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Unwrap Your Potential, Shine Your Sparkling Color!

Are you ready to unwrap your potential?
Are you ready to work and shine your sparkling colors?

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Original photo by pixabay.com

This afternoon as I am reading and preparing for the coming week, I found a blog post by Michael Hyatt about entrepreneurship and passing wealth building attributes on to the next generation. He has five entrepreneurial minded daughters, so this struck a chord with me. We have three daughters we want prepared for the real world, and we are considering ways for them to think like an entrepreneur, rather than relying on bosses and companies to always be there to support them. We fully support them being full-time wives and mothers first, but we know entrepreneurship will also help them support their families if necessary.


I’ve been one of Lilla Rose’s “Slow Starts.” I did not intend to grow a business initially. We just wanted hair clips at a discount. Dr. P. loved them in our hair, and still does. We slowly realized that there weren’t many consultants in this industry, and we could do fundraisers for our causes and we could add to our family income too, and if nothing came of our mini pursuit, there would be no risk, no loss. I never intended to build a team or pursue promotions with in the company, so for the first eighteen months, I worked only with my children. Our sons have also developed some business savvy in the process of our family working the hobby business.

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What I realize now is that God has been doing a work in me for the last three years. For the second eighteen months of my being in the industry and company and direct sales structure, I have trained, trained, trained while working in learning marketing, branding, and leadership. In order to be a good leader and to mentor other women, including my own daughters, I needed to build a solid foundation in these business skills, as well as to learn live video streaming, the art of making graphics and slideshow videos, sending newsletters, and other great things. stretching and growing in skills I never needed or thought I’d want to possess. We have begun to incorporate many of these real life skills into our homeschooling program.

We still get to do fundraisers, work with hostesses in online Style Boutiques, set up pop shops in assisted living facilities and retirement homes, homeschool co-ops, restaurants, and hair salons. We attend festivals, crafts shows, and networking events. Our children are learning real life skills and entrepreneurship by actually being in the real world, and then helping with marketing skills, tracking inventory, customer care, and business math too.

As Michael Hyatt said in this post, “A slow start offers the time and testing you need to build the right foundation for success.” I feel so encouraged at the work that God has been doing in me in order to have that right foundation. “What feels like a curse is really a huge blessing. Slow starts are to our character what winning can be to our finances. But if we jump for the win without developing the maturity to manage it, we run the risk of losing it all in the end,” also said by Michael Hyatt.


So what do you think?

Are you ready to unwrap your potential?
Are you ready to work and shine your sparkling colors?

Do you wish you had extra money?
Do you want an opportunity that is still ground floor with fewer than 7000 consultants in the country?
Do you need a low start up cost?

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You could give yourself the gift of entrepreneurship!

Is it perfect? Nope.
Is it easy? Nope.
Do we work hard? YES!
Are we having fun? YES!

Are there benefits? You bet! Join Lilla Rose for as little as $50, and receive biz supplies and 5 clips to use for sizing or keep. It’s still ground floor with fewer than 10,000 Stylists in the country, and only 10% of those working the business.

But there is more:

• Free website
• 30-45% Commission–Pay checks for working at home!
• No sponsoring requirements-but additional income if you do
• No monthly quotas- a yearly $30 in product is all
• Flexible work hours
• Team support
• Fun!

Join us!


If you end up being a Slow Start at anything you try, don’t cave to doubts or frustrations, or let anyone downplay your successes. Don’t criticize yourself or talk negatively. Maybe God is doing a work in you too, preparing you for great things. Maybe your life season is not yet right. Attitudes of condemnation are not from the Lord, are not motivating, and are not a method of success. You don’t have to do things the same way or on the same timeline as anyone else in order to be successful either. If you are moving forward, you are moving forward. ♥

“…who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” Esther 4:14

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.” Ecclesiastes 3:1

“He has made everything beautiful in its time.” Ecclesiastes 3:11

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters…” Colossians 3:23

“…acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches every heart and understands every desire and every thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsakehim, he will reject you forever. Consider now, for the Lord has chosen you to build a house as the sanctuary. Be strong and do the work.” 1 Chronicles 28:9-10

Blessings, 

Deb

PS Speaking of Fundraisers for Hannahlee:

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Flip Flop Frenzy!

 

Holiday Plans, Wardrobes, and Photos

Are your holiday plans and outfits coming together? It’s almost time to mail cards and photos to loved ones! This is one holiday tradition for which I adore being being on the receiving end! I love getting photo cards of our family and friends.

