I loved getting a shot of one of the ladies...we're all waiting
on Hurricane Isaac to bring much needed rain.  But I hear
that the farmers don't need a rain right now....

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

I don't think I'll ever get tired of Fresh, Lake Austin Spa Cookbook, by Terry Conlan.  I had to wait until I had a butternut squash available to make this one.  And lemme tell you how AWESOME and easy and FRESH this one is!  And makes for excellent left overs too as I had tonight... while Jackie watches Vanderbilt Football.  He's a genius that Terry Conlan, a genius!

1 C. diced butternut squash, cooked
1 C. red beans, canned, cooked and drained
1/2 C. each frozen Lima beans, cooked and frozen corn, cooked  (I used black beans, I didn't have Limas)
2 T. pimentos, I skipped this
1/2 C. reduced fat cheddar cheese, I used regular
2 oz. reduced fat cream cheese, I used 4 oz. because I was outta goat cheese
2 oz. reduced fat goat cheese
12 corn tortillas

Combine the squash, beans, corn and pimentos in a ball.  Mix the cheeses in a separate bowl.  Spread cheese mixture on her of 6 tortillas.  Top the tortillas with the vegetable mixture and cover with tortillas.  Arrange tortillas on a baking sheet and cover with foil (I didn't do this, so it made them crispy which is fine).  Bake at 350 degrees just until the cheese melts.  Serve with Red Chile Sauce and scoop of light sour cream.

The Red Chile New Mexico Sauce

6 dried New Mexico Chiles, I used a bag variety from Hay's of Guadalajara chiles and they did fine
1 small onion, thickly sliced, I used 8 green onions instead
4 Roma tomatoes
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 t. ground cumin
1 t. oregano leaves
1/4 C. tomato juice, I used tomato sauce
2 T. masa harina de maiz
2 C. vegetable stock, I used chicken stock
1/2 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped, I used nestle chocolate chips
1/2 t. ground cinnamon
1/2 t. salt

Lightly toast the childes in a dry skillet over medium heat for a few minutes, turning often (I kinda didn't turn so much and kinda burnt mine so be careful).  Remove and discard the stem and place in a bowl and cover with hot water, set aside for 30 minutes.  Drain and reserve.  Spray the onion, tomato and garlic lightly with cooking spray and arrange on a baking sheet and roast at 375 for 20 minutes.  Toast the cumin and oregano in a dry skillet for 30 seconds.  Combine the reserved chiles, onion, tomato, cumin and oregano in a blender and puree.  Combine the puree, tomato juice, flour, stock, chocolate in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook until thickened and smooth, stirring constantly.  Strain and keep warm (I didn't strain and didn't need to either).  Yield: 6 servings.

Nutrition facts per serving: 323 cal, 14 gr protein, 53 gr carbohydrate, 8 grams fat (more since I didn't used reduced fat cheese) Sodium 510 mg.

This is Gumball's brother Max, who lives down the street...
Chloe's been dog sitting now for a while, she gets $10 a day!

Tu Jague, the near 14 year old, is still hanging
on even though he is in early stage kidney failure

Biscuit is banned from the bar stools and look where I found him....

The squash is fabulous in this recipe

The delicious Red Chile puree before the chocolate and
cinnamon....it was awesome and I froze the extra for another
round down the road....

Guadalajara Chiles

Before going into the oven...

Delicious I tell ya!

2012 Drought....Birdeye

Look who came through this week....Wendy and Eran were
on their way to Hot Springs to celebrate her birfday and they
stopped here from Chicago.  Maytal, on the right, starts Kindergarten
this year and Ayelet will start right behind her!  Just so you
know, they come here every summer and love gettin in Chloe's
closet (cause she's the BIG girl), they have on dresses that we
sent on with them....these two LOVE fashion!  Look at Ayelet's
ring, necklace and headband!  Chloe's the opposite!

This Magnolia tree is TOTALLY stressing out...
see my sprinkler on this morning to try and
save her....

