Mary Kay

Don't click away yet! I'm not trying to sell you anything! I went to a Mary Kay party for the first time tonight and it was a nice little get together with some girls. I didn't buy anything but their products are very nice.

What I want to know from you, is do you do any at-home-party-planning type businesses? Anything that is basically multi-level marketing like Amway, Mary Kay, Shaklee, ItWorks, Signature Homestyles, Thirty-One Gifts, Slumber Parties, etc? Was it difficult to get started? What advice would you give to someone thinking about starting one of these businesses?

I've known people that have done all of these. My mom did Signature Homestyles for almost 20 years and she loved it! She was even with them through 3 different company names. My mother-in-law has done Shaklee and currently is fairly active with ItWorks. I've never really felt drawn to do any of these, even if I really like their products. The only one I've considered is Young Living Essential Oils. I love their products and really do see results with them. I'm sure at some point I'll do a blog with some essential oils testimonials. They've saved my dogs lives!  Even though I love their products enough to back them 100%, I still don't think I've got the personality to host parties and sell, sell sell! If you've done one or any of these, give me some feedback! I'd love to hear some real examples of what does and doesn't work!

On a cooking note, I've been using up the same basic soup mix for about a week now and it keeps tasting better and better! I started with a Leonard Mountain soup mix that I bought at a Richmond craft show last year. I bought them because they were "just add water" soups and I was just so giddy with my wedding getting closer and the thought of being a wife was too exciting! We were just about to sign  the lease for our townhouse when I went to the craft show so I wanted to buy some "big kid" food to make when we got married! Their soups are so delicious and easy to make. Crockpot or on the stove! Want it a little heartier? Add a can of chicken! Want more fresh veggies? Toss in a bag of frozen ones! Want it thicker? Add a "cream of" something soup! The simple possibilities are endless...I love it!

Last week we made the last one in the pantry, Hunky Chunky Veggie Stew. It looked a little thin to me, and my husband prefers thicker, heartier soups, so I tossed in some zucchini fusilli pasta, then half a bag of mixed veggies, some parmesan, a can of chicken and voila! There was so much we didn't know what to do with it all! It was delicious but it just kept growing! A couple days later I got out some of the leftovers, reheated it on the stove and preceded to add milk and water, colby jack cheese, and some salt and pepper. Still tasted great! And today I reheated just a bowl for me and added some cheddar cheese on top. As you can see, cheese seems to be a recurring theme here! We've still got a Pyrex bowl full of the soup/stew/casserole concoction but we're leaving tomorrow evening for the Outer Banks, North Carolina so I'm deciding between freezing the leftovers or just trying one last hoorah with the soup!

Or, just tossing it. Guess we'll see!

Till next time,
Catherine