Cindy Maddera has been blogging since 2000 and often wonders why she still can’t manage to get it together enough to write that book. The blog was built by her late husband Chris, way back in the very beginning days of blogs. Back then the blog was called Elephant Soap because it was available and included Cindy’s favorite animal. The ‘Soap’ part came from ‘soap box’ because the blog was/is where Cindy preaches about validating science, political issues, and reminding people to not be jerks. It has also been used to keep friends and family updated on Cindy’s life and what the voices in her head talk about. There is a wide range of topics covered here. There are a lot of stories about grief in this space. There are occasionally some bits of fiction, sometimes some science, always pictures and sometimes some yoga

Cindy spent her first thirty five years in Oklahoma. She met Chris at the end of her Freshmen year in undergrad. The two of them became a team and eventually settled in Oklahoma City after graduate school. They didn’t really like Oklahoma but Cindy really liked her job. They rented a house and got a dog they named Hooper. When her bosses retired, Cindy took a job offer that had them move to Kansas City. Both Chris and Cindy were pleased with their new surroundings and enjoyed almost a whole year of joy from discovering new things. Then Chris got sick. Once the doctors figured out why he was sick, it was too late to fix him. He died shortly after his forty first birthday, leaving behind a heartbroken Cindy and Hooper.

Cindy spent the next year and half learning to live a life without Chris and then also without Hooper. Almost a year after Chris passed, Hooper decided to cross over that rainbow bridge to be closer to Chris. Things got pretty bleak for Cindy. There were many nights where dinner was a sleeve of saltine crackers and a bottle of wine. Then she entered the world of online dating. So now things were not just bleak, but weird. Eventually she met Michael, who sort of barged his way into her life. He came with a kid that Cindy refers to as ‘The Cabbage’. Josephine, a miniature schnauzer, joined the group in 2014. Then a cat they eventually named Albus showed up. He’s kind of a wild animal that only curls up in Cindy’s lap. Michael and Cindy brought chickens into this circus in 2015. They bought four chicks thinking that one might not make it. All four chickens lived and thrived until 2021. That’s when the first homicide occurred, taking one of the chickens. Now there are three and we expect that number to fluctuate.

Cindy has a Bachelor’s degree in Biology and a Master’s in Microbiology and Molecular Genetics. She spends her weekdays messing around with fancy microscopes and when the weather is good, she and Michael often scoot around town on Vespa scooters. Cindy is a Yoga Alliance certified yoga teacher and takes time every day for her yoga practice. She considers her photography to be an act of meditation and occasionally teaches workshops on phone photography. Feel free to contact Cindy through the contact page for more information on science, yoga and photography. On a daily basis, she will look into Josephine’s eyes and sing “I love you. I honestly love you.” Cindy has a penchant for a particular shade of blue and she will always say “yes” to a slice of pizza when offered. She has broken both of her arms but not at the same time. She no longer has her tonsils or her wisdom teeth, but she has (for now) three tattoos.