Yummy Butternut Squash Soup

Delicious! Butternut Squash Soup
In fact, I may need to make a batch because looking at this picture of this soup is making me HUNGRY.  

This is by far the best Butternut Squash Soup that I have made. Yummy!

This recipe is a compilation of different recipes and tweaking it with a few yummy additions. 

The secret ingredients are:
Tabasco
Bragg's Amino Acid Seasoning (just a little!)

Here are the steps:

Cook one Butternut Squash in the oven at 350 for 45 minutes.
Just poke the squash with a fork and cook on a cookie sheet (I prefer my Pampered Chef one, as it cooks so well)
I prefer to cook the squash hole and then it is easy to cut in half and pull out all the seeds after it has cooked.

The rest of the ingredients I improvised so here is my best accounting for all of those: 

Saute 1/2 red onion (diced) in olive oil plus 2-3 minced cloves garlic
Saute the onion, olive oil and garlic until soft.
Salt with Himalayan Salt
Add one can chickpeas (drained).
Saute the onions, garlic and chickpeas for 5 minutes

Add 32 ounces of organic chicken broth
Add one cup of quinoa and cook in the broth for 20 minutes.
Season as desired:
I used Tabasco
Wildtree Cajun Mix
Wildtree Fajita Seasoning
Himalayan Salt
Bragg's Amino Acid Seasoning (a tiny bit)

Allow the Butternut Squash to cool for ten minutes and then cut in half, discard the seeds and scrape out all the goodness. Put the Squash in a bowl and add about 1/4 cup of organic peanut butter. Using a potato masher, puree the butternut squash and the peanut butter. Slowly add the squash and peanut butter to the soup, heat and serve.

Yum!

When you try it, let me know if you enjoy it: 

Copyright 2015: all rights reserved. If you copy and share this post, you must include all information posted here through the full disclaimer (below).

Thank you for "liking" my business page to stay in touch: www.Facebook.com/LemongrassJill
Enjoy perusing my online catalog of healthy head to toe necessities here if you want to learn more about our line: www.OurLemongrassSpa.com/Jill

Disclaimer: this blog post is not to be interpreted or used as medical advice or expertise. I am highlighting or sharing my personal experience in this blog so please know that individual results may vary or differ.

Cyber Week Specials and Blessing Parents at the Ronald McDonald House

Thank you for reading this:

Thank you for considering my business to support this BUSY shopping season, as my Lemongrass Spa business supports my wonderful family. 

 Please keep reading to see how your order can make an impact for the parents at the Ronald McDonald House this Christmas; thank you so much. (Cyber specials are featured at the bottom of this blog post!)

Are your hands beginning to hurt from the change in weather? Well, you may be happy to learn about our Healing Elements Special that begins on 11.25.15 and please don't let your lips dry out this season and become painful.  Keep those lips beautifully kiss-able with our Organic Lip Glosses!  

We have some incredible Cyber Week specials that will help you to share hand-crafted necessities with your entire friends and family list. Allow me to take the shopping stress off your shoulders with Lemongrass Spa Products!   Don't forget those Secret Santa needs as well as Holiday Hostess gifts, co-workers and gifts for anyone else who would feel loved with a hand-crafted spa necessity. If you need suggestions, feel free to reach me here: LemongrassJill@Gmail.com  

To have your order BLESS the parents at the Ronald McDonald House this Season, please use this link:

www.OurLemongrassSpa.com/Jill

click: Shop Online

select:  Ronald McDonald House Fundraiser

The Ronald McDonald House order will be submitted on 11.30.2015 by 6:00 pm MT. (see photos at the bottom)

Black Friday Specials begin Wednesday, November 25th at 

9 am MT/ 11 am ET and end Tuesday, December 1st at 9 am MT/ 11 am ET. I recommend you order by 11/30 because that is a 9 AM (morning) expiration time for the specials. 

Drum Roll:  Here are our Cyber Week Specials: 

2 oz. Healing Elements is our #1 Top Seller and on Special: 

Our top-selling Healing Elements Balm in a Two Ounce Jar, item code A0814, is on special for only $8, save $5!  (normally 13.00) This is an amazing combination of oils for ultimate healing; every family needs this multi-use natural salve. Limit 4 jars per customer.
Enjoy the Healing Elements Balm on:  dry winter hands, chapped noses from colds, cold sores, pimples, as an under-eye creme, as a night facial creme, to soothe burns on skin.  Some customers have also found relief from eczema, psoriasis and even radiation burns from cancer treatments. Results do vary person to person, but I thought you might enjoy hearing how customers have used and loved our Healing Elements Balm.  Don't forget to use it on those babies!  This works wonders on diaper rash, red cheeks and even on cradle cap.  



