Reading a recipe is like reading a foreign language, I mean seriously who has a mortar? I decided to give Hello Fresh another chance, I really love that they have everything already measured out and everything you need is right there in the box.
However, it’s putting the ingredients together that stumps me, I wish I were the kind of person who can just walk into a kitchen and create magic. I am not that person. I wish that I could put together the recipes Hello Fresh sends me, but I cannot. Reading the recipe cards are just mind boggling for me.
I highly recommend them to people who like cooking and who love trying new recipes, the food is fresh and the recipes look amazing. I actually made the pork chop one they sent last night, it didn’t quite go as planned, however the sugar rub with cayenne was nothing short of amazing. I am telling you I wanted to just put my head on the plate and just eat it. I did use organic, raw sugar, not white, and organic olive oil, that is the only thing I changed.
So, go over to https://www.hellofresh.com/ and give them a try.
I know in this day and age telling the truth seems to be frowned upon, I have never encountered anything like this. I’ve been alive a long time, and I am truly befuddled and a little disheartened.
As you know from previous entries I have talked about the issues that Rustic Cuff, out of Tulsa has. On Instagram today, they posted a video of them dancing in the store, a woman commented perhaps that was the reason the customer service people rushed her off the phone. This company has major fulfillment issues, and apparently customer service issues as well, I work in a customer driven company. Without the customer there would be no commerce, without commerce there would be no income. It is basic economics, this company is not a charitable foundation, as one person stated on Facebook. That comment made my eyeballs pop out.
So here’s a thought, instead of blocking people who state the truth, why not correct your customer service and fulfillment issues? I wholeheartedly suggest you open a small call center that can look up orders, answer phones and find missing orders or figure out how people are being charged for more than they are purchasing? I saw several posts where people were over charged, here is the thing that shocked me, people were waiting weeks for their refunds! Weeks! If they didn’t fix it within 48 hours, I’m calling my bank and putting in a claim to get my money back.
And another thing, does no one look at their receipt when they are walking out of the store? Or when they are at the register and they tell them the price and it over by $70.00 or more, don’t you question that? I would, I look at my receipts for everything I buy, right then, at the store, at the register.
I thought I was done writing about this company, but there is a plethora of material, and they just keep it coming.
I fully believe there are people in this world that can inspire us to go out and do good, Mother Theresa, Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr and Steve Nardizzi come to mind. Granted only one of those people are still alive, but he is doing great things with the Wounded Warrior Project.
My parents, they did wonderful things that no one knows about because they took Matthew 6:2 seriously. I tend to be like them as well, I don’t like talking about the things I do, they are between me and God and the organizations that benefit.
A company blocking someone because they were honest is more than disheartening, it is bordering on dishonesty.
The Cult of Rustic Cuff
I was a single struggling mom once upon a time, there were situations where making a decision between paying the electric bill or buying food to feed my children were realities.
I am saying this as a preface to what I am about to vent, yes vent, rant, an old fashioned Angie Rant is in the works.
As I have written about before, I was introduced to the world of Rustic Cuff, it is a store in Tulsa that has become a phenomenon. The owner gives away a lot of bracelets and does great things in the community, the following is nothing on her.
I was introduced to a group on Facebook (of course) called Addicted 2 Cuffs, Jill Donovan Fan Club, kid you not, that is the name.
In this club I have seen some really good things, but the majority of things I have seen border on narcissistic, selfish, unkind and unfeeling behavior. They worship Jill like she is Jesus come to earth again. They say things like, in the spirit of Jill and what Jill would want and things of that nature. I am not going to lie; I have been truly bothered by some of the things I have seen.
First I am going to touch on the things I have seen that have inspired me, the woman who took her mother out this Christmas and they bought lunch for strangers. Took money and went to fast food places and paid for people’s meals that were in line at the drive-thru. That was inspiring, the woman who spoke of her friend whose husband lost his job, people donated gift cards so she could buy groceries and gas. Inspiring. Jill taking toy donations for the children’s ward at the local hospitals. Inspiring.
Then we see the ugly side of things, the woman whose 5-year-old son told her he needed money for the Santa shop at school, she asked what he was going to buy. He said he wanted to buy her a bracelet, because she wears them and he wanted to get her one because they make her happy. She told her son not to buy her any bracelet but Rustic Cuff. He said I guess I’ll buy you a necklace, because even a 5-year-old knows he can’t afford one of those bracelets. One could almost feel his defeat, as his mother cackled about this and women clicked like and made comments like, oh I don’t own anything but Rustic Cuff. This mother should be ashamed of herself, all her son knew was mommy wears pretty bracelets and loves them and he wanted to be included on her arm.
