Do you Raclette?

Do I what? 

Do you Raclette?

What's a Raclette?

Well, let me tell you...

In our Scentsy Family of brands, we have a line called Velata. Velata (translates 'to be veiled') is a kitchen system and food product line meant to draw family and friends back to the table again. It began with the highest quality Belgian chocolate and Scentsy style fondue warmers that keep the chocolate in melted perfection, to cheese perfect for dipping just about anything into it!

Our latest product, the Raclette, has taken off by storm and I'm here, to introduce it to you!

First, let's define Raclette: Raclette is the Swiss tradition of heating cheese until it reaches melted goodness and then scraping it onto a favorite dish, typically potatoes, onions or pickles. Straight from wheel to plate.

The idea of the Raclette dates all the way back to the 12th century.

As time as gone on, more modern versions have popped up all over the world allowing people to come together to enjoy the meal preparation (and devouring there of) around the table. It has combined a grill style tabletop griddle or hot plate with small pans underneath meant to melt the cheese to then be gloriously poured on top of a favorite dish. This of course when using a open coal fire isn't as practical. :)

The idea of the raclette is to create a more sociable eating experience. Sometimes even lasting several hours as people gather to talk, eat and drink. In fact, in French and European markets, you may find pre-sliced  cheese, small vegetables and meats ready specifically for Raclette use. Some restaurants even provide these setups for dinner parties.

Well, it's time to bring the Raclette to America and we're going to do it Velata style.

Introducing, the Velata Raclette:

 

Now, you are probably ooing and awing (as well you should) but still, would like to hear some first hand experiences when it comes to this fancy pants grill.

We received our Raclette on Friday and I was over the moon excited to get it out of the box and on my table. Dinner time in our house usually looks like this:

Me: "Honey, can you please get the girls, I'm trying to cook dinner."

Me: "Girls, I need you not to play in the kitchen while I cook."

Me: "Girls, no, you can't help, that pot is too far back and you can't reach."

Me: "Honey, please come occupy the girls so I can finish up dinner!"

Them: "When will dinner be ready?????????" (x100)

Keep in mind we have a very small kitchen and while I'd love to let my girls help, it's just not safely feasible.

And then we get into the whole chat of how I didn't put this on her plate or did put that on her plate and she doesn't like it. Or maybe why I made hers like this but made his like that. All of this and in 15 minutes, we've argued about what they need to eat before they leave the table, it's scarfed down and they're all gone again with mom left to pick up the mess.

It has all changed.

With the raclette, I can do the meal prep (which is just slicing or chopping) while everyone is at work or school and when they come in have the raclette ready to go. I place the dishes of goodies around the table, hand each person a set of tongs and a tray and we begin to cook dinner...together.

Each of them gets to design their own meal based on what we have set out which means no more short order cooking mommy. We're all choosing what we'd like and how we'd like it cooked. We're sitting around the same table laughing and talking about our days while it sizzles away. When one of them is still hungry, they just pick what they'd like and pop in on the grill or in the tray instead of mom or dad leaving the table to fill the plates with seconds. My girls also love the idea that they're the ones doing the cooking. At 9 and 5, they're not quite ready to be stove top cooking yet, but this affords them the basic skills that and make them feel like they are big stuff! In fact, my littlest said last night, "Look mom! I'm a real live cooker!" She was beaming!

Oh, and the strangest thing has happened. Instead of dinner being a dine and dash event, we're all staying until the last person is done, spending more time talking and when we're all fully satisfied, THEY HELP ME CLEAN IT UP! (insert angelic voices here!)

Mind you, clean up means rinsing our cheese trays out with a little soap and hot water and washing the grill down in the same way. Clean up is crazy easy!

 Doesn't matter if we had pancakes, eggs and bacon or a full fajita spread.That's it! 

