christmas time is here

As Christmas approaches I hope you all have had time to celebrate the wonderful gifts that God has given to all of us. We have all been blessed with the gift of Jesus and it is encouraging this time of the year to remember that no matter what changes await us in the new year He will always be there guiding us and showing us His will for our lives. I hope that you are all able to spend time with your family enjoying the simple joys of being together during the holiday season and our thoughts and prayers go out to all of those who are unable to be with their families this year. I am blessed to have my husband home this year and to be living in our own home and expecting our first child. This year has been laced with trials (especially related to jobs and income) but through it all God has brought us closer as a couple and this Christmas really reminds me of all He has done for us this year. So, take a few minutes to reflect on all the awesome things that have happened to you this year and enjoy your Christmas with family and never forget that Jesus is the reason we celebrate Christmas!

Swedish tea ring

I got bored today and I started searching Christmas recipes. This is always a dangerous thing to do because you will end up making things that you do not need( but hey, it IS the holiday season). Anyway, I had a good excuse to be browsing the Christmas breads because we accidentally bought a big bag of flour when we already had an unopened one in our cabinet. After browsing awhile I found this recipe for something called a "Swedish Tea Ring". It looks complicated when you see a completed picture of it, but the recipe sounded fairly easy and it was! Let me tell you right now that these things are amazing. They have been out of the oven less than an hour and I have eaten two of them. Instead of simply linking the recipe I used I am writing it down here because I made several changes to both the ingredients and the measurements.

Almond-Orange Swedish Tea Ring with Orange Glaze

• 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
• 1/4 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 2 small clementine oranges, juiced and zested
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup margarine, softened
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 3/4 cup halved or slivered Almonds
  
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar

1. In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in the warm water and let stand until creamy, about 15 minutes. Zest and juice the oranges; set juice aside for later use.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the yeast mixture, milk, butter, salt, sugar, eggs, orange zest and 2 cups of the flour. Stir until smooth and well combined. Mix in the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring well after each addition. When the dough has come together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume; about 1 hour.
3. Punch down the dough and turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough out into a rectangle approximately 12x24 inches. In a small bowl, mix together the cinnamon, 1/4 cup white sugar. 1/4 cup brown sugar and Almonds; spread this mixture evenly across the dough. Roll the dough into a long roll and press the seam closed. With the seam turned downward, seal the two ends together to make a ring. Use a little water to help you seal the ends.
4. Place the ring on a cookie pan you have sprayed with non stick spray. Using a sharp knife or kitchen shears, make cuts every inch or so along the ring, cutting only three quarters of the way through. Twist each piece slightly so that the rolls fan out from the center of the ring. Cover the roll with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until nearly doubled in volume, about 1 hour. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
5. Bake the tea ring at 375 degrees F for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden. Remove the ring from the oven, place on a rack to cool.
6. Place the orange juice in a small bowl along with the vanilla. Add 1/4 cup of powdered sugar and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Continue adding powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the mixture is fairly thick but still pourable. Drizzle the orange-sugar topping over the ring.(if you add too much powdered sugar or want it more sour add a teaspoon or two extra of orange juice)

Here is a picture of the final product(tastes so much better than it looks ) so you can see how to cut and twist the roll. The hardest part to me was getting the roll from the counter onto the pan and then off of the pan and onto a big platter.My ring broke when i put it on the platter which is why there is no picture of a whole ring. I used a whisk to drizzle the glaze over the ring while it was still hot then let it set up and cool before covering it with plastic wrap. I can't wait to wake up in the morning and stick one of these rolls in the microwave for a few seconds....MMMMMM.

A free christmas

I am always on the look out for free things to do that are equally geared towards adults and children. Being a young adult with no children (well, one on the way in a few weeks) it has always been hard to find free things to do around the holidays that are not geared towards children only. But, the candlelight tour at Duke homestead is something that everyone can enjoy and is not really geared towards young children. The event is free, but get there early if you don't want to be waiting around in the museum for more than thirty minutes. You will be taken on a guided tour down a path lit only by candles and the tour guide holding a lantern. Once you reach the old tobacco barn you will be treated to the scene of an old barn dance and fiddle music straight out of the 1800's. After the dancing they guide you to the old homestead house where there is caroling, hot cider, and a man reading "the night before christmas". Every hearth in the house is lit with a warming fire which is nice before you head back out into the cold to enjoy some sugar cookies by the bon fire. You can stay around the bon fire as long as you want, but after you finish your hot cider and cookies you will be ready to walk back down the candle lit path to your nice warm car :) I would recommend this to anyone looking for a nice quiet holiday event. The candle light tour will put you in the Christmas spirit and who doesn't enjoy singing a christmas carol or two and sitting by a bon fire? Also, check out other historic sites in your area, many of them offer special holiday tours or events!
http://www.nchistoricsites.org/duke/duke.htm

