by Karen Creamer | Feb 7, 2023 | (it's all about the) food
The Air Fryer!

I have a small kitchen with not much counter space, so the last thing that I am ever thinking is, “Hey, maybe I need more small appliances!”
And then one day I was chatting with my friend Annette who told me how much she loved hers.
Also, my daughter wanted one. It was right before Christmas (as I recall; there is always the chance that she might dispute this) so we decided to get her one. We got a small version, because if history predicts the future, this small appliance would be relegated to the shelves in my basement where old small appliances that are never used go to die, Keep reading
by Karen Creamer | Jan 31, 2023 | Book Reviews, books, Connection
I heard about this book from someone on a YouTube channel and requested it from the library.

Before I started reading it, I noticed that everyone was recommending this book and also it was being featured in a lot of book clubs. When I picked it up from the library, the librarian mentioned that “they” are already talking about making this book into a movie. This actually almost put me off reading it, but I decided to forge ahead.
What’s great about this book: SO MUCH! It made me laugh out loud several times, which is not an every day occurrence for me as a reader. Also, the main characters were all so very interesting, even—maybe especially—the dog, and each is quite brave in their own way. Keep reading
by Karen Creamer | Jan 24, 2023 | (it's all about the) food, Clarity, health
“I’d like a side of lead and cadmium with my dark chocolate”–
said nobody, ever.

I was paging through the February 2023 issue of Consumer Reports and discovered that these heavy metals are apparently exactly what I have been unknowingly getting. You know, in dark chocolate? The kind that is supposed to be “better for you” (p. 34)?
I think of the couple of bars of Green & Black’s that I have sitting in my desk drawer that are now going into the trash instead of my body. Before throwing them out, I looked at the Nutrition Facts label. Shockingly, lead and cadmium are missing from the list! I looked at the list of ingredients and once again, lead and cadmium are omitted. I wonder what other foods and products contain toxic ingredients that somehow never made it on the packages ingredients list. Keep reading
by Karen Creamer | Jan 17, 2023 | books, Connection, friends, Metaphysical healing, Signs and Symbols
My friend recommended this book to me last year.
I looked at it and remembered that I had a mala somewhere that looked exactly like that one on the cover!
I took this as a sign to read the book.

It drew me in right away and I recommend The Magic Mala by Bob Olson to anyone who is looking for motivation and structure to help with their floundering (or non-existent) meditation practice. I found my mala and started meditating. After several months, I got away from it but recently it popped into my mind so I pulled the book and the mala out again. Keep reading
by Karen Creamer | Jan 10, 2023 | Connection, education, family
I have renewed my goal of learning to speak Italian this year.
Why Italian? Because half of my family of origin was from Italy. The other half is from Ireland, and I already speak English. 🙂
Also, I want to go to Italy and visit where my grandparents were from. Learning Italian makes me feel closer to that goal, which is, sadly, already about ten years overdue.

This is the second foreign language I’ve studied so far. I learned French when I was younger. I began in seventh grade, continued in high school and college. I remember sitting in the language lab in college and having no fun whatsoever. The end result is that I can understand and read some French, but I am (and was) a poor speaker of it. Keep reading