My Sweet Izzy

There’s been a dark cloud hanging over our home these past few days and a heaviness in our hearts that makes it so hard to get back to our routine. Our precious Izzy, has passed away suddenly. We adopted Izzy and her sister Bella. They were rescued from a house that was starving them so that they could be used as bait for a Pit Bull fighting ring! She never could gain weight but was so loving and sweet to us. She was my little Spider Monkey. On the afternoon sometime on Friday I let Izzy and Bella out to relieve themselves and they found a poisoned rat or gopher and ingested part of it. Enough to make Izzy and Bella very ill. By the morning, Izzy had lost so much blood from the poison eating the lining of her small belly. Jay rushed her into the hospital and came home without her. She crashed and died in the Vet’s office.

We worked so hard on Saturday, Sunday and Monday to complete a safe place for our dogs to go to the bathroom without the threat of poison in their special place. We call it, “Izzy Park.”

Our hearts are so broken right now, especially mine because Izzy and I were well bonded. I still call for her and realize she’s gone. Bella is doing 100% better healthwise however, she misses Izzy too. I’m trying so hard to grow close to Bella for she is the link to Izzy. Together, perhaps we can grieve and grow closer and that can be some comfort to me.

We love you my sweet Izzy and miss you more than your little canine heart can imagine. If you can understand that.

Scentsational Start Level 1

WOOHOO!!!!

WOW, I’m so happy! Last night I got word that I completed the Scentsational Start Level 1! What does this mean? It means, I sold the PRV I needed within my first 70 days of being a consultant with Scentsy! I don’t have much time to type my novels but today I had to take time and say how blessed I feel that the women I’ve met and my family and friends support me so much and I couldn’t have gotten here with them!

I know now, I’m not just “that” housewife. “That” mom. “That” homeschooler. I can make goals for MYSELF and show my kids that I can see it through! I feel alittle taller today. YAY ME!

Scentsational!

Well, so much has happened since my last post! We PCS’d (moved to another base), my kids are into sports AND I became an Independent Scentsy Consultant. For those of you that don’t know what Scentsy is; I’ll give a brief and insightful description. It’s a safer and healthier way to add fragrance to your home with flair! If you’re still “burning” those jar candles, you might want to pay close attention! They aren’t safe. I’ve done some research before I decided to sell this product to find that I was putting toxins in the air for the people that I love the most in this world! The wick contains Lead! We all know the affects of lead. If you love your jar candles I can almost bet you’re spending too much a year on them!

Price Comparison for One Year of Fragrance

Scentsy~ Candle Warmer is $30 + 12 Scentsy bars =$80 (1 bar per month or longer! Scentsy bars melt an average of 60 to 80 hours.

Popular Candle Competitor~Jar Candle $18.95 (16oz) X 12 = $227.40 (1 jar candle per month. Candles burn an average 60 to 80 hours)

JAR CANDLE $227.40 – SCENTSY $80 = $147.40 SCENTSY SAVINGS!!!

AND YOU STILL HAVE YOUR BEAUTIFUL WARMER.

 NO UGLY, SOOTY JAR TO THROW OUT!

The wickless concept was born when two stay at home mommies began selling decorative warmers designed to melt scented wax without the wick and flame! Heidi and Orville Thompson saw this brilliant product and purchased it. In just seven years, Scentsy has generated more than $700 million in revenue. It’s not sold in stores but is available on websites across the country, even the UK and Canada! You can also purchase by hosting or attending a home party. Those are the best! Grown up Girl bonding time! Or guys meeting in a man cave admiring how their buddy can keep his cave smelling nice! At least my husband’s man cave smells nice!

The concept is simple. You have the warmer, the fragrant wax melts in a dish that sits atop a 15, 20 or 25 watt bulb. The heat melts the wax to a comfortable 125 degree temp. If your child, grandchild or pet happens to touch it, they won’t be harmed! The wax is made of food grade paraffin wax to lock in the richness and clarity of the scent!

