Recently, I was asked by Avocados From Mexico to review their delectable avocados and some of their kid friendly recipes while coming up with some of my own. I was more than happy to oblige since we are heavy avocado eaters in this house. One of Mia’s first solid foods was an avocado and and I couldn’t have been happier when the doorbell rang and on my steps was a box full of one of our favorite fruits. Yes, I said fruit.

Avocados are one of our favorite foods because not only are they perfect as baby’s first food but they are perfect for everyone. Sodium and cholesterol free, avocados contain 20 essential nutrients and help the body absorb vitamins A, D, and E from other foods it’s eaten with. Being a Texan I grew up with avocados practically in everything but it wasn’t until I had a child I realized how versatile they actually are. We use avocado pretty much everyday as it is our go to meal when Mia becomes a little picky. It is always a hit and not only does she eat it as a simple finger food but I add it smashed to cheese quesadillas, oatmeal, and as a spread on a turkey sandwich. When I was asked to do this review I further realized how far one can actually take an avocado. The following recipes are from Avocados From Mexico and one of my own. Try them out on your kiddos today or stop by their website, AvocadosFromMexico.com for more great ideas for you and the family. This is where I do have to stop and say, in all honesty, this website has been added to my list of my favorite recipe sites. It is loaded with great ideas and recipes!

Avocado Quesadillas n’ Dip
recipe from Avocados From Mexico

Ingredients:

• 1 fully ripened avocado from Mexico, halved, pitted and peeled
• 1/3 cup prepared ranch salad dressing
• 4 (6-inch) flour tortillas, any flavor
• 1/2 cup shredded Monterrey Jack cheese
• 1/4 cup corn kernels
• Raw veggies

Preparation:
Chop half of the avocado. To prepare Avocado Dip: In bowl of food processor, combine chopped avocado with ranch dressing; process until smooth; transfer to small serving bowl; set aside. Cut remaining half of the avocado into 8 slices. Heat skillet over medium heat; place one tortilla in skillet; heat until warm, about 30 seconds. Turn tortilla over, sprinkle 2 tablespoons of the cheese on half of the tortilla; heat until cheese melts, about 2 minutes. Remove from skillet. Place 1 tablespoon corn and 2 slices avocado on top of cheese; fold other half of tortilla over avocado; press the edge together. Remove to serving plate; cut into thirds. Repeat with remaining tortillas. Serve warm with reserved Avocado Dip and raw veggies, if desired.

* This is a great dip! Mia literally ate every last bite. Here’s a tip: You can also replace prepaired ranch dressing with a tablespoon of ranch dressing mix (comes in a packet) and 2 tablespoons of milk.

Avocado Pineapple Milkshake serves 4
recipe from Avocados From Mexico

Ingredients:

• 1 fully ripened avocado from Mexico, halved, pitted and peeled
• 2 cups milk
• 1 can (8 ounces) pineapple chunks in juice
• 4 tablespoons granulated sugar
• Pinch of salt
• 1 cup ice

Preparation: In blender container, combine avocado, milk, pineapple, sugar and salt; whirl until smooth. Add ice; whirl until ice is crushed.

* I did find this to be a little too sweet for my tastes. I suggest tasting the shake before adding the sugar depending on how sweet you prefer it.

Avocado and Banana Ice Cream serves 2
recipe from In Sock Monkey Slippers

• 1 fully ripened avocado from Mexico, halved, pitted and peeled
• 1 banana, peeled
• 1 Tbs honey (for children 12 months and older)

In a food processor or blender, puree the avocado, banana, and honey for 1 to 2 minutes. You want the texture to be ultra creamy and almost whipped. Put the mixture in a freezer safe dish and place in the freezer for 2 to 3 hours until the mixture has reached a soft ice cream-like consistency. Serve and enjoy!

* It sounds strange but when we tasted it we couldn’t get enough! It tastes like a creamy banana and honey ice cream. Since it is not a traditional churned ice cream it will freeze completely if left in the freezer longer than 3 to 4 hours. You will want to eat it as soon as it reaches a soft “ice cream” consistency. But here’s a good thing: You can also place the avocado/banana mixture in popsicle forms and allow to freeze overnight for a tasty and creamy avocado popsicle!

