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carol@inkwellcoaching.com

Crown Point, IN

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March 23, 2023

The Truth About Green Bell Peppers

Green bell peppers are not a favorite of mine. In fact, when I order veggie skillets, I usually request that they be omitted. I find them to be bitter

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Food, Health
March 16, 2023

Care for an Exercise Snack?

The terminology “exercise snack” is rather intriguing. I wanted one before I knew what it was. Would it be coated with dark chocolate? Is it low i

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Health
March 9, 2023

Decrease Your Stress and Enjoy a Muffin

Let’s start with the muffin. Last week I wrote about the health benefits of eating wild blueberries. Saturday morning, I decided that I had to have

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Food, Health
March 4, 2023

Plant-Based Wild Blueberry Muffins

Plant-Based Wild Blueberry Muffins These muffins are dairy-free, gluten-free and egg-free. The texture is different than mainstay blueberry muffins. I

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Breakfast, Recipes
March 2, 2023

Tiny Berry Packs a Powerful Punch

If you’ve not yet discovered Wyman’s Wild Blueberries, now is your time. These tiny little berries are one of the healthiest (perhaps even #1) and

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Food, Health, Personal Development
February 23, 2023

Debate on the Dirty Dozen

“Should I spend my money on organic fruits and vegetables?” “Is organic produce superior nutritionally?” “Does it really matter?” I hear t

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Food, Health
February 16, 2023

Choosing a Tasty Pineapple

In the past week, a discussion came up about pineapple. How do you choose a tasty one? Well, for those inquiring minds, here you go.  How to choose a

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Blog, Family, Health, Personal Development
February 8, 2023

Happy Birth Month

You’re probably thinking that I just celebrated my birth month. And I did. One year ago. Already. How quickly the years go by.  I recently read No

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Family, Friendship, Health, Personal Development
February 2, 2023

Colorful Cauliflower and Fresher Berries

Interesting what shows up in conversation when a bunch of friends gather. Most recently, this is what happened. “So, have you ever wondered how caul

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Food, Health
January 25, 2023

5 Ways to Stop Playing the Comparison Game

We all do it. As human beings, it’s part of our nature. We compare for points of reference. But we don’t have to play the game anymore. If you fin

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Health, Personal Development

Dancin’…Dancin’…Dancin’ the Night Away

December 5, 2011
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Fun

What fun we had the other evening.  We danced!  Not just any dance, but THE BIG DANCE– of the year.  My son attends an all boys’ high school and each year is the Mother & Son Dance, fondly referred to as the “Mom Prom.”  

Now, before you think this whole idea is crazy and wonder what young man between the ages of 14-19 would even attend such an event, let me set the record straight.  Lots of sons dance with their moms and actually have fun.  It is a very refreshing sight to behold.  Young men dressed in suits, ties and the like, out on the town with their moms.  Granted, most freshman struggle with this, but peer pressure can be a good thing.  This dance is a real treat for us moms, and the upperclassmen set the tone.  There were several instances when I heard my son say to a fellow student, “Why aren’t you dancing with your mom?  She does everything for you!”  Wow!  Hopefully this phase of raising my son lasts his lifetime. 

We laughed and danced and laughed some more.  We took lots of pictures and tried to follow the latest “club” dance steps.  (The boys seemed to have it a bit more together here.)   Moms and their sons, having the time of their lives, before college and crazy work schedules…in spite of current day challenges.  It was a bit like a fairytale, and at midnight, the glass slippers were gone.  Hard as we try to hang on to times like these, time marches on and so do our children.  How blessed I am to have had one more dance.

“Discipline your son and he will give you peace;  he will bring delight to your soul.”                                    Proverbs 29:17 NIV  

There’s just something about dinner

December 1, 2011
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Friendship

I was conversing with some friends yesterday, and it became very clear that some pretty big decisions are made while dining together.  Not just about superficial “how was your day” talk, but meaningful things that have the potential to change lives.  Like:  deciding to make a retreat;  becoming a community volunteer;  or coaching your child’s sports team.  Why is this?  Perhaps it is because we have time to really think as we chew, taste and swallow that bite of baked potato seasoned with real butter and a smidgen of sour cream.  Maybe our brain goes through a similar process to make a decision.  Maybe it’s because we are forced to look into our friend’s eyes and see what is honestly happening in their life as we sit across the table.  Or is it because we have chosen to take the time to just be present to the moment at hand?

