Little brother musings

A year ago, my teenage brother created his first Gmail account and tried convincing the sisterhood that we should call him ‘Diesel’. Why? No clue. But for all intensive hilarity, consider my brother’s official name to be Diesel.

To honor Diesel’s 15^th birthday today, 10 reasons why my baby brother kicks butt.

(You thought I was going to give 15 reasons, didn't you?

1. He wanted to be known as Diesel. ‘Nuff said.

2. The suggestion of ‘Diesel’ prompted us to bestow a slew of other nicknames, including Dog Tags and Shrew. I'll skip the back stories and just go with 'yesssssssssss'.

3. He has the best heart. Like, on Earth. The sisterhood was brutal on D, and history would show that he should be a big bully. But seriously, this kid wouldn’t hurt a fruit fly. Example:  he’s a 6’3” 15-year-old that gets picked on by a teenage turd half his size, and Diesel still befriends him. I wish I was like that. And I can't forget to mention the phone calls I get every two weeks from D asking when I'll be home next because he misses me. Heart.breaker.

4. Titanic love. I thought I had an affinity for all Titanic-related things, but Diesel takes the crown. Give him a book title containing ‘Titanic’, I guarantee he’s already read it.  

5. One-man show. My brother is and always will be an entertainer, and even though he gets carried away quite often, he’s still a riot.

D (on the right), and his floating-head, mysterious-hand sister. 

6. Like grandfather, like grandson. Diesel has this enthralling connection with our grandpa, and no one really understands it. Inside jokes, conversation topics and key words ("fellowship") are the base. Don’t try to jump into their conversations when it’s really going – you’ll likely be ignored. It’s not you; it’s them.

7. Brainiac. Big-time history/spelling-bee nerd, and I couldn't be prouder. 


8. Brothers (in-law). D has always really admired E, and I get all sentimental and stuff thinking about it. I just really love that my husband and brother have the relationship they do.

9. HP for LIFE. I've talked before about my Harry Potter obsession, and it's only gotten worse since. Probably because I introduced Diesel the world that I unashamedly wish we lived in, and every time he visits, we watch as many of the films possible. Victory.

10. Because every sister needs a brother. Especially if you're older. Girls always feel like older brothers are worse on the over-protective scale than parents. But it's also true (I think) if it's vice versa. I'm always asking D who he's texting, what girl he's "dating," how fast he drives, how many bags of Doritos he's eaten this week or if he's drinking enough water. So all you 16-year-old cougars out there thinking about finding out what D has to offer, don't. Because I will be all over that. 

This week's 7.

1. We’re thinking about opening a hotel/travel agency in our apartment. In the past 11 days, we’ve had three different sets of visitors. IN A ROW. Need a place to stay? Make a reservation. Want an unofficial tour of Kansas City? I’ll take you. Will I cook for you? Only if I like you. Will I expect you to buy me ice cream? Absolutely.

2. This pool. I’m parking here all July and August. (And probably September…let’s be real.)

3. I’ve got this issue where I can’t sleep in my and E’s bed without him. You’re probably going “awwww, that’s so cute”. Lies! It’s not. Do you know how terrible it is when I want to go to sleep at 10 PM but can’t fall asleep until he crawls in at 11? Mis-er-a-ble. Our air mattress will be my best friend all next week while he’s on a business trip.

4. Has anyone seen Dark Shadows? Thoughts? I can't seem to form an opinion of it.

5. Speaking of movies, E and I got season 7 of ‘The Office’ last week and watched it in a weekend. Yes, we are 22 years old in a hopping city. 

6. Hot pink pants + navy cat-print top for work? Why on earth not.

7. I started a new routine to get me back into running because I’m crazy. It involves me waking up at the 5:30 in the morning. I’ve also transformed into a permanent crab because of said running routine. 

[un]Photogenic.

I get a real kick out of some the photos my family takes. My mom is famous for her hate of being in front of an camera, and while she claims the other five of us are photogenic, we find ways to prove her wrong.

I know you want to see more of my family's (lack of) ability. Behold, the newest gems.

I snapped these at mini-me's graduation party, and can't decide which is better. Dad's "I look high" face, or my cousin's creeper smile.

By the way, it's totally kosher to laugh at these. In fact, please do.

Crazy pills

Crrrrrrrrrrrrazy pills. Let's talk about these.

I am on them. 

Apparently, I only went to work in the subconscious state of mind today because, when I left, I had told my boss that I would train for and run a half marathon with her. 

WHAT?!?!?!

I could give you 18 reasons why this is a bad idea, and at least five of them are substantial.

