Appreciations under-appreciated

4 carrots, peeled and sliced 3 stalks celery

1-2 cups shredded cabbage 2 bay leaves

1/4 tsp. dried thyme

1 Tbsp. dried parsley 1/2 tsp. each salt and pepper

In a Dutch oven brown the hamburger. Drain off any excess fat. Add the remaining ingredients, bring to a boil, turn the heat down and simmer gently for 30-45 until potatoes and carrots are tender. Stir occasionally. If the soup is too thick add extra broth or water. Adjust salt and pepper to taste and serve.

Apple pancakes

An appreciation is conveying your gratitude for a quality that someone has, or an act that they have done. Appreciations can be given by actions (giving a gift, helping with a task or physical touch) or verbally (compliments, showing care and concern). Logically, we know that if we say or do something nice for someone, it will make them feel good and can make us feel good, but, for some reason, we don’t do it nearly enough. And this is especially the case with our intimate partners. We tend to assume that our loved ones know that we appreciate them, or that the professionals who care for us know we appreciate them. We are kind of assuming that they can read our minds, they can’t. Let me let you in on a secret, even the most seemingly well adjusted person/professional struggles with self esteem and imposter syndrome from time to time.