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carol@inkwellcoaching.com

Crown Point, IN

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September 11, 2025

How to Eat Healthier at Any Restaurant

Eating out doesn’t have to derail your health goals. Whether you’re grabbing a bite at your favorite local diner or trying a new international bis

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Food, Health, Hope
September 4, 2025

Mr. Corn Visits Indiana

It’s that time of year again when my dear cousin, Roger, visits from Florida. He visits now because the sweet corn is amazing here in Indiana. For y

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Blog
August 28, 2025

7 Late Summer Wellness Tips

The nights and days are cooler. Darkness comes earlier. The sky looks like fall. I even saw some leaves in Michigan that had turned brilliant red. How

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Blog
August 21, 2025

What to Do with All That Zucchini

Yesterday, my friend Lisa presented me with a zucchini that looked as though it had taken growth hormones. It was gigantic! She told me that she grate

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Food, Fun, Health
August 14, 2025

Echoes of Summer

Can you feel the shift? The days are steamy–yet the calendar is getting a bit crowded with commitments that pair better with the cooler days of

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Food, Fun, Health
August 7, 2025

August Anxiety. Sunscreen vs. School Bells

This time of year, I feel a mixture of emotions. On the one hand, summer is in full swing. The flowers are thriving, temperatures still soar, and ther

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Family, Health, Personal Development
July 30, 2025

Recharging After Your Vacation

Have you ever returned home from a vacation and thought to yourself, “Gee, I could use a vacation.”? I know I have. It seems wrong. We have such a

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Food, Health
July 20, 2025

Traveler’s Guide to Food and Fitness

Summer vacations. I’ve always been a big fan of vacations any time of year. They are SO FUN, and people are usually very nice to you when you’re a

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Food, Fun, Health
July 16, 2025

The Peach vs. Nectarine Debate

I love them both. Lately I’ve been wondering about their slight differences, which sent me down the rabbit hole of looking into their unique charact

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Food, Health
July 9, 2025

The Dog Days of Summer

How often I’ve heard this phrase, yet never knew that Dog Days were official. Turns out, the Dog Days of Summer run from July 3 to August 11. This t

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Food, Fun, Health

The Loss of Routine

March 19, 2020
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Health, Hope, Loss

First of all, I pray that you and your loved ones are safe and well.

I also pray that you have whatever you need to get through today: patience, food, faith, energy, toilet paper, etc.

As we adapt to the curtailing of many activities, I feel loss on a number of levels. I’m sure you do as well.

Rest assured, you will continue to see my emails appear in your Inbox every Thursday morning. There are still a few things I can continue doing without putting anyone’s health in jeopardy.

For the most part, I feel like a fish out of water.  

I miss my workouts. I miss my church. I miss my friends. I miss freedom. I miss hugs. Sorry folks, I don’t get the same energy from an elbow.

I miss my routine. How about you?

What are you really missing right now? What are you doing to get some sort of normalcy back into your life?

My ability to focus has been MIA for the last couple days. I think the lack of exercise is getting to me. Each day I tell myself I’m going to do something here at home. It’s yet to happen.

Today, here are some ways to feel more alive in spite of the global news:

  • Help someone else in some way. Maybe send a note or card to a friend who comes to mind; see if a neighbor needs you to pick up groceries; order flowers to surprise someone special.
  • Do a carry-out lunch or dinner to help keep your favorite eatery in business. Yes, you read that right! Desperate times require desperate measures. Besides, lots of restaurants have many healthy options. I did carry-out for my favorite salad the other day and it was AMAZING.
  • Spend 10 minutes stretching and moving your body. Here’s a link to some yoga freebies for you to check out Free Yoga Videos Or, go take a walk and do some push-ups. I REALLY am going to do this TODAY!
  • Get in the kitchen and cook.
  • Read that book you’ve been saying you’re going to read… for the last decade. If you have a library card, you can download eBooks and audio books for free.
  • Stop going to the kitchen and eating because you’re bored. Swimsuit weather is just around the corner and I don’t want to hear you whining because yours doesn’t fit anymore.
  • Drag out Monopoly, Scrabble, Yahtzee, or another family favorite, and bond with your family.

We must get creative with our new normal.     

Because we all need community and support, I’m going to try something for fun and see what happens. I’m going to do a FREE GROUP COACHING SESSION ON ZOOM, this Saturday at 11:00 AM central. It will last approximately 35 minutes.

The topic will be: “Confronting Challenges in Creating the New Normal”  

Zoom is a video-conferencing platform where we are together virtually. On your computer, click on the Join Zoom Meeting link Saturday at 11:00, and we’ll hang out with a bunch of our friends.

Here’s the invitation:

Topic: Carol’s Group Coaching
Time: Mar 21, 2020 11:00 AM Central Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting: https://us04web.zoom.us/j/2428454676

I hope you can join me for this FREE online event. Let me know what you’re struggling with prior to our session, and I’ll address it on Saturday. Be sure to put it in your calendar so you don’t miss it. See you then!

Much love,
Carol

“Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.”–Arthur Ashe

The Scoop on the Sumo

March 12, 2020
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Food, Health

In recent weeks, the Sumo orange has come into my life. If you are a fan of citrus, you’ll enjoy learning a bit about this juicy, seedless, ultra-sweet orange.

The Sumo (like a Sumo wrestler) is a cross-breed between a satsuma and mandarin-pomelo variety. The oranges were developed in Japan with traditional plant-breeding techniques (so they are non-GMO), where they are often given as gifts. They are really big, hence the name.   

