Seize the Yay

A whole month (and sixteen failed attempts) later, I finally found some time to record the follow up to our birth story episode and answer all your questions. Thank you so much to everyone who sent lovely DMs and feedback after the first episode hosted by the wonderful Sophie of Australian Birth Stories and for submitting such interesting follow up questions that give me the loveliest excuse to reflect on things in a way I probably wouldn't otherwise make time for. It's never lost on me what a privilege it is for this yayborhood to be so engaged and excited about each season of our life (and to be so patient with a very inconsistent schedule for releasing episodes!) I can't promise my answers are any less incoherent than they were in the last episode - the postpartum haze is still going strong - but I did my very best and can't actually believe we got through it before the little bear demanded my full attention back. My only disclaimer is that parenthood is like no other area in life for the diversity of opinions, volume of conflicting information, intensity of judgment (both from ourselves and others) and depth of emotion. If I have one piece of advice, it's that NO advice will suit every parent or every baby so please take everything I say as the personal anecdote it is - I'm not a medical expert and am still very early in our journey, so my answers are purely from our experience so far. Having said that, I've tried to be as helpful as I can (amidst the rambling and tangents of this new Mum brain) and the questions are listed below so you can skip forward to what's relevant to you. There are some links where relevant too and, as always, if you have any other questions feel free to DM any time. DELIVERY Did you feel any warning going into labour? Why did you choose private health vs public health? (AUBS public vs private episode) Hospital bag recommendations (The Memo's hospital bag list and if you want my personal list just send me an email) What did you wear post op? (the disposable undies, the pads, the nightie) Did you go straight back to a normal diet after gestational diabetes? C SECTION What would you take in your hospital bag for a C section? Were you panicky or anxious going into C section? C section recovery – how long? Tips for recovery?  Incision care? Mental health? Immediately after, how were you – could you get up? What recovery shorts or items did you wear? (the briefs, the shorts, the compression socks) FEEDING How was the beginning of breastfeeding? (the silverettes, the lanolin, the compresses, the Qiara probiotics) Are you doing mixed feeding? Bottles? Expressing? (the ladybug milk collectors) GETTING HOME Did you feel overwhelmed when you got home? Biggest challenge in the first few days? First few weeks post-partum, how were they? Top 3 tips for new parents in first few weeks Most difficult part of recovery generally? Is it worth having both the Snoo and Cocoona baby? How is Teddy's sleep? How much time are you taking off? Have you grieved your work identity vs being a Mum? How have you made time for you as a couple? + Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah + Join our Facebook community here + Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!

Welcome to the first episode since the arrival of our little Teddy! It's been four very special weeks today since he rushed into the world a few weeks early - even as a tiny little newborn he just couldn't wait to seize his yay! So it makes sense for this first one back to cover our birth story and the postpartum journey so far, snippets of which you may have seen on socials but this is the first time I've articulated his actual delivery - it actually felt really weird to open my laptop again and interact with the outside world again but so lovely to look back on the past month with a bit more lucidity. We only recorded a few days ago and I already can't really remember most of what I said in the haze of the newborn bubble (so apologies in advance for my incoherence - it's a huge achievement if I shower these days let alone produce a sentence that makes sense) but it's all been the most magical few weeks and I now can't imagine our life without him.  As Ang is away but also, as I now know, only a parent can truly understand the chaos of the first few weeks postpartum to know what questions to ask, I thought I'd bring in the big guns and we're so lucky to have Sophie from Australian Birth Stories on the other side of the mic today hosting the interview (you may remember we interviewed her last year and she's been a guiding light through pregnancy and birth). This will be shared on her incredible podcast too so it's structured in her style and includes a bit of background at the start about our conception and earlier loss which you have already heard so feel free to skip through to get to the details of birth. I'm still technically on mat leave but Teddy's one month anniversary and also April being Caesarean Awareness Month made it feel right to emerge momentarily for this. But again, I can already think of so many things I left out or didn't get to between my verbal diarrhoea and rambling plus you also submitted some questions online that we didn't get to in Teddy's nap window so I'll do a follow up episode next (whenever that may be). I hope it all makes sense and thank you so much for sharing in our excitement and joy in this chapter of our pathYAY. + Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah + Join our Facebook community here + Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!

Kind of weird to release this now he's already here, but this is the last episode of #yaysofourlives that we recorded while I was still pregnant just reflecting on how it felt, what we were excited about and what we hoped for the next little while. Will have to do a follow up with what ended up happening in between!! + Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah + Join our Facebook community here + Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!

