Food for Thought...Pulled Pork Sliders

Ryan's been on a kick lately. A pulled pork kick. If we go out and it's on the menu, he'll order it. I shouldn't have been so surprised when I took a pork roast out to defrost and he wanted to make pulled pork. But I was. Namely because we don't have barbecue sauce in the house. Where was I even supposed to start? With gentle guidance and a request for sweetness, I made some pretty fantastic sandwiches that my husband told me he, "literally just want[s] to keep eating the pulled pork. Every day." Today, I'm sharing it with you. Here's what you need to keep 'em drooling:

2 lb pork roast (untrimmed)

3 (generous) cloves of garlic (minced)

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp salt

1 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp ground mustard

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup ketchup

1/3 cup cider vinegar

Drizzle of mustard sauce

Step 1. Mix all your rub ingredients (garlic, paprika, salt, onion powder, pepper, and ground mustard) together in a bowl. Combine well. 

Step 2. Rub the mixture all over the roast. Top, bottom, sides, front and top. Toss it in your slow cooker.

Step 3. Mix together your sauce (brown sugar, ketchup, and cider vinegar) until well combined and soupy. 

Step 4. Pour the sauce over your pork in the slow cooker. Rotate the pork so that it's fully coated. 

not gonna lie, this looks a little bit like a heart

Step 5. Set your slow cooker for low (eight hours) and walk away for three. 

Step 6. After three hours, flip the roast, and drizzle your mustard on top of the roast. Walk away and let cook for another three hours.

Step 7. If you're feeling ambitious, bake some rolls to enjoy your, almost done!, pulled pork.

Step 8. After you get bothered by your husband to get on making the sandwiches, pull apart the roast. It should fall apart fairly easily with not much effort. 

Step 9. Place about a half a cup on your roll and try to stop drooling as your shovel down a few or four. Seriously, I hope you enjoy these. Don't they just look like heaven?

Books in Review: The Fixed Trilogy by Laurelin Paige

Earlier this week, I received an email from Amazon stating that I had money coming! You may have read about it in the news. I got a whopping $2.19. Now, I read a lot of books, so I'm going to chalk it up to I first got my kindle in December of 2011 and only bought 22 books between then and May of 2012. Some people, I read, though, received over $50, which is pretty impressive. I wish I was one of those people. Then I could buy more books.

I did buy a book (or trilogy) for $0.99 with my newly found giftcard balance. The Fixed Trilogy: Fixed on You, Found in You, Forever with You by Laurelin Paige. For that price and 853 pages I was sold. I didn't even look at the reviews. I lucked out on that, because it's a pretty awesome book series.

The book follows Alayna, a recent MBA grad looking to work her way up the ladder at a NYC club, and Hudson, an ultra hot, super rich, businessman (of course). Both have had less than stellar upbringings (Alayna's parents are dead, another of course, and Hudson was his mother's pawn against his unfaithful father). They're both working through their issues to become better people. But Alayna's working through her obsessive/stalking nature and Hudson is trying to stop playing games.

The book sets you up to be suspicious of every detail and every character. Is Hudson playing with Alayna? And just how does his sister and friend Celia fall into this? What about Sophia, his mother? Each book seems to focus on one part of the puzzle. But the seemingly solved issues are recurring in the next books as well, while you try and figure out what's up and what's down.

I like that the book gives Alayna some backbone unlike so many books that portray the female leads as spineless and ever conceding. But like most other books, sex is a central theme on how Alayna and Hudson stay connected. That always strikes me as odd, does sex really work all that well at solving things? Sure, you have physical chemistry but really? You bone and everything's better?

Anyway, the third book is the best. The last 15% of it wraps the story up nicely (I think). And I just want to say that I hate romance novels, because they write about such sweet things guys do and say. Can't that just happen in my life? Once? Hudson makes up for being a complete ass and Alayna gets her reluctant happily ever after.

The book previews Hudson which is the books from Hudson's point of view. Based on how well I think this trilogy was written, I'll be purchasing it. I feel like even though it's the same story with extra dialogue I still like it a whole lot. It's like rereading it but not. Does that make sense?

What are you reading right now? Anything good?

Student Loans and Me

Okay, let's be honest. Student loans suck. I read an article today stating just how much student loan sucks. And how, they're really hurting recent graduates. And I'm one of them. 

If your parents covered all your student loans, I hate you a little. My parents partway helped me through undergrad but grad school was all me. Ryan's parents didn't help him at all. He wanted to go to college so he paid for it. Or shall I say, we're paying for it.

