Alrighty my friends, I’m not sure how we got here but apparently, I only have a month left of college. Over the years I have shared lessons, and growing moments. There are also a few things I have not shared with you… a few of my favorite and even a little embarrassing moments. Colorado – My roommate and I decided to take a trip to Colorado during quarantine. This was our first time traveling to Colorado and we are very “go with the flow,” type of gals when it comes to traveling.  We talked to locals and looked up some …

Happy Spring! I have to say, I never quite know where the inspiration for this article will come from. I have a very seasonable palate. I suppose most of us living in the upper Midwest do. I would never make chili in the summer or grill seafood in the winter. Perhaps it’s the fresh ingredients that inspire me. This time, however, it was two unexpected gifts from our eldest that brought forth these two recipes. First, the pasta dish recipe was given to me after our daughter requested to make our family dinner. Second, she bought us this Easter cake …

NIGHT FALL By Nelson DeMille This book, written in 2004, is a work of fiction, but is based on events that actually happened. On July 17th, 1996, at 8:31p.m. E.D.T., TWA Flight 800 bound for Paris and then on to Rome, Italy, took off from New York and crashed into the Atlantic Ocean shortly after takeoff . All 230 on board died in the crash. Of the 258 witnesses who came forward and were interviewed, 38 of those reported a “streak of light” ascending from the ocean. There were many theories as to what actually happened:  was it bomb, missile …

School Daze The Best and the Worst of Pandemic Pedagogy For centuries, pedagogy has been the same old, same old:  students congregate in a school, freely sharing air. Lunch is a noisy clustering of kids in a cafeteria, while recess and gym class have kids pinballing off each other. The COVID-19 has forced schools across America to reconfigure themselves on the fly — not an easy task, as the pandemic swelled and subsided and swelled again. Adapting to remote learning brings its own set of uncertainties, like iffy (or nonexistent) internet connections and some families lacking sufficiently quiet space for …

You may be wondering what you can do to better protect yourself during cold, flu and COVID season. The uncomfortable truth is that we are continually exposed to bacteria, viruses and fungi that are inhaled, swallowed, or live on our skin or in our body. Whether these organisms lead to disease depends partly on how “mean” the bug is and how many of them there are. However, it depends just as much, if not even more, on how well your immune system is working to defend your body. The good news is that there is a lot that you can …

The Pearl By John Steinbeck I recently re-read The Pearl and remembered why I enjoyed the book. Now that I’m older — quite a bit older — I realized what a phenomenal lesson there was written into such a small book. The pearl depicts two forces that shape human life — a world where humans shape their own destinies and a world where forces often beyond our control can occur, completely changing the course of our lives. In the beginning of the tale, Kino, his wife Juana, and their son Coyotito are a happy family. However, one day Kino, a …

Golden Milk This recipe from The Minimalist Baker INGREDIENTS • 1½ cups light coconut milk (canned is best, but carton works too) • 1½ cups unsweetened plain almond milk (DIY or store-bought) • 1½ tsp ground turmeric • 1/4 tsp ground ginger • 1 whole cinnamon stick (or 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon – I prefer the stick!) • 1 tbsp coconut oil • 1 pinch ground black pepper • Sweetener of choice (i.e. maple syrup, coconut sugar, or stevia to taste) Mix together and heat for 10 minutes – Enjoy! Pad Thai Recipe adapted from tastesbetterfromscratch.com Ingredients • 8 ounces …

This issue marks the 10th year of publishing 5ive For Women. I am beyond honored have been part of your lives for the past 10 years. This issue is about health and happiness and how we continue to work together in these continued challenging times—how we can be well in the journey of faith, family, friends, fitness, and finance. ~ Jen [in this issue] 06 Editor’s Note 10 Immune System Boosting in the Season of Colds 14 School Daze – Pandemic Pedagogy 19 Rays of Grace 22 Foodie Forum 23 Bookmark [ in every issue ] Editor’s Note – News …

The greatest glory in living lies not in never failing, but in rising every time we fall. – Nelson Mandela This quote hit me hard today. I get daily quotes. Nelson Mandela’s passage was a God wink; I was having a tough day. I am an imperfect human, trying to navigate this crazy life. The above quote passed over me when I first read it, as I was busy with my day’s morning madness. However, it came back hard like the whipping wind I felt against my skin as I strolled the dog through Putnam Trail on the coldest day …

As some of you know, I have been in a sorority since my freshmen year of college. With things going online due to the pandemic this past semester, we started looking for new ways to focus on our friendships, even if it meant we could only see each other virtually. We implemented something called “hero journals.” One member writes a letter to another woman in the chapter and explains how they have impacted their life but does not mention who it is until the end of the letter. This idea got me thinking about who my hero would be, and …