Recipe: Quinoa Salad

When it comes to eating healthy for me, I need to do commit to two things. First, non-processed and simple food and secondly, deliciousness. 

I like my food like I like my music too. How can you relate food and music one might ask? Well when I find a song I love, I just play it on repeat for weeks or months until I'm sick of it I can't handle it any more (eventually I refind my love). This often happens with Subway (seriously we need some better fast food options Canada). So I'm the same with food. Some food just doesn't change when it comes to my love affair like pickles and Ms. Jackson and others I just like to repeat in certain seasons, or recent obsessions. 

Now that I like to pretend summer is slowly approaching again (as I look outside and can't see across the street from the blizzard). I decided in an effort to save some money and stop eating Subway between my travels (last week I was only home Tuesday-Friday) I would get some food that would I could eat for a few days...and so naturally this will lead to today's yummilicious recipe of a quinoa salad.

I seriously love quinoa, I tried black quinoa a month ago and nearly died. It's so good for you and I don't feel guilty eating it like I do with rice or cous cous, and it's just as delicious, yet somehow more dynamic! Hello protein!

This "salad" is seriously so good, and it gets better with age in the fridge. It's great for summer barbecue potlucks and just well... eating!  

When it comes to cooking for me, I just wing it. I'm not one for following a recipe, and the way that I discovered this salad was eating it at a party and then going home and making it since I was so in love and I just figured out how to make it from taste (move over Rachel Ray). 

Anywho... so here are the basics of how to make this!

You'll need:

quinoa

feta cheese

cucumber

red pepper

green pepper

onions

olive oil

balsamic vinegar

salt and pepper to taste

Amy's Wing-it Directions:

Cook your quinoa (I use an entire box) and when it's done put it in the fridge to cool, if you're in a hurry to eat this put the quinoa on a baking sheet to cool it quicker. 

Whilst your quinoa is cooling, cut up your cucumber, red and green peppers, onions and feta into cubes. You can use other vegetables, but for this to stay firm and not go all mushy over a few days I'd recommend keeping with vegetables that don't wilt too much in a mixed salad. The amount of vegetables you use is up to you based on the size of your salad and the ratio of vegetables and quinoa you'd like to have. I used half a cucumber, one full red and green pepper and a quarter of a white onion (they're less harsh than cooking and red onions). I used a whole brick of feta. 

Once your quinoa is cooled put it all in a bowl and put a mixture of balsamic vinegar and olive oil over the salad and mix. You want to coat the salad with the oil and vinegar, but you don't want it to be soggy or pooling at the bottom of the bowl. Just put some in and mix and repeat until you feel there is enough. 

It's ready to eat now, but I promise it'll taste better in a few hours or tomorrow if you can wait that long. It tastes really good over a bed of spinach! 

Bon appetit! 

Blogging

The truth is, lately I'll sit in front of my computer and open a new post window and stare at it. I'll start typing and decide it's non sense and close the window. I've got so many one-lined posts in my draft side that it's kind of ridiculous.

I used to have to force myself to wait until tomorrow for the next post... I'm not sure if I just had a lot to talk about or if I was just talking about boring stuff.

So now I sit here and struggle to come up with interesting stuff to talk about... which is kind of funny because in many ways I feel like my life is the most interesting it has ever been!

I've never been this happy in my adulthood. That's a pretty bold statement, but it's totally true.

I have the most fulfilling career that I could ask for, one that is too good to be true. I just roll with it for fear that I might wake up one day and I'll realize I was dreaming. I didn't think careers like this existing. I didn't think it could be this good. I've never been so happy to be wrong.

I've reached a point in my spirituality that can only be described as peace. I try not to talk about it too much on here, because well, I don't really like when people go all religious on their blogs (to each their own though!)...so I'd imagine that people feel the same way when it comes to talking about spirituality. I realize this is my blog and I can talk about what I want, but I just feel like when I open the post wanting to talk about this stuff, I feel like I shouldn't. So I'll leave it at that for now, and perhaps just dive into it in another post that's more for me than my readers.