Gumball is from the Birdeye Store....one in a litter of 9 dogs...
Chloe loves this little guy and THANKFULLY we don't
have any fosters right now...this summer almost killed us!
(and our chickens...)

I'm not sure Winnie Bob could handle the
drought this year...it reminds me of last year's
flood that I don't think she could have handled either!
This is near the daffodil plot that hosts about 10
different varieties of the flower that I so love...
I hope they're going to make it....this photo looks
like it's fall but fall doesn't start until Sept. 20....

This is what our grass looks like today!

Because of a July NPR radio show, I planted
a late group of tomato plants, pepper plants and
some cucumbers....you see I need to weed out there!

I also planted a row of arugula and spinach but these
look like baby mushrooms...I wonder if I got the wrong seeds..

We got 7 tenths this morning....if only we could
get this every day for a month!

Saturday, August 25, 2012

I am amazed at the weather here this year!  We haven't gotten more than an inch of rain this whole month but got some today!  And thank the lord as my water bill was over $125 last month trying to save all the trees that Winnie Bob planted in this yard.  I don't think Jackie's mowed more than 4 times this WHOLE SUMMER!  Yes, digest that piece of information!  Cross County is in Exceptional Drought this year which is worse than Extreme.  Let's all pray that this ordeal will end soon.  Not only do the trees need rain but also the crops and wildlife.

1st Day of Junior High, Birdeye

Chloe's first day of 6th grade...We take a photo
here every year, I'll have to find some old shots
of her in this same spot!  It would be fun to compare!

Kara and I take a photo at the beginning of every year over
at her house...Stella started Kindergarten!  Look at August,
I think he wants to go to class too...:)

Last Saturday, Maggie Miller, Chloe and Chloe Thornhill
at our kids triathlon at the country club....they all had a good
time, we had 50 people show up from all over the state!

We added trophies this year...Chloe had a great time at the tri!
School starts Monday!

The week before the kids tri and school starting, Dana, a
roommate and fellow Kappa Kappa Gamma, came to Arkansas
to see her dad before her kids started school.  Terry Sherwood
built the most beautiful house on Greers Ferry Lake, it was
amazing!  This is Aidan and Sydney Holroyd with Coco

We never go to the lake, unlike me at this age,
we would go to Ft. Cobb Lake in Western
Oklahoma all summer long to water ski, we never
tubed much but mainly skied.  Here's Chloe out
on the tube....it was fun! 

Thankfully Dana and I had a chance
to catch up while Chloe made yet another
movie....You'll have to find me on YouTube
(keelismith) to see her videos, they are a
ton of fun to watch!

Saturday, August 25, 2012

I cannot believe my precious gift is going to Junior High!  Time has flown by!  I know I'm not alone in saying this.  After a scare about going to the junior high building last May, Chloe's spent most of her summer saying things like, "we need to live life to the fullest, school will start" and "please stop saying school starts in August, mom".

So, drum roll please, when we got home Monday night Chloe and I were going through the backpack and we get to the PE/Health folder and she told me that she llloooovvveeeesss Coach Amber because she's so sweet and that she told everyone to wear deodorant because "she said we'll stink if we don't use it...".  Alrighty then!  Then Jackie on Tuesday morning asked her how it was going and she says good and puts on a fleece, long sleeved jacket.  I say, "Chloe good lord, it's gonna be 100 degrees today, you don't need that jacket" and she replies, "well the teachers said to wear a jacket so we don't freeze in the afternoons because they turn the a/c down because they don't wear deodorant and they'll stink if it gets too hot." A second alrighty then, we got  a good laugh in that morning, she totally cracks us up on a daily basis.

Look what I found!!  Chloe's First Grade Photo
She had Lynne Turner, we loved her!

And this is first day of 2nd grade....
We had Misty Holbrook and had another
great year!

This was Sept. 2009, 3rd grade we had
Ms. McCay and this was the year Chloe
had the swine flu, high fever for 5 days straight,
we had entered the Big Dam Bridge bike ride and
had to cancel our Fayetteville trip so we had a
living room hog watch party!  How time flies!

