "Uh, that's not really possible at this point." I was met with an up-turned nose and the retort, "Yes, you definitely can.")
• Ewww - gross!
• That pig is crazy!

Obviously, the unending comments were starting to get to all of us and, bless her heart, that show woman didn't take her frustration out on the pig. She didn't issue backlash at the fair goers, she didn't curse and she didn't cry. She maintained her composure and patiently continued to move her hog towards the barn while the rest of the family shooed folks out of the way with the explanation that "The pig is scared because it's a farm animal and there are a ton of people here. We just need to give him some room." 


We're just going to squeeze right by the French fries stand!

I can think of no better situation than the walk to the Sale of Champions to exemplify the need for farmers, ranchers, livestock owners and showmen and women to remember that there are always people watching and wanting to learn more about animals. A lot of people thought it was really cool that we were walking a pig down the midway; others were disgusted and some people just didn't give a hoot. But the point is that patience is important when dealing with people and I can assure you that my sister-in-law was a shining example of how we should practice high-quality animal care and interact with consumers who just want a glimpse of rural life.

Happy Friday!

Until next time,
~ Buzzard ~

The thoughts and opinions of this blog post strictly represent that of Brandi Buzzard Frobose and are NOT representative of any other entity or organization.

Six Spectacular Reasons to Ignore All Those Stupid “Six Reasons He’s the One for You!” Articles

Three years in the book and I didn't need a Yahoo! article to tell me he was the one

This strays from my regular content, so I apologize to my consistent readers (all five of you). Since our anniversary was yesterday, I've been thinking and praying a lot about marriage and I really can’t keep this in anymore. I don’t know if it’s just my Facebook feed or if it’s a social media pandemic but it seems that a new “Six Reasons He’s the One”-type article pops every day. I take issue with this.

Basing your definition of a successful relationship off a Buzzfeed article may be entertaining but ask the 50% of married couples who end up divorced how entertaining it was that their match enjoyed "telling each other things you've never told anyone else.” Yeah, I bet he really enjoyed hearing about your defaulted loans, that pregnancy scare with an old boyfriend and how you chew up your cat’s food before each feeding. You just gave him the ammo to embarrass you on a whole new level.

So below I break down and provide some truth, in my opinon, to a few ridiculous reasons you should permanently hitch your wagon to someone else for eternity (folks, marriage is for life).

• You laugh together: Seriously – do I need to explain why this isn’t an indicator of your soul mate? People who I’ve laughed with: my beef science professor, my doctor, my mailman – my point? Laughing with someone doesn’t mean they automatically become marriage material – your soul mate might be somber while you’re hysterical. Think, people.
• You’re extremely attracted to him/her: Please see above. Don’t let attraction overshadow compatibility. When you’re both 75, wrinkly and saggy, you’ll be thankful for a smart, intelligent partner that you can converse with daily.
• You respect him/her: Shouldn’t you respect pretty much everyone? If so, that doesn’t really set your potential life-partner apart from everyone else.
• You can imagine a future together: This is one is way too often overused as a reason to marry someone. I imagined a future with a few fellas before I met the Ninja and thank God imaginary is as far as it ever got. They were good guys but building a life is different than imagining one.
• Your intuition tells you he’s the right one: Did your intuition tell you that getting a rainbow unicorn tattoo on your neck was a good idea, too? Sometimes our intuition is off - stick to concrete evidence.
• You don’t have to try to impress him/her – You may love sitting on the couch eating Chinese and watching NCIS, but maybe he is only sitting next to you to please you. Will he suffer through that for 50+ years to keep you happy? Or is it more likely that he'll eventually quit because honestly, there are better things to watch and eat than NCIS and Chinese takeout?

I could go on but I think I’ve made my point. Every marriage and relationship is different, so expecting some article to define perfection (or the illusion of perfection) is asinine. Ready for some real advice?

