ZzZZzz

I am exhausted. I don't know what is wrong with me but I think that this detox is really kicking my butt. I am trying to be better about updating (and wanted to share my chick peas!) but this is all I have the energy for tonight.

 

Oy.

Recipe of the day:

Roasted Chick Peas

The most Magical Place on Earth

Ok, if I wasn't obsessed with Disney before, I am officially now. It truly is THE most Magical Place on Earth. Me, Lindsey, and Erin spent Saturday night at Epcot and enjoyed every single solitary second of it.

 

Got there- started with "The Seas with Nemo & Friends" - next we continued by circling around the countries and had a few beverages (Guinness in the UK, Oktoberfest in Deutschland, and a Patron Margarita in Mexico). Um, yum. Had a few snacks (Fish & Chips in the UK, Shrimp fried rice and pot stickers in Chinatown). Um, yum. Then we got to go on some more rides: Soarin' (FAVE!), Mission Space, and of course, Spaceship Earth. Had to pass on Test Track because it was delayed due to technical issues. So so SO much fun.

 

In addition to Epcot, my time in Florida was spent at the Reunion Resort. Conference Thursday-Friday where we got to listen to one of the best speakers in the staffing industry, Peter Leffkowicz. He had some great insight and ideas that I am excited to implement. My fabulous team of women won "Office of the Year - Team Excellence" because we rock, and we had a ton of fun with all our favorite peeps from all over the US of A. Me and my chicks went out on the TOWN Friday night in Universal (quite the interesting experience) and then Saturday during the day we laid outside in the perfect 78° weather, got to see God in the sky, and relaxed for a hot sec.

 

Got back last night, after literally 5 days of no sleep, and was in bed at 8:00 pm. Halleluiah. Decided that it was time to start a serious detoxification (see, recipe page!). Worked today, left a little early due to the "impending doom" of freezing rain/sleet/snow, and am thinking 8:00 pm sounds somewhat tempting again tonight. Although, the Carrie Diaries are on, so... cya.

Recipe of the day:

Chicken & Artichokes

Welcome to Miami

As always, please forgive me.

 

I have disappeared off the face of the earth over the past few weeks, and I have no excuse other than the fact that I have really been focused on work. I made the decision that this year, I am back. The sales incentive trip for 2013 is to Miami - After two wonderful years on top (Costa Rica in 2009 and Punta Cana in 2010), I missed my 2nd trip to the Dominican in 2011, and missed my shot at Aruba in 2012, so I am digging in my heels and not taking no for an answer. Miami, get ready. I'll see you in appx 1 year.

 

In the  meantime, we are headed to Orlando on Wednesday for our annual meeting. This is the best thing for me right now because I always come back pumped up and full of salesy, staffing-focused energy. The other good news about this trip, is that I am up for SM of the year. Not exactly sure how it happened, but I was absolutely, positively tickled PINK on Friday when the nominations came out. It kind of grounded me and made me realize that I really am good at this job.  Phew.

 

So what this means, my faithfuls, is that I will probably be updating this once weekly. Hopefully I'll have more than one evening to share my thoughts, but I am guessing that it will be a little harder.  I am going to be researching more about blogging, and how to "get noticed" online- so hopefully this will start to become something worth reading for people. Any advice/suggestion/ideas that you have regarding what people want to read, please let me know. I am debating on keeping it 2-parts, or combining the home page with the recipe page, and just getting more in depth with the recipes.  Let me know what you think!!

Recipe of the day:

HG's Hungry Chick'n Dumpling Surprise

The Green Monstah

I have this problem. When I'm home alone, I eat. Well, er, I cook, then I eat. And I usually eat a little bit of everything. I decided to break out some of my favorites this week, as well as trying a few new recipes. I'm cooking up a storm and it's only Tuesday!

Last night, I made turkey chili. That was it, because I had an hour long training call for lia sophia. I didn't even eat any of it, though. I ate one leftover parmesan tomato, and had hummus and pita bread. (why I didn't enjoy the chili, I have no idea... it's one of my faves!)

See, this is what I mean.. I just eat random things when I'm alone, even though I cook delicious food.

Tonight, let's see. I made Italian veggie soup, and the plan was to eat that for dinner (since I made the chili for lunches)... That was the plan. However, who sticks to a plan anyways?! I had leftover escarole from the soup, so I threw it in another pan and made escarole and beans, of which I ate a forkful.