Thanksgiving festivities

Thanksgiving was great this year! I am so thankful that my husband was home this year and that we got to spend thanksgiving with friends and family. On Thanksgiving day we ate a dinner time meal with jakes family and a few of our friends. The next morning we got up early and did a little black friday shopping, but only went to one store. We got some great deals and ended up getting people what we wanted to get them all while staying inside our budget which is pretty tight this year. After shopping we headed off to Hertford. Every year when I think of Thanksgiving and Christmas I think of hertford and the nice crisp breeze, the waterway, and mom and dads house out in the middle of farm land. It is so nice to escape the crazy town we live in and sneak down there for awhile. My brother and sister in law were there as well and it was awesome to hang out with them. We discovered the new trivial pursuit card game which is a blast to play if you ever get the chance and had some good bonding time with mom and dad as well. After a nice long weekend it was kind of a bummer to return to work, but I have my vacation days coming up in a week or so and then maternity leave so i'm not complaining, especially since we really need the money right now.

Thanksgiving Recipes

Here are some of my favorite recipes my mom makes at Thanksgiving. For the cornbread dressing make sure you use home made, crumbly, non-sweet corn bread. If you try to use a sweet corn bread like jiffy mix or a recipe that calls for sugar it just tastes weird.

Corn bread dressing

6 cups corn bread, crumbled
6 cups dry bread crumbs
4 medium onions, chopped
½ cup celery, cut small
1 tsp. poultry seasoning, or to taste
3 cups chicken broth or more
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 eggs, beaten

Saute onions and celery until just tender. Mix with bread crumbs. Add poultry seasoning. Stir in beaten eggs, chicken broth and Worcestershire. Bake at 425 Degrees for 30 min. or until done.


Corn Pudding

2 C. corn
2 or 3 eggs
1 C. milk
¼ C sugar
¼ C butter, melted
1tbsp. Flour
Salt and pepper to taste

Mix dry ingredients. Add corn. Beat eggs; add milk and stir into corn mixture. Pour into buttered casserole. Bake in 350 degree over for ½ hour. Serve hot.


Chocolate nut pies

1 stick margarine
4 cups sugar

Cream together first then add rest ingredients and pour into three pie shells

5 eggs
1 tbsp vanilla
1 c chopped nuts
3 unbaked pie shells
1 large can evaporated milk
1 c. coconut
½ c cocoa

Bake in preheated oven at 350^ for 50 min

nursery and other stuff

Tristans nursery is starting to look good! The crib is all put together and every thing is hung on the walls. All we are missing is the changing pad which I will pick up when I go make some exchanges this weekend. I went to the doctors this week and it looks like Tristan is getting big! I was just barely 34 weeks when I went in on Tuesday and the doctor measured me at 35/36 weeks! The doctor also said that at this point Tristan can come any time he wants and he would be perfectly fine, so if I go into labor they will not try to stop it because the baby would be fine! I don't want to go into labor this early, I would rather stay pregnant until about 38 weeks or so but we will see what the baby decides to do. My hips and lower back are getting more sore every day so I hope that as he grows my body will adjust and it won't be so painful to move around.
On a totally different note, next week is Thanksgiving!! I love Thanksgiving and this year we get to spend it with both sides of our family which is really nice. We will spend Thanksgiving day with Jakes family here in Durham and then the weekend we will spend in Hertford. I am most looking forward to my moms dressing, it is soooooo good. I will post the recipe if I can find it, truly amazing stuff.