They have a very thick outer layer and are easy to peel because they lack the white netting around the sections. Their growing season is short—from January to April—so you need to snatch them up now, while you can!

Sumo oranges are a bit pricey for a number of reasons. There is only one grower in the U.S. (in California), the trees are difficult to grow (at least 4 years before they begin producing), and the oranges require special care.

The fruit bruises easily, so they must be hand-picked, and producers must apply a natural clay-based sunscreen on the peels throughout the summertime for protection. Now that’s some TLC!

Once the fruit is ripe, it’s carefully transported to a specific packaging facility for testing. Each Sumo Citrus orange is measured for proper sugar and acid levels and gets tossed out if it doesn’t meet the producer’s high standards.

This delicious fruit is prized for being a novelty more than a health food. It has a higher amount of fiber, Vitamin C, and calcium than the average orange, mostly due to its massive size. Since the fruit is produced with low-acid levels, Sumo oranges could be an option for those who don’t tolerate acidic foods well.  

As we take extra measures these days to stay healthy, eating a variety of fruits and vegetables is a must. And remember to wash your hands frequently with soap and water, drink plenty of water, and get your sleep.

To Your Health,
Carol

“I love fresh citrus and always keep lemons, limes, and oranges on hand; they come in handy for spritzing up quickly grilled meats, seafoods, and vegetables, especially when followed up by a quick drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.”– Emeril Lagasse

Can You Hear Me Now?

March 4, 2020
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Family, Fun, Health

Recently, my church sponsored a health fair. Representatives from AccuQuest Hearing Centers were among the many vendors.

Since I sometimes think that Mr. Non-Compliant (my dear husband, for new readers to my blog) doesn’t hear me, I suggested we both get our ears checked.

To say that this brilliant idea backfired on me is a major understatement.  

I volunteered to go first for the ear inspection. Of course, I never thought that I had any type of problem. I was merely doing this to get him to play along.

There was a computer screen in front of me, and I could see the inside of my ear as the little camera was taking a peak. Much to my dismay, one eardrum was completely hidden from view due to a huge blob of earwax.

Really? I’m looking out for my loved one, with ulterior motives of course, and THIS is what happens?

Really. I believe that God has quite a sense of humor.

Big. Time. Backfire.

This prompted me to make an appointment at AccuQuest for a FREE HEARING EVALUATION.

During my appointment, Dr. Joshua Elzinga reviewed my ear history and explained how we hear, and what happens when our ability to hear is diminished.

Since the sounds we hear are ultimately interpreted in our brains, hearing loss can lead to dementia, as well as social isolation and frustrated loved ones.

As with any health condition, the earlier hearing loss is detected, the better the outcome.

So this is what happened: Dr. Josh cleared out the wax, explained how the hearing test was done, and did the test. The actual test itself took about 10 minutes. The total time I spent in the office was an hour. If you don’t have earwax to be excavated, your visit will probably be shorter.

DO NOT BE AFRAID TO GET YOUR HEARING CHECKED! This is important for your overall health.

This evaluation was 100% FREE. Since I chose to have the screening done, the wax removal was free as well.

I have next year’s appointment on the calendar, since yearly check-ups are a very good idea.  

There are multiple locations across the country. I visited the Highland location in the Porte De Leau Shopping Center on 45th Avenue.

As for Mr. Non-Compliant, well, he still needs to call Christina to make his appointment. The good news for me is that my hearing is fine, especially since I no longer have a blob of wax preventing those sound waves from reaching my eardrum.

To Your Health,
Carol

“Listen with curiosity. Speak with honesty. Act with integrity. The greatest problem with communication is we don’t listen to understand. We listen to reply. When we listen with curiosity, we don’t listen with the intent to reply. We listen for what’s behind the words.”― Roy T. Bennett

Create More Time

February 27, 2020
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Health, Personal Development, Spiritual

When we think about time, it’s the one resource we will never get back.

We can earn more money, buy more things, and make new friends. Time? It is finite for us all.

And have you ever told yourself that you don’t have time to exercise, make healthy meals, clean house, etc?

I would bet money that we are all guilty of “not having enough time” to do something.  

In the book, “Can’t Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds,” author David Goggins offers a list of challenges, one at the end of each chapter.

David Goggins is an unbelievable human being, and his book is an inspiration for living up to your greatest potential. NOTE: He is honest and raw. No sugar coating anything.

Since Lent (a period of 40 days that Christians observe from Ash Wednesday to Easter) began yesterday, I’ve decided that this is the perfect time to implement the challenge on scheduling.  

This is a 3-week challenge, so I figure I should be able to master this during the 6 weeks of Lent.

Here it is:

Week 1: Take notes on your daily routines and habits. How often are you on your phone or watching TV? How long do you take to eat and commute to work?

Week 2: Build a schedule to optimize your time. Use 15–30 minute block intervals. When you work, only focus on one thing at a time.

 Week 3: Your schedule should be optimized!

 End Goal: Stop wasting time. Maximize your effort in what you do every day without sacrificing sleep.

Sounds pretty simple. I already know that this will be a very revealing challenge, and I’m in.  

Would you like to join me? If you’re in this with me, I’d love to hear from you. Send me an email and let me know your plan.

What will you do with your newly created time? I’m excited to see what’s possible.

Whatever ways you choose to use the time between now and Easter, may it be time well lived. 

You’ll never see this Lent again.

Blessings and love,
Carol

 “Only you can master your mind, which is what it takes to live a bold life filled with accomplishments most people consider beyond their capability.”
― David Goggins, “Can’t Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds”

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