I have started to really get to a point in my health and self-esteem where I feel healthy, live healthy and feel self-love again. I have areas I want to improve and the weight I still want to lose, but I am happy with where I'm at right now and happy to slowly get there on my own. I have made the decision to change this blog from what all it used to be into something I just seldom talk about. When it was about losing weight and beating the numbers every week I never had success. For me, I've found that what I care most about is being healthy. For choosing real food over processed low calorie food, for feeling strong and fit over losing inches. Naturally the number on the scale will drop and the clothes will fit better (because that's what is happening), but I just try not to care any more about the race to the goal weight. That isn't healthy for me. This route makes me less stressed and more happy.

I'm at a point in my singlehood and independence that I'm happy with. I am actually at the point where I'm a bit nervous about meeting someone before the summer, because I want to be single in Europe and maybe have another single summer. I'm not closing the big door to meeting someone, but there is definitely a screen door there. Unless I see a really great, perfect, the one kind of guy on the other side of the screen, nobody is coming through. I just love being with myself too much to give that up for someone less than perfect for me. I love how far I've come on my own and can only imagine where I can go with another 2...3...6 months alone.

I feel like there was a time in my life when I started this blog when I needed a crutch and a place to just sort everything out... to let my fingers take me away and figure out what was actually going on in my head. I wasn't happy even though I tried to convince myself I was. I cried all the time. I was unhealthy. I had no idea what the heck I wanted since what I wanted wasn't translating into the reality I always hoped for.

So now that my life kind of seems to be unfolding in ways I didn't imagine, and ways that I couldn't of imagined because really... I didn't think this kind of happiness and fulfilment was possible. I was so consumed with another path that wasn't really right for me (at the time). Now that I've found this personal journey in my life I don't necessarily need to be here as much as I used to, even though I want to be! I want to find different ways of blogging and getting it out there. I want to still have this place on the interwebs where I can go back and see my growth.

So I guess I'm at this transition period still (even though I think we're always growing and changing)...but I just think that's why I've disappeared so much. I mean, half the time it's because I'm travelling (like next week) but when I'm here I'm still struggling to write.

I think I need a fresh start with my blog, perhaps a new design and name...?

Family Day Weekend

Here in Canada (well a select lucky amount of provinces) yesterday was Family Day. It's a fairly new holiday but something our Prime Minister has definitely done right. I just love the idea of dedicating a day to your family. In recent years it's really starting to catch on and stores and restaurants are closing their doors and your town becomes a ghost town while families spend some quality time together.

I didn't originally intend on making the trip home this weekend, but last week my grandmother was in the hospital (nothing serious) and my aunt decided to come to town, and I decided last minute that I would head home too.

On Friday night my one cousin was in Ottawa so him and my other cousin went out on the town and stayed out way too late. It was a super fun night and greatly needed!

cousins

On Saturday morning way too early I headed home and spent the day with family and that evening stopped in to see some friends, and during the day on Sunday my aunt, other cousin and I headed out on the lake with my dad to do some ice fishing and snowmobiling! It was so much fun... my record stands that I still have yet to catch a fish in my life! Later we went out for lunch with my grandma and then we all ate dinner together.

my daddio and I

On Family Day we went to my other aunt's for breakfast, then I had a glorious nap followed by dinner out with my momma and other aunt (the one I went to's house for breakfast) and cousin.

It was an all around amazing weekend that all happened very last minute!

How was your weekend?

List as of Late

I haven't done one of my listy posts in foreva-eva (I'm sorry Ms. Jackson oooo). So I figured it would be a good idea today to sort through the bajillion things floating around in my brain.


♥ Europe has taken over a very large percentage of my thoughts. I'm going in late May/early June to visit the bff doing an exchange in Amsterdam and cannot wait. Today we decided that we're going to definitely do France and Poland and probably Germany too. My brain is just going crazy with all the planning and excitement over this once and lifetime trip.


♥ Part of me wants to stay single until this trip is completed, and am slightly afraid of meeting someone before then. Yes I could not date, but where's the fun in that? I'm talking to three potentials right now (in various stages of pre-date talking).

♥ I paid back the CRA today (our version of the IRS). It was a really painful payment (ahem $2700) but also just took away a ton of stress that has been clouding my thoughts.

♥ The only reason I had enough to pay for this today was because I have recently switched over to salary with my job, and while I was hourly I was 2 weeks behind in pay (submit, get paid two weeks later), with salary you get paid every two weeks up to date, so essentially I just got paid for 4 weeks today. Take that CRA (please give me a RETURN this year, then I'll love you).  