Optional Bonus Buy with your purchase: 

We will be offering a Bonus Buy option during the Black Friday sale! With every $59 in qualified* orders, purchase your choice of a 1 oz. bottle of our Prebiotic Facial Wash, item code X5680, OR Black Zippered Cosmetic Bag, item code J7911, for only $2.
*A qualifying $59 order does not include quantity-discounted items such as 3 body polishes for $42.



Pick 3 Lip Gloss Pack: Keep those LIPS moisturized:

Choose 3 of your favorite Organic Lip Gloss shades for only $35, save $4. These satiny lip glosses contain a healthy infusion of pure minerals, cocoa butter and vitamin E to hydrate and protect, finished with the sweet scent of natural vanilla to make lips even more kissable under the mistletoe. Item code J8299. 
My testimonial:  "These are AMAZING at moisturizing. I have personally been using our Lip Gloss at night time to moisturize my lips all night and I wake up with super soft lips for the day!  We have LOTS Of color options to choose from so everyone can have their favorites. I"m considering the lip-glosses as gifts for my nieces this Christmas. How fun!"  

Did you catch that this is an ORGANIC lipgloss?  Isn't that amazing?  

What we put on our lips often ends up in our mouth as well, so Organic LipGloss is a wonderful choice: 

For several years, with your HELP, we gather stress relief kits and deliver these to the Ronald McDonald House during Christmas Week for the parents.  By placing your order (anything you need!) on my Ronald McDonald House event, the hostess rewards will add up quickly and will mean that more stress relieving foot care kits will be delivered to the parents this holiday season.  

This is such an appreciated gift, as the children receive lots of toys, but the parents do not receive gifts except for our stress relief foot care kit, which will be used and appreciated.  Thank you for considering GIFTS, and your necessities to build up the Hostess Rewards and earn more sets.  

Here is the link for the Ronald McDonald House Fundraiser:

www.OurLemongrassSpa.com/Jill

click:  Shop Online

Select:  Ronald McDonald House Fundraiser

Thank you so much; here are a few of us delivering the foot care kits to the Ronald McDonald House in Denver in time for Christmas last season: 

Each Foot Care Kit comes wrapped in a pretty polka dot gift bag and includes instructions on how to use each item.  We deliver these because they are Peppermint infused and peppermint is a wonderful stress reliever.  Thank you for partnering with me to help bless these parents this season. 

Thank you for helping to bless the parents this December at the Ronald McDonald House. If you have any questions for me, please let me know. 

Copyright 2015; all rights reserved. If you copy and share this post, you must include all information posted here through the full disclaimer (below).

Thank you for "liking" my business page:  www.Facebook.com/LemongrassJill


Enjoy perusing my online catalog of healthy head to toe necessities here:  www.OurLemongrassSpa.com/Jill

• Disclaimer:  this blog post is not to be interpreted as medical advice and is highlighting my experience  so please know that individual results may vary or differ. 

Positive Affirmations are Powerful

Helpful background info:
I wrote this as encouragement for my team, but I am sharing it on my blog because the life-changing lesson of erasing negative self-talk with a positive affirmation can help each of us.

Let's talk for a moment about what happens when we set a HUGE goal for ourselves. Let me know if this resonates with you-- Back in August when the Spa Incentive Trip goal to the Riviera Maya was announced, did you feel a little giddy with excitement? Did you start to dream about the possibilities of earning an all-expenses paid trip? Did you get a little feeling of butterflies in your stomach and deeply desire that trip not only for you, but for a special person in your life?

Where are you today? If you are still feeling all those excited, happy and energized feelings and your calendar is BOOKED full in September, then KEEP GOING! I'm thrilled for you. If, however, you are looking at your calendar for September and it is empty and you are starting to feel some self-doubt, keep reading: 

Self doubt will creep in when you make big plans. It is part of the process. How will you erase those tapes of negativity, self-doubt and rewind and record new positive affirming messages for yourself? This is the whole key to earning that trip that got you excited, gave you butterflies and made you giddy with excitement. 

"The more important a project is to your soul's evolution, the more you will resist it." Steven Presfield

Does it help you to know that we resist the very goal that will move us forward and it is normal to doubt ourselves?  That is helpful for me, to be sure. 

