I'm Baaaaaaaack!

Well, I'm unexpectedly back from my trip! I wasn't supposed to come home until May 7th, but my friend couldn't meet me in Bangkok on the 26th of April like planned, so I changed my flight! If you want to read about my trip, you can here. I had an absolutely amazing time. So many precious moments - like an elephant hug!!! Those photos are on my sister's camera so I'll post those later! We ate delicious food, tanned a little too much, and soaked up the wonderful Thai culture!

Here are a few photos from my trip:

Songkran Festival - Thai New Year where they splash you with a ridiculous amount of water and rub clay or baby powder on your cheeks! It's messy!

First of many delicious pineapple shakes!

Me on Karon Beach, Phuket!

Hello! & Goodbye!

I have seriously been lagging in the blogging department. I haven't been reading or writing. I've been super busy getting ready for my trip to Thailand (I leave tomorrow!!!) and have had zero time to write here! Hopefully I'll be able to post while I'm gone, but if you'd like to keep up with my travels I can send you the link to my travel blog. A couple of you e-mailed me for it, but it wouldn't let me reply to your e-mails so if you'd like it e-mail me directly at a_cantafio@hotmail.com.

I hope you're all well and I hope to catch up with you soon!

P.S. Dan's deployment has been cancelled! That's really the only big news I have. More on that at a later date.

Quinoa Pancakes.

Have you ever eaten Quinoa? I tried it once before, but knew I had to try it again when I found a recipe for quinoa pancakes! This nutritious seed comes from South America and is packed with wonderful goodies such as protein, iron, calcium, maganese, and potassium. It has been known to help prevent Type 2 diabetes, childhood asthma, heart disease, gallstones and migranes (me, me, me!) It's good for us and I can see a quinoa fest in my future.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup quinoa

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

2 tsp baking powder

2 eggs

1/4 cup skim milk (I used almond milk)

2 Tbsp maple syrup (I didn't have any, so I added butterscotch chips and bananas instead)

Directions:

1. In a small saucepan, bring 1 cup water to a boil. Stir in quinoa. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork. Cool.

2. In a bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, and cooled quinoa. In a small bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, and maple syrup. Whisk liquid mixture into quinoa mixture until combined.

3. Heat large, non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat. In batches, add batter to pan by 1/4 cup amounts. Cook for 2 minutes or until bubbles form on surface and edges are golden. Turn and cook another 2 minutes.

Serve with maple syrup if you desire. I had peanut butter on mine and it was delicious!

Hi Loves!

Hi blog friends!

I've been missing and for a wonderful reason! Two weeks ago, Dan showed up completely unexpectedly at my office with half a dozen adorable cupcakes in hand (can't forget those cupcakes!) We enjoyed our time together visiting friends and family, a wonderful weekend in Whistler, and lots of alone time. It was a great refresher to get us through until we see each other again! He left on Monday so I'm adjusting back to my usual routine. My biggest gripe? The cold bed. Brrr!

I'm keeping myself busy by working on papers and assignments to wrap up this semester! I can almost see the end in sight! After that, Thailand! Speaking of Thailand, I won't be blogging about my trip on this blog while I'm gone for safety reasons, but I'd love to share the link to my traveling blog with my readers. If you're interested, please comment or send me an e-mail and I'll give you the link!

There isn't much else going on with this girl right now, but I thought I'd stop in and say hi! I think I have a few photos to share of Dan's visit so I'll be sure to do so soon!

Five For Friday.

1. You gave me the best surprise ever flying across the country to visit without me knowing!

2. You graced me with not only with your presence but with six delicious and adorable cupcakes!

3. You arranged for us to go away next weekend and sweet talked my mom into giving me the time off work.

4. Your cuddles!!!

5. You made this Five For Friday SO incredibly easy!

I love you!

Happy Tuesday!

I'm very happy to report no bad moods have ensued this week and I don't intend for sadness in the near future! Horray!

I spent the weekend watching season one of Vampire Diaries. No word of a lie, I've watched 9 episodes since Saturday. Kind of sad, but I'm obsessed. Oh, and I like Stefan. He's so precious and Edward like without being creepy and gross.

I also got digital cable yesterday! I had to go meet the dude to hook it up and then came back to work. I was SO distracted all day knowing I could go home and watch The Bachelor at 5pm instead of the regular 8pm. So wonderful. I was able to watch that, finish a paper, and then watch the vamps. Success.

In other happy news, I received an award from sweet Jillian over at Iron & Sunshine!

Upon receiving this award, I must tell you five things about me!

1. I can't drink water out of a glass. I feel like it takes on the taste of glass and I just don't like it.

2. I love homework for the most part.

3. I've laughed way too many times at the scene in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective where he's kicking the package at the beginning of the movie. I'm not sure now why I thought it was so funny.

4. I love cupcakes. I wish they were healthy so I could eat them everyday.

5. I want to learn how to fly a plane. I will do it.

I am passing this award on to my lovelies:

Jamie Loves

Adventures in Italia

home is where the heart is

In The Blink of An Eye

Erasing Shades of Grey

A Distant Memory.

Sure, the week started out with the Monday Blues, but they are just a distant memory now. The rest of the week was joyous and this weekend is going to be fantastic!

Tonight, I'm heading to a friend's fundraiser for the Relay For Life event supporting Canadian Cancer research! I'm looking forward to the silent auction, food, and visiting with friends!

This morning, I signed up for two 10K races! I have never run a race and while starting with a 5K might make the most sense, it seems somewhat uninspiring to me! I already know I can run 5K no problem, so I'm looking forward to training for 10K!

I have signed up for the Freedom Run 5000 10K on June 26th to raise funds to held educate girls in Afghanistan. I couldn't pass this run up. It's a small gesture compared to the large sacrifices my boyfriend will be making throughout this year in Afghanistan doing his part. I'm really excited for this one.

The second run I signed up for is The Underwear Affair 10K on July 9th to raise money for below the waist cancers like prostate, ovarian, and colorectal. It looks like SO much fun! People come out in great outfits and I have no doubt it will be a wonderful time!

So many fabulous things to look forward to!