Thank you so much for listening to today's episode on finding YOUR unique definition of courage. Here is a wonderful quote by Rachel Marie Martin to inspire you and to connect you more with your courage through motherhood: "STRENGTH. It is not found in perfection. It is found in the moments. The moments of doubt. Of courage. Of tenacity. Of bravery. Of loving. Of giving. Of believing. Of laughing. Of crying. Of trying. That is real strength. That is motherhood." I

I couldn't agree more. I hope you enjoy this week's episode inspired by Judith Hanson Lasater's "Living Your Yoga" book and her chapter all about courage. Share, talk about it, connect with me and inspire others around you!

Mom Card Drawing of the Week: "We acquire the strength of that which we have overcome." -Ralph Waldo Emerson

These are a few of my Favorite Things: Just Ingredients Pre-Workout Drink (Caffeine-free Tropical flavor). www.justingredients.us

Thank you so much for listening to this week's episode about Perspective & Perception. I hope you enjoy it as much as I still need to hear it! Remember, this topic is a LOT of work. Daily work. So cut yourself some slack and consider today the start of a brand new perspective!

Mom Card Drawing of the Week: "...we are the hero of our own story." -Mary McCarthy

These are a few of my favorite things: Ryan Holiday's trifecta of books: "Stillness is the Key", "The Obstacle is the Way", and "Ego is the Enemy". Get on Amazon here: https://a.co/d/4yTwjkB

Also, check out the Extract Juice and Nektar apps on the app store to see if there is a location near you!!

Ryan Holiday's advice... We must try:

• To be objective

• To control emotions and keep an even keel

• To choose to see the good in a situation

• To steady our nerves

• To ignore what disturbs or limits others

• To place things in perspective

• To revert to the present moment

• To focus on what can be controlled

And I want to add, to stop being fixated on the what ifs that may never happen.

Closing inspiration from Judith Lasater: "The worst could happen; the best could happen. Life is usually somewhere in between."

Thank you again for listening, sharing and rating this podcast. I wouldn't be here without you!

HELLO MOMS! Welcome back to the bi-weekly episode where we are talking about what Judith Lasater calls, "The Quiet Cousin of Courage." Faith. Not solely in the religious sense but in the sense of trusting ourselves, our experiences in life working out and an intuitive connection with something greater than us. Faith allows us to find the bravery to take a chance, even if there are no guarantees. It allows us to make the most important decisions in our lives. And the beauty of making these hard decisions with a soft heart and compassion, as Judith Lasater states in this chapter.

I feel our decisions with our lives and motherhoods can drastically be at ease when we put the word "faith" in our intentions versus "belief". It's eased my anxiety and need for control. I've become more relaxed with my life and how it unfolds. How my daughter's life unfolds. I have my days, don't get me wrong, but it's books like this I then go back to for the kind reminders.

I hope you enjoy and please reach out to let me know your thoughts, experiences and if there's anything I missed on this topic. Thank you so much for listening!

Mom Quote of the Week: "Life does not have to be perfect to be wonderful." -Annette Funicello

My favorite thing this week is my protein balls. I love changing the recipe each time I make them based on what I have or what I have the taste for. So this week I had almond butter as my base and then I add Orgain vegan protein powder. I looked around my kitchen cabinets and refrigerator and found some hemp seeds, chia seeds, ground flax seeds, cacao nibs and oats. Mix it all up, get a cookie scooper, put some in the fridge and the rest in the freezer. Store-bought bars have so many ingredients and the ones that are winners can be SO expensive. This recipe is all about dumping, scooping and putting in a container. Takes 20 minutes from start to finish.

Closing Inspiration: "To have faith is to trust yourself to the water. When you swim you don't grab a hold of the water, because if you do you will sink and drown. Instead you relax, and float." -Alan Watts

Get your copy of "Living Your Yoga" by Judith Lasater here: https://a.co/d/7GXS1Mq

THANK YOU for tuning back into this week's episode inspired by Judith Lasater's book, "Living Your Yoga." This week we focus on Chapter 4: Self Judgment. Boy do we do this as moms! Or is it just me? It's never just me I find. I hope you find this week inspirational, awakening, acknowledging and that you finally find some grace for yourself (and others).