I do online parties all over the US. You’d be amazed at how technology can bring us all together! I travel around the state of California to serve you as well as I host a monthly open house. Fundraisers are easy and free to you! The hostess rewards are super generous! Every party I have given, the hostess receives at least 2 warmers! Even if you don’t like to do parties but love the product it’s so worth it when I tally up our sales and give you the call to pick out the things you want FREE and what you would like at half price!

I’m so passionate about this new venture because it’s a product I truly believe in. A product I feel my dear family and friends can really enjoy. If you’re a stay at home mommy that wants to have that “Grown up Girl” Bonding time, join my team today! I won’t abandon you once your kit arrives. Your success is my success so I’m willing to accompany you to your first parties and help guide you to be a successful Scentsy Consultant. Who doesn’t want their home to smell beautiful? So, together lets reach as many as we can!

If you don’t want to sell by just want to be my client, I’d love to be your consultant. I have a full inventory of scents and warmers! If I don’t have it in stock, ordering only takes a week and a day or two.

Live wickless too! It just makes perfect scents!

Robin Hight

June Warmer of the Month~Star Spangled Banner

www.tweethearts4.scentsy.us

Chicken Tortilla Soup!

This soup is easy and super tasty! I wish I had taken a picture. This soup fed my family of 4; 3 Times! Estimated serving size is about 8 servings. It’s hearty and filling. I got this recipe from a friend of mine. I hadn’t tried it until last week and now that I have, its one we’ll be eating more of! I had to share it with you!

Ingredients

3 cloves of garlic, minced or use equivalent garlic powder~Just as  good!

1/2 medium onion, chopped~recipe calls for 1 whole onion but Jay and the kids aren’t into onions like me, so 1/2 was a happy medium

3 Tbsp margarine or butter

2 Tbsp all purpose flour

3 (14 ounce) cans chicken broth

4 cups half and half

1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup

1 cup fresh salsa

6 boneless, chicken breast halves, cooked and skinned~ I chopped and shredded my chicken.

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 package of dry fajita seasoning

3 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro

16 ounces tortilla chips

8 ounces shredded Monterey Jack Cheese

Directions

1. In a large pot over medium heat, saute the garlic and onion in the butter or margarine for 5 minutes. Add flour and stir well, cooking for 1 minute more. Add the broth and half and half. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to low.

2. Add the soup, salsa, chicken, cumin, fajita seasoning and 2 tbsps cilantro. Stir and continue to heat for 15 minutes. Crumble tortilla chips into individual bowls, add a few lumped pinches of shredded cheese to each bowl and ladle in soup. Top each bowl with more crumbled chips, cheese and remaining 1 tbsp cilantro (if desired) and serve.

DELICIOUS!

Slow Cooker Cowboy Beans

Here is a recipe that I truly enjoy making early in winter mornings and let it cook all day! What a treat it is by supper time!

Yummy!

Ingredients

2 lbs Ground Beef

2 (16oz) can Kidney Beans, rinsed and drained

2 (14.5oz) cans diced tomatoes undrained

1 (8oz) can tomato sauce

1/2 medium Onion, chopped

1 Green bell pepper, chopped

2 gloves garlic, minced or 1/4 tsp garlic powder to save time.

2 Tbsp Chili powder

2 Tsp salt

1 Tsp pepper

1 Cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions

In a skillet cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Transfer to a slow cooker. Add the next nine ingredients. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours or on high for 4 hours. Garnish individual servings with cheese if desired.

My glimpse of a day in the life of my Marine

Well, I honestly ‘thought’ I knew what Jay did. It’s one thing to hear about it, read about it and maybe even see it on TV. But it’s a totally different thing to actually experience alittle of it.

I signed up to do a L.I.N.K.S Cax training session. LINKS stands for Lifestyle, Insight, Networking, Knowledge Support. I thought, all of us ladies would be sitting around listening to Marines talking “to” us, ‘showing’ us the way. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!! NOT even close to it! We began our day with morning colors at 7:30am. The Marine Corps Band played for us, I got to see a promotion done by the Brig. General Gurganis. I felt so proud to be a part of all of it! Then we headed down to Victory Field, where the real fun would begin!

