My Family Tree

In my home growning up, on the wall was a family tree that had pictures of my ancestors on it. It was always interesting to look at these people, and see where some of my family traits came from. I always wanted a picture family tree of my own.
It turned out to be relatively easy to make using a scanner. The hard part of course was collecting the photos. I had to travel the country for some of these pictures. One is from a 99 year old women in a nursing home that I made a photo copy of her family picture. One is a picture of a photo that was hanging on someone's wall. I had to get creative. One of the real bonuses for me was when my husbands great aunt said we could have her originals. What a treasure! The family tree has yet to be framed because I am waiting to get one more picture that I was told is in a family history book.

Cinnamon Apple Snacks

You are going to be amazed at how simple, how healthy, and how yummy these are. It tastes like apple pie. YUM!
Cut Fuji apples (these are best, don't do granny smith) into pieces. Put apples in a ziplock bag and sprinkle with cinnamon. Shake till each piece is coated. These will save perfectly preserved for a week in the refrigerator, so make enough to last all week. (Cinnamon is a natural preservative.)
It is the perfect snack. One medium Fuji apple has 80 calories, 5 grams fiber and 22gram carb. Cinnamon lowers LDL cholesterol and regulates blood sugar. I googled cinnamon and was amazed at how good it is for you.
Thanks for this recipe Elfie!

Find Your Top Character Strengths

When I was in coaching school we learned about this free tool. It is a questionnaire that you take online. If I remember right, it takes 30 or 40 minutes. After you finish the quiz you can print out your strengths in order and it explains a little about each one. I think self help quizzes are fun, especially when the answer is how great you are:) It seems like all we think about is our problems and where we need to improve. This tool helps you see just how wonderful you really are. The test helps by showing you your unique strengths.

In life it is best to concentrate on things that we do well. Whatever we pay attention to increases. Why not pay a little attention to your best character traits?
It is called the VIA Signature Strengths Questionnaire. If you would like to take it go to this website:

www.authentichappiness.com

After the page is opened click VIA Signature Strengths Questionnaire and a login box will appear. You will have to give them an email address and get a password. ( I took this test a year ago and haven't received any emails from them. ) It is given from the Positive Psychology Center at the University of Pennsylvania.