♥ I am on a cleaning SPREE. Last night I spent like 2 hours cleaning my pantry/laundry room and tonight I hope to accomplish more.

♥ I really need to get back to the gym but I'm stuck in a laziness I am struggling to get out of...somebody help me! 

♥ Vada has bad dandruff, this has never been a problem before... any suggestions? 

♥ I am really starting to get annoyed with this duck face (bang) business. Doesn't everyone know that it's called a Zoolander face? And doesn't everyone know we're doing it cause it's funny? No? That's not why they're making the face? That's why I'm making the face?

♥ I'm pretty sure I'm finally getting an iPad with work. Weeeeeeee

♥ I am buying a new snowboard in a couple of weeks before hitting the slopes in Banff. Man, life is good right now!

♥ Travel in general is taking another large percentage of my thoughts. I figured out today that I would have enough airmiles to go to Thailand (thigh-land bahaha) in about 13-14 months. Ummm yes please?

♥ I still need to unpack from two trips ago. 

 What's on your brain lately?

My Valentine

I'm not sure how I feel about Valentine's Day. As a teenager I associated Valentine's Day as the loneliest day of the year just blatantly pointing out the fact that I was single for yet another V-day. Every year the date came a bit closer and I had no prospects for flowers and dates like everyone else. It sucked as a teenager. As much as we like to think back what it'd be like to go back to our teen years and have a fun carefree time again with little to no responsibility, we often forget about the crappy parts of being a teenager (I do at least).

So when I entered my last relationship and Valentine's Day came around I made it a big deal because it was my first one and it was a big deal to me. We always celebrated it and it was always a special day. We actually generally had better V-day's then anniversaries. Our anniversary tradition seemed to involve breaking up and getting back together either the day of or before. Good times. 


However last Valentine's Day I was in an airport racing to get home for the last of my Valentine's Day while I just experienced the most wonderful first business trip. He told me to wake him up when I got home (long after midnight) and I came inside to a set of roses on the dresser and a sleeping boyfriend. It was a nice end to a trip.

The next day however... things started to fall apart. The 15th was our day to celebrate together. That afternoon I got a phone call from my cousin about Facebook relationships. Her boyfriend isn't a fan of publicly being in a relationship on Facebook and it's a thorn in her side (and had been the source of their V-day fight). I explained to her that my boyfriend wasn't a fan either of the public display but it really wasn't a choice for him since that's the way it had been for over four years. She kind of went silent and said, "But it doesn't say that on his profile".

After a bit of investigation (and a lot of confusion), I found out that he had made it so it didn't say any relationship information on his profile for everyone, except for me and my immediate family (he obviously forgot about my cousin). You can imagine my shock I'm sure. He had never been a secretive guy and the fact that he had been untagging photos of us together for months just made me feel horrible. You can imagine the fight. You can imagine the way he tried to turn it around to an invasion of his privacy for me looking on his Facebook while trying to understand why it said I was in a relationship with him on Facebook and not with anyone else. Good times. 


So as Valentine's Day has approached this year, I just didn't really acknowledge it. Last year sucked and this year I was free. I haven't reached a point where I care or feel the need to be in a relationship yet. I am open to it, I actively seek dates, but I am not desperate by any means. I actually quite enjoy being single and kind of hope to still be single in May when I go to Europe. I just didn't really care at all to celebrate this "holiday".

When you're playing for the other team it's a great day, but when you're on the other side, it's almost like you have to feel sorry for yourself or something because it's some special holiday you can't be apart of.

It's a day that points out you're waking up alone and without flowers on your dresser.

I'm not really a fan of the fact that I should feel like I did in high school. Truth is I don't. Sure, it does make you feel a bit lonely and wish you had someone that cared about you... but it doesn't change how I feel about my singlehood.

I've loved being single. I want to go through my mid-life crisis with no regrets. I want to look back on my 20's and feel like I lived them up with that single chapter of my life...and as of right now I feel like it's still unfinished business. I still need to have my Eurotrip. I still need a few more months.

So this Valentine's Day, I'm not going to feel bad, because as far as I'm concerned...

This Valentine is just as good as a cute boy.

And I don't care how crazy or seemingly pathetic that makes me look... We love each other unconditionally and she's a pretty awesome cuddler :) And after yet another month apart, I'm so happy to have her back for two weeks!

