The Zombie Bowl and a list of my favorite Post-Apocolyptic books

I have never watched The Walking Dead, ever.  

Today I was channel surfing and stopped on AMC.  I was also surfing the Web at the same time which is a testament to my short attention span.  Something caught my eye and I was drawn in to this TV show.  Maybe it was the Post Apocalyptic premise of the show, the struggle of a man to find his family or the fact that it is set in the South, in Georgia.  But I was definitely drawn in to the story of this man and these people struggling for survival.  I must say I am hooked.  Why did I stay away from this TV show??

From Season 1 of The Walking Dead

I love a Post-Apocalyptic story.  I read a lot of Post-Apocalyptic books, I have seen many movies and usually watch all the TV shows except The Walking Dead. 

This is a list of my favorite Post-Apocalyptic book series:

Suzanne Colllins: The Hunger Games Series
The Hunger Games
Catching Fire
Mockingjay

Lauren Oliver: Delirium Series
Delirium 
Pandemonium
Requiem

Veronica Roth: Divergent Series
Divergent
Insurgent
Allegiant - Haven't read yet

S. R. Johannes: Nature of Grace Series
Untraceable - Free for Kindle
Uncontrollable 
Unstoppable - Not out yet 

Michael Bunker: Wick Series
Wick 1 - Free for Kindle
Wick 2 - Charm School - haven't read yet
Wick 3 - Exodus - haven't read yet
Wick 4 - One Word of Truth - haven't read yet

What are your favorite Post-Apocalyptic books or book series?

Cindi 

Homemade Mississippi Hot Tamale Spice Mix

Homemade Mississippi Hot Tamale Spice Mix

If you have never tried Mississippi Hot Tamales then you have been missing out on some huge flavor. 

I got in my kitchen this afternoon and mixed up a large batch of this homemade spice mix so I will be ready to make Hot Tamales as soon as I get to the grocery store for the ground beef.  By making a large batch of this spice mix I will have plenty left over for next time I want these tasty tamales.

First, I gathered my ingredients:

Sea Salt, Chili Powder, Garlic Salt, Ground Black Pepper, Paprika, Ground Cumin and Red Pepper

Second, I got out my Ninja. I measured the spices and added them to the Ninja to grind and blend the spice mix really well.

Many layers of spice

More Layers of Spice

Third, after spices are ground and mixed, spice is placed in a 1/2 Cup Mason Jars.

Spices ground and blended and ready to use

This mixture made 5 1/2 Cup Mason Jars.  I added the Screw Top Lids.

Mississippi Hot Tamale Seasoning Mix:

4 Tbsp of Ground Cumin

2 Tbsp of Sea Salt or Table Salt

4 tsp of Ground Black Pepper

4 tsp of Ground Red Pepper

4 tsp Chili Powder

4 tsp Paprika

4 tsp Garlic Salt

Add ingredient to a blender or ninja and pulse for 10-15 second increments for a total of 2 minutes until ground and blended.  Spoon 4 Tablespoons into 1/2 cup mason jars, or add all mix to one large mason jar or any airtight container and spoon out mix as needed.

One 4oz Jar will season a regular Tamale Recipe (see below)

 
Your Mississippi Hot Tamale Season Mix is ready to use!


Mississippi Hot Tamales

1 lb of Ground Beef

2 Cups of Corn Meal

1/3 Cup of Oil

1 1/2 Cups of Buttermilk

1 Small Jar of Homemade Mississippi Hot Tamale Spice Mix or 4 Tablespoons of Mix from large jar.

Combine dry ingredients and mix well.   Add oil, buttermilk and ground beef to dry mixture and mix well.  You may have to get your hands in the mixture.  Roll in foil or waxed paper twisting the ends tight.  Place in a large pan of boiling water and cover.  Boil for 20 minutes.  Recipe should make 2 - 2 1/2 dozen Tamales.

 
When I get ready to actually make Tamales I will photograph the process and share the pictures in a new blog post.

Thursday Purrsday!! Just Cats!

 Just Cats Today!!!

Flash and Zorro How sweet is this?

Flash and Zorro were best buds!

TeeJay is almost 16!

Flash, Zorro and Amber don't like it when I travel......

Happy Birthday Momma!!

Billie Sue Weathers Hubbard Sprouse

Today, January 28, 2014, would have been my mom's 78th birthday, if she had lived to see this birthday. 

She died March 27th 2013.  Knowing how sick she was at the time I was still shocked when the nurse came out to tell David and I that she had passed just minutes before we arrived at the ICU.  We knew it was a possibility, we had even spoken the words out loud the night before with our what if's.  But I was not prepared for hearing that she had left us forever.  I had things to tell her, important things. But it was too late.

I miss my mother desperately.  My life will never be the same again,  I no longer have a Sunday safe place to sit and talk with my Mom after a crazy week.  I feel like a lost child some days and it is a very lonesome place but I look at her smile in these pictures and I have to smile right back.  She loved everyone and she sure did love her grand babies.

I am going to post pictures that span across the years and try to caption each one.  If the pictures come out all over the place I will fix it tomorrow since I am having issues tonight.

Angie, Liam, Me, Will and Mom

 

Mom about 18 months old

Mom, Uncle Jack and Aunt Jo

Mom, Uncle Jack and Auto Jo

Dad and Mom

Angie, Mom and Dad

Me and Mom in the mid 70's

Lydia and Mom at Lydia's Bridal Shower

Mom and Nolan Christmas 2011

Mom and Nolan Christmas 2011

Mom, Eric, Nolan and Me October 2011

Mom, Eric, Me, Soloman, David and Nolan

Momma and Will

A Special Thank You From Zac Gant

I wanted to share this message that my nephew Zac posted on Facebook this morning.  I spoke about my nephews Stage 4 Esophegeal Cancer in my January 20, 2014 blog post.  We love you Zac!
 

