Dinner Idea for You!

Since beef and I are on the outs right now (and we usually had some form of beef at least 2x a week), I've been forced to be more creative with mealtimes.  Pork is one meat that I've always been "afraid" of - my mom didn't cook with it a lot growing up, so I don't think I bought it until a few months ago when I decided that I could use pork tenderloins (I think that's what they're called) to cut up for stir-fry.  

I really wanted to try a pork roast, so I decided to buy one without giving any thought to the fact that I had no recipe for it!  I decided on a pork-shoulder-butt-roast.  It weighed a couple of pounds. I went on all-recipes.com and found a recipe for a 5-lb crockpot pork roast.  The ingredients were pork, salt and pepper, beef broth, BBQ sauce, and coffee.  However, after reading some comments, I learned that the coffee and beef broth weren't even necessary - which is good b/c I can't stand the smell or taste of coffee now, and I didn't have the beef broth in the house!  

Monday morning, I put my roast in the crockpot, sprinkled it with pepper, filled a small canning jar (!) with water, and dumped it in.  Then I sprinkled some onion soup mix around the water to give it a little flavor, and squeezed a few squirts of BBQ sauce on top.  I put it on low for 8 hrs.  

I came home from work, and it smelled heavenly!!  I squeezed a bunch more BBQ sauce on top, and let it cook for about 20 more minutes.  Then I pulled it out and shredded it, and added a few spoonfuls of the "broth" to the meat pile, just to flavor it some more.  Chris and I ate it on big buns with some extra BBQ sauce on top, with homemade pasta salad on the side.  

All I can say is that we were drooling!  This is definitely a keeper! :)

New finds

Some new internet goodies:

I just read this woman's posts back to August in one sitting - that's how much I enjoyed her writing: missalamode.blogspot.com

Interesting frugal site I found from Meredith's blog: frugalhomemakerplus.blogspot.com

Crystal Paine (of MoneySavingMom fame) has started a new blog dedicated to raising kids.

I've been lurking here for a while, actually: The Nester's sister, (I think her name is Emily?) writes beautifully about life and has great photos to boot.

They're being added to the blogroll - and a few other sides are being deleted because I don't ever read them anymore (ouch-hope that didn't sound prissy!).

Anyone else just dying for spring so you can go yard-saling again?!

My sister-in-law and I are having a yard sale on May 9th at my house and I can hardly wait!

Happy Martin Luther King Day!

Oh, do I love that man.  I mean, I love everything he did for civil rights in this country, and that he was committed to non-violence, and that he wanted a peaceful nation.  But right now I'm loving that man because I. don't. have. to. work. today.  

Which means....

• I got to sleep in til 8 in my deliciously comfy, warm bed with my fluffy "down" comforter
  
• I got to make myself an egg sandwich (workday morning breakfasts are always something boring and fast, like PB toast)
  
• I got all of my lesson planning for this week done before 9:15
  
• I get to start a batch of banana-chocolate-chip muffins at 9:45 in the morning
  
• I get to go hang out with a good friend today and watch only one of the greatest movies of all time: Anne of Green Gables
  

I mean really, what more could a girl want? Okay, maybe a mani-pedi and a full body massage, but I'll take it. ;)  

Whether you're working or relaxing today, or somewhere in between, have a great Monday!  

P.S.  I do this all the time, and forgive me, but Sandy has such incredible giveaways that I can't help myself.  I'm linking to her amazing, fantastic, full-of-gorgeous-pictures-and-ideas-blog so I can get entered in her giveaway twice.  Maybe this time........

Ugh.

Bad vomiting today. Again.

Sunday night, I made enchiladas for dinner (I've made these a bunch of times - we love them). We sat down to eat, and Chris took a bite before me and made a face. lol I took a bite and soon realized they were GROSS. Like, totally bitter and disgusting. We narrowed it down to the wrap tasting bad, because the cheesy meat inside tasted totally normal. We threw what was on our plates and what was left in the pan out. I am usually super cautious about expiration dates, etc., but I did look on the wrap bag and realize that the wraps had expired on Dec. 27th. I just figured, okay, not horrible, because it's not like they were moldy or anything - I threw those away, too.

Well.

Monday morning, I was getting ready for school, and just as I was about to go downstairs to make breakfast, I knew it was coming. I'll spare you the disgusting details, but suffice it to say that it was very, very violent puking. It was horrible and I wanted to die. Unforunately, call-offs have to be made by 6 am and it was about 6:40 at this time. I felt "better" after I puked and Chris reminded me that if I got to school and couldn't make it through the day, to just come home. I didn't feel that great, and had an upset stomach, but somehow I made it through the day. No more puking, however!

I knew it would be weird to start puking at exactly 12 w, so I chalked it up to food poisoning. However, Chris didn't get sick at all, which I thought was weird.

I didn't throw up or feel sick on Tues, Wed, or Thurs.

Last night, I made taco salad (also with ground beef). Well, surprise, surprise! I woke up, got ready, and realized with dread that it was going to happen again. And this time it was waaay worse. Ugh. It was about 6:30, but I didn't care - there was no way I was going through this again. Besides, this time it felt like I could puke again at any time. I called my principals, and went back to bed. My stomach did get upset, but I slept for a few hours and when I woke up I had some saltines and a little cold water. I feel better now.

So, my question is, is it the beef or what? Chris thinks it is the Mexican spices in both foods, because our beef is from Chris's uncle's cows and we've never had a problem with his meat before. Also, the beef last night came directly from the freezer and I defrosted it in the micro. I would think that he's right, but I'm so depressed because I love Mexican food! He thinks maybe it's just too strong for my stomach to handle during pregnancy. I'm not sure what I think.

Anyone care to put in their two cents?

To me, pregnancy is 8 months of try-not-to-get-hysterical-because-something-might-be-wrong. I mean, until the baby starts moving in a couple of months, I have idea if it's healthy/alive/safe until I see it on the ultrasound machine. God has been very good to me, and I have been able to see this baby 3 times already (I'm only 11 w 5 d today). I know most women only get to see their baby at their 20 w ultrasound, so I'm very grateful that I've had this opportunity. Still, the last time I saw the baby was in the 8th week, so for 3 weeks I'e silently wondered if everything was okay.

I try to stay very positive - a) because I know God's looking out for me, and b) because stress is really bad for the baby. However, when we pulled up to the testing center on Friday, I felt so sick to my stomach. But my fears were soon put to rest! We had a super nice ultrasound technician, who confirmed that my baby has two hemispheres in its brain, two legs, two arms, and a nice strong heartbeat of 169 bpm (yes, I know you will all think I'm having a girl! lol).

Chris and I were getting the biggest kick out of our baby - it was literally doing sommersaults in the womb! The technician was begging it out loud to stay put! I was trying SO hard not to laugh, but it definitely didn't help that Chris was laughing right next to me. At one point she finally said, "So, your child's now doing leg lifts!" haha It was THE cutest thing! Our baby was laying on its back, with both of its knees slightly bent, lifting its legs up in the air in sync. Like it was watching an exercise dvd! The poor lady was having a terrible time getting measurements.

She turned to get a different instrument, and of course, our child completely falls asleep. Um, narcolepsy? :) For the second measurment, she needed it to be awake, so she starts jiggling my belly with the probe and begging it to wake up.

All in all, it was hilarious - if you know Chris, this baby is definitely taking after its goofy daddy.

I just laid there, taking it all in, thanking God for keeping my baby healthy and unquestionably alive.


Oh, and p.s. - we will know the gender on March 2nd! I can hardly wait!!!! :)