Other avocado ideas:

• Combine tuna with avocado and use as a filling for sandwiches or wraps.
• Use as a spread for a bagel or toasted bread strips.
• Substitute as a healthy replacement for mayonnaise
• Slice avocado in chunks and serve as an anytime snack
• Puree and freeze in ice-cube trays. Store in freezer bags or freezer container as a quick baby food.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received the product mentioned above for free for review purposes from Avocados From Mexico. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255

Once again I have been waylaid by the kitchen remodel. We are getting close! The counter tops are in and oh so pretty and the sink and faucet were finally installed last week. Yesterday, the day I had been waiting for since me moved in three years ago, the particle board walls were torn down and gorgeous pine wainscoting was installed.

Thankfully, everything went somewhat smoothly and was finished all in one day. Mia and I almost died of boredom yesterday because we had to stay here and make sure the contractors didn’t need any questions answered. Which of course, they did. Do you remember that show Murphy Brown and the character Eldin the painter? Ok…times that by four. Four Eldins in my kitchen with power tools. Now, I’m not a stranger to them as I hired the same people to remodel the bathrooms. They’re work is excellent I can’t argue. But they are always late, a break is 3 hours, and lets just say our communication skills are poor at best because I don’t speak Spanish and they don’t speak English. So, why do I continuously hire these guys? The answer simple. They are entertaining and love trying to make Mia laugh. I love when they question my design skills telling me that instead of buying the moulding that I originally wanted they picked up a prettier moulding or that the sink I wanted was too small and in the long run I would not like it. At first this all made me so upset, but now instead of trying to argue in broken Spanish I have come to the conclusion that they are pretty much always right. That’s when they really get into it and argue in Spanish with each other about what looks better and which decorative touch should be added. I like to think they meet up after work with a six pack and watch the design channel. This is how my brain works.

But my favorite thing about these burly tattooed men, one who’s front teeth are all gold and reminds me of a James Bond villain, are their voices. Yes, that’s right…they sing. All the time and as I was in the living room yesterday reading a book to Mia, I nearly fell off the couch when we were suddenly serenaded in rounds. Now, my Spanish is severely broken but from what I gathered it was something about a lovesick man and a horse. Really?! Even in the midst of sawdust and the disruption of a kitchen remodel, my life is pretty sweet.

Now we just wait on me to paint. This is one of those things I just don’t trust anyone else to do. I’m weird like that. Hopefully, this will get done soon because I would like my oven to return to the kitchen and get out of our bedroom. Cross your fingers!

This is the beautiful wallpaper we found under the particle board. The avocado green paint chips in the kitchen all make sense now. Remember the house is 80+ years old. From what I can tell the kitchen has been green, pink, blue and off-white.

Welcome to another installment of “Musings of a Mid-Life Mom,” the monthly guest column by the very talented Ashley Bass. A gut clenching, chin dropping, enthusiastic view on kids, men and all the other stuff that gives us wrinkles!

Maternal Evolution

Case Study 1: The Handbag

On Labor Day weekend, the fam and I struck out on an errand. It seems ‘we’ were in need of a new grill. I’m never one to discourage a certain part of ’we’ from cooking dinner so, as any self-respecting American would do, we hopped in our big F-250 and headed to Sears. The kids had had a great day thus far. We had gone to the park, eaten lunch, and had naps. What could possibly go wrong? Answer: I would discover that motherhood not only effected my body, mind, soul, and every thought…it also effects (wait for it….) MY FREAKIN PURSE.

We pulled into the mall parking lot, unloaded, and strolled inside. The children behaved as perfectly as any 2 and 3 year old possibly could. They walked with us, looked around at all the stuff in wonderment (Sears is no Target, ya know), and generally impressed us with their good manners. Once in the outdoor department Jason began the ’grill purchasing dance’ by talking to the nice older gay gentleman who seemed to be an authority on grilling. A grill was chosen. This is the part of the purchasing process where they stick it to you! Apparently, we needed a new propane tank, a grill cover, new grilling tools, and every other new thing a man could possibly think he needed to cook a perfect steak. At this point the kids were getting antsy, so I took them on a walk through the clothing department, in hopes of distracting them just long enough…

Chaos! Jake started running in and out of the racks, Libby set out in hot pursuit, her sole intention of cataloging enough information for a really great tattle session. I looked desperately over my shoulder to check the progress of the checkout, only to see Jason and Sweety in a very deep conversation about the pros and cons of a stainless steel finish versus a matte finish. Damn, I need a miracle! So I look in my purse. I don’t know what I thought I’d find in there… ah, a snack baggie full of Cheerios, Kix, and Goldfish. I have miraculously found a bag of Toddler Crack in this purse I’m carrying. Not only that, but I hand over a Nemo sticker, an Elmo sticker, and a little Matchbox car. What the Hell???? Where did this purse come from? I’ll tell you where. It came straight from Heaven! I know it came from Heaven because there is no way it’s mine! I’m way too awesome to be the owner of this purse. This purse belongs to some sad woman who wears mom jeans and is obsessed with sewing her kids Halloween costumes.