Here is the Anecdote for those Negative thoughts we all experience: 

Find an affirmation that SPEAKS to you and write a "Note to Self" and hang that on your mirror and by your desk and put it where you will see it regularly. When your self-doubt creeps in share with yourself, "That is ok....I believe: _______" and replace those negative comments with your positive affirmation. 

When I earned the SPA incentive trip on the cruise ship, it was a country western lyric that was my affirmation and here is that simple and powerful lyric: "Feed your Dreams and Starve your Fears". Powerful. Do you know what that did for me? I would say that to myself and make that claim that my fears were going to be starved out of existence and I just kept thinking more positive thoughts such as, "It is ok because I am going to call a few more customers and book those parties. It is the Fall season and people will want to buy their Christmas gifts from me because everyone loves a handcrafted gift that reminds them to take care of themselves. It is alright because I will meet someone new today that needs what I offer." Just putting myself in that positive mindset made the difference between going on that Spa Cruise versus staying home. 

You can do this. Your dream is NOT too big. You can reach this goal one phone call at a time. It takes putting in one order at a time. It will be reached one party at a time. Take action because it is one step in front of the other that will get you closer.  

Enjoy this AMAZING visual affirmation that I found on a paper planner group this morning. Notice that this wonderful woman, Francesca Gould,  has LAMINATED her positive affirmation and it is part of her planner so she will see it every single day. What will your affirmation be for yourself during the next six months? What will you write as your "note to self"? What speaks to you? Will you put that positive message on a vision board smack in the center where it will have the largest presence? Will it be hand-written on your bathroom mirror in organic lipstick smile emoticon or will you write it LARGE on a poster-board in your office area? There is no wrong way or right way to remind yourself of this affirmation, but you want to have it front and center in your life. The self doubt will creep in. It is part of the process. How will you erase and play over those negative thoughts with a strong, powerful and meaningful affirmation that speaks to you? 

If you want to go a little deeper, write down what this goal MEANS to you and be very specific. I recommend writing down 10 things that excite you about this goal to earn an all expenses paid trip to the Riviera Maya. Keep writing. Add those reasons to your affirmation phrase so that you will say something positive to yourself and then visually be reminded of the top reasons as to why this trip matters to you. 

As an example, here are a couple of the reasons that I wrote down for myself when I was working on the Spa Cruise goal (and reached that goal!). 

I wrote:
It is important to me to reach an important goal that I set for myself. 

I want to feel that sunshine across my face and the wind in my hair as I stand on the deck of the cruise ship with friends who will earn the trip as well. 

I want to be a great role model for my daughter and show her what it means to set big goals for myself and work hard towards reaching them.

Get busy. Find your affirmation. Listen closely today, as you may "hear" it in a lyric of a song. You may see that affirmation as you scroll through Facebook or Pinterest. You may find it when you are reading a book that matters to you deeply. Or-- you may just sit quietly and write a positive "Note to Self", as Francesca Gould did and keep that message permanent and strongly in your core.

p.s.  thank you, Francesca, for generously allowing me to use your image in this post. It inspired me today and I know it will inspire others as well to write their own powerful "note to self".  

Copyright 2015; all rights reserved. If you copy and share this post, you must include all information posted here through the full disclaimer (below).

Thank you for "liking" my business page:  www.Facebook.com/LemongrassJill


Enjoy perusing my online catalog of healthy head to toe necessities here:  www.OurLemongrassSpa.com/Jill

• Disclaimer:  this blog post is not to be interpreted as medical advice and is highlighting my experience  so please know that individual results may vary or differ. 

Fundraising Event to Help our Teachers

One of the best ways to run my business is to use it as an avenue to Fundraise and this month my fundraiser is all about our hard-working Teachers! How many hard-working teachers are in your life or your kid's lives? My first job straight out of college was as a teacher and it was the hardest job I have ever loved.  Funds were tight and I recall having to "check out" two pieces of chalk; that was eye-opening as to the state of our schools. I spent a lot of my money on necessities. 

Would you like to place your order for your Lemongrass Favorites on my "Teachers Rule" link and I will choose a local teacher or a couple teachers to bless with gift cards so they don't have to use as much of their hard-earned money on school supplies?  

You may find my "Teachers Rule" link here and enjoy looking around: 

www.OurLemongrassSpa.com/Jill

click: Shop Online

select: Teachers Rule

There are two ways to help with this fundraiser:

1) If you don't know any teachers well that you would like to bless, then visit my "Teachers RULE" link over at:  www.OurLemongrassSpa.com/Jill and re-order your favorite Lemongrass necessities or try something new.  

