Yum.

Have you ever eaten at Abuelo's?  Not your grandparents' house, but the restaurant.  It's delicious.  That's an understatement, even. 

A few years ago, I received one of those squishy stress balls shaped like an apple for Teacher Appreciation day.  Stamped on that stress ball was the Abuelo's logo and the statement "Free Queso for Life".  And it wasn't a joke.  The queso ball is currently with my in-laws for safe keeping, since they live near an Abuelo's location.  I made it clear to them, however, that it was not a gift; they are baby sitting my free queso for life. 

There is one Abuelo's restaurant in the entire state of Arkansas, 3 and a half hours away on the Missouri border, and I've been suffering withdrawals... but guess what I just found out?  Some of their signature recipes are posted on their Facebook!!  Yum.

As a side item at Abuelo's, you can order traditional Mexican rice, or a less common, but quite authentic, potato casserole.  Papas con chile.  Ahhhh-mazing. 

Here's the link to the recipe: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Abuelos/236632570621?sk=app_113833005389890#!/note.php?note_id=293585714944

There's also a new recipe for a Mexican Bread Pudding that cannot, by the laws of physics, be anything but wonderful. 


https://www.facebook.com/pages/Abuelos/236632570621?sk=app_113833005389890#!/note.php?note_id=414859274944

Abuelo's also has a bacon-wrapped shrimp dish -- Shrimp Alambre.  The Mexican influence comes from a sliver of jalapeno pepper and Cheddar-Jack cheese stuffed into the butterflied shrimp.  They are absolutely divine. 

The recipe and preparation are here: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Abuelos/236632570621?sk=app_113833005389890#!/note.php?note_id=360281609944

For a while, this should get me through.  But the next time I'm back in Texas, I'll be eating at Abuelo's -- and not just my Nana's house!  Do yourself a favor, and make these recipes as soon as possible.  You won't be disappointed! 

Holiday Season

Jimmy just referred to himself as a stud.  Let me tell you, he's wearing a yellow t-shirt, blue gym shorts, and dark brown, gold-toe dress socks.  I love him.

He is a stud, though.  He puts up with my craziness and rarely gives me grief for it.  Like when I said: "Let's have your whole family over for Thanksgiving", he didn't say "don't you realize you'll be 5 and a half months pregnant?"  No, he realized that my mind was made up, so he only offered to fry the turkey. 

An what a wonderful turkey it turned out to be!  We loved having our family -- both current and future -- and friends share the holiday with us.  We hosted my mother and father in-law, Hope and Jim, my brother-in-law and his fiance, Joey and Cody, Cody's parents, Faye and Jeff, and our friends, Kim and Doug.  It was a full table, and I wouldn't have it any other way on Thanksgiving.  If I'm the one you ask, then the food was incredible, and the company was even better.

This is only a part of the food -- and the rest was equally delicious.  The next day, I had absolutely NOTHING to do with Black Friday shopping.  Well, almost nothing.  After lunch, Jim and Hope took us to buy a recliner for the nursery!  Aren't they great?  I can not wait for it to arrive.  On Saturday, with our company on their way back home, Jimmy and I had a couch day.  We only left the sofa to eat, I think.  I must admit, I was exhausted after days of cleaning, prepping, cooking, and entertaining.  But it was all worth it.

And now, we've moved on.  It's Christmastime!  There are wrapped presents under the newly-trimmed tree, and the stockings are hung.  It still look a bit like elves threw up all over the place, but that's the mark of a happy holiday house. 

I do so love this time of year.  Today it's rainy and cold, and I can only imagine what that will do to the roads and the morale of the locals, but I can't wait for it to feel like winter.  For one, I'm carrying around 4 pounds of extra blood, and I get hot easily because of that.  Now that I'm smack-in-the-middle of 26 and 27 weeks, I'm quite ready for a change in the weather!

The exciting baby news this week is that Tiny Dancer's routine movements are so strong that they're easily visible through placenta, skin, and clothing.  Jimmy became a first-hand witness to this phenomena, and he couldn't help but laugh out loud.  Tiny Dancer can hear that, so she started dancing around even more, and the cycle would continue that way for a few minutes. 

So what lies ahead?  Christmas!  Shopping, baking, caroling (not at your doorstep, don't worry -- just to my self and my unborn fetus), cider drinking, cookie eating, and merry being.  Not necessarily in that order.  Are you in for any of the same?