Podcasts about Mama

In this episode of the Dear NICU Mama podcast, we're joined once again by the remarkable Kayleigh Summers, also known as The Birth Trauma Mama, for a heartfelt conversation about how friendships shift in the wake of birth trauma and NICU experiences.Together, Ashley, Aisha, and Kayleigh open up about the grief of changing relationships, the identity shifts that happen after trauma, and the surprising ways connection can still be found. From feeling misunderstood to discovering unexpected community, this episode offers validation, insight, and encouragement for any NICU or loss mom navigating friendships during their healing journey.Whether you're in the thick of it or years removed, this conversation reminds us: you are allowed to change, and you are worthy of being loved exactly as you are!Kayleigh Summers is a licensed therapist, writer, and content expert in perinatal trauma. She uses her training as a licensed therapist and her lived experience as an Amniotic Fluid Embolism survivor to support families experiencing perinatal trauma. Kayleigh has also created thriving support communities through Instagram and Tik Tok, as well as her podcast, where she provides connection, story sharing, and resources to support those experiencing birth and other trauma. You can find her @thebirthtrauma_mama.To get connected with Kayleigh:Website | Instagram | TikTokThis podcast episode is not an attempt to practice medicine or provide medical advice. All information, content, and material on this website is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical or mental health advice, diagnosis or treatment.To get connected with DNM:Website | Private Facebook Group | InstagramTo Give to the Mission of Dear NICU Mama: dearnicumama.com/giveSupport the show

Parenting is one of the most challenging and rewarding roles we can take on. What if we told you that you don't have to do it alone? In this episode, Bridget van Zyl, author of Wired to Parent, shares her wisdom on how partnering with God in your parenting journey can bring peace and perspective. Whether you're in the toddler trenches or navigating the teenage years, Bridget's insights will equip you with the tools to raise Kingdom adults with purpose.You'll learn:How to cultivate peace in your parenting through God's guidance.The importance of recognizing your child's unique spiritual DNA.Practical ways to partner with God in every stage of your child's development.How to embrace the journey of parenting, knowing you're not doing it alone.Resources From This Episode:Get Bridget van Zyl's book Wired to Parent: a powerful resource to help you understand how to raise children rooted in God's Truth and love. As a special thank-you for listening to this episode, here is a free copy of the audiobook Wired to Parent.Support Proverbs 31 Ministries by donating here. Your gift helps us continue to offer free biblical resources to women when they need it most. Click here to download a transcript of this episode.Want More on This Topic? Listen to “How To Stop an Argument Before It Starts” with Donna Jones on The Proverbs 31 Ministries Podcast. Download “14 Guided Prayers You Need as a Mama” for free! 

I'm back - leicht angeschwollen unter den Augen (danke Mama), aber mit starker Meinung und Nintendo Switch 2 am Start. In dieser Folge erzähle ich euch, wie ich endlich Grenzen setze, worüber ich in meinem TEDx Talk sprechen werde, wie ich bei Mario Kart fast meine Beziehung ruiniert habe und warum ich mein neues Dusch-WC liebe wie ein Erstgeborenes. Außerdem rede ich über den Pride Month, seltsame Interviewfragen und die Frage aller Fragen: Was würde ich machen, wenn Instagram gelöscht wird? Töpfern eher nicht.In dieser Folge:Tickets für TEDxMein ReiskocherHolterhttps://www.patreon.com/c/MichiBuchinger

228: Heute spreche ich mit Daniela Roeske. Sie ist Mama, Unternehmerin, Speakerin und Leadership-Coach. Ihr Kernthema: Emotionale Intelligenz. In dieser Folge sprechen wir über die 4 Säulen von emotionaler Intelligenz. Let´s connect on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/timo_eckhardt/

In this episode of Social Media Decoded, host Michelle Thames is joined by Cassidy, aka The Copywriting Mama, a messaging strategist and copywriter who helps mompreneurs and bold business owners find their authentic voice—and use it to build profitable brands. Cassidy shares her powerful approach to brand voice, the difference between messaging strategy and copywriting, and why every business needs a clear messaging foundation before writing a single word. Whether you're struggling to stand out in a saturated market or feeling stuck with your content, this episode will show you how to write with more clarity, confidence, and conversion power. What You'll Learn in This Episode: What a brand voice really is (and why it's your business's secret sauce) The difference between messaging strategy and copywriting How to write content that sounds like you AND attracts ideal clients Tips for finding your voice—even if you don't feel like a “natural” writer Why oversaturation is a myth—and how to embrace what makes you unique Resources & Links Mentioned:

Hey Mama,  Pregnancy can be an exciting time for expecting Mamas. But for some, discomforts associated with pregnancy can certainly steal their enjoyment. Women who are pregnant are more sensitive to what they inhale, put on their skin or even take internally. Because of this, there are often very limited relief options for aches, pains, seasonal threats, sleep support and more. Praise the Lord I was able to find safe, natural and incredibly effective relief using certified pure tested grade essential oils. Join me today to learn about simple essential oil hacks for pregnancy every mama should know about. Natural Solutions For Pregnancy: https://bit.ly/growingtinyhumans    For His Glory, Christen   I would love to hear from you!  >>Leave a Review >>Connect with me:   Sign Up for Manage In The Moment Coaching Call: https://bit.ly/ManageStressInTheMoment   Email me : naturalwellnessforbusymoms@gmail.com  Sign Up to Become an Insider: https://bit.ly/naturalwellnessinsider  Join Our FREE Facebook Community:https://www.facebook.com/groups/1789472588229094  >>Find Related Products Here: https://bit.ly/m/Natural-Wellness-for-Busy-Moms  >> These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. >>I make a small commission when using the links above to purchase items.

The Artist shares great family news! Your Huckleberry then befouls the great album Rumours. Ground Chucky, the Boy Made of Meat finds his voice but can it stop Mex from buying a snake?

 Mama, you have access to so much more than you know! Join us for Part 1 of this brand-new two-part series from our June Mothering Kit, Inheriting Heaven: Unwrapping the Riches of Your Salvation Package, as we dive into the beautiful truth of the spiritual gifts that belong to us through our inheritance in Christ.In this episode, Deb and Linda go deep into understanding what spiritual gifts are, why they matter, and how they can bring life and power into your motherhood journey! Stay tuned for Part 2! BONUS: Check out this free spiritual gifts test to help you begin discovering your unique design!Want to go deeper into our June Mothering Kit? Try it FREE for 7 days HERE!

Mama, what kinds of things have people spoken over you? And what kinds of things do you speak over yourself? Tune in to be reminded of what GOD has to say about who you are in Him!

If you've ever dreaded housework, feel unappreciated for all the hard work you do, or just need a little encouragement from one mama to another, this episode is for you! ----------------------------------------------- Let's stay connected! New things are on the horizon: Website: toddlermomdiaries.com Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@LaRissaJ IG: https://www.instagram.com/mrs.larissaj/

Hey, Mama!!! Welcome back to What Self Care Looks Like, where I dive into the challenges of motherhood, so you can reclaim joy in your motherhood experience.In this episode, I'm talking about the detrimental effects of the 'super mom' trope on mothers, & the unrealistic expectations it creates and the guilt it fosters. Women need a more authentic approach to motherhood that prioritizes self-care, community support, and individual identity. I encourage mothers to embrace their true selves and redefine what success in motherhood looks like, moving away from societal pressures and towards a more sustainable parenting model.Enjoy this episode!Be sure to share this episode with a working mom who could use some support & motivation!Are you ready to audit your time? Download the time audit -- ⁠https://backtoyouin5.kit.com/time⁠Feeling lost in motherhood? You can download Your Map Back to You at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://backtoyouin5.kit.com/map⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Buy the book

In seinem neusten Experiment möchte Herr Müller herausfinden, ob Hühner auch bunte Eier legen können. Das Ergebnis kann er aber nicht sehen, da ein Wissenschaftler die Eier klaut und aus dem Bauernhof schmuggelt. Mario und Frederick müssen helfen. Können sie den Eierdieb finden?Unser Lied "Wie macht die Mama?" gibt es überall wo man Musik streamen kann. Frederick freut sich SEHR über deine Spende:https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/dbfrederickFolge uns auf Instagram für noch mehr Quatsch:https://www.instagram.com/detektivbuerofrederickUnterstütze uns gerne durch deinen Einkauf:Eine Videobotschaft von Frederick kaufen:https://www.detektivbuerofrederick.de/product-page/eine-videobotschaft-von-frederickDen Detektivbüro Frederick-Trinkbecher kaufen:https://www.detektivbuerofrederick.de/product-page/der-das-detektivb%C3%BCro-frederick-trinkbecherDie Detektivbüro Frederick-Tasse kaufen:https://www.detektivbuerofrederick.de/product-page/die-das-detektivb%C3%BCro-frederick-tasseHier bekommst du T-Shirt und Kapuzenpulli:https://shop.spreadshirt.de/detektivbuerofrederick/allAnfragen für Kooperationen bitte an:E-Mail: detektivbuerofrederick@gmail.comQuiz, Malvorlagen und mehr findest du hier:https://www.detektivbuerofrederick.de

