I made this. It was yummy.

QUINOA SALAD
 (adapted from 100daysofrealfood.com)

INGREDIENTS
 1 cup quinoa
 2½ cups water
 2 tablespoons olive oil
 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed orange juice
 ¼ teaspoon pepper
 ½ teaspoon salt
 ⅓ cup onion
 1 cup diced cucumber
 1 red pepper,
diced 2 tomatoes (or equivalent amount of cherry tomatoes), chopped with juice
1/3 cup Feta cheese

 INSTRUCTIONS
Cook quinoa according to package directions. Let cool. Sauté onions and red peppers. Mix olive oil, balsamic vinegar, orange juice and salt and pepper to make dressing. Pour over quinoa and mix. Add all chopped vegetables, feta and mix it up. Chill for a few hours before eating. Feel free to add whatever other vegetables you like.

i'll never buy toys again

spending money on toys, it turns out, is completely pointless, if AJ is your daughter. she prefers anything that is not a toy, and would mostly rather it be something she's not allowed to have. keeping this in mind, i had to get creative for our flight to Virginia. we were meeting up with the extended family to celebrate my cousin's graduation, then continuing down to the outer banks in NC. (all the cool kids call it OBX.) because i made a pact with myself that we'd only fly direct until AJ was better able to entertain herself, we had to fly into Richmond, VA...drive 2 hours to Virginia Beach...attend graduation/family stuff...spend the night in a hotel...drive 2 more hours to OBX where a fantastic beach house and supposed relaxation was awaiting us.

know how little AJ enjoys sitting still, i knew i would need to pack an arsenal of distractions for the plane, car rides, and any other times we'd need her to chill while on this trip. since actual toys hold her attention for an average of 2.7 seconds, i started looking around the house for alternative solutions. here is what i came up with, and i have to admit...i'm rather proud of my handy work!

not a toy #1: the mini-wallet

 some old cards and colorful cardstock kept her busy for at least 5 minutes, pulling the cards out and casting them aside. i was able to restock the wallet and give it back to her for another 5 minutes, at least 3 times. just make sure you don't put any important cards or documents in there, as i'm still unsure where my hilton honors gold card (exp 2008) went.

not a toy #2: the box of baubles

 who would have thought this tiffany's box would prove to be such a great toddler distraction? this was by far the best 'not a toy' of them all. it was just a box with a fake string of pearls in it (left over from a mardi gras party or something). AJ first got a kick out of shaking the box, then she entertained herself by putting the necklace on and off. lastly, she could not get enough of putting the lid on the box, taking it off, putting it back on...and again. this easily kept her busy for 20 minutes. a record, i'm pretty sure.

not a toy #3 & #4: just random stuff

a retractable set of earphones, and another jewelry box with a snap on it. these are just random items i had lying around* that she's never seen before. and they had enough moving parts to fascinate her for a few moments at least.







*it's a good thing i don't throw anything away! okay...i'm not a hoarder, but i have to admit this stuff probably should have gone a long time ago, and now here i am re-purposing it.  it's never good when i can justify hanging onto more junk...my friend illana is groaning somewhere in Michigan right now.

   when all else failed, AJ was actually very interested in reading the flight safety booklet, which had no words, just pictures, so hubs made up the words. i was actually pretty entertained by that one... "and then the people slid out the window into the ocean with their seat cushions and lived happily ever after!"

 needless to say, we made it safely to all our destinations. AJ saw the atlantic ocean for the first time, and we had an amazing paradise of a back yard for a few days.