Why I Am Not Creative...

Happy Sunday!!  I hope everyone has had a great weekend.  The weather has been great down here in South Florida at least during the day.  It has been a little chilly at night and I don't have shoes for chilly nights.

I wanted to talk today about the things we say to people (especially children) that you can never take back once you say them.  I'm horrified looking back at some of the careless things I have said to my sons over the years, usually out of frustration at myself.  Here is why I bring this up.....

When I was in kindergarten, yes kindergarten....I am 48 years old and I am talking about something said to me in kindergarten, I was able to read, write and do math at quite an advanced level.  I ended up skipping second grade a couple of years later.  My kindergarten teacher was apparently not impressed by this and instead of encouraging my abilities she called a conference with my parents and me.  The point of the conference was to make sure we all understood that I could not cut and paste and would probably never be able to.  REALLY??  I was in KINDERGARTEN and this teacher decided embarrass me and to destroy any chance I ever had to consider myself artistic.  WHY WAS THIS NECESSARY??  My mom made me cut and paste a picture when I got home to show the teacher that I definitely could do this....but it was already too late...the damage was done.

Since that day, I have avoided anyone or anything that might involve anything artistic because I couldn't face the shame again.  No arts and crafts for me.....

It has taken me 40+ years to decide that I can be artistic and that I can do arts and crafts if I want to.  It's still very awkward and I struggle to have the confidence to try....but I know I can do it.  I will post pics in the future of some of my attempts.

Ok...so I probably was not going to be the next Da Vinci anyway..but that is not the point.

Does anyone else have a story about something that was said to you that stopped you dead in your tracks from ever trying again?
Don't let anyone's opinion ever stop you.  If I can attempt arts and crafts...you can do whatever you want to.  I know you can.....

Now on to more fun topics......

I didn't get as much done this weekend as I hoped but it was still a nice weekend.  I made a nice pot of Lentil Soup in my crock pot today and some apple crisps.

Lentil Soup - Lots of good protein.

8 cups of  vegetable stock (or stock of your choice)
1 lb of dried lentils
2 bay leaves
Garlic to taste fresh or powder (I used about a tablespoon of garlic powder)
Onion diced (I used about a 2 tablespoons of dried onion)
1/2 tsp of cumin
1/2 tsp of red pepper flakes

I also added peas, carrots and corn.  You can add veggies of your choice.

Put it all in the crockpot and cook on high for 4-6 hours and you will have some hot, yummy soup.

I also made some nice apple crisps.  These aren't done yet so I took a pic from in the oven.  These make a great low calorie, healthy snack.

Granny Smith apples sliced 1/4 - 1/2 inch thick.  Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar.  Either put them in a dehydrator or put them in the oven on a cookie sheet with parchment paper at 150 degrees for a couple of hours, flipping once in a while.

I got this apple recipe from another blog...check it out...she has lots of delicious recipes that are mostly vegan.  Oh She Glows

I just got off the phone with Emma (future daughter-in-law).  I found out two interesting pieces of information.  One....my 1 1/2 year old granddaughter dislocated her elbow last night.  Apparently, once the doctor popped it back into place, she was fine.  Yikes....I probably would have cried with her while the doctor fixed it.  Two....Zach and Emma are going to go shark diving on Tuesday.   They are very excited....me...not so excited.  I know they will be in a cage and people do it all the time....but I will just hold my breath until they are back on the boat safe and sound.  :-)  I will get them to send me some pics to post after their adventure.

Next post topic - Trying out my new sewing macine.

Til then....Kathi