I ate a pineapple. The pineapple ate me.

After eating pineapple and finding my tongue burning after eating a freshly cut piece of pineapple and still itching an hour later, I had the following text-discussion with my little brother, Duder.

Me: Does your tongue hurt when you eat fresh pineapple?

Duder: Lol, no.

Me: It’s so weird. I eat pineapple all the time and it’s just hurting now.

D: Like how?

Me: Like almost burning. It’s really uncomfortable.

D: Huh…

Me: The internet says its common. Apparently you’re not supposed to chew on the core. And leaving it in the fridge overnight makes the enzyme that causes it to break down. (Bromelain. It can be used to tenderize meat)

Me: Today is the first time I’ve not cored it or left it for later after cutting it.

D: Good to know. I’ll avoid that.

Me: Lol. It’s like a reminder that you can still experience things that totally perplex you out of the blue.

D: And also thank God for the internet.

Me: Lol. True. It’s probably saved many people from a trip to the E.R. I was really concerned before I Googled it.

D: Haha. Nice.

Me: 😀

This silly little conversation led to another and another and then coordinating holidays, which was nice because I sometimes find it difficult to hold a conversation with Duder. It was nice as both of us put effort into the conversation, which covered pineapple, vegan sausage, chorizo, tofurkey and holiday plans. I think it was one of the best conversations I’ve had with him in a long time. And I think I stumbled on a productive Duder conversation strategy: start out silly and then go deeper. 🙂

H-kids wedding summer extravaganza!

My brother and his fiancée just set their wedding date – in July 2014.

That makes four weddings in the family set for next summer. Puppy and I kick-off the nuptuals in early June, followed by Anda the next week, Roman Candle the week after and now Duder in July! I know the first three will be held in Dallas, or around Dallas. I wonder where Duder will have his. I’m hoping he’ll continue the trend and have it in Dallas. It’ll be like when we were kids again – an “H-Kids” reunion – all family hanging out all the time. (Junebug, Duder, Anda and I were nicknamed the “H-Kids” when we were little because we were always together and our last names all start with an ‘H.’ We even had H-Kid jackets.)

While we’re talking about weddings, Anda officially asked me to be her bridesmaid a few weeks ago in the sweetest way! She presented a box with my initial on it, and when I opened it, it was filled with photos of us from childhood to adulthood and a sweet note asking me to be her bridesmaid “to help make a new memory.”

Now we’re going to be in each other’s weddings… a week apart. I’d always thought she’d be my maid of honor but couldn’t ask her to take on such a big role with her wedding a week after mine. Also, I’ve gotten very close to my other cousins in the past few years and the proximity of our weddings let me ask another cousin without feeling like I was leaving her out.

I asked her to be one of my bridesmaids in December, when everyone was in town, along with three other cousins, with hand made custom bridesmaid paper dolls, which I’ve decided to sell on Etsy.

Seattle: Little brother proposes

My little brother got engaged; Puppy and I flew in to Seattle to be a part of the surprise proposal! It all happened last night, her birthday, at F.X. McRory’s. They look so happy!