Jakobs Tochter wünscht sich neue Haustiere – denn Vogelspinnen und Riesenschnecken kann man nun mal schlecht streicheln. Deswegen stellen wir uns in dieser Folge (mal wieder) ausführlich den Fragen: Sollten Kinder eigentlich mit Haustieren aufwachsen? Welches eignet sich am besten, wenn man eigentlich selbst gar keine Lust darauf hat? Und wie erzieht man Hamster zu Nachtschläfern? Wir sprechen über die Vor- und Nachteile von Probehunden, Hundefriseuren und Reitbeteiligungen und darüber, warum man am Ende immer irgendeine Form von Beziehung zu den kleinen Rackern aufbaut. Sichert euch jetzt Karten für die 10 Jahre Beste Freundinnen Tour unter https://www.bestefreundinnen.de/ Du möchtest mehr über unsere Werbepartner erfahren? Hier findest du alle Infos & Rabatte: https://linktr.ee/beste_vaterfreuden Du möchtest Werbung in diesem Podcast schalten? Dann erfahre hier mehr über die Werbemöglichkeiten bei Seven.One Audio: https://www.seven.one/portfolio/sevenone-audio

Fliegen mit Baby ​

Mama got an invite to watch some baseball. Here i am...

Do you try to make reading the Bible a priority but when you do you don't really get all the hype? Or maybe you haven't even tried because it feels so overwhelming and you have no idea where or how to start? The Bible is LIFE CHANGING! It is a place where a living and active God wants to speak directly to you, but sadly SO many people struggle to know how to read it. Today I share my top 4 tips to read the Bible in a way that changes everything! GET EXCITED!  Love, Brittany    Ready to become a peaceful wife and Mama? Sign Up for the Pain to Peace Academy HERE. Come say hi and join the Morning Mama Facebook Group! I would love to hear your story and know your name.    ALL THE LINKS FOR ALL THE THINGS! Morning Mama Website Pain to Peace Academy Morning Mama Facebook Group Follow Us on Instagram Find a Restoration Therapist Come say hi by emailing hello@morningmamapodcast.com

This is a Self-Care Snippet from Worthy Mother Podcast. As mothers, we need to prioritize our own care. Within this few-minute long episode, you will hear how our past guests prioritize their own self-care and some tips on how you can do the same. Tune in to the full episode Mothering with a Disability: Everything is Figureoutable with Brittany Reinke.Like what you hear? Make sure you are subscribed to Worthy Mother Podcast wherever you like to listen. For more motherhood content and support, connect with me on Instagram @honestlyemilyrose. Follow the podcast on Instagram @worthymotherpodcast.You are worthy, Mama.Send us a text

Olivia soll baden, aber sie hat überhaupt keine Lust. Mama konnte sie nicht davon überreden, Papa auch nicht. Da hat ihr kleiner großer Bruder Tom eine Idee. Klappt es nun? Aus der OHRENBÄR-Hörgeschichte: Ein Bad für Olivia (Folge 3 von 3) von Lena Hach. Es liest: Marion Elskis. ▶ Mehr Hörgeschichten empfohlen ab 4: https://www.ohrenbaer.de/podcast/empfohlen-ab-4.html ▶ Mehr Infos unter https://www.ohrenbaer.de & ohrenbaer@rbb-online.de

