NEW Velata - Spring/Summer 2014

Velata is probably one of the lesser known brands of Scentsy Family, but it is still very good! We enjoy this product here in our home and have learned through events where we've shared it that the raclettes are everyone in Europe. I think that it is cool!

I may have a hostess this month for Velata, but even if I don't you are always welcome to order from my website. Let me know if you'd like to host a catalog/online party! If you have questions about any of the products, please feel free to contact me!

Some of my current favorite items....

Fondue Warmers - $40

comes in classic colors to match every kitchen (or to stand out!), perfect for the chocolate & cheese fondues

Ceramic Knife Sets - $65 or $120

great addition to your knife collection - knife blocks are available as well!

Antibacterial Cutting Mat - $24

every home needs a cutting mat like this!

Raclette Tabletop Grill - $140

we love this and are hearing so many great things from around the country on those who have tried this - such a versatile piece of kitchen equipment...bring fun to your next family dinner!

Pinterest Recipes For the Win!

In my quest to eat better, I went to Pinterest to look for some new recipes for fixing turkey and cauliflower. And let me tell you, it did not disappoint! YUMMMMMM!

First up, I had purchased some organic turkey cutlets. It had been a long time since I had bought any and thought it might be nice to change it up from eating chicken all the time. My mom had cauliflower in the fridge that she hadn't used yet, so I chopped a chunk off to do something besides broccoli for my side. The girls are snowed in with us, but instead of eating their unhealthy hot dogs and ramen noodles lunch (ugh...I HATE ramen and that's not even a strong enough word for it!), I bit the bullet and made myself a healthy meal.

Here are the recipes I used:









Note, I did make a few changes...
- On the cauliflower, I pretty much followed what it called for. I used the extra virgin olive oil extremely sparingly. I also didn't do the second step of the smaller floret pieces. I just used bigger chunks. It definitely took 25 minutes to bake properly.
- On the turkey, instead of butter I used extra virgin olive oil in the pan. I didn't have any rosemary on hand (but will be getting some for future use!), so I used a Lemon Garlic rub that I had on hand from my Velata business. I didn't use any of the other ingredients either...ha I was trying to keep it a "less is more" and the flavor was phenomenal! The turkey really didn't take much EVOO to sear it. Next time I might just spray Pam in the pan instead to see how that works. Total time was probably under 5 minutes to cook.

You won't be disappointed if you test it out!

Happy Friday!

Are you dancing around cause it's Friday? I know I am!!

This has been THE. LONGEST. WEEK. EVER. Ugh! I woke up thinking every day was Thursday. So not only was it a long and exasperating work week, but Eric is on night shift rotation and I do not like it. I don't sleep well at all. I really must have been naive in thinking that it would be a minor thing to get used to...boy was I wrong! I wake up and get ready for work, as I'm preparing to leave the house, he gets home from work. He sleeps all day = no texting. I get home from work and he's just waking up/getting ready for work, we have anywhere from 30-60 minutes together before he leaves for work. Then he spends the evening at work = no texting. So we are getting up to an hour of talking, hugs and kisses in before one of us leaves. Not fun.

So as I've mentioned...I lost 7 pounds in 4 days on the detox diet. I immediately gained back 4 pounds (which is funny because mom gained that back the first few days after her detox period was over as well). This week I started counting calories again using MyFitnessPal and managed to shake 2 of those pounds back off. So, I am still down 5 pounds from the initial "jump back on the wellness bandwagon" and would have liked to have knocked all 4 pounds back off, but I am going to be happy with it!

In the past week, I have walked 14.1 miles. Pretty exciting stuff. :) I am hoping to get ahead this weekend on my miles for the #30daysin30miles challenge, but so far so good. Jordan wondered why I didn't like walking on the treadmill and I told her it's because all I have to look at is the same surroundings (door, lamp, dresser) whereas when I'm outside - there's cows, birds, cats, dogs, cars, etc. So she drew me a picture to put on the treadmill that had a cow, a dog, a cat and sunshine. haha Love her! It was too cute.

Also, if you haven't heard...Google Reader is going away, which means your GFC blog follower button is going away too. I made the leap this morning to Bloglovin' thanks to the recommendation of some of my favorite bloggers and so far, I really like it. If you want to check it out, scroll down the left hand side of my blog and find the Bloglovin' button and follow it to sign up for your own account. It's easy peasy!

And one last thing - I haven't shared anything about my Scentsy Family businesses lately, but don't want you to miss out on some of the awesome deals and products!!

Scentsy - Forget-me-not is this catalog's Charitable cause warmer. Scentsy donates $8 from every one of these warmers sold to the Fisher Center (which does Alzheimer's research). I'm not sure about you, but most people have been affected by Alzheimer's in some way. My paternal grandfather graduated top of his class in college and in the end, he didn't know his children's names or what Christmas presents were. That was a hard thing to watch as a little kid who loved her grandpa fiercely. I'm placing a Scentsy order today if you want to get in on the action - you can order under the party called "Bobbie Davis" if you want to help one of my good friends out on her party today. There are lots of beautiful new warmers and lovely scents if you're wanting something spring-like for your home!

