Fiesta

Yesterday my sis in law says "I think my iPod Touch is broken, it says that you haven't updated your blog since Thursday." LOL! I thought this very funny! No it's not broken, I just took some time to enjoy the weekend without opening my computer! Friday started off great! On Thursday we found out that Spencer's counts were very good! His ANC went from zero to 3.0 (3000) in just four days! Thank goodness for the Neulasta shot! Because his numbers were so good he decided that he wanted to attend the last hour of school on Friday. It was so great to have him at school. Belle and I stayed in the building and ate lunch but let him have his freedom. It was another moment of normalcy. It felt nice, for both of us. This was most definitely the blessing of the day!


Saunie watched Gavs while we were at the school, so we headed back her way. They were preparing some yummy delicious cajun food (her husband is from Louisiana) and so we stayed for dinner. Crawfish Etouffee, and the best fried shrimp ever! Spencer even attempted to try a shrimp. It didn't end up happening, but he put it on his tongue. His poor taste buds still aren't working correctly. The kids goofed around, I even had to tell Spence to settle down (yay!) and they watched a movie. Us girls watched a chick flick while the boys went out to watch the Jazzgame. It was a thoroughly enjoyable day.
The next morning I got my hair done at Total Betty by Marti (she is fabulous, best ever!) and ran some errands. I then started preparing the tamales for our family Cinco de Mayo party at Nate's parents house the next day. Spencer really wanted to celebrate Cinco de Mayo but he will be in patient that day so we decided to do it on Sunday. Tamales take a couple of days to prepare so I started on Saturday. I made rice and coconut flan as well. We had a great "fiesta" and enjoyed being with our family. Spence tried a bite of a taco, flan and chips and guacamole! The kids love being with their cousins. The weekend was so great. We haven't been able to enjoy it like this yet. I feel like we are starting to settle into our new norm. I know that their will be bumps in the road but this new norm is much better than the anxieties of a new diagnosis! Tomorrow we go in for a three day in patient. He will get Vincristine, Cytoxan, and Doxirubicin. We have done V and C but not D so keep him in your prayers! If you scroll down to the end I have included "Holly's Tamales" recipe!

Holly's Tamales (heehee)
The day before is when I prepare the meat. For the meat you will need:
6-8 lb pork roast
1 big bottle of any kind of Taco Sauce
1-2 big Anaheim chili's (you can use canned chilis but fresh is always better)
1 large orange (zest and fresh squeezed juice)
1 1/2- 2 bags of brown sugar
1 can of Coke or ...any non diet soda
Put the roast in a crock pot or roasting pan
Pour Coke and add all of the ingredients. I use the whole orange for the zest and only squeeze half of the orange juice while it is cooking. I put 1 bag of brown sugar in while it cooked the whole day and added the 1/2 when i put it in the fridge at night.
Cook on high for the day and put in the fridge overnight (dump more brown sugar before refrigerating) Next morning reheat meat. When heated shred into a separate bowl. Add a little bit of the sauce from the crockpot and add the second half of the orange to the meat in the bowl. mix around. It is now ready for the tamales.
Corn Husks need to be soaked in warm water for about 2 hrs. so prepare for that.
Now it is time to make the masa:
MASA:
2lbs Maseca Masa
2-3 c sugar
3 TBSP Cumin
3 TBSP Chili Powder
3 TBSP Garlic Powder (not salt)
1 TBSP Salt
Mix well and add:
4 C sweet white corn (i use the frozen kind)
2 C CORN OIL
8 C chicken broth
mix
The consistency is supposed to be like thick peanut butter but sometimes tamales get really dry. try adding a little more broth to make it more moist.
grab your corn husks from the water, shake them a little and lay on a towel. I do an assembly line about 8 at a time. Spread your masa onto the corn husks. here is a link to a site that has pictures and explains thoroughly how to construct, fold and steam the tamales! Enjoy! http://www.sonofthesouth.net/tamales/Tamales_Recipe_.htm