Hello lovely yayborhood, hope you're having a wonderful week! I think we were originally scheduled for a #yaysofourlives episode after last week's guest (which Ang and I have actually recorded) but as that's probably our sign off for a short break while we wait for Baby Yay-vidson to arrive, it made more sense to pop this week's guest in first particularly as she has CARRIED us through the past few weeks.  I'm talking, of course, about the incredible co-founder of The Memo and founder of The Blow, Phoebe Simmonds, who I have been fangirling for many years and am so excited to share with you. If you've been anywhere near my socials, you'll know how heavily I've leaned on Phoebe and The Memo during our pregnancy and how much they've taken the stress and overwhelm out of preparing for a little one leaving room to fully enjoy and get excited about what's to come. We'll cover, of course, how The Memo has absolutely revolutionised an industry that has traditionally and somewhat inexplicably been pretty functional and daggy, making it beautifully aesthetic, carefully curated and user friendly with lifesaving lists – it feels like the Mecca of the baby world! Which makes sense given that's where Phoebe started off on her incredible pathway to living and breathing brand building which you'll also hear about taking her from Mecca to LVMH around the world to Benefit Cosmetics and then her own two businesses. The second part is then a Q&A based on yours (and my) questions about some of the biggest decisions when preparing for a new baby – Phoebe gives SUCH valuable advice I was mainly asking questions for myself haha (you might also notice a bit of a sound change – her AirPods died at the perfect interval). We will definitely be needing a follow up part 2 (if not a full series) as we just scratched the surface so stay tuned for that but in the meantime I hope you enjoy this one as much as I did. FOLLOW PHOEBE HERE SHOP THE MEMO HERE THE MEMO SHOPPING LISTS FIND OUT ABOUT THE BLOW HERE + Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah + Join our Facebook community here + Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!

Happy International Women's Day, one of my favourite days of the year! While of course, we deserve to be celebrated every day of the year, I always love the way this day encourages amazing conversations, displays of support for each other and even just telling someone in your close circle that you love and appreciate having them in your life. This year, it's meant even more to me as I tippy toe right on the doorstep of motherhood - I've always been a raging feminist but I've never had more appreciation for the strength and resilience of women than experiencing pregnancy. We are fierce, powerful and even more so when we unite together so happy IWD to you all and to the allies who love and support the women in their lives. Even though we dropped a chaotic #yaysofourlives ep just a few days ago, I've got a special guest for the occasion patching in from stateside! As you know, we've been lucky to partner with Sunpower and have had the most amazing transition to solar energy, so today we have their Chief Legal & Sustainability Officer on the show, Lindsey Wiedmann. Not only does she have a fascinating, unpredictable way to yay as you know we love from a Bachelor of Science to a postgrad in Law to project finance at a law firm before her current role, she also has fascinating insights on life as a woman in the traditionally male dominated energy sector. I'll let her tell you the rest herself, but hope you enjoy! FIND OUT MORE ABOUT SUNPOWER HERE + Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah + Join our Facebook community here + Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!

We spontaneously went live to record this one and what a BLAST! Absolutely no structure or plan whatsoever, but as always, chaotic fun with Ang! + Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah + Join our Facebook community here + Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!

Again, later than planned but as joyful as ever, Part II of our first episode for 2024... + Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah + Join our Facebook community here + Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!

After 2487 false starts, we are finally back and possibly more chaotic than ever.... Part I of our first episode for 2024 with Part II coming next week! + Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah + Join our Facebook community here + Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!

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MORE ON FOUND SPACE HERE MORE ON ALEX TYSON HERE + Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah + Join our Facebook community here + Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!

Another wonderful guest episode in your ears so we could squeeze in the legendary Nick Afoa! Ang and I will be back with our last few #yaysofourlives episodes for the year from next week (and will be answering more of your questions so if you have any, don't forget to DM them to us!) Nick is definitely our first professional rugby player turned musical theatre star going from winning the Junior World Cup to ending up on London's coveted West End not just in the Lion King... but in the lead role as SIMBA! We were lucky enough to witness him in action recently in the incredible new production of Miss Saigon and even luckier to sit down with him this week to cover his twisting and turning pathyay, taking a chance on yourself and everything in between... FOLLOW NICK HERE + Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah + Join our Facebook community here + Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!

I am SO excited about this week's guest and how wild that it coincides with the very weekend I landed in Antarctica exactly a year ago! I still can't believe that actually happened but how amazing to relive it all in this episode. I'm PUMPED to have David Knoff with us this week, you'll be able to hear in my voice how fascinating I found his pathYAY not only in his Antarctic journey but all the crazy dots that connected to get him there. Think a career as an officer in the Army commanding a whole platoon with the Regional Assistance Mission Solomon Islands turned diplomat at the Australian High Commission in Pakistan which then became Frist Secretary at the Australian Embassy in Iraq with a side of professional photography in Turkey, medals for formation skydiving in Dubai and even splitboarding records – a hybrid snowboard that can be separated into cross country skis for ascent…   And that's all before he became an Antarctic Station leader at Davis Station which is not only already a uniquely intense and challenging role to fill let alone when you get STUCK THERE DURING AN UNPRECEDENT PANDEMIC for 537 days!!! You can only imagine how interesting THAT story is such that he has written it into an incredible book with more exciting projects on the horizon. I'll let him tell you more about it himself but I hope you find it as captivating and invigorating as I did!! FOLLOW DAVID HERE BUY HIS BOOK HERE BOOK HIM FOR SPEAKING HERE