It's tough. When I first calculated our student loan debt it was just under $140,000. Yea. One hundred forty THOUSAND. I cried a little. All right, a lot. I cried oceans. That debt is keeping me from doing things. Like saving for a house, a new car, or retirement. Renting is not my ideal. But I like it a hell of a lot better than living out of boxes under my parents roof. 

Ryan and I budget all the money we earn. His goes directly towards paying down student debt outstanding (but not currently in repayment). My paycheck goes towards current student loans, rent, gas, our phones, internet, food, and insurance. 

Last year, we paid over $25,000 in student loans. $7,500 of that went straight to interest. I'd like to pat myself on the shoulder. But when I look at our still outstanding loans, I cry. Though, I only cry buckets now. It's manageable, right?

Do you have student loan debt? How are you managing?

NYC Quotes

Naturally, whenever Ryan and I go somewhere, there's always something to laugh at. Generally for hours on end. Here's a few things that made us giggle:

When we went to the Brooklyn Brewery, the girl giving us the tour gave some history on the current location. They have been in their current location since 1996. She gave this quote as how they could afford it...

Font: KGDropsofJupiter. KGEyesWideOpen. JandaSafeandSound. 

That first day in the City was pretty nice out, I think it even hit 60°. Naturally, Ryan was in shorts. A couple walked by us and said, "Sun's out, guns out." I had never heard that phrase in my life but apparently Ryan had. When a student at Albany rhetorically asked, "Sun's out, guns out, right?!" He was also wearing shorts that day. Apparently, it's a phrase that's popular with muscle heads as the weather gets nice they wear cutoff sleeve shirts to show off their guns...

The night out to dinner with Ryan's friend Josh, they started talking math and I sort of zoned out. Until they mentioned this risky topology. Or rather, it was, the Zariski Topology. Not into math? I wouldn't even attempt to start reading that Wikipedia article. I kept trying to clarify what they were saying but it's one of those things where you could ask 1,000 times and still think it's pronounced "The Risky" and not "Zariski."

Font: KGTangledUp2. JandaCurlygirlSerif. 

Background: MathFormulas. 

Our hotel had they most awesome water dispenser. They provided empty plastic water bottles (like the kind you would get from Poland Spring) and caps that screwed on after you filled it. Effectively making it sealed. You could totally steal some and sneak vodka or other liquids in these. Anyway, the stations highlighted the "chilled, purified water." I read it as...

Font: Unfinished Sympathy.

Yep, they bottled it up and brought Chilean water here so I could put it in smaller bottles. I know, I know, I'm a genius.

How's your week going? Hear anything funny lately?

Happy (early) April

I gave up candy. It was a poor choice. But, I think it was a wise one. Confused? Let me explain.

Lent started last month in the beginning of March. My work has a candy drawer, where people bring in left over candy, newly bought candy, etc for the office to enjoy. I've been over-indulging. For example, there were whoppers in the bag. No one likes whoppers. Except for me, apparently. I eat them three three-packs at a time. One day, I did six. So I gave it up. 

And now I want M&M's. Let me countdown the days! I know, Sundays don't technically count during lent. But I give it up from Ash Wednesday 'til Easter Sunday. Last year I went vegetarian. Ryan threatened divorce (not really) if I did it again. 

Anyway, it's close enough to the first of the month, that means there's a printable for you. It's themed for April's impending holiday and hot damn do I love pastels. It looks awesome on my new mantel. Check it out.

Here's the printable...

April Mash Up

This printable was formatted to fit a 5" x 7" piece of paper. I used the following fonts: ReturntoSender. SketchSerif. CarnevaleeFreakshow. Vanessa. BlackBoysonMopeds. I used the following graphics: EasterEgg1. EasterEgg2.

Did you give up anything for lent? Has it been a challenge so far?

She's Crafty - Spring Bottles

I have a plethora of bottles and jars hanging around. They are from around the world (truly - there's some from Argentina and Mexico) and I keep them so that I can do crafty things with them. Like this project.

Easter's right around the corner. Since St. Patty's is already over I've started decorating for Spring. Bright pastel colored bottles were just the thing. 

I bought three colors of matte Rustoleum spray paint, pastels of purple, yellow, and blue. Funny thing. I painted yellow and blue two bottles each. Then I got to purple and this happened...

There was no paint cap on it to spray paint. So I just changed one from another color to this one. After a few coats of paint these bottles were looking pretty nice. Of course, after I figured out how to spray paint evenly. I'm still working on that one.

Along with the garland I made before, I think they tie the whole mantel piece together. This project was definitely a HIT.

