Tasty Tuesday...... A Few Days Late

It was a crazy week, and I wanted to post a great recipe for Tasty Tuesday, and didn't have the time. So, I'm just a few days late. This recipe I have had for a few years, but finally perfected it around Christmas. A big thanks to my Aunt Joni, who made potato soup on Christmas Eve. She was listing the ingredients in her soup, and it gave me inspiration on how to make this one better. I have had many requests for this recipe, so I figure it's easier to post it and share with everyone. I was craving this all week, since we have been wet and cold. Something about warm soup is comforting on a soggy night. Enjoy!

Baked Potato Soup
4 large baking potatoes
2/3 cup butter
2/3 cup flour
7 cups milk
12 oz bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 bunch green onions, diced
1 tsp chicken bouillon
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp salt
8 oz sour cream
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Additional, cheese, green onions, and bacon to top

Bake potatoes until soft, cool. Scoop out pulp and reserve. In large dutch oven, melt butter, then add flour. Stir constantly until bubbly. Add milk, chicken bouillon and stir for 10 minutes on med heat until thick and bubbly. Add bacon, green onions, and cook for 5 minutes. Add remaining ingredients, and stir until blended. Top with additional ingredients if desired.

Spring Sprint Portland

I was blessed to get to travel to Portland to attend Scentsy's Spring Sprint. I had 4 of my team with me, two of which I had never met before. What an amazing time we had! We saw the new Spring/Summer products, listened to some great training, and took home new products! Really, my favorite part was being with my team. They are the sweetest people, and it was fun to hang out with them for the day. I can't wait for convention in Fort Worth!!

$1 Sweater

I went to a consignment store the other day looking for a sweater for a photo shoot I was doing. I lucked out and found exactly what I was looking for on the $1 rack! I was so excited. Along with it, I found another sweater on the same rack and bought it also. I came home and threw both of them in the wash. I should know better, and SHOULD have read the labels. I guess I just got caught up in the excitement of cheap sweaters.

I pulled the sweaters out of the wash and found they had both shrunk to half of their size. I was so mad a myself! Both labels said that the sweaters were hand wash only. (I never buy things that are hand wash only, I just don't trust myself to remember that). The one "fuzzy" sweater I bought was some sort of rabbit hair? It's so small it will fit Lily now! And all that "fuz" that was once on the sweater, stuck to all the towels that were in that load. For the last few days we have been pulling "fuz" off of ourselves after toweling off after a shower.

So lesson learned, check labels when buying clothes. And it's not a bargain if you shrink the sweaters!

Visit with Grandpa

I stopped by my Grandparent's house today to say hi. Grandpa Stauffer has had cancer for years. He fought the first two go arounds, and now that it has spread to his bones, he doesn't want to go through that again. He was really deteriorating over Christmas, and we really didn't know how much longer he had. This last week, I had heard he went out to a funeral and was getting up and around some. I had to go see this for myself.

When I stopped by today, Grandpa was getting ready for the visiting nurse to stop by for his bath. She showed up not long after me, and brought him back out to the living room in his wheel chair all cleaned up. He looked better than I had seen him in months! I leaned over and told Grandpa that he looked handsome. He gave me a funny look and repeated back what he thought I said, "You bought a bottle of infamil?". Grandma and I just busted out laughing. I repeated what I first had said, and he laughed too. I told him I understood, because I used to be deaf too! Grandpa might be losing his hearing, but he still has the biggest heart around.

Happy Birthday to ME!

My poor husband (literally) always comes home to a big honey do list. This time there were some very pressing things that needed to be done/fixed. The oven had just broken (needed a new heating element) and the pellet stove needed a new igniter. Along with that, we were down to our last bag of pellets, and needed two tons. I had ordered the part for the oven so that it was ready when Dan got home. Ok, so I ordered what I thought was the right part. Dan headed out to get the parts needed and came home with a NEW stove and a NEW dishwasher! Happy Birthday to me! Who knew that a new stove and dishwasher could be so exciting! No more rust stains on my dishes! And my stove heats my tea pot pretty quick. Lily was impressed at how fast I made her hot chocolate! Dan also got the pellet stove fixed, and two tons of pellets in the carport. Pretty impressive!!

Birthday Weekend

I had a great Birthday weekend out at Birch Bay. I had my 5th annual Girls Night on Friday night. My 8 besties came out for a night of giggles. We all look forward to our girl time, all year long! The next night the family came out to the condo to celebrate Drew and my birthdays. I had Nate and Drew that night in my room, and they stayed up late watching movies. What a memorable weekend!

Why I do what I do

My Scentsy story is a good one. It's about timing and changing my life. My girlfriend had been raving about Scentsy for two years before she finally just bought me one as a Christmas gift. I loved it as soon as it warmed up. For a week my house smelled fabulous from one little cube of wax. The scent was Toasted Apple Butter, and to this day, that scent reminds me of why I fell in love with Scentsy. A few weeks later I was invited to a Scentsy party, and was the only one there who had my own Scentsy already. After hearing that I could make a business out of something I love, I signed up. At the time I was going to college full time, so I didn't have time to do parties, but still sold a bit to friends and family. After I graduated that spring, I jumped into my Scentsy business. And that's what it is, MY business. It will grow or fail, depending on ME. And while I have had ups and downs, I know I am in this for the long run.

What I never imagined happening, was growth. I have become more confident in myself as a person. I'm not just a Mom and Wife. I am a business owner. I have gained friendships, and gotten out of my circle of friends. I have gotten to travel and see new places. I get to have coffee with my Scentsy sisters and talk about our passion for this company. These same "sisters" are some of my biggest cheer leaders, and I am theirs.

There is no way I could sell Scentsy if I didn't stand behind the company 100%. What's great is that they stand behind their consultants. They work hard to help us be successful. They busted their tails to make sure everyone had orders in time for Christmas. I had a customer place an order on the 20th of December, and she had her Scentsy on Christmas Eve. Scentsy Rocks!

My financial goals have a purpose. I want to be able to make enough money to get my husband off the tug boats. It's difficult with him being gone as much as he is, and a shore side job would mean so much to our family. When you have a purpose, it's much easier to reach for those goals.

Scentsy just announced a new start up kit. It's the best one yet. For only $99 plus tax and shipping, you get his whole kit! (contents may vary)

Do you have a New Years Goal? What would a couple hundred dollars mean to you every month? Mommy money? A car payment?

Click on the Scentsy logo on the side of the blog and visit my website. Click on Join to learn more. Contact me with any questions!

Oh, and for January, we have Bring Back My Bar. 20 discontinued scents that we voted on to bring back. Guess which one I voted for??? Toasted Apple Butter!  Available this month only, in bar form!

Have a Scentsational Day!!

Tasty Tuesdays!

I made a yummy soup yesterday and am enjoying the leftovers for lunch. It's a healthy soup, loaded with flavor. Hope you enjoy!

Pizza Soup

1/2 lb Italian turkey sausage links, sliced, casings removed
1 zucchini, sliced
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
1 small onion, diced
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 can diced tomatoes
3 cups water
2 tbsp chicken bouillion
1 tbsp Mrs. Dash seasoning
1 tsp dried basil


Brown first five ingredients. Add remaining ingredients and simmer for 15 minutes.