Hot DateA 7-part series by Member389. Listen to the Podcast at Explicit Stories. The tires hissed along the gravel drive as I pulled alongside her Jeep. I walked to the door, bouquet in hand and rang the bell. I took a deep breath, just as the door opened. A pretty girl stood there, dark hair and piercing eyes stared intently at me for a moment. In a flash of an eye a familiar crooked little smile crossed her face."Mom, your hot date is here!" She yelled over her shoulder."Well don't make him stand on the step, let him in!" Summer hollered back. I just started chuckling as Emily opened the door. Emily cracked open the outside door and opened the inside door further."Come on in." She said."Hi Emily, I'm Pete." I said holding out my hand. Already over five feet I could tell she was going to be tall like her mother."Are those for my mom?" She asked nodding at the flowers. I just shook my head."No, they're for you." I said presenting them to her. Her eyes grew wide and her expression got serious for a moment before she took them with a smile."I'll be right out." Came the call from another room. She laughed a bit after saying it. I began to think this was a calculated move.Emily set the flowers down and disappeared head first into a low cupboard coming up with a vase. She filled it with water and put the flowers into it, preening them to get them the way she wanted.Summer came out of a short hallway dressed in jeans and a blue and gray striped sweater. Her hair freshly brushed and a big smile on her face."Hi." She said giving me a quick hug, and more notably a slight push-off after. She noticed the flowers on the counter. "They're beautiful. Thank you."Emily turned and interjected with a grin. "He brought them for me.""Oh he did, did he?" She looked at me, the eyebrows lifting.I gave Summer a slight shrug and a wink. She just gave me a quick eye-roll in return. "Score one for the visiting team." She said, in a low voice."You're the fireman that saved my mom from drowning in the ocean, huh?" Emily asked."Actually we responded to a fall victim that was out on the rocks. If I hadn't braved the wild winds and pounding surf, she might not have made it." I said. "She could have been lobster chow.""Oh lord, the story gets more dramatic with the telling." Summer joined in. "I fell on the rocks, luckily I had a cell signal, and called for help. Pete here was one of the first responders and promptly hauled me back to the sand and brought me to the walk-in clinic to get X-rays. See? Not nearly as dramatic as you two make it sound.""She was laid up for a week after, and I kept an eye on her. I didn't want her to starve because she couldn't feed herself." I added, a wicked glint in my eye."Yes, you can cook, and I certainly didn't want for anything." She gave me a warning look that I should stop before more questions began. "Is your stuff in the car Em?" Emily nodded at her mother. "Grab your jacket, let's go I'm hungry." She said grinning. Emily trotted up the hallway, and Summer stepped closer and we kissed deeply. "Nice job with the flowers you clown." She ran her thumb across my lip wiping away any telltale lip gloss."I do what I can." I grinned, and stepped back a half step before Emily walked back into the kitchen.We left, Emily yelled 'Shotgun!' and her mother quickly squashed that plan, though I graciously got in the back seat and let her have the front. Summer giving me a sidelong look, knowing I was indulging Emily for my own sake."Is this your guitar in the back Emily?" I asked. She turned as far as she could in her seat to reply."Yup, my teacher is going to be there tonight and we're going to play.""That's awesome! What are you going to be playing?""You'll just have to wait and hear." She smiled, a mirror of her mother's impish grin.Summer pulled up beside the fire house and parked between a couple pickup trucks. We walked inside to the din of what sounded like a school cafeteria. The engine sitting outside had made room for folding tables and chairs to be set up in the bay. People were already seated and others milled about talking and laughing."I'm going to find Jen." Emily said, wrestling her guitar case through the crowd.Summer was saying hi to people as we passed through the crowd, but she kept moving like she was on a mission."Dale!" She called out. A large guy turned around, he must have been six and a half feet tall. She wrapped an arm part way around his waist and hugged him. "Come here I've got someone I want you to meet. This is my rescuer, remember when I took that spill a couple summers back. Pete, this is my uncle Dale.""Hi there. Thanks for making sure she didn't end up as fish bait." He said smiling, shaking my hand."Pete is applying to the fire department here, looking to get hired for the new year." She added.Dale's eye turned on me appraising openly. "Looking to move to our neck of the woods are you?"I nodded. "Yes sir." I didn't add anything so that rumors wouldn't begin. The look in his eye got shrewd, and he knew exactly why I was willing to pick up and move a thousand miles away from home. The reason was standing right next to him."Hell don't call me sir, save that for her dad." He said tilting his head towards Summer. "Call me Dale, good luck to you Pete. Now go on and get some food before the kids clean us out." He said smiling. We made our way through the crowd, Summer greeting people as she passed, stopping a few times to introduce me around. We eventually found ourselves in the chow line. Summer insisted on paying for us at the little card table. She mentioned that hurricane Emily might blow through any minute. The lady let her know that Emily had already come through the line.We found a place to sit and eat at one of the tables. People stopped to chat and moved on, the night had a familiar small town feel to it. Before long we could hear the sound of guitars, chords being strummed here and there. People started to grab seats, and there was Emily sitting on the left of another girl and a woman. They were sitting around a music stand and Emily and the other girl were watching the woman point things out on the sheet music. I felt a hand grip my thigh and looked at Summer who was beaming at Emily with a big grin on her face. A few moments later the woman began and the girls joined in playing Van Morrison's Moondance instrumental. My foot began tapping and Summer's grip tightened on my leg as I ran my arm over the back of her chair rubbing her back. She turned to me with the silliest grin. I only hoped she was reminiscing about when I played it for her at the summer festival. They gave way to the Beatles Eleanor Rigby, then played John Denver's Take Me Home, which they sang.Summer leaned in close to my ear and whispered. "Thank you." Before giving me a peck on the cheek. I just wrapped my arm around her and gave her a squeeze and smiled.As the group finished the crowd erupted with applause, the girls grinning ear to ear. The woman spoke up after the noise died down stating that she had room for one more student this year if anybody knew someone looking for lessons.Emily packed her guitar away, and put her chair back with the tables. She made her way back to where we were sitting and got caught up in a bear hug from Summer."Alright, say goodbye to your friends, we need to get going."As we left I hollered shotgun and got front seat privileges on the way back to the house. We chatted on the way back about other songs Emily had learned, and how long she'd been playing. Coincidentally it had been just over a year. Summer pointed out that she was a natural, learning very quickly."We learned Moondance this summer. I figure if mom liked it so much I wanted to learn it.""Your mom likes Van Morrison?" I prodded."She's played his greatest hits until she practically wore out the CD." Emily replied. I just grinned wider. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Summer's expression and nearly bust out laughing as she tried to look aloof, the twinkle in her eye giving her away."Well there are some other great musicians from that era you might like. Maybe I can suggest a few for you to listen to." I said."Do you play too?" She asked surprised."Not guitar. I play saxophone, clarinet, and dabble a little in piano." I said."I can teach you." She said, excited.She didn't begin to know how much I would love that. "That would be awesome.""Not tonight." Summer chimed in. "You need to get ready for your sleep over, and that room of yours looks like a tornado touched down in there." As we entered the house she told Emily that she needed to get it cleaned up. Emily went down the hallway with a few sighs and several eye rolls."Would you like something to drink?" Summer asked, with an unusual look in her eye."Yes, please." I nodded, trying decipher it. She opened the fridge and pulled a wine bottle out and began opening it. Music started playing down the hall as Emily puttered around making more noise than necessary. I turned from looking down the hall to look at Summer. She had stopped opening the wine and I noticed her shoulders trembling slightly. I stepped closer my hand circling her waist."Hey, what's the matter?" I asked softly."I don't know, it all seems to be happening so fast, I feel like I'm waiting for the train to derail. You know? I get the feeling something is going to go wrong and it's all going to blow up in my face." She looked up, her eyes burning intently.I chuckled. "How do you think I felt when I put that note in the mail box and drove back down the mountain to wait and see if you'd respond.""Those were the scariest hours of my life." I added softly, staring down at the wine bottle. "I mean I had no idea if you'd call the cops, or call and tell me it was all a mistake and I should go home, or worse, just throw it away, and me with it."She spun around in my arms and wrapped her arms around my neck kissing me fiercely. "If you think for a moment that it didn't hurt to leave you like that, then you're crazy. I only did what I thought was best.""Ahem?" Came loudly from the hallway door. I tried to release Summer from my grip but she just held tighter and gave me another quick kiss."Better let her get used to it." She whispered, before slowly letting go of me."Ready for inspection." Emily said saluting as she stood at attention.Summer let out a snort. "I bet. How much of it is stuffed under the bed?" She asked as she spun Emily around and pointed her down the hallway giving her a nudge.As I watched them retreat down the hallway I felt a warm glow deep inside me, the feeling enveloped me, eventually making the hair on the back of my neck tingle. There was no other explanation for it, this just felt right. I turned and poured the wine into the glasses, putting the bottle back into the fridge as I listened to muffled conversation and shuffling as the last of the cleaning was directed."Put the basket on the dryer, and I'll ask Pete if he wants to join us for movie night." Summer said. She walked back toward me, a grin on her face before she let out a dramatic sigh and rolled her eyes. "Still a disaster, but you can walk through it now." She smiled. "So, on Friday nights we usually pick a movie to watch. It's sort of a tradition, some mommy and me time. Care to join us?""So long as it's not an intrusion on the mommy and me time." I said grinning back at her."Like I said, she's going to have to get used to you being around. What better way to start.""Well we better find something family friendly, you know, no late night cable." I chuckled.Summer laughed. "No and I'll make sure we don't bore you with princesses and tiaras.""You don't have to change what you'd normally watch on my account." I replied."Well it is nearly Halloween, horror movies have been popular the last few weeks, but they're getting old. What's your favorite?"I shrugged, giving her a non-committal look. "I'm pretty easy going, though ax wielding, chainsaw revving, slasher flicks are a little too much for me. I've decided a while back that I like being able to sleep.""I'm sure we'll find something." She smiled wrapping her arms around my waist."So what's the verdict so far?" I asked softly kissing her ear."Hmm?" She responded, running her lips up my cheek leaving a trail of kisses."Emmy? Am I doing okay?" I prodded her.She let go of my earlobe long enough to whisper. "Oh, you're a shoe in. She asked me if you were my boyfriend, with a huge grin on her face.""Well?" I asked, wondering at her response.She pulled back laying her forehead against mine. I could see the little grin on her face, she bit her lip and said. "I think he just might be if you like him. She nodded like a bobble head doll.""Yes!" I whispered. "Easiest interview ever.""Am I going to walk into a room and find you two sucking face every time?" Emily said, clearly not as exasperated as she tried to sound."Only if I'm lucky." I replied."Go and get everything ready and I'll make the popcorn." Summer said.We sat down on the sofa, I ended up in the middle. "What are we watching?" I asked."You choose." Emily said.I took the controller and thought a moment and keyed in a title to see if it was available, and it was."Ever heard of this one?" I asked as the film poster popped up with a short synopsis.Both shook their heads. "Nope, any good?""Well the book was fantastic, but I've never seen the movie." I hit play, and the credits began. The movie was a hit, the fantasy and magic captured Emily's imagination as she let out occasional exclamations. I chuckled inwardly when I realized I had both of them tucked under each arm. I don't remember when that happened but I certainly wasn't going to complain about it."That was a good movie. I love when he went to find the falling star and found the girl." Emily said."Sort of reminds me of how I found your mom on the beach." I said."Oh please." Summer said, rolling her eyes and giving me a poke in the ribs. Emily broke into a fit of giggles. "Alright you, get ready for bed.""But it's not even ten yet!" Emily shot back."It will be by the time you're done." Her mother replied. "Now scoot, get a move on." Summer uncurled herself and began to stand too. She reached into my lap to pick up the popcorn bowl and I waved her hand away and picked it up standing up too. I set the bowl and glasses on the counter as Emily trudged up the hallway with a sigh. An equal sigh came from Summer as she wrapped her arms around me from behind. I felt her soft warm lips meet the nape of my neck."Thank you." She said."For what?""For everything. You don't think she snuggled up to you just because you had the popcorn, do you.""Well, it was really good popcorn." I smiled. I got another poke in the ribs for my comment."No. She likes you.""She's pretty terrific, like a mini you." I said turning in her arms holding her closer."Mom!"I just began chuckling as Summer buried her head in my neck. "God help us if we're out of toothpaste." She mumbled before giving me a kiss and turning to go find the source of the distress."What babe." She said as she walked down the hallway, and turned into the bath.I washed the wine glasses by hand, returning to the cupboard she'd taken them from earlier. They both came back into the kitchen a few minutes later."Goodnight Pete." Emily said."Sweet dreams pumpkin." I said, not quite sure where that came from. She launched herself at me hugging me like she was holding on for dear life."Thank you for saving my mom." She sniffled. I hugged her back just as tightly and gave her a peck on the top of the head."You're welcome, but I think it was your mom that saved me. Hopefully we'll have time to figure that out.""Take all the time you want." She smiled up at me before she turned and trotted over to her mom, gave her a big hug and kiss and disappeared down the hallway with a parting goodnight.Summer stood across the room from me leaning back against the door jamb, her arms crossed over her chest as she looked side long down the hallway. A few minutes passed before she let out a sigh. "I have got to stop overestimating how smart I think I am."I chuckled at that."Seriously! You know why she called me into the bathroom?" She asked."I'm guessing it wasn't because she was out of toothpaste.""No! She gave me the kind of interrogation I'd expect from my mother! She asked stuff I hadn't even thought of yet." She chuckled nervously. "Is he moving in? Are you two getting married? If he's moving here, what does his family think of that. Does he know you can't have more kids? That last one threw me, not because I had thought of it when you and I spoke the other day, but that she thought of it!"I walked over to Summer and leaned down and kissed her softly. "Well, I've added another piece to the puzzle, she's just trying to figure out how it's going to fit.""She wanted to know if you were staying the night." Summer said glancing down the hall. "Damn she grew up fast."I laughed at that. "Yea they have a way of doing that while you're not watching them. What did you tell her?"She sighed again. "I told her that you were going home for a couple months to finish out your year at work and that you'd be coming back after Christmas. You'd be getting your own place, and that we hadn't planned anything beyond that!" Her eyes were wide like she'd just gotten the third degree."Come here." I gathered her close and she uncrossed her arms and held on to me. "You're right on the money, everything you said was perfect. I mean hell, I'm not even sure I'm marriage material.She leaned back and looked me in the eye. "You're kidding right?""Yup, actually I'm a hell of a catch. You should be lucky to have me." I grinned."I am a lucky girl. I should pick up a lottery ticket." She smiled back at me.We sat down on the sofa, Summer leaned on me. "Sorry if all this seems a little strange, it's just that she's the most important thing in my life and I don't want to grow old knowing that I screwed her up before I turned her loose on the world.""I've only known her a few hours and I'd say that you're doing a hell of a job. She's smart, funny, warm, and just a