A few things about a person’s personality can disturb me.

• rudeness and unnecessary meanness
• thinking he/she is better than others
• whining about evvvvvverrrryyyything
• acting temperamental

One thing that doesn’t bother me? Personification. So, the fact I am currently not speaking with the weather’s sudden temperamental surge of warmth makes perfect sense. It’s just sooo rude. C’mon, weather! I had just bought a new crockpot and everything!

If I had to pick only one kitchen appliance to use, I would seriously consider making the crockpot my choice. How can it get any better than tossing a bunch of stuff in one pot and allowing it to cook for you? That’s my kind of cooking right there.

Our old el-cheapo crock pot ended up getting cracked in late spring. Peter deterred me from picking up a new one all summer. He knows me too well. I would have busted it out with a recipe for chili mid-July and forced him to profusely sweat through dinner.

Then last week rolled around. I saw a ton of soup recipes in the two magazine subscriptions I use for recipe inspiration – Cooking Light and Weight Watchers Magazine both always have great, simple, tasty, nutritious recipe ideas. The weather finally got a little chill in the air by evening. I convinced Peter to welcome back Mr. Pot.

Then…Monday rolled around and Miss Weather had to go all Makenzie on me with a temperamental attitude. I just reasoned I wouldn’t be sweating over a stove, so I can sweat while eating soup in 90 degree weather.

Crock pot,

Welcome back. I promise to love you deeply and cherish you forever as long as you help me to not have to cook and keep feeding me delicious soups.

Forever yours,
Tina

I told you I like personification. I also like this soup. Even if it is ugly.

Hearty Lentil Soup
This soup will stick to your ribs. The combination of vegetables and protein-packed lentils in this broth based soup will leave you feeling full without being weighed down. You can easily make this soup work for you by subbing in different root vegetables, such as parsnips, or using a different seasoning profile.

Servings: 8 servings (approximately 1 1/2 cups each)
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 8 hours in crockpot

Ingredients

• 1/2 large yellow onion
• 3 medium sized carrots
• 1 large sweet potato
• 2 celery ribs
• 1 (16 oz) bag lentils
• 4 cups low sodium vegetable broth
• 4 cups water
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 2 teaspoons ginger
• 1 teaspoon salt (omit if not using low sodium broth)

Peel onion, carrots, and sweet potato. Chop all vegetables into even 1/2” to 1” pieces. Place in crockpot. Rinse, pick over, and drain the lentils. Place in the crockpot. Pour vegetable broth and water over everything. Add spices. Mix with spoon, cover, and cook on low eight hours. You could also cook on high for 4 hours.

Eat it plain or garnish with fresh parsley, a spoonful of plain Greek yogurt, a handful of cheese, or anything else that suits your fancy.

• Do you use any magazines for recipe ideas? Which ones?
• If you could only pick one kitchen appliance to have in your house, what would you choose?

Morning, friends!! It seems like the mornings just come earlier and earlier this week. That will happen when not getting as much sleep thanks to night time potty training. Oy! Plus, I keep feeling like it’s a day ahead. At least tomorrow is actually Friday.

About to head off to the gym now for some more treadmill fun. I plan on doing my recent treadmill interval workout again this morning since I had such a good time with it last week. It felt kind of weird printing off a workout from my own site this morning, but at least I can remember what to do in my sleepy fog.

Which reminds me – the “Print This” feature didn’t show up originally on last night’s two strength training workouts. If you were interested in those workouts and want an easy print option, I fixed it for ya!

How Do We Recognize Our Gifts And Talents In Life?

For the longest time, I would hear others talk about their passions or seem so naturally fulfilled by something they loved. It seemed like certain parts of their lives just flowed. They could somehow tune in so perfectly to their skills and really make a difference.

I felt like I stumbled through life, going through the motions, with nothing that I could call my own. Nothing that truly lit me on fire. Then came motherhood. And then came sharing my story.Then came the a-ha moment that I needed my decisions and actions to mesh with who I am at the core.

How do we even know what our gifts are? Our discussion in our adult study group this past Sunday focused on identifying two things:

Step One: What Comes Naturally To You?

• What do you enjoy doing?
• What do you spend your time thinking about that makes you happy?
• What can you do with ease while others seem to sometimes struggle?

Pay attention to those because they almost definitely add to your life, but also to others’ lives as well. Especially when you consider…

Step Two: What Do Others Compliment You On Often?

Really think about the compliments you receive most. They are people recognizing your natural talents! Strong organization? A good listener? Motivational? A creative mind?

The message we watched on this topic made a point that took my breath away:

Talk about a wake up call with that part of the discussion! I know I do that.

We don’t have to use our gifts as our careers. We don’t have to use our gifts every single day. But we should be in tune with them and leveraging every possible opportunity to use them. It will add to our lives.

I’m still learning myself, but I know paying attention to what ignites me and what I do well really helped me find me more and more. And I couldn’t be happier for where it has led me.

• What do you think are some of your gifts?
• Have you ever thought about dismissing compliments in that way?