My favorite sentence in the book is, "Remember, the difficulty might never change, but your attitude and inner dialogue can." -Judith Lasater. Doesn't this just say it all?

Here are the instructions to the exercise I mention at the end of the episode. Copy, paste and print these out and work on this every day:

1) Taking your physical limitations and health into account, pick a yoga pose (or challenge, task, goal, passion) that is difficult, if not impossible, for you to do.

2) Practice, or rather attempt to practice, this pose every day for one month. To begin, say silently or out loud, "I am attempting something difficult, and I appreciate myself for trying."

3) Then pay close attention to your internal dialogue as you practice your (fill in the blank). At times, you may even talk yourself through what you're doing out loud. Listen to the instructions you give yourself about the physical and mental aspects of how to do the pose. Whose instructions are they?

4) What do you say to yourself when you succeed? When you fail? When you are somewhere in between?

5) Can you do the (fill in the blank) just to do it?

6) When you are done with the (fill in the blank) say aloud, "I have tried something difficult, and I appreciate myself for trying."

-Judith Lasater, "Living Your Yoga", page 36.

And remember, "the difficulty might never change, but your attitude and inner dialogue can." -Judith Lasater

Perfection is an illusion according to Judith Lasater and I couldn't agree more. And in reality, isn't perfection boring? Tight? Constricting? Motherhood needs more freedom, playfulness, mistakes and grace. Doesn't that sound a whole lot better?

Mom Card Drawing of the Week: "Every woman has the right to become herself..." -Ani DiFranco

Thank you for listening, sharing and talking about this episode and the podcast. I appreciate you! If you want a copy of "Living Your Yoga", you can grab it here: https://a.co/d/7f1nZu6

This week we will talk about something that is HARD to do, has to be done DAILY but with this commitment I promise you it will save your soul & motherhood. This week we focus on Chapter 3 of "Living Your Yoga" by Judith Lasater titled, "Letting Go." We try to let go, we try so dang hard. But sometimes you try that surrender thing and it just doesn't work. There's not enough forward folds in the world to make this easier.

I hope this episode can connect you more with what letting go, or detachment, truly means. We go much deeper than you think you know. I surely learned a lot reading this chapter last year and what detachment means, how to make it a daily practice, and more importantly how to recognize what the heck I'm holding onto, controlling, manipulating, feeling I have to be right, the decision maker, the researcher, the disciplinarian, the housekeeper, the perfect friend, the mom who doesn't make mistakes, need I say more?!

After reading this chapter and TRULY putting this into my DAILY practice in my life I can truly say I am excited about my days, my motherhood, as a spouse, friend and living a life more intentionally. Which is pretty powerful. I hope you find this power as well. Not today. Not tomorrow. But in time and then forever.

Mom Card Drawing of the Week: “You are a unique beautiful soul.” -Louise Hay

My Favorite Things:    Purely Elizabeth’s NEW Cookie Granola. Find her 3 flavors (Double Chocolate, Oatmeal Raisin and Chocolate Chip Cookie) at Whole Foods or on her website: www.purelyelizabeth.com. The consistency and flavor of a cookie snuggled into a granola.

Get Judith Lasater's "Living Your Yoga" here on Amazon: https://a.co/d/03YczKU

Connect with my on Instagram at @michelle.a.mansfield or by email at info@michellemansfieldauthor.com. Thank you so much for listening and sharing this episode. I look forward to hearing what you think!

Welcome to this week's episode where our goal, together, is to make our lives EASIER with more intentional and meaningful discipline in our lives. That has nothing to do with our kids! Listen to this new way of seeing discipline in our own lives to transform and find more freedom in our days. You'll find a big weight lifted off your shoulders as you find a more realistic way of accomplishing things on your terms with more intention. A nice surprise beginning to this episode brought to you by one of my favorite yogis!!! Enjoy, share, talk about it, and reach out to me to continue this conversation. Thank you!