Another plus we're finding is that because of the non-stick grilling surface, we don't have to cook with any additional oils or fats. Even my pans have to have a little when I use the stove.  This provides us with an avenue for cleaner, healthier eating. We've also tried cooking bacon for a splatter test and we're happy to see that it cooked up to crispy perfection without splatter or popping.

There is truly a word of possibility when it comes to this kitchen gadget. Besides bringing your wild bunch to the table, the Raclette could be used in a small studio or apartment, dorm room, even when camping or Rv'ing. It could be used for a small family or a big party. Any place you have an outlet, you can raclette. Speaking of camping, we've even done S'mores...

At a cost of $140, the Raclette is an affordable kitchen staple that will not only make moms job in the kitchen much easier, but will create a dinner time that is full of memory making.

If you'd like to see other ways we use the Raclette, along with recipes, tips and tricks for all our other Velata products, join us on our Kickin' It In The Kitchen Facebook group! We'd love to have you!

If you'd like to purchase your very own Raclette or any of our other products, you can visit my website at www.amandajohnson.velata.us

So now, I must ask again....

Do you Raclette?

Learning how to love my husband

I've been wanting to write all weekend. I've told my hubby that I just couldn't think of what to write, when in all reality, I knew what I NEEDED to write. So why put it off? Maybe it's fear of being judged or misunderstood. Maybe it's fear of hurting someones feelings. Maybe it's because when it's finally written, I'm finally admitting how close Josh and I were to losing each other.

Regardless of those things, the time is now to share this with you.

If you know my husband and I, you have probably noticed a difference in us of late. It could be how we talk to or about each other or it might be how we act around each other. It might be that we hold hands in church, kiss in front of our girls or strive to support and make each other feel as valuable as we can.
We've actually had a few people say they've noticed something was different, but couldn't figure out what or why.

I have to stop right here and tell you that even as I type, this makes my heart sad. It's sad to me that the 'changed' us is doing this when as a married couple, we should have been doing this for the last 12 years. But I digress.

I think for you to really understand how we got here, you need to know more about me.
You see, I was never set up to succeed in marriage. I am the product of divorce and so are both of my parents. I don't ever remember my parents being together.

As I grew up, my relationship with my dad was very strained. I wanted nothing to do with him because I thought he felt the same for me. (let me insert here and tell you that now I have a great relationship with my dad and love him very much. I hate how much time we lost but am grateful for what we have now)
 I also watched my mom go through an extremely abusive relationship. I have images of a man hitting my mother that I've never been able to erase from my memory. I watched her look for love for a long time only to have her heart broken over and over again.

Needless to say, not only did I not have an example of a healthy marriage or relationship to follow, but my respect for men in general was quite lacking.Why did I need that? But the truth is, I did need that. Not what I was seeing or experiencing, but I wanted to grow up and get married some day and for that marriage to last forever.

I only dated one person before I met Josh. I will not go into the details of that relationship because it isn't necessary. What I will say is that I let that relationship ruin a lot simply because I wanted to be loved and I let myself believe that what I was experiencing, even though my heart knew better. When the time had come that he was done with me, I was left feeling worthless. Let me be clear in saying that this relationship did not steal from me what I was saving for my future husband, but emotionally, I was certainly broken because of it.

Once again, another experience that was robbing me of knowing what it meant and how to love a husband.

That same year, I met Josh and 2.5 years later, we were married. We struggled so much in the beginning. Not only financially, but  we also had things enter our marriage years that caused bitterness and heartache. Some things within our control and some things out. Divorce was never an option nor will it ever be. We were just going to have to get through it.

4 years in, we welcomed our first daughter. She was my little light and still is. She became the priority in my life above all else. Josh took second seat. 3.5 years later when our second daughter came along, he had to move to the third row. They were my shield from a heart that was still healing. They were my excuse as to why time with him wasn't a priority. I'm being brutally honest here, please don't judge me. I'm sure he had his things too. Things he used to cover the brokenness he was feeling. We would even go on overnight trips during this time to get away and try to just be 'us', but we sat in silence often. Neither of us were willing to break that silence because it meant showing each other how icky we felt on the inside.