I missed sending cards last year, although they were ordered and even in our home! I just ran out of time with some unexpected travel in November,  and some health issues with children, complete with a couple of ER or urgent care runs. While visiting with friends at a large family gathering this summer, I had several loved ones register formal complaints that they missed hearing from our family. I hope not to disappoint again this year!  I should probably get planning, ordering photos, and writing our letter!

I also think sending cards is a tradition that creates some valued memories for families, and documents seasons in families’ lives.

A favorite memory of one family photo session we did was one outside on a red couch, and then out on railroad tracks. We were being really silly and it ended up being so fun during a rough season for our family. It was a happy bonding moment!

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best-photo-memory-ever-2013Another memory is of when our first daughter was three months old. Her three older brothers were in a phase of acting like they were always chasing squirrels, and their behavior was unreliable being that they were all seven years and under. I was especially organized on the photo day that year. The boys were neatly dressed, hair combed, shoes on, and buckled into the van. Alone, the feat of buckling all the kids in the van and loading all the belongings took fifteen minutes. I had Lady L’s outfit on a hanger with a plastic bag over it to protect it, and her first black patent leather shoes, ruffle socks, and soft pink bow hair band were in her diaper bag. We even arrived to the photo session twenty minutes early so I could nurse and dress the baby with time to spare.

As I went to dress the baby, the boys were distracting and being…er…naughty. I couldn’t find the cute little black velour legging pants that went under the denim ruffle tunic. I was getting stressed and panicked as the photographer was now calling our turn. I had been organized and early! How could this happen??

I packed every one up, we retraced our steps looking for where we could have dropped the leggings, and we went back to the van. No velour legging pants. I had a dilemma. Go ahead and take the photo because three out of four fully dressed children is good, only needing to retuck their shirts back in is easy, and we were there.

We were there! On time! Early! Organized!

I didn’t want adequate.

I wanted excellent.

This was my baby girl’s first Christmas! Of course the photo had to be perfect!

I rescheduled the photo shoot and took the kids home for lunch and a nap. I cried the whole way home.

As I walked into our kitchen to make lunch, there, lying on the kitchen floor were the black velour legging pants, sized for 3 month olds.

Later that afternoon, we returned to the Sears photo studio for some really sweet pictures of the pink rosebud and her three cowlicky, but admiring brothers.

I have to admit that it is really fun to look back at a difficult season of adjustment, and see how far we’ve come since then. I wouldn’t trade a moment of the parenting journey.


So what are you doing for the upcoming holidays? Do you take family photos? Do you wear matching outfits and send photo cards to all your friends and family? Do you send a favorite moment from the year?

Do share with your family and friends, however you decide to do it.


If you are looking to coordinate your wardrobe with some beautiful and affordable hair jewelry, I imagine that the new November Lilla Rose releases will delight you! There are several color schemes and the holiday designs are sure to please. There are also some returns of styles from past years if you missed out on them!

Check out this video with the holiday bobby pins, hair bands, hair sticks, and u-pins. Following the video are the new releases of flexi clips and the Flexi of the Month.

Which of these new Limited Releases will be your favorite go to for your outfit?

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November Flexi of the Month,North Star, and its companion bobby pin set Starburst.

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Early release holiday flexi clips-Prancer in brass and nickel, Silver Fir, Emerald Joy, Crimson Joy, Holly Leaf, and the returning JOY clip.

Have a blessed Thanksgiving, friends.

With thankfulness and gratitude,

Deb

After Bulk Food Shopping?

Every Sunday after attending Sunday church services, the next question from the children on Sunday’s drive home is “What is for lunch today?” I have been doing a childcare job on Fridays that has left me sapped of energy. Often I have craft/vendor shows on Saturday, and when we get home from those, Lady L and I review our inventory and consider together our restocking order. Sunday lunch and dinner is an after thought more often than not, and I’m dead dog tired.

But, after bulk food shopping, walking the Amish community, canoeing a few miles down the St. Joseph River, making a decision that brings peace, and getting true days of rest, when they asked what was for lunch, I had answers. I had a plan and a menu ready to be prepared.

Bulk cooking and freezer meals are often my solution for busy weeks of homeschooling, networking, craft/vendor events, and for dealing with a husband and two sons whose work schedules are inconsistent and often inconvenient. We still manage to eat dinner mostly together almost every night, even if dinner is at 8 pm. Meal planning allows us maximum flexibility with our schedule, we can cook together, and doesn’t leave us stressed and scrambling for meals.