As promised, Ang and I dedicated this #yaysofourlives episode to your wonderful questions about our excitement baby announcement! Thank you, always, for being so supportive and interested - you always ask the nicest, most considered questions and I never take that for granted. For ease, these are the questions we covered in order. I feel like I was a bit overexcited and didn't give details as clearly as I meant to with some of them, so please send a follow up DM if that's the case with your question. PRE-TRYING How long were you off hormonal contraceptive before trying? MISCARRIAGE Did you do acupuncture post miscarriage? How long between miscarriage and pregnancy? Can you tell us more about ovulation induction? Did you consider IVF or conceive naturally? Did you consider IUI? Did you do anything differently this time? PREGNANCY How have you dealt with anxiety during pregnancy after loss? First symptoms of pregnancy? When are you due? How did you keep us with all travel appearances etc? How is your relationship with Nic? I feel useless sometimes with no energy and the partner shoulders the load? Why are you only eating bread, crackers pizzas? How was morning sickness? Other than David Davidson, what other names can you think of to go with Davidson? Pregnancy safe make up, lotions etc? Preference on natural or C section birth? Anything hard about being a pregnant adoptee? ADOPTION Would you ever foster a child? How easy or hard is it for Aussie to adopt a child? Will your Mum ever share her story?

Lovely yayborhood, back to our regular programming after the Seoul Diaries last week with a ripper guest to kickstart November. I am so thrilled to have Verve Money CEO and Co-Founder, Christina Hobbs, in your ears this week whose pathyay BLEW me away.  Christina is not your average financial CEO although she did happen to found Australia's first ethical super fund by women for women. By investing in Verve Super, members have ensured over $270million in super is not directly invested fossil fuels and other harmful industries, which is already a cool enough industry disruptor… BUT to hear she came up with the idea in a shipping container in Baghdad, Iraq during her work with the United Nations World Food Programme where she eventually became head of operations!? I MEAN, TELL ME MORE RIGHT!? So, I will do just that and let her tell you the wild and wonderful story herself but she is just such a fascinating women doing incredible things in a pathyay that continues tot take amazing twists and turns - I hope she inspires you as much as she does me.  + Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah + Join our Facebook community here + Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!

As promised, here are our daily diaries from our recent trip to Seoul, South Korea! It's not often I can rope Nic into recording an episode but what perfect timing the week of fourth anniversary. We're chaotic, unhinged and probably reveal too much about the inner workings of our relationship but it was so much fun to reflect on our adventures each day and to listen back while editing. I hope it convinces some of you to book a trip in yourselves, it's SUCH an incredible city!!! If you do, Jetstar always has the cheapest fares and flies direct from Sydney to Seoul (as well as from Brisbane to Seoul from February next year!) CHECK OUT JETSTAR'S FARES TO SEOUL HERE I've also shared our itinerary in list form on social media if that's more useful for you guys - OUR ITINERARY IS HERE.  + Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah + Join our Facebook community here + Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!

OUR NEW SEIZE THE YAY x EL&RO JEWELLERY IS LIVE + Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah + Join our Facebook community here + Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!

OUR NEW SEIZE THE YAY x EL&RO JEWELLERY IS LIVE + Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah + Join our Facebook community here + Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!

As promised, part two with Dr Brandi!!! If you haven't yet, go back to listen to part one first where we cover Dr Brandi's INCREDIBLY impressive journey up until her chapter as Team Doctor for The Matilda's. In this episode, we dive behind the scenes at the FIFA World Cup camp, the Tokyo Olympics and much more! FOLLOW DR BRANDI HERE + Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah + Join our Facebook community here + Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!

Guys I know I get excited about every single guest we're lucky to have on the show, but this week's is particularly special for so many reasons -      we've all had Matilda's fever -      before we even get to the Tilly's, this guest's journey is absolutely incredible -      she's basically Ang's ultimate idol so Ang actually joined in on this interview -      and she has barely done any other interviews and we are SO grateful that she said yes to the yayborhood because this is genuinely one of my favourite episodes in a long time! In fact, we enjoyed it so much and it was so jam packed with pearls of wisdom that we went longer than usual AND are coming back for part two because there's so much more we wanted to cover. I can't quite believe we're saying this but we are thrilled to welcome to seize the yay, the Matilda's team doctor, Dr Brandi Cole. She tells the story best herself so I won't go on too long in this intro but just quickly, there are few things Dr Brandi hasn't excelled in! Early in life, she began as an athlete herself being the former captain of the Australian Women's Oztag team, playing both touch and hockey for NSW in the past and being an Australian and World gold medalist in beach sprint relay in Surf Life Saving. She then dkid her undergrad in Physio at Sydney Uni in 2003, which is enough for many, but wen ont to then do Medicine in 2008 and become a Specialist Sport and Exercise Medicine Physician having gained fellowship of the Australasian College of Sport and Exercise Physicians in 2019. Dr Brandi completed a PhD on optimising the management of rotator cuff dysfunction through the University of New South Wales in 2018. And all this before she became the team doctor for the Matilda's INCLUDING at this recent captivating World Cup tournament (as well as working with Sydney FC and numerous mens and womens rugby teams). AND she's a Mum of two and has her own practice… like WHAT A WOMAN!!!   I could rave about this woman for hours, which I kind of did in this episode, so I'll stop myself there and let you enjoy. I hope you guys are as inspired by this one as we were!!!

