This week I am celebrating two very important milestones:

1. The accomplishment of reaching podcast episode 200 and how it all got started four years ago…

2. My film, From Cult to Queer, has been invited to a live screening this September at the Indiewood Film Festival Hollywood in LA!! Wait till you hear what theater it’s going to be playing at!

I biked nearly twenty miles in the blazing heat today to podcast at a quaint little park in Republic, MO. - just because I needed today to feel special and I needed to feel celebrated! Cycling makes me super happy, and I don’t often take time for it, so cycling into town was how I showed myself love today. 😀

Learning to celebrate our successes and achievements along the way can be a struggle if you are an overachiever like me. I can get so focused on what I have to do next that I forget to recognize all my hard work even when it pays off.

But that’s not a life worth living - always rushing towards the next hill.

Sometimes we need to just coast down the fucking hill, outstretched arms, and enjoy the success we earned.

You did it Boo. And you deserve to be acknowledged!

It’s time for us to stop focusing so much on what we still have to do and celebrate what we have already done!

I am so incredibly excited to share this conversation with you! I had the honor of reconnecting with a dear friend last week and getting to hear all that she has learned and is learning in her life, post growing up in the same cult that I grew up in.

Janelle is not only just a fucking blast to talk to, but she is also extremely intelligent. In this episode she shares her newfound passion for "turning earth back into earth" and all the simple yet profound changes she has implemented in her own yard.

From the ashes of a confusing childhood, Janelle's example reminds us that life, like nature, is a gift to be explored.

Her love for learning and unending openness made this conversation one of my favorites. I am so grateful for this important conversation!!!

Janelle discusses:

- what her childhood felt like growing up in a cult

- her struggle to make it on her own

- how nature helped her find her grounding

- the importance of working with nature in our yards

- why you should not trust ants ;)

- the beauty of death that isn't talked about often

- how to hack your life by cycle planning!

I turned 43 this week - and you know what? Every year just keeps getting better. Today, I talk about the incredible birthday I had with my family and how I have decided to view aging.

In a world that does it’s best to make us terrified of getting older, I am determined to rewrite those toxic messages. Anyone who is familiar with Dr. Ellen J. Langer knows that her work has proven over and over again how much our thoughts affect our physical health.

If you are ready to be done with viewing age as a negative thing, this episode is for you. The second half of your life does not have to be all downhill. You do not have to dread aging. It’s time to take your power back.

I also share a mindful meditation that has become my daily practice that I learned from Dr. Joe Dispenza in his book, “Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself.” Join me as I guide you through a short session designed to help you access your subconscious so that you can surrender unwanted reactions and replace them with new, honoring responses.

I highly recommend any work by Dr. Joe Dispenza who specializes in meditation and Dr. Ellen J. Langer who specializes in mindfulness 🙂