We’re Brenda and Kristi, two friends from way back connecting and reconnecting over music and memories.
We're pretty sure we spent half this episode trying to sign off, but one of us would start the conversation again. Spoiler alert: Brenda waxes poetic about Ted Lasso and maybe shares a show secret. ;)
We're pretty sure we spent half this episode trying to sign off, but one of us would start the conversation again. Spoiler alert: Brenda waxes poetic about Ted Lasso and maybe shares a show secret. ;)
So...we were a little spotty when it came to recording this spring. We found a couple of episodes that we never shared, and even though summer's coming to a close, the time felt right. It's a little stressful to hear an episode recorded 3 months ago and know that there are still a LOT of things on our spring lists we haven't checked off, yet, but that's kind of the point--there will always BE a list. We're works in progress, y'all. Enjoy this little time machine trip back to spring!
Is it possible to say a podcast about random stuff has an episode about even more random stuff? Because that seems to be the case with episode 69, and we're not even mad about it.
...sometimes that's the last thing you feel like doing.
We went there.We talked about our numbers.Be prepared—we're gonna ask about your number, too, and if you're willing to work on 5 a day in February.
Do you ever find yourself noticing something...and wondering how long it's been there? Driving somewhere, and feeling like you can't remember which way to turn? Brenda had some feelings about this in December when people started noticing something at work that had been there awhile. We suspect we'll be poking at these feelings for a while, so settle in.
If you've ever listened, you know Kristi is a little...wordy. To say the least. Or maybe the most? Anyway...this past week brought an answered prayer. This episode is mostly Kristi trying to explain it all to Brenda. You've been warned. :)
We realize that we've been a little stuck on decluttering and intention. Maybe we accidentally talk about that some, but we tried to play a rapid fire game of “would you rather?” that kind of just turned into us talking. Like usual. About nothing and everything.If you can guess why we picked this title, we'll send you a sticker! Email your answer to:kristi@jamespharaon.comGood luck!
The decluttering bug has bitten. Is that a thing?It feels like it could be a thing.We've got all the big feelings about living intentionally and all the things.
Happy 2022! Let's talk about resolutions, intentions...fresh starts, second chances...
One year ends and another begins. Today we talk about our intentions for the coming year--spoiler alert, you're going to be hearing more about these!
Normal Bias Podcast Give Love on Christmas Day Episode 59
There's no song today, no catchy title.We're limping over the finish line, y'all. We sat down for a few minutes to talk about how things have gone so far (53 episodes since April? CRAZY!) and where we want to go next. Here's what we know: we'll be back soon, and we want to spend more time connecting with each other and with YOU. For now, though, we're going to take a break and spend some time with our people. See you in 2021!Thank you for getting us this far, friends!
t's the most wonderful time of the year…mostly.In our faith, we're preparing our hearts for Christ's birth. In our lives, though, some of us are struggling with a holiday season that doesn't look quite the way we planned or hoped. We sat down with Stephanie Weathers (you guys might remember her as Stephanie Selman, or the friend who popped up on our last Live!) and talked about life and holidays after loss. She's a silver lining girl, and we're amazed by her resiliency and how she's working to pass the same quality on to her kids. You're going to love Stephanie—and we think you'll be seeing her again. We have so many things to talk about!
Normal Bias Podcast listeners. My name is Brenda Lynn Parks and I am a self-confessed FAN GIRL. Yes. I am a fan of many people, places, and things, y'all. Yup. Hi. So, it should come as no surprise to you when I say that 3 years ago during an excursion my boys and I took during a vacation is when I met our next guest and became an instant fan of his. Dennis William was our tour guide at Selvatica in Cancun, Mexico. We spent 3 hours with Dennis as we zip lined with our group. As soon as he walked up and talked to us I was a fan. I was not the only one—my boys became immediate fans as well. Yup.In those 3 hours, I could tell that Dennis enjoyed life to the fullest. He was doing something he loved and he was loving what he was doing. This American living in Mexico has an energy that is so infectious. He made us laugh, too. A lot. He is just fun, y'all! Yup.And so before we left Selvatica, we posed for a picture with our new friend and we made our new friendship Facebook official as well. Yup. And so, to sit and have this amazing conversation with Dennis after meeting him only once for 3 hours over 3 years ago was the most fun!! I know that you will leave loving this amazing soul that I connected with and you too will be a fan!! Dennis William, everyone.
