Now that I've made this easy gluten-free tomato soup in the slow cooker, I will never eat canned tomato soup again!
I don't think my mother ever made soup from scratch in her life. If she did, it was so rare that I don't remember it. I grew up on canned soup. It's convenience food and since my mother worked full time, she was big on convenience foods. When I first moved out on my own at 19, I practically lived on grilled cheese and tomato soup.
I honestly didn't know what I was missing until I started making my own...
If you are anywhere in the United States mid-Atlantic region as of the writing of this post, you're probably stuck inside as what the forecasters are calling a snow hurricane dumps buckets of snow and wind on your area. While cabin fever is not something that I've ever suffered (my home is my happy place and there's always plenty to do inside for me especially if the power stays on), I've known plenty of others who find being stuck in the house nearly unbearable.
So what can you do to combat cabin fever--that feeling like you need to get out...
What Does it Mean to Truly Listen?
I've been an active listener my entire life. That might not seem like something that makes me stand out--we all listen, right?
Wrong.
How many times have you been talking to someone and had the feeling that they weren't paying attention? Have you ever felt that they were hearing you, but not truly listening to what you were saying?
Active listeners engage with the person who is speaking. They don't just listen to the words coming out of your mouth.
They might have an empathic nature that allows them to connect with the person who is speaking,...
Murphy's Tree, A Tribute in Beads
In late January 2015, I lost my beloved cat, Murphy, suddenly and unexpectedly. One minute he was fine and the next he was lying dead on the floor near my chair. He was two months shy of his ninth birthday.
I was devastated. He was the sweetest cat I have ever known and he loved everyone he met.
Shortly after he died, I started this project and before I knew it, I was beading a tree of life. I came to understand a few months later that I was beading Murphy's Tree.
I've been working on it...
What is it about tiny hats that make people smile?
I'm not sure, but I've brought tons of smiles to people's faces when I wear my tiny hat creations.
I always think it has something to do with how a tiny hat on big head sitting atop a large body.
I've created them for events, like my tiny tricorn hat to wear to a Renaissance Festival.
And you can't forget the working pinwheel hat I wore to a press conference for an arts festival whose theme for the year was movement (they were using pinwheels in their advertising that year). The press conference...
This project to convert a kidney-shaped coffee table with a cracked and scratched clear glass center, into a stained glass mosaic, took nearly a year to finish. From figuring out the design to cutting the glass and piecing it together. I did every bit and I cut myself more times than I could remember. I tried to use gloves to protect my hands at the beginning, but it didn't leave me with enough dexterity when I was manipulating the pieces. So I bought a big box of Band-aids and resigned myself to a sliced up finger here and there. Getting...