I will give the hostess rewards (in products) to teachers and also donate 15% of the total sales (in the form of a gift card) to a teacher or a couple of teachers so they can use this gift card when school supplies are running low.

2) If you have a Teacher in mind that you want to receive the Gift Card, then here is how that works:   Get in touch with me right away via email: LemongrassJill@Gmail.com or on Facebook and let me know you either want to do an online FB event (these are fast, fun and easy) OR that you want to host a live spa party with this fundraiser and make it even larger. 

For the "Teachers RULE" fundraiser, I will donate 15% of the total sales in the form of a gift card to the store of the teacher's choice so they don't have to use their hard earned money to buy supplies for the classroom. You are welcome to keep the hostess rewards as your reward and choose all your favorite Lemongrass necessities with our Hostess program!  

If nothing else, take a moment to thank the amazing teachers you know who give so much of their time to our kids and our community: 

Dream with me

Dream with me for a moment... 

If you could board an airplane and enjoy a trip to Paradise, where would you want to go? Who would you bring along with you to capture every relaxing moment? Can you visualize yourself on an all-expenses paid trip to a Resort with SPA treatments included? In just a few HOURS, we will find out where the next Spa Destination Trip will be! 

Enjoy my photos below of our trip to Paradise in June:  

My favorite portion of this trip was the SPA and there was a Hydrotherapy Circuit and this was the most relaxing experience I have ever enjoyed in a SPA. The spa itself was gorgeous and was indoor and outdoor and it felt as though you entered another realm where time stood still.

Above is the hydro-therapy pool and you stand in the middle and enjoy pulsating water on your shoulders and cascading water over the top of your head. Did I share that this was Paradise? 

This beautiful pathway was part of the indoor/outdoor walk to our massage therapy rooms. There were live turtles that liked to sit on the stones and usually two or three of them were together or even stacked on top of one another.

After our massage treatments, it was great to enjoy a chance to relax and talk.

How do you say "thank you" for a trip of a life-time? I'm so grateful to our owners, Heidi and Bryan, for providing such amazing Incentive Trips.  Pictured here:  I am on the far left, then Heidi, our owner, then my friend and Sr. Director, Jeni Cassidy and my friend and huge supporter, Jennifer Dusza, Consultant Relations Manager.  We are as one should be at the SPA: without make-up and we have that look of BLISS following our massage therapy treatments. 

Cascading Shower Treatment

This river rock area also had cool jets that hit you at your ankle area as you walked through this circuit three times. It felt great on my feet. 

This Watermelon Water was yummy at the SPA

Here I am taking a moment to relax and .......just sit. What an amazing thing to do. No chores, no requests, no house to clean, no to-do list and just the idea of sitting in pure bliss! 

Our Resort Room was larger than our apartment in New York City. We were treated to absolute luxury and even had a jacuzzi tub outside on the patio and a full dining room table in the living room area. This was complete luxury and all room service was included. 

I took my hubby, Terry, with me on this trip and his vacation was also all-expenses paid. We enjoyed our time together immensely and the only decision to make each day was where to go to relax and what we wanted to eat. It was tough to return....

Here is another view of the Yhi Spa

Here is Terry's turn to relax and "do nothing". 

Hydrotherapy Pool at the Yhi Spa

This Spa was so beautiful 

Here I am taking in the JOY of vacation. 

Pulling on this bucket full of COLD water was part of the Hydrotherapy Circuit. We rotated between a hot sauna or hot water and cold water. The switch between hot and cold occurred about thirteen times in the full hydrotherapy circuit. At times, it was abrupt, but the entire experience as a whole was incredibly relaxing.

Here is a great photo of three of the husbands enjoying the Hydrotherapy Spa Treatment. 

This was labeled the Vitality Pool, and the temperature was absolutely freezing. I'm not gonna lie, it hurt to immerse yourself in this water, but it was Invigorating. 

Here I am fully submersed in the Vitality Pool. 

Thanks for enjoying a little snippet of my SPA trip experience with me. 

If you are intrigued and want to find out:

*How you can earn an all-expenses paid SPA trip 

or

*Where the trip will be in 2016

Reach out to me at LemongrassJill@Gmail.com 

Comment and let me know: Where would you want to go? Share: Tell me if you want to hear where the trip will be for the Summer of 2016. Do you want to partner with me on this goal and host a Luxurious Spa Party to spoil your friends? (if so, please message me) I'm so grateful to ALL of my hostesses and customers who helped me earn this glorious trip to the Dominican Republic this summer. You are so appreciated.