With her AP classes this year and continuing soccer and piano, it proves to be another busy fall!  We just need some rain people!  :)

Woody Creek Tavern, Aspen, Co

We were all glad to get to lunch for a rest stop!
Woody Creek Tavern was empty when we got
there but had a waiting list when we left...mainly
the place was full of cyclists....

Chloe having ice cream before the final 9 miles to go to Aspen

Woody Creek's cat Bif

Chloe found a shade spot to rest near Aspen with a spring

Thursday, July 27, 2012

Elise Barry and LaRand Thomas, otherwise known as my Wynne mother, both recommended Woody Creek Tavern to us because it was literally on the way to Aspen along the Rio Grande Trail about 5 miles from Basalt and only 9 or so to Aspen.  Jackie and I timed it that we would arrive early in the day so we wouldn't have to deal with the heat and length of the trail like we had the day before getting to Basalt.  So we arrived at 11:30 am, the place was empty but when we left 1 hour later, she was PACKED!  Anyway, we loved the service and the food.  Both of us had enchiladas and Chloe was in a bit of a low point but ordered the fish and chips.  We all loved the food and the way the waitresses "man" the waiting line for tables.  When Chloe and I made a trip to the ladies room, we saw some kids sitting at an 8 top table inside and a waitress "outted" them and told them to stand in line like everyone else.  The dad realized they'd been busted and waited outside very impatiently.  So our BBC (Birdeye Bicycling Club) advice is to get there early, plan on waiting and plan on a very, very good meal with great service.  And look for the house cat Bif while on the patio...

Woody Creek Tavern, 2858 Upper River Road, Woody Creek, Co, 970-923-4585, check out the website: http://www.woodycreektavern.com/

White House Pizza, Carbondale, CO

This place was so stinking awesome!

My veggie pizza....delicious! 

Yes, that girl is related to me...I feel the same about dessert...

The trail down by the river

Wednesday, July 26, 2012

We absolutely loved this lunch place right in the middle of Carbondale, Colorado.  The nice folks at Ajax Bike and Sport fitted Chloe for a new helmet and padded shorts sent us to this legendary restaurant voted best Carbondale restaurant 6 times.  We were thrilled that we could park and lock up our bikes in the shade outside near the spacious patio.  We didn't get there until after 1:30 but the place was still hopping from its lunch crowd.  We had a great waitress that kept the water coming, which we all needed, we had just road 18 miles from outside of Glenwood Springs to Carbondale.  Knowing we had another 10 to get to Basalt, pizza was the perfect fuel for me!  I had the veggie pizza with pesto that I totally loved, Jackie had some kind of sandwich he kept telling me to try (you realize it's been a month since we were there...:)) and Chloe loved the chicken tenders and french fries.  You can tell by that photo that she LOVES a dessert and she really loved White House Pizza's warm, gooey chocolate chip cookie topped with ice cream, whipped cream, chocolate sauce and a cherry.  Holy Smokes we had a great fueling lunch there.  And I can report the ladies room was in tip top shape!  White House Pizza also grows its own mint for mint mojitos...we loved that!  When you're in Carbondale, you gotta go to White House Pizza! Tell them the Birdeye (Arkansas) Bicycling Club recommended it!  :)

White House Pizza, celebrating 15 years, 801 Main Court, Carbondale, CO, 970-704-9400
Check out this website:
http://www.whitehousepizza.com/

Colorado Trip

Friday, August 17, 2012

I cannot believe Chloe will start Junior High on Monday!  I thought I'd let all of you know how busy we are and the reason I haven't posted recently.  Chloe's made a slew of youtube videos that I'll put on here so you can see what she's been up to!  I have 3 posts to publish next week!!  It's been a wonderful, busy, hot and dry summer!  And we have a triathlon tomorrow that I hope to get some quality footage of tomorrow...

