Are you ready for some football?!!

Not exactly, not for me. I'm pretty excited about the food, though. Although it will be hectic this weekend, I can't allow for the Superbowl Super menu to suffer. And yes, it will only be me and tt, and yes we will have enough food to feed a small army. I'm 100% ok with this.

As per usual, I don't have much time- I was actually at work until 7:30pm, and came home to log on and work until now. Maybe I'll go do some yoga before I go to bed... I should shut down my computer and brain ASAP, but I wanted to get these exciting new recipes out to you, my patient and loyal readers. 

{Sidebar- have a great free yoga website if you are interested: www.doyogawithme.com - so far, I've only done a few but I am digging instructor Nicky's beginner vids}

Enjoy the Superbowl!! Is anything fun going on?!

recipe of the day

SkinnyMini Corndog Muffins

Spicy Buffalo Cauliflower Biteswith homemade "Skinny" Blue Cheese dressing

I've got the eye of the tiger

Quick update, because honestly I'm too busy watching the Grammy's to be able to put in any effort to this, but feel it necessary that I update because it's been so long. Let's recap the last few weeks...

Orlando

was awesome. Although it was cold, we had a great time. The conference was unreal. My girls won the "Team Excellence" award {as always} because we rock. And our weekend? Super relaxing.

Spa day

was even more awesome, and even more relaxing. I'm pretty much in love with the spa we chose, they had everything you could want and more. I started the day with meditation, had a Phytotherapy massage, with essential oils, and I haven't felt this great in I don't know how long. In addition, my second service was a mini-facial- my skin has been glowing since. Spent some serious time in both the sauna and steam rooms, and left feeling rejuvenated. Put a goal in front of us, and we will knock it out of the park. I freakin' love my job and love my team.

Wedding Plans

are moving along for me and for everyone. I picked out all my flowers on Thursday, which I am so excited about. They are going to be a beautiful combination of blues, peaches, and whites. Hydrangeas, roses, dahlias, and more. I can't even wait. 

We had a bridesmaids dinner for LG last night which was great. My dipsy doodle booked her honeymoon to Bora Bora {whoa baby} and I'm in the beginning stages of planning a fun and fancy grown-up bachelorette weekend for myself! 

I did realize, however, that these weddings are coming up, as is this trip to Jamaica in 5 weeks... gotta get my stuff together here and get back on track with this whole wedding diet thing. Tomorrow kick-starts again.

The fun is never-ending, kids. Stay tuned ;)

recipe of the day

Kale + Quinoa Superfood Salad

blood + sweat + tears can sometimes = paradise

So, I did it. All my hard work over the last 6 months has paid off. I qualified for our sales incentive trip! It has been a long road these past few years, and while I stumbled along the way, and really wondered if I would ever make it out alive, I really never gave up. This business can throw you down, and kick you repeatedly while you are there. You just have to keep pushing yourself and you eventually will see success either for the first time, or again. 

I have a new life's motto, which is perfectly fitting for this particular achievement... and it is 100% true.

So what does this actually mean? 

Well, first and foremost, it means that I'M GOING TO JAMAICA!!!!! For FREE!!!! Hollerrr.

Besides the obvious, it means that I kicked some serious @$$ {sorry Pop, I know you're reading this, don't be mad I am using such language} That being said, it did not come without a ton of hard work, dedication, and more than that, people, including myself, thinking that I couldn't. 

Being a sales person, I know that it is all about incentive. To keep us motivated, that carrot has to always be dangling, and it better be a good lookin' carrot. We have an annual sales incentive that consists of an all expense paid trip for two to an all inclusive resort. To achieve such an amazing prize, there is a quarterly contest, where three people {the three "roles" in our offices} win. They gauge it all on new business generated during the quarter, so it's set up that it's anyone's game, which I love. 

There are also parameters for each of the three disciplines to qualify for the entire year. For me, this means that I would have to show a certain average weekly production overall through the course of 52 weeks. Eek. 

I have won the 4th quarter twice- in 2009 {Costa Rica} and 2010 {Punta Cana}. It's an amazing feeling to get that call from the President of the company, letting you know that you've won. You see the #s monthly, but up until that last minute, it is really unknown. Ah, the suspense and anxiousness. It's such a sickening glory. And then, for the past 2 years, I have come up short. I missed a second bout in the Dominican and a trip to Aruba earlier this year. It breaks my heart a little. 

BUT! But, but but!! I am happy and so very proud to announce, that for 2013, I managed to make such a comeback in the 2nd half of the year, that I made up for the first half being well below what it needed to be to make said average. And that, my friends, is pretty amazing, and calls for a celebratory glass of vino. #winepoints as Stanley {my WW coach and mentor, inspiration, fellow scorpion, and besty} lovingly refers to them as. 