• Pray, pray, pray – God has a plan for you and hopefully you’re listening to Him.
• Use your head – I feel like this should be common sense but apparently that isn’t too common.
• Don’t rush into marriage – maybe getting engaged after 6 weeks isn’t such a good idea.
• Pay heed to red flags – does he refuse to clean up after himself? Does that infuriate you to the point of a screaming match? Guess what honey, he’s not going to change those habits. If you don’t like picking up paper plates now, you’re really going to hate it in 40 years. From personal experience: I’m still trying to get the Ninja to stop putting dishes on the counter instead of in the sink (because the sink is clearly where you put dirty dishes) and I’ve made no headway in five+ years. It’s not infuriating but it’s annoying and it likely won’t have changed 47 years from now.
• Pray some more - seriously.

Some of those articles have decent advice but the vast majority (that I’ve seen) trigger an eye roll. I’m not a relationship expert but I don’t think you have to be in order to make your own relationship decisions without the use of a Redbook quiz or a Yahoo! shine article.

Really want to know if someone is right for you and your marriage will last? Well, so does everyone else. There’s no 100% guarantee that it will work out. Marriage is a risk but if you commit to it completely and put your whole heart and soul into your marriage and keep your faith in the middle, it will be one of the most rewarding journeys you ever partake in, although it’s also one of the most difficult.

Yes, you read that right. Marriage is hard, in addition to being risky. Sure, the wedding planning and the big day are fantastic and the honeymoon will provide you a lifetime of amazing memories but when you get home that “what now” feeling will wash over you. The first year you live with someone is MISERY (in the words of my good friend, Kylee). Weekends can make or break you! In college, when you had roomies, there was always something going on but now you’re married. What are you going to do when you have no weekend plans? Are you going to complain and whine about it and let boredom breed contempt for your partner? Or are you going to go outside and unload hay, play with the dogs, ride the horses, fix the fence etc etc. Really want to bond with your partner? Clean a bathroom together after the pipes have frozen and waste water has backed up into the tub. Team work makes the dream work, people.

My point is, when you’ve got no big event to plan and it’s just you and him and your daily activities and conversations, you discover amazing things about each other and grow deeper and deeper in love. Brad Paisley sums it up very well.

What do you think? Am I off-base? Does anyone agree with me? Comment below – shout out!

Until next time,

~ Buzzard ~

p.s. And on a semi-related note – I can’t even address some of the stupid that is flowing from this article. DON’T GET MARRIED BECAUSE TWO PAYCHECKS ARE BETTER THAN ONE.

Wordless Wednesday: A Buzzard and a Ninja - Our Third Anniversary

No mush this year - just two photos that describe our relationship perfectly. 

He shoved cake all over my neck and face right before this was taken

Everything that has made our marriage tough has also made our marriage tougher to break. Bring it on, world.

Awesome Freakin' Beef Roast Recipe

No fancy schmancy title needed for this - just the truth.

It's cold. I hate doing dishes. These two factors equate to a lot of crockpot dinners. In the past I've made chicken n' noodles, beef roasts, teriyaki chicken, pork loin with apples (thanks for the recipe, Melissa!) and a variety of dips. I decided to put a twist on my roast prep and try a new flavor. I had heard of beef roasts cooked in Coke but I'm a Dr. Pepper fiend so I did some tweaking and came up with the following:

Buzzard's Delish Dr. Pepper Beef Roast (again, no fancy titles here)

• 3 lb beef roast (top round, top sirloin, rump etc)
• 1 can Dr. Pepper
• ~10 oz water (I just filled up the soda can with water and called it good)
• Salt and pepper*
• 3 cloves garlic
• Worcestershire sauce*
• Secret ingredient

Combine all ingredients and cook in crockpot on low for 5-7 hours or until 145 degrees [it didn't take 7 hours for mine to cook. More like 5.5]
*I learned how to cook from my mom and grandmas - they didn't measure things out often so I don't either.

Ingredients - very simple!

I didn't have any actual garlic so I used a combo of garlic salt and minced garlic from our fridge (again with the approximate amounts and substitutions). Probably 1 1/2 tsp of minced garlic. The salt and pepper and Worcestershire sauce are to taste - the Ninja really likes a lot of flavor so I poured in a whole heap (maybe 7-8 squirts/dribbles/shakes).

The masterpiece cooking - I won't reveal my secret ingredient or how much of it I used but it's in your spice cabinet. Probably.

