The Recognition Year is over.

For our National Conference Recognition the calendar year is 7/1 to midnight on 6/30. So the year has just ended and I'll be recognized for my sales. My sales should be in about the top 1-2% of the company...last year I finished right just over $35,000 this year I should be finished at (my last order wasn't added in the last time I ran a total) right just at $44,000!!!!

So over last year my personal sales went up 9,000 or 25% ...I think that is fantastic. esp considering I only work about 2x a week and in some months less than that. It just goes to show that consistently putting forth the best effort you can does lead to some great results and amazing experiences. ---off hand I think that those total sales number include a good 7-9K in fundraising sales and that would mean about 15-20% of my business leads to helping other people/organizations...and that rocks!

Not Spicy Vidalia Thai Slaw
1 bag of the coleslaw blend stuff
1 chix breast chopped small
1/2 cup crushed peanuts
1/2 cup julienne red or green bell peppers
1/2 cup julienne pea pods
1/2 cup chopped cucumber
1/3 to 1/2 cup Vidalia Onion Dressing
Mix together chill and serve.
Adjust veggies as preferred.

Summer Wine Pairings and TS

Okay this is my first attempt at putting in a word document. This is too long to put in my newsletter so I am posting it here for those who want more recipes...
I cannot believe July is almost here...this time next month I will be on my way home from National Conference w/great ideas and plans to improve my business...and I'll know what new products we'll have for the Fall!!!

SUMMER WINE PAIRINGS AND TASTEFULLY SIMPLE


Some tips from the Chicago Tribune….

*How much wine do you need? If you are doing a trendy new multi-course evening, a good rule of thumb is one or two per guest. Standard wine bottles hold about 5-6 glasses (4oz) of wine.

*Chose glassware w/the occasion in mind.
*Have more than one corkscrew out for a big party.
*Keep red wine in the low 60s , Keep the whites and the roses cold –on ice.
And the best advice for the host: try the wines you will be serving before the guests arrive.
You are doing quality control ;-)


A great appetizer paired with a glass of Reisling…
Herbed Tomato Garlic Pesto SpreadSubmitted by Lara Miesle (OH)

Ingredients 2 Tbsp. Spinach & Herb Dip Mix
2 Tbsp. Dried Tomato & Garlic Pesto Mix
2 (8 oz.) pkgs. softened cream cheese
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
Crackers
Directions Combine first 4 ingredients; chill 2 hours. Serve with crackers. Makes about 3 cups spread.

A salad to be served with Gewurztraminer….

Ginger Teriyaki Curry Chicken Salad
2 cups cooked, cubed chicken breast
1 cup diced fresh mango
½ cup chopped cashews
½ cup water chestnuts, drained and chopped
¼ cup raisins
1 tsp. curry powder
1 cup Ginger Teriyaki Ranch Dressing
Lettuce Leaves
Blue Aztec Chips
Combine first 5 ingredients; toss. Add curry powder to Ginger Teriyaki Dressing; pour enough over salad ingredients to reach desired consistency. Serve salad on lettuce leaves with Blue Aztec Chips. Makes 4-5 Servings

With your favorite Chardonnay…

For a cool fall evening pair our Perfectly Potato Cheddar Soup or Creamy Wild Rice, a loaf of Bountiful beer bread and your favorite Chardonnay.

For Savignon Blanc I recommend…
Crab Cakes with Garlic Sauce
Submitted by Karen Hummel (NJ)
Ingredients 3 Tbsp. Onion Onion™, divided
3/4 cup mayonnaise, divided
2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice,
divided16 oz. jumbo lump crabmeat
1 tsp. mustard2 beaten eggs
1 Tbsp. water
1 1/2 cups breadcrumbs
1/2 tsp. Spinach & Herb Dip Mix
1/2 tsp. Seasoned Salt
1 Tbsp. Garlic Garlic™

Directions Combine 2 tablespoons Onion Onion™, 1/4 cup mayonnaise, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, crabmeat and mustard; blend well. Shape into 8 crab cakes. Blend eggs and water together. In separate bowl, combine breadcrumbs, Spinach & Herb Dip Mix and Seasoned Salt. Dip crab cakes in egg mixture; coat with breadcrumb mixture. Place on greased baking sheet. Bake at 400° for 25-30 minutes or until cooked through. Combine remaining 1/2 cup mayonnaise, 1 tablespoon Onion Onion™, 1 tablespoon lemon juice and Garlic Garlic™; blend well and refrigerate. Serve garlic sauce over crab cakes. Makes 8 cakes.