Let's now jump forward to last February. 11.5 years having passed. Arguments in front of our children over silly things, going to bed angry with each other over nothing. Slowly growing apart behind our home's doors, while acting as if all was well on the other side of them. We had grown so far apart, that I couldn't even kiss him. Weeks would pass. Even as I type this out, I cry. It absolutely breaks my heart. He didn't deserve that.

Then everything changed. In February, whether it's because we had people praying for us or because God finally broke down the pride that lived in our hearts, everything changed. For the first time, in a very long time, we were able to sit down with each other and be honest...about everything. The difference here was that we didn't become defensive or run in circles saying "I'm doing this because you're doing that" which had been our go to so many times. We sat and we listened. We not only listened, but we heard. We heard how we had hurt each other with our actions and words. Little things that left gaping holes. I cried, we forgave and committed to start over again. It was then I knew that I needed to learn how to love my husband. I didn't know how before and that lack of knowledge, had it not been for stubborness, would have been what destroyed my marriage and would have left my own children as a product of their own parents divorce.

We have spent the last 6 months learning how to love each other better. We are communicating now in a way that we hadn't in the last 12 years. We are very open and honest about every little thing because when there is honesty, that's where love grows best.

I've learned that my husband needs to feel loved just as I do, but it's just in different ways. He needs to feel respected and looked up to. He needs to feel that he has the final say and that I trust him enough to follow him. He needs me to tell him I love him. Most of all, he needs me to let him love me.

What I've learned is that because of all my past hurts, I couldn't let Josh really love me. Maybe it was all subconscious, but I couldn't let what happened to my mom, happen to me. I needed to be the one in control. I couldn't let a man hurt me.  That coupled with little to no self worth and value, my marriage was a recipe for disaster. Not because I didn't love Josh, but because I wouldn't let him really love me. Not only that but I truly believe that if we do not believe that we are worthy or love or valuable enough for it, we can never really let someone love us and what a dishonor we do ourseleves because of it.

I am so thankful for Josh. I cannot say this enough. He knows more about me than anyone. He knows how my heart has been damaged and he knows the struggles I get up and face every single day. He puts up with a lot(A LOT)  of crazy, but yet he loves me. I am so thankful, even if it was because of pride, that he didn't walk away. We've talked about all of this since, for lack of a better term, the healing has taken place in our marriage and both of us have admitted to thinking at times of walking away. Not because we got in crazy huge fights or hated each other, but because we were both missing the love we so desperately needed from our marriage and we both wanted the other to have better than we were to them.

We have learned what it will take for us both to feel like we are living in a successful, love fueled marriage and strive every day to be that for each other. I have realized that I find worth and value and joy in working to become a Proverbs 31 wife to my God fearing husband. To be submissive in the way God intends and not the way society distorts. To honor Josh in the way I act towards others and towards him. In the way I dress and the way I raise our children and even the way I run my business and take care of our home.

I am finally learning how to love my husband and it is the most fulfilling thing I've ever done.

So if you've seen this change in us and are wondering what has happened, now you know and I hope you can understand the freedom we now feel in our marriage. I hope you see that we are two people who are crazy in love with other like we've never been or never knew possible before. I hope you see two parents working hard to break a cycle and show their daughter's what a great marriage looks like. An example of a woman who loves and  respects her husband and a husband who loves and respects his wife. A mother working towards a Proverbs 31 life.

If you find yourself in a marriage that's struggling, let me encourage you to not give up. Fight for it with all you have. Find someone who can minister to you and your spouse. Be honest and communicate clearly without tearing the other down. Know that they need to feel loved just as you need to feel loved. Give it all you have because you may be just around the corner from finding your healing.