She's Crafty - Holiday Garland

I mentioned a month ago an amazing hole punch I bought from Michael's with a 50% off coupon. Since I got that I have been going hole punch crazy. My husband thinks I've gone crazy too. Mainly because I make him help me. 

I've probably mentioned that I love Pinterest. Of course, I was pinspired to make a garland for the upcoming Easter holiday. Here's what I used for my Easter one:

6 Sheets of 12" x 12" Paper

3 1/2" Hole Punch

1/8" Hole Punch

Hobby Lobby had a paper crafting sale and I snagged this scrapbooking bundle for half price. It had adorable Easter paper with bunnies and chevrons. I had a few other pieces that fit right in with the color scheme.

After hole punching nine 3 1/2" holes in each 12" x 12" sheet, and I punched two teeny holes on either end. Then, I enlisted my handsome husband to help me string these bad boys with some hemp twine. This is the hard part. You string in the front and then out the back. The string would run up the back of each punch. 

Literally, stringing these bad boys all together takes FOREVER. But once it's done, it looks pretty damn cool. And it's one more part of my Easter mantel. Make sure you have a handsome helper on hand. 

I love the way this looks on my mantel right now. I'd say it's a HIT. Now, all the teeny hole punches I've made make me want to keep it all and make some confetti. That would be a project and a half - making all that confetti...I feel an idea coming on. 

Day 2 & 3: Bulls, Beauty, Brews, and Buses

Our second day in the City had us sleeping in a little bit later nursing our pains from the first day. We planned to go to a local bakery around the corner from the hotel but got distracted by the idea of dulce de leche pancakes at a diner across the street. Unfortunately, they weren't that good. Next time, I think we'll stick to a bakery. 

After, I dragged Ryan to the Charging Bull in Bowling Green. It's right in the heart of the Financial District and I had been dying to get a picture with it. Why? I couldn't tell you. The guy was huge! While I was taking a picture with his head, other people were taking a picture with his other anatomical parts. 

A couple of metro trains uptown and a brisk walk outside brought us to the Met! The bull wasn't the only big thing that day. Have you ever seen a map for that? It's massive! We spent about three hours there and only got through a couple exhibits. We saw the magic of Rodin, the finesse of Degas, the rolling landscapes of Dahl, and the unique carvings and metal work of armor and arms. 

We took a lovely walk through Central Park to travel back downtown while we waited for Ryan's friend Josh. Josh lives in Yonkers so he took the metro north in to meet us for dinner. My mom had given us a gift certificate to Heartland Brewery while we were down in the City. After Josh checked out our swanky hotel room at Club Quarters, we traveled to Union Square to hit up the Brewery. The food was pretty decent but nothing that you couldn't find at any burger joint. As per Ryan, the beer was nothing special. 

We parted ways with Josh and headed back to the hotel to wait for my mom got back to the NYC. I made it through our weekly Sunday night show and then promptly feel asleep. So much for a big night out. 

Monday, our third and final day, was much too short. We packed and got ready to head back home. I dragged Ryan to the Container Store where I begged for glass containers, much like this one. After another slice of mediocre pizza we picked up our bags and then picked up our bus home in this part of town.

There's a reason I had always heard it referred to as the Chinatown bus. 

Day 1: Brisket, Brooklyn, and Blisters

Our first full day in the City had us ready for a nap at 2:00pm and we woke up at 9:30am. 

After purchasing shorts for Ryan, since it was over 50° today, we headed to the Lower East Side to meet my mom for lunch. Her job today? Watch a man hole and make sure no one went down in it. Sounds rough, right? She was working just down the street from the famous Katz's Deli. Going there at lunch time on a lazy Saturday, we had to elbow some people to get to the counter and find a table. But after all the hustle we enjoyed some fantastic brisket sandwiches and knishes. My mom, not having eaten pork in about eight years, picked up a beef salami, which can be shipped all over the world - not needing to be refrigerated until opened. She's pretty excited about having it when she goes home today.

In case you don't know why Katz's is famous, check out this YouTube clip. 

And there's just the sign there too.

In the same area, Ryan and I found a restaurant supply store. It. Had. Everything. Literally, bowls the size of my husband. We ended up buying a bread loaf pan, a huge grain scoop, and a couple smaller scoops for under $35.00. Check out some of the stuff.

A quick subway ride uptown took us to Madame Tussauds Wax Museum near Times Square. With discounted tickets pre-paid we skipped the line and saved about $9.00. We met schlepped with actors, canoodled with presidents, posed with legends, were terrified by monsters, saw the avengers, and hung out with some great artists. The NYC museum also has a 4D show where you get splashed and poked watching it. It's pretty neat. I would suggest it to folks of all ages. And buy your tickets ahead of time because you can save money on their site. 

