When I was 41, I found a lump the size of a grape in my right breast. I ended up bald, sick and exhausted from surgeries, chemo and radiation treatments. Ah, but I got to live.

To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me. It is the most-requested column I've ever written.

Baking happens with ingredients that last for months and come to life inside a warm oven. Baking is slow and leisurely.

Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.

Sometimes you have to censor books. When I read 'Peter Rabbit,' I skip the part about Peter's father ending up in one of Mrs. McGregor's pies. I also hid the book of 'Grimm Fairy Tales.' They're just too grim for my grandkids. Reality will come soon enough.

God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.

Eating something fresh out of the oven is like a hug you can taste.