Thank you to everyone that signed up for prizes at the Sawmill craft sale! The winners were Peg C., Heidi B., and Lydia T. I will be contacting the winners separately. I love to give things away and will be having other contests in the future. Stay tuned, email subscribers will receive notice whenever there are prize giveaways!Lisa

ONLY 5 WEIGHT WATCHER POINTS! Before listing the recipe for this amazingly delicious and easy-to-make soup, I must make a disclosure regarding the Weight Watcher points. It is 5 WW points using the old system. I'm not sure what it is with the new system, but I'm sure it is still a low points meal. I'm guessing it will be around 8 points.  2 cu...

I was unaware until a few weeks ago that there is a significant problem affecting our children. Imagine going through school feeling frustrated every day because you cannot read. You try and try, but you just cannot figure it out. On top of that it is really difficult to write, take tests, and forget about spelling. Failure seems inevitable. The on...

"I never laugh until I've had my coffee."Clark Gable If you love coffee, you must make egg coffee. I'm not exactly sure why, but it is the best coffee ever! I love to buy the beans whole and grind them right before making my coffee.  My favorite brand of coffee is ALAKEF coffee made out of Duluth Minnesota. I have tried starbucks, caribou...yo...

"Everything you want is on the other side of fear."Jack Canfield Everyone thinks that failure is such a horrible thing. I am here to tell you, it is not. It is actually a really great thing. First of all, we learn the most from our mistakes. There is so much growth and learning that comes from failure. I have learned that failure is just an obstacl...

I turned 44 this September. This birthday was profound for me as I turn the same age my Mother was when she died. I feel so young, full of life, and see numerous possibilities that exist in my future. I cannot imagine dying at this age. I am blessed with physical health and mental health. My Mother was not so fortunate. She lived with Bipolar Disor...

"Until one has loved an animal, a part of ones soul remains unawakened."Anatole France I love, love, love, animals! However, all my dogs are whacky crackers. They are all rescue dogs and came to us with issues. Kai is the larger white dog. She is a complete sweetheart, but she is afraid of everything. It was very clear that she had been abused. It ...

I used to go through life thinking it was hard and wondering what the next bad thing was that was going to happen to me. When things were going really well I would be worried and wonder when something bad was going to happen.  Eventually as I grew, evolved, and learned more about personal development I realized that I create my own life. I can...

(I wrote this a couple years ago for the Minneapolis Star Tribune. It is one of my favs.) Whether you know it or not, there is a great underground debate about which mom is the best and which is the best for the kids. Are working moms better than stay-at-home moms? Or vice versa?  I've always been a working mom but there have been many moments...