bit sarcastic so she doesn't take life too seriously. All of which proves that you're doing a great job." I replied."How are my panties still on?" She grinned throwing a leg over my lap, straddling me while we kissed."These jeans don't want to let go of your incredible ass so they can escape." I said grasping her pulling her down onto my lap to feel the effect she was having on me. She twisted my shoulders slightly and pushed me flat on the couch."How do you do it? You make me feel loved and cared for like I've never felt before. I mean you even did it when I first met you, and you were just a, a kid.""Well since I feel pretty much the same I think it comes from the fact that I love you, no ifs, ands or buts." As I finished, I gave her ass a firm squeeze through her jeans. "Okay, maybe one ass." I added pulling her up slightly, resting her on my hip. We kissed slowly, hands roaming where ever they would. I kissed my way down from her ear to her throat and felt her melt into me. She let out a soft moan. She responded by unbuttoning my shirt and sliding her hand inside. I had her sweater pushed halfway up her back."Seriously, you two need to get a room." Emily said, from the kitchen doorway.I started giggling like a teenager, Summer tried hard not to join in. "Go to bed!" She said before burying her face into my shoulder in fits of laughter."If he gives you a hickey, you'd better wear a turtleneck when Jesse and her mom come tomorrow." She said retreating down the hallway. "I don't want to have to explain that!""It's been a while, come here." I said leaning down and nuzzling her neck."Ah! Don't you dare!" She said pulling back."I can't be held responsible for what I may do." I growled into her neck, and gave her a little kiss and lick. "If I don't get going soon I'll be making you breakfast in the morning.""Scrambled, toast, sausage and coffee regular." She said before slipping her tongue into my mouth."What? No juice?" I asked, after coming up for air."All out, need to pick some up at the store." She licked my lower lip before dipping into my mouth once again. Her thigh was rubbing between my legs, stroking my cock. It's a wonder it hadn't torn through my jeans."Any bacon?" I said sliding her sweater over her head and unclasping her bra.She let out a soft moan as I began stroking her freed breast, thumbing the nipple into a similar state as my cock."I don't think so, no." She said as she kissed down my chest pushing the t-shirt up and taking my nipple into her mouth. I was sure that the jeans didn't have much time left. In an effort to prove my point, Summer slid her hand down and stroked the bulge. I had to stop her."I think we need to take this to the bedroom before Emmy finds us sprawled here naked in the morning.""Good idea." She said gasping. She stood up her neck and chest flushed pink, eyes bright and hair wild. She grabbed her clothes and reached down to grab my hand and pull me up, hauling me off the couch with more strength than I expected nearly causing me to knock her over. "Come on." She tugged me along into her bedroom, and turned on a small bedside lamp. She turned and kissed me again, while doing her best to tear my shirt off. I assisted in getting both off. Both arms wrapped around my neck, the heat of her pressed against my chest was intense. I reached between us and fought her jeans to let her free. She brought her hands down steadying mine and the button came free, the zipper went down swiftly as I ran my hands around behind her pushing them down over her ass. She pushed away and began tearing at my belt and jeans to get them off. We finally freed ourselves of our clothing, Summer reaching for my cock, stroking it softly. It was nearly torture."Think with that head not this one before you answer. Have you had unprotected sex with anyone besides me." She looked up at me asked, her eyes wide with expectation."No, I haven't. I had a good teacher." I said. Her grip tightened and her face lit with a little smirk. She snatched a throw pillow off the bed and dropped at my feet before kneeling down and laving my cock with her tongue. She took me into her mouth and began sliding more of me into her mouth with each stroke. She began massaging my balls while her rhythm increased. "Oh God, slow down I can't hold out much longer." That seemed to spur her on as the pace increased bringing me to the edge before she pulled back with just the tip in her mouth, she reached up and began massaging me behind my balls causing my immediate orgasm. The contractions lessened as Summer took it all in, swallowing quickly. I was nearly spent and ready to collapse when she started in again. She worked my cock deep into her mouth again, her efforts to keep me hard weren't wasted, and I was ready for more.She backed off and licked her way from base to tip. "There now that we have that out of the way, we can put this where it belongs." She stood and turned to pull down the covers and I scooped her up and set her on the bed, turning her so her legs were dangling off the edge. I punted the pillow so it was right in front of her and knelt down. She let out a soft moan as she wrapped her legs around my neck pulling me down to pleasure her.She was already soaked, the heat pouring off her body was intense. I teased and licked her swollen lips, her hips began to sway trying to make me hit a certain spot. I danced around her clit, gently lifting the hood with the tip of my tongue and retreating. Soon she had handfuls of my hair in her grip, pulling my face into her harder. "Stop teasing!" She said through gritted teeth. Her wish was my command. I pushed two fingers into her easily as I pulled back the hood and began sucking and licking her clit. Her body tensed as she arched her back and let out a yelp. Before she could make any more noise she'd grabbed a pillow and covered her face with it as she climaxed. She slowly relaxed and I cleaned up the incredible mess I'd just made of her. She pulled the pillow off and began gulping air as if she had been drowning. As she caught her breath she picked her head up and looked down at me. "You look like a kitten that's just finished an entire bowl of cream." She said grinning.I smacked my lips. "Surely not the entire bowl." I replied as I stood up and lifted her, turning her gently on the bed so she was laying comfortably in the center. I slid in next to her, she scooted over slightly and rolled up onto her side to make room. She leaned over and kissed me softly, still breathing hard."You're going to be the death of me.""Yea, but what a way to go." I smiled up at her and kissed her again. She began softly stroking my still hard cock."All tuckered out?" She asked.Without warning I rolled her onto her back, parted her thighs and sank deep into her. "Not at all. I was just letting you catch your breath."She wrapped her legs around me, lifting herself to meet each deep thrust. Our tongues began a slow tango as her hands roamed up and down my body."I can't even describe how incredible this feels." She gasped.I slipped my arm around her waist and lifted her from the mattress, pushing a pillow under her ass. The slight shift in angle had my cock sliding along her upper wall."Oh, oh, oh yes!" She cried, as I deliberately slowed down and pushed harder with each thrust. Her grip on me was getting to be too much, and I wasn't going to last much longer as I pumped away. She slid her hand down between us and began stroking her clit with quick fingers. It took only a moment before she started shaking, her legs clamping down and drawing me in as much as she could. Her walls contracting to milk me of every ounce I had to give. At that point I just leaned forward and erupted. Inhuman sounds escaped from deep in my throat. A long low guttural moan escaped Summer as she arched her back rising up to me. A few deep gasps and she collapsed back to the mattress, and I followed her, our mouths met, our tongues danced lightly as we tried to catch our breath. I slid to the side, breaking free of her lips for a moment and turned off the lamp.I woke early, pulled on my jeans and t-shirt quietly and made my way to the bathroom for a little relief. I walked out of the bathroom door to find Emily standing in what I guessed was her bedroom door. She rubbed her eye and just looked at me for a moment."Hi." She said softly.I stood there unsure of just what to say. "Hi." I replied nervously. The pause began to get uncomfortable."Are you done, can I get in there now?" She nodded towards the bathroom."Oh sure." I stepped aside quickly and she plodded her way in closing the door quietly. I closed my eyes taking a deep breath. I walked back down the hall into the kitchen and noted it was about my normal wake up time. So I scouted for coffee. Emily padded into the kitchen in her sweats and socks."What are you looking for?" She asked noting that I was peeking into different cupboards in search of the coffee."Coffee first, then I was going to make breakfast, if you want." I said."Can I help?" She asked. I just smiled and nodded. She pointed at a canister on the counter and smiled back. I opened it to find the coffee."How about we make something special?" I opened the fridge and rummaged and found the eggs and sausage Summer had mentioned. I found some veggies in the drawer and pulled those out too. My real find was a box of ready pie crusts. I detailed my plans with Emily and after extensive prep work of dicing and browning we placed a sausage and pepper quiche into the oven."Corn flakes are for chumps." She said looking at the door and smiled at me."Can you set the table while I wake up your mom?" I asked.She nodded. "I'd bring coffee and lead with that. She can be grouchy in the morning."I chuckled and poured a cup, topped it with a splash of milk and spoonful of sugar. I opened the door slowly and walked to the bed. Summer was curled up, her hair a golden splash across the pillow, her expression was strained."Don't try to fool me, that grin is a dead giveaway that you're not asleep." I said as she broke into a full smile and opened her soft blue eyes."Good morning.""Good morning pretty lady." I said as I set the coffee on the nightstand and leaned down to kiss her."If you don't mind, I've had to go to the bathroom for the last twenty minutes, but I didn't want to barge in on your bonding session." She slipped out of bed and grabbed a robe from the closet door and wrapped herself up and darted out of the room, leaving me chuckling. She didn't come right back and I was wondering what might be going on in the kitchen. I reached for the coffee cup as she walked back into the room shaking her head."What?" I asked.She just grinned at me. "Oh nothing, you know that old saying 'out of the mouths of babes'? Well mine just asked why you were spending money on a motel when you could stay here." Summer just looked up and laughed and shook her head again. "She's right though. If she took this as well as it seems then why don't you check out and come up here for the rest of your stay?"I just smiled. "I wouldn't want to intrude.""Intrude my ass. All you've done since you've been here is make life better." She walked over and sat next to me on the bed and kissed me. "The invitation is sincere, from both of us. Oh and you're timer is nearly up on the stove." My eyes went wide as kissed her and trotted out of the room to save breakfast.Em started giggling as she saw me jog into the kitchen to look at the stove. The timer still had seven minutes to go. I squinted at her. "Gonna be like that is it?" She burst into a bigger fit of giggles."You were right mom, he fell for it!" She yelled.A few minutes later Summer walked in wearing her college sweats and a long sleeve t-shirt, grinning ear to ear."I'd nearly forgotten that you're a gourmet chef, besides a fireman. What have you done with breakfast?" She asked."It's in the oven. It'll just be a few more minutes. Do you have any tomato sauce?" I asked."There's some in the pantry there I think." She said as she topped her coffee off.I found it and opened it up, pouring some into a bowl to warm up in the microwave. She looked at me sidelong not sure what to make of what I was doing."Okay shortcake, let's do this restaurant style, why don't we make a little assembly line here on the counter. Plates here, we need the spinach from the fridge, the bowl of sauce here, and do you have something to set the main course on?" She dug in a drawer and found a large pot holder and set it on the counter. As if on cue the timer went off. I checked in on it, and it was done. I slid it out and set it on the counter."That smells fantastic. You found that in my fridge?" She chuckled."The only special ingredient is imagination." I said as I winked at Emily who smiled and nodded. "Okay, so here's how we do it, do you know what the flag of Italy looks like?" Emily shook her head no. I sighed and rolled my eyes. "What are they teaching you kids in school these days? We're going to make the plates look like the Italian flag, green, white and red. So spinach on the side, then we're going to put a slice of the quiche in the middle for the white, and then a little sauce on the side for the red. Got it?""Yup." She took the first plate and piled a handful of the spinach on one side while I sliced the quiche, and set a slice just on the edge of the spinach."Okay, here's where we get all fancy." I whispered. "We take a little sauce and we make a little pool on this side. Don't tell anybody about this trick, everybody will be doing it." I said winking at her. Emily just rolled her eyes at me, the grin never leaving her face. "Two more like this and we have breakfast!"Emily made the other plates herself and set them on the table."A little more caffe for a me, we'll warm up Mama's, and for the signorina, the juice of one cow." I said pouring her a glass of milk. "Finito!"Summer started clapping, and I took a bow, and caught Emily out of the corner of my eye joining me. We sat down and began eating."Italy tastes really good." Emily said around a mouthful. Everybody nodded as we ate."Oh, did you tell her?" I said leaning over asking Em. She just looked at me wide-eyed. "Well the deal usually goes, the cook doesn't do the dishes." I said winking. Emily grinned and looked at her mother who in turn gave her a gimlet eye."So that was the deal? Why wasn't I given a vote in this plan?" She said.Emily replied with a shrug. "You were asleep." It was my turn to chuckle."That'll teach you to sleep in." I said. She gave me the same gimlet eye with a smile thrown in.When she finished Emily cleaned up after herself and put away the milk and the rest of the cold food without being asked. I looked at Summer who had a smug look on her face as she popped the last bite into her mouth."I'm going to get my stuff ready to go to Jesse's." Emily said as she headed for the hallway.Summer let out a quick, authoritative, "Hey," and raised an eyebrow at her, then looked at me and back. Emily rolled her eyes just like her mother and came back."Thank you for making breakfast..." she stumbled unsure what to call me.My eyes went wide. "Just call me Pete, and I should be thanking you for your artful assistance."She beamed and turned and took off up the hallway. I just watched her grinning as I sipped the dregs of my coffee. Music floated down the hallway a few seconds later as I pondered just how things had unfolded since I'd gotten here. I must have been lost in thought for a few minutes."Penny?" Summer asked, startling me out of my reflection."Sorry, I was just thinking how scared I was that this whole trip was a bad idea, and how everything has gone so right. I'm still worried that something bad is going to happen to screw it up. You know, like waking up and finding that I'm dreaming this."She ran her instep up my leg. "Don't go looking for trouble, it'll find you all by itself in time.""So what do you have planned for me tonight?" She asked."Oh a little dinner, maybe a show after." I grinned. "You have something nice to wear? No jeans, reservations are for seven o'clock." I said with a wink."I'll see what I can manage." She rolled her eyes."I can't wait." I said, the excitement in my voice coming through, bringing a smile to Summer's face."What's next for you today?" She asked."Let's see, I need to run back to my motel, pack and check out, stop by the dry cleaners, a couple errands. Most of all I want to start with a long hot shower." I said giving her a wink."That last one sounds good." Summer's eyes wandered to the hallway and back, and her expression changed, turning apprehensive as she crossed her arms over her chest."What's the matter?" I said as I took her arms and uncrossed them putting them on my hips."I don't know, it just feels weird. I feel like I've got to sneak around to have a life of my own."I laughed at that. "If we didn't scare her last night then I think she'll be fine. You just need," I paused and corrected myself, "We just need to be straight up honest with her. Show her that she's not being cut out of your life, but I'm joining both of yours, with any luck for a long time.""You'd better be planning on a long time. I'm not a love 'em and leave 'em kind of girl."I just raised an eyebrow at her for a moment, and she turned bright red and looked down."Okay there was that one time, but..." She began but I cut her off with a kiss."Mom, when you come up for air can you help me find my blue sweater?" Emily said as she walked into the kitchen.We both busted out laughing. "Yes dear. I am ever your willing servant." Summer replied rolling her eyes up at me and gave me another quick peck."Go get your stuff and get back here safe." She added as she made her way down the hallway.I got dressed and got ready to leave and wandered up the hall rapping on the door jamb before peeking around the corner of the door."I'll see you ladies in a little while." I said smiling."Hurry back, I want you to meet my friend Jesse when she gets here. She's really cool.""I'll do my best." I replied.To be continued in part 6, by Member389 for Literotica