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This week's guest epitomises why I LOVE doing this podcast so much and, for all its downsides, embrace the potential for connection that social media allows us in this day and age. We actually met THROUGH the yayborhood after this guest became our number one purchaser of quote of the day Flip Books and the support has been unwavering ever since… I don't know how we actually got onto his incredible work, but it somehow emerged that Simon Morriss went from being an architect to becoming the CEO of an incredible biotech company and when I found out about his amazing work identifying diseases through a very simple, noninvasive saliva-based test, called geneType, I just HAD to share it with you all. After becoming friends over the interwebs for years we finally sat down and chatted about the incredibly work that he is doing. I hope you love it!  The GRAZIA ARTICLE Find out more about GENETIC TECHNOLOGIES + Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah + Join our Facebook community here + Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!

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I am so excited about this week's guest having followed her story (and had her on our ultimate wish list) for many years now. Some of you may already know her, but if not, Sam Bloom is a world champion surfer, adventure traveller, best-selling author, neurology nurse and mother of three boys whose story also became a global hit movie, Penguin Bloom. That heartbreaking story begins in 2013 when Sam was paralysed in a terrifying accident in Thailand when she fell through a rotting balcony and it was the unlikely arrival of a beautiful magpie chick, Penguin, that helped her gruelling recovery back in Australia. The photos captured by her photographer husband, Cameron, were later made into a book written alongside legendary author Bradley Trevor Grieve and then became the basis of Penguin Bloom starring Naomi Watts. Having pored over Penguin Bloom many times, it was surreal to be able to hear Sam chat so candidly about grief and redefining joy in real time – she is so refreshingly honest about the defining trauma in her life and that the challenges endure everyday. But what I also loved was having the chance to also ask Sam about all the other parts of her life that perhaps don't relate so much to the story many know her for. I could go on forever but I'll let Sam tell you the rest herself – this is one of my favourite chats to date and I am so grateful for her time. I hope you enjoy as much as I did! Follow Sam Bloom here + Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah + Join our Facebook community here + Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!

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Lovely yayborhood, I am SO excited about this week's episode – you've probably seen snippets here and there of our recording and filming day, but our full chat is finally ready for you. As you've heard me say many times, the thing I love most about Seize the Yay (and the random collection of things I get to call a job) is the people I'm lucky enough to meet and one I'm still pinching myself about is today's incredible guest – Rodrigo Pizarro, the CEO of L'Oréal Australia and New Zealand. Wayyy back in the lawyer days, if you asked me what my ultimate dream job would be, I always said I'd love to go in-house at somewhere amazing and dynamic like L'Oréal. In true Seize the Yay form, 10 years later I did end up getting to spend time at HQ and work with this amazing business but just not quite in the way I'd expected and I never dreamed I'd get to whisk the CEO away for a whole day to share a day in his life with the yayborhood. And yet here we are sitting down with one of the most interesting people I've ever chatted to who is, in so many different ways, the opposite of what you might expect of a high-flying corporate running a traditional, heritage brand – the first time I met Rodrigo I was seated next to him at an event and was SO nervous but we ended up gas-bagging about our travels and favourite languages like old friends. From his life of working around the world to his passion for motorcycling and then his baller tattoos to his refusal to wear ties to the office, Rodrigo pushes the boundaries in the best kinds of ways and continues to lead some incredible innovations and new directions for L'Oréal Australia and New Zealand that you'll hear all about. You can watch the day in the life video on socials, which we had so much fun making, but I also hope you enjoy getting into the nitty gritty of what a CEO actually does, the rollercoaster of a journey to get from a product sales position all the way up the ladder, parenting, travelling and everything in between! Huge thank you also to his right hand woman, Kelly Fallarmytage, for making it all happen. Ladies and Gentlemen, Rodrigo Pizarro… WATCH THE DAY IN THE LIFE VIDEO HERE + Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah + Join our Facebook community here + Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!

We are sneaking another guest episode this week, as it is currently Men's Health Week from 13th to 19th of June 2023. As you know, while men's health, women's health or anyone's health (and the surrounding conversations) are important every day of the year, we do a dedicated episode each June to specifically remind us all of some of the major men's health statistics, challenges and resources and they've been so helpful to me even as a woman – as a wife, sister, friend, colleague, the list goes on… I don't think we could be graced with two better guests for the occasion than the absolute legends we have with us today, both of whom have been on the show before but who are on together this time because they have since become friends AND co-authored a BOOK! Back for his third appearance is psychiatrist, mental health advocate and former calf club member, Dr Kieran Kennedy and for his second appearance, publisher, author and former editor of Men's Health Magazine, Scott Henderson.  If you've been listening for a while, you'll already know what amazing work they are each doing for men's health (and health generally) as well as being fabulous role models in the realm of redefining modern masculinity and men's mental health conversations. But now, they have collated it all into the handbook we've literally talked about the world needing –perfectly titled, The MANual: a practical guide to life, health and happiness. From the science behind nutrition and training to the anecdotal surrounding relationships, body image, sexuality… they literally cover it all. I'll let them tell you more about it themselves because I'm already not doing them justice. This was SUCH a delight – funny, moving, reflective… I hope you enjoy as much as I did. >>> GET YOUR COPY OF THE MANUAL HERE