God help the person who sells one of these things they have bought with their own money, these women become vicious. Here’s the thing, once one buys something, it becomes theirs to do with what they want. If someone on eBay is willing to pay 4 times the original price, well good for that seller. They are living the American Dream, it is called supply and demand, it is called feeding your family.
To the woman who said her goal this year was to give away 52 of these things, I am truly flabbergasted. I did the math, even on the low-end, that is $1,200.00 to $1,500.00 in costume jewelry. I’m sorry, but if you saved that money all year and at the end of the year used that lump sum to truly help someone in need, that is in the spirit of Christ.
Let’s not kid ourselves, Jill is making money hand over fist, that is why she can give away trips to Disneyland and Iwatches and IPad and free bracelets. She is incredibly altruistic, but she is not Jesus! Women are forgetting that, once again, when I see in the spirit of Jill or let’s do what Jill would want I am a little horrified.
I wonder if this woman who started all of this reads some of these things and is just as horrified as I am, I wonder if she thinks how can I rein it in. I don’t know, I don’t know her, at all.
I do know she did a wonderfully nice thing for someone very close to me and I really appreciate it. But Jill is not Jesus. I did not praise her, I thanked God for His work in this woman’s life.
I am done buying bracelets, I have enough, after all, I only have two arms, I have the ones I want, ones that represent people and things very near and dear to me. My children, my home state and my Sooners, that is enough.
Oh, I also wear bracelets other than Rustic Cuff, gasp, I know, right! Imagine the horror!
I have seen pictures of some of the collections of these women and I have done the math, no one needs over $3,000.00 worth of costume jewelry, no matter the message of the owner of the company. You could have a really good piece of jewelry that you could hand down to your children for that amount of money.
I know I will take a lot of bashing for this, as those women are vicious when they feel that their cult has been belittled. However, living in Texas, I feel relatively safe.
My Review of the Rustic Cuff Business
I’m going to tell you something, something I don’t advertise or tell anyone that I do, to me it is a private thing and something that gives me great joy. Whenever I am in the drive-thru at Starbucks I pay for the person behind me. I know what you are thinking, what is the big deal, well I am telling you that because it parlays into what I am about to delve into.
I was raised to take Matthew 6:4 at it’s literal word, in case you have forgotten what it says: “Give your gifts in private, and your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.” My mother was a pro at this, I didn’t know she made quilt tops for homeless veterans until I was 16 years old and caught her and my dad loading them into the car to deliver to the woman who would distribute them.
I am also a Mary Kay Consultant, something else that will come into play as you will soon see. In Mary Kay we are taught the Golden Rule, if you don’t know it when you become a Consultant, you learn it in lesson one. For those of you not familiar with it: Matthew 7:12 “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” Do unto others what you would have them do unto you. Pretty simple and clear cut. These are lessons we should all be learning as children, and they should not be a surprise to anyone as an adult.
Now, onto the heart of why I am telling you all this, there is a company in Tulsa called Rustic Cuff. The owner and creator of the business is a woman named Jill, her back story is well worth reading. It’s a great backstory, although, the majority of us in life have a great backstory. However, it takes a rare individual to take that story and make it a business, not only a business but a thriving one, especially one that is specialized.
You see the company makes and sells bracelets, and the owner is constantly giving them away. So now the women who buy them also give them away, they call it “gifting”. They imbue Jill with the attributes usually reserved for sainthood, I find it a little disconcerting.
Don’t get me wrong, what she has created is special and wonderful, she has taken a setback and created a business. She is adding to the economy of Tulsa, employing people and selling a much sought after item. But she is not in the league of a Mary Kay Ash or Ebby Halliday, yet, once she begins to employee more women and create more jobs without ceilings for them I will be more impressed.
You see in Mary Kay, we are taught about gifting, we give gifts with every purchase (the majority of us do), we also give a gift for having us in your homes. When we deliver product we have it wrapped prettily in a gift back with tissue. I have customers tell me that they look forward to my deliveries because even though they are paying for the product they feel like they are getting a gift.
Jill does give a lot of bracelets away, they have bracelets and cuffs, the followers call them all cuffs. They are not, they are bracelets, they buy them by the 100’s, from what I have seen. One woman posted that her husband (who is in the military and deployed) saw their bank account on line, called her and told her no more. She had spent roughly $400.00 on bracelets. Bracelets. The women then began commenting that she should spend more! I saw that and was floored, I thought can someone say divorce court.
I see women posting that they will have to feed their family fried bologna because they have spent too much on these things. They have to scrounge for rent or house payments, I just think to myself this is insane.
I have a few of these very attractive pieces, I will not be “gifting” any of them as I purchased ones that represent things in my life. I have also asked my children for one for Christmas, it is a true cuff and is a cutout of Oklahoma. Once again something that means something special to me.