Mom Card Drawing of the Week: "I will dare to just do what I do. Be just what I am, and dance whenever I want to." - Beverly Williams

“To enjoy good health, to bring true happiness to one's family, to bring peace to all, one must first discipline and control one's own mind. If a person can control their mind they can find the way to Enlightenment, and all wisdom and virtue will naturally come to them.” -Buddha (Changed all male pronouns to "them" to accommodate everyone!)

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things: Thrive Cosmetics Instant Brow Fix Semi-Permanent Eyebrow Gel: https://thrivecausemetics.com/products/instant-brow-fix-semi-permanent-eyebrow-gel?variant=1743487303705&nbt=nb%3Aadwords%3Ag%3A19742366372%3A147006721112%3A649444719039&nb_adtype=pla&nb_ti=aud-439403283966%3Apla-294677141736&nb_mi=112461866&nb_pc=online&nb_pi=1743487303705&nb_ppi=294677141736&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiAw6yuBhDrARIsACf94RV1LU9U87CffrMBxdyqHnP2ISYAPqkDS8GXziZg1XsQ0Z5lEuoi3F0aAikzEALw_wcB⁠

Listen to Kristin McGee's "10 min Kindness Meditation" from 2/13/24. Link is here if you're a member of Peloton (join if you haven't!!!): https://members.onepeloton.com/classes/meditation?modal=classDetailsModal&classId=927daa87808c4d94a927adb9cb3c98f5&code=YWY2ODk0ZGFhYjM4NDMxYjk2MTkwMDgwOTc4YjA2NWF8M2Q0NTk3NGE3ZDJkNGFmMjgxODFhZWQyYjNjYjAwZGQ=

Follow Kristin McGee on Instagram @kristinmcgee (direct link here: https://www.instagram.com/kristinmcgee/ )

Grab Judith Hanson Lasater's "Living Your Yoga" here: https://a.co/d/20bCU7g Thank you for listening, sharing, and reviewing this podcast to let me know what you need more of. You can follow me at @michelle.a.mansfield on Instagram or connect with me more by emailing me at info@michellemansfieldauthor.com. I appreciate you so much!!

Mom Card Drawing of the Week: "You have a gift that only you can give the world." -Oprah Winfrey

Thank you so much for giving this season a try. Even if you've never practiced yoga, had no desire to, or if you're curious and open to it I hope this is a nice window to a very accepting and peaceful way of living. Living your motherhood. I am excited to share Judith Lasater's book with you this season, "Living Your Yoga", and how it can apply to your motherhood. You don't even have to do Warrior 2!

This week we focus on bringing the RIGHT spirituality into your motherhood. On your terms and in your way. Not necessarily as an organized religion. I am Jewish, and proud of my religion, but I am open to other forms of spirituality and to be honest, anything that will make my life easier. And happier. Especially my motherhood.

I hope you get just one piece of inspiration in this 25 minutes. Just one. Anything that will give you confidence, connection to your SELF, and what you want out of your life. How you want to live YOUR unique life. Thank you for listening, sharing, talking about this episode with others and supporting this podcast.

Takeaways...

Judith's end of chapter Mantras:

1. I am my own authority

2. My life is a work in progress

3. I desire wholeness

4. All the answers are within me

5. Life is practice, practice is life

6. I commit to living my life fully in this moment

My Favorite Thing of the Week: Get your Blue Lotus Rooibos Masala Chai here on Amazon: https://a.co/d/c5CZ6rW

Get your copy of "Living Your Yoga. Finding the Spiritual in Everyday Life." here on Amazon: https://a.co/d/boKoLgO

Learn more about Judith Hanson Lasater, Ph.D., P.T. here: https://www.judithhansonlasater.com/

Welcome to SEASON 3 of The Honest Mom Podcast! Today we talk about the difficult season of winter and getting a new outlook on this important and much needed season of our year. Our lives. I've done research and soul-searching to get out of my SAD that I've had every year because it affected me SO much. With being in the midwest, the winter season can feel like an eternity so I had to get my life back. On top of it, Brooklyn was born during a massive snowstorm in February 2013 and then we were trapped in our home and boring lives for the winter season. So I had to come to terms with the bad memories I had during that winter season. How I associated winter with that time when I was so depressed.