I used a top round roast but you could use any beef roast for this. We buy a lot of meat on sale so we're not too picky about what we get. Sometimes we buy beef roasts and cut them into steaks!

Excuse my horrible iPhone photo - I've mentioned before that I'm a horrible food photographer. But look how it's still pink and not overdone!

You guys, this was so delicious but please don't overcook it! Roasts are done at 145 degrees F and it will be so delicious and you'll love it and be sad you didn't make a bigger roast so you had more for leftovers!

What's been cooking in your kitchen?

Until next time,
~ Buzzard ~

Always a Little Late

I don't have a great picture for this post,
so here's the newest addition to our family!

Often, I arrive just in time for something - which in my mind means I'm late because I'd like to be everywhere 10 minutes early.

So it doesn't surprise me that I'm posting my my 'Best of Thirteen' post on January 2. Better late than never? Hope so. Here's a roundup of top posts and other fun factoids.

Top Posts of 2013

1. Chipotle: That's Not Natural -- Chipotle is the annoying, ignorant bully at school. They make several appearances this year on the blog, but this was the most read entry of 2013.

2. Is Horse Meat Healthy? Is It Better For Me Than Beef? -- I post about horse slaughter a lot because several people are opposed to eating horsemeat but how much do they really know about it?

3. Slaughter Plants and Rendering Facilities: Different but Mutually Beneficial -- No two facilities are the same.

4. He Loves Me So Much! -- I've been married twice.

5. Chipotle, Hypocrites No More, To Use Antibiotic Treated Beef (Maybe) -- Chipotle is on the list. again.

Top 5 Countries of Readership
1. USA
2. Russia
3. Australia (good on ya!)
4. UK
5. Canada

Google and Facebook (Buzzard's Beat) are still my top two drivers of traffic and some of my favorite and most popular keywords used to find my blog are listed below (these are always fascinating):

• Eating buzzard meat
• How to manipulate a man (they found this post)
• Buzzards
• Hippo Hollow Resort (they found this)
• Temple Grandin
• Turkey Buzzard (thanks Sharita)
• Horse meat
• Fiji

How was your 2013? I'm looking forward to blogging more and utilizing SEO better so that my posts get more views! I've got lots of exciting things in the hopper - so stay tuned!

Until next time,
~ Buzzard ~

(Semi)Wordless Wednesday

So these first four photos are from last Tuesday, July 2....

 

baby watermelon

mildly overgrown tomatoes

cucumbers

 

baby cantaloupe

And these photos are from this morning after a gracious overnight watering by the big man upstairs

That's the same cantaloupe as 8 days ago!

And the same watermelon!

Same tomato plant almost doubled!



These are 11 of the 16 cucumbers we picked in one week. I'm exhausting my recipe book for cucumber things that the Ninja will eat!

 

 

Yay for home grown stuff that I won't eat - it sure makes me feel more domesticated!

 

Until next time,

~ Buzzard ~



A Picture is Better Than Words

My "blog every week" challenge blew up in my face during week two - but at least I'm back now. Hooray!

 

I take a lot of pictures and am an Instagram addict (@brandibuzzard) so here are a few of the pictures I've taken lately (some were on my feed, some not) since I haven't been able to fuse more than three words together for a blog post this past week.

 

Almost as gorgeous as a wheat field - a hay field in Kansas.

 

I got to visit Ellensburg, WA last week - not only was it gorgeous but I got to see these little SimAngus cuties!

 

See what I mean? Washington is GORGEOUS! I told the Ninja we could easily move there tomorrow. It was 65 and rainy the whole time - boo hiss to this 100 degree weather in Kansas.

Kids love the Ninja

This little fart bucket is getting huge - he's already 50% larger than he was when we got him!

I went to the Kenny Chesney, Eli Young Band and Eric Church concert at Arrowhead Stadium. It rained. A lot. Melissa was not thrilled with her umbrella's performance.

 

Alright, that's all I've got for now - whatcha been up to this summer? 

 

Until next time,

~ Buzzard ~

Raising Babies on the Farm

There are some new babies on the FroBuzz ranch... baby chickens! Now raise your hand if you thought I was preggo. Shame on you if your hand is in the air; tsk tsk. This uterus is uninhabited by any croissants, buns or mini-ninjas.