Letting go

Two weeks ago we let our dog Lela go to a new home. God really answered a lot of prayers by sending us the perfect christian family with two kids (ages 10 and 13) with a fenced in yard in a nice neighborhood. I couldn't be more happy about the family she went to, but it is really hard to let go of a dog you have had for 2 1/2 years. It is for the best that she is in a new home because we were having a lot of problems giving her the time and attention she needed and she was like a ball of energy caged up in our little town home! Still, every time I walk in the door I miss her smiley face and tail wagging furiously, I miss taking her on rides and seeing her sleep in her chair and buying treats for her. The first week she was gone I confess I really enjoyed it because all of her bad habits were fresh in my mind and I was enjoying not having to take her out every day a million times. However, the second week is harder because all I think about are the good things about her and that makes me sad :( . On the other hand, the cat is REALLY happy and has been playing and rolling around in the floor now that the dog is gone. I know it is a win-win situation for us, Lela, and her new family, but I sure do miss that stupid dog.

Halloween

This halloween is going to be pretty quiet with no parties and no crazy costumes. The more pregnant I get the more I like just sitting around at home or going out with just the hubby. Last night we went to see the carolina ballet perform Dracula. It was nice to get out and do something so adult together. We had a quick dinner out at applebees which was just okay. Applebees is always a hit or miss for us, sometimes it is great and sometimes it is just so so. After dinner we headed to down town Raleigh and the ballet. The ballet was great and they shortened the story to a good length so that it was not boring or overly long for a ballet program. They also narrated the ballet which was a nice change from your classical ballet and the music and singing for the ballet were live which was another surprise. Tonight we are staying inside, making a nice dinner of chicken Parmesan for our selves and jakes mom and handing out candy to any trick or treaters we may have. Even though this has been a quiet halloween with no parties and no costumes, it has been really nice to just hang out and enjoy the weekend.

pregnancy...30 weeks!

This week has brought some adventures. I didn't pass my first glucose test so I had to go for a second three hour test on Wednesday. I warned the nurse that my veins can be hard to find but when she drew the first test she found my vein right away with no problems. I drank my lovely glucose drink and left for an hour. When I came back for my second test it was harder for them to find my vein and they only found it after poking me three times in three different spots. It went on like this for the other tests as well and at the end of my appointment I had been poked seven times for four blood draws. The nurses apologized to me so much that there is no way I could be upset at them but I am very upset at my body and just wish it would cooperate when giving blood! However, I did pass my glucose test this time so I do not have gestational diabetes! God is truly amazing and has blessed us with so many good things this week and it just amazes me everytime.

NC state fair

As our second fall ritual Jake and I headed out to the state fair yesterday. We mostly go for the food and to see the exhibits. We have only ridden one ride at the state fair in the five years we have been going and it is really nice to save money by not riding the rides. State fair food is expensive so you will certainly spend enough money on the food and entry fee alone without having to worry about ride tickets. Since Jake still has a valid military id we went on military day and both got in for free! We then headed straight for the roasted corn and jake enjoyed a steak sandwich. The other fun food we found was our traditional honey cotton candy, hand dipped corn dog and hot apple cider. The new things we tried this year were a fried pecan pie and a muscadine cider slushie. Needless to say the fried pecan pie was AMAZING and will be added to my list of favorite fair foods. The exhibits were also great this year and we strolled around the fruit and veggi exhibits, checked out the huge cattle and pigs and of course the flower exhibit which I love because I always see new plants and flowers that amaze me! Overall it was a great day at the fair and even though we spent about 50$ it really wasn't that bad for everything we got. Here is a list of all the things we bought with that 50$.

- 1 Large bag of kettle corn
- 1 bear squeeze bottle of NC honey
- 1 honey cotton candy
- 4 ears of roasted corn
(yes 4, we each had one when we got there then had another when we were leaving)
- 1 steak sandwich
- 1 foot long corndog
- 1 fried pecan pie
- 2 hot apple ciders
- 1 bottle of water
- 1 small coke
-1 muscadine cider slushie

renaissance fair

The north carolina renaissance fair is a staple in our fall festivities. This was actually only our second year making it up to the fair since it is held near huntersville, but it was as good as the first time we went. This year we went with my brother, his wife, and my cousin allie and her husband. It was great to spend time with family and see jousts and wander through the "village" where merchants were selling many cool things. We saved money this year and didnt buy anything other than our tickets and food for lunch (okay, okay, we did sneak in some chocolate in there) .
With adult tickets being $19.00 a piece you really want to take advantage of everything the fair has to offer so you get your money's worth. There are a butt load of programs going on all over the fair. This year we saw the joust, and a comedy show, walked by the pirate show, jugglers, belly dancers, and black smith but didn't stay for the whole shows. There are also sword swallowers, fire eaters, and falconry shows and don't forget the glass blowing demonstrations! You can really make a full day of it if you sit down and plan out which shows you want to go to before you get there. However, if you are like us you may just want to wander around the fair and take your chances on what is going to be playing on certain stages as you walk by. It really depends if you are the organized outing type of people or not. Personally, I like just walking around and seeing what I see.
Interested in going? The fair runs until the end of november!