Velata - This month Velata is on sale! Woohoo! 10% off nearly the entire catalog. It's a great time to order your warmer (on sale) in preparation for the CHEESE DIPS coming out next month!! My family loves the chocolate and begs for it all the time. We even took it to our family reunion last fall and everyone stood around it and chowed down!

Grace Adele - And last, but certainly not least...spring is nearly here which for most of us ladies means a new purse! Time to put the winter blahs at bay and update our accessories! :) GA brought out new colors (pink & orange), plus a few new styles, including a tablet tote! I have the new Shelby bag in Stone...love it! Easter's coming...wouldn't you love to have this instead of an Easter basket?!

Happy End of October!

Happy End of October! There, I said it. ha I am not much on Halloween. If you know me at all, you know that I HATE DESPISE ABHOR being scared. I know, I know...the holiday isn't all about being scared, but to be honest, I never liked the holiday. I'm not much for going to people's homes (that my parents knew, but I never knew as a kid) and saying the same thing over and over. What's worse is that at least 1 home purposely tried to scare their trick-or-treaters! GRRRR. Remember how I just said I hated to be scared? Ugh! That was the worst house ever. Nicest people ever, but I hated them on Halloween. One of my last years trick-or-treating, I was probably about 10-12 years old and I remember crying in the van because mom was forcing me to go there and I knew that although I couldn't see the threat lurking, I knew it was there. Sure enough, it was...Mr. H was lying in a coffin covered in bags of homemade caramel corn (yeah, how many of you would let your kids eat a homemade treat these days??) and Mrs. H made you reach in to grab the bag. As you did, Mr. H would reach his hand out and grab yours. SCARED. THE. LIFE. RIGHT. OUTTA. ME.


Anyway, it's been ages since I've blogged. I feel like a bad bad blogger! I always think..."oh I can't wait to blog that" or "that would be a cute pic on my next blog" and then...then nothing happens. ha I know we've all been at this point from time to time, but I can't seem to get caught up!


Last week as you all know, mom was in the hospital. I am happy to say that on Friday afternoon I got to bring her home. She was of course thrilled to be released from the jail hospital. haha She promised her doctor that she would quit smoking if he let her out before the weekend. And people wonder why I'm so stubborn and determined?? ha He luckily agreed! Great news is that she hasn't smoked since October 17th! Woohoo! She says she's not even been tempted and I hope it stays that way. I love it! The thing I did not love was helping her clean her bedroom (getting the dust mites out of there by vacuuming the mattress and washing the curtains) AND repainting the living room after a massive cleaning spree in there as well. Hopefully it helps her breathe better. She is on oxygen at home, but doesn't have to carry a portable when she's out. Her oxygen stats are finally better, so we're hoping she stays on the mend and will get to come off the oxygen within a few months! On a side note, Eric is also quitting smoking. He made a pact with mom and it seems where her sickness seemed to help her get over any craving/not notice withdrawals...he is not so lucky. The nicotine gum seems to be helping, but he was smoking little cigars (which are much stronger than a cigarette). Let's hope we make it through the quitting phase and move on to happier and healthier times!

 The walls were badly stained from all the nicotine in the air (only room mom smoked in)

everything tarped over so we could paint!

I have been busy busy with events for my home business. I had Scentsy & Grace Adele last weekend. This weekend I have both of those again, plus Velata. Whew! I am worn out just thinking about it. However, did you know that Christmas is only 55 days away! Yep, you read that right...and while most years I am done shopping by this point, I am sad to say that I haven't even started! EEK! Just one more thing for me to panic about and add to the 3 mile long To Do list. :p

And now for some of the random moments of the last 2 weeks...

Toby was missing snuggle time with mamaw when she was in the hospital, so he snuggled with Eric instead

Grace Adele booth

 

Toby snuggling with mom a few days after she got home from hospital

ahhhh...love shellac manicures!

poor sleepy lil baby! think he's got enough blankets?

 Eric taught mom to play chess

And last but not least...

I am part of a group giveaway over on Chelsea's blog! Go check it out and get entered! ;) I'm giving away a Baby Roarbert Scentsy buddy with a scent pak.

As always, you can find me:

Twitter / Instagram / Pinterest

Prepare Yourself for Pictures

Okay, so I don't really have a lot of pictures...but I am far too busy to blog about all the goings ons around these parts, so you'll have to subside on a VERY brief recap, pictures and captions! ;)

Since my birthday it's been non-stop go go go! AxMan, mom and I packed up the following weekend and made a trip to Kansas City, MO so I could attend my upline's training day. I went last year and had a blast...the trip was just as good (if not better) this year! AxMan even attended the training with me so he could get a better grasp on what all I do and need to do to get where I want to be with my Scentsy Family business. :) And of course, we had Katniss & Lorraine this past weekend, so we ventured to the State Fair! I have a deep-rooted passion for 4-H and FFA, so the fair is a MUST in my life. It was fun showing the girls the place that I have explored, showed animals at, and worked as a college student.

Momma sleeping in the car on the way to KC

delicious dinner at Jack Stack BBQ...mmmm

my Grace Adele starter kit!