This episode was also inspired by a yoga workshop I'm hosting at the studio I teach at. We'll be having a wonderful discussion about the purpose of winter and how to SLOW THE F DOWN to honor what this time is all about. To make it OK to find some stillness and not be GO-GO-GO all the damn time. We will be having a toasty and cozy Restorative Yoga practice in the salt room of the studio full of blankets, warm tea, and the permission to CHILL OUT. If you're local to Geneva, get on the waitlist for this event!

Thank you for listening, sharing this episode and if you want to let me know what you like and don't like about this podcast- head over to Apple Podcasts or Spotify to leave me an honest review. Enjoy the episode!

Mom Card Drawing of the Week: "I am myself. I refuse to fit into what people want me to be or expect me to be." -Preeti Mistry

These are a few of my favorite things: The Ayurveda Experience products: www.theayurvedaexperience.com I use their Yauvari Amplified Youth Spring facial oil, Keranya Pure Black Seed Potent Hair Potion, Manjish Glow Elixer nighttime facial oil, and Trahnna Heart Leaved Moonseed body oil. I also love their lip balms. What is Ayurveda? Well, in a nutshell, it's the ancient Science of Life, a holistic science of health & wellness, and originated over 5,000 years ago in India. Think of it as the sister science of Yoga.

What is Savasana? "a meditative posture in which one lies on one's back that is typically considered the final resting pose in yoga." (Miriam Webster) Savasana is a pose of total relaxation—making it one of the most challenging.—Yoga Journal

Gina Payne of Lola Salon article about wintering: https://www.lolahairandsoul.com/seasons-of-change/

"Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times" by Katherine May. You can get your copy here: https://a.co/d/cqDgSQV

"Stillness is the Key" by Ryan Holiday. You can get your copy here: https://a.co/d/cqDgSQV

Happy Holidays to all of you! I hope you've had a wonderful holiday season so far. We are almost at the end of 2023 and Season 2 which brings me to a special announcement in this episode. After that, I talk about a very important subject in motherhood. Especially when it comes to my friendships (and it can apply to marriage too!). It parallels an important scene, the climax, of one of my favorite childhood movies.

I hope after this episode you can connect more to letting go of guilt, wondering, debating, and questioning yourself when it comes to the time spent with friends and your partner. How important it is to have that special time with these people outside of your children. To honor your friend and the brief time you have with them. To be more connected to your partner outside of parenthood. I'm with my daughter 90% of my time so I have GOT to respect the small amount of time I have with people other than her.

Enjoy, share, comment, and give a rating if you have the time. I look forward to what's coming our way together as this podcast evolves and I want to thank you for being alongside with me throughout it. Connect with me on Instagram @michelle_a_mansfield or on my website, michellemansfieldauthor.com Happy Holidays and New Year to you all!

If my story became my truth I would have been the unrealistic do-it-all-mom still in my career and in the position my bosses were in. I'd be someone I made up in my early 20's when my life was only about me. My episode on identity talks about this attachment to our career and what we "do all day" as part of our identity. So when life throws us some curveballs (AKA children) and we need to change- what are we changing into? And why is it so hard to let go of the life we had and person we were?

Why is it so hard to be vulnerable and imperfect?

Why is it so hard to let go? Of friendships, past identity, career, lifestyles, goals and passions?

Why is discomfort avoided? Facing our $h!t- and facing what we really want or desire?

We need to release the past and the life we had THEN in order to have space for the life we want NOW. We aren't failures because we change or let go of who we thought we'd be. It's time to declutter our minds just like we declutter our homes. To gain stillness and therefore clarity and creativity. It's time to embrace the new design and feelings that come our way.

This episode is for you if you're sitting on your couch wondering "what now" and "who am I?" If you've been so connected to motherhood that you've disconnected from who you truly are. What truly defines who you are.

Thank you for listening, sharing and supporting me through this season 2. I'd love to hear from you on Instagram @michelle.a.mansfield and what your unique story is about this episode.

I lived the typical corporate life that included the heels, control top pantyhose, suits and pearls. The daily grind was no joke. It was exhilarating, fun, and my confidence soared in everything I accomplished. I was a people-pleaser, or should I say a boss-pleaser, and constantly did it all for my boss and company. I left my house by 5:30am and home after 7pm on a good day. I was Melanie Griffith in "Working Girl" on steroids. Then came motherhood.

