Author: jennthompson

2 x 8″ tortillas, to toast for wedges

1/2 c. orange juice
2 tbsp. infused olive oil
1 tbsp. infused honey
2 tsp. lime juice
1/4 tsp. ground cumin

16 oz chicken breast, grilled
15 oz cooked kidney beans
15 oz cooked black beans
1 c. cubed mango
1 c. cubed zucchini
1/2 c. red bell pepper, sliced
1/4 c. green onion, for garnish

Whisk orange juice, infused oil and honey, lime juice and cumin to make dressing. Set aside.
Toss beans, mango, zucchini, and bell pepper in about 3/4 of prepared dressing.
Plate (2 servings).
Slice chicken, top on salads.
Garnish with green onions, drizzle remaining dressing.
Serve with toasted tortillas.

Swim.

I love to swim.

I used to swim all the time. I would find any excuse to be in the water. I miss the water.

I miss pushing my body to go as far as it could under the water before coming up for an additional breath. I miss feeling weightless in the water.

If I had to pick one thing I’d like to do more … it would be to swim.

#MorningThoughts

i learned about Nintendo Switches this week. i learned the colour of the box let’s you know if it’s a switch 1.0 or 1.1. i learned that the console comes with no games. i learned that they can travel or stay home. i learned there is a lite version.

i learned i have no desire to really know anything about this gaming system. i learned i resent it before it ever even got to my home.

i learned i have no interest in gaming things at all.

honestly, to have some fun.

we are at the end of the first home schooled semester for TheTeenager and it has been a bit of a haul.

we are also nearing one year of IMMENSE life changes and the BoyBun has handled everything like a champ. i am sure part way because we have softened as much of it as we can for him. and part way because he is so freaking resilient.

and, for me, the crash after christmas is always a thing to deal with. even if it wasn’t a BIG christmas with all the entertaining and whatnot this year, it’s still a production … christmas in and of itself. and i really … well … i wind up tiiiiiired after christmas. more like … after new year’s eve, actually. i really like to do my “spring cleaning” at this time of year too. with new toys filtered in over christmas, it’s a great time to purge some of the things that aren’t played with anymore or things that have been grown out of. i also like to use this opportunity to clear my head space of all the things that have cluttered it up over the last year or so as well. so, as i do physical and emotional purges at this time of year, i kinda hit a little lull. and this is the time period for it to pop up.

because of all of that, and because we are just in that place in our lives, my goal for the next week is to have some fun. we can’t ride trains or go for socialization at SuperStore anymore. we can’t stop at the library to peruse books or practice social skills with other kids at the playground anymore. but we can have fun. and make the very best days.

#JustHaveFun
#MorningThoughts

Smoking cigarettes.

I started really young because we learned in health class that smoking and caffeine stunt your growth. I was already taller than everyone and awkwardly hated it. So I started drinking coffee and smoking cigarettes right away.

I was eleven.

I stole one smoke every day from my mom and my neighbour friend stole one smoke a day from her mom and before school we would share one of them and after school we shared the other. I Remember how hard it was to smoke at first. It made me dizzy. And nauseous. But I was determined to stunt my growth.

By fifteen I was smoking a pack a week. I was steadily employed and smokes were less than 5$/pack. So I used to give my older sister 10$/week to buy me a pack a week. I would keep my pack at school, usually. in my locker. Unless it was the weekend. Then I would take a few cigarettes home with me in a cassette case. I liked Unfiltered Camel Lites.

By eighteen I was *buying* a pack a day but working in the bar industry when we could smoke inside, God only knows how much of that pack I was smoking versus putting down in an ashtray to later reach for it and see it was just a line of ash attached to a filter. I was smoking Player’s Light Smooth by this time.

I smoked until I had a young child copying me. Then I quit for a little while. And, somehow, I found daily smoking back in my life.

And it is, by far and large, the one behaviour I need to (and want to) let go.

I turn 40 in two months and hope to gift myself a smoke-free second half of life.

#MorningThoughts

… my keen fashion sense. LOL

KIDDING

i have a couple of strengths.

perseverance is one of them.

it doesn’t seem to matter what life or others might throw at me. i have an honest belief that theUniverse conspires in my favour and i know, also, that everything happens for a reason.

i have gone through some things that have been tough at the time, but eventually it becomes apparent that i went through it to gain a skill set that i needed for something else. all things in my life have worked out this way.

every single thing i have experienced, up to this point, helps me at this point. and anything i encounter now will help me in the future.

as such, when times seem tough, i relish in the fact that i am gaining skills i will need some time down the road. and when times are good i am grateful for the things that have helped me build skills up to this point.

because of these life lessons, when things pop up … i persevere. knowing full well that things will be better later because of the troubles of today.

#MorningThoughts
#ThankFull

To take my children to Belize.

To stay in Belmopan at the same small house where I stayed as a teen. To take them to RoaringCreek and see the little church and sunday school building that I helped build with my bare hands.

I want to take my children to the BlueHole and see if either of them are brave enough to jump off the cliffs that I was not.

I am sure a lot has changed in the last 20 years. I am sure it looks different. But some things don’t change.

Afternoons spent climbing the branches of mango trees to sit and journal. Water with no bottom known to man. SO MANY jellyfish!

MY dream vacation would be to take my children to the place that meant the most to me.

#MorningThoughts

Nice.

My day was really nice.

It started off pretty easy. Was balanced all day with some fun and some stuff getting done. Finished with a fun game, a really great meal, and then a little show put on by my son.

It’s funny because maybe other people get bored of it. Or annoyed with it. But I will watch Hunter put on pretend talent shows all day. Honestly. Because it’s beautiful to hear him sing. And I love his little hosting abilities.

My whole day was really nice.

#LivingTheDream

MEDITATED

I spent some time meditating.

Seriously.

My Dream is to have a happy day and find the love in every day in my life.

And today I took the time to sit, in silence, and have some mindful moments. Just thinking. About my life. My kids. My day tomorrow.

Just being present. Smelling my son’s sweet hair beside me. Hearing my daughter giggle at whatever she was watching while she sat, sketching. Laughing, myself, when the cat came through with her toy wanting someone to play fetch with.

It was really nice. I don’t always get the chance to just sit. In silence.

#Grateful
#LivingTheDream

SUPER FAST

did anyone else notice that? the week passed by super fast?!

from ringing in the NewYear to the American CapitolBuilding being stormed to hearing that our local CoVid restrictions won’t be lifted in a few days like first thought (no surprise there) … this week has passed by SUPER fast.

around here, of course, it’s life as usual.

no matter what is going on in the world away from us, i maintain things here. for my family. i keep it consistent. because, the truth is, nothing is guaranteed in life … CoVid or not … and really the fun in the little moments every day are all we actually have!

So, even though this week passed by very quickly, we have had a LOT of fun.

Sledding until the sled broke! WalkieTalkie walks in the neighbourhood to test range. SO much basement cleaning and reorganizing to get our toys and therapy tools sorted and ready for another year of growth and gains. Clearing out the digital clutter that has accumulated as well.

We have worked hard and played harder around here this week. And we have done it all together and happily.

That makes the whole week a big win.

#MorningThoughts
#LivingTheDream