I actually put on a flak jacket, Jay’s kevlar (combat helmet) and was told to ‘jump’ in the 7ton truck! Marines assisted us in getting into these vehicles. We rode to an AAV (Amphibious Assault Vehicle) that was awaiting our arrival. Before boarding, they handed out earplugs and trash bags. I thought, it’s like going on an airplane! Are we getting drinks and a snack? HAHA Not likely. The earplugs were because of the noise, the trashbag just in case someone got sick! OMG~SICK? Why would anyone get sick? Aren’t we just going around the block? They sealed us up with safety instructions.  We sat in a non-air conditioned AAV and went out for a wild ride. He was doing donuts, and moving quickly. I am sure the marines had a really great chuckle to hear us wives, screaming and screeching with ever bump and turn! When we finally came to a hault, we dusted ourselves off. They had us in the sand. Again we loaded back into the 7ton and headed back to Victory Field.

Some of you may not know this, but I am afraid of heights! So, as we were getting off of these trucks, they said Ma’am just jump. ME! Just jump? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Were they crazy? Wait, they were Marines, of course they were finatical! They tried not to laugh at me as I was the last one to get off of the truck. I sat at the edge, saying ‘I can’t just jump” I just can’t. Is there a step stool? They tried to hide their laughter. Then they gave a glance and said, “ma’am just stand on the ledge and we’ll take care of the rest” Before I could say anything, I was flying through the air, graceful without fear! The marines had a hold of my elbow and forearms and hoisted me up and brought me back down to earth! They said “you see, you were like a ballerina in swan lake” Now that I can sit back and think about it, it’s embarrassing!!! I should have just closed my eyes and leeped. They were there to catch me. But, I panicked!

The coordinator of the program called me earlier during the week and asked me if I could bring Jay’s kevlar and to not worry about lunch because that was going to be provided for us. WOW! How nice! When we finally broke from the activities to have lunch, they had us meet back at the Village Center. My newfound friend Brenda and I took a few snacks, but we weren’t prepared to hear lunch was an MRE! Meal ready to eat! OMG, for real? I thought in my head. They passed them out to us, I felt like a preschooler trying to open a lunchable! I couldn’t get the damn thing open. No wonder Jay comes home so thin from the field and deployment. He can’t get the stinkin’ pouches to open! So scissors were passed around. I got my Chicken fajita “filling” opened. Smelled ok, but tasted like starch and I could just feel the carbs settling in. The tortillas were like eating paper. I reached for the fig newtons I grabbed from the snack table and devoured those and my water. They were horrible!

The end of my day ended with a graduation cake and certificate of completion at 4:45pm. Put that aside, I also came back with a deeper appreciation of what our Marines do everyday here and overseas. Loading up on trucks and AAV’s isn’t so bad, but try doing it many times a day, day after day when you are a grunt. Riding in an enclosed AAV with no A/C and no windows to know where the heck you are headed. To eat a meal in a box 3 times a day. Homecooked meals are a dream to our men. I am so proud to be the wife of a Marine. I have one of the few good men. Semper Fi.

My Many Hats

When I was a little girl, I used to dream about what I wanted to be. There were so many professions that interested me. I now look back at every interest and I find something amazing in my revelation.

I wanted to be a nun! – So that I could be pure and honest.

I wanted to be a hairdresser – So that I could help people be beautiful.

I wanted to be a nurse – So that I could care for the sick.

I wanted to be an accountant – So that I could be good with money.

I wanted to be a lawyer – So that I could defend those in need.

I wanted to be a Fashion Merchandiser – So that I could be a buyer of Children’s clothing for a big company.

I wanted to be a nail technician – So that I could sit and talk with ladies and make a living sharing my talent.

I wanted to be a mom after watching the joy in my mom’s eyes when she looked at us.