http://www.royalfaires.com/carolina/

October

One of the best months of the year is here! I can't explain how much I love the cool, but still sunny weather, the tastes, sights, and smells of the state fair, the decorating for halloween, the pumpkin carving, and of course the renaissance faire in Charlotte! This year we are going to be very busy in October. We have a trip planned to go to charlotte and stay the weekend with my brother and sister in law, carve pumpkins and go to the Ren faire. After that we have the NC state fair in Raleigh!! Next, we have tickets to go see the carolina ballet perform Dracula the night before Halloween. Then of course, we have halloween and are hoping for lots of trick or treaters! Our three front facing windows are decorated with a huge Dracula vinyl window sticker that I found at michaels (made by martha stewart) and orange, purple, and green lights. Hopefully our decorations will attract some trick or treaters because we will have candy ready. I hope that you all have some plans for this wonderful month as well :)

25 weeks pregnant

Tomorrow marks the 25 week mark! Not too much has changed, the belly is getting bigger and I have had to utilize my maternity clothes more and I have some trouble breathing if I slouch so I have to sit up straight and not slouch on the couch which is no fun. Im still wearing my high heels to work and I hope that my feet don' t swell so much that I have to go buy new dress shoes. I also changed insurance carriers this week which kind of stinks because I don't think the doctors office I have been going to is in network anymore. Not that it is a huge deal because I never see the same doctor when I have my appointments anyway but the hospital at UNC seemed really nice and I didn't really want to switch doctors in the middle of my pregnancy. Oh well, you gotta do what you gotta do.

Awesomely easy fruit salad

Okay, so I'm not a huge fan of canned fruit cocktail and making home made fruit salad takes a lot of cutting, peeling, and coring. So, taking some hints from fruit salads my mom has made in the past here is a super easy fruit salad that tastes amazing and.....it all comes out of cans!

1 can mandarin oranges(drained)
1 can pineapple in its own juice (undrained)
1/4-1/2 cup shredded coconut
1 small jar maraschino cherries and a few spoons of the juice

Mix this all together in a bowl and let sit for awhile in the fridge so all the juices and flavors get mingled together and it gets nice and cold and there you have it! Super easy, super fast, and super yummy.

A day out

The weather has cooled down enough to get outside and really enjoy being active without getting so hot that you feel horrible. Yesterday we took advantage of the nice weather and took a walk around Duke Gardens. As always, it was beautiful and we had a great time. We walked for an hour which left me a little too tired but we will make up for it by relaxing on the beach Monday :).

Six months pregnant!

I can't really complain too much about my pregnancy. I know there are a lot of women out there that have tons of complications and sickness so God has really blessed me in that area. But, I am getting tired of all of the aches and pains. My hips hurt every time I lay down or walk too much and my back is just achy and gets sore in the same spot every night when I sleep. My last year of college I moved a ton of stuff into my dorm room and lifted one too many heavy boxes which left me out in my back and on the couch for two days. Ever since then when I lift too many things or bend the wrong way I get crazy bad pain in the lowest part of my left back...and guess what? Thats the spot that hurts every single time I lay down at night or sit on the couch for more than ten minutes. Oh well, only three and a half months to go! Hooray! In the mean time I am trying to make things better, especially since my doctor told me last week that I should only gain ten more pounds and I was gaining weight too fast. So, I switched to oatmeal every morning for breakfast, I walk with the hubby and the dog, do pre-natal pilates, and swim. The exercising part hasn't been that hard, but the eating right part is really hard to do when I am craving things like rocky road ice cream instead of the grapes and apples I make myself eat. But, I really don't want to end up with a huge baby or a huge amount of weight to lose after the baby or gestational diabetes. So, the oatmeal and exercise will continue until December...or until I give in to the ice cream in the freezer.

