Tales from the Pecos Valley

Tales from the Pecos Valley:

As we  sit in our comfortable camping chairs in our living room of the home we have chosen to close on, we can’t help but smile about our journey so far! We are sun baked, peeling and cold sore  riddled with assorted bumps and bruises...but, WE ARE HOME!

Our knuckling down, sacrificing the past year and having faith in this path has taken us on this grand journey....3,500 plus miles in 3 months, our super smart finances afforded us three months of no income during this intense hiring process (treating it as a cheap vacation with our family at home) PLUS WE RELOCATED with a 9-day deadline before Clay needed to report for his first day of work. We are an amazing family if I do say so!

There are so many things we are thankful for - our children facetiming and calling daily, my parents keeping up their funny texts, calls and antics and our friends sending us long distance Easter Greetings as we adjusted to our new surroundings with kind and loving new neighbors that got the girls Easter goodies. Life is grand.💚

   Our new community is filled with old fashioned kindness and that is what drew us here after visiting last fall. It is smack dab “in the middle of nowhere” as they say here and at 48,000 people, is the most populated area for 200 miles in any direction. Before we found our home, there was a mishap and the exhaust was damaged on our Nissan. The mechanic seeing our South Dakota plates, refused to take payment after he band-aided the problem until parts arrive and told us to “pay kindness forward”. Our neighbors immediately welcomed us into our home and have checked in on us from time to time, and given us their personal phone numbers if we need anything. The sargeants at Clay’s work also have checked up to make sure we are adjusting well. Our realtor is like an extended family member here, also checks in and is always giving us Roswell tips from dining to scorpion and centipede warnings.  Even the internet installer, gave me the lowdown on the city, welcomed us to the neighborhood - he is five streets over - and gave us his personal cell number if we need anything at all. His childhood best friend lives right next door. Even the sellers of our home (with the assistance of their realtor and ours), rushed to the house with only a day notice to get things  live-in ready for us so we could be settled by the Easter weekend.

This community has all of the services we love, without much of the the negatives that goes along with bigger cities. The Chaves County sherriff’s Department along with the Roswell Police Department made the front page daily newspaper on Wednesday with the headline “Deputies arrest 56 at Sunday house party”...it was a massive underage drinking party with 100 kids fleeing in all directions. However,the main  headline was about a deal reached with the City of Roswell and U-Haul after a “tree-trimming” incident damaged trees that lined Roswell’s South Main Street area. 😁 The noon whistles blow at noon for lunch and everyone enjoys eating together.
   This incredible journey really has demonstrated how versatile our little family is....back in the campground, we literally had one kilowatt of electricity afforded us in our remote camping spot. Thankfully, our children know how to function within the beauty of nature, so being entertained was just outside our door. Our older kids checked in on us daily and didn’t drain our  resources and put on smiles for us through  their tears about missing us and asked how their dad was getting on with his new job and if we were adjusting ok.
We miss them and cannot wait to show them and our peeps  this gem of the Pecos Valley...and let’s not forget, it’s the UFO capital DEL MUNDO!!!

Nanu nanu er Blessings!✌🏼

Enjoy the Tramp!

   My story has been the untold story of so so so many others before me. The circumstances vary from person to person on how we ended up here.  Childbearing, excessive weight, a hysterectomy...all take a toll on your pelvic floor.

I am talking about the embarrassing and silent chatter about ....bladder leakage! It can happen during physical exertion, the simple act of sneezing or coughing, it can happen when you try your hardest for it not to!

   Our fourth baby is now 2...and until recently, I battled the dribbling accidents! I’ve done literally THOUSANDS of Kegels and it didn’t help with that at all! I thought to myself that I finally did it, I finally broke myself. The fourth baby laid out my pelvic floor and the elastic is gone. I just had to resign to the fact that I might leak when running or jumping on a trampoline. And grab myself every time I sneezed.