If you've read my book or listened to my episode about identity, my career was my identity. So when I said goodbye to it, you can imagine and relate to how hard it was figuring out who I was. I was a mother but what else?

Tom Bodett once said, "They say a person needs just three things to be truly happy in this world: someone to love, something to do, and something to hope for." I had someone to love. I guess I had something to do as I was in the thick of motherhood. But in my eyes I needed something ELSE to do other than household chores and feeding Brooklyn. The third one I struggled with... what was something I was hoping for?

While raising Brooklyn, and as she became more independent and started school, I began asking, "What now?" Who was I? Did I want to go back to my past career? (The answer was no) What would I do now? What skills did I have? Should I keep it simple and work at a boutique by my house? Or was that just a paycheck? I needed something behind a paycheck. I was over 40 and in a stage of life where I wanted to connect with my passions versus my "have-to's" Maybe I wouldn't make a lot of money but I could at least enjoy and connect with something deeper than my past career? I could do something for MYSELF versus my boss. But what was that?

This episode is for you if you are in a stage of life where you don't want to go back but you don't know where to go. Perhaps you're recently divorced and need to go back to work. You know you need to pivot (I know you have Ross's voice in your head right now) but where to? I hope you find this episode relatable and it lifts a heavy weight from your shoulders. You will figure it out. With some bumps in the road and mistakes and "what was I thinking?!" moments. That's OK! It's how you finally figure out your new stage of your life along with motherhood. I'm right here with you. Thank you for listening and sharing this episode!

Mom Card Drawing of the Week: "We can't do much about the length of our lives, but we can do plenty about its width and depth." -Evan Esar (SUCH a great quote paralleling this episode!)

PEOPLE WON'T CHANGE

Whoa. Wait a minute. What are you talking about?!

You think everything is your fault. They are VERY reactive with feedback- ANY kind. They don't like being told what to do (and we aren't talking about your children). They hijack conversations. Make it about themselves. Constantly put people down to bring themselves up. They minimalize your feelings (hello gaslighting). There's no flexibility- either they don't have any or it doesn't matter to them. This personality is self-serving.

How do we deal with this person and protect ourselves? Listen to today's episode to know the warning signs of this personality style, the core and reasons behind it, how to deal with them, even if it gets REALLY uncomfortable.

Thanks to Mel Robbin's October 2022 episode of the "The Mel Robbins Podcast" for inspiring me to talk about this personality. That is unfortunately in my life in a few different areas. I now know how to handle these people and that it's OK if I don't react to them. I'm not weak because of it. I am strong because I know that the less I say, the better. I will not be the bait. I will stop the conversation.

Thank you for listening, sharing, interacting and rating the podcast. I appreciate you so much!

Mom Card Drawing of the Week: "It's a far brighter world because you're in it." -M.H. Clark

I hate conflict. I hate confrontation. I'd rather wait and see if it goes away. And this goes with intimacy issues. I don't feel I have a healthy mindset about sex and what it should be in a marriage. That it's not about college hook-ups, one-night-stands and being taken advantage of or used. I loved the male friendships I had throughout high school and college but I was also "privy" to the conversations they had about women they were dating or had an after-hours experience with. Growing up, I had a mindset of men wanting one thing only- and not sticking around for what women truly need.

What's really fun is our bodies changing. Whether you just had a baby or if you're like me, in perimenopause and have the Sahara Desert down there. It's hard to be intimate and enjoy sex when it's painful, awkward, and you feel you're doing someone a favor.

Intimacy goes way beyond the bedroom. Intimacy with ALL of our relationships, and ourselves, takes us to the intimacy we have in our marriage or partnership. We need to connect more with what intimacy truly means first. And that starts with being intimate with ourselves- who we truly are and what drives us to live an incredible life. And when it comes to our confusing hormonal roller coaster we are on, don't lose hope. Educate yourself, know your symptoms, find ways to get your hormones in harmony. And just talk. Communicate. Don't put too much pressure on yourself to create a sex life that breaks world records. I hope you find some relief with this episode and know you have me to connect with. I'd love to hear your story. You are never alone.