Timecodes: 00:00 Start 0:20 Tires, Les Mascots, and Barstool Summer House 24:47 Feits is in Tires Season 2 48:47 Brick Watches 52:22 Kirk vs Dave on the Unnamed Show 01:08:50 Tom Thibodeau fired 01:16:49 Lebron is being mean to Brian Windhorst 01:22:20 what country has the most intstagram followers? Netflix: Watch Tires season 2, now playing on Netflix Simpli Safe: Visit https://SIMPLISAFE.com/kfcradio to claim 50% off a new system with a professional monitoring plan and get your first month free.You can find every episode of this show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or YouTube. Prime Members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music. For more, visit barstool.link/kfcr

An A-list celebrity couple has called it quits for good…. Plus, an update on all the family drama going on with the Beckhams. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Follow me on TikTok:@dointimewithjoe#boobaker #joet #joebakerIII #oksoboom #oksoboom1Follow me on YouTube:www.youtube.com/@dointimewithjoe4641CashApp:@dointimewithjoe1

Why did we do this? What have we learned? How do you end a podcast? We answer fewer of these questions than you would expect as we watch OUR FINAL and THE FIRST episode of Family Matters. (Don't worry. We'll be back. Like, next week.) Alex Diamond, David Kenny, and John McDaniel heard that the long-running network sitcom Family Matters ends with side character Steve Urkel going to space. And the best way to figure out how that happened - obviously - is to watch the last episode first and make our way backwards through nearly ten years of television.Join our countdown to number one (and our slow descent into madness) in all the places you expect internet people to be:Website: jumpingtheshuttle.space Email: jumpingtheshuttle@gmail.com Instagram: @JumpingTheShuttle Twitter: @JumpingShuttle TikTok: @JumpingTheShuttle Brought to you by Smooth My Balls

Let's talk about the elephant in the room: “Is this a pyramid scheme?” In this episode, Jess Handley helps us unpack what that question really means, why it's often rooted in fear or misunderstanding, and how to respond with clarity, truth bombs and confidence. Tune in if you've ever stumbled through this convo!   Important Links: Momergy Essentials - Home | Momergy Essentials Iva Perez - The Momergy Movement Desiree Gonzalez - Oily Essentials Follow us on: Facebook Facebook Mom Bosses Abroad Instagram@Mom.bosses.abroad Instagram @MomergyMovement Instagram @desiree_oilyessentials Instagram   Guest Bio   Meet Jess Handley, A single mum who always had a passion for small business. 18 months ago Jess fell into a business opportunity online that aligned with her values.   Jess a now passionate online entrepreneur in the health and wellness space. She Is a big advocate for sharing the power of Electrolysed Reduced Water that creates the most potent antioxidant in the universe, ‘molecular hydrogen', the free radical scavenger that supports our systems to reverse the oxidation process in the toxic world we live in today.    Jess not only loves to share the product but is passionate about showing other soul driven entrepreneurs/ business owners how they are able to diversify and expand their income in a way that can really elevate their business and health     IG @_jesshandley, Facebook https://web.facebook.com/jess.handley.12?mibextid=LQQJ4d&_rdc=1&_rdr#       Resources Hey, Mama!