a new look

well, after keeping my hair a light color and pretty long for about a year and a half I was ready for a change! I got out the scissors and started cutting until I was happy, then I dyed my hair using a semi permanent, ammonia free dye. I never use semi permanent hair color, but the doctor said while dying hair is fine, the ammonia fumes are not super healthy while pregnant. So, I went with the ammonia free which happens to all be semi permanent. I decided after looking at old pictures that I really like the darker brownish red colors I have done in the past so this is what I aimed for. I think I may have gotten my hair a little uneven in the back when I cut it, but once the hubby get home from his trip he can trim it up for me :). Here is a before and after picture. The before one is better because i have make up on and am not dressed in my pajamas. :)

Happy 25th

I would just like to say a happy 25th birthday to my hubby-dad to be Jake. I thought it would be fun to dig up some pictures of his great personality , which is one of the many things I love about him. HAPPY B-day :)

family weekend #2

Last weekend I was able to spend some time with my family and this weekend we spent time with Jakes. On Thursday night his mom came over for dinner and to see the nursery, we had a good time looking through the baby clothes I got last weekend and adding to our diaper and clothes collection (I think this is going to be a spoiled grand baby). I am not complaining though, the less diapers I have to buy the better! Friday I still had to go to work so Jake and I got a late start driving down to South Carolina to see his dad and Lorri. We stopped at Travis and Sara's on the way to drop off a forgotten french press (surprised Trav made it through the week without it!). We met their new cat Riley who is a sweet cat with huge paws!! We finally made it to Mauldin and enjoyed a weekend of shopping, too much food, and some good games of rummikub. I am so thankful to have a family that loves us and takes care of us. My family and Jakes family combined has done more for us than they will ever realize, and being first time parents in this economy we certainly appreciate it. It is just another example of how God cares for his children through many venues such as family.

Nursery update

Jake and I got the accent wall in the nursery painted last week and I also painted the dresser/changing table one evening. The paintings I was working on are done, the curtains are hung, the futon is made up as a bed with a navy blue comforter, beige flannel sheets, and a red fleece blanket. I also hung a shelf for books/ the new blue teddy bear from Grandpa and an ultrasound picture. The dresser still needs a touch up here and there as well as a changing pad and baskets for diapers/baby wipes etc. and of course, the crib will have to be put in there as well!
Before picture of Dresser/Wall
After :

baby thrift clothes

This weekend I was fortunate enough to get to spend time with my sister in law and mom. We got up early Saturday and set out to do some thrift store shopping. I was looking for all sorts of baby clothes up to 12months for Tristan. I got lucky at the durham rescue mission store on 70 by digging through a bin of baby clothes on sale for 50 cents. I also found some of these at the Goodwill in Briar creek for a little over a dollar a piece. All in all I estimate about 20-25 dollars spent between my mom and I on all these clothes! Some of the brands we found were carters, baby gap, and osh kosh. The only thing I don't have a picture of are the three pairs of pants I found. One pair of baby jeans, a pair of blue cords for fall, and some red athletic baby pants. Here are some pictures of what I got,sorry for the poor quality I didn't have the flash turned on :)

Here are my favorite finds. Seersucker overalls for next summer, 1.99
Baby Gap reversible jacket .50
carters onesies .50
baby pants

shirts, jacket, carters and osh kosh overalls and two beanies

Shirts for next christmas.
Onesies
Two sleep sacks and two body suits with footsies

"B" is for Boy

After I found out last week that we are having a boy I couldn't resist the urge to start decorating the nursery! In fact, I ran out and bought navy blue curtains and a rug as well as art supplies. I did take "before" pictures so when the nursery is done I will post those with the "after" pictures so you can get the full effect. But, in the mean time here is what we have going on:


First we have the paint choices. The lighter blue is a satin finish for the walls, the dark blue is a high gloss for the dresser which will become the changing table/dresser for Tristan.


Secondly we have the decor. We chose to go with a star theme which I am hoping will turn out not super patriotic looking, but maybe more on the side of nautical? So far I have made a mobile for over the crib. I already had the mobile which was a gift from a friend in college and is supposed to be used for hanging pictures. It served its purpose as a cool picture display for several years so I took all the pictures off and went to the craft store for some heavy weight scrapbooking papers. I cut these into star shapes using a template and voila! A baby mobile specifically for Tristan. Also, I bought some canvas and am trying my hand at painting. The picture here is not the completed work. I am adding a few more stars and another coat of paints then it will be done. Also, I have included a picture of some sheets I bought at Target. They were just too cute to pass up!

Its a boy!