Summer Vacation 2012

In the Aspen Gondolas...I was totally scared at first...it
goes up over 2,500 feet...yikes!  But breathtaking views...
Chloe's working on her Ipad Movie....

After our nature tour of Ajax Mountain, Chloe was looking
for a bear or porcupine....

This little fella was adorable, Chloe loved watching him...

After lunch at the Sun Deck on Aspen Mountain,
Chloe wanted to bungee jump....she said it was
scary but she had a good time!

After the gondola ride up the mountain,
Chloe noticed this sign, it looks very much
like our Whit

Chloe and I at the overlook at Ajax Mountain

Here's Jackie and Chloe just a couple miles
from Aspen, the Rio Grande was getting busy
later in the day and very few people were going
up like us from Glenwood Springs, most everyone
was heading down with the river! :)

A view from the gondola ride up Aspen (Ajax) Mountain
(I have no idea why blogger is uploading these pictures like this...)

Frisco, Colorado...a neat small town, elevation 9,000 ft plus
Afternoon thunderstorms were a daily occurrence last week

The first hill just outside of Glenwood Springs, Co

This lady was pulling that dog, the dog had goggles on even
though he was inside a zipped up human baby carrier.  This
was quite a sight...we were breaking at the picnic table across
from the road outside of Basalt, CO

We crashed the Spidell's 13th anniversary so we took them
out to eat at Florindo's in Glenwood Springs, it was
delicious and we had a fun time celebrating!

You knew I had to take a photo of Jackie
and his pannier bags...he hauled our bags for
the 3 day trip by bike

Taking lots of breaks was key for Chloe, here we are just
outside of Glenwood Springs

A lot of the Rio Grande Trail is right on the Roaring Fork River

The first day of the trip we all went down the Colorado
River....Sol was our guide in the back.  He gave us lots
 of history of the area and had tons of recommendations
to go out to eat in Glenwood Springs

Chloe's down front and took many a "hit" from the river...we
had a ton of laughs and were very appreciative of Sol having
a sweatshirt in the back that she could dry off with and cover up
during the shady parts of the trip

Sunday, July 29, 2012

I came up with the idea to ride bikes in Colorado after Chloe asked her dad if she could float the Colorado River this summer.  Chloe watches a ton of National Geographic Channel and PBS that take viewers all over the country and world hiking, floating and seeing how animals survive in the wild.  So Jackie planned our 10 day vacation even though we only made it 8 days because Chloe was ready to get back and see her dogs Biscuit and Gumball!

Here's a run down of our trip, I'll blog about the restaurants and places you need to see later this week.  We left Birdeye last Sunday and spent the night in Oklahoma City with mom to take 6 hours off the 18 hour trip. We left Monday, July 23, at 6 am for the 12 hour trip to Glennwood Springs, Colorado.  Martin's college roommate from Oklahoma State lives there and I asked he and Michelle if we could stay with them a day or two and leave our car there so we could ride our bikes down the Rio Grande Trail to Aspen, Colorado and they graciously said yes. Matt and Michelle are super sweet and have a wonderful house that has two rentals on the property that are constantly booked.

On our agenda while in Glenwood, which boasts a wonderful canyon on either side of I-70 on the outskirts of Denver to Glenwood Springs, was to float down the river.  We shared a raft with Matt and Michelle from Whitewater Rafting.  Our guide was Sol, a native, who was a ton of fun to be with and gave us an extra wet ride!

On the last day of our trip, we went swimming in the hot springs pool in Glenwood Springs.  Matt said the pool is naturally filled 7 times a day from the springs, then it empties back into the Colorado River.  It was a warm, salty pool that was totally packed.  They also had lanes for lap swimmers.  I took advantage of the lanes for about 20 minutes still practicing my total immersion swimming technique.  (I've been taking lessons this summer to help me with the Mighty Mite swim leg of the triathlon and it really paid off.)