In this quick reflection episode of Mama's Motivational Messages, I'm diving into one of those simple yet powerful truths that hit differently in the empty nest season: “Your priorities should match your goals.”If you've been feeling out of alignment lately—doing all the things, but not necessarily the right things for you—this gentle nudge is for you.Plus, I'll share a free workbook I created just for you called Letting Go, Moving Forward—a thoughtful guide to help you realign with what matters most in this new season of your life. You'll also hear how to book a free discovery call if you're ready to talk more about what's next (all in the Show Notes).✨ This is your time now. Let your daily life reflect your dreams—not just your old roles.Connect with PK:Website, Instagram, Facebook, Review on Apple podcast.FREE Affirmation eCards

Life isn't easy when you're doing it all on your own, Take a moment for yourself, breathe deep, and remember… you've survived every hard day so far. And this one? You'll get through it too. Thank you for listening I will talk to you soon Peace,,

In dieser inspirierenden Folge sprechen Janina und Patricia mit Dr. Nadine Al-Kaisi – Kinderwunschärztin, Buchautorin und seit letztem Jahr auch Auswanderin. Gemeinsam mit ihrem Mann und ihren zwei kleinen Söhnen hat Nadine den mutigen Schritt gewagt und ist von München ins Silicon Valley gezogen, um sich dort als Fertility Specialist selbstständig zu machen. Egal ob du Mama bist, einen Kinderwunsch hast oder einfach neugierig bist, wie sich das Leben als Ärztin und Unternehmerin in Kalifornien anfühlt – diese Episode berührt und informiert gleichermaßen.

Hasanatu, affectionately known as Mama H, came on board a Mercy Ship for free surgery to remove a large facial tumor. 