-Amanda


From the Word:

 Love is not rude, it is not selfish, and it cannot be made angry easily. Love does not remember wrongs done against it. 1 Corinthians 13:5

 Love never gives up on people. It never stops trusting, never loses hope, and never quits. 1 Corinthians 13:7

The same goes for you husbands: Be good husbands to your wives. Honor them, delight in them. As women they lack some of your advantages. But in the new life of God’s grace, you’re equals. Treat your wives, then, as equals so your prayers don’t run aground. 1 Peter 3:7

By looking at them, the younger women will know how to love their husbands and children, be virtuous and pure, keep a good house, be good wives. Titus 2:4

he same goes for you wives: Be good wives to your husbands, responsive to their needs. There are husbands who, indifferent as they are to any words about God, will be captivated by your life of holy beauty. What matters is not your outer appearance—the styling of your hair, the jewelry you wear, the cut of your clothes—but your inner disposition.

4-6 Cultivate inner beauty, the gentle, gracious kind that God delights in. The holy women of old were beautiful before God that way, and were good, loyal wives to their husbands 1 Peter 3:14

10

Sticks and Stones

I have to say that this saying has always driven me crazy. "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me."
I realize we use this to build up our children to not let someones attitude about them hurt their spirits, but the fact is, it's so untrue.
Words hurt. Whether said directly to or behind someones back, cruel words hurt.

Just this morning, my daughters and I were doing our weekly grocery shopping in a local store. The girls were behaving well and I was letting them pick our items off the shelves. We turned down an aisle and I asked my oldest to pick up an item we needed. Another lady nearby was needing something in the same area and so I was encouraging Katie to try and hurry up so we weren't in the way. When she couldn't find what I needed, I walked forward and picked up the item and ushered Katie back to our cart. No raised voice, no aggravation, just a simple instruction so we were showing respect to the other shopper.

As I put the item in the cart and we headed down the aisle, a woman approached me and scolded me. She told me that I needed to "chill out", rolled her eyes, stormed off and huffed about me under her breath. I stood there in shock. It was unwarranted and unnecessary. I turned to look at the other patron in the aisle and simply shrugged my shoulders with a look of confusion on my face for lack of something to say. Embarrassed, we went on to finish our shopping. I passed that shopped many times before we left and I could tell she felt bad for me.

Can I tell you what bothered me most about this experience? It wasn't that I didn't deserve it, because I didn't. It was that a total stranger felt it was reasonable to make someone else feel so small. To cut them down and certainly didn't mind doing it in front of her children. In those moments, I questioned my parenting. I racked my brain trying to figure out what I'd done wrong. I walked through the store in shame when no one else, sans the one shopper, saw what happened.
She felt it was okay for her to take, what I assume was a rotten day,  out on me. Someone she didn't even know.

As in all things, I try to pull lessons. On the car ride home, I talked to my girls about how it made me feel and how it's a reminder that we must never make anyone feel like that. That our roles are to uplift and love and support the people around us and to never put them down. It also challenged me to think about how many times one of my bad days was paid for by someone else. Frustrations taken out on my children or spouse or even friends when it had nothing to do with them. How my heart is challenged to keep my heart and my mouth in check.

So yes, sticks and stones may break one's bones....but words hurt just as badly. I will always endeavor to teach my children this and no longer that words cannot hurt them. Because they do and just as others words can hurt them, so can their words to others.



From the Word....

29 When you talk, don’t say anything bad. But say the good things that people need—whatever will help them grow stronger. Then what you say will be a blessing to those who hear you. Ephesians 4:29

21 The tongue can speak words that bring life or death. Those who love to talk must be ready to accept what it brings. Proverbs 18:21

18 But the bad things people say with their mouth come from the way they think. And that’s what can make people wrong. Matthew 15:18

24 Kind words are like honey; they are easy to accept and good for your health. Proverbs 16:24

3 People who are careful about what they say will save their lives, but those who speak without thinking will be destroyed. Proverbs 13:3