When opening a nice bottle of Mad Housewife Merlot pair it with…

Garlic Rosemary Chicken
Submitted by Laura Brott (MI)
Ingredients 4boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. Seasoned Salt
1 1/2 tsp. Garlic Garlic™
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. dried rosemary

Directions Place chicken breasts in a greased 8 x 8 pan; drizzle with oil. Sprinkle with seasonings. Bake at 375° for 45 minutes. Makes 4 servings.
*Note from Victoria: I think I'd use more of the seasonings than listed above, season to suit your tastes.

Slow-Cooked Chicken
Submitted by Karen Huftalin (IL)
Ingredients 2 Tbsp. Garlic Garlic™
2 Tbsp. Spinach & Herb Dip Mix
1 Tbsp. Seasoned Salt
1 whole chicken
1 quartered onion
2 diced celery stalks

Directions Combine first 3 ingredients; sprinkle over and inside chicken. Put onion and celery in bottom of slow cooker; add chicken. Cover and cook on low 6-8 hours. Makes 3-4 servings.

An exciting milestone

Today for the first time in what will surely become a regular habit, I said to the children this AM, after a big mess was made w/one of those squish pillows w/a billion tiny white beads...I said:
"Go, outside in the backyard, all of you, go and play!"

And so they went outside and I managed to clean up about 99.99% of those damn little white things.

Since the weather is a bit cooler today it is a great day to make Berry Buckle Cake. I am making one to bring with to a taste-testing I am doing as part of a wine tasting on Saturday w/my great host Kelly M. She has her own wine club and I am bringing a sampling of products for the group to enjoy with their wine and for that I am putting together a summer wine pairing recipe sheet.

Here is an excerpt...

Pair a Dried Tomato and Garlic Pesto Cheese Spread and Water Crackers w/a nice Reisling
Recipe
1 brick of cream cheese softened
2 tbsps Dried Tomato and Garlic Pesto
Blend together
Shape into a ball and roll in Spinach & Herb Mix (dry) or Bread Crumbs.
Chill for 2 hours or over night and serve w/your favorite crackers.

She has to be louder than the Cicadas

Ah Sweet Anna only 3 years old and BOY IS SHE LOUD. If there are any movie producers that need to record blood curdling screams, I've got their girl.

Oh I know what you are thinking, she doesn't look like the type to scream like a banshee at the drop of a hat. But those of you that have had the misfortune of calling my house to place an order for a garlic garlic, or Bountiful Beer Bread...you may very well have gotten to hear her. Too bad there isn't really a cone of silence I could put over my head...

A couple of weeks of daycamp are left and I cannot say enough good things about the program that Palos Heights runs. I am sooooo glad I enrolled thme in it...and doubly glad that I was able to use my TS leadership cheque to pay for it..that was the best use of a bonus...ever.

So what do I do while the kids are in camp? Work on my tan? Work on my business? Work on running up my credit card bill? Nope I've been running all over the forest preserve trails. And it's been pretty good weather for the most part, and running for 1 1/2 to 2 hours gives me time to listen to booking downloaded from audible.com onto my ipod...but today...Today I forgot my ipod in Tom's car so I bought an antiquated am/fm cassette walkman thing from Walgreens. Why are they still selling a casset thing? It looked enormous and came w/the old style headband headphones w/the black foamy stuff that covers your ears. Oh brother, my ears were melting off my head. It was crazy humid today. I really didn't want to run for 8 miles and I talked myself down to 6 but then I went ahead and did 8. Just keep saying well its only a few more minutes, might as well do it...

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I have a conference call tonight at 830 PM. One of the benefits of having your own business that no one tells you is that you can do conference calls in bed while simultaneously watching TV.

I love festive holiday desserts. I think next week I'll make the Americana Trifle.

http://www.tastefullysimple.com/Cultures/en-US/Recipes/recipes.htm?rid=5715&src=s

june 26th 2007

Another busy day...though why was it busy? what did I do...hmm.
Get up 7am Conference Call.
Breakfast
Fold and put away laundry
Dishes
Go to V. house and let in virtual tour person.
Come Home.
Check email return emails to some Tastefully Simple Clients
Literally forget to eat lunch...but did make lunch for the kids..what did they eat, I can't even remember
Notice it is super windy outside and the trash cans are blowing around.
Bring in said trash cans.
Do some weeding.
Go inside have some leftovers.
talk on the phone to D. my TS sponsor
fold and put away another load of laundry
surf internet
call to make Dentist appt get answering machine
clean living room
put together host kit for fundraiser
start scrapbook for Teri's bday
make dinner
clean boys room
sweep floors
change clothes
say hi to Tom
go to my Success Team meeting
go over to V. to check on her house.
come home and look at the dishes.
put anna in her bed
go online to start blog.

Smile cause the sox actually won 2 in a row!

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