Mom Card Drawing of the Week: "Intimacy is a totally different dimension. It is allowing the other to come into you, to see you as you see yourself." -Osho

Closing Inspiration: "Real intimacy is of the soul, and the soul is reserved. Intimacy is not something that just happens between two people, it is a way of being alive. At every moment, we are choosing either to reveal ourselves or to protect ourselves, to value ourselves or diminish ourselves, to tell the truth or to hide." -Geneen Roth

I talk about these subjects because I, too, experience them. So selfishly I find myself researching, learning, and sharing these topics with you so we can all be in the same boat and grow together. Today we talk about avoiding pain. Why we do it. How we can break through our fears to acknowledge the pain, get help, heal and become who we are meant to be because of the pain. We can't avoid painful situations just as much as we can't protect our children from them. PsychCentral writes:

"Dealing with something head on can make the feelings worse before they get better. We can postpone difficult emotions if we suppress dealing with the situation. Avoidance can be harmful in the long run leading to anxiety, fear and unhealthy decisions." They continue talking about the subject of Avoidance Coping which is anything we do to avoid dealing with the pain. It may work temporarily but the things you use to avoid may amplify because of it. One example is drinking wine when you're stressed out from being with your kids all day. Social media is also a huge mechanism we use- and at times the use is amplified when we are using it to avoid something difficult.

I was afraid of not being perfect. Not having my (bleep) together. Afraid of being vulnerable. Thinking (and hoping) that it would eventually get better. It didn't. It never worked. It took women on big platforms telling me it was OK to not be perfect and to have pain in my life. Someone like Molly Shannon when she was a guest on the "Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend" podcast. You can listen to that episode here: https://teamcoco.com/podcasts/conan-obrien-needs-a-friend/episodes/molly-shannon

Thank you for listening and sharing your story with me and others. You can connect with my on Instagram at @michelle.a.mansfield or email me at info@michellemansfieldauthor.com

Mom Card Drawing of the Week: "I am deliberate and afraid of nothing." -Audre Lorde

Quote I love from Helen Keller: "Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing." -Helen Keller

I thought I was super strong in so many ways but found that motherhood has held some of my weakest moments of my life. I was always one to stand out, do my own thing, and with no apologies but here I was completely crippled by standards, myths, and BS about what a mom was supposed to be. It took me almost a decade to find where I was supposed to return to. ME.

"The expectation that a mother should always feel joy and fulfillment is a part of the myth of motherhood. The myth of motherhood is our society's notion that a woman achieves her uttermost fulfillment as a woman by being a mother and, as such, should always be happy and strong." - Dr. Michal Regev in her article "The Myth of Motherhood: The Way Unrealistic Societal Expectations of Mothers Shape Their Experience.

At the end of the day, throw away the standards, norms, expectations, and what your MIL tells you to do. It's time to follow our own intuition, our gut, our goals, and to connect with our relationship with motherhood. What it means to us. What we want out of it. What we don't. How we want our days to go. What brings us happiness. Finding people that will support us, empathize and encourage us. Connect with what will make us want to be mothers, not what will make us want to run away from it. Thank you for listening, sharing and being a loyal listener!!!

Mom Card Drawing of the Week: "We begin to find and become ourselves when we notice how we are already found, already truly, entirely, wildly, messily, marvelously who we were born to be." -Anne Lamott

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things: Just Better Fiber. www.justbetter.com

"We all gossip. We all listen to gossip. But it is possible, if you're willing to exercise awareness, to begin to discriminate about how and when you do it.

Obviously, you can't cut out all conversation about other people, and you don't have to. Instead, you can make your conversations more conscious, more disciplined, more measured. You can contemplate exactly why you sometimes feel compelled to bad-mouth a friend, or to spread a rumor that might cause harm. You can look into the feeling of emptiness that often lurks behind the urge to fill spaces in a conversation with gossip. And you can consider whether one of the greatest fruits of our practice is the ability to remain silent, even when you're dying to share a piece of juicy gossip or justify your dissatisfaction with a friend." - Yoga Journal

At the end of the day, our goal is to find the path to compassion versus judgement. Our goal is to be connected to our truth, our happiness, our healing, and our own struggles in order to release judgement and find that compassion for others. That we are all trying our best and we don't always know the first story before the one we've been told.

