He did.

So can you.

This is for anyone who needs the courage to speak up about what they’re going through and ask for the help that they need to make it through.

YOU ARE NOT ALONE.

HELP WILL ALWAYS COME.

YOU ARE PRECIOUS. YOU ARE LOVED. YOU ARE WORTH A RESCUE.

There are a million different flavors of struggles the human race goes through, but it seems as if Depression always seems to tag along - a bonus affliction, if you will.

Depression is an opportunistic parasite, latching onto our hearts and sucking us dry of the will to fight; to get up in the morning; to breathe.

The most insidious evil of Depression is that it isolates us.

Not only does it isolate us from our true Self, it whispers lies in our sleep: telling us we are alone, that no one could ever understand the depths to which we’ve fallen. And even if they could, Depression sneers, no one’s arms are long enough (or willing enough) to reach out to help.

But these are lies!

There is nothing unique about misery in the human condition. We are capable of the highest highs and the lowest lows - the beauty and the curse of who we are.

Your circumstances may be unique, but your suffering is not.

There is someone out there who has gone through something similar and come out the other side. Find them, ask for their stories; ask how they survived.

Ask for help. Help will come to you. Always.

Summon your courage and speak your needs. Until your need is known, it will be assumed that you are okay…when you are not okay!

It’s okay to not be okay.

It’s pretty normal to not be okay, actually - you just don’t realize it because everyone has been taught to hide their hearts.

There is a huge difference in hiding your heart and guarding your heart.

Always guard your heart - guard it so that you can live from it, not walk away from it. But do not stuff it down or disassociate from it.

Your heart is the wellspring of life - the very thing you are dying for right now.

Ask for help. You are not alone. Help will come

(If you can’t find your voice yet, you can always, always email me. I love to help; it’s why I started this blog, for goodness sakes!) 

This voice was one of legitimately caring concern. But it posed as wisdom when its actual root was fear and misunderstanding. It very, very subtly undermined my confidence and slowly shut my heart down. I lost my footing, became ungrounded, and felt totally adrift.

We do things differently, my little family and I. And not many people get us. I allowed someone’s ignorance of our Way misguide and nearly derail me. It was a close call. We all suffered for it and are all healing from it now.

I’m actually in therapy for this. A wacky and wonderful (and demanding and deep) type of therapy totally suited to my needs. My kids are having regular cranial-sacral adjustments that are bringing them back around to where they need to be. We are doing well.

We survived.

I just wanted to tell you this because there may be voices in your life that you are giving too much authority to. Voices that are dragging you down instead of lifting you up. Voices steeped in fear instead of faith. They may be from friends whose path has diverged from yours; from family whose perspective is skewed; they may even be coming from inside your head.

Don’t listen to those voices.

Ask for help. Get new friends. Tell your family you need some distance. Do not listen to the clamor of lies.

Truth can be difficult to hear. It can cut like a knife. But it will do more straightening in your mind than twisting up. The things Truth will slice in you are things that need to be surgically removed. Truth does not attempt to motivate with fear, or condemnation, or guilt, or shame, or a sense of isolation.

Truth will set your heart free.

So guard your heart against those voices who would tell you lies about yourself and your self worth. Cultivate relationships that value Truth and the unique way in which you are following the Way.

This is a modification of the recipe linked above. I used raw spinach, garlicky sauteed green beans (which I’d made for our lunch earlier today), shredded raw carrot, sliced raw bell pepper, and green onions for our veggies - just the stuff I needed to use up in the bottom of the veg drawer of my fridge.

It took about 15 minutes to put together - I just prepped veggies and tempeh as the noodles were boiling!

Do your tastebuds a favor and make this soon!

If you’ve ever enjoyed a Vietnamese Bahn Mi sandwich, imagine this as the noodley, salady, vegetarian version of it.

Here’s the sandwich version I made once. Looks yummy, huh?

Here’s a picture of the Bowl version:

To make the Bahn Mi Bowl, here’s what you’ll need:

Noodles
Enough noodles (udon are best, spaghetti will work in a pinch; rice noodles work great for a gluten-free option) for the people you’re feeding.
Boil, rinse, drain, and set aside. You can stir a little sesame and olive oils in if you want, to keep them from sticking.

Meat
Tempeh, or meat if you are so inclined.
Marinate in soy sauce and pan fry on high heat in a cast iron skillet; set side and keep warm.

Salad
Really any veggies you have on hand will be great. Here are some favorites:
- Carrot
- Daikon (typical in Bahn Mi sandwich “pickle”)
- Broccoli
- Bean sprouts
- Cabbage
- Cucumber
- Bell pepper
- Spinach
- Snow peas or sugar snap peas
- Green beans
- Zucchini
- Cilantro (this is essential! Lots of it!)
- Mint (a recent addition; makes more of a Thai impression, and very good)
Slice thinly or shred the veggies. I like to marinate shredded carrots, zucchini, cabbage, and broccoli in rice vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, and a little honey, salt, and pepper (but that is totally optional! If you’re in a hurry, just use them as-is). I like to leave the softer veggies out of the marinade; they stay fresher longer.

Dressing
This, my friends, is the magic here. It’s simple, but it makes the whole dish. It takes what would be way too many raw vegetables for one meal and brings them together into creamy deliciousness.
- Vegenaise (or mayo if you like)
- Sriracha (you know, Rooster sauce!)
Mix a generous couple of dollops of Vegenaise with a very generous squirt of Rooster sauce. The final product should be a pleasant salmon color, with enough heat to be interesting but not so much as to blow steam out your ears (unless that’s your thing).