My very elegant and expensive handbag was a gift to myself after a particularly harrowing business trip, too many years ago. I had never spent more than 20 bucks on a purse until I saw this one. I remember it like it was yesterday… Walking through Neiman’s, or Nordstroms, or Saks.. Okay, maybe not like it was yesterday, but I sorta remember staggering through some department store in High Point, NC after having ‘celebrated’ a very successful sales trip. I tripped, my cheap purse broke, and I saw a pretty cute, but too expensive handbag (read cost as much as my mortgage payment now) under the glass in the purse department of some un-remembered department store. I pointed, the saleswoman handed it to me, and I dumped the contents of my wounded warrior into a new and gorgeous handbag! (If it’s expensive it’s called a ‘handbag’).

My purse used to be an oasis in the desert. I could always find a matching wallet that actually had money in it, a pen, a pack of cigarettes, a Diet Coke (seriously), a tampon, my Blackberry, a calendar full of really important grown-up stuff, and at least three different lipsticks. On Labor Day Weekend 2010, I discovered this purse I carried looked sorta the same on the outside as the one from six years ago, but the guts of it had changed as much as mine had. The Toddler Crack had replaced the cigarettes, the empty wallet was one I found in a drawer when my old one became a toy, crayons had replaced the tampons (and let me tell you that was an awfully grim discovery!), the Tylenol once used to tame a morning headache is still there but in its infant form to be used for fevers and new teeth, and my calendar now has a whole bunch of three-year olds birthday parties, new baby’s sip-n-sees, volunteer committee meetings, and a whole bunch of other functions that don‘t serve adult beverages.

Good Lord! One of the most depressing parts of my discovery came when I took a good hard look at the purse I was carrying and discovered it was my once glorious handbag. Now some of the logo-print has been colored in with pink crayon, one of the straps has been used, on many occasions, as a teether, the zipper is broken, the once pristine suede bottom is now all grungy and dirty, and it’s lost all of it’s shape- at this very moment it is sitting all collapsed and pitiful on the floor next to my desk. I just realized my handbagis now just a purse. It started life on the shoulder of a ’go getter’ and is reaching the end of its’ life on the shoulder of a ’step-n-fetcher’ (for those of you not from Texas a ‘Step-n-Fetcher‘ is the ‘Go Getter’s‘ gopher, a maid/nurse/cook/wash-woman… a mom). To add insult to injury, the gal who works for me carries a lovely Burberry handbag, and some days a pristine Louis with matching wallet! I’m getting real bitter about that… I think I’ll fire her for the rest of the day!! Bitch! After I kick her smug ass out of the store, I’m making an empowered decision! I shall be handbag carrier again!

I think I’ll hussle out and get myself a new bag this weekend! I see a girls road trip in my future. Here is what’s going to happen. A group of four of five of us are going to pile into one of our Mom-type vehicles. We are going to hit the Interstate and head South! We shall have brunch at the Four Seasons then head out to shop. If I do it correctly, I will enjoy enough mimosas at brunch to keep me deliriously happy for a couple of hours. (Maybe my old purse can see its way clear to hold a flask one last time.) I am going to walk into the Neiman’s and point at the prettiest handbag I see, buy it, and take it home!! I’m so excited! Once I get it home, I’m going to load it up with all the things I need. I will stand in front of the mirror modeling with it and then I, too, shall be smug! The bag will be wonderful and I shall be happy. Then…I will unload it, put it back in it’s nice felt pouch, return it to it’s box, and put it in my closet. Happiness is knowing it will be there waiting for me… when the time is right.

Curried Sweet Potato Fries serves 4

• 2 sweet potatoes
• 1 Tbs vegetable oil
• 1 Tbs curry powder
• 1  Tbs brown sugar
• 1 tsp kosher salt

1. Preheat oven to 450°.
2. Cut sweet potatoes in 1/2 inch thick strips and place in a large bowl.
3. Pour oil over the sweet potato sticks and coat evenly.
4. Lay sweet potatoes on a baking sheet and be careful not to overcrowd.
5. Place in the oven for 20 to 30 minutes.
6. While those are cooking up, place the curry powder, brown sugar and salt in a small bowl and mix.
7. Once the fries are cooked return to the same large bowl.
8. Immediately sprinkle spice mixture over the fries and toss to coat.
9. Serve.