A quote to close with, is from my friend Pam, who also worked her tush off and qualified overall for the year. "You will never know your limits until you push yourself to them" - so true! 

No recipes today, my friends. Just ground turkey, jarred sauce, and Pinot. ;o)

american hustle {3 stars}

tt and I have been trying to go see American Hustle for weeks. Finally today we made a last minute decision and caught a matinee at our favorite theater. As much as I hate when previews last a half hour, I was happy today because otherwise we would have missed the beginning of the movie! 

All in all, I give it three stars. And here's why... 

I have to say, I was disappointed. I knew going into it that reviews had been great, but in speaking with friends/family, it wasn't so great. My sister was spot on with what she said when she told me that the acting is phenomenal. 100% true- everyone played their parts wonderfully. Jennifer Lawrence was sassy and amazing. Amy Adams, who I don't have an opinion on usually, was stunning and completely believable. Bradley Cooper?! So hot as a good cop gone bad, especially with a perm. And I just adored Christian Bale even though he was fat and had a comb over {although his NY accent brought me back 15 years to the Newsies when I fell in love with him for the first time - the second was Little Women, third was Pocahontas, ::swoon:: the list goes on and on and on..}

The story itself is great. It's put together well, I actually didn't even guess how it would end. I do, however, have to say the execution of the story fell a little flat. It was really slow and tt pointed out at the end that it was really just talking through the entire 2 hours... there was zero action. Lame! There were plenty of opportunities for action in the form of sex and/or violence... but they left it all out. Where's the fun in that?! 

Is it worth seeing? I'd say so. Just hold your horses until it's out on demand. It's not worth the $30 it cost us. {and since I'm trying to be good, the popcorn sans butter, salt, and M&Ms was not really worth the points either! Teehee} 

recipe of the day

Spaghetti Pie

and, a bonus recipe

Update in the comments ~ Garlic + Lentil Soup

{quick stop} you're welcome.

Happy happy New Year!

That's right folks, twenty-thirteen has come to a close, and now it's off to the races of what twenty-fourteen will bring in this household. I hope everyone had a safe night last night. Me and tt had a great date night in, with a delicious meal that was definitely restaurant quality {yes, I will pat myself on the back for that one} 

I want to share a list of my New Years Resolutions with you. Sometimes I find if you say it out loud {or, on the internet} it helps you to better hold yourself accountable. We all know that I need as much support as I can get when it comes to these things, so here goes

Stick to the program.

WeightWatchers, that is. I tried the Simple Start 2-week program but only made it a few days. I've moved on to start tracking my points again, and am happy that I did because it keeps me accountable for every morsel of food and sip of a beverage that I put in my mouth. I want to make sure I am going through this year as healthily as I can, because there are so many events that will challenge a diet, but equally as many events that I'd prefer to look my best at. {Are you noticing the trend?! Accountability is my new favorite/least-favorite word}

Document life's moments.

And by that I don't mean just take more pictures, because I'm pretty sure I take plenty of those {including an embarrassing number of selfies} but I want to start documenting LIFE. I always say that as I'm putting together these posts that I "forgot" to take pictures as I'm cooking... that's coming to an end. I am so excited that I remembered to take pictures along the way last night, because the pictures came out amazing, because the food was so pretty! 

Be a good wife.

Clearly I'm not a wifey just yet, but will become one in eight short months.

I want to be a good wife! I don't want to be the wife that tt goes off and complains about when he's hanging around with his buddies. I want to learn to let things go and not be as moody and demanding. I want to go do things with him and have adventures. I want to make him a fancy dinner more than just on holidays, to be enjoyed at the table rather than being rushed through sitting in front of the tv. 

I want to make sure that I am being all that I can be, and truly providing a partner in life for him. I want to keep up with the responsibilities that come with being in a relationship and holding up my end of the bargain. I want to make sure I am helping him be all that he can be too. Ok I'm getting too sappy now, so this one's done.

Give closer to 100%

At work, I am all about lists. I make a list to remember to make a list. This year, I want to improve upon the way that I keep up with the ever-changing desk that I run. Time Management is one of my biggest struggles, as well as keeping myself on track and focused. Obviously I work hard... I wouldn't be where I am if I didn't. But I definitely don't work as hard as I could. I'd like to get closer to 100% so that I can continue to grow and do well at work.. which I suppose can be true in my personal life as well. Goodbye laziness!

Happy New Year and best wishes to everyone on the world wide web for a happy, healthy and prosperous 2014! 

Spend as much time with your loved ones as you can and make sure to visit Skinny in Stilettos regularly for a little entertainment and fabulous healthy meal ideas! xoxo Coleen

recipe of the day - date night menu

{WeightWatchers} Filet Mignon with Bearnaise Sauce

{WeightWatchers} Roasted Confetti Fingerling Potatoes