Today we had our comprehensive ultra sound at UNC. The ultrasound tech was really great and explained everything thoroughly because there was a med student there observing. It was great to see and know that the baby is super healthy, but a little behind schedule. I am supposed to be right at 18weeks, but the ultrasound read 17weeks, 3days so my due date has been pushed back to December 28th! Im not worried about it, I think the baby will come when he wants to, either near christmas or new-years, just pick a holiday! There was no doubt from the ultrasound that we are having a baby boy! My husband Jake does not want me to post those pictures online though. In his own words, "I don't want my baby's junk posted on the internet" HAHAHA. The things husbands say sometimes just make me laugh. The ultrasound tech kept saying our baby was being a show off because he would just not sit still. He kept flipping from side to side and waving his arms around, but she managed to get some great pictures. The baby's name is going to be Tristan, unless we happen to change our mind in the next few months. The middle name we don't have yet, but it will come soon im sure! So, there you have it. Our baby boy is doing well and is going to be active just like his daddy. :)

Two things Im Excited about this year

I get excited about these two events every year, mainly because you can pay a base price to get in, then decide how much money you want to spend on food, rides, and extra things. I don't do any rides and just pick my favorite foods to eat so the day of fun is relatively inexpensive and you get entertained! I chose the Carolina Ren Festival over the Ren Faire in Raleigh simply because it is so much better than the one offered locally. Yes, you have to drive a few hours over to Huntersville area, but the Renaissance village they have set up and the jousting events as well as the many vendors and other free entertainment(with purchase of ticket) makes it totally worth it. So, plan a trip, mark your calendars and start saving your pocket change. You are not going to want to miss these two Fairs!

I have included links to the event web sites, just click on the event name and check it out!

1. The Carolina Renaissance Festival


2. The State Fair

I wonder

I wonder how much the new addition to our family will resemble us as children? Jake and I both had white blond hair until we were about three, I had big brown eyes and Jake had big blue eyes. We both have thick, kind of funky hair so I'm sure the baby will inherit lots of hair. But will it grow up to be tall or short, to resemble a Clark or a Smith? I wonder about these things a lot, but only time will tell!

Pregnancy update

Things seem to be going well. I haven't had a doctors appointment for awhile, but my comprehensive ultra sound is coming up on the 23rd!!! My belly is poking out for sure, but the odd thing is I don't really have cravings yet. I keep waiting for them to show up but I have more food aversions than anything. No morning sickness anymore, but the tiredness and headaches still come around now and then. The only other thing going on is joint pain in my lower back and hips to the point where I look like an old lady getting off the couch or it hurts to walk. Not sure if this is normal or not, but I will talk to the doctor about it to make sure, maybe its just a regular pregnancy thing.
Well, this week is week 16/17 ...I have a hard time keeping count. I will be back with another update next weekend!!

choices choices

Well, the time to enroll in classes for fall semester has come around again. I am still in the paralegal program and am really enjoying it. However, one of the downfalls of going to a community college after getting your four year degree is the lack of course offerings. I already have all of my required general education classes such as math, english, foreign language, etc. so the only classes I am taking are strictly the paralegal ones. This semester there were only two classes I had the option of taking and they both are semester long classes. This makes me so nervous because the classes do not end until December 15th and my due date is....drum roll please....December 24th. This is cutting it really close, so I chose to just take one online paralegal class. I figure that if I am in the hospital or at home with a new baby I can still take my final, do quizzes, etc. without having to worry about showing up in person for a class. I am a little disappointed because I want to get done with my paralegal classes so I can be a paralegal, but this will just have to work for now. I don't really mind making sacrifices for the baby, its just something every parent does. Other sacrifices that will be coming are, downgrading to basic basic cable, and getting rid of our phone plan for a cheaper one...(bye bye iphone)

a quiet fourth

this year we decided to take it easy and enjoy the fourth at home. Saturday Jake had to work, so i went swimming for a few hours with our friends chris and amanda. Jake and I decided to cook out early so saturday night we had hot dogs (hebrew nationals....SO good). We actually made it to church on Sunday, we went to a church right down the road from us, but the pastor was not so great. We aren't sure if he was the regular pastor though so we are trying it again before we stop going there. Since we hadn't eaten out in a week (which is a thing we are doing to save money and be healthy) we went out to johnny carinos for lunch(beats out olive garden EVERY time) and then I took jake to see Eclipse :) . He liked the battle scenes but I think he could have done without all the love triangle stuff. Jakes mom invited us over to his grandparents for dinner and home made ice cream so we went over and spent the few last hours of our fourth with them and his aunt Kim. We didn't see any fire works this year because we just didn't feel like dealing with the crowds, but we did light sparklers :)
This year honestly had to be the best fourth I have had in a long time. Granted it was absent of a huge family gathering, fire works, and cook outs, but spending the whole day with my hubby doing things that we love was better than any of that. Plus, it was calming and not hectic at all. A great, quiet fourth.

pimento cheese

this pimento cheese is bangin! Its my moms recipe with an added twist of pepper jack cheese.