Zac and Christy in 2005

From Zac Gant:
 
"This post has been a long time coming. I can sometimes get caught up in everything that is going on around me and I forget to show the gratitude and appreciation I have for everything that everyone has blessed me with.
I truly appreciate all of the prayers and positive thoughts that everyone is sending my way. We couldn't make it without all of the support everyone has shown. Our families have both helped us so much and made sure we were able to get to some of the medical care that would have been nearly impossible to get to on our own. We love you all and thank you very, very much.

I especially want to thank my two daughters, Hailey and Allie for all they have done and are doing to make life easier through all of this. I know the situation is not an easy one, but I think I have raised them to be smart and tough and taught them that everything works out in the end if you wait around long enough. It may not always be what you want but it always works out.

I am so proud of my girls, they are both on the honor roll, Hailey is doing great in cheerleading and Allie is loving basketball and the band. But on top of all of that, they are good sweet girls that I love more than anything on this earth They are the best two kids a dad could ask for.

How do I express my thanks to Christy. How do you find words to express the gratitude for someone who takes care of you before you know you need taken care of? Christy is my EVERYTHING! There is absolutely nothing she has not taken care of through this ordeal. Whether that meant calling 12 different doctors to find out what treatment is the best for me now, to staying up all night reading about new drug trials that may give me a better chance. Christy has not taken no for an answer when it comes to all of this. I have watched her call and call and call until she got to the right person just so that I would receive the best care possible. Nothing has been 2nd rate or seeing just who we could, Christy has gotten us into the best.

She is also my best friend in the whole wide world. This disease can take alot from you. Your dignity is one of those things, but Christy has done everything in her power to keep mine intact. She helps me with so much day to day stuff that did not used to be part of her routine and I know that adding it in only shortened the amount of time she takes for herself. I think she is an Angel, I think God sent Christy to me about 10 years ago because he knows everything already and he knew I would need an Angel to help me when I got sick.

I don't know how to explain how much I love Christy. I truly don't think there are words written that could adequately describe my love for my wife. She is my everything. And I love her and will continue to love until the end of time and for three more days after that.

Thank you all for your continued prayers and support. I love you all"

Binge Watching TV - My Newest Guilty Pleasure...

This is what happens when you are stuck home sick with the crud.  You watch way too much TV and you tend to binge watch new shows.  Of course when I say "you" I mean "me".

My Saturday morning binge was HGTV's Flea Market Flip.  I love to see the fun and funky, yet sometimes tacky things these people can do with what they find at the flea market!

Here is the link to the Flea Market Flip.

 http://www.hgtv.com/flea-market-flip/show/index.html 

Last night was the PBS Masterpiece version of Sherlock.  I have always been a huge Sherlock Holmes fan and this version is the best!

Here is a link to PBS Sherlock website and Facebook page.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/sherlock/

https://www.facebook.com/Sherlock.BBCW

Of all the binge watching I have done this weekend my favorite by far has been the GAC show Junk Gypsies that I have been watching all day today.

Here are the links to Junk Gypsies Website, Pinterest page,  Facebook page and Blog.

http://gypsyville.com/

http://www.pinterest.com/junkgypsies/

https://www.facebook.com/junkgypsy

http://junkgypsyblog.com/


What are your favorite binge watching TV shows?  If this crud hangs on much longer I am going to need some suggestions.

Revisiting my Zac Gant post from 1-20-14

I am back requesting more prayers for my nephew Zac and his wife Christy.  Please pray with us and without ceasing.  This cancer is the most understudied and one of the most lethal. It is the fastest rising cancer in the US.  This cancer is one of the most aggressive cancers affecting men today.

I wanted to revisit his story and our prayer request from the blog I posted Tuesday 1/21/14.

The words below are from Christy written today after seeing the results of a Bone Scan.

"We got the results of the bone scan. Not what we wanted, again. The metastasis to the sacrum was confirmed, and it also showed a few new spots. That should give you an idea of how aggressive his cancer is. These spots were not visible on the PET scan from January 6th. He has mets in the pelvic bones and femur now.

(For the medical people: Right greater trochanter, right pubic ramus, left sacroiliac joint, and right sacrum) 

Zac has made a decision. He will start chemo again next Friday. He will be on Cisplatin (IV every 3 weeks) and Xeloda (6-8 tabs daily). He will also be getting an IV infusion of Zometa once every 4 weeks. Zometa is not an anti-cancer drug. It helps strengthen the bones. The bone mets are in weight bearing bones. This could become a problem fast if we don't start treatment again soon.

We went to see Dr. Linn, the radiation oncologist, today. We were considering radiation to his left side (diaphragm) because of the pain. The risk of damaging surrounding organs is too great. They were also considering radiation to the sacrum (spine). He is not having pain from that. We all agreed it would be best to try chemo again first. If that doesn't control the bone mets we will still have radiation as a backup if needed.

Zac is still doing really good most days...very little vomiting, and fatigue is not keeping him down. Pray chemo doesn't change that! "

Photo taken Tuesday. He has hair again! 

This sweet guy has a happy smile though the roughest, toughest times.  He is our HERO!!

 Please share this blog so we can share Zac and Christy's  story and reach more people for prayer!  Thank you, Cindi