New Work Schedule

Well, Monday was my first day at the plant with my new class. The training class doesn’t actually start until June 1, so for now we are doing some administrative junk, self study and plant familiarization.

I start at 7 AM and get off at 3 PM, Monday through Friday for the next year (with a few possible exceptions if we are temporarily thrown on shift). It’s really crazy getting home every day before 3:30 and not having to go to bed before 10 PM. My previous schedule was 5:40 AM to 6:30 PM and I worked a shift schedule where every other week I was away from church. Wow! And to make it better, I have a long weekend on my first weekend; Memorial Day is Monday. Sorry if I sound like I’m gloating, but I am just a little excited.

The Adjustable Rate Mortgage

My 3/1 ARM adjusted for the first time.  Yes, I am still going to try and get a loan mod so I can get this monster fixed, but the news for this year is very good.

My rate adjusted down 1.75%.  It will stay at it’s new lower rate for the next year, and it will save me $375 per month.  I’m thrilled!

One in a Million!

I have never seen anyone as loving, tender, sensitive, tough, strong, hard wording, or sweet as my mother.  She puts up with my bad behavior more than she should.  I am still her little boy; I know that.  Ask Marcela, I guess I never grew up.  I am Marcela’s boy too!  🙂

Mother, I love you so much.  Thank you for loving me and being the absolute best mom in the whole world.  There is no way I could have asked for a better example of how to care for others.  Sometimes I think you put too many people ahead of yourself.  I wish you would be a little bit selfish every once and a while and do your thing.  But you insist on putting your own needs and desires aside to care for others.  Without a doubt, you are one in a million.

I will be on shift this weekend, so I will miss spending Mother’s Day with you for the second year in a row.  Sorry for that.  Be blessed in all you do and have a special Mother’s Day.

-Mom “What am I going to do with you?”

-Little boy Phillip “Keep me!”

Mom and Phil at the Blue Ridge Parkway

Pulled Pork Sammich

Here’s an easy recipe if you like shredded pork BBQ sandwiches like I do. I just made it this week. BTW, I love crock pots!

Take a large crock pot, put a layer of onions on the bottom, place a whole pork shoulder on top, cover with another layer of onions. Add some salt, pepper, about 1 cup of white vinegar, and a couple cups of water. Place the lid and cook on low/medium for about 10-12 hours. After cooking before completely cooling, remove the broth (it’s probably great for cooking greens or beans), discarding the onions and fat. Remove all the skin and fat from the pork, the meat should fall off the bones. The skin can actually be fried up a little crispy if you like to chop it up into your meat. The pork will easily shred with two forks.

In a sauce pan, I mixed a few cups of apple cider vinegar, about 1/4 cup or less of lemon juice, some minced onion, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, and sugar to taste. Make it as sweet as you want, and simmer it for a fe minutes to get the pepper flakes and sugar infused well.

Put some of the shredded pork in a frying pan with just a little oil, salt and pepper, and a little of the vinegar dressing to moisten, and fry it up nice and hot, browning it just a little. Pile it on a hoagie roll, or onion roll, or your favorite sandwich roll and you can add some more of the vinegar BBQ dressing, or some traditional BBQ sauce if you like.

Let me tell you, this makes some of the cheapest, easiest, and tastiest BBQ pulled pork sandiches I have ever had. You can freeze the leftovers too.