I hope this episode makes you feel better. Because as humans, we are wired to judge. But we can always be more conscious with our conversation, it's a place to start. Thank you for listening, sharing and letting me know how you feel about the podcast by rating it on Apple Podcasts or simply sending me a message directly.

Mom Card Drawing of the Week: "Begin doing what you want to do now... We have only this moment sparkling like a star in our hand- and melting like a snowflake." -Marie Beynon Ray

These are a few of my favorite things: The Yummly app for meal ideas. I'm not a rigid meal planner. I've tried. But I can at least get some ideas for dinner and I'm not paying a huge subscription fee to do so.

Resources:

Time article: https://time.com/5680457/why-do-people-gossip/

Expanded Podcast by To Be Magnetic: https://tobemagnetic.com/expanded-podcast/2021/200

Perhaps you're cooked well-done with this topic of boundaries but in my opinion, I don't feel we've even touched the surface. We read the books, we connect with the boundary influencers on Instagram, we even tell our friends over dinner what all of us should do. But are we REALLY doing it? Are we terrified of confrontation (ummm, my hand is raised!)? Is it easier to ghost the person or ignore someone's behavior? Do you find release complaining and declaring how you're being treated like crap, but there's no action because you're afraid? (Again, I'm raising my hand.)

Motherhood brings a slew of situations where we have to set boundaries to find peace. I was even told by my best friend to start setting boundaries while you are MARRIED versus when you become a mother. Set them ASAP so the transition is easier when baby comes and the gloves come off. But what if you haven't set the boundaries and nicey nicey you is now feeling she needs to be a big ol' B in order to get her point across? It doesn't have to be that way. This episode will show you how to keep your dignity while you stand up for your values, what you want to do, your beliefs, your unique situations, and how all if it really isn't anyone's business but your own.

Big credits go to Kimberly Snyder's "Feel Good Podcast", episode 687. Go get Kimberly's most recent book, "You Are More Than You Think You Are." Her book helped me find my inner confidence and self so I could figure out how to communicate my boundaries in a healthy way- for myself!

Mom Card Drawing of the Week: "She quietly expected great things to happen to her and no doubt that's one of the reasons why they did." -Zelda Fitzgerald

I've opened up a LOT about my own ghosting experience that happened over two years ago. I am so happy that I've been honest about it because it opened the doors for so many women who've reached out to me that experienced a similar situation. They were embarrassed and felt rejected, confused, angry, and just plain old heart broken where they hid their feelings until someone else opened the doors for them. One woman I met along this vulnerability journey is the incredible author, Annie Cathryn. She published her first novel, "The Friendship Breakup", shortly after my book was published and its theme is all about the world of friendships, ghosting, misunderstandings, gossip (that leads to even MORE misunderstandings), chasing, and questioning is the friendship even worth chasing?

Annie's book is the perfect vacation read or if you need a page turner that you can't put down. It's a book that many of you will relate to with the situations Fallon falls into. When I read it, I felt like this was my story. The details and all that Fallon went through and where she landed had me saying, "HOW is this so accurate to my own story?!" I for sure knew I wasn't alone in this friendship breakup world. I reached out to Annie and we had an instant connection. With an entire chapter of my book being about friendships, I knew we had to get together and collaborate. We've had a wonderful experience supporting one another and our books these last six months. I'm blessed to know her and excited to introduce you to her- and her book! Enjoy this episode and let us know what you think! Thank you for listening and supporting the both of us. We appreciate you!

You can get "The Friendship Breakup" on her website, https://anniecathryn.com/ or on Amazon, https://a.co/d/9Kz5LMp

Follow Annie on Instagram @msanniecathryn

Mom Card Drawing of the Week: "Be your own definition of amazing, always." -Nikita Gill

And if you're interested in reading about my experience with being ghosted, you can check that out on Her View From Home with this link: https://herviewfromhome.com/being-ghosted-by-a-friend-stings/

Get YOUR copy of "The Honest Mom Project. Acknowledge Your Feelings. Break Free From Expectations. Build Your Beautiful Life as a Mother." on Amazon with this link: https://a.co/d/2BOCa6Lhttps://a.co/d/2BOCa6L

You hear how teens are "terrible" and all the negatives about entitlement, attitude, laziness, and how exhausting it can be. Parents tell you that they can't wait for their teen to be in college and how their teen treats them. That they don't open up. They shut down. They say hurtful things. Is this the case with ALL teens? The good news is that it isn't.