Onward we went to Brooklyn, taking the L train to Bedford. After a short walk we saw line. An epically long line for the Brooklyn Brewery. Fast forward through a forty minute wait to get inside the brewery, we find out that there's another line to purchase beer tokens. Then another line to get said beer. If you want to go on a brewery tour, make sure you get a ticket when you first walk in those warehouse doors, otherwise you'll wait some more for the next tour. 

Despite the cool hipster vibe and charming personalities of the Brooklyn Brew Crew, the beer on tap and the tour was a little disappointing. With aching feet, we set off to find the Best Pizza in Brooklyn. I'm not kidding when I say it's the Best Pizza. 

It's not only called Best Pizza but it has the best pizza I have ever had. EVER. With a brick oven, the pizza comes out crispy but chewy with amazing flavor and fresh ingredients. They also make a grandma piece of pie that has the sauce on top of the cheese. The hubbs and I wanted to box this place up and take it home to Troy with us. Literally, if they moved to Troy they would make a killing. I should talk to them about franchise opportunities. Here's what we got:

fresh basil = love

the grandma slice

he literally couldn't wait to try it - that's not your average pepperoni slice

A quick subway ride back to Manhattan and a transfer to downtown led us back to the hotel where we are. Resting our aching, blistered feet and apparently chafed butt cheeks for the past four hours. Too much? Yea, I thought so too. 

But alas, it's 10:00pm in the City that never sleeps and we're hungry. Off we go into the bright lights. I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings.

Happy Pi Day!

Yep, today's Pi Day. Or if you're uncultured swine "Geek Day." Or if you're oblivious it's Friday.

As today marks the beginning of the hubbs's spring break, and I took Monday off, we're headed down to New York City where a free hotel room awaits us. Free hotel room you ask? Yes, free. But more on that later.

Let's focus on the "head down" portion of that last sentence. Now, normally, we take the train. But it's a little expensive, around $72 a person roundtrip. So, at the suggestion of Ryan's friend, we're taking the bus. The GoTo bus direct from Albany to NYC, which is $25 per person roundtrip. I want to start by saying this was a poor, poor choice. This post is coming from the road and I feel like I'm in the fiery depths of hell right about now. Surrounded by fifty or so sweaty, smelly people, the driver feels the need to crank the heat so that it's about 98° in here. And yes, smelly. Like BO, baby powder, and marijuana. It's a heady combination. In the future, besides our already paid for return trip, I believe we'll be skipping this option and either paying for the train or a different bus company.

So back to the free part? Well, as a side note, my mom works for a telephone company in Albany. But, because of the superstorm Sandy, NYC has had a backlog of technician work. So the local teams either sign up to go down at a time convenient to them and work or are forced to go sometime during the year. Yes, Sandy was a while ago but the aftereffects are so large. So right now my mom's completing her first week down there with other techs who volunteered to go this early. But some techs have vacation planned, or go home for the weekend. Enter the free hotel rooms. One of the techs my mom knows is going to Colorado for a week and offered us her room so we didnt have to stay with my mom. Which we would have been more than happy to do. Because, again, hello, free room.

So, we're going to be in the city until Monday bumming in a free hotel room, saving tons of money on this shitty bus, with discounted tickets to both The Met and the Wax Museum, hitting up Brooklyn Brewery. And hopefully, maybe, just maybe eating some awesome pizza and wading in sea of green.

What are your plans for this weekend? Any St. Patty's Day parties?

New Tunes - One Direction "Little Things"

I know, I know. I'm twenty-six. Yes, I listen to One Direction. I can't help it! They're good. Even if they don't necessarily write their own songs. They're adorable and man, the songs are catchy. Today's song is cute and awe-filled. I've just listened to it about ten times. In a row. 

I know...it's just that every time I hear songs like these, I think about the hubbs and how much I love him. He's pretty fantastic to me. He always makes me smile and the little things he does are perfect. I appreciate him. 

What's your dirty little secret when it comes to music? Do you have any?

Instagram Idiot

I joined Instagram a while ago. I can't remember when, maybe a year? I didn't really get the appeal at the time. I joined anyway. My first post...yesterday. It's a love note I put in my husband's lunch box. Then I went crazy. Because, why not? 

Then I was struck with genius and wanted to add an instagram feed to this here blog. And there's sites that will automatically create code for you to put in your blog! Sounds terrific, right? Well, I tried. And tried. And tried. Take a look at the left side. You see one? That's because I couldn't figure it out. *sigh* Anyone want to help me?