Hey, Normal Biasers. Happy Friday!! It's Brenda. On today's episode, I'd like to introduce you to my very sweet & petite yet full of life & personality… y'all my friend and head cheerleader of Team Brenda, Kathryn Kertz. We met years ago, when she began dating her now husband and one of my dearest friends, John. Kathryn and I had an immediate connection. She is one of those light up a room kinda people. Her smile is megawatt and her laughter infectious. She says exactly what she is thinking and feeling. I love her with all of my heart. She is one of the few people that I am actually taller than but, don't let her stature fool you. Kathryn has big things about her. She is smart, creative, funny, loving, caring, kind, and generous!! She is all the things. For real though, Kathryn, is an amazing friend, y'all. She will call you and check up on you when she hasn't heard from you in a while. She supports me. She encourages me. She inspires me. Thanks, Kat.It was great to sit and talk and even get to know her better than before. We talked about something that I don't think we talk about enough. Infertility. She shared her journey with infertility and the lengths she and John took to become parents. Infertility is a dark and lonely place. She let us in on all of the ups and downs that they endured. If you are someone or if you know someone who has been there then you know the pain it can cause. Kathryn, wants to help you through it. Our conversation ended on a fun note. Kathryn shared some of her secrets to catching the man of your dreams. Lol! It worked for her. She and Kristi are now on a mission to help me find my next. Stay tuned for that! But, don't wait to hear or watch this episode. Listen now and get to know this awesome dancing queen!!!
This week we sat down with Jolie Gray to talk about rest...and we learned that one of the keys to rest is good habits. This sounds like a conversation we need to continue--we could talk to Jolie for dayyyyyyyyyysssss!
Hey, y'all. This week Brenda and Kristi are talking about change. No, not the coins we use for currency that there is a shortage of right now. No. We are talking about change that occurs in our daily lives. There doesn't seem to be a shortage of that kind for sure. For example, last week, Kristi & her family found themselves unexpectedly moving furniture in their home to accommodate a new desk they purchased for her son. Before it was all said and done the Pharaon's living space had completed changed. They even eliminated some major pieces of furniture. Brenda also made some changes last week to her bedroom. These are good changes. Changes we can control. There is change that we can't control, like when Covid hit, like the outcome of an election, or the weather or like the time Peter Brady's voice changed right in the middle of a song they were recording. The time for change happened at the worst time for Peter. Lol. We touched on several ways that change is affecting our lives in this episode. Y'all, change is inevitable. Everyday something changes. Do you welcome change or do you appreciate the status quo? We wanna know.
Happy birthday, Brenda!And Stephanie, and Kevin, and Patricia and a few other awesome friends!November 2nd birthdays are just one of the many things these guys have in common. We hope you enjoy celebrating with us!
Today's guest is very special indeed…she's Kristi's forever friend, Lynn Turpin. Lynn is the friend who taught Kristi how to BE a friend, and Brenda enjoyed learning about Kristi's college years. Tune in to learn what it is about Lynn that makes her such a great friend, and how she's impacted who Kristi is today. Thanks for sitting down with us, Lynn!
This month's Facebook Live episode was so SWEET! Literally...Brenda's still feeling a little green from all of the candy corn she ate. For art, of course. Thanks to everyone who tuned in and participated!
