I will be a better blogger after May 29th

I suck, I know. School is kicking my beeeehind! It's crunch time....I keep telling my family, I'll be a better mom after May 29th (28th, last day, 29th, our 20th anniversary).  I tell my friends...just wait, just wait, I'll remember birthdays, make casseroles for new babies and for families where loved ones have died, I tell my employer I'll get more organized, I tell my husband, to just hold out until the 28th and I'll pick up the slack and we may even have sex again.  I will also, after May 29th, catch up on all my favorite blogs...I've missed reading you! I've missed writing....but all my writing and reading have been reserved for boring nursing books and articles.  I haven't read a book for fun since January.  Oh, that reminds me, I need to tell book club members I'll be a better participant after May 29th too.

 This is my desk....I have to read and summarize a total of 35 articles and then create a PowerPoint Presentation, teach what I've learned and give a test...also throw in a couple surveys and papers to back up why I am teaching what I am teaching (health promotion in schools and why nurses should do it)....I've read only 15 so far.

The mess from my desk is creeping to my floor...not only do I have all the school stuff on my desk, I have to continue with the day to day paperwork that still comes in from the boys' schools, the mail, the bills, AND my desk is also the dumping ground of stuff that no one else wants to deal with....so yes, it's finding it's way to piles on the floor, because I have no time.

After May 29th, I'll have a clean desk.

Or I'll have a nervous breakdown...in that case, I'll start blogging more regularly 6 weeks after May 29th, assuming they let me out of the in-patient program.

(top picture came from go2uttyler.blogspot.com -- never read that blog, it was a google images find, just giving credit)

Two blog entries in one day...yikes I must be procrastinating...

I've been seeing all these recipes on  that use a can of coke or Dr. Pepper in some crock pot dish.  I kept thinking how gross that was....but can that many pinners and bloggers be wrong?

I guess not.  

I just tried this awesome recipe that I found on  but originally came from the Sweet and Savory Blog it's for Pulled Pork Sandwiches.

I originally pinned this recipe because my kids were saying things like, "chicken again, mom" in a whiney voice.  Or if they were at the super market with me and I put chicken in the basket they'd run screaming from the meat aisle.  They would look longingly at steak, or hamburger and then turn their puppy dog eyes at me in hope.  I guess we've been eating a lot of chicken recently.

Last night I made this recipe and we had it today....kids and hubby gave it a thumbs up.  And the best part? Ridiculously freakin' easy! I mean easy for even a crock pot recipe.  I will so do this again.

You can find the original recipe here or you can  and check out the link from my 'tried it recipe' board.

Here's how I changed the recipe to suit our family and frankly to use what we had in our pantry.

2 lbs pork loin roast
1/2 bottle of Stubbs Hickory BBQ sauce 
1 can of Coke (original recipe called for diet, I didn't feel good about cooking with aspartame, especially for my family so used regular Coke - she seemed to get a lot of flack for that on the comments on her blog...so that I don't sound like a hater...this is just a decision I made for my family, should you choose the diet, and decide to tell me about it, I won't judge -- especially because I served this with canned  -gasp- beans so I have no room to judge)
Mexican Spice Blend (because I didn't have Lawry's seasoned salt in my pantry, I have star anise and fennel -- but not something as basic as Lawry's, what can I say, I'm a freak)

Crock pot on low for 8-10 hours or high for 6-7 hours (original recipe said 3-4 hours, so I started this after work and at 7 it still wasn't tender-use-a-fork-to-shred-tender so we cooked it for another 3 hours and we had cereal for dinner.  This was yummy the next day though and that extra time was well worth it)

Shred pork, add rest of BBQ sauce and serve on toasted buns.

Enjoy!

Spring in the Rockies

It was almost 80 degrees yesterday and today it's

and that's Spring in Colorado