Drool!

Hope you enjoy this mouthwatering Colorado influenced meal. I now have to run and get back into the very messy kitchen remodel. Wish me luck and that I never have to see the plumber’s…well you know what they say, again.

Did you know that only 8% of sunscreens are recommended by the Environmental Working Group? Scary. With our market filled with chemical based sunscreens that disrupt our body’s hormone systems what other choice do we have? Fortunately, there are some companies trying to provide us with a safe alternative to protecting our precious skin. Marie Veronique Organics is one of them and has recently created Kid Safe Screen, a safe chemical free SPF 25+ broad spectrum UVA/UVB protection sunscreen.

I was excited when Marie Veronique Organics asked me to review this product. I have been looking all summer for a safe harmful chemical free sunscreen for my family. Just in time for our Colorado vacation, I took Kid Safe Screen with us to help us fight the rays as were played in the sun. Unfortunately, I was very disappointed in the result. The directions state to shake well and reapply after 2 hours of swimming, perspiring, or towel drying. After a 1.30 hour hike, Tim and I of course were a little sweaty but Mia was on her dad’s back and didn’t even break a sweat. The hike was partly shaded with breaks of sun filled fields. When we took our first break at 45 minutes I was shocked when I looked at Tim and Mia’s red faces. We all reapplied and finished the rest of our hike. When we returned to our condo we were all sun-burnt and pasty white from the numerous applications, a weird combo. Granted we were in the mountains but I never expected to be burnt after 2 applications within 2 hours and hiking in the shaded forest.

Displeased but understanding that we were in the mountains at a higher elevation closer to the sun at the time , I tried it again back home. The results were fair. We spent about 2 hours outside playing in the backyard. I did not see that Mia was burnt but with one regular application she was very pasty from the sunscreen. Although she was not burnt this time the sunscreen did not absorb on her or I and we walked around the rest of the day looking like ghosts. A sharp contrast from what the websites states, “Absorbs into the skin without leaving a greasy or ghostly white film.”

Unfortunately, Kid Safe Sun Screen by Marie Veronique Organics is not for my family. I really do believe in the company and what they are trying to do. They are a wonderful company that operates sustainably, make their products using organic and/or locally grown products when possible and use biodegradable products, labels, and easily recyclable packaging. They also donate  10% of company profits to The Acumen Fund, a non-profit dedicated to creating better opportunities for women and children in Third World countries. Such a  beautiful company but their Kid Safe Sun Screen just was not for us.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received the product mentioned above for free for review purposes from Marie Veronique Organics I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255

I have a secret. Uh gasp! If you have been a guest in our eccentric 1930′s home then it is no secret at all and you have heard me try to cover it up with all of my plans/excuses. Oh the dirty little secret is….my kitchen. You don’t know because I do everything possible not to show it in pictures but it has always been a bit of a sore spot. Our LITTLE stone house is an adorable cottage of beautiful stone, gorgeous original floors made up of three types of wood, and my favorite a petrified wood fireplace. All restored by the husband and I and has as much character as we do. They just don’t make houses like this anymore. But the kitchen has been abused by the previous owner. ABUSED! Sorry Gertrude, your a sweet and a little crazy old lady (she stalked the house for a couple of months after we bought it) but your taste in blue counter tops and pink floral linoleum floors are just a crime against this house. I don’t know if you were trying to match the kitchen to your adorable blue hair and pink nightgown you you used to always show up in but it all has to GO! It’s now time for the bright blue linoleum counter, plastic back-splash, blinding gold colored knobs and pulls that have made me cringe at every entrance to come to an end and a new and not blue kitchen to grace this house.

A little sooner than I thought in fact. That is why I had to skip yesterday’s baby and toddler recipe post. My apologies but Saturday I received a call from the counter-top people saying, “tah-dah, the 2 month wait for your counter tops has come to an end in 3 weeks…oh and we have to deliver and install with in a week.” You can imagine this put me into a tornadic whirl yesterday. I hadn’t even bought the faucet or sink yet! So sorry for the laps in a post yesterday but I was demolitioning the neon blue counter-tops with glee, driving Eric at the Home Depot crazy (literally he told me he was breaking into the whisky early that night), and  lighting a fire under Oscar, my contactor’s, arse. Hopefully this will all be finished or at least working soon and I will have the recipe part of your beloved (<-hey a girl has got to dream, right?) In Sock Monkey Slippers up and running. That is if The Husband hasn’t committed me first.