Update Vlog about Upcoming Travels

I'm off to New Mexico tomorrow morning, so I thought I'd leave you all with a vlog about my upcoming trips! I hope you all have a fabulous week! I'm back on Saturday!!

For someone so loud in real life I have no clue why the audio is so quiet! Hopefully you have better speakers than me!

Completely

Everyone processes and copes and deals on their own time. My mom has been facilitating grief support groups for several years now and sometimes people come in many years after losing someone needing support for coping with the death of a loved one. Some people break up with someone and are just over it. They cry for 20 minutes and then never look back.

It's been over 10 months since my break-up. We had a respectable split, we decided together that we would never cut each other out of our lives... it just wasn't for us. His biggest fear was not having me in his life. I was too broken to even comprehend that I had things to fear...everything was scary.

Then he moved on quickly and 7 months to the day after our breakup I found out that they'd been dating for 6 months. His new girlfriend was the hardest part of it all. I never understood how he could have a girlfriend while I was still crying over us and doing everything I could not to talk to him every day.

Shortly after that I started travelling with work and had a moment when I realized that I had made the absolute best decision I could have ever made. I knew I deserved better than I had gotten and that eventually I would find it after healing and taking the time to grieve.

I had an amazing summer. I watched my career explode into something amazing and more than I ever could have imagined and he wasn't in my life any more, we never spoke.

We still had each other on Facebook and time and time again my friends would tell me to delete him (bloggy friends included). I just couldn't do it, I didn't see the point of it.

In the Fall I really started to get my health back in check. I made the commitment to myself and really started to understand why I was holding on to the weight. I made the decision that it was time to let go of it and that I was worth looking my best, and that protecting myself with weight wasn't doing anyone good, and was just hurting myself more than I needed to.

Somewhere in there we started talking again. It started out innocent enough. Over the summer and early Fall we'd occasionally have long catch-up talks that he always initiated. Somewhere in December it just started happening more and more frequently and we started texting a few times a week. We'd have these long really great talks and I felt really good about it. I saw my friends and family raising eyebrows of caution and I just told them that it was good for me, that seeing this horrible person I had manifested him to be to hate and move on from him wasn't good for me, and that talking to him as a friend was what I needed to get that negativity out of my life.

Then it started to get a little weird for me. I enjoyed talking to him and found myself messaging him first from time to time. I'm a chatty person by nature so often it was out of boredom. Then he started messaging me when he was drunk which became really confusing since I knew he was out with his girlfriend, and to me, messaging your ex-girlfriend when you're with your girlfriend just isn't right. There is something fishy there.

Then a couple weekends ago he drunk messaged me and invited me out. I was away (not that I would have gone anyway), but I really became concerned about what this friend situation actually meant. I have been over the relationship for awhile, but the way these messages were making me feel wasn't good. I knew that they had to stop, because the thoughts that were circulating in my head that he wasn't over me and that he obviously wasn't happy weren't good for me. The situation that was doing me good wasn't good anymore. I could feel myself regressing and knew that I wouldn't be able to truly move on until I cut him out of my life.

Yesterday I woke up feeling like it was time to stop talking to him. I felt kind of stupid about the whole thing because it's been so long, but I knew that these conversations were turning into a slippery slope for me (and probably him). I didn't want him back or anything, but I knew a lot of this had to do with his relationship with the new girl. I was still convinced it was a rebound and still incredibly hurt that he had never mourned me the way that I felt I deserved. When that happened I felt worthless. So waiting for the day when he realized that she was a rebound was something I was lusting after. I needed that validation. But I knew that it was manifesting on shit I didn't need to manifest on.

Whether he stays with her for a year, marries her or breaks up with her next week doesn't change a thing. It doesn't change the fact that I am damaged from this relationship and need to completely let go in order for me to fully move on with someone else. Dwelling never does anyone any good, ever.

So yesterday I woke up knowing that I would have to sever it completely. I care about him as a person and like him had that same fear of not being in each other's lives. I went out last night with my cousin and this is when what I am not entirely proud of what happened. I was the one messaging him when I was drunk.

I was the one telling him that I haven't been able to move on, and he told me that he had regrets about how he treated me. He also verged on inappropriate at times earlier in the conversation. I came home and cried. I had heard the things I needed to hear that he wasn't proud of how he had treated me, and even though he'd never admit it, he obviously is still manifesting over me and our relationship too.