12oz shredded mild or sharp cheddar cheese
4oz shredded pepper jack cheese
hellmans or kraft mayo (the real stuff) to taste
pepper to taste
2oz diced pimentos and juice
dash garlic powder

I think it is better to buy the blocks of cheese and shred them yourself, the taste is just so much fresher! I use 8oz blocks and shred them with my food processor attachment.
Next, dump the cheese in a large mixing bowl and add several spoonfulls of mayo until you have it the consistency you like. Add the pimentos and however much black pepper you want. if you feel it needs salt you can add some, but be careful. Also add a quick dash of garlic powder. If you add too much mayo you can fix it by adding more cheese.
I feel like pimento cheese is best served on white bread and grilled until the bread is lightly toasted....MMMMM.

mongolian beef

i love mongolian beef. I found this recipe and it is really good, but of course i made changes to it such as serving it with rice instead of noodles and i added broccoli and hot chili paste instead of the actual chiles. Also, I used vidalia onion instead of green onion

http://www.recipezaar.com/recipe/Mongolian-Beef-192408

doughnuts and zucchini

Thats right, this weekend has been full of several things including doughnuts and zucchini. First came the zucchini. Amanda and I were examining our garden, when what do you think we found? One lone zucchini sitting amidst the blooming plants. It was the only one and I was so excited it had to be picked! It has not been cooked yet so here is a picture to show you our first garden vegi. Also, our garden is doing very well and some lima bean pods are out there, just the little beans in them have to grow before they can be picked.


After the zucchini came the doughnuts. Krispy Kreme bread pudding to be exact. This is what happens when you sit down with your husband to watch paula deen on the food network. It is jakes grandpas eighty something birthday today and everyone is making a desert so this was our contribution. Please disregard the missing corner in the bread pudding, but it was SO good we had to have a bite! We tweaked the recipe a little bit and didn't add the raisins and put in a can of peaches instead of fruit cocktail and this thing is wicked good. Here is the link if you are interested and also know you can just put in water and some vanilla extract to substitute for the rum!

blogging from a better place

Jake and I finally got moved into our new place! I cannot explain how happy we both are to have our own home again and the move wasn't too stressful at all. Instead of being on the north gate side of durham we are now a hop and a skip from RTP, briar creek, and southpointe! I can tell already we might have a hard time finding room for everything and my motivation to unpack is already dwindling which has left our downstairs nearly finished and our bedroom somewhat of a wreck. My job starts on Monday so I hope to knock out the rest of the unpacking and organizing before then, but being pregnant I always feel like i'm either stopping work for a snack or to rest on the couch! Jake came home from work the other day and we had a meal at our dining room table together, it was so nice Jake even mentioned how much he loved going to work and coming home to his wife and eating dinner together. It made me so happy to hear him say that! Switching notes, there is good news on the pregnancy front. I'm 11 weeks today!! :) All of my clothes still fit because there is only a teensy tiny baby bump right now and my morning sickness is pretty much gone, although I still get sick in the car more than I used to. My next doctors appointment is not until the end of June but im certain it will go well. I will keep everyone posted!

budgets are depressing

In our never ending quest to move out of our mother in laws house and into our own home again we decided it was important to make up a budget with our income and expenses laid out. Maybe we have just gotten too comfortable with the fact that we haven't paid rent in a year or maybe we just don't have as much money as we used to, but our budget is rather depressing. I just snagged a job part time at fidelity (thank you Lord) and Jake is working full time at Honda, but still the money coming in and the expenses going out leave only a tiny bit of money for spending and grocery shopping. Our days of movies, extended cable, and eating out seem to be coming swiftly to an end.
I am a little worried about all of the baby things we need to buy for the future, but we have already decided for storage we are sacrificing our long dresser and painting it a nice cream color and turning it into a diaper changing station/dresser for the baby. The townhome we are trying to move into has some awesome walk in closets so I am confident we will not miss our dresser and it will be much more efficient in the baby room. We also plan on buying most things gently used except for the car seat which we really want to get new simply for safety reasons and to put our minds at rest.
God always provides as seen by the recent jobs my husband and I were both able to get despite the economy right now. Also, we did save a large amount of money while Jake was in Iraq so when unexpected expenses come up we can use that to pay for them instead of credit cards which is always good. So, I know we will be okay, but the budgeting is going to take some getting used to, and scrupulous grocery shopping and coupons are certainly in my future. But, I guess several hundred dollars left at the end of every month IS better than nothing, plus since we are not buying a house we know we will not have unexpected expensive house repairs to do which will be super nice until we are in a better place financially.