...I feel like Jim Carrey in The Mask (if you haven't seen it, shame on you) when he says, "Somebooodddy stop me!"

Because somebody definitely should have.

I mean, seriously, why?

I will probably complain about this until I get annoyed enough with myself to back out. Just sayin'. 

This week's 7.

1. I really love going home to South Dakota. I love that my family lives in the middle of nowhere (literally, our house was built in one of my dad's fields). And the 7-hour drive from KC is infinitely better compared to the 12-hour Chicago route.

2. While home, I got to see mini-me graduate.

3. Then mini-me and the little bro decided to hitch a ride back to KC with me for some quality sibling time. Mainly, mini-me is visiting a hair school out here.

4. Their visit has enlightened me on what I will be like as a mother:  an overprotective, always texting "What are you guys up to?" worry wart. Pray for my future children.

5. I really like my new camera, but we're still in the getting-to-know-each-other stage. Crossing my fingers that this is something real.

6. Need an excuse for a Target run? Live in an apartment complex with an amazing pool and realize you completely forgot to register for beach towels. Excuse achieved.

Target's $5.50 version of 'his & her' towels. 

7. You would think that baking bread from frozen dough is too easy to mess up. But it can (and did) happen.

...Ye-ah, it's not supposed to droop over the side like that.

Season to season

I’m not talking about the summer-to-fall, fall-to-spring kind.

Yes, I did intentionally skip winter. We’re only friends from Thanksgiving through Christmas.

Buuuuut anyways. The seasons I’m talking about are named based on occasion. Any guess?

Meet my two additions to the calendar – Graduation and Wedding.

The past two weekends I was traipsing through the Midwest. KC to Chi-city, KC to…family farm.

Granted one of the graduations was mine and the E-man’s, and the other my baby-but-not-actually­-a-baby sister’s. Both full of fun people and yummy food.

And I know it will be the same for all the weddings, with the addition of dancing. Lots and lots of weddings and dancing. And cake.

So, dear readers, consider this an official notice (read: excuse) that if my blogging suffers in the next six weeks, it's because I'm soooo popular and have soooo many weddings to attend. You’ve been warned.

Also, if I gain seven pounds from wedding cake, don’t even think about judging me.

This week's 7.

I'm so unoriginal.

I say that because the idea behind this post is not my own.

A few blogs I follow incorporate some sort of weekly round-up - a post that happens on the same day every week, highlighting random, entertaining things. These weekly things are what I look forward to most when reading other bloggers' musings.

So, blog, meet 'This week's 7'.

1. These oranges. Seriously. Are they mutants? Did they get a little too much sun while growing in Florida? Should I be worried? The world will never know the reasoning behind their gargantuan size.

For an accurate exhibition, I compared them to my chap stick.

 2. Beef - it's what's for everything. Because my dad raises cattle, we've had a stockpile of fresh, grass-fed, non-processed, skip-that-pink-slime-crap, straight-from-the-butcher beef occupying our freezer since we first moved in. And since I'm going home this weekend, E and I are on a beef frenzy to make room for the next cooler of delicious, family farm meat products. Next week, only chicken. We like to work in extremes.

3. We spent a short weekend in Chicago at Trinity's graduation. Although we both finished school in December, the hubs and I chose to participate in the May ceremony. You know, to "graduate" with all of our friends and stuff.

One of my very best friends.

4. Speaking of friends, we also got to see some other great people that start with 'f' - family! My parents made the annoyingly long trip from South Dakota to come see me, and the in-laws made frequent not-as-long trips from Indiana. E and I are pretty blessed.

My mom is kind of notorious for not liking photos. I think this picture
captures her thoughts well.

Ignore the brightness. We're a happy bunch.

5. My bangs...are driving me crazy. I was in love with them 2 weeks ago, but they've grown, and I just don't know if I can handle (wearing) them (straight down) anymore. Help?

There's a lot of loathing going on here.

6. "Hello, heart attack." That's what I said last week when I made these bars, and it's what I said this week while making more to bring to work. I have no self control, and I'm awesome at using coworkers as an excuse to indulge my sweet tooth.

7. 'Holy crap'...is another thing I said when I got my very first DSLR camera last week. This thing is so cool, so intimidating, so crazy, and soooo cool. I can't even talk about it anymore.

First picture with the new camera.

E with his new micro 4/3 camera.

Three's a crowd...?

Who made that rule? And does it apply to cookie dough + Oreo + brownie combinations?

I sure hope not.

You may remember meeting my friend Pistachio. I've been a terrible person and haven't really pulled him out of his dark abyss in my cupboard for a while. After going to my first out-of-office happy hour for work (all by myself, might I add), I was craving something rich and really unhealthy.