This might hold the record for the shortest guest episode, yet! Not because there's not a TON of great things to say about our guest, but because it was a bit of a weird day when we recorded. Brenda was stuck in traffic, so Kristi ended up taking the mic on this one and talking to one of her favorite friends, Mandy Wright. Mandy and Kristi taught together a million years ago, and life has conspired to keep them close. They've grown together as women, wives, mothers and professionals, and Kristi gets more than a bit sentimental when she reflects on how Mandy has been there through it all. Our prayer for all of you is that you have a friend like Mandy in your lives...and if you don't, we highly recommend Mandy.
Happy Wednesday! Today's the day we talk about something that makes us glad, and today's topic is maybe a little counterintuitive for some of y'all. Bob Goff (he's the BEST!) is famous for many things. One of his quirkier habits is quitting something every Thursday. We use that as a jumping off point to talk about things we can release or quit to decrease stress or increase joy.So...what will YOU quit tomorrow?!
Happy Boss' Day!To celebrate our favorite boss, we sat down with James Pharaon. (It's a 3peat, as Brenda says!). If you think working WITH your spouse would be a challenge, imagine working FOR your spouse after years of being your own boss. Listen in as James and Kristi share the highs and lows of working together, and make sure to stick around for Brenda's wrap-up!
Brenda took to the mic solo for today's Orange You Glad. It not the same without Kristi for sure, it may be a little bland, but she managed to squeeze the day.In keeping with our traditional weekly “what do you do” questions, this Wednesday Brenda asks, “Do you hand wash your dishes or use the dishwasher?” Tell us what it is you do. We just love getting to know y'all more.Brenda also asked if there were any hobbies, tricks, or talents you might have that no one really knows that you do? She unintentionally revealed one about herself last week at work, she was even given a nickname for it. What could it be? Listen to see!
We were lucky enough to sit together to record today's episode! The goal was to record for just 10 minutes...ish...but you can imagine how well we did with that. Spoiler alert: Brenda DID eventually make it home. But she'll be back in Brenham in a few days if we're lucky!
“I've heard it said the people come into our lives for a reason. Bringing something we must learn. And we are led to those who help us most to grow. If we let them."For Good, from the musical WickedY'all, today's guest is a person that came into my life years ago and because I know her, I have been forever changed. For good!!!!! Like the song says, I am who I am today because I know her. Tracy Stewart is so many things. I got to share some of those things with her & with you in this episode. It is so hard to sum up all the things she is to me. If you are lucky to know her, you know she is a bright selfless always giving her very all to those she loves & cares about absolute treasure here on earth.In the last 6 years especially, Tracy has lifted me up, held me up, and cheered for me in ways I will never forget. She has loved this neighbor like her own. She has showed me that despite the hard & scary things that happen in life that we can still thrive & become even stronger.I think you all will leave wanting to be better, too. May we all be changed for good today. Thank you, Tracy.
This is the second half of our conversation with David Baldner. If you missed Episode 33, circle back before you join us for Episode 35!
Today's episode was lots of fun to record--our guest, Stephanie Cruz, is one of our podcast's biggest supporters. We sat down to talk about luggage, and we ended up finding some baggage. You'll just have to listen! (And spoiler alert: we'll be polling y'all to see where you fall on the unpacking scale!)
Today's guest will be a blast from the past for some of you Mustangs! David Baldner taught at Cunningham, North Shore Middle School (7th grade Encounters) and he was principal at Cimarron before moving on to Administration. Kristi was in David's 7th grade Encounters class, and like everyone else, they ran into each other on Facebook and have become friends over the years. Brenda was delighted to find out that David is ALSO a Mustang (we won't announce his age here, out of respect for our elders) and that they have a lot in common, too. We talked for over two hours, so we did you a favor and turned this into two episodes. You're welcome.
Happy Friday, y'all! Last weekend we had a sleepover (yes, grown ups can have slumber parties!) and this is what we did. We liked it so much, we're thinking of having a REVERSE Rapid Fire Friday where we ask y'all the questions. Who's in?!
Last week when we were talking about wormholes (rabbit holes!), Brenda dropped a bomb on Kristi. That led to what we thought was a pretty interesting discussion about unpopular opinions, which led to an unexpected special guest. Thanks for stopping in, Kayci!