Getting back to normal around here very slowly. Forgive me. Between unpacking, my child’s Elmo and raisin obsession, laundry, and waiting for the insurance adjuster to come evaluate the damage from last weeks small tornado that passed through here, I’ve been a little busy. If you’ve been keeping up with us lately, you will know we just returned from Colorado and that means we drove through New Mexico just in time for Hatch Chilie season. I LOVE this time of year because this is when I can say, “Well butter my butt and call me a biscuit, it’s fall!” {Thank You Kinky Fiedman for burning that line in my head. Side story explanation: Years ago The Husband was playing a show in honor of Texas legend, Kinky Friedman. When I went to introduce myself after the show Kinky shook my hand and said, “Well butter my butt and call me a biscuit, you are a pretty one.” Needless to say a blushed a little but now that phrase has stuck with me and it just slips out of head sometimes. Now back to the chilies}

Not only is it a sign of fall in the southwest it is somewhat of a holy foodie season in my opinion. To honor the hatch and to please the request of my husband I’m bringing back a post from the past. So old in fact, it is actually the first recipe post to appear here! Hatch Chilie Chicken and White Bean Stew. This time I used freshly roasted chilies and nothing compares to it’s greatness! If you love Hatch season as much as I, try this one out. You will not regret it.

Hatch Chili Chicken and White Bean Stew

• 3 cups of cooked and shredded chicken, preferably white and dark meat
• 1 whole Medium Onion, Diced
• 4 cloves Garlic, Minced
• 1 cup Fresh Roasted Hatch Chilies or 2 cans Hatch Green Chilies, Chopped
• 1 pound Dried Great Northern Beans, Rinsed
• 9 cups Chicken Broth
• 1 whole Serrano pepper, chopped
• 1 cup Sweet Corn Kernels, Frozen or Fresh
• 2 Tablespoons Ground Cumin
• 1 Tablespoon Ancho Chili Powder, or any smoked chili powder
• Salt To Taste
• 1 cup warmed Whole Milk
• 2 Tablespoons Cornmeal or masa
• 1/4 cup Fresh Chopped Cilantro
• avocado, lime, sour cream, Monterrey jack cheese are all optional toppers

First of all, if you have fresh hatch chilies let’s talk about roasting. Ideally you want to roast these tasty green chilies over an open flame, blow torch, campfire, charcoal grill…you get the idea. Unfortunately, there is a hurricane of sorts outside I can not demonstrate this. So let’s just use the broiler.

For this recipe, take 8 to 9 fresh chilies and place on a baking sheet or roasting pan lined with foil, optional. Place in the oven on the top rack under the broiler. Set broiler on low.

Roast for 5 minutes or until the skin is blistered and practically burnt. Flip chilies and roast for another 5 to 10 minutes until once again the skin is blistered. Note: I’m using a gas oven. Roasting time will vary so keep an eye on the chilies. Turn off broiler and let cool down in the oven for an additional 10 minutes. Once cooled, remove the chilies from the pan and place on a cutting board. With the back of a knife, or using your fingers (just wear gloves), gently peel of the blistered skin and discard. Once you have peeled the skin off all of the chillies, chop and set aside.

Now for the stew, sorry no pics I think my back is broken from hiking so I needed a break. You can check the original post for step by step photos, just be ware they were taken a long time ago with a very tiny camera:

1. In a dutch oven or large pot saute onions and garlic until soft with a tablespoon of olive oil.
2. Add chopped chilies(again, a thousand times better if you use fresh roasted Hatch Chilies when in season), serrano, and rinsed beans.
3. Add chicken broth, cumin, and chili powder. Bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to low.
4. Simmer for 2 hours or until beans are done. Halfway through cooking process, add 3 cups of shredded cooked chicken and corn.
5. After 2 hours of simmering away, mix the warm milk with cornmeal (flour or masa will work as well) and pour into stew.
6. Stir well and allow to simmer for an additional 10 minutes.
7. Add cilantro and stir.
8. serve

So good! I can smell football, golden leaves, halloween and 70° days now.

