My Norwex Kit came!

So I signed up on Monday - and my kit came TUESDAY!

It shipped from Ft. Worth, which is 45 minutes from my house- Love that!

I've joined several other direct marketing companies - what can I say? I'm a sucker for a good deal with the kit.  I have the best of intentions to make an actual go out of the businesses, but you can only ask your friends and family so many times to buy something you are selling.

I joined Norwex for the kit. Period. End of Story.

Norwex has done a great job of having the right product and a FANTASTIC job with the materials to start your business off right.  There are 3 - yes THREE - envelopes to help you succeed.  I glanced at them yesterday - and if I knew nothing about the products I would feel comfortable introducing others to these products. Other direct marketing companies want you to have phone calls and watch video demonstrations - Norwex does want that - but if you as a consultant don't want that, then the kit has it all!

I gave my dad one of the Enviro Cloths out of the kit for him to try at home.

This four and a half minute video about the Enviro Cloth demonstrates how to use it to remove greasy grime from a surface.  She uses butter on a window.

I'm excited to try the body cloths next!

Hello? Is anyone out there?

This is just not a blog I keep up with.  Should I start another one?
Do people still read blogs? Post a comment about your favorite blog and I'll do a giveaway when I reach 30 comments!

So while I'm thinking about what to write for this blog post, I'm thinking about baking a banana bread in my Instant Pot too.  It only takes 5-10 minutes (depending on distractions) to mix the ingredients - and then 55 minutes to cook with with a natural pressure release (NPR or NR - in Instant Pot Terms). Yes... It might take a few more minutes than using the oven, BUT..... I don't have to worry about the oven being on if I need to leave the house. Or even have the hot oven going with it will reach 100 today in Texas!

.....I made this recipe on Sunday with Truvia instead of Sugar.  It tasted pretty good.  Today I used sugar - but only a cup vs. the 1.5 cups in the recipe. Banana Bread for the win.....

Thank you to Facebook's Instant Pot Community for all of the awesome ideas to use with my Instant Pot!


I know I search my friend Dr./Mr./Ms. Google for information.  There are many blogs I read - and will post to Pinterest. Some I go back and read for the directions or information I pinned. Others I just leave in the bottomless pit of Pinterest.

Oh Pinterest - you are so wonderful.  I can always find what I am looking for when I check with you. And then I get lost in your vast array of information. I know I need to clean up my boards.  My kids are 9 and 12 now - so the toddler boards can be passed on to someone else. I know I posted a Dr. Seuss quote and it has been pinned 7.9 THOUSAND times.  That is crazy! Time to focus on the environment people!

To help clean up the environment, I decided to join Norwex.  I am excited to use products where I don't have to be spraying cleaners and bleach which aren't good for the environment. Here is a link to my first party if you are interested in ordering anything.  I'm excited for the Veggie & Fruit Scrub Cloth and the Enviro Cloth.  I saw a post where a woman used yellow Enviro Cloths for her bathroom.  Keep all of the same color together so you aren't cleaning the kitchen sink with the cloth for the toilet! Send me a message if you have questions. I'm new to the game - but this company has been around for a while in Europe.
http://deannakoenigsberg.norwex.biz/en_US/customer/party/2376074

Boba Tea

I have discovered Boba Tea (also known as Bubble Tea). I like the black tea flavored with peach and the boba. 

Bubble tea is a Taiwanese tea-based drink invented in Taichung in the 1980s. Most bubble tea recipes contain a tea base mixed/shaken with fruit or milk, to which chewy tapioca balls or fruit jellies are often added. (Wikipedia)

Since each cup costs around $4, I decided to try to make the boba myself.

I bought a bag of dried tapioca pearls at an Asian grocery store for just under $3.

Then I simply followed the directions on the bag. (After tasting a few I think I might boil them for a bit longer.)

I used 4 cups of water and 2/3 cup of boba. 

This boiled for about 10 minutes.

This is what the pan looked like after boiling 10 minutes, simmering 20 minutes, and sitting covered for 25 minutes.

I drained the water, but the boba wanted to stay in the pot. So I rinsed them a few times with cold water.

This is what the boba looked like after being rinced and drained.

I put the drained boba in a mason jar with  honey and sugar. I didn't measure either. 