Matching Day: Part 1To love risks more than just her heart.Based on a post by SmallTownPrincess, in 2 parts. Listen to the Podcast at Connected.Girls spend their entire lives looking forward to the fateful Matching Day - and whether or not they will admit it, boys, too, have at least a healthy curiosity. It's so reassuring, knowing that in your eighteenth year, you and your age-mates will be paired off, brought together with another from their own community or a surrounding one that match them perfectly. No song-and-dance dating rituals, like the ones in the books Livia liked to read, no old maids, no riotous bachelors; just simple, comforting compatibility."Have you heard?" The hushed, conspiratorial tones issued from the pink-lacquered lips of Livia's best friend, Mara."What?" Livia's low-pitched voice always made her sound disinterested, but she paid close attention to Mara when her friend sounded this urgent."There was a big accident over in Micrague. One guy died!""Oh, that's terrible," Livia murmured, letting her eyelashes drop and rise again to half-mast in a brief show of empathy. It was all she had time for, as Mara leaned suddenly, ever more urgently forward, gripping Livia's arm in both hands."That's not the worst thing," she rolled on. "The guy who was killed? He just turned eighteen. That makes the numbers for tomorrow's Matching uneven!"Two full breaths, painful to the impatient Mara, passed before Livia spoke in response. "So, what, someone won't be paired? A girl will be left without her match?""Whoever matched with him will have no pair on Matching Day," Mara proclaimed ominously. Her eyes were wide and glittering with morbid excitement."What do they do about that?" It was unheard of, as far as Livia knew; there were always even numbers, always a perfect match for everyone.Mara gave an exaggerated shrug. "Maybe she'll never be matched."Livia was surprised into laughter. "They can't leave her without a match forever," she said with certainty. "Maybe they'll search out another community for someone that fits even better than that poor boy who died."Her reassuring confidence sent Mara, humming, away to terrify someone else with proclamations of an eternity alone for some poor girl. The thought nagged at Livia for the rest of the afternoon, though. What if he was matched with me?"Verin Massada," the stern voice called from the central platform, and a stick-thin brunette drifted toward the three steps that lifted her above the circle of impatient teenagers."Philip Pressia." The broad-shouldered redhead that stepped up to take Verin's hand smirked and bowed at the polite smattering of applause that ushered the happy new couple off the stage. Livia smiled approvingly; Verin needed a little more humor in her life.Livia watched each girl she'd grown up with walk back into the circle, shyly clutching the hand of her new mate, and twisted her skirt nervously in her fingers. It seemed forever before the 'R's were called, and the wad of boys brought in from all the different communities steadily shrank. She met the clear grey eyes of one of the remaining boys as Clanley Ritchell was met by a generic-looking, dark-haired boy, and she thought fleetingly, I hope I'm matched with him. He seemed to be thinking the same thing; his face fell a little when he was called up to greet a willowy blond on the dais."Danica Soress," the voice demanded, and Livia stood a little straighter with a sharp intake of breath. Had she been skipped?All the vague, incoherent fears that had accompanied Mara's morbid pronouncement coursed through Livia, charged with shame as some girls recognized the omission and turned to look at her with expressions of varying pity. Livia felt on the edge of tears.She saw the blond - that wretched Salvia - pull the grey-eyed boy down to whisper cruelly in his ear and point in Livia's direction, and she contemplated melting into the dirt.With the blood roaring loudly in her ears, she heard no other names called, and stared fixedly at a nondescript blade of grass in front of her to avoid the glances that were flickering toward her. How can this be? she thought frantically. How can I not have a match?"Livia, what's going on?" Mara's face held ghoulish curiosity with only an edge of concern for her friend, and Livia couldn't deal with her. She turned without a word and marched to the fountain a good distance away from the platform. People were breaking off now, finding secluded spots to get to know this person with whom they'd be partnered forever. Livia, wrapping her arms tightly around her gut, had never felt so alone.How could she have lost a lifetime of companionship without ever tasting it? It was too, too cruel. What right did that boy have to take away everything in one fell swoop? How could he die? She wanted to shake her fist at the heavens, demand an explanation, but she just trailed her fingers through the rippling water in the fountain basin, swallowing hard against the wave of emotions that threatened to show itself grotesquely in her features."His name was Bracken, if that helps," said a voice behind her, and she jumped, throwing water onto her dress. She turned to see that grey-eyed boy approaching, and she prepared herself for the humiliation she was sure to experience at his hands; he had, after all, been matched like everyone else, and she was alone - possibly forever.He did not mock her, though; his eyes held the soft, cautious understanding of someone who pitied another, but was not sure whether that person desired sympathy or not. When she said nothing, he shrugged self-consciously. "Sorry, I realize you might not have wanted to know. I just, he was my best friend. I thought if you did want to know about him, I'd at least let you know who you could ask."A flood of gratitude made it temporarily impossible for her to speak, and then she forced a smile. "I think I'd like to know," she said hesitantly. She wasn't sure; would it be better to know nothing about what she'd never have, or to at least have pleasant thoughts about what could've been? "Can I ask you something now?""Absolutely.""Would I have liked him?"The boy nodded. "I think so. He was quiet at first, it took a while to get to know him. But once you did, there was no one you trusted more." He added, with the hesitation of an afterthought but the seriousness of something he'd intended to say all along, "Seeing you here, there's no doubt that he would have liked you."He gave Livia one last smile and lay his hand over hers for a moment, ignoring the water droplets that sat on it like dew. For a warm second, she felt a rush of what it might have been like to have someone get to know her intimately over a lifetime, to love and understand her and for her to love back, and then the grey-eyed boy was walking with wide strides back to Salvia, and nothing but a hollow sadness remained beneath her breastbone.Livia hated them. All of them.The girls with their softly rolling curls, teased and coached for hours in order to look casually delicate when the boys, their shirts tucked in and their shoes shined, arrived at their doorsteps carrying one or two or twenty flowers in one hand and a shining invitation in the other. They walked with springing steps the short distance to the gathering hall in the center of town, hand in hand or arm in arm, and Livia wanted to throw rocks at the whole lot of them.She had been invited, sort of, to join in on the festivities. The community officials, not sure what to do with the first single person over eighteen in a century, had hesitantly allowed for her participation in all the new couples' activities; so far, she had partaken in none of them.Desperately, she wanted to be a part of the revelry, but she could not force herself to walk into the rooms full of happy girls and their happy boys, and have nothing herself. Her mother, unable to comfort her, had begged her to go to the dance. It was the last night before all the boys would be returning to their own communities, taking their matches with them. It was the last night she would seek Mara, who had paired with a boy from Onek.And she'd tried: she'd gotten dressed, piled her hair up on top of her head and pulled her elbow-length gloves on, but nothing could motivate her to step outside her house as streams of giggling lovebirds trickled by on the way to the hall."Go, Livia," her mother said, coming up behind her with a basket of laundry on her hip. "You should at least go long enough to say goodbye to Mara.""I can't, Mama. Think of how they'll look at me!"Her mother bent Livia's head down to kiss her on the forehead. "It's not your fault, Neinei, and they know that. They feel bad for you. They all want to see you. The world didn't end when that poor boy died.""Bracken," Livia said defiantly. Her mother had refused to say his name, insisting that it was better for Livia to know nothing about what she had lost.Patting her daughter's shoulder, she adjusted her basket and turned to leave. "Go."Livia had retreated around the side of the gathering hall, standing just outside the golden pool of light that poured like honey from the windows. Sobs caught in her throat and were choked down, unvoiced, as she watched Mara and Verin and Danica and dozens of others receive chaste pecks from shy boys as they spun by in their brightly-colored dresses, waving fluted, bubbling glasses and laughing with abandon.And there, the grey-eyed boy, Bracken's best friend, was seated quietly with his hands folded in his lap, listening politely to an enthusiastic rendition of some trivial event or another by Salvia. It was always easy to tell when she was excited about something, as her arms pinwheeled and hands fluttered with no thought to how the gestures went along with the story.He glanced up, and his eyes met, for a moment, Livia's. He looked surprised to see her there, and then a bit sad, and then his gaze drifted back to Salvia, who had grabbed his knee in her earnestness.This infinitesimal rejection, the refusal to even meet her eyes for more than a moment, pushed Livia over the edge. Tears, burning like acid, washed over her face, and she stumbled away from the window, crying with pitiful lack of restraint.She staggered into the sparse forest, the trees providing scattered shelter from curious eyes, if any should choose to drift away from the golden party, and the darkness of the night fit her mood, a strangely soothing thought."Are you alright?" For the second time, the grey-eyed boy's voice jolted her out of her own misery. She would not face him; not now, when her eyes were puffy and irritated, her nose red and her face streaked with dirty tear tracks. He would see her and compare her to Salvia, and she would fall short; she could not handle right now seeing him weigh her that way and find her lacking.His hand on her back was another surprise, and then both his hands weighing down on her shoulders as he stepped closer behind her. "Hey," he said gently. "Everything will turn out fine. Maybe, maybe you'll find someone better than Bracken could have been for you."She forgot her resolution not to face him then, turning toward him with her eyes narrowed to angry slits. "How could I, when everyone is paired already? Besides, I had my chance - he just managed to get himself killed before I could even meet him!" The words came out much harsher than she intended, and the young man in front of her actually took a step back from her ferocity, hunching like she'd landed a blow to his gut. "I'm sorry," she said immediately, automatically. "I shouldn't have said that. He was your friend, ""It's alright," he said, giving her a ghost of a smile and waving his hand with a nonchalance that didn't show in his eyes. He had that gentle look of quiet appreciation of life that came to some people who lost loved ones, but knew that lost friend would be offended if they did not continue to smile. "I know it's probably really hard on you, seeing everyone so, happy." He trailed off, not looking happy in the least."Speaking of happy people, shouldn't you be in there with Salvia?"His face took on the contemplative expression of someone deciding how to phrase something delicately. "Salvia, she's not quite what I expected to find, on my Matching Day. She's, ""Lively?" Livia suggested. "Brazen? Exuberant?" obnoxious," the grey-eyed boy said decisively. "I don't like her at all."Livia smirked. "Well, you have to like her. She's your match. You love her."He shook his head. "No," he said quietly. "I don't.""But she's your perfect match," Livia insisted."But what if she's not?"Livia heard her heart beat twice before she asked, "What?""What if Salvia is not the perfect girl for me? What if the girl that I would love more than anyone else in the world couldn't be matched with me because, there was someone else our age who she would like a little bit better?""That doesn't even make sense," Livia said, shaking her head. "The matches have always been perfect: even numbers, complete compatibility;”"But this time they messed up, right? I mean, you should know. You're the person who's affected more than anyone else.""Well, yes, but;”"So why isn't it possible that they aren't right on everything else? What if they didn't match this girl with me because she would love this other guy more?""Well, so, maybe they did. But if you would love her so much, surely you would want to see her happy, with the man she was meant to be with, right?""Yes," he said, very seriously. "I would want to see her happy.""Then you should leave her in peace with the person she was matched with, and focus on learning to love the girl you were paired with."The interminable silence stretched between them as the grey-eyed boy stared down at the leafy ground and Livia watched the way his hair blew across his forehead in the breeze. At last he said, "What if she wasn't matched with anyone?"Livia's heart sped up, beating double time as she realized what he'd been saying all along, what she'd been too dim to put together until he'd spelled it out. "But you are matched," she said numbly. "Salvia has you."He leaned dangerously far forward, his lips brushing her ear as he whispered into it, "I don't want Salvia."Livia shrank back, confused. These were dangerous words he uttered, dangerous thoughts. People were matched with the people they were meant to be with. How could there be any other way? They couldn't be wrong; there'd been no divorce, no infidelity, no broken hearts in the decades people had been paired this way. Surely it was the right way. It had to be."I don't even know your name," Livia said resolutely, as though that settled the matter and proved him wrong. She pushed against his chest to force him back, feeling the blazing heat of his heart under her palm."It's Mason," he said quietly, and his words had the sound of discussion-ending power to them too. Livia was conscious of the fact that she had not moved her hand from his chest; her fingers curled slightly, enjoying the silky feeling of his shirt over his skin, and the warmth that radiated from his flesh."Go back to Salvia, Mason," she whispered. She realized she was shaking from head to toe, and not from cold. Here was everything she had ever wanted, everything she had imagined when she thought of her Matching Day, but he was not hers. "Please, go back to the party."With a sigh, Mason touched her cheek briefly, the lightest of butterfly wing contacts, and then he turned and vanished into the night, not toward the party, but deeper into the forest. Livia stood for a long time without moving, her mind racing and her heart pounding like a runner's feet, and then she walked, slowly, directly away from Mason."You didn't come to the party last night," Mara said, breaking the silence that stood like frosted glass between her and Livia."No." Livia had gotten no sleep the night before; lying in bed, replaying continually the frightening moments with Mason, her heart had never slowed."Well, I just wanted to say goodbye, " Mara twisted her hands for a moment before wrapping Livia up in a warm and desperate hug. "I'm sorry, Lenny. I'm going to miss you so much."The tension between them melted, and Livia returned the hug tightly, sighing. "It's hard to believe I'll never see any of you again - all the girls I've known all my life! Except for Maize and Crista, they're the only ones who matched with boys from here, right? And I don't really even know them.""Well, you'll see Salvia too, for a little while."Breathe in. Breathe out. "Why's that?""Oh, that fellow she paired with - Mason, isn't it? - his parents have some sort of huge wedding ceremony planned, and they've got a house mostly built for the two of them. They told him to stay here a while, get to know his partner's family for a bit, let her spend some more time with them, and then head back once the house and all the plans were done."Wedding were an extravagance, a luxury that most people went without, especially if they didn't have the means to make it a massive event. The fact that Mason's family was going to such lengths meant they must be well off indeed."So Mason, and Salvia, will be around for a while?""Yeah, at least a month, I'd say."A buzzing numbness in her extremities made it difficult for Livia to respond. She had thought Mason would be gone today, that she'd never have to see him and Salvia together again. But they would be here for a month,"Speak of the devil," Mara said cheerfully, skipping over to greet Salvia as she pranced up the path with Mason's hand gripped in her own vice-like claw. The dark circles under his eyes said that he, too, had had a night with little sleep.

