Megan's Pulled Pork

These little suckers were goooooood!

Great/EASY recipe for parties. 

We served these up for the USC domination of UCLA this past Saturday!

Ingredients:

1 Pork Shoulder (3-5 lbs)

Liquid Smoke (tbl. per lb.)

1 Head of Chopped Cabbage

Soy Sauce (to taste)

Start with the pork shoulder and cut off the fat (this job screamed Shane, I need you!).  Once the fat is trimmed, put it in the crock pot on high with the liquid smoke.  You'll want to add a tablespoon of liquid smoke per pound of meat.  Let it cook on high for 8 hours.  After 8 hours, you'll want to drain the juice into a bowl and set aside.  At this point, your pork will be VERY stinky (good stinky, but stinky) and easy to shred.  Shred the pork and add chopped cabbage. Add back in a few ladles of juice and some soy sauce and let cook for 1 hour.  Serve it up on some Kings Hawaiian rolls.

Enjoy!
And thanks Megan for the wonderful recipe.  

XO, 

S

Cravings.

I heard they would come and they've finally arrived- CRAVINGS. 

Nothing too out of the ordinary, but here's what BB (Baby Ball) and I are craving as of late:

Pasta, hot, warm, rich cheesy PASTA

Get in my belly. 

(side note: this craving is super weird because I did not fancy pasta prior to pregnancy, it didn't agree with my tummy, so I'd opt for spaghetti squash or sauce over veggies)

Next up, The Habit Charburger

(side note:  I used to like my burgers plain, now I like them with cheese and grilled onions)

Next- FRUIT, fruit and more Fruit! 

Loving FRESH citrus and berries. 

CANNOT get enough!

Lastly, I'm really diggin these little guys- Sour Patch Kids.

 I'm normally more of a chocolate, salty sweet kinda girl, but right now these are my jam!

That's all I can think of at the moment.  Yesterday, we had a standard appointment with our OB and we got to hear the heartbeat again.  I love that wa-wa-wa sound, it's like music to my ears.  Next week we have our 20 week screening and find out 100% what the sex is (that is if the baby is cooperating)! 

CANNOT WAIT to start decorating.

TTFN.

XO, 

S

P.S. 

19 weeks and counting

Knowledge is Power!

...or OVERWHELMING!

Here's my new library, mostly given or lent to us by friends. 

I think I bought two of these and have opened three.(insert ashamed face here)

The first 16 weeks were about trying to feel better, now it's time to get my read on. 

Do you have a favorite, must read baby book?

I must say Exploiting My Baby by Teresa Strasser is my fav!

Happy Reading!

XO,
S

FINALLY... I am human again.

self portrait - weeks 6-16

Wow, that was the world's longest hang over and to think it wasn't even from drinking?!  Wondering what in the heck I'm talking about, well if you've ever experienced  "morning sickness" (let me clear my throat and say bullshit, all day sickness), it sucks, BUT the good news is it has finally passed (KNOCK ON EVERYTHING AROUND YOU, just in case).  I can finally enjoy my growing mid section and the little being inside me!  Yippee!

Bet you didn't know, I heart drugs!

Explanation: Unfortunately, before I could enjoy officially being nausea free, I caught a terrible cold.  Let me just tell you, being sick and pregnant double sucks.  I didn't realize what a druggy I was, until I couldn't take any for my recent cold. After a weekend of sniffles and trouble breathing through both my nose and mouth, I reached out to my doctor who said I could take Benadryl.  It dried me up real nice, but made the insomnia I was experiencing worse (gave me a whole new meaning to Up All Night, practice? Maybe!), either way- NO BUENO.  Long story short, I'm better now and happy, happy, happy.  Unfortunately I missed this 'happy' feeling on my bday, but que sera sera, on to greener pastures, there's always next year!

Next up, Thanksgiving and the holidays, woohoo!  My favorite time of year.   