Toby helping me sticker catalogs and waiting on AxMan to get home :)

my Grace Adele purple Cora bag with May clutch and Zebra contrast wallet

girls helped me make Velata Chocolate Chunk cookies! yum!

Grace Adele display for my team meeting

Grace Adele display for my team meeting

AxMan & mom fixed the bathroom door so it actually closes all the way for the first time in 20+ yrs! (this is when they removed it to fix it)

 mom made some delicious peach cobbler...her 1st ever attempt!

playing around at the State Fair

Katniss & Lorraine liking the big pumpkin

*giggle*

silly girls ;)

we're harboring a wanted person! ha

So Much To Catch Up On

I seriously cannot keep track of time these days...and while I'm loving life to the fullest, it's a little frustrating to wonder where the hours go!?! ha

When I last blogged (nearly 2 weeks ago, yikes!), I had just enjoyed an evening at the county fair with AxMan and the girls. :) That Wednesday, they got up very early and drove me to the airport. I know, I know...insert your awwwwws here! I flew across the country on 2 very annoying plane rides. Do you know how terrible it is to fly when you don't have your headphones/iPod to drown out the noise? Ugh. The next few days were an absolute whirlwind! The Scentsy Family Convention was AWESOME! All the new product reveals, time with friends, great speakers, and lots of giveaway items to bring home. The only true downside was the waiting. I'm not joking. I had to wait every single place I went. 30 minutes in line for a Nathan's hotdog is not my idea of fun. 40 minutes in line for a Pizza Hut personal pan pizza with many still in front of you, so you give up to get ice cream next door for your dinner....not fun. Yeah, that's how it went. haha

Convention arena

 the real Donnie & Marie Osmond performing after a spoof of them!

Heidi & Orville Thompson at Awards Night (company owners)

Colbie Caillat performing at convention! Love her!

I flew back home on Saturday and Jenna picked me up at the airport. We made a dash across town to her apartment so I could get ready for my birthday dinner! Cause you know this girl had to shower after many many hours traveling. Had to be all clean and huggable when AxMan got there! ;)  I managed to get ready in record time...and even had a few minutes to spare as we waited on mom, AxMan, Katniss and Lorraine to arrive.

For my birthday dinner, we met up with a few friends (Nicole, Reid & Mason) at Brewstone in Indianapolis. Yum! I think we pretty much all devoured our meals. After a fairly leisurely paced meal, we packed up and drove to get ice cream at our favorite place - BRICS! MMMMM Noelle met up with us there and lots of laughs ensued as Jenna started looking through the stack of "slang" cards on the table. Too funny. And highly inappropriate for a place that serves so many families. hahaha

Sorry for being a slacker, I didn't take a single picture for my birthday!!

We then said our goodbyes. AxMan, the girls, mom and I ventured home and rolled in a little after midnight. Tiring day, but a fun one! After we got ready for bed the girls thought that since it was officially my 30th birthday, it was time to open cards and a present. So I did. :) Wish I could share the cards with all of you, but they are pretty special so I think I'll just keep them private. Needless to say, I have read the cards EVERY single day since I got them. They are sitting on my dresser and I honestly can't stop smiling when I look at them! Although they should not have gotten me anything at all, there was a gift that I actually planned to buy for myself when I got home from Vegas...a portable charger. The kind for your cell phone, tablet, etc. It's pretty cool! I tested it out Monday and it works pretty well. After hunting down outlets constantly while in Vegas (something about constantly being on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and texting will drain your battery! ha). It was a great gift that I didn't even know I needed before I left for the trip!

This week it seems there has been something every night, even though nothing really amounted to much time. I have been busy making Scentsy deliveries, which of course I love!

Wednesday I also added the third Scentsy brand to my business venture. Have you heard anything about Grace Adele?? I know you have if you're FB friends with me. Sorry for not being sorry! ;)

America's Favorite Past times

This weekend we took part in 3 of what I would consider America's favorite past times (at least in my neck of the woods).

1. Dining out
2. Watching baseball
3. Going to the local county fair

Friday I got my nails shellac'd with French Manicure and my toes purple!

Did some grocery shopping & couldn't resist the Coffee ice cream. It's a favorite of mine...and AxMan!

Saturday morning I prepped my Scentsy Scent of the Month Club mailing!

Dinner at our favorite Japanese Hibachi grill with the family :)

Cincinnati Reds baseball game - AxMan's 1st MLB game!

Took the girls to the county fair for some fun!

Got their faces painted...awwww ;)

And on another note...I leave EARLY Wednesday morning to head to Las Vegas for this year's Scentsy Family Convention! I cannot wait! Will be hard leaving AxMan & the girls for the rest of the week, but I'm looking forward to all the announcements being made at convention! Scentsy Family will be announcing Brand X (the 3rd brand - already have Scentsy & Velata). It is sure to be HUGE!!!

I'll have plenty of updates when I return from Vegas. Don't expect too many sightseeing pictures because I've already done "that" Vegas. haha I fly back on Saturday afternoon just in time to get ready for my birthday dinner in Indy with some family and friends! I'm turning the big 3-0 on Sunday! :)