Copyright 2015: all rights reserved. If you copy and share this post, you must include all information posted here through the full disclaimer (below).

Thank you for "liking" my business page to stay in touch: www.Facebook.com/LemongrassJill
Enjoy perusing my online catalog of healthy head to toe necessities here if you want to learn more about our line: www.OurLemongrassSpa.com/Jill

Disclaimer: this blog post is not to be interpreted or used as medical advice or expertise. I am highlighting or sharing my personal experience in this blog so please know that individual results may vary or differ.

Are you a leader?

On the drive home from preschool today, I turned up my radio, forgetting that I had a direct sales CD in there.  After about two sentences on goal setting, my youngest asked a related question that took me by surprise.  He asked, "Mama, are you a leader?"  Sensing a teachable moment in the air, I replied, "Yes" (with intentional confidence).

His next question was even deeper for a five year old.  He said, "Are you a leader that bosses people or are you a leader that has teams?"  What an intuitive question for a young soul.

I shared with him (feeling grateful) that I am a leader that has teams.  This is a beautiful truth because I am blessed with hundreds of women on my team, but I also have incredible, compassionate, smart, savvy leaders who help their team members reach their goals.  What an incredible journey to have strong teams with consultants on all spectrums:  those who are beginning their business, those who are reaching their goals and those who are exploring what this business may do for them.

I was part of a vendor event last night talking to people about my business and was sharing what an incredible business structure and opportunity we have available in direct sales.  Not only can I set my own personal goals and increase my monthly activity as needed and desired, but I have the honor and privilege of working with incredible women and men on my team.  About ten years ago we named our team the Sensational Spa Sisters and we have always supported one another like family, with a deep awareness of helping each other reach goals that are important to that individual.

I worked in corporate America for nearly a decade and I saw the pressures of managers who had to meet monthly quotas and reach the numbers projected on all those spreadsheets.  A pressurized system can easily create leaders who boss.

After leaving that frenetic 60 to 80 hour work week and transitioning to a stay at home mom, it was a huge adjustment to move from a generous salary to a big circle for my salary.  I needed to bring in a decent income for my family, but I could not envision slaving away 40, 50 or 60 hours a week with young kids on my heart and in my care.  Finding my own business niche where I could rely on myself for success and have the beautiful support of my team was the answer. I am so proud, honored and humbled to have an incredible nation-wide team of over six-hundred consultants.

Team Awards Night at Convention in Colorado:

Here are some of the leaders on our Sensational Spa Sisters Team at Leadership Retreat:

If you have ever wondered about direct sales and running your own business, check out my website and get in touch with me to ask any questions:
www.OurLemongrassSpa.com/Jill

I also invite you to enjoy my previous post on the subject:
http://lemongrassjill.blogspot.com/2015/01/there-are-so-many-gifts-of-being.html

Copyright 2015; all rights reserved. If you copy and share this post, you must include all information posted here through the full disclaimer (below).

Thank you for "liking" my business page:  www.Facebook.com/LemongrassJill
Enjoy perusing my online catalog of healthy head to toe necessities here:  www.OurLemongrassSpa.com/Jill

• Disclaimer:  this blog post is not to be interpreted as medical advice and is highlighting my experience  so please know that individual results may vary or differ. 

Keeping Skin younger with Natural Ingredients

I put together this video for you because sometimes a visual is more powerful than words in regards to why it matters to use natural ingredients.  Enjoy:

I like this visual comparison because it simply shows the difference between choosing products with ingredients that began as Crude Oil vs. Food Grade Quality ingredients, such as Grapeseed Oil.  

The bottom photo shows my neck and how using our Baby Massage Oil (which is full of anti-aging Grapeseed Oil) has erased wrinkles:  

http://www.ourlemongrassspa.com/repsites/frm_bridge.aspx?id=158&bridge=PRODUCT&prod=A0514

Copyright 2015; all rights reserved. If you copy and share this post, you must include all information posted here through the full disclaimer (below).

Thank you for "liking" my business page:  www.Facebook.com/LemongrassJill
Enjoy perusing my online catalog of healthy head to toe necessities here:  www.OurLemongrassSpa.com/Jill

• Disclaimer:  this blog post is not to be interpreted as medical advice and is highlighting my experience so please know that individual results may vary or differ.