Heart shaped cornrows

I finally got up the balls to try the heart shaped cornrow pattern.  Being as how my hearts when drawn on paper look pretty uneven I was very worried that I who sucks at parting anyway would have a super difficult time with this style.  It was actually pretty easy.  I followed the natural curve over her head and then did a side part on the top to keep it feminine in the front.  I posted a picture of the back on my facebook and so far I've gotten great reactions.  Oh and please excuse the mess.  Lo was eating rice and chicken for dinner while I did her hair and then began to play with her cars as I took the pictures.

That bug with the light on its butt

This week has been a real downer.  Work has been particularly rough since right now we have violent and hyperverbal patients.  My favorite kind of people (sarcasm implied).  My birthday was on Sunday and even though I had to work my coworkers tried to make it special.  Everyone brought in treats and goodies to surprise me.  It was very sweet.  Too bad Eddie had spilled the beans ahead of time.  Haha.



Check out the watermelon basket of fruit and don't mind the 31 candle!  It was really nice of them to think of me.  Too bad my other friends flaked.

The rest of the day was a disappointment as usual on my birthday.  A patient got in my face and even though the boyfriend said he would be getting off early he didn't end up coming home till after 9.  I asked the boyfriend for one day together sans kids.  Nothing else.  No presents, or cards, or whatever else.  I got the Hunger Games, a beautiful card, and about an hour together while the kids were sleeping.  My bff from Winc and my goddaughter were supposed to come down to visit for the first time ever but they flaked also.  I just don't know why people say things they do not mean.  So I took this week off to spend with family and friends but so far it has only been me, Lo, and KK.

They both LOVE puzzles!




KK's first time painting!


QOTD for those two "That's not a lightening bug its a firefly!"  "No its not!  Mommy!  Whats this bug with the light on its butt?!"

Its Sunday!

Lo's new style today took foooooorever!  Not because it was difficult but because I was sneezing the whole time.  We were out on the farm yesterday and my head feels like a balloon today.  I actually think it was more to do with going down into the musty basement than being in the garden.  We brought home 18 farm fresh eggs (so fresh you have to wash them before you use them), squash, zucchini, tomatoes, butter dill pickles (to die for), and squash jelly (weird right).  Delicious!

I had to take a personal day today because I didn't wanna be at work sneezing all over my patients so I tried to be productive.  Made pancakes for Adam and Lorelei to eat for breakfast, cleaned the kitchen, and the bathroom, and redid Lorelei's hair.  I forgot to get a picture of her hair last week while it was fresh but it was a cute simple cornrows to the ponytail style.  Today I took my inspiration from http://beadsbraidsbeyond.blogspot.com/2009/10/as-routine.html.  Her daughter is gorgeous and I love how creative mommy is with her hair styles.  That is my problem, I can create the styles but I can't conceptualize them

.  

This is how Lo's hair turned out before we accessorized.









And some after pictures with barrettes.  She loves barrettes because she can feel her hair move due to the weight.

And a cute little video of my little lady in her new $10 gorrilla costume.  When you press on the ear the head sings "Wild thing!"  Sorry it is sideways.

Slow cooker bbq pulled pork

All day at work Friday I had a hankering for some barbecued pulled pork sandwiches.  I had never made pulled pork before so I decided to do some research while I hit up Sharp Shopper (where I knew they always had pork roast on sale) when I got off. So when I left the hospital that afternoon I picked Lo up from school and headed to Waynesboro.

When we got there it was packed. I hate crowds. I bartended for years dealing with crowds of drunken idiots and now I work in a large hospital full of people with no moral compasses. When I'm away from work I prefer to be where the people are not. Anyways, we got to the discount grocery store and of course spent too much money on things I hadn't realized I needed until we ran across them in the store. Finally we arrived at the frozen food aisle where they keep the pork roasts I had in mind. Being a discount grocery store meant they didn't have a whole lot of choices but they did have some Smithfield mesquite pork sirloin for $4.99.  I figured pork marinated in mesquite should be good since I'm making barbecue so I googled some recipes in the store and saw that it was easily doable.  I also picked up a large pack of hamburger buns and some store brand honey bbq sauce.

Twenty-eight dollars later and I was home gathering tips from several recipes online from my laptop.  One of the first things I noted was that the sirloin is an expensive form of pork and it is silly to use it to make pulled pork.  Whoops!  But on the plus side it is apparently better for my family because it is a leaner cut compared to a butt or shoulder which are normally used to make pulled pork.  After researching I began to gather my ingredients and realized that I didn't have apple cider vinegar so I decided to postpone cooking until after I had picked up my mom at work.  Luckily my mom works at Wal-Mart so it was a two for one stop.

When I got to Wal-Mart it was surprisingly not busy.  Lo and I headed for the vinegar ($.79 for the store brand) and then on a whim I decided to check out the pork selections.  I almost shit my pants.  They had pork butt the size of my head (dreds and all) for $11!  Why the heck did I drive all the way to Sharp Shopper to get the wrong cut of meat a quarter of the size for more money?!  Lesson learned, do my research beforehand and not from my android!

The recipe that I made up for my expensive bbq pulled pork goes as follows:

• Oil the slow cooker (because sirloin is not as fatty as da butt).
• Slice a yellow onion and line the bottom of the pot.
• Place 2 Smithfield Mesquite Pork Sirloin Roasts in the pot on top of the onions.
• Cover with a butt load of brown sugar.
• Pour enough apple cider vinegar and water into the pot to reach halfway up the pork roasts.
• Set at low for 10 hours (I cooked this overnight and when I woke for work the next day the house smelled fantastic) or until the pork easily pulls apart with a fork.
• Drain the juices and vinegar from the pork by setting it into a colander.
• Take a fork in each hand and pull(shred) the pork apart.
• Put the pork back into the slow cooker and pour your favorite barbecue sauce over the top (we ended up using Sweet Baby Rays, that store brand crap was too vinegary with the pork).
• Mix well and set your pot to keep food warm.  
• Serve on hamburger buns and watch your friends and family melt from the deliciousness!

This was my final result. I took some to work and served the pork on delicious hamburger buns with Martins bbq potato chips.  Everyone loved it!  I asked them all for suggestions on what may have been missing or whether they liked the texture and no one had a thing to say.  I guess I did all right for a first timer!

Purple twist biracial hair

Found another cute twist pic from a few months ago.  This one with purple rubber bands to match her outfit. Much more intricate as well.

 Side view

Top/ Side view

Top Views

I finished it off with a bun in the back so that she could sleep without her hair getting tangled.

Happy hair training!

Nat and Lo

Pink and White twists

Did Lorelei's hair in twists the other day.  I love this style so much!  But I worry that using so many rubber bands might break off her hair so this time I used some soft yarn type hair bands.

Front View

(matched the bands to this beautiful dress from London)

 Top Side view

I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with the back so I just finger curled her pony tail.

 She was getting tired of the pictures.

Hope we were able to inspire you!

Nat and Lo