I fully believe this woman is doing great things and is guided by the Golden Rule, from what I have seen she is very giving, very driven, high energy and family oriented. She is a rare breed of woman that God has blessed beyond measure and she is giving back. She gives back to the community at large, I have seen her do great things with this newfound fame she has garnered. I pray she continues and God continues to bless her, what I want to say to her followers, and they are followers, not mere customers, is that the near worship you have for her is a little scary. I have seen you post pictures of her children when they were out with their mother. I have seen you take pictures of Jill without her knowledge, with her in the background, some with her children in them. I have no words for that.
Please remember, this is a business, she is a business woman, with everything she is giving away, she is making a lot of money. This is not an altruistic business, it has a bottom line, however she seems to have her priorities in order, God, Family, Business. I pray she has continued success. I love seeing women succeed in business, but her premise is nothing new, do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
Scraps
I have been thinking a lot lately about my mom and the kind of woman she was and the legacy she left. My mom was a seamstress, one of the best, there was always someone coming and going from our house that she sewed for. After she was done with the piece she was creating, she would carefully fold the scraps and put them in the bag for the customer.
Nine times out of 10 the customer would tell her, I don’t want these scraps, what am I supposed to do with them, you keep them Mrs. Testerman. I am now going to tell you all what she did with those scraps.
If there is anyone who reads this that my mother sewed for in the 1970’s and 80’s, you might be astonished, or you might think yup, that sounds like her.
She would take the scraps and make quilt tops; she would work all year long on these things. This was the time of polyester, and colorfulness, so the quilt tops were very colorful. One weekend in November I came upon her and my dad putting all of these quilt tops in the car. I asked what they were doing, my mom seemed embarrassed, my dad said they were taking them to Mother Tucker.
I didn’t know who that was, so of course I pressed the issue, my mother then told me that Mother Tucker ran a homeless shelter for men in Tulsa. You see back then it wasn’t families that were homeless, it was primarily men, mostly Vietnam Veterans that were having a hard time fitting back into society.
I asked my mom why quilt tops and not a whole quilt, she said that the polyester material was thick enough to keep someone warm and thin enough that the person could fold it up and easily carry it with them during the day. She said the colorfulness reminded her of Jacob’s coat of many colors, it made her feel good think of someone wrapped in something pretty in such a bleak circumstance.
I wonder if there is anyone out there that remembers Mother Tucker and the things she did in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I wonder if there is anyone out there that was the recipient of one of my mothers’ quilt tops, if they felt the love she sewed into every stitch.
You see she remembered the hard times of the depression and the many times that families went without. Her heart was with these men and the struggles they faced, she knew struggle and she knew hard times, she wanted to ease someone else’s struggle. I do believe she did, more than she ever knew, she eased my struggle in life, her memory and her life lessons continue to ease my struggle on a daily basis.
If you are reading this and you were one of her customers, or maybe your parents were her customers, please know that your scraps went to good use.
Amazing Happenings
So yesterday I took Tessa to have her picture taken at JC Penney Portrait Studio, huge shout out to those people. They were fantastic, they got such amazing shots of her, not just regular poses, they allowed Tessa to well be Tessa. I spent way too much, but it is the first time I have gotten to take her to do something like that, that is my excuse. I am sticking with it!
I had a ball with my beautiful granddaughter, she is so amazing, she is not only beautiful, but bright, funny and has such great comedic timing! I think it must be a trait on my side, I have it, Elizabeth has it, my mother had it, now Tess. Proof that beauty, brains and humor can coexist harmoniously.
Today is going to be an easy day, the Irishman and I have a few errands to run, I don’t want to go to Costco by myself, and I need help in that store or else I will spend everything! I know what you are thinking, go with a list, well I do, however it is all so tempting!
I have a confession to make, I am severely craving Kentucky Fried Chicken, original recipe to be exact, I have looked it up and one whole wing is 3 Weight Watcher points. I could make a meal on two of those that would only be six points, not cheating at all. I am thinking we may go by and get a bucket for lunch/dinner today. After all it is football day, what goes better with football games than fried chicken??? I know, beer, we already have that, which I don’t drink. You know for someone who, um, well, loved to indulge in such things in high school, I hardly ever drink alcohol these days. Once in a while I will get a margarita, but that is about it, unless I am at Gladys’ house, she somehow has a way of convincing me I need to drink with her.
I have to tell you I have the bravest and best daughter in the entire world, Elizabeth Anne partook in the warrior dash in Tulsa this weekend, and it was her first time doing something of this nature. She came in 3711 out of 6612 of all racers male and female and 220 out of 801 in her age/gender group. I am so amazingly in awe of her. Every day she amazes me more, Elizabeth you are the best daughter a mother could ask for. Smart, funny, beautiful, strong and independent, I like to think I had a little to do with your amazingness, however, in reality you were probably born with all of it! I love you sweetheart!
Angie World 