   Before I finally gave up every ounce of hope, I decided to learn about my pelvic floor. In short form, the area is like two hammocks hanging across each other  in your pelvis. I found an amazing video on youtube made by a physical therapist and it was a game changer! When I finally woke up those muscles with her help, I was able to stop my urine mid-stream! Before when I tried, it was like flipping an electric switch with no light bulb in it. Nothing would happen! It was simply that I couldn’t turn on the correct muscle group for the job before! No amount of Kegels would’ve retrained my brain!

   If you can’t find your deep front pelvic floor and it is lost, give this video a shot! Click here!

Blessings and I hope you find success with waking up your pelvic floor!

Holistic hair: Pet my head

   Who would have ever guessed I could enjoy long hair ...me....the lass who forever endured the effects of thyroid hair for years. And what do I mean by thyroid hair? Dry, brittle, split ends, breakaway and dull looking hair. Hair that frizzed with just a 5 mph wind. Hair that would only tame with a washing (or so I thought). 

   In my years long quest to cut away from chemicals, I have cut out shampooing( besides dry shampoo), hair conditioner, all non-natural hair products, and have arrived to a place where my hair chemical dependancy lies solely in color treatment....yes thanks to my thyroid, I enjoyed my first gray hair at the tender age of 14. I color and find much enjoyment in it. 

   Ok back to my newest chemical free love, the 100% boar hair bristle brush! This brush is truly amazing. It cleans my hair with each stroke. It separates and coats each strand of my hair with my own protecting oil. This creates shine and protects from breakage and split   ends. The soft bristles massage my own oil glands and opens hair pores for more hair growth. The blood flow stimulates hair follicles. My scalp feels gently massaged and recharged. It is the best $15 I have spent! Also this brush should last my lifetime-hello new hair bestie!

   Natural hairbrushing is easy too! 

• Brush from root to tip of hair strand
• Brush hair in sections
• Use your natural boar hair brush on dry hair onlyhttps://conair.hair-brush.org/
• Use a wide toothed comb to remove hair snarls
• Brush hair twice daily
• Regularly clean your brush by using a comb to remove any hair, dandruff or chemical build-up from products.

    You’ll find yourself really enjoying that scalp massage and shiny hair from your new holistic hair care routine! It is really that simple!

I gain ziñch out of pushing products. But I’ve gotten lots of requests asking where I found my brush. Check in with your local Walgreens! Or Conair .

Blessings!

Joint healthy soup recipe

 

  It’s a balmy minus 2 degrees Fahrenheit as I write this blog...perfect day for homemade soup! I recall both of my grandmotgers using up all of  their leftovers to the max...may I introduce you to the magic food known as bone broth. Its that magic potion for chronic inflammation sufferers! 

    Bone broth has a multitude of benefits! The collagen in bone broth lubricates joints, feeds the elasticity of your skin and feeds you hair and nails! Many of us who suffer from chronic pain, often have found out gut health to be less than optimal. Bone broth also helps heal the intestinal tract, too. Theres a whole list of benefits and you can click here to read about it from expertts.

   On to MY personal expertise...awesome and easy gluten free cuisine! Here’s  my recips for easy and fast gluten free asian  soup with bone broth as a base!

Gluten-Free Asian Hot Soup

1 cup bone broth (I use beef  because I need the iron)

1 cup filtered water

1 clove fresh garlic

1/4 inch freshly gratedginger root 

1 Tbsp. Amino Acids

Dash of fish sauce

Dash of sesame oil

I - 2 raw whole farm fresh egg

2-4 crumbled sheets of the snack-sized seaweed sheets

1 Tbsp. Korean chili sauce

Optional:

Handful of thin or stir fry rice noodles

Tofu

Fresh vegetables

Throw all your ingredients in a glass microwave-safe bowl. Place a loose cover over the bowl. Microwave for two and a half minutes, stir, and cook for additional two minutes and thirty seconds. 

Transfer to serving bowl or bowls. This makes one super hearty serving or two small servings to go along with a half sandwich or homemade sushi roll!

Blessings!