i'm no flower girl {V-Day 2016}

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v day fell on a sunday this year so our day started with heart pancakes cause clichés are SO fun, right! and don't you just love the mesmerizing sounds of the dish washer? as i made those cakes i thought to myself "i live in a house full of boys.... nobody cares about this stuff but me!" 

a special guy deserves a special plate. tried to get fancy with my 25 cent squeeze bottle.

sooooo Sonny's plans included church, gym, sending me off to get a much needed pedi, and then dinner, but we didn't do ANY of that.  after breakfast we all (us and both boys) somehow ended up back in bed.

now there's something we haven't done in...IDK how long.  it was great to just do absolutely nothing for once. together. k, we did make it on time our dinner appointment though. lol

yet another place i've passed two billion times and never entered!  La Colombe d' Or was a nice, intimate look. 

he knows how to pick'em.  oh, the restaurant was great too. hahaha

i plan my outfit based on how much food i plan on eating.  it was a flowy dress kinda night.

my H & M dress is currently ON SALE by the way! i paid full price for it, but you definitely won't. get it here.

on holidays and special occasions, we definitely relax, enjoy ourselves, and ease up on our maintenance meal plans.  appetizers!  lobster bisque, jumbo lump crab tower, and a house salad with mixed greens, fresh vinaigrette, roasted goat cheese & sliced tomatoes.

Sonny ordered the chicken fried filet mignon, 

and i went waaaaay outta my comfort zone and skipped over salmon this time. #WUT!  i went with their homemade linguine and lobster dish.  i have not ordered pasta while dining out in years.  the portion sizes are almost always crazy big and usually covered in a fatty, buttery, creamy or heavy sauce.  truth be told, i ate the lobster off the top, the asparagus of course, and maybe 2 forkfuls of pasta. bravo, hubs. 

we had our final course at The Chocolate Bar about a mile away.

so, i'll post an Instagram pic of something utterly & sinfully indulgent on my IG eeeeevery blue moon... but even then it still comes with a price.  a price in the form of one of our 6 Pack USA clients asking/requesting for that particular food item to be added to their meal plan. lol.  anyway, there are SO many delicious, lighter, dairy-free ice cream options these days that it will blow your mind!!! this lactose intolerant girl is unbelievably grateful for them.  however, we lived life on the edge that night and i ordered 3 scoops of dairy & full fat (rocky road, toffee chip, tiramisu ) ice cream. yes, it's my time of the month. LOL.  PMS hormones make me do some cray-cray stuff.  long story short, i only got through half of it and left looking 8 months preggo. worst tummy ache and bloating on the ride home, ever. you win again, dairy. *raises white flag* 

we enjoyed some kid-free time together above all else!

we haven't exchanged actual gifts on V day in a couple of years, but we did flip through this book i picked up at Urban Outfitters a while back by Lisa Currie.

food, yes, flowers, no! i've never been a girly girl but i do love fun couples stuff like this!  15 years and i'm still learning new stuff about Sonny along this marriage journey of ours.  no matter how busy life gets, don't let your connection with your spouse slip away.  plan & prioritize some distraction-free (NO PHONES ALLOWED) time and no matter what, don't flake.  how much time you have, whether you can get the kids watched, etc., etc., depends on your specific situation, but make it happen.

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seriously, as a home-cooking blogger, there is nothing more gratifying than someone making your recipe. the cherry on top is when they send a pic!

your social media tags and emails mean EVERYTHANG.  thank you to my fellow fitness instructor and friend, Maria, for making my Burger King Hershey Sundae Pie recently!!

hope ya didn't miss this dairy-free gem!

Q: do you acknowledge / celebrate Valentines Day?

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from the buffet with love

i am far from a girlie girl.....but i convinced myself to jump on the cornball bandwagon on v-day and make some heart-shaped strawberry banana pancakes.

topped with fat-free sugar-free cool whip and pink sprinkles.  it was, dare i say, kinda fun :shock:

in the middle of getting Sonny's meals together for day before he headed out, he snuck this guy on the counter while my back was turned.  stunned?  not even the word!  my HP died like 2 years ago and i have really needed that thing since i started blogging last year.  also, i wrote down my dream of becoming a well-known blogger just the day before cause Beyonce instructed her followers to do so on Instagram. lol.  coincidence? not at all.

 God will grant us the desires of our hearts on HIS terms and HIS time.  He promised!  be encouraged and know that He will take your hand and walk with you on your journey, and put the things and people you need in line to help you get there! i knew from the jump it would take a TON of commitment and time to establish this blog.  anything worth having is worth fighting for and i'm ready and willing to grind it out!

leading up to v-day, there was something that had been on my mind all week and i couldn't shake it.  i was asked to sub a class format that i had never taught before.  while i have used the 'sorry i don't teach that' excuse for a while now...i couldn't bring myself to pull that card this time. unless it's like cycling  or something..i shooole don't teach that, WHEW! LOL.  i forced myself to accept the challenge right then, but immediately afterwards, doubt, negative thoughts, and nervousness darn near CONSUMED me.

would the members not like my teaching style since i'm not the regular instructor?  would i mess up and forget some of my routine? would the members walk out? aaaaggghhh! SHUT UP!   i mean really!!!   i've been doing this for over 5 years now and can sit down and make up a routine within minutes.  what was i scared of?  the fear of the UNKNOWN.  i couldn't answer any of those questions and it was not my job to do so. my job was to be on my game and prepared to do my BEST.  control what you can and don't worry about the rest!  my faith was really tested, and through nerves and all, i wanted to teach this class to prove to myself that i could do it.

darn right it does.  it's how we GROW.  i put that mic on, took a deep breath, said my 60 billionth prayer, and let it go.  before i knew it, time had flown by, and class was fun as CRAP! i got positive reviews from the members and guess what? it's over and I LIVED.  'fear only becomes powerful when we give it power.' stop doubting yourself and your abilities when you know darn well what you are capable of.  usually when someone asks something of you, they already expect and believe you can do whatever it is...so prove them right!

Sonny and i headed to a late, intimate v-day dinner at a churrascaria type restaurant in the museum district.  i tried to take it easy and just hit the salad bar HARD.  when i have to teach a class the following morning, i don't like to go to bed feeling too full, cause i wake up feeling the same way sometimes and it's harder to get going.  also, my appetite takes a hike when i'm nervous about something.  does that happen to you?

plate #1- red and orange roasted red peppers, grilled egg-plant, smoked salmon, artichokes, grilled zucchini, roasted beets, carrots, and swiss cheese.

2nd plate- the only new things were the crab salad on the left, and the pearl couscous salad at the top. everything was fresh and delish!

my hubs, on the other hand, had no class to teach the next morning nor did he hold back. his competition diet will be starting soon and he went ALL OUT  that night, lol!

before,

after.  no wait,  he was just taking a break and went two more rounds after this. no kidding.

see?

when the meat men came around (look i don't remember what they were called) i stuck with 1 nice sized bacon wrapped chicken breast fillet.  oooh bacon can flavor SO WELL!

full, happy, and Chiso-less for the evening;)

 as we start this new week, remember ^THAT^!!

le