I promise this is the last post about last week and the time we spent in Colorado, excluding the upcoming hatch and buffalo burger recipes of course. I just felt compelled to share some of my favorite photos with you. I mean really, what else did you expect? My head is always attached to a camera. You didn’t think I would let y’all just have those crapy phone photos did you?

Our vacation has finally reached it’s end and for some of you you couldn’t be happier! I know, I know, you made yourselves pretty clear that you want the blog back to normal when I checked my e-mail this morning. I guess I can laugh and take it as a complement. Trust me it will return to normal by Thursday with some sort of recipe to do with Hatch chillies that we brought home with us. But for the rest of you, I’ll try to make this as short and sweet as I can and wrap up this vacation story.

Our last night in Pagosa Springs was a blast. It all started with a very enthusiastic woman who pulled up next to us in a yellow school bus. She opened the doors with a pull of her bony hand and screamed at us in her raspy voice, “Well aren’t you getting in?” Tim and I looked at each other, shrugged and hopped on in. After a few moments of chatter with her a band of tie-dye, hiking boots and fleece wearing “hippies” (I jokingly call them hippies, but in reality they are no where near the hippy clan I know and love in Texas; I’ve concluded their just Coloradoans with good taste in music) jumped on the bus and off we went up the mountain. She dropped us off in the middle of a campground with sweet a mandolin melody flowing in the air and instantly Tim and I knew we were going to have a great time. Once we found a spot to lay a blanket we were instantly enthralled by the likes of The Infamous Stringdusters and Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder. A mind blowing show and Mia had a blast talking and playing with everyone around us. It was a great time made even better by a wonderful Pagosa Springs couple that gave Tim and I and our very sleepy one-shoed daughter a ride down the mountain. Seriously, the people in Pagosa Springs are amazing!

Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder

We awoke the next morning to the last sounds of geese landing on the river. We packed up and before we left one of our favorite vacations behind we stopped in for a green chili and egg breakfast at a local coffee house next to the hot spring that we never got a chance to jump in. Oh well, I guess we have to return one day. Darn.

With bellies full we hit the road. A couple of hours into New Mexico we happened into Carson National Forest and stopped to take a couple of photos of Echo Theater, a natural rock formation. It was there we ran into a group of musicians, their friends and a dog named Hopi. Soon we found ourselves surrounded by this beautiful red rock cavern with guitars blazing and voices echoing off the walls. Hence Echo Theater, right? It was a great chance meeting and a wonderful impromptu concert that reminded me of the old days traveling with Tim from gig to gig.

After we left and were on the highway we heard a loud thud. In shock we thought I ran over something but quickly realized I had left our huge overly stuffed CD case on top of the car when I was reloading and forgot to put it back in. I pulled over and Tim ran in between cars and 18 wheelers to save our CD collection. Of course everything is backed up on the computer at home but we have priorities people. Thankfully with music saved we were on the road again.

We drove for hours, stopping in Santa Fe at a little cafe with cold beer and insanely good green sauce and taking in the views as we tucked on. Unfortunately, the greatness of the chili sauce was out shined  by what the beans did to our digestive tracts and for the rest of the day it was like WWIII with our butts as the firing cannons. Just not pleasant but so hilarious that we were all laughing at each bombshell. We have manners but in what I have no clue.

Our next destination was Clovis, New Mexico. What the heck is in the tiny railroad town of Clovis you might ask? A building. Not just any building though. This was the Norman Petty Recording Studio. A studio that once recorded the sounds of Buddy Holly, Roy Orbison and Waylon Jennings and the husband just had to put is hand on the door. It’s now closed and overgrown with vines and weeds but I can understand his enthusiasm as it was a just as inspiring to me.

After a brief stay in Lubbock we made it home seven hours later and my eyes were very happy to see the rolling cactus and oak tree covered landscape. We made it home with a head full of memories and a truckload of Hatch Chilies. I would love to tell you that Pagosa Springs is a horrible place and to never go there but it would be a lie and I would only say that to keep it all to myself. It was a memorable trip that hopefully we will take again. The beauty is indescribable and the adventures will stick with us forever. People of Pagosa Springs and everyone we met on the trip, you are awesome and we are glad to have met you! See you next time.

For all of you that want the blog back to normal, just hold on and I promise it will be. I’ve got one more post of some of my favorite shots, including the one I almost died for, but Thursday we’ll be cooking again and next week I will be back in my comfy sock monkey slippers. Thanks for putting up with us this past week!