How to love a stranger

When I work at my long-term care facility, I take lunch around 12:30 pm. Most days, I see Florence (not her real name) in the cafeteria. Florence eats alone. She is too shy to reach out to other diners sitting near her. Sometimes she buries herself in a book. Other times, she watches groups interacting…

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Dear Darling, I'm sad and lonely. You don't love me the way you could. Early on in our relationship, lettuce alone with no dressing was enough. But now, salads with you are boring and dull. I need more. I need more color. More texture. More antioxidants. I dreamed that, one day, you would come to me…

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You could be enjoying watermelon SO MUCH MORE than you probably do with it's delightful versatility. Let me share with you what I've discovered about the very special ways that watermelon loves you! Read the transcript here Reasons to love watermelon (in addition to it being delicious!): May help lower your risk of colorectal cancer;…

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Bacteria are vindictive, life-sucking demons who must be shunned with every antibacterial scrub and spray made available. At least, that's the conventional wisdom to date. Thankfully, news is leaking out of a surprising, life-supportive relationship with bacteria. Yep, I did say it: bacteria supports life all over, inside and outside, of your body. Many of…

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What's crazy about buying two pounds of organic strawberries for five bucks? Okay, obviously, the price. But what's crazy would be to buy the strawberries when bushels of them are oozing out of our garden beds. Then why on earth did I buy any more berries? For one, these are premium, seasonal berries that are in their…

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I have a habit of adapting recipes and whimsically add my own touches. A little extra spice here, a veggie substitution there. When it comes to soups, it's all artistic license and little science. My foodie friends affirm that my soups are ah-mazing! Mike thinks my soups are the best he's tasted. This works well…

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Appetizers ~Fancy Baked Brie with Gourmet Rooster Sauce (Vegetarian) ~Homemade bread (my friend Mattie baked 16 loaves) ~ Slow-cooked, marinated Italian meatballs ~Shrimp with tangy cocktail sauce (GF) Main ~ Coconut Ginger Curry Soup (V/GF) ~Massaged Kale Salad w/ Walnuts, Strawberries & Sea Salt (V/GF) ~ Quinoa Salad, Toasted Almonds and Fresh Herbs (V/GF) Beverages……

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I owe you an apology. I've all but disappeared from the planet, and only to suddenly resurface with this news: I'm married! On June 16th, Mike and I hitched the horse with the pony. While I tried with all of my might to juggle the wedding planning, the prenuptial party, four jobs (one of them…

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Put the store-bought natural pies to crying shame while wowing your dinner guests with this bitchin' dessert.  Please run - don't walk - to your kitchen to whip this up! This is the fastest, easiest damn pie I've ever made.  It excels at being highly palatable, yet low-budget, whole foods dessert. It is free of…

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"Vulnerability is our most accurate measurement of courage.” (Brené Brown) It's not every day that I find a TED talk so compelling that I would take notes and then write a blog post about it. In her talk about The Power of Vulnerability (Ted Talk), speaker Brene Brown shed light on two very dark and uncomfortable…

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