Lindy & Kirsten are sisters that I adore, admire and am inspired by with how they raise their kids and look at their roles in this stage. How they communicate with them, the challenges & anxieties that can appear, dealing with moods, big feelings, and allowing their teens to make mistakes. They talk about the hard work it takes to raise them to be their own unique person. Being "shepherds" versus "engineers".

You will first hear audio from Dr. Russell A. Barkely where he talks about this "engineering" way of parenting that is bringing us SO much anxiety, too much responsibility, and putting too much power on a parent. Power that we really don't have. Control that we need to release. What's ironic is the more independence and freedom we give our kids to figure life out, the less anxiety & stress we have as parents. Dr. Barkley explains how the "shepherd" role is not only less stress for us but also a stronger option for our kids.

Lindy & Kirsten are just beyond cool and so easy to listen to. They make you want to be their sister too. I don't have a sister and hearing them talk makes me wish I had a sister like them to raise Brooklyn with. That tribe is there for you regardless if it's a blood relative though. So go find that sister as we all need it with raising teens in the world we live in- and in the future.

Thank you for listening, sharing and connecting with me about this episode and all episodes. Share with a mom who may need this or even to a mom with littles who may need to know that the teen years don't have to be terrible!

Mom Card Drawing of the Week: "Remember the feeling as a child when you woke up and morning smiled... it's time you felt like that again." -Gerry Goffin & Carole King

Lindy & Kirsten's Favorite Things & Resources:

Bissel Water Solution Spin Wave Hardwood Floor mop (I got one after this episode!) https://a.co/d/9xgnxYp

"The Modern Denial of Human Nature" by Steven Pinker (Canadian Cognitive Psychologist)

Thrive Causemetics (Yes, Cause, not Cos... their products help support communities in need. I recently started using their smoky eye pencil and it's amazing!) www.thrivecausmetics.com

Life360 app (I must be living in a bubble because I didn't know about this app- Lindy & Kirsten's kids actually like the app too!)

You may already know that yoga is a huge part of my life. As I finish my 250hr yoga teacher training this summer, I reflect on this past year and all I've learned about the value of yoga in my life. I reflect back to over 10 years ago when I was in my prenatal yoga classes within the walls of the exact studio I'm getting my certification with. How important prenatal yoga was with my pregnancy as well as Brooklyn's birth. My labor & delivery experience was definitely due to my prenatal yoga.

Today I am with Kelly Vida of Empowered Mama Fitness who teaches locally at Sage Healing Collective, Fitness on the Fox and The Endorphin Effect...but also offers online options of prenatal yoga! She has a YouTube channel that you can access on her website (⁠www.empoweredmamafitness.com⁠) along with monthly webinars with topics such as her July "What's Not Natural After Birth".

We talk about the physical practice and how it benefits you before AND postpartum but we also talk about the spiritual and mental practice that can help with your mental wellness when you become a mother. A quote from Naomi Annand, author of "Yoga and Motherhood", sums it up: "It (motherhood) calls upon every part of you- physical, mental, emotional, spiritual- and it's such an emotional rollercoaster: all that joy, all that exhaustion. Throughout my experience of motherhood, the thing that has kept me going is yoga." WOW.

Thank you for listening and sharing with those you love. Here is more about Kelly:

Find Kelly on Instagram @empoweredmamafitness and her website, ⁠www.empoweredmamafitness.com⁠

Kelly's Favorite Things: On Instagram @sweatyasamother @thebellemethod @mamaste and the book, "The First 40 Days."

Kelly's Life Hack: Freeze your fish oil pills- no more icky fish taste and avoid fishy burps!

Mom Card Drawing of the Week: "Prepare your mind to receive the best that life has to offer." -Ernest Holmes