So my advice to anyone either just starting out on their own or starting out on their own AGAIN, would be to make a budget and no matter how depressing it gets remember you can sacrifice on some things to make money stretch and always save a couple of dollars a month because sooner or later you're going to need it.

sweet tea

Dear Southerners,

I have become aware that many of you do not know how to make our favorite beverage. Many of us have fallen to the plague of ready made tea from the grocery store or Bojangles, leaving us ignorant of the fine skills our mothers and grandmothers possess. Or perhaps you just realized how much money you are spending on store bought tea and realize that you can make it much cheaper yourself. So, to the rescue I come! Here is an easy, efficient way to make sweet tea.

4 Lipton family size tea bags OR 8 regular size tea bags
1 1/3 cup sugar
gallon of tap water

Remove your tea bags from their paper wrappers and place in a small pot filled 2/3 with water. Place on medium high heat, keeping a CLOSE eye on them and removing pot right when water shows signs of boiling. (You do not want your water to boil because it will burst your tea bags. This should take several minutes and your water should be a dark brown tea color. ) Place sugar in bottom of gallon sized pitcher and pour hot tea over sugar. Stir well until sugar is dissolved. Run cold tap water into the same pot which should still have your tea bags in it. Make sure to swirl the pot around so the tea infuses into the new water. Pour this into your pitcher. Continue doing this until the tea bags are no longer coloring your water, at this point you can throw your tea bags away and fill the pitcher the rest of the way with just plain water. Give your tea bags the toss and stir your tea one more time. Your tea should be a nice dark amber color and will probably be warm, so add ice and enjoy!!

bbq beef

• I borrowed this recipe from HERE,
• But I have made my own changes to some of the ingredients based on what I had in my kitchen. The lemon juice has been swapped out for vinegar and the amount of onions have been changed. Also, instead of ketchup I have swapped it for leftover spaghetti sauce from dinner last night. Always remember that as long as you have the basic flavors you can really make a recipe your own based on what you have, don't be too hasty to run out to the store to buy things you don't need!
  
• 
  
• 
  
• oil to coat the bottom of the pot
• 1 (3-4 lb) boneless beef chuck roast
• seasoning salt or white salt
• fresh ground black pepper
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 small green bell pepper, seeded and chopped

• 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 cup water
• 2 tbsp white or cider vinegar
  
• 1/2 cup left over spaghetti sauce
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• dash red pepper flakes

1. Set oven to 325 degrees F.
2. In a bowl combine all the sauce ingredients together until smooth and well combined
3. Heat oil in a 5-quart Dutch oven over medium-high heat (use enough oil to cover the bottom of your Dutch oven).
4. Season the roast liberally with seasoned salt and fresh ground black pepper; add to the pot and brown well on all sides, then remove to a plate or bowl.
5. Add in onions and bell pepper; saute for about 3-4 minutes or until softened).
6. Add in the sauce; bring to a medium simmer.
7. Add the roast back to the pot and turn a few times to coat in the sauce.
8. Cover with a lid then transfer to oven.
9. Cook for about 3 to 3-1/2 hours turning the roast over every hour of cooking or you may turn halfway through cooking (cooking times will vary depending on the size of your roast).
10. Remove the roast to a cutting board and slice thinly, transfer to a serving platter.
11. Remove any fat the has accumulated on top of the sauce, then drizzle some on top of the beef slices.
12. Serve remaining sauce on the side.

Growing Garden

Here are some pictures of the progress of our garden. The zucchini is looking best so far, right along with the cabbage. The lima beans are growing a second set of new leaves, but the watermelon and cantaloupe are taking awhile to grow, possibly due to the cooler weather. Hopefully it will warm up soon and the plants will continue to grow instead of being stunted.