I like instagram for the sheer fact that anyone can make photos pretty with the filters and other options I don't know how to describe. So I will leave you with one of my first photos. Filtered and everything. 

Books in Review: Thoughtless, Effortless, Reckless by S.C. Stephens

I have never been one to reread books. Before, I always needed something new, something fresh. Then I read Fifty Shades of Grey . Then read it three more times. (Please don't judge me on that - I know the writing's a little...off.) But then I realized, I liked some of these stories. A lot. It's like a movie I want to watch over and over again. So I did. And I loved it.

I've read Thoughtless , Effortless , and Reckless by S.C. Stephens twice now. I have to say I like it. These books are romance books about 360-540 pages long. The books are a little expensive - even on Kindle - but the quality I think is definitely there. (In the entire books I think I noticed two errors.) Now I'm going to go into some detail so, spoiler alert.

In the first book, Thoughtless, we start with Kiera and Denny moving to Seattle. Denny has an internship opportunity with a prestigious firm there. Kiera, ever the loving girlfriend, follows him there to finish her college work. They move in with the extreme hotness that's known as Kellan, a friend of Denny's from a year he spent abroad (he's from Australia) in high school. Kellan's in a band that's popular in the area and with the ladies. After a while Denny goes to Tuscon to help set up a new branch. During his absence, Kiera and Kellan become close friends and their relationship seems to follow. Isn't there an adage "proximity breeds attraction?" Well, Denny gets an opportunity to take a job in Tuscon and does, without talking to Kiera first. Just having started her junior year, she doesn't want to change schools yet again and doesn't want to be apart for another two years after hating the separation after only two months. After a heated argument, Kiera breaks it off with Denny and then proceeds to get drunk. Really drunk. Kellan stumbles in on it and they start drinking together. You can probably imagine what comes next. After their night together, we find that Denny flew home after quitting the job and losing his internship. Kiera and Denny make up, which leaves Kellan devastated. He begins to fall into old habits of "dating" a string of girls. Kiera becomes upset but she's torn between Denny and Kellan. The situation builds and culminates with Denny finding them together and him nearly killing them both. Accepting defeat and the lose of Kiera, Denny goes home to Australia leaving Kellan and Kiera to figure out how to move forward. After recovering, both physically and emotionally the pair tentatively begin a relationship where they struggle to trust but understand more as the book ends.

In the second book, Effortless, Kellan and Kiera are still together. She's fighting to be confident that Kellan is 100% in their relationship. She struggles that she's not enough. Not pretty enough, etc. Then Kellan's band finds some fame and goes on tour with a bigger act. Kiera questions some of Kellan's actions. But they remain together despite the distance and find ways to be close. Then Kiera runs into Denny who's back in Seattle. Despite everyone's advice, Kiera doesn't tell Kellan he's back. Kiera and Denny fall back into an easy friendship but just friendship. As he's dating someone who's back in Australia and Kellan's it for Kiera. Kiera and Denny are talking one night when Kellan comes home early from his tour. He's stricken by seeing them together, as he never found out Denny was back in Seattle. After a heated argument, a five second break up, and Kellan explaining his weird actions recently, they stick together.

In the third and final book, Reckless, we find Kellan on tour again. After graduating at the end of book two, and committing to one another, Kiera joins Kellan on tour. The band grows in popularity even more and picks up attention from a big pop star. After recording a duet with a sexy star, fans are obnoxious about their alleged relationship, straining Kiera's relationship with Kellan and her friends. Unfortunately, Kellan's label want him to keep mum about the non-relationship with the pop star. Furthermore, Kiera doesn't want to be in the spotlight so she tells Kellan to keep quiet too. The hype around "Kell-Sex" reaches an insane level and Kellan's "found" with Kiera. Fans turns brutal to Kiera, when Kellan finally decides to come clean about her. After the radio interview, the craziness pushes Kiera into a busy street where Kellan saves her, taking the brunt force of a truck. Finding Kellan in the hospital, Kiera decides to move up their planned wedding and makes it official right in the room. Surrounded by family and friends, Kellan finally gets that people care about him and that he's loved. One of the highlights in the series, for me, comes in the epilogue of book three when Kiera, Kellan, and the band are at the Grammy's. I won't spoil it for you, but it's adorable.

The books end with a happily ever after and makes me smile. I'm not even joking when I say that writing these snippets made me want to read the series again. And I may do just that. If you read it, let me know. Happy reading!