I'm so thrilled to have someone who may be a familiar face to you on the show this week, but whose full story you may not know in as much depth - my favourite kind of episode. You might have seen Rachael Coopes through her role in the cult SBS series Life Support, the internationally-renowned McLeod's Daughters or All Saints, or even as a regular presenter on Playschool. Talk about a diverse pathyay, she is also an award winning playwright, professional yogi which we barely had time to touch on, and a published author with her brand new book Paris for Beginners coming out just recently documenting her time at, get this, Philippe Gaulier's renowned Paris clown school, which counts the likes of Sacha Baron Cohen and Emma Thompson among its alumni!!! Add single parenthood, taking time off after discovering a tumour, moving countries and everything in between.., buckle in this is a big juicy one and I hope you enjoy as much as I did!   Follow Rachael here >>> GET YOUR COPY OF PARIS FOR BEGINNERS HERE

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Lovely yayborhood, this episode has been a long time coming with a guest I've admired for many years now. We have one of those relationships unique to our modern digital life where we haven't actually met in person but have followed each other's work and lives for some time, share many mutual friends and had just SO much to talk about…  As you'll hear, that means I strayed all over the place from my usual structured thinking I just had so many questions on so many topics and once you learn a bit more about Tarang Chawla, you'll understand why. Tarang is not only a fellow former lawyer but also an author, keynote speaker, anti-violence campaigner, gender equality and mental health advocate, former political candidate, and even a Commissioner at the Victorian Multicultural Commission, so it was impossible to feel like I did anything more than scratch the surface and I suspect this won't be our only chat on the show.  Just a content warning, we also cover one of the catalysts for his incredible activism being the tragic murder of his younger sister Niki at the age of 23 by her then-husband as well as the impact of this on his own mental health briefly discussing suicide, so please take care while listening. How Tarang has come through this horrific tragedy and dedicated himself to Nikki's legacy with anti-violence campaigning is nothing short of inspiring and opens up a much more layered and complex conversation about joy in life than is usually the case on the show, which I hope lands in the ears of those who might need to hear it. Follow Tarang here Find out more about L'Oréal's Stand Up Against Street Harassment campaign RESOURCES Lifeline 13 11 14 1800RESPECT 1800 737 732 + Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah + Join our Facebook community here + Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!

YOOL IS BACK!!!! Enjoy the chaos kids x + Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah + Join our Facebook community here + Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!

We are back from our little break with an absolute bang and a guest I've wanted to chat with for such a long time. Thank you so much for your patience while we adventured around the world, by the way – I hope you enjoyed our re-releases and I know you'll enjoy this week's guest even more. I'm talking of course about the woman, the legend, Toni Lodge, who you have probably heard from on her own amazing show, The Toni and Ryan Podcast, one of Australia's top performing shows and for very good reason. Toni has also just released her first book, I Don't Need Therapy (and other lies I've told myself), for which I was so honoured to give a cover quote after absolutely eating up my advance copy – I can't recommend it highly enough and the link to buy is below for you all. I won't reveal too much because we cover SO much in this chat and I adored getting to know this amazing woman better. Toni is one of those amazing examples of someone who you could easily think was born into the position she's in now (because she is just so perfectly suited to it), but for whom this definitely wasn't the case and I loved exploring all the juicy stuff in between. You'll be able to tell immediately how much fun we had during this one, I haven't laughed so hard in such a long time – I hope it's as much of a joy to your ears as it was to mine the first time around! BUY TONI'S BOOK HERE - I DON'T NEED THERAPY Follow Toni here! + Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah + Join our Facebook community here + Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!

Our annual birthday reflections episode chaotically answering your questions - thank you so much for the submissions! + Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah + Join our Facebook community here + Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!

Welcome to our first FOUR WAY EPISODE on the show! At this point, my memory is so bad that it's entirely possible we've done one before, so ignore me if I'm incorrect – I actually love it when you guys remember things better than I do! Anyway, I am so excited about our guests today – I was lucky enough to jump on their brand-new podcast recently and enjoyed it so much I had to turn the tables a week later. Of course, I'm talking about Tass aka Natassia - the founder of trailblazing beauty brand Conserving Beauty - and Sage, her Community and Partnerships Manager as well as right-hand woman. And since I was originally introduced to Tass by Ang, I thought she could join for the party and it was SO much fun. You'll hear all about the pathYAYs that led the girls both together and into Conserving Beauty in the episode, but just in case you need an introduction to the brand, it's the game changing water(less) beauty brand that I've been shouting about on socials for a while now. The one with the zero-waste make up wipes that not only so effectively remove make up from the face but also DISSOLVE COMPLETELY IN WATER with patented Insta Melt fabric technology leaving no waste or micro plastics behind? Yeah, that one. That's just a taste of the incredible ways Conserving Beauty is focusing on their water, carbon and waste footprints with clear traceability through the supply chain without compromising on high quality products. And of course we all want to know how you actually bring an idea like that to life, let alone straight into the coveted shelves of Mecca before they'd even lauched… so listen in to find out!! I hope you enjoy as much as I did. FIND OUT MORE ABOUT CONSERVING BEAUTY + Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah + Join our Facebook community here + Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!

