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!