Today's episode is a milestone for us: number 30! We're so excited about our episode 30 guest—he was a great sport to sit down with us.There's a quote that says, “Everything you want is on the other side of fear.” Our guest has literally jumped over his fears and landed on the other side with confidence and tenacity. At the ripe old age of 14, our guest Jay Robison already has an impressive resume. Plus he's hilarious, gifted, talented, and smart.Jay and Brenda's son, Matthew, have been friends since they were four years old. Jay has made an impact on their lives and we think he will make on impact on your lives, too.We had a lot to say. It was a great day. Brenda's put him on her guest list wishlist since May. This a great episode. Enjoy our talk with Jay. Yay!
Brenda's had something on her mind...wormholes! Okay, okay...you and I probably call them rabbit holes. Oh, look, here's one now!
It's time to go back to school (well, some of y'all have already started!). Maybe this year is different than we've ever experienced or expected, but the good news is: we're all in this together!
Brenda had the great idea to do a Facebook Live this week...who knew there was so much to know about going Live these days?! After some false starts and some help from our awesome kiddos (thanks, Alex and Kayci) and TONS of grace from y'all, we finally went live. And then some of y'all showed up and reminded us why we're doing this. Thank you!
Y'all are going to LOVE our guest today—she's Lorie A. Woodward, a writer and community builder who's made her home in Brenham. Lorie *sees* the people around her, and tells their stories with respect and a dose of dry humor. We all need a friend like this, who encourages and shoots straight and just loves her people so well. Lorie, thanks for sitting down with us! We can't wait to do this in person! We encourage y'all to read any of Lorie's essays you can get your eyes on, friends—she's one to watch, and we can't wait for the world to read more of her words!
We're dragging this week, y'all--and you know what makes it all so much easier? We don't have to do it alone.
Today was a little bit like Christmas. Libra Mattern is a friend of Kristi's from way back (class of ‘92!), and Libra and Brenda were acquaintances in high school. Kristi has been so excited to reintroduce them, because these two ladies are birds of a feather.Libra is the creator of Savage Sister Society (find them on Facebook here or Instagram here), and she's on mission to help women everywhere. Her “why” inspired our song choice for her today: she started Savage Sister Society to reach a loved one who was struggling with mental health issues.You're going to love Libra as much as we do—she's fun and funny, intelligent and wise, determined and strong, nurturing and loving…we don't have enough positive words to describe her!
Our intention this month is hope, and we hope (see what we did there?!) that you'll play along with us in this month's photo-a-day challenge.Today's episode is just us hanging out, talking about hope and going back to work/school...all the things. Come hang out with us for a while!
Earlier this week, we sat down to catch up and record a quick episode for Wednesday. Then Taylor Swift came up in conversation (remember last week when she dropped an entire album and took us all by surprise?!) and...well, we just kept talking. So here's the second half of that "quick" conversation. Happy Friday, y'all!
After almost 4 weeks off, we sat down to catch up and talked for well over an hour. Don't worry—we turned this conversation into two episodes. Welcome back, friends! What did we miss?
We wrapped up our conversation with James on today's episode, but even after 2.5 hours we could have kept talking for hours! Don't you just love conversations like that? Don't worry…this is only about an hour of us talking. We hope you laugh along with us, and maybe have a couple of “aww…” moments, too. James loves his family and his work, and it's refreshing to hear from someone so passionate about his life and his work. (Of course, we're biased.)Disclaimer: there are some rough edits again this week--someone has big feelings about lots of things and we got a little off track. :)
Sometimes, God shows off a little and alllllllllllllll the signs line up and point at that thing you know but you needed a nudge. This happened for Brenda in a big way at the beginning of this month, and we wanted to talk it out because a year from now, this could be a big deal and she'll want to remember how things unfolded. Have you ever had this experience? We'd love to hear about it—go share on social media and tell us all about it!
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