Last Day of February!

SNOW DAY

I have  many updates since I last posted...I have been a busy bee!  I have to admit though...my motivation has been low to update during this month, sorry....the dreary weather has been kicking my butt, I need sunshine people!!!  Honestly, snow in February?!?!?! (I was lucky enough to have a SNOW DAY and not go in to work yippeee!) Then, FRIGID cold weather that bites your face off, and today, monsoon like conditions...yikes!!!  The weather can't make up it's mind here in Oregon.  It's not sure if it is winter time, or April...I wonder what next week will bring, summer like conditions? Yes please!

Veggies GALORE

Tah Dah!

Since the lack of sun has had me couped up in the house it's given me time to snoop around on the internet and find yummy new recipes!  Kelly sent me a great site that has quinoa recipes....and so far, after the first attempt of this new food, I love it!  Quinoa is a brilliant food, it's gluten free, full of protein, fiber, and carbs...it's the ultimate healthy energy food! I loaded in every possible veggie I could think of that "went well together".  Take a looksie at my pile of ingredients, and then the finished product, YUM!  I made to add in some chicken for Brent, I wasn't sure how he would like quinoa from the start...so I thought going purely vegetarian the first time would give him a mini heart attack, I kid!, he is great about trying new things I make.  But...I wanted to cover all my bases so chicken it is!  He really liked the quinoa and the entire bunch of veggies! YESssssssssssss (happy dance!). I would say the ONLY down side to this delicious meal is the copious amounts of chopping...chopping, and more chopping of the vegetables.  

Coconut Milk

While making the quinoa I tried a new beverage...it's called Zico.  It is different.  I'm not yet sure if I like it, or just tolerate it.  It's pure coconut milk.  It's extremely good for you, and full of potassium, but it's odd.  It has a very unique taste and I'm on the fence about it, we'll see if I buy it again...it's hard to drink something that's just so so, even if it is really good for you! 

Beautiful flowers from team parents!

Moving on....basketball season has come to a close.  Last week on Thursday evening we had our end of the year banquet.  My sister gave out awards and spoke about each player, and their parents pitched in to get them necklaces.  It was adorable, the girls were genuinely tickled.  You could tell they had fun this year.  Unbeknown to Ingrid or I...their parents got together and gave us gift cards, and a bouquet of flowers.  We honestly had the best team parents, we were EXTREMELY lucky, we had zero parent or team drama!

Take a look at the snow we got last week.  We woke up to A LOT of snow...then it melted away about mid day, then it came back in full force about 2:30pm and blanketed the city once again! 

Yes, this is a cake. Pretty cool!

Delicious cake!

Now for this weekend!  I had Sophie and Isaac (my niece and nephew, ages 7 & 5) on Saturday, and they spent the night.  They were great, I was extremely impressed.  Not one time did I ever have to tell them to mind, behave, be good etc...they were little angles.  I have no idea how they were so wonderful because I don't believe I was THAT good at their age :)  Once they got to my house I told them that we were going to a surprise party that evening for their dad (my brother Brian)! They were thrilled, I now know they love surprises!  The party was a success...it was a Congratulations party on getting the head baseball coaching job at OC!  The party was of course baseball themed and we all got to wear his old uniforms.  It was a very fun evening and there were a lot of great faces to see and chat with that I haven't seen in years.