Southwest Dip

I am absolutely convinced that you don’t have to be a great cook to be considered a great cook – all you need are a couple of easy recipes that you can make well, and boom – people think you are a great cook. The following recipe is one of those. 

 

I was trying to think back to when I would have gotten the recipe and about the best I can do is somewhere between 1991 and 1994, which makes it 30 years ago – wow! I was living in Longview, TX and a friend had a Pampered Chef party. I don’t remember if I bought anything at the party or not, but I did come home with this recipe and it has stood the test of time. 

 

Southwest Dip

 

1 14-16 oz can of corn, drained

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

2 large tomatoes, diced

2 ripe avocados, peeled and diced

½ c fresh cilantro, chopped (I just chop one bunch) 

1 Tbsp Lemon juice

1 Tbsp mustard, any kind

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 tsp lemon pepper

 

Mix everything, but avocado- fold in avocado and serve with chips. 

 

So, the above is the basic recipe and while it definitely great with tortilla chips, it is also amazing with tacos, for breakfast with scrambled eggs, and as a salad with any meat you want to pair it with. I have also tried quite a few variations of the recipe, with good success. I have added: 

 

Fresh zucchini 

Fresh summer squash 

Jicama 

Black beans

Finely diced hot pepper 

 

If you do add other veggies to the original recipe, increase the amount of cilantro – the balance of cilantro with the other ingredients is what makes it so good. 

 

So there you are – an easy no-fail recipe that makes you look good. You’re welcome! 😃😉

Joy

It has been a crazy couple of weeks – a wedding, a funeral, lots of driving, and lots of family. Add in work during the week and the usual household stuff that needs to be done and well, life has felt overwhelming. Today was about peace and rest, so I am going to share some pictures of things that brought me joy. 

Bridal Shower

Today’s #FridayFocus blog is brought to you by the Mbiya-Beckner wedding, which will be celebrated the last Saturday of this month. This weekend, however, I am super excited to be getting ready for the bridal shower. I guess it may be unusual for the mother-of-the-groom to be part of the organization and planning, but since the bride’s family is from out of town, and in the case of her parents, out of her country, Alex’s sister was kind enough to let me help. I have to tell you, I am having a blast. 

 

I am making some desserts, doing small party favors, and handling games with prizes, so there has been lots of planning, lists, and trips to Target, Dollar General, as well as Amazon orders. My husband knows what’s going on, but can’t resist an eye roll as he nods in the direction of the front porch indicating another package has arrived. Hahah! So today’s post is sharing some of my shower fun with you! 

Next week I will share pictures of the desserts and final set-up! Stay tuned! 😊

Mother’s Day

Since it’s Mother’s Day, I am going to fore-go my usual #SimpleSunday post and share a bit of my life.  I lost my mom in June of 2019, a couple months after meeting the man I would marry. and while I miss my mom, today I am counting my blessings. I married into a wonderful family! 

I remember wondering what it would be like - blending families with adult kids. Your kids don’t stop being important to you when you remarry and I figured that would probably be the same for the person I married, so it was with a lot of apprehension that I met my husband’s kids and his granddaughter. I shouldn’t have worried - they have been wonderfully loving and accepting. 

You know who else has been accepting of my presence in the family? My husband’s ex-wife. Yup, she and I are friends and when there is a family get-together, whether my kids or her, she and I are both there. I am grateful. Here are some pictures of my amazing family. 

Sunsets

I never knew this would be a thing, but it turns out that being able to watch sunsets is pretty important to me. At least three times a week my husband comes into the living room and tells me I should head outside, so I grab my phone and I am never disappointed. I stopped posting them on social media because 1) pictures don’t do them justice, and 2) because a picture isn’t the same as seeing it in person, it’s just another picture of a sunset. But since here on my blog, it’s #whatihavebeenthinkingaboutWednesday, I am sharing some of my favorite sunset pictures. 

In sharing these, I hope you take the time to find beauty in the sunrises and sunsets and in other small things around you. 

How To Find Balance

 I wish there was a one-size-fits-all answer to this question but sadly, there isn’t. One person’s too much is another person’s too little and the discussions around parameters are never ending. While the things I suggest may not work for everyone, in sharing what helps me, hopefully there is a piece that helps you and we can all make progress.

 

Firstly, balance is respectful of the desires of everyone in the house. Last week I shared some pictures of my husband’s office – he has a lot of stuff and there are lots of memories connected to his stuff. We do have conversations around what, of his things, don’t need to be kept anymore, but in what he wants to keep, we have, in some situations, built our décor around it. Fortunately for him, I don’t need or like having nothing on the walls, but if there is going to be something on the walls, it must be symmetrical. Our compromise was he picked all the pictures he wanted hung and I determined how they would go on the walls – everyone is happy.  

 Second, balance recognizes that getting rid of everything isn’t the goal. My goal is a comfortable, attractive home that feels welcoming to us and those who visit us. When I met Robert and first visited his house, he had wax burners all over his house and I loved that there was a little light in every room, and they made the house smell wonderful. It was such a small thing, but it created an air of coziness that I loved. My dad bought my mom a China cup and saucer every anniversary for 25 years – I have some of those and they are displayed on a hutch that belonged to my brother David’s first wife, Marcy. It makes me so happy to see them and have them as part of my life.  

 Thirdly, balance recognizes that you do have to prioritize. We have all seen those episodes of hoarders where the stuff is piled dangerously high and yet they refuse to get rid of anything. Now granted, there is usually some kind of severe trauma impacting their ability to let go of things and that is valid, but for most of us, there has to be a place where we recognize and acknowledge the amount of space we have and figure out how to live well in that space.

  

As I read back through this it seems reasonable and doable, but if your situation is like my situation, the biggest part of the problem isn’t your stuff, it is the stuff other people have left you to deal with. That’s a big topic all on its own, so that’s where I will start next time.