Meet these.

Yiiiiiiiikes.

So rich, so delicious, so satisfying. I hope you're gathering the ingredients for them right now, because they are everything you want in a super rich indulgence and more. And if you're not preparing to make these right now, why?

Hey there, Mr. Cookie Dough.

Meet your wife, Mrs. Brownie. You're newlyweds...it's sort of an arranged marriage.

I know you're a little nervous about this, so I'll just give you some alone time.

...And those are your pet unicorns, known to the common world as 'Oreos'.

You took that life change exceptionally well. I'm proud of you, Dough.

Glad you guys got to vacation somewhere warm. You look a little baked, though.

What?! Somebody stole 1/10 of your family? It can't be. No need to cry those tears of fudge, Dough. It will all be over soon.

...I have way too much fun talking to my food.

4 things I didn't know about myself

Count the months, peeps, because E-dizzle and I have been married for 4 big ones. We’re basically experts.

I like to think that we’re out of the honeymoon stage, but I still get the “No, you’re definitely not” response when I tell people that. I actually like to think that we skipped it altogether because I want to believe that E and I keep it pretty real, but people tell me that’s not true, either. Why on Earth is no one letting me have my cake and eat it too?!?!

Because I like to think that I’m a pretty reflective person (us communicators tend to be), I was simultaneously doing the dishes and thinking about my four experience-filled months of marriage.

And then my brain got interesting. I realized mid fork rinsing that I’ve learned a few things about myself since being married. Just when I thought I had me all figured out…

1. The chance of me having a slight obsessive-compulsive complex is no longer a chance; it’s fact. You wouldn’t think it matters how one stores their toilet paper, but oh baby, it does. And you think there’s more than one way to make the bed? How dare you. There’s one way, and it’s my way (hello, 5-year-old brat me).

Let’s give credit where it’s due. To my husband, you are way too patient and gracious. 

2. I can be a woman of double standards. But only when it comes to cleaning. I think. Like, I’ll ask the hubby to help me clean, but I’ve always got some critique with his methods. What is wrong with me?

3. I work against myself. I always complain that Eric and I need to eat healthier, but then I make things like stromboli. Or steak. Or the Cinco de Mayo spread I talked about here. I’ve threatened myself and E with eating salad for an entire month, but let’s be honest – we won’t. And so I’ll just continue my method of eating what I want and working out the bare minimum so I don’t blow up like a balloon. And E will just keep eating, because his metabolism is crrraaazzzy.

4. I may become a cat person. Not that I was ever anti-cat. I’m just more pro-dog. What really matters is that I’m really just anti-animals in the house. It.will.never.happen. The only exception is a fish. Or a labradoodle, if I ever get one. I can't even explain how much lint/animal hair drives me crazy.

Anyways, we’ve agreed that we will have pets when we have a backyard and outdoor pet homes for them to stay in. But when it came to species, we differ. E = cats, me = dogs. But I’m warming up to the idea of cats, and I proudly admit it’s because of the Internet’s gift of lolcats. I can has cheezburger? GENIUS. Thank you, Lolcats, for giving Eric and I random 15-minute spurts of classic entertainment.

The cat that began it all.

I weirdly hope I’m done learning things about myself for a while. But then again, maybe I’ll discover I’m the missing link to the Avengers being more awesome, or that I’m a closet wine connoisseur. But then, I’d have to drink something else besides Moscato or Reisling, and that’s just not happening. 

Cinco de Yummo

Let's get something straight.

I am in no way a cooking expert. If that's obvious, good.

Today was a fun day for us. We went to the West Bottoms and checked out some awesome antique/flea markets, where I got the little gem you see below.

The perfect solution for the awkward, above-the-stove space.

Then we went and saw 'The Avengers' at a theater the architecture firm I work for just got done renovating. Super cool theater + Avengers? Holy awesome. I loved that movie. By marriage, I'm a DC Comics gal (c'mon, who beats Batman?). But seriously...The Avengers.

After that, we did some big-girl camera shopping...that's all I'm disclosing for now.

And then, it was Cinco de Mayo celebration - marriage style time! We're pretty low-key people, so our Cinco de Mayo consisted of an awesome feast that we co-prepared (complete with margaritas).

Here you have it, folks. Fajitas, margaritas, chips from a tortilla, and...guacamole?

...We both knew that rhyming couldn't last forever.

Describe our meal in one word? Delicious. Two words? Super delicious. I can't even explain.

Afterwards, we laid on the floor to let our stomachs expand, and then I side-kicked it up as Eric watched a couple episodes of 'Dr. Who'.

The things I do for my husband.