Pride.

This weekend, my brothers graduated high school.

 

(James, me, Kevin)

Did you know me before a year ago? If so, you know that I used to only have one brother.

My biological brother, Kevin, is 5 years younger than me. He's a pita most of the time, and a smart ass all of the time. To be honest, we've never been really close (that happens when there's 5 years in between you). He was diagnosed with severe ADHD a few months ago, and we've become closer in those few months of him having meds than in 17 years. Crazy how that can change a person.

James is my new brother. He's a friend of Kevin's, and was kicked out of his house when he found out his mom stole his identity (great lady, huh?). He had been couch hopping his entire senior year, and consequently, failed. As he prepared to start senior year for the second time, Kevin asked my mom if he could stay at our place for a few weeks while he saved for an apartment of his own. The situation when great, and he ended up staying. I think he goes to more family events than Kevin does now, but I completely see him as a sibling. He's a great kid.

 (The whole family)

The two of them are part of the first class to graduate from FZE after 4 full years. They represent Lion Pride. They've both struggled through school, but they've made it through. They've beaten the odds, and proven that hard work will get you through, as long as you fight for what you want. Next year, Kevin will be headed towards UCM, and James will go on to Le Cordon Bleu.

And I wish both of my brothers the best of luck in their futures.

Congratulations to the Class of 2011!!

5 Question Friday.

So I'm posting this from the floor of my bedroom. Why? Because it's the only place in the apartment not covered by stuff or wet. That's right, our apartment flooded AGAIN. This time, the culprit was a rusted pipe from the wall to the toilet (and of course the emergency shut off wouldn't work). So my place is yet again a heaping mess, and since I have 3 fabulous friends coming into town, it looks like we'll be renting a hotel room. Because clearly, they can't stay here. At least I don't have to clean before they get here? Still. Erg.



1. Do you and your spouse go to bed at the same time?
Yes. It's actually a "rule" at our house - we always get into bed at the same time at night. Clearly, that's if we're both home - we don't wait up on each other. But, if one of us isn't tired, the other reads, plays on the computer, whatevs for a awhile.

2. What kind of facial hair do you like on men?
None. Except in the case of Sean. I hate Sean without facial hair (he looks like he's 12) - he sports a goatee that I love. Generally, I prefer clean shaven though, or just soul-patch. Except with Sean.


3. What's the worst vacation you've ever taken?
The last vacation with my parents. Sean and I went to Tan-Tar-A with my family one spring break. Now my siblings are all really far apart (we're 23, 18, and 9), so it's really hard to cater to all of our tastes at once. But we were expecting to be able to do something that we enjoyed... However, we spent the entire trip at the indoor water park. Four FULL days in a steamy, kid-riddled, sauna room. With pirate ships. It was cool the first day, but after that, we were done (but my sister was not). Yet we stayed, and continued. And the moral is? We will never go on a trip with my family again.

4. What's the first-ever blog you followed?
Road to the Aisle (and now I follow the after-married blog, Heather Drive). I found it when I was just in the beginning stages of wedding planning, and this blog was seriously my wedding model. I looked up to it SO much, even though Heather was married 2 years before me. It was SO incredibly helpful. And I love her new blog, and new baby!

5. Do you enjoy amusement parks?
Yep. I LOVE roller coasters, and the greatest thing in the world to me is ballpark monstrous hot dogs and ice cream in waffle cones. I'm not a full day at the park person though (my mom would go from open to close!) - I'm done after about 6-8 hours.

Homemade Cinnamon Sugar Donuts.

I love cake donuts. Love them. I would eat a cake donuts every day if I could. While I can appreciate fresh baked, warm glazed donuts, nothing is as good as a fresh cake donut.

One of things we registered for was a deep fryer. Sean was really skeptical about it, but my nagging persistence paid off. We actually got two, but in any case, it's one of my favorite appliances. We make french fries, potato chips, and now, donuts.

People. These donuts are heavenly. Especially still warm. They've got a cinnamon spice thing going on, and the sugar coating on the outside makes them one of the best things ever. They take time though. Since my deep fryer is uber tiny (space saving in an apartment y'all!), I could only fry one at a time. Next time, I'll probably break out my 5 qt pan and just fry them on the stove. As a prewarning - this recipe makes 20-24 donuts, plus holes (!!!). I had no idea when I started making them, and now I'll probably be sending half with Sean to school tomorrow.