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Welcome back lovely yayborhood and happy International Women's Day! I couldn't think of a better guest to celebrate all that is wonderful and womanly than the incredible Sophie Walker from Australian Birth Stories. I suspect that many of you listeners are also among the literal millions in the Australian Birth Stories community but, in case you aren't just yet, it is one of Australia's most successful shows sharing honest stories of women navigating the journey to motherhood – a space where conversations, education and a safe place to share had long been missing. I always find it so alarming how little women often understand about their bodies and Sophie herself was originally inspired to create her community by her second birth experience during which she felt unable to make informed decisions and left with significant physical and emotional trauma. She has since shared over 350 diverse stories of pregnancy, birth and postpartum covering every scenario you could think of helping so many people feel more informed and empowered to have a positive birth experience. Once you dive into the wide world of childbirth, there is SO much to uncover and learn but of course there are 350 episodes and counting that you can tune into for those juicy details as well as Sophie's brand new BOOK – the Complete Australian Guide to Pregnancy and Birth – which you'll also hear about in this episode. Here, I wanted to find out who Sophie is and what led her from a Masters in Public Health with no background in media to one of Australia's most successful podcasts. I hope you enjoy as much as I did! GET SOPHIE'S BOOK HERE + Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah + Join our Facebook community here + Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!

Welcome back lovely people, what a week it's been for the yayborhood!!! Nic aka Mr YAYvidson's return to the show last week for a hilarious Valentine's episode – thank you all so much for listening and for the cute littlee love notes… But even more excitingly, our first in real life event in over three years and it was EVEN MORE AMAZING THAN WE COULD HAVE IMAGINED.   I won't spend much time on it this week because we recorded some audio on the night and are putting it together for a proper debrief episode with Ang about the event next week, but I just wanted to quickly reiterate just how incredibly special it was and how grateful we are to everyone who came. There was so much laughter, beautiful tears, wonderful new friendships and memories for a lifetime. And we're doing it all again this week in Sydney for another sold out event, which still blows my mind! So we'll have the full reflection yays of our lives episode next week for you but for now we've got a fascinating guest who I can't wait to share.   I first heard of Ben Mcintosh when we joined my amazing management team at Day Management – should out to the Day family, we love you so much – and, along with nearly a million other people and counting, I very quickly wanted to know pretty much every detail about his life. He, like many others, has grown a loyal and engaged community and uses his platform to educate and positively impact others but unlike many others, it wasn't born out of business, reality TV or nepotism – it's through sharing his day-to-day life as a disability support worker.   In very Seize the Yay fashion, Ben spent most of his life unsure of what he wanted to do dabbling in AFL and even going to college in the US for American Football but not really knowing what his passion was. Turns out, he had been building the perfect skills for a career in disability support work as a big brother to Grace, who was born with Down's Syndrome.   Today you'll hear the story of how he stumbled into doing it for work and found that feeling of purpose we always talk about when you forget what time it is or don't feel like what you're doing is a job. His content is so endearing, empowering and educational helping demystify so much about disability – I mean I'm really only friends with him for Grace, but let's not tell him that. I found this one so fascinating and different, and hope you guys enjoy it too! I think it night have been his very first if not second podcast ever so make sure to tag him and share to encourage him to do it more!!! + Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah + Join our Facebook community here + Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!

Due to popular demand, Nic aka Mr YAYvidson is back on the show for a special Valentines Day anonymous Q&A. Hosted, of course, by Ang, this was an absolute CRACKER! Hope you enjoy as much has we did! + Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah + Join our Facebook community here + Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!

Hello lovely yayborhood and welcome to our second guest episode of the year. Continuing on our musical theme to kick off 2023, we're chasing our classical singer, Josh Piterman, with a classical pianist, Van-Anh Nguyen, and one of the country's very best at that! You might remember a few weeks ago, Ang and I were lucky enough to attend a Candlelight Concert where we cried our way through an hour of Van-Anh's spine tingling renditions of Disney's best and brightest accompanied by cellist, Aly Partridge. Well earlier that day, we actually recorded an episode too on how one actually goes from a musical childhood (which is not especially uncommon) to an internationally successful career, a deal with Universal Music, 11 albums, ARIA nominations and a dream life between LA and Australia (which is definitely less common!) You'll hear quickly how much I loved getting into the nitty gritty details of life as a professional pianist – how do you train your fingers? Do you insure your hands? Can you play any song you hear? I could have sat with this incredible woman for hours and watched her play for many more. I'll include some snippets of her playing on socials so you can experience her exceptional talent and unique ability to fuse Beethoven with Britney. I hope you enjoy as much as I did! >>>> Follow Van-Anh here!!