XO, 

S

P.S. Stay healthy!

Cruising along... 15 weeks and counting!

Just cruising along, starting to grow a baby bump and enjoying this being pregnant business. Still feeling pretty nauseous, but I have my good days where I barely notice it.   Hoping/praying for more good days to come!  The latest preg related thing (I think) I felt was last night, I got a crazy pain in my butt (seriously, it was like in my butt cheek muscle, sorry TMI).   I think it's my sciatic, but I haven't had much time to research it.  It was the most crazy painful feeling, almost like a charlie horse in your booty.  It went away today, so I'm hoping it was just a weird cramp and this isn't going to be a normal occurrence, but I have heard of preg peeps mentioning this sort of thing.

On Monday, we had our once a month appointment and baby Ball seems to be doing great.  We heard he/she's heartbeat again, which is always the greatest feeling.  Thought we might do an ultrasound and be able to tell more about the sex, but I was wrong.   We won't be 100% sure until our 19 or 20 week appt.  So the wait continues.   

Bump Watch

15 weeks before our doc appt. 

 Outside the set for our friend Tessa's movie! (Shane and I tried our hand at being movie stars yesterday by being extras on her set.  So FUN!)

The beer belly, jiggly mid section (that's actually not so jiggly) is starting to form more into what might?! look like a baby bump to others.  If not to you, it does to me, so humor me people! BTW, I really like to touch and poke it.  Probably not very nice of me?  Shane keeps telling me the babies going to come out with indentations on it's head, but I quickly tell him, it's protected by gooey stuff (I'm so technical about my body, I know).

In other baby news, this past weekend we visited Shane's family in Fresno and got the cradle that him, his two brothers and nephew all slept in as babies.  This cradle is very COOL- it's wooden and very vintage.  We plan on having refinished, so baby Ball can use it too.  Before and after pics to come. 

This weekend it's off to the desert to see The Sensiba gang.  I am excited to take pics of Rhodes and Sevi and meet my cousin Trent's girlfriend and see the rest of the fam of course.

It's the busiest time of year and I just love it.  Lots of yummy food, boots, sweaters, scarves, fires, Halloween (which I'm skipping this year, but going double big next year, so watch out) and MY BIRTHDAY; so many things I love!  Now if only the weather would cool down for more than a minute, so I can get cookin some soups from Siriously Delicious. 

XO,

S

P.S. Pardon how random and all over the place this blog post is.  It's a little like my brain these days.  Rumor about pregnancy brain, TOTALLY TRUE.

ALS Walk

At the beginning of this year, we found out our dear family friend, Paul Jolly was diagnosed with ALS, commonly known as Lou Gherig's disease.  You can read more about it here.  With Paul in my often thoughts, I saw a sign about an upcoming ALS Walk in Ventura County and thought it would be nice for my family, Rick (Paul's partner) and I to walk and raise money in honor of Paul.  We signed up without hesitation and began our mini crusade.   Little did we know, that we'd rise to the occasion and raise the most money of any team walking. Collectively, we raised $14, 627 and the number is still rising.   I couldn't be more proud of our team.   

Yesterday was a beautiful day for the walk in Ventura.  Our team, The Jolly Walkers grew from the original 5 to 14, including Paul! We were honored at the event and Paul and Barney spoke on behalf of the team.  Those buggers brought me to tears with their heartfelt words.  What a great feeling it is, to do something for someone we love and a very worthy cause. 
Paul is now in a clinical trial and we are hoping and praying that the treatments help slow the progress of this awful disease.  Meanwhile, we'll continue to be there for him and give him lots to live for.  

We are still collecting donations. 

Click here to help!

XO,
S

$1 Oatmeal at Jamba on Wednesdays!

Not sure how long this goes for, but I can't wait for Hump Day this week!
My fav is with blueberry and blackberries.
For what it's worth, I also think it's better than Starbucks and Coffee Bean's.  

XO,

S