What I’ve learned is I’ve never earned a degree or certificate in any of these fields from an accredited college. I hold invisible credentials from “God’s Good Graces University” I don’t owe student loans. Because all he ever asked of me was to have faith in him.

I’m not the nun because, well, we know I’m not pure anymore. But I am honest. He made me a hairdresser because he knew I’d need the skill to brush my daughter’s hair. He made me a nurse because he knew I’d be up long hour shifts comforting my babies. Taking temperatures, administering medicines, alcohol rubs and the stomach to handle being pooped on and thrown up on. He made me an accountant so that when Jay and I fell on hard times I would know how to make our money stretch. He made me that lawyer so that I could stand up and defend my children when they needed me. He even gave me a special commendation as the Fashion Buyer for my family! The nail technician, so that I could sit with my daughter and have girl time and learn how to be a good listener. He gave me the gift of loving parents to show me I could someday have a family like that.

All that he gave to me I never realized when people say “God works in mysterious ways” that it would apply to me in such a poetic and loving way.

I thank God for my many unanswered prayers. Of anyone on this earth he knows me best and he’s known exactly what was in store for me.

I remember once wondering if I had lost my sense of “self”. If I’d ever feel like I missed out by not persuing these interests. Now I see, I am doing alittle of everything. I may not be getting paid the big bucks. But don’t they say a career should be rewarding? My rewards are being able to do all of these things everyday and know I made a difference in the lives of the people I love.

At the end of the day, I may be exhausted but as I lay my head down and I can still hear the giggles from down the hall, it’s all worth it.

I’m so blessed with so much more than I deserve.

Something small to start out with….

Months ago when I found out Jay was deploying I said “oh yeah, I can be strong, independent and sure I can do this”

Words of someone ready to take on the world! But then I thought, let’s start with something small. Like…..a lamp that is over 30 years old that used to be mine when I was a little girl. My dad gave it to me for Holly. The plug was really old and I didn’t trust it. So, the other day, I bought a lamp kit. The plug, socket and all the hardware for it. I mean how hard can it be? Take one thing out and replace it the same way you took it out. Again in the background I could hear “I am woman hear me roar” as I was taking it all apart. The kids watching me as I looked as though I knew what I was doing. As I took the new plug out of the packaging and read the words “Neutral Conductor” ERRRRRRRRRDT! Now a panicked look on my face and the kids say “what is it momma?” Ummm nothing GO PLAY! I thought What the HECK is that? It didn’t even explain where to find this thing. Now in the background I am hearing “YOU are woman, step away from the contraption and let Jay roar”  Ok, well perhaps I can find it on DIY website. And I DID! After an hour of searching. I made the underwriters knot and attached the grounding wire and hot wire as indicated. I called the kids back in the room and said, Ok, I have highlighted on my cell phone the base 9-1-1. If I plug this in and I jerk and fall on the ground, I was electrocuted and please press this button 2 times and tell them what happened. Don’t touch me or come near the lamp! They sat there with the phone watching as I tested to see if I did it correctly. I plugged the lamp in, and pushed the switch and we had light! I must have done it right!

My next project, replacing the screen that Molly chewed up! That will be safer!

Jay called me tonight! Around midnight. It was his lunchtime! We only had 20 minutes. It was strange, we haven’t talked in days and I have pages in my journal of whats going on with the kids and me but none of it seemed to come up. All I could do was listen to his voice, tell him I loved him. I was so excited and by the end of our conversation a burst of energy because we had made a connection once again. He asked me how I was doing and I didn’t want him to know how depressed or saddened the kids and I have been, I told him we’ve been doing good. The truth of it was, and I can quote a song by saying, I haven’t been all that good. But I am strong because of my wonderful kids. But it only hurts when I’m breathing. Basically describes what this feels like. But I know our countdown just keeps going. The clock isn’t stopping! Thank God!

Stay tuned for more adventures I have planned for myself. Nothing else dangerous I don’t think.