Donuts
3 1/2 cups flour
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp cloves
1/8 tsp nutmeg
3 Tbsp shortening
2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
2/3 cup milk

Cinnamon Sugar topping
3/4 cup sugar
1 Tbsp cinnamon

Combine flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg in a bowl. Set aside.
In a large bowl, cream shortening and sugar together until fluffy.
Add in eggs, one at a time. Blend throughly.
Alternating adding in flour mix and milk, until a sticky dough forms.
Roll out dough to 3/8" thick. Using biscuit cutters (I used a glass and a shot glass ^_^) cut out donuts and holes. Place on a baking sheet and freeze for 10 minutes.
While dough is cooling, heat up oil in deep fryer or pan to 350 degrees (if you put a drop of water in it, it should pop and sizzle). Line a baking sheet with paper towels.
Take dough, and drop into oil. The dough rings/holes will sink to the bottom, then rise to the surface. When bottom is golden brown, flip over and cook the other side. Using tongs or a heat-proof spoon, remove from oil and set on paper towels to absorb the oil.
While still warm, toss in cinnamon sugar.

Of course, cinnamon sugar could be replaced with any sort of preferred spice, jelly, or even chocolate frosting. Sounds fabulous, right?! Enjoy!

Five. Five Question. Five Question Fridaaaay

As a conclusion to a fantastic week (I did, after all, start a new amazing job), I will yet again do 5QF! I'm so proud of myself! Also, as a special note, in one week some of my best friends ever will be coming to visit. I'm super excited to have them here (and plan on sending Sean back to StL, or out with the boys often at least). I'm in a very good mood, to say the least. 


1. Tube socks, calf socks, crew, ankle, none?
Ideally, non. I hate socks. Hate them. But if I have to wear them, I will only wear ankle socks or knee highs. I blame years of uniform wearing that only let us wear high-than-our-ankles socks. Gross.


2. Was your childs (children's) name a mutual decision or was it a debate? If you don't have children, do you plan on giving your spouse a say, or do you have a name you MUST have, regardless if your other half likes it or not?!
We don't have kids yet, but we have come to an agreement on this one. I won't name a kid without Sean's approval (and not begrudging make-the-wife-happy approval, real liking of the name). It's half his, right? Luckily, there's only one girl name that I have my heart set on, and he whole-heartedly likes it. After all, there's no sense fighting over that stuff before babies are even thought of.


3. What is your favorite type of weather?
Sunny, breezy, and hot. Honestly, 85-90 degrees is my favorite temperature. It's warm enough for shorts and capris, but also cool enough that I can wear pants if I'm not going to be outside all day. Breezy to keep the humidity down. And sun because I love it so much. I'm always happier when it's sunny out. 


4. If left to your own devices, what time would you wake up every day?
Around 8 am. Maybe 9 at the latest. I'm definitely an early bird. With work though, I wake up between 5:30 and 6:15 each day, depending on when I need to be in. 


5. Have you bought your cemetery plots yet?
Nope. And frankly, I'm kinda weirded out by the thought. I know we're gonna need them eventually, but we don't know where we're going to end up yet. We'll probably be more likely to buy them in our 40s or 50s. 

My New Job!

So if you couldn't tell from my last post, I got a new job.

I'm so excited. It's a management trainee position, which will open sooo many doors for me (both within the company and outside of it). I've only been there 3 days, but so far, I'm loving every second. It pays so much better (like $6 an hour better - which translates to FIFTEEN THOUSAND DOLLARS A YEAR), and it's much more rewarding.

As always, I won't share my company name, but I'm working with trucks (big trucks - semis and rentals), so it's way out of my area of expertise, but I'm loving learning about it all. I love that I'm moving around, checking them in, and figuring out what's going on with each one. I'm one of very few females, and I love that I get to joke around with the guys and there's no drama (or very little). Most of the people I work with are in their 20-30s, so it's a young crowd. And everyone has their degree! One of the things that really frustrated me with my old job was that I was working with people who never went to school (and it showed in professionalism, learning style, and communication style) yet getting paid that same thing. At my new job, a Bach is required, so everyone is on the same level as me. It's so refreshing! Everyone is upbeat and positive, and it's clearly not a dead-end job. And I still get to work with people. I love it. Seriously.

Though, I do need to go buy better shoes. We have to dress business casual, but the only suitable shoes I have are heels. I need either wedges or better fitting heels, as climbing in and out of semi cabs all day is not easy with heels. I feel like I'm making a mockery of myself! Thankfully Famous Footwear is having a sale, so I think we're gonna head over there tonight. My feet will love me so much after I get new kicks!