I'm calling this one Stella; but since they all look the same I'll probably call them all Stella. I might name one or two Rupert just because I like that name.

Anyhow, The Ninja and I are jumping into food production on a smaller scale. We'd love to have cattle but right now it's just not feasible since we have very little land and what we do rent is under the reign of the roping ponies.

 

So earlier this week, we welcomed 10 baby Barred Rock hen chicks to the ranchero. We are excited to raise them and I have every intention of giving weekly updates on their growth and also provide info about what they eat, how we care for them and basic information about raising your own chickens.

Aren't my baby Barred Rocks cute?

There were several reasons why we chose Barred Rock chickens:

- They are good layers and tend to live long lives.

- Once they reach egg laying maturity at approximately 5-6 months of age, they will lay year-round (although decreased production in the winter).

- Cold hardy breed; which is great because it's been cold and rainy this week!

- A multi-purpose breed, they are also good for meat. Fried chicken here we come!

 

Our chicks are less than a week old and even though I didn't watch them hatch, I know this because they still have their egg tooth. What's that you ask?

 

See that little protrusion on the top of their beaks?

The egg tooth helps the chick break the air sac while they're in the egg and also assists in hatching. It falls off when the chicks are a few days old because it's no longer needed. A few of our babies don't have their egg tooth anymore, they're the big sisters.

 

 As you can see in the pictures we put down pine shavings in an enclosed shelter with a light and heat source. Chicks need to be 90+ degrees F for the first few weeks of their life so we hung the heat lamp low and made sure there were plenty of shavings for warmth.

 

The heat lamp and shavings will keep our baby
Barred Rocks warm in the unpredictable Kansas weather.

You can also see a feed pan filled with starter diet and a waterer. Anyone know why the base of the waterer is red? That's because chickens are attracted to red. Some producers will cover up injuries or bleeding cuts on chickens with Blu-Kote to keep their contemporaries from pecking at the cut.

 

What chicken questions do you have? I'm so excited about our new venture!

 

Until next time,

~ Buzzard ~

 

 





He Loves Me So Much..

He married me TWICE!

Last night, I posted this picture to Facebook, Instagram and Twitter:

"Pretty low-key Monday night. Just getting remarried...no big deal. #newlyweds"

And my feeds blew up with hilarious comments about not really being married for the first two years, the absence of a marriage license, cake, readers and the comment that inspired this title from Celeste Harned "Poor Frobose, how many times is he gonna hear 'I'm so awesome you married me twice.' Lol." Way to go Celeste, I did literally laugh out loud at that one.

This story is so ridiculous I have to share it - I swear I couldn't make this [insert word for manure] up.

Starting from the beginning...

We got married in January 2011 and moved to Australia a mere three weeks later. Because my passport and travel visa were in Buzzard, and three weeks isn't enough time to change them, I stayed Brandi Buzzard for the entirety of our trip.

Upon returning to the U.S. I embarked upon the crappy path of name change. Fellas, you ought to buy your wives two dozen roses and an old bottle of wine for taking on your name, especially when it's not near as cool as her own. Name change just doesn't happen with the exchanging of vows and rings. There are forms [gasp] and waiting in line [double gasp] and it actually isn't cheap by the time she purchases new checks, a new passport, changes the title of her vehicles, new driver's license (we'll get to that), etc. It's also extremely time consuming  and a massive headache. No wonder so many women decide not to change their names - if I hadn't promised him a long time ago that I would change it, I totally would stay Buzzard instead of becoming Mrs. Ninja.

Anyhow, I've legally been Brandi Lynn Buzzard Mrs. Ninja [Buzzard is my middle name. You didn't think I'd get rid of it completely did you? tsk tsk] for about a year. Social security card, bank accounts, employment records, insurance, credit cards - all of that has been changed. The last thing I needed to do was change my driver's license so I took my new social security card and the 18 forms of ID that the DMV requires into the County Treasurer's Office and waited impatiently for 1.5 hours until it was my turn. 

