2 years too long! July 21, 2014

Yeah, I know… it was 2 years between the last two posts.  I suck. Whatever. 
No, really I’ve just been busy and refocusing my life and what I do with it.  
Let’s recap:

I moved.  I know I talked about this before my long absence, but I moved more than 45 miles away from where I lived.  That isn’t a lot, but where I moved to, it’s like a whole other world.

I started a new job/career.  Not only did I start a new (3 years ago…) job, but I switched fields 100%. I went from working in child care for 15 years to working in an office and then moving to a dispatch position for an export company.  I couldn’t have created a better job for myself.  I love it.

My oldest son, Matthew, graduation high school, joined the Army and moved across the county.  Seriously.  He’s currently living in Washington DC, training at Walter Reed Medical Center.

 

My daughter started kindergarten, finished kindergarten, went through 1st grade, is on a TAG plan and is excitingly awaiting 2nd grade.  Yeah, she’s strange.  We love her anyway.  She really enjoys dance.  

   

We are gearing up for our 2nd senior.  JoNathan will be graduating this school year and will be checking out which college he will be attending.  He is looking to pursue the field of Sports Medicine.  This last year he did amazing in Track.  He even has secured the Captain position for next year’s track and field team.  Never before have they announced the captain BEFORE the season!  Way to go, Bubba!  

Caden is doing awesome!  He is very interested in Airsoft and has a group of people that he participates with.  He has done pretty well at school, and works hard.  He played football last year, but has decided to not play this year.  He had a pretty good year in track, too.

 

 

I hit this big fitness thing last year, lost some motivation, partially due to my dumb foot, and partially due to huge amounts of lazy.  I did manage to do a really fun 5K, the Color Run.  I even signed up this year, so I better get my butt back into training mode!  I should probably take off AT LEAST 20 pounds before then!

And the Mister and I are having fun with our relationship.  Just trudging along and enjoying the kids as they find who they are in the amazing world.  We hit 19 years of marriage this year.  We should plan something SUPER fun for 20 years!

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Long time – no see!

Yeah, I’ve been a bit MIA.  Just a bit… (Understatement!!!)

 

So, I’m going to share with you one of my favoritest snacks ever right now.  SOOOO filling and actually good for you!

Yes, really!

This is my SW Quinoa Salad.  I have a to-die-for black bean and corn salsa recipe so I got creative one day and added quinoa.  I will never look back.

Quinoa is all the rage right now.  According to HuffingtonPost: (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/17/quinoa-popular_n_5596018.html)

” …quinoa has three dietary trends to thank for its popularity boost. First, quinoa is a great gluten-free option that’s riding the recent gluten-free diet trend. Second, it is also considered a “superfood” from a marketing standpoint because it is nutritionally dense. And third, its status as a complete protein (because it has all nine of essential amino acids) caters to the ever-growing population of vegetarians and vegans, as well as those who are just trying to eat less meat. Since the grain shares the properties of all three of these health food trends at once, quinoa could be here to stay.”

 

The recipe couldn’t be more simple.  It’s open a bunch of cans, chop up a few things, omit what you don’t want, add something else.  Completely customizable.  Or delicious just this way!

I eat this a variety of ways.  With tortilla chips.  With a spoon and dig right in.  Mixed in with scrambled eggs.  As a dressing for my taco salad… I could go on and on…

 Just believe me and make some for yourself.

 

Ingredients:

Servings:
20(ish)

2 (15 ounce) cans diced tomatoes with jalapenos
2 (15 ounce) cans white corn
2 (15 ounce) cans black beans
1 bunch fresh cilantro
1 medium red onion
1 bunch green onion
1 cup cooked quinoa, cooled
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil or 1/4 cup grapeseed oil
Directions:

1
Combine all ingredients into a large bowl and mix well to combine flavors. Refrigerate to allow flavors to meld.
2
Eat as a stand alone salad or dip into it with tortilla chips! Also great used as salsa!
3
Very easy to leave out ingredients, or add your favorite flavors. I’ve made this without onion products with zero problems and lots of flavor.

You can find nutritional facts and other tidbits here: http://www.food.com/recipe/sw-quinoa-salad-517393 (yes, this is my recipe!)

 

This is how I will raise my daughter April 29, 2012

That’s Denakis-land, NOT Denak-island! February 6, 2012

Such a happy place.

That is my life right now.  Is everything perfect?  No, not even close, but the contentment that I’m feeling is unlike any other that I’ve felt in my adult life.  Probably my whole life, but really, who knows how content I was at 5 months old, so I really can’t make the comparison.

With all the crazy, amazing, baffling, terrifying, out-of-my-control transitions last year held I am really surprised that things have fallen the way they have in the last 5 months or so.  The kids are doing really well in school, I really like my job and Jason does, as well.  His job didn’t really change, as he is still working for the same company, he just transferred locations, and that was a big change in itself. 

This upcoming year will hold a few more transitions.  Hopefully, moving again (we love it in Saint Helens, however, this house is just NOT for us!), Caden moving on to High School and Jaizy to Kindergarten *sniff!* are just a few more changes in store for our family.  And I’m ok with that.  I think that the amount of change that has come at us and the way that we have handled it says a lot for my family. 

Which, naturally, reflects on me as the Queen of Denakisland 😉