Oh pancakes! I love you so much! You are fluffy, sweet, and I adore eating you. My love for you has now been passed on to my son. Thank you for spreading smiles of joy around our kitchen table. Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day and I could eat these pancakes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. In an effort to cut our food budget I attempted to recreate my favorite quinoa pancake in the family kitchen. After a few attempts I am confident that this recipe is the winner! Try it out for yourself this weekend and see. Ingredients 3 cups cooked red quinoa 3 cups all-purpose flour 2 tablespoons baking powder 6 large eggs 1 cup vanilla greek yogurt (I use Trader Joes) 1/3 cup of milk of your choice 1 fresh lemon squeezed 1 tablespoon brown sugar 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract 1 bag of frozen blueberries (I use the wild organic blueberries from Trader Joes) Directions In a medium bowl, whisk together quinoa, flour, and baking powder. In another … [Read more...]
The Girl Behind The Blog: Part 6
The following post is part of The Girl Behind The Blog series that details my story of illness and recovery starting in March of 2007. I believe that God created me for a reason and each experience I have can draw me closer to HIM and be used to encourage others. This post and those that follow in the series detail a pivotal moment in my life that changed me forever. If you are just joining the story you can read the previous posts: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part and Part 5. Here it is my final installment in this series, for now anyway. Like I mentioned in my post yesterday I could still write about this FOREVER! At a later date I may revisit this topic again or write a book, who knows :). Sharing my story this past month has caused me to relive all the emotions that overwhelmed and consumed my mind and body, it has been extremely therapeutic and well worth the time the energy. Thank you for those who read and encouraged me to continue sharing. Once diagnosed with … [Read more...]
The Girl Behind The Blog: Part 5
The following post is part of The Girl Behind The Blog series that details my story of illness and recovery starting in March of 2007. I believe that God created me for a reason and each experience I have can draw me closer to HIM and be used to encourage others. This post and those that follow in the series detail a pivotal moment in my life that changed me forever. If you are just joining the story you can read the previous posts: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4. So what in the world was I diagnosed with and what did it all mean? Typically when I am making a new friend this topic usually comes up within the first or second iced tea or workout date together. If you have the desire and time to listen to all of this that is an indication to me that we are probably and most definitely going to be amazing friends. After weeks of medical testing I was diagnosed with Guillain-Barré Syndrome (also known as Acute Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy). It is totally a mouthful … [Read more...]
The Girl Behind The Blog: Part 4
The following post is part of The Girl Behind The Blog series that details my story of illness and recovery starting in March of 2007. I believe that God created me for a reason and each experience I have can draw me closer to HIM and be used to encourage others. This post and those that follow in the series detail a pivotal moment in my life that changed me forever. Need to catch up in the story? Read Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3. Being off work for weeks at time would normally be awesome but when you are sick those weeks feel like an eternity. My days were all starting to blend together as I settled into my new routine. With a mono diagnosis the prescribed treatment is rest. So that is what I did. I rested. I couldn't participate in any of my regular activities. Not that I actually felt well enough to do them, but to go from as active as I was to sleeping on the couch all day was as mentally tasking to my system as any workout ever was. No gym, hiking, running, mountain … [Read more...]
Playground Workout
I hope you all are having a great week! The weather here has been amazing in Arizona and we are loving being able to take long family walks to the park. It is so fun! Plus Caden loves the swings. And so does Josh. Most of us live within walking or running distance from a playground. The next time you head to your local swing set try out this workout. For any of you mama's who regularly frequent the park with your little ones this workout is for you. Get ready to get sweaty! Complete 1-3 rounds of this workout, reps for beginner, intermediate, and advanced are listed below each exercise. Rows Targets: Shoulders, Traps, Lats Beginner: 10 Reps Intermediate: 15 Reps Advanced: 20 Reps Hold on to low monkey bars, parallel bars, or any piece of playground equipment. To increase the difficulty of the exercise walk your feet forward and come onto your heels with your toes pointing upwards. Elbows should be pulled in close to your sides and chest should be very close to … [Read more...]
The Girl Behind The Blog: Part 3
The following post is part of The Girl Behind The Blog series that will continue each week detailing my story of illness and recovery starting in March of 2007. I believe that God created me for a reason and each experience I have can draw me closer to HIM and be used to encourage others. This post and those that follow detail a pivotal moment in my life that changed me forever. Need to catch up in the story? Read Part 1 and Part 2. Nervous energy swirled around me as I sat on the exam room table in the doctors office. It was later in the afternoon and the sun was coming in through the windows creating rays of light throughout the space. March creates beautiful spring days in Arizona and I tried to let the outside view of the desert mountain range calm my nerves. That was short lived because soon enough the thoughts from earlier in the day came screaming back into my head. Why couldn't I feel my legs? Was I dying? Over and over I kept praying: God, please let everything be … [Read more...]