Think about the significant things in your life and you’ll see where I’m coming from on this.  When we get together to do just about anything, there is food available.  Example:  business networking usually takes place during the breakfast or lunch hour.  Yes, some of that is because we are all very busy and stressed and we have to multi-task to fit it all into our day.  However, there is just something really comforting about eating while we talk about important stuff. 

I often joke about how it is all about the food.  It is.  Food sustains us.  It is tangible and comforting and hopefully, delicious.  (Healthy will be another “thought” on another day.)  So, the next time a friend invites you to meet for dinner, be careful what you sign up for.  You might find yourself in a situation that you never expected….and it could be a very good thing!

“So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God.”                                                                                  1Cor 10:31 NAB

After the Turkey

November 29, 2011
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Friendship

We had spent Thanksgiving eating our family favorites….deep fried turkey, real mashed potatoes (with lumps as proof), sweet potato souffle, cranberry jelly (can rings included), and stuffing.  Blessings and abundance and love.  What could be better?

The day after the eating frenzie, we drove south to a state park and met dear friends to hike off the calories.  An unseasonably warm, sunny day added glory to the streams and rocks that glaciers had carved out so many years ago.   Laughter, slipping in the mud, remembering stories we had written….now called our life, and feeling so very thankful for so many reasons.  Some of us felt challenged by the trails marked as “most difficult” but not one of us turned to take the easy trail.  Sure, we joked and thought about it, but when it came to the moment of decisive truth, none of us caved.  We just kept climbing and pushing our way forward, laughing to ease the pain and encourage one another.  Were we crazy?  No need to reply.  This is the trail.  This is life.

In a world of chaos and frenzy that searches for the best deal or cyber-sale, what relief we found…together, after the turkey, on a November day filled with uncharacteristic splendor.  Many other families did the same.  Gratitude.  Abundance.  Friendship.  Another story written, to recall another time. 

“He climbs highest who helps another up”  Zig Ziglar  

When the rain won’t stop…

October 13, 2011
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Hope

It is the kind of autumn day where it seems as though the sun will never shine again.  Dark, damp, rain…all day.  Isn’t life like this too sometimes?  Too often?  We begin to think everything will be fine.  We’ll find not just any job, but the Best Job, with great pay, and all those bills that have piled up will magically be gone.  The children will behave, all at the same time, and not one will have a cough or runny nose.  Our dog won’t run off the minute the front door is opened because there is a squirrel going up the tree in the front yard.  Oh, and the sadness over our sick loved one will subside since there really is a cure for the disease, or the memory will certainly return…if only the rain would stop.

But it doesn’t stop.  One day seems to just flow into the next like a giant wave, with no distinction, no break, no sun.  Circumstances beyond our control.  Tough to face and impossible to change, to fix, to heal.  We do, however, have the ability to choose hope.  We can decide to be thankful for the little glimmers of sun that are cast into the day. 

Glimmers…it is still a job, and although it may not be the Best Job, it will suffice while a plan is made to find the Best Job.  In the meantime, to choose to be the very best in the current circumstance, while seeking out others who may know just the right person to contact.

Glimmers…the children are generally healthy and happy and quite silly and loud most days.  They are the sunshine with their smiles and carefree spirits.

Glimmers…the dog.  With all the stuff that accompanies owning a pet, the dog makes the owners laugh at her silly ways.  Her morning “doggy yoga” stretches, waiting at the kitchen door for any morsel to drop on the floor or land in her bowl, sleeping the day away, because dogs can do that.

Glimmers…as long as there is breath, there is hope.  We lean on those who help us, love us, through our pain.  This lifetime is but a brief moment in time.  We are promised more…we are promised that the rain will stop.  We are promised an endless sun.

“When I sit in darkness, the Lord shall be a light unto me.”   Micah 7:8 KJV 

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