In between our time in Glenwood Springs, we rode our bikes 48 miles one way to Aspen, staying over in Basalt, Co.  The first day we rode 27 miles and stopping half way between Glenwood and Basalt in Carbondale at a bike shop to get Chloe some padded shorts and a better fitting helmet.  The shorts made a big difference to Chloe and I had my own pair on that helped out but we both were still worn plum out by the time we got to Basalt.  Jackie had no trouble at all on his fitted Specialized Cross Tour bike with 2 panniers weighing around 20 lbs. each.  So a note to self here, when you get a bike, get one from a bike shop that's fitted for your body.  I had David Reagler's Pro Flex updated and fitted to me but I still had the burn mainly because the bike is a mans bike after all.  I did have a ladies seat put on her but it still gave me a good challenge on the trip.

The second day we only rode about 19 miles from Basalt to Aspen.  We started earlier in the day and  enjoyed the cooler weather and lunch at the famous Woody Creek Tavern.  We had a wonderful hotel in Aspen called the Annabelle Inn.  It was cozy and clean and I would definitely recommend it to anyone.  It's just blocks from downtown Aspen and we chained up our bikes there while we spent two days in Aspen.

In Aspen, we rode the Gondolas up the Aspen Mountain, or Ajax Mountain to have lunch and go on a nature hike.  We also got to see their famous farmer's market and the Aspen Arts Festival.  We rode the bus back to Glenwood Springs under the request of Chloe, who said she didn't want to ride her bike for a while...I wonder why?  I did have to wrecks on David's bike and I'm blessed with 2 large blackberries on both sides of my back side as well as an elbow scrape and sore arms.

So that's about it on our 7 day trip that took us a day and a half to get there and back.  We had fun, got to really see Colorado from a bicycle, and there were dogs and bikes everywhere, I mean everywhere, and enjoyed the company of Matt and Michelle.  It was a great trip!

Here's our trivia that we enjoyed talking about last night while rehashing our trip with Matt and Michelle:

Elevation of Glenwood Springs: 5,761 ft. (I had the most trouble in Frisco when we got to Colorado at  9,075 where we had dinner on the way to Matt and Michelle's but we drank a ton of water and went to bed early so the rest of the trip was a-okay)
Elevation of Basalt (after riding 27 miles uphill): 6,611
Elevation of Aspen (18 miles later): 7,890
Elevation of Aspen Mountain (where we hiked): 11,211
Elevation of Birdeye, Ark (home): 249 ft.

Number of wrecks I had clipped in: 2 (with two large blackberries to prove it and a skinned elbow)

Number of wrecks for Chloe and Jackie: none but Chloe had a few close calls with a pole and Jackie's bike

Number of bloody noses: Jackie none, Chloe none, me 2 big ones

Number of days Jackie wore the same shorts and socks: 7 (and that's without washing them just in case you didn't know this)

Aspen Farmer's Market had two Alpacas that
I couldn't get Chloe away from...how is she going
to take care of an animal like this when I end up
doing all the foster dogs and Jackie does the
chickens???  Those two are talking under the table
about getting an animal like this but hands down
it's the worst decision and would only be cruel
to put an animal like this in 108 degree summers
in Birdeye....I'll stop there but my list is long of cons

Favorite restaurants on the trip: Chloe, White House Pizza in Carbondale, Co; Jackie, Woody Creek Tavern in Aspen, Co, me, Juicy Lucy's Steakhouse in Glenwood Springs, Co

Chances of Chloe having (and even taking care of) an Alpaca: ZERO

Number of desserts Chloe had during the trip of 11 meals: 6 desserts that she is very proud of...

Number of Redbox rentals and states:  11 in 4 states:
Wynne, Ark.;2 rentals returned in
Edmond, Ok.; 3 rentals returned in
Hays, KS; 2 rentals returned in
Frisco, CO; 4 rentals and returned in
Edmond, OK
(Thank God for portable DVD players!)

Many thanks Matt and Michelle for being such wonderful hosts in your fabulous town!  And go Jimmy John's that they are opening this fall, I cannot wait, I love some Jimmy John's! :)