Then a light bulb went off. Green Monster Smoothie. Yes, that's right, I made (and drank) my very first Green Smoothie. And by drank, I actually mean CHUGGED. I was reading one of my favorite foodie blogs, Iowa Girl Eats and came across her post about this smoothie, in which she states:

          “Green Monster Spinach Smoothies are one of my top secret diet weapons, because although they’re
              packed with baby spinach, which make my skin, hair, nails, and overall self feel totally great, they do
              not taste healthy at all. I repeat, they do not taste healthy at all.”
 
No way. I thought to myself. There is no way a smoothie packed with spinach would actually taste good. But, it really, and truly did. Bananas add a sweetness (although mine weren't 100% frozen yet); I used Teddy's Natural Peanut Butter (yum); and I used 1% milk, which once it's gone I will ultimately buy skim. When you blend it all together, it becomes so silky smooth. One taste and I was hooked. I seriously will have one of these every single day for breakfast. I can't imagine that spinach is a bad thing to have daily. And I have greek yogurt every day anyways... ohhh yes.

It's a little sad how excited this made me.
It's the little things in life, really.

Recipe of the day:

Italian Veggie Soup

Everybody loves a little sparkle

Big news my blogger friends ~ I have decided to start my own lia sophia business! I am so super duper excited about my newest adventure. I have been thinking about this for kind of a long time... and finally broke down and decided to jump on board.

There were a few reasons for this... the #1 was the money. It's not that I need a 2nd job by any means, but right now I am hunkering down big time on saving for the future, and the fact that the earning potential is unlimited really doesn't suck. An average show is $200 in commission, so depending on how much time/effort you want to invest, it could be $800-1000/month. I figure, working for 2 hours and earning $200 on average beats working a 2nd job for $10 bucks/hour and having to work all weekend. Especially, when "working" consists of standing around talking about jewelry.

Another reason is that I know I will be good at this- I have been in sales for 7 years, and let's face it: if you know me at all, you know I love anything that sparkles... and I love to talk. I figure, I can use the skills I have learned through my career and turn it into my own little business. I'll be my own boss! I can work when I want, where I want (and have a cocktail with hostess if I want!). I am thinking that this would also help me to get a little confidence back... 2012 wasn't the best year for me at my job, and I think this will help me to mentally realize that I still got it.

Another reason is... I really think it will be fun! It will get me out of the house and involved with a new group of people. My unit leader/mentor is the Fabulous Brigitta, and I am looking forward to working with her, as well as the rest of the Dazzling Divas. My equally Fabulous friend Sahra is a part of the team as well, and it will be great to see her more than our semi-annual dinner dates. I think this will be good for me! (and will help with my public speaking, and potentially assist with some of my crazy person anxiety issues!)

So... that being said, I have decided I will do shows in the tri-state area (tri-state in my mind being CT, NY, MA) - if you or someone you know LOVES jewelry as much as I do, and want to know how you can earn up to $300 in FREE jewelry, let me know ASAP and we can chat. [[if you are outside of this area, and are interested, we can arrange a catalog show and/or something online. We can make it work!]]

 

Recipe/Idea of the day:

How can Grapefruit help you lose weight?!

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Good Riddance to Twenty Twelve

Looking back on 2012, I am not satisfied with the year. I didn't get where I wanted to be weight-wise (although I am proud of where I did get to, I could have pushed harder). I didn't have the year I wanted to at work (I don't have much pride here, I could have pushed harder).

Hmm, I am sensing a trend.

I have been doing a lot of reflection this year, especially in the last month or so- tt and I decided to create a list of 10 goals for ourselves for the new year. (No, we are NOT resolutioners, so don't get your panties in a bunch). These are goals that we want to be held responsible for. These are goals that we recognize that we need help with. We are sharing them later today, and I really hope this is a way for us to motivate each other to be better. I am not someone who can put my mind to something and it just happens. I am very easily distracted (like, very). I want 2013 to be the best year yet, and I want us to help each other.

The first thing I started with, was deactivating Facebook. Talk about getting distraction free! I feel liberated already (it's been an hour). We both did it because we spend entirely too much time on FB, for no real reason. I do want to focus my "online energy" on this website because I will give the sneak peak that that is one of my goals... I'm sure that you are thrilled to hear that. ;)

*Happy New Year and CHEERS to 2013*

Recipe /Idea of the day:

Tips for weight loss in 2013

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