After sitting for a few hours, the boba appeared to be sitting in liquid again.

The boba tasted like sugared honey chewy gummy balls.

I'll put some in my iced tea tomorrow and see how it compares to my $4 cup of tea!

Thieves Essential Oil

One of the most popular herbal legends is the Legend of the Four Thieves. This story has everything a good old fashioned mystery needs–expensive jewels, thieves, and a little bit of trickery that leaves everyone wondering how they pulled it off until the end. Like any good tall tale, it’s mythical but set during actual historical events, so the story changes to become more dramatic or relevant when necessary.

While the legend changes as much as the formula for this historic blend, the gist of the story is this: During the plagues (enter your favorite plague here, the Black Plague is most common), a group of four brothers began robbing the dead. At first, they were largely ignored, as everyone knew they would eventually pay the price by catching the plague themselves but, to everyone’s surprise, they managed to avoid catching the plague and continued robbing graves, amassing a great deal of wealth. They became legendary and everyone wanted to know how they managed to avoid getting sick. Was it trickery? Magic? What secret did they possess.

Years later, when they were finally captured, they were asked for their secret during questioning. After much debating, they agreed to share their secret in return for their pardon. This offer was accepted and the secret is now out. These men were the offspring of a perfumer and herbalist. They learned about essential oils from their parents during their childhood. They knew these oils would protect them so they rubbed them on their bodies and used them to clean anything they brought back. 

I order my Thieves blend from Young Living.

I have used it through the winter season in a diffuser for my family.  Along with the Flu Shot, we have not had any illnesses other than a basic cold.

You can order Thieves individually or you can sign up to be an Independent Distributor.

Order your Thieves here.

Essential Oil, Laundry Soap, Dish Soap, Toothpaste

Hello from being gone for so long.

I'm catching up on my blog posting.  Usually I post here when I have been giving a product to review. I'm trying to do a better job of posting and reviewing.

I have been reading too many Adult Romance novels lately.  My laundry is piling up around the house.  I suppose I need to get caught up with that too.  I haven't turned to buying new clothes instead of washing the ones I have yet.  I did that in college.  Sometimes it was just easier to buy a new outfit than go to the laundry mat for 2 hours.

Last weekend I went to Houston, Texas to visit a sorority sister who is having twins.  I'm super excited for her.  I made baby quilts for the babies.  When I am not reading on my Kindle, I'm working on my some quilts.

Here is a link to the pattern I made for my friend:
Jelly Roll Baby Quilt


This is the Baby Girl quilt - 36 x 36.

Here are the Baby Boy and Baby Girl quilt next to each other.

I used the Moda Dot-Dot-Dash jelly roll that I bought from my local quilt shop.
I can find it for less money online, but I like to support local businesses.

Two more baby quilts are in the works for relatives.

That's all for now!

Dessert Tonight... yum!

The family wanted dessert tonight.

My husband said he wanted apple pie.
Well, I was not going to make that tonight.

..... But wait.  I did have apple pie filling in the pantry. AND I did have crescent rolls.
So I knew I could come up with something thanks to the internet and Pinterest.

http://www.messforless.net/apple-pie-muffins-using-crescent-rolls/

Her directions call for using 4 of the 6 muffin tins - I opened a second container of crescent rolls so I could fill all 6 tins.  I also skipped the topping.  Just too tired to add it.

So 2 ingredient apple pie.

I baked the crescent rolls for about 5 minutes before adding the pie filling.  I think it helped get the bottom of the dough cooked without the apples mushing it.

Essential Oils

I joined Young Living about a year ago. I bough their starter pack which included a diffuser and 10 different oils. My two favorites are Thieves and Stress Away.

Inspired by the legend of four 15th-century French thieves who formulated a special aromatic combination composed of clove, rosemary, and other botanicals used while robbing the dead and dying, Thieves is one of Young Living’s most popular products.

I do have to say that using Thieves in my difusser last winter kept my family from coming down with the flu! (Along with the flu shot)

And surprisingly when I use Stress Away in the diffuser my family was much calmer. I did not tell them what was going on. Or what Essential Oils I had put in the diffuser.

Here is my link if you are interested in buying anything.

https://www.youngliving.org/deannanb