Because we had purchased our favorite Amish cheddar cheese, everyone was excited for homemade macaroni and cheese with steamed broccoli on Sunday afternoon.  While it was baking, I whipped up Monday and Wednesday’s nights dinners in a 16 quart pot with the following family favorite soup recipe.  There was even some left over for lunches or the freezer for a night when there are fewer of us home for dinner.


Sausage, Bean, Sweet Potato, Kale Soup

10 cups homemade chicken broth

1 large diced onion

 Fresh minced garlic to taste

2 lbs of Amish sweet Italian sausage diced

3 large peeled, diced sweet potatoes

2 tsp. sea salt

2 tsp. black pepper

1 tsp. chopped, dried rosemary

1 tsp. sage

1 tsp. thyme leaves

2 cups dried cannellini beans, cooked

32 oz fresh or frozen chopped kale (I prefer frozen)

Place all in a 16 qt pot, add water to about an inch from the top of the pot. Bring to a boil, and then simmer until all vegetables are soft.  Add white wine to taste–I used 2 cups. Cook for about 20 minutes more. Serve with homemade whole grain bread.

On Monday afternoon, I baked fresh ground whole wheat bread, which we ate fresh from the oven with our soup and with Amish butter. Delicious!

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Ten loaves of fresh ground whole wheat bread fresh out of the oven…well…nine of loaves of bread because one is almost all eaten.


I prepared two meals worth of the topping for Stuffed Sweet Potatoes using a recipe from Against All Grain. This is another family favorite. (I baked the sweet potatoes on the nights we ate those, and just reheated the topping mixture.)

And, I prepared two meals of Spaghetti Squash lasagna, inspired during a Mattawan Business Association and community farmer’s market end of season dinner. The squash was from a local farmer.


Spaghetti Squash Lasagna

3 large spaghetti squash halved, seeded, and baked til soft. Scrape the meat of the squash into spaghetti strings and add to a large bowl. Add 15 oz skim ricotta cheese, 12 oz small curd low fat cottage cheese, two eggs, and parsley. Stir til well mixed. Divide into two 15×12 pans. Spoon homemade spaghetti sauce with turkey burger over squash and cheese mixture. Top with Parmesan and Mozzarella cheeses. Bake at 350° for about an hour or until cheese is melted and golden brown. Each pan serves 6-8.


While all that was simmering, baking, or we were eating, I had 4 cups of black beans simmering in the crock pot for another family favorite of Black Beans and Lime Cilantro Rice. This reheats and freezes well. It’s also a great leftover for the nights hubby or sons are working late and need to take a meal with them.


Crock Pot Black Beans and Cilantro Lime Rice

My own adaptations from recipe found on Our Everyday Dinners.

32 oz dry black beans

8 cups homemade/concentrated chicken broth

8 cups water

1 whole large onion diced

1 large scoop of jarred garlic (we use a serving spoon heaping)

Salt and pepper—large pinch of each

Put all in 7 qt crockpot on high for 4-6 hours or low 8+ hours. Stir often and add water as needed til tender. Then add

1 7 oz can green chilies

1 28-32 oz can diced tomatoes

2 tablespoons white vinegar

4 tablespoons brown sugar

2 teaspoons cayenne pepper

2 teaspoons cumin

Stir and heat til hot and bubbly. Serve over cilantro lime brown rice, and top as desired with avocado, sour cream (we actually used Greek yogurt), or salsa.

Cilantro Lime Rice

Prepare 6 cups of brown rice in a rice cooker according to rice cooker instructions. Mix with dried cilantro to taste (I used about 2-3 palm fulls) and ~8 TBL lime juice. YUM!


This week, having not prepared as well on Sunday, I’ve found myself scrambling just a little bit. I do have a meal plan, but it’s not all prepared in advance. This has caused just a wee bit of stress or later night eating. I plan to remedy this as part of my weekly goal setting routine, as I prefer last week’s meal planning plan far better!

Tonight, though, having made some more homemade chicken broth on Monday night, we get to eat leftover homemade potato chowder topped with some of that amazing Amish cheddar cheese, and whatever bread is left!

Blessings, 

Deb

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The Lilla Rose October customer special ends in just 11 days!

Just 10 days until 2016 MACC begins, and we try to raise $1000 by December 31, 2016 for Hannahlee! 

 

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