Finally, our first #yaysofourlives episode for the year reflecting on last year, our hopes and dreams for this year and our usual crap in between! + Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah + Join our Facebook community here + Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!

Welcome back, lovely yayborhood! Oh my goodness me, it is not settling into my brain that it's 2023.... let alone the end of January! We had the loveliest break, but we're BACK IN A BIG WAY and have such an exciting year planned – our first IRL event is already booked in for the 16th Feb now that we have Ang back on board properly so stay tuned for more details. On that note, you'll be getting a dose of #yaysofourlives every fortnight and in next week's episode we'll follow up on Ang's HUGE revelations from her Q&A, our reflections on last year, hopes and dreams for this year – all that "new year, new me" jazz. But for now, we have our first guest episode for the year and as you'll hear we are SO lucky to have access to this incredible voice as it's a precious one! We are starting the year on a musical note, with the incredible Josh Piterman – musical theatre performer and classical crossover artist who also just happens to be – at this very moment - the actual Phantom in The Phantom of the Opera. During my research, I read an older article where Josh was asked his biggest dream in the industry and it was to play the Phantom – nobody will be surprised that the way his pathYAY has developed makes me so very happy! But even more true to seize the yay form is that he didn't even fancy himself a career in the arts until later than you'd expect, had a few diversions in his career along the way including opening a fitness studio and so much more before finding his ultimate yay (and if you've heard him sing, you'll know he's exactly where he's meant to be). I found it so fascinating to hear all about what it actually takes to sing professionally, protect your voice, train for shows and all that jazz so I hope you enjoy as much as I do. >>>> Follow JOSH here!!

WELCOME TO 2023, LOVELY YAYBORHOOD!! For various reasons, we didn't release this straight after Ang's Anonymous Q&A Part I as originally mentioned - we wanted to release it when we were together (it will probably become clear why when you listen) and have only just reunited after our travels. So thank you, again, for your patience and I hope you had a beautiful break and holidays yourselves! This year, we are so excited to have Ang on board properly, so there's already SO much more in the works (in a much more organised and structured fashion). Cannot WAIT for everything we have in store for you - in the meantime, hope you enjoy! + Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah + Join our Facebook community here + Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!

+ Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah + Join our Facebook community here + Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!

If you're sick of the Antarctica content, this week we're back to our regular programming with one of the loveliest, most well-adjusted and inspiring humans - you know those people you speak to and they just have SUCH a good head on their shoulders you want to be around them more? And I didn't realise this until after we finished recording but we have the SAME BIRTHDAY just a year apart, so it was always going to be love at first chat for me especially having followed her from afar for so many years. I'm talking of course about Alyssa Healy, a superstar Australian cricketer who joined us from Mumbai in India where she is currently CAPTAINING the Australian women's T20 team. The things she has achieved in her career to date are far too many to list here but right back from the early days when she was the first girl to play among boys in the private schools' competition, Alyssa has continued to change cricket both women's and men's since then. Just one of many records she has set, in April this year she nabbed the highest-ever score in a World Cup final, usurping Adam Gilchrist's previous record of 149 runs in 2007 and Ricky Ponting's of 140 in 2003. But the most amazing part about Alyssa is how humble she is about these achievements and her impact on the sport, her reluctance to even compare men's and women's performances and the perspective she has on life (and yay) beyond cricket itself.   I'll let you hear the rest from Alyssa herself, but even if you have no interest in cricket, I think you'll love her as much as I do! Ladies and gentleman, Alyssa Healy!! + Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah + Join our Facebook community here + Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!

The Dear Diary recap of Antarctica with Ang... Next up is Ang's Anonymous Q&A so don't forget to send us your questions!! + Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah + Join our Facebook community here + Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!

Beautiful people, I am finally back from the great white continent and am genuinely speechless. The yay involved with every moment in Antarctica was absolutely indescribable!!!  Although, as per usual, when I say “there are no words” I follow with a million words so you'll be getting bombarded with reflections and feelings in due course - I'm sitting down with Ang this week to unload and that will be coming your way very soon. Thank you so much for your patience by the way during the repeated breaks we've had this year to allow for travel and chaos and the general rollercoaster now turned polar-coaster of this year!  To keep you going in the meantime, I was so lucky to interview many of the incredible Intrepid crew and passengers on the Ocean Endeavour during our travels and will compile all the audio eventually - there were so many fascinating pathways that expanded my mind over and over. But I recorded one very special full episode with someone whose story made me tear up and whose passion project I am desperate to share as far and wide as possible. I gravitated towards Martin Cohen immediately because, if anyone on board qualified as the team penguinologist, it's him (although his expertise is much broader as an overall wildlife biologist - and yes, he's had drinks with one David Attenborough in his time). But as time went on, I also heard the most heartwarming and heart wrenching story behind the scenes and I hope you are as moved as I was.  I won't give you any hints as it's so much more beautiful told by Martin himself, but I WILL include links below so you can support the beautiful project he's embarked on that you'll hear all about. I'm sure many of you will be as passionate as I have become about helping him spread the word and hope the yayborhood can get behind him. Excuse the background noise the ship was pretty loud but it gives you a taste of the adventure.. Ladies and gentleman, Martin Cohen….  GET YOUR COPY OF PADDY O MELON HERE + Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah + Join our Facebook community here + Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!

+ Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah + Join our Facebook community here + Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!

There aren't many things that evoke more YAY than the Wiggles, especially a sunshine-coloured one!!! While she has now officially hung up her yellow Wiggle shoes, Emma Watkins still radiates like a sunbeam and we are so lucky to have her here today.  As always, it was such a delight to trace back to a younger Emma who never could have dreamed of where she'd end up and with whom I have an earlier very intense dancer's life in common. You might have guessed that her love for the arts has been lifelong, but you might NOT know she's also a skilled filmmaker, has been in Bollywood films, won Miss Granny Smith Apples AND learnt Auslan all before becoming the first ever female Wiggle. Now, she is doing some incredible work with artistic integrations of sign language through her PhD which you will hear all about in the episode. PLUS Emma's also stepping into some beautiful frocks this month as an ambassador for the OCRF's incredible Frocktober Campaign – I've popped links below to this incredible initiative. OCRF'S FROCKTOBER 2022 Follow Emma here! + Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah + Join our Facebook community here + Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!

It's been a pretty busy time lately, but in the days I was in Melbourne, I was so lucky to catch the legendary Rob Mills to record an episode in celebration of his brand new book, Putting on a Show!!! I only got my advance copy 24 hours beforehand and thought I'd give it a quick once over to prepare then go back to read it in more detail afterwards, but I could. not. put. it. down!!! It's such a fabulous (and much needed) exploration of the average Aussie bloke, our shifting and sometimes distorted perceptions of masculinity with Rob's beautiful knack for storytelling and personal anecdotes weaved throughout. There's a reason this man has been so successful in showbiz – he is warm, witty, vulnerable, honest, and open minded all of which comes through in the book. I'll let him tell you more about it himself, but we also get to cover the parts of his pathYAY that you might not have heard as much about between the Australian Idol and Paris Hilton related headlines. You know I love getting into all the chapters we know much less about, and Rob was very obliging and a joy to listen to. I also definitely did that thing where I want to cover SO MUCH all at once – perhaps I shouldn't have read the book in quite so much detail beforehand – so, I probably jump about a bit crazily but hopefully you enjoy nonetheless.    CW: Just a quick content warning we do touch on mental health and suicide briefly so listener discretion is advised. BUY THE BOOK - PUTTING ON A SHOW   + Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah + Join our Facebook community here + Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!

Lovely yayborhood, I am SO excited about today's episode. You've probably heard me say before that one of the coolest parts of having a podcast is having audio evidence of how you felt at a particular point in your life to look back on, but being able to do that with our guests as well when they return for a reunion is even more special. Today, after nearly FOUR YEARS since we first recorded, the incredible Laura Henshaw and Steph Smith jumped on again to celebrate the second round of their Keep It Cleaner Tour (which I'm so thrilled to be MCing again). When we first recorded in December 2018, Keep It Cleaner had just started, so catching up on how far the girls and both of our communities have come was the greatest! I got to meet some of you at the first stop in Adelaide last weekend and I can't say how much it meant to be hugging in person again and hopefully there'll be some more of you in Auckland then Perth. Also I'm so sorry to anyone here who hasn't been able to listen on Apple Podcasts for the past two or so episodes - we're working through that glitch and hopefully it'll be fixed shortly.  I hope your October is off to a wonderful start, and that this helps you KIC off with a solid dose of yay! Welcome back to the show, Steph and Laura…  GET TICKETS TO KICTOUR   + Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah + Join our Facebook community here + Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!

Lovely yayborhood we're back into our regular recording schedule and I'm SO pumped to have an epic guest for our first episode back. I had the privilege of sitting down with D'Leanne Lewis, a real estate mogul and star of Luxe Listings Sydney – many of you have probably already binged the first two seasons showing the ins and outs of one of the most cutthroat real estate markets in the world (and some seriously insane properties) and Season 3 is NOW available on Prime Video from today September 30. D'Leanne is a powerhouse in so many ways – not only is she widely considered one of Australia's leading real estate agents with 30 years of experience under her belt, she was also a single working mother of two at the time of recording and in the week since then has become a mother of THREE at 50 years old!!! But in what you know is my favourite kind of pathyay, she never expected to become a celebrity real estate agent or TV show star… In fact, she spent her earlier years in Johannesburg before moving to Blacktown Sydney and had never heard of Double Bay until she applied for a PA job she saw in the newspaper with Laing + Simmons as a 20 year old. Now, she is a part owner and on the board of Laing + Simmons and absolutely tearing it up on our screens…   I'll let her tell you the rest but what an incredible pathYAY from Blacktown to Bondi and beyond!!! Don't forget to tune into the show from today on Prime Video! WATCH LUXE LISTINGS SEASON 3 HERE   + Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah + Join our Facebook community here + Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!