I was so proud. And so dumb. Proud of myself for having all the proper forms of ID, utility bills, blood sample, tattoo and everything else that is required for a new plastic ID card. And so dumb because I actually believed this was going to be a smooth process. #Idiot. How many times have you gone to the DMV and left with your new card on the first try? NEVER.

The fella starts processing my form and although I can't remember the actual conversation, [this event took place last fall(ish)], he asked why the box on the bottom of my form didn't have a legal name in it. ruh-roh.

*Sidenote: While we were in Australia, the DMV or some higher power, decided that marriage licenses needed a box at the bottom denoting what the legal names of the married individuals will be after the cake is gone and the emotional roller coaster is over. OUR marriage license had no such box. I know this because I had the original and there definitely was no option for that.

I informed the oh-so-delightful employee that my license didn't have that and if he would just process my forms and snap my picture I'd be on my way. Nope - not happening. He told me that I had to have that box filled in since I was not dropping Buzzard and was instead adding it as a middle name. This seems unfathomably stupid to me but I don't make the rules, I just whine about them. He also told me that I could legally change my name by filing a civil court case and making an ad in the paper letting folks know I was changing my name and it would only cost approximately $200. Then I would bring that form back and proceed as planned. 

I felt the need to repeat to him several times that my legal name ALREADY had been changed and that my driver's license is not the Holy Grail of legality in the U.S. How do we keep track of children under the age of 14 without driver's licenses? Holy cow - they must not exist without a driver's license! He wasn't buying it.

I bid him bad good-day and then drug my semi-lifeless body to the County Clerk's office to schedule my pointless court date and began mentally preparing myself for the anguish of telling The Ninja about the whole process. As I stood glumly in the clerk's office, I was met with some good news from the clerk ladies who told me that I could just get remarried and file a new marriage license which would be far cheaper and much less time consuming. HUZZAH!

So, after double-checking several times that this was actually legal, The Ninja and I tied the knot [again] last night and went out for celebratory drinks.

I've had several people ask why they weren't invited and if we did something wrong. We even got an offer for a toaster [yes, please]. There were only 5 of us there - The Ninja, me, our two witnesses ([hanks swine graduate students] and the Judge. We didn't fill the judge in on the background, at this point I just wanted to get it over with and done.

So now I can finish out changing my name - as you may have noticed/read, I've legally been Mrs. Ninja for quite some time and had changed all my social media outlets etc a long time ago. But I can now finish the last few steps that require a driver's license. Halle-freakin'-lujah.

Summary: we have actually been married the entire time. We now have two marriage licenses, two wedding dates and one anniversary [I'm not celebrating this headache]. I am a little disappointed though, The Ninja didn't get me a gift, a flower or whisk me away on another surprise honeymoon to Fiji. Bummer. But at least we're still married and I do love him so there's always that!

The Ninja told me last night that I should try to share this story so that other brides know what a big pain in the butt it is and I agree. It shouldn't be this difficult. If we can legally tie ourselves to someone after a three day wait and $85 and then expect half of their worldly goods if the marriage doesn't work, why is changing the name to reflect the promise so difficult?

I'm shooting to get on Ellen. She's hilarious and like I said, you can't make this stuff up.

Anyone else have any ridiculous post marriage frustration stories to share?

Until next time [with ag related info],

~ Buzzard ~

p.s. If you stop calling me Buzzard, we stop being friends. Capice?

The Mush Continues...

Don't fret - this is the last mushy post of the year (probably). But I just have to share the details on our 2nd anniversary.

THE NINJA KNOCKED IT OUT OF THE PARK.

I woke up on Tuesday morning and was getting dressed and curling my hair and he said, "Make sure you bring something to wear to watch the game" and I immediately thought he wanted to go to Aggieville to watch the Cats. So when I asked him where we were going to park our butts for the game, I was shocked for him to say "Section 1."  I flipped out, y'all. Did my happy dance around the bedroom, jumped on the bed - the whole caboodle. Day officially made. Nobody knows me better than the Ninja. This was the absolute perfect present - I wasn't sure how he was going to swing planning a great date AND working the game in but he totally scored major husband points for catering to sports fanatic Buzzard.