Serving
Put a serving of noodles in a bowl, top with whatever veggies you like, add some meatsies, ladle on the sauce. Mix it all up together and enjoy!

By the way, this is a great meal for a crowd. You can assign each component to a person to contribute, or if you are going to swing it yourself, almost everything can be prepped ahead of time. I made this for about 15 people recently, and it was a huge hit.

I’m not a coffee drinker, but I often like a hot drink that isn’t tea.

Crio Brü is most akin to coffee. You can’t go in expecting a typical cup of “hot chocolate.” It lacks the thick, creamy mouth feel because it isn’t full of sugar and fat.

My husband likes the soporific effect Crio Brü has on him (I don’t notice it at all, but then I’m not a 2-3 espresso a day junkie!), and I like that it really takes the edge of my late afternoon snack attacks.

If you’re looking for a warming drink that isn’t coffee or tea, but doesn’t have the calories and fat of most other alternatives, try Crio Brü and tell me how you like it!

I haven’t talked too much about my personal parenting journey (that’s something I intend to do more of this year), but suffice it to say, the last 5 years have been rough. Like, “Is something terribly wrong here?” kind of rough.

Of course, something was terribly wrong for the first year (food allergies), and recovering from that first year was rocky, but I kept waiting for things to get easier in subsequent years, and they haven’t really. I’m dealing with new challenges as developmental stages pass, but there hasn’t yet been a transition into the smooth-sailing that many parents talk about after the Horrendous Threes are over.

So I’m reading this book and it’s helping me see new possibilities as to why. Possibilities that don’t include the self-condemning voices in my head shouting, “You suck! You’re a lousy parent! You don’t know what you’re doing!”

If this title speaks to your reality even the tiniest bit, please find a way to read this book. I guarantee it will shed some light on your situation.

Raising Your Spirited Child: A Guide for Parents Whose Child Is More Intense, Sensitive, Perceptive, Persistent, and Energetic.

In a nutshell,

the US government wants to censor our internet.

If that freaks you out (and it should!), call your Senator, send an email, make a stink.

Wikipedia and Google can help you figure out how to get heard.

You can read a history of arepas on Wikipedia, if you like. I’ll just tell you that they are basically…corn flour pita pockets.

I’m sure millions of Colombians and Venezuelans are shaking their collective fist at me for describing their national dish so rudely. But hey, they’re made out of corn flour, and (at least in many places) split open and stuffed full of deliciousness. If they’re not split, then the toppings go on top, which is also like pita bread! So there you have it: corn flour pitas. And not just for lunch! In Colombia, arepas are typically a breakfast food.

When I make arepas, I do up a big batch for breakfast, and if we’re lucky they will last us through a couple snacks, lunch, and the next day’s breakfast. But only if it was a big batch.

Arepas
(Recipe amounts taken from Gluten-free Girl’s lovely essay on making Arepas)
2 1/2 cups lukewarm water
1 teaspoon vegetable oil (optional, but it does make them toast up so evenly!)
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups pre-cooked white cornmeal (P.A.N. Harina Blanca is the only acceptable type, in my opinion!)

Knead it all up in a big bowl. You have to use your hands, because the texture here is important. I always aim for the consistency of brand new Play Dough. You want the dough wet enough to hold together without crumbling, but not so wet that it doesn’t hold its shape. Make sure you let the dough rest a bit, because the corn flour will absorb water for a while after you mix it in. You can always add more water if you need to.

Heat up a griddle or frying pan (I use my cast iron skillet) and wipe it with a bit of oil. Now wet your hands and shape your arepas.

Shaping the arepas takes practice. Every family makes them slightly differently.

(Venezuelans make them quite thick - that’s how I first had them - topped with black beans, avocado, and sour cream. But I married into a Colombian family, and now I make them fairly thin - split open and stuffed with cheese, meat, and…because my husband is also half Norwegian and fully American: tater tots and ketchup. My father-in-law puts cheese into his arepa dough; I do not. His wife taught me to make sweet arepas with cinnamon and honey mixed into the dough.)

I shape my arepas about 4 inches across and 1/4 inch thick or so (somewhere between Colombian and Venezuelan thicknesses). I can get three into my 10” cast iron skillet if I crowd them together. That’s really what informs my creation: how fast can I get breakfast on the table?

I’m going to show, not tell, you how to actually do the shaping. Watch this grandmotherly Colombian woman deftly working the arepa dough. She makes hers much thinner than I do mine! There’s no way you could split these and fill them; she puts the cheese on top.

Whatever thickness you make your arepas, it’s vital that the arepa dough on the inside gets cooked while the outer shell gets crisp, but not burnt. A perfect arepa has a lovely crispy outer layer, with a fluffy moist inside. If you’re going to stuff your arepas, scoop out the insides onto your plate and spread them with butter and honey to eat with a spoon. Mmmm.

At my house, we stuff our arepas with cheese (sometimes the traditional queso fresco, but most often the amazing English cheddar we’ve been buying lately), breakfast sausage (most often the vegetarian kind) or bacon (the oink-oink kind), and Tabasco and/or ketchup. The second round of arepas usually gets treated with peanut butter and honey.

Arepas are so easy to make - just as easy as pancakes or waffles, and they are more conducive to a savory, higher protein breakfast than the former. I also sometimes make them for supper when I’m in too much of a rush to make dinner rolls or cornbread for our soup.

Enjoy!

Fotoshop, by Adobé.