At 10PM I opened my internet browser. I guess I was bored. I remembered something my doctor had said and I wanted to investigate. We were discussing kidney disease research and diet. He mentioned that because my kidney issues came from a congenital disorder my case was unique and that…
How to Deal With Stress
Stress is annoying. It’s this crazy automatic human ancestral thing that messes with our minds and bodies. Something happens and suddenly your body reacts as if it is under attack, fight or flight. We don’t have the same dangers as when we were hunting or gathering, but our physiology assumes…
How to Stop Drinking Coffee
Ahh coffee, let me count the ways… You warm me through and through You wake me up You bring together friends You are there for the good conversations You helped me meet that deadline You got me though that meeting We celebrate holidays together You greet me first thing in…
Grateful for The Rose: Planting Something Positive
I was back in the hospital with pneumonia, somewhere between seven and nine years old. This was a fairly regular occurrence during my childhood. Kids that have TEF (tracheoesophageal fistula, an abnormal connection between the trachea and esophagus) can have lasting pulmonary complications. I’m sure I felt pretty crappy. I…
The Broccoli Mac
The broccoli mac is a creation from my childhood. We were a hippie veggie family which meant that I didn’t try meat until I was seven at a friend’s house. Side note, meatloaf should not be the first thing a kiddo tries, it turned me off for a good long…
Stress Symptoms
You’ve got to put on your detective hat to discover your stress symptoms because they could be virtually anything. The way your body expresses stress will be as unique as you are. Basically, anything out of the ordinary could be linked to stress. If you are under stress and suspect…
First Glimpse of Spring: A Day in Napa
Spring is such a sweet time of year. It is as if the flowers and trees are reminding us that new beginnings can come out of that which looks completely bare. There is almost nothing better for stress than being outside, fresh air, off leash dogs running with tongues floppy…
20 Random Things to Love
I’m feeling particularly sentimental this Valentine’s Day. And while I can’t know exactly how love works; I know when it is there. I can sense it in the quiet moments when it whispers and in the intoxicating swirls when it feels like your heart will burst. Today, I’m letting love…
Vegan Peanut Butter Cups: Happy Valentine’s Day!
Vegan chocolates are expensive and not readily available in my area which means that I’d have to order them online and pay for shipping. But I miss chocolates terribly! Not so much because I used to eat chocolates all the time, which I didn’t, more because of the thought that…
The Definition of Stress: We’ve Had It All Wrong
Stress is misunderstood. The definition of stress is completely, absolutely, one hundred percent different than what you probably think it is. Our vernacular leads us to say that something “stresses us out.” Stress is thought of as an external force that puts pressure on us. When I first learned that…