Butternut Coconut Soup

I’ve discovered that our family of four can’t eat a whole butternut squash as a side dish in one setting, so this is a creative way to serve the leftovers up the next night. This is how I prepare the butternut squash the first night: I cut it in half, scoop… Read more“Butternut Coconut Soup”

Healthy (er) Choices Manifesto

While many of the recipes that I post are vegan, I am not a vegan. I believe that making choices that are better for our health is more important than following a strict ‘vegan’ or ‘vegetarian’ diet. What matters most is striving to eat a healthy, balanced diet that gives… Read more“Healthy (er) Choices Manifesto”

How to Find What You Really Want on Google

Use Google to narrow your search from 3.8 million results to a manageable number. Fourteen years ago, when we shared Pedro’s cancer diagnosis with our church family, the advice flowed in like the tide. “Carrot juice enemas!” the sweet church lady patted my arm and clung to it at the… Read more“How to Find What You Really Want on Google”

Four Tips for Being the Bookie (Caregiver Bookie, That Is!)

“He’ll need a Port-a-cath installed, we’ll schedule that for this week,” the doctor droned while my mind whirled with the shock of my husband’s non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma diagnosis. “We’ll follow the CHOP-Rituxan protocol.” “Chop rituxan? Sounds violent.” I thought to myself. “And I’ve heard of Port-A-Potties, but a port-a-calf? Protocol? Isn’t… Read more“Four Tips for Being the Bookie (Caregiver Bookie, That Is!)”

Six Tips for Balancing Boundaries (#4 Was the Hardest for Me)

“I could have done that!” my friend grumped as I carried a stack of laundry into Pedro’s hospital room. I cringed inwardly and smiled outwardly. “I didn’t have a lot to wash.” I set the neatly folded and wrapped stack of clean clothes in my suitcase and shoved it into… Read more“Six Tips for Balancing Boundaries (#4 Was the Hardest for Me)”

Solutions, Not New Year’s Resolutions

For years I made New Year’s resolutions: lose weight, give up chocolate, start an exercise program, have better health and myriad other impossible proclamations.  While my husband recovered from his stem-cell transplant, I spent all of my spare time in bed—grumpy and depressed and fifty pounds overweight.  All of my… Read more“Solutions, Not New Year’s Resolutions”

How to Help a Caregiver at Christmas

A Caregiver at Christmas Feels Double the Stress Contrary to the song, Christmas is NOT “the most wonderful time of the year” for caregivers. It’s that time of year when all the ‘what ifs’ pile up in their brains as they silently mourn Christmases past and what to do in… Read more“How to Help a Caregiver at Christmas”