The Speed of Change

In the week since my blog went daily, life has been a constant stream of one activity after the next.  Add to this, a glorious return to summer, with a week in the seventies that just begs for more to be done -- a yard that needs preparation for winter is more hospitably worked in these kinds of temperatures than, say, the 40's or 50's.

This is not the speed of my usual life.

I feel an inordinate amount of pressure -- self-imposed, of course -- to be busy, to make the best use of every second of this delicious sunshine.  And I want to rise to the call, but the truth is, I'm exhausted.  In all honesty, I'd rather have a nap.

How do we respond when we're inviting the new into our lives but haven't quite made the shifts necessary to sustain the changes?

Clearly, my new burst of activity will require some energy to maintain.  What's exciting is that it's mindful change I'm welcoming and I am up for it -- maybe more in theory than reality at the moment -- even if it takes me a little time to adjust to the new speed of my life.

Sometimes there are moments when we wish for the ease of our life before, and we wonder why in the heck we opened the door for change to waltz in in the first place.  The best we can do is honor where we are (in-between) and how we feel (a bit over extended) and show up to the new anyway, with the best we have to offer in the moment.  Patience, my dear, patience...//

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What's For Dinner Tonight?

Tonight, I have planned Tacos.  An easy segue into my new cooking adventure, but at least I'm going for something new.  We usually use Penzy's Bold Taco spice, but ever since I realized the Frontera brand of sauces are from chef Rick Bayless, I've wanted to try them -- his recipes are phenomenal.  My brother and I once spent an entire day making his mole sauce from scratch and even though it was incredible, I would be hard-pressed to commit to making it again.  Delicious but endless -- an excruciating labor of love.  I can only hope his retail line is any bit as good as what we made before.

1# lean ground beef
1 onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 large potato, peeled and diced (small)
1 pouch Frontera Texas Original Taco Skillet Sauce

Brown the ground beef with the onion, pepper and potato, and cook until the potatoes are soft.  Add skillet sauce and simmer 3-5 minutes.  Serve with warm tortillas and all your favorite fixings!

After Dinner Update:

The sauce had all the chile flavor coming out of the pouch that I would expect from Rick Bayless, but after the sauce melded with the beef, veggies and potato, it lost its flavor...maybe the starch from the potatoes overpowered it?  And the pouch says it's "medium" but it was mild all the way.  I'll keep tasting through his stuff, but think we'll stick with Penzy's Bold Taco spice instead.