Happy Pride Month, my lovely community!! I am so fucking grateful to be sharing today about my own queer journey and the things I am learning in this beautiful season!

I talk about:

• What I believe that Pride is all about

• My current struggle of feeling judgmental towards the other side now

• How I want to treat all of humanity

• The need for diversity in ALL humans

• My journey to discovering my queerness

• How Jenna forever changed my life

• The history of the first Pride flag design (fucking cool!)

• And last but not least, a very eye-opening documentary that everyone should watch about the first Pride parade on June 28th, 1970, in New York, commemorating the first anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising in Manhattan. See the link below!!

This link takes you to the article about some Pride history. Scroll down to find the documentary to watch. It’s only twelve minutes long and worth every second of your time! Enjoy!

https://www.loc.gov/lgbt-pride-month/about/

Today I am joined by my lovely partner, Jenna, as we discuss our recent trip and how it reminded us that we need to keep finding ways to rejuvenate our lives.

At the start of this episode, Zelle seemed strongly determined to sabotage our session, and despite our many efforts, she stuck around to keep us on our toes. ;) Gotta love those animals!

It's so easy to go through life, get stuck moving from thing to thing to thing, and forget that we deserve moments of rejuvenation. Women, especially, are taught from a young age to be martyrs. It can be a hard belief/habit to break. I get it.

Join Jenna and me today as we discuss the challenges we face in this area and the ways we are learning to care for ourselves!

Here is the delightful, humorous episode on the "We Can Do Hard Things" podcast:

https://open.spotify.com/episode/2G12NH8rsmVkPcstewF1KS?si=DPeer55pSrOvv5W2A79M0w

Have you ever had a bad feeling about something but excused it away for one reason or another and then ended up very much regretting it?

Yeah. Me too. Today I share my recent, unfortunate visit to a new dentist. What I thought was going to be a checkup and possible cavity filling turned into a horrible experience that I am still currently suffering from.

My body knew. From the beginning. But I reasoned it away. I ignored the feelings. I dismissed the urgent voice begging me not to go back.

Our culture teaches us from a young age to ignore our bodies - especially if you are raised in religion.

Join me today as I unpack the story and what I am learning from this experience.

This episode isn’t what I planned it to be. But that’s the way life is sometimes, I reckon. What was supposed to be a fun, substitute job at a new building ended up being me taking over ISS (in-school suspension) for the day.

Before this week, I had never done ISS, and yes, that was on purpose. I never want to be known to my students as an authority figure who enforces shame and strict laws on them. However, I went where I was needed and saw firsthand how absolutely bizarre, and quite honestly inhumane, ISS really is.

So, I talk about this today. And share how I tried to still find ways to show value to each of the guys in my class.

And last but not least, I share why I love fossils so much and how a simple, dusty rock in my pasture helped me find compassion and love for myself. Rocks really do rock.

I think it’s fair to say that we all love finding ways to save time. Our time and energy are precious commodities, and we try to protect them to the best of our ability. Often, our lives are so busy that time feels like a runaway train that we are constantly trying to catch up with.

Life is not only busy, but also often stressful. We can quickly end up carrying immense amounts of frustration throughout our day due to the various situations we encounter.

But this doesn’t have to be our normal!

Today, I dive into some exciting tools that I have been learning about and how I am applying them to my daily life!

I discuss:

• The longest contraction in the English language, y’all’d’ve (you all would have), and why we love contractions 🙂

• How labor contractions can teach us to navigate life better

• My “flower” story of turning frustration into relaxation

• Surrendering to “speed things up.”

• Trusting the timing you can’t see

• The “cold shower” challenge!

Martha Beck's episode - What to do with Pain

This week I share some things I learned from my recent cycling trip to complete 225.1 miles of the Katy trail! Going on this adventure challenged me in many ways but by the end of it, I finished feeling strong and empowered! I hope that after listening to this episode, you are inspired to go on an adventure of your own. 😎 Life is way too short to keep making excuses!

Today I discuss:

• Why sleeping in a tent alone terrified me

• How being WAY out of my comfort zone gave me numerous growth opportunites

• The unexpected realization that my body wants to help me out

• Allison’s belief about people that proved to be true on the trail

• No matter how bad our country gets, nature continues to live and thrive

• My renewed sense of gratitude and reset on life

• It’s all in the way you look at it 🙂

Join me this week for this special sunrise edition of waking up with nature!

To me, there is nothing as peaceful as being immersed in nature, and today we do this together as I talk about the wildlife in my little part of the world and what it teaches me.

During this recording, I saw several flocks of ducks take flight from the pond in front of me, a glorious number of over twenty ducks in just forty minutes!

The red-winged blackbirds brought the beautiful background music as the sun peeked up quietly before being covered in clouds.

Stick around to learn some amazing facts about the Scissor-tailed Flycatcher! If you have not observed this bird in the wild, it’s high time you do! And though they are not as numerous in central Missouri, Jenna and I recently were lucky to watch several Flycatchers in action!

Last but not least, I finish this episode with a poem I wrote while sitting in nature the other day, called “The More That I Listen”. 🙂

*Next week, there will not be a new podcast episode due to my week-long cycling trip! See you all in two weeks!

Join me today as I talk about one of my favorite subjects ever… OUR BRAIN!

I have been learning from Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor’s new book, “Whole Brain Living”, and I am super excited to share how I am applying it to my life!

I discuss:

• The 4 parts of the brain

• The function of each part

• Understanding this can empower us to choose how we want to respond to each situation

• Why I don’t believe it should be about “Republicans vs. Democrats."

• How a mini cupcake gave me insight into my own brain

If you make it to the end of the episode, there is a real special treat for you! I act out a skit of a real scenario that happened to me last week while substitute teaching. 🙂 Zellle even makes sure to get in on the fun!

Here are the links to learn more about Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor!

Dr.Jill Bolte Taylor Interview Podcast

Whole Brain Living Book on Amazon

Her book is also available in quite a few other places, so feel free to check out your local bookstore and support small businesses!