I woke up this morning feeling pretty shameful about last night, and messaged him. I told him I re-read the conversation and that it wasn't good. How these conversations weren't healthy and that I felt like he was trying really hard to convince himself he was happy in his current relationship (to which he got really pissed about, obviously). I told him the way he's been messaging me wasn't good and that either he was just trying to make me feel bad or there was more to it. Either way, it had to stop and I couldn't talk to him anymore.

So that was that. We said good-bye, I told him I'd check-in around the holidays and after he passed his big test in December, but this was it. And I did it... I deleted him off my phone and Facebook.

It was a hard decision that only took you know, a short 10 months... but I feel relief. Not knowing what's going on in his life will help me in the next step of my life and finding someone else. Someone that is meant for me and good for me and isn't about topping the last guy. Someone that I just click with and can be happy with.

Everyone does everything on their own time, and today I feel like I finally closed the book. And it feels good.

The Ultimate Friday

I have never been so happy for a Friday. 

I haven't had a day off in 15 days.

Can I get a TGIF? Hells to the yes. 

Have a fabulous weekend friends! I certainly will!!

Party time!

i love someecards... who doesn't?

Travelling Life

Travelling... there is the good, the great, the bad and the ugly side of it all. Especially when a huge part of your job entails travel. 

My life has changed so very much in the last year. 

Almost a year ago I took my first business trip. I loved it, but little did I know that my life was about to change forever.

I'm averaging 1-2 trips per month... mostly to the same place, generally to the same province, and occasionally I get to go totally awesome places like New Mexico next week and Banff at the end of the month (still in Alberta).

The Great: exploring new places and getting a crazy travel bug.

The Good: Occasionally tying in personal adventures on trips to see family and friends.

The Bad: Never being home.

The Ugly: Packing. I hate packing.

Hotels

 The Great: All the Aeroplan and Airmiles I'm getting for my own personal trips.

The Good: Amazing training opportunities and always getting to grow with my job.

The Bad: Always missing and being away from Vada.

The Ugly: Unpacking. Hate it more than packing.

Airplanes

The Great: Meeting tons of amazing people - lifetime friends.

The Good: Visiting a place that starts to feel like your other home.

The Bad: Eating out all the time. It is nice for awhile, but then you just want to cook your own food and shop for yourself not on a menu.

The Ugly: Living out of a suitcase half the time (less options, more wrinkles).

Driving... lots of driving!

The Great: Being respected at a job and being rewarded financially.

The Good: Getting really cool learning opportunities.

The Bad: Always being tired, never having enough time, and playing catch-up is the name of the game.

The Ugly: The inability to keep a solid routine.

All in all the good and great far outweigh the bad and ugly. I love my job and new life. The stuff that sucks has become my new normal and I just find my way to make a routine out of it, and eat well while I'm away as best I can and well, let's be honest, I mostly live out of a laundry basket (or my dryer) when I'm here anyway!


If you have any travel questions about my job, feel free to ask!

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

So it kind of fabulously works out that today is Wednesday, since Wednesday is Michelle's Oh, How Pinteresting. 

 

Why might you ask why that is so fabulous, besides the obvious fact that I have an addiction to Pinterest? Welp, it's because a few weeks ago I entered about my gagillionth giveaway of my life for The Vintage Apple's 1000th follower and....actually won! 

I was off to galavant across the country and Michelle and I have been emailing back and forth since her original prize doesn't really work for Canadian's... but since Michelle is so awesome, she went on a personal mission to get me a Canadian-friendly prize...and DID SHE EVER!!!

So before I show you some of my favourite pins... how about we just send some love to Michelle?

So in case you didn't notice, it's A LOT! 

♥ four magazines

♥ nail polish 

♥ nail files

♥ bandaids

♥ mints

♥ make-up bag

♥ lipgloss

♥ mug

♥ hair elastics

♥ headband

♥ Starbucks gift card

Amazing! Thanks again Michelle! Get on over there and give her some bloggy love!

Now on to some Pinteresting stuff...

Source: krisatomic.tumblr.com via Amy on Pinterest

Source: facebook.com via Amy on Pinterest

Source: Uploaded by user via Amy on Pinterest

Source: Uploaded by user via Amy on Pinterest

Source: a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net via Amy on Pinterest

Source: fit-lean-and-fucking-sexy.tumblr.com via Amy on Pinterest