So it makes perfect sense for the rest of the day to drag ooooooooooooon. When 6 pm rolled around and I got these puppies in my hand, I had the biggest possible grin on my face. Cheesin'

 That's my boy - McGruuuuuuuuder

I make the Ninja smile for pictures on special days. He doesn't like it but he obliged when I held up my 2 Years sign for us to take a photo with in the Octagon of Doom. Many of you saw it on Instagram (follow me @brandibuzzard) Tuesday night but here it is again for your viewing pleasure. 

 The other side said "We Are K-State" and had McGruder's number on it which also happens to be the same day as our anniversary. Coincidence?

And just for good measure, here's the one from last year:

Look at that hand-crafted beauty of a sign.

 So the game didn't quite turn out like I had hoped but I was thrilled to see that we can easily hang with KU. McGruder had an off night and KU only had 7 fouls called against them in an entire game but it's over and I"m looking forward to the game this Saturday against Iowa State. 

And just because he is amazing, he got me a dozen roses to boot. I'm not the kind of girl that needs flowers, but I don't know a girl who doesn't appreciate them. And these are sure making my office look and smell very cheery!

Warning: here comes the mush. I've said time and again I'm a very passionate person and the Ninja will attest to that. I can go from passionately happy to passionately ticked in the same hour but I'm of the frame of mind that normality is over-rated. I am so unbelievably blessed to have married a man that appreciates and loves all of me, all of the time. He never reads this blog but maybe he'll see this. Who knows.

I am so grateful for the Ninja's ability to love a red-headed, loud-mouthed, stubborn, quick talking, passionate tomboy. I'm glad he sticks with me although I'm not entirely sure that if I were a horrible chef that he wouldn't leave me. So I guess I'll keep frying and baking to keep him around. Like I said, I don't believe in being average and I found a great old movie quote that pretty much sums up our life together:

"Unless it's mad, passionate, extraordinary love, it's a waste of time. There are too many mediocre things in life, & love should not be one of them."

Until next time (with waaay less mush),

~ Buzzard ~

Dos Anos

That's two years for the non- Spanish speaking.

Dos anos ago, this happened:

Ah, sweet wedded bliss.

So today this week, things are going to be a little more mushy on the blog. I can't help it. I love the Ninja. A lot.

Last year, I shared the details of how we spent our first wedding anniversary and I'll be doing the same this year. I always (does two years count as always?) put the Ninja in charge of these things because he blows them out of the water. Seriously, so thoughtful. But until then, here are some of my favorite photos from the big day and the festivities afterwards. And these aren't your normal cliche, picturesque photos (well a smidgen of them might be) but are the outtakes and hilarious candids from a day of love and laughter; family and friends. I even narrate - enjoy!

 We did this exact same thing at her wedding a few weeks ago - can't

 keep a straight face around that gal!

 The Ninja missed the 'be serious' memo

 What's not to love about this picture? They were in unison for a good 10 seconds. epic.

 Two reasons I like this photo: 1) I love having a picture of the Ninja and I praying together 2) My dad and the groomsmen decided to pull a little prank. Check out his shoes!

We stood in the door for a few minutes because we were supposed to wait for the music to change and it was awkward.

 Photo fail by the Ninja. I must have said something hilarious, as usual.

 Again, miscommunication between the photogs. I thought we were supposed to look gangsta, while Becca obviously went the more photogenic route. We did this at her wedding too.

 Andy, the best man, talked about how he warned the Ninja that I 'was a handful.' A handful of awesome! (notice the empty Crown Royal bottle so early in the night)

 I love all of these guys (well, most of them - right, Rooney?)

 Papaw and I

I love what a great big-brother my husband is - he's going to be a fantastic father!

 Not our first dance but I love that the Ninja has some great dance moves now. He didn't have any when we met - mega points to me for having rhythm and being able to teach him how to two-step and swing dance.

 The power of prayer with my best ladies

 Cheap shot, Ninja. Thank goodness for cousins to wipe cake off my face. Thanks, Court.

No wedding in Manhattan is complete without swing dancing at Longhorn's. in your wedding dress. to this song.

 See? I told you I taught him how to dance.

All photos by Grant Watkins (except the bar photos)

What are some of your favorite photos from weddings you've attended or your own wedding?

Until next time,

~ Buzzard~