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A fresh perspective for the overwhelmed motherWelcome, dear listener, to another honest and heartfelt episode of The Happy Mama Movement Podcast.Today, I'm joined by the remarkable Stacey Erin — Social Worker, Therapist, Coach and a fiercely loving mother who works with families navigating the social and emotional wellbeing of neurodivergent children. With deep compassion and no-nonsense wisdom, Stacey names the invisible weight so many mothers carry — and offers both fierce truth and tender support in return.We talk about:Why it's not your fault — how Stacey powerfully names the systemic failures that leave mothers unsupported, and why recognising this truth can be deeply healing.Permission and grief in motherhood — the unseen grief that comes with letting go of the motherhood ideals we imagined, and how simple words of validation can make all the difference.The power of boundaries and micro-moments — from closing the bathroom door to dancing in the hallway, Stacey shares small, sustainable acts of self-connection for overwhelmed mums.Reclaiming the feminine — exploring how modern motherhood is steeped in ‘masculine doing' and how we might return to being, feeling, and honouring our own rhythms.Finding your village — why it's vital to connect with other parents of neurodivergent children, and how Stacey is creating online spaces for shared understanding and laughter through the hard.Take what you need from this conversation and pass it on — because when one mum feels seen, we all move closer to collective healing. If this episode speaks to you, please share it with your people so more mothers can feel supported, validated, and reminded they are not alone.ABOUT STACEY ERIN:Stacey Erin is a Social Worker, Therapist, Counsellor and Coach for mums, children and adolescents aged 3–16 years. She specialises in therapeutic intervention for the social and emotional health and well-being of neurodivergent (autistic and attention variant) clients and their families. With over 20 years of experience as both a social worker and teacher in educational settings, Stacey now offers support privately and through self-managed NDIS plans. Her approach is deeply informed by both her professional knowledge and her lived experience as a mother.Resources:Follow Stacey on Instagram: @stacey.therapist.mamaLearn more and explore her resources: https://www.staceyerin.com.au Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome!

In een tijd waar veel medische aandoeningen worden gedeeld, voelen de chronische darmziektes colitis ulcerosa en de ziekte van Crohn als het laatste taboe. Poepen houden we het liefst privé. Maar erover praten is wél belangrijk. In deze speciale aflevering van Onbehaarde Apen gaat Gemma in gesprek met arts Nanne de Boer, Crohn-patiënte Jane van der Vloodt én haar eigen moeder Olga Lohman (78), die al bijna een halve eeuw colitis ulcerosa heeft.Heeft u vragen, suggesties of ideeën over onze journalistiek? Mail dan naar onze redactie via podcast@nrc.nl.Shownotes:Lees meer over chronische darmziektes via de patiëntenorganisatie Crohn & Colitis NL.Hoe leg je je kinderen uit dat je de ziekte van Crohn hebt? Het kinderboek "Mama heeft Crohn" is gratis te bestellen.Idee: Gemma Venhuizen Redactie, interviews en regie: Gemma Venhuizen en Jeanne GeerkenMontage: Jeanne GeerkenMixage: AudiochefMet dank aan: Nanne de Boer, Jane van der Vloodt en Olga LohmanZie het privacybeleid op https://art19.com/privacy en de privacyverklaring van Californië op https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Olivia soll baden – doch dazu hat sie überhaupt gar keine Lust! Das ändert sich auch nicht, als Mama die ganze Quietscheenten-Familie und sogar das große Spielzeugboot ins Wasser gibt. Als nächstes versucht Papa sein Glück. Mit dem Erfolg, dass er am Ende selbst in der Wanne sitzt. Da hat Olivias kleiner großer Bruder Tom eine Idee! Lässt sie sich davon überzeugen? Alle 3 Folgen der OHRENBÄR-Hörgeschichte: Ein Bad für Olivia von Lena Hach. Es liest: Marion Elskis. ▶ Mehr Hörgeschichten empfohlen ab 4: https://www.ohrenbaer.de/podcast/empfohlen-ab-4.html ▶ Mehr Infos unter https://www.ohrenbaer.de & ohrenbaer@rbb-online.de

Olivia soll baden – doch dazu hat sie überhaupt keine Lust! Das ändert sich auch nicht, als Mama die ganze Quietscheenten-Familie und sogar das große Spielzeugboot ins Wasser gibt. Aus der OHRENBÄR-Hörgeschichte: Ein Bad für Olivia (Folge 1 von 3) von Lena Hach. Es liest: Marion Elskis. ▶ Mehr Hörgeschichten empfohlen ab 4: https://www.ohrenbaer.de/podcast/empfohlen-ab-4.html ▶ Mehr Infos unter https://www.ohrenbaer.de & ohrenbaer@rbb-online.de

Una hermosa historia para todos acerca del amor.¡Todo lo que necesitas es amor! Mamá osa y su bebé se demuestran amor el uno al otro. Su amor es tan grande ¡Que puede dar la vuelta al mundo!Mi Instagram:⁠⁠https://instagram.com/cuentos_e_historias_infantiles⁠⁠Mi Facebook:⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/CuentosHistoriasMexico⁠

In this heartfelt and honest conversation, Emily and Mary open up about the complexities of motherhood—from postpartum challenges to sibling dynamics, the pressures of social media, and the ever-evolving journey of self-discovery. They share how playdates have become a new stage in parenting, why embracing the chaos is necessary, and how they're learning to carve out personal identities beyond motherhood.Together, they reflect on:The emotional rollercoaster of postpartum and the support tools that helpNavigating sibling relationships and balancing attentionThe double-edged sword of social media in shaping mom identitiesThe messy magic of playdates and parenting in real lifeWhy personal fulfillment and self-care matter just as much as snack prep and screen-time limitsKey Takeaways:Motherhood is an ongoing journey of adjustment and growthSocial media can connect moms—but also contribute to pressure and comparisonChaos is normal in parenting; embracing it brings freedomSelf-care isn't selfish—it's survivalPromoting a healthy body image starts at homeEach child—and each mom—has their own unique pathSupport, flexibility, and compassion (for yourself!) go a long wayJoin Mary everyday for a real look into life with 3 crazy ass kids, surviving, thriving, and whatever the F else you might consider over at www.instagram.com/theverymarylife. Or if you're a Tik Tok fan, find me at https://www.tiktok.com/@theverymarylife. And of course, explore more on Theverymarylife.com

In this heartfelt and most inspiring episode, Lisa sits down with Catherine and Alicia Denham—the visionary clinical duo behind Mama Owls Minis, Licensed Clinical Social Workers and Registered Play Therapist-Supervisors with over 40 years of combined experience. Together, they explore the messy, meaningful, and magical journey of creativity in play therapy, inviting listeners to reconnect with their inner artist and trust their instincts. This episode dives deep into how therapists can embrace creativity—not as a quest to be “good at art,” but as a powerful process of authentic expression, moment-to-moment attunement, and healing. From hand-sculpted sand tray minis to a teenage client's request for a tornado miniature, the conversation is packed with stories, reflections, and practical wisdom that illuminate how creativity invites us to break free from rigid protocols and create what truly fits what the child needs. You'll hear: How Alicia transformed from doodling to crafting stunning therapeutic figures Why Catherine treasures her first “wonky” sculpture as a symbol of imperfection embraced The creative origins of Synergetic Play Therapy and the tension between formal training and intuitive innovation Insights on parenting as a creative act—like turning a living room into a sensory playground How neurodivergent experiences shaped their unique approach to therapy and creativity Powerful stories of trust, flexibility, and letting go of control in therapy sessions and life An invitation to therapists to give themselves permission to explore and create what is needed despite self-doubt or fear of rejection Whether you're dreaming of crafting something new for your clients or simply seeking encouragement to trust your own creative voice, this episode offers inspiration and gentle permission to embrace the imperfect, beautiful process of authentic play and healing.

Just because postpartum exhaustion is common doesn't mean it's normal. If you're tired of feeling tired all the time, this episode is for you. Brooke shares proven ways to reclaim your energy without losing your milk supply or sanity.

  BOSSes Anne Ganguzza and Lau Lapides dive into how to cultivate hope and resilience in the ever-evolving voiceover industry. Their inspiring conversation explores discovering your strengths, overcoming challenges, and taking action to achieve your dreams. They emphasize the importance of self-love, nurturing your community, and understanding your true purpose to remain joyful and hopeful. Anne and Lau share practical strategies for educating yourself on industry trends, adapting your marketing approaches to reach diverse clients, and even exploring self-production to build your skills and discover new passions. By embracing change and leveraging your entrepreneurial spirit, they empower voice actors to not just survive, but truly thrive and build the best year ever in their careers.   00:02 - Anne (Host) Hey, are you looking to unlock a better you? My Life Transformation Coaching Services are here to help. We'll work together to discover your strengths, overcome your challenges, and achieve your dreams. Let's take that first step towards your best self today. Visit anneganguzza.com to get started. 00:23 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a boss, a VO Boss. Now let's welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza. 00:42 - Anne (Host) Hey everyone, welcome to the VO Boss Podcast and the Boss Superpower Series. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, and I am here with my absolutely wonderful friend and lovely co-host, Lau Lapides. Hey, Annie. Hello, I'm excited to be back. Hello Lau. I love chit-chatting, and you know what, it's been so long. I know, and we're here at the top of another year. Well, actually, a few months into another year, and I'll tell you what, it's been a little turbulent in a lot of ways. Gosh, I've had a lot of friends who have had some health issues. It's a new administration out there. The voiceover industry is still fighting against synthetic voices and AI, and I think let's talk about what's happening in the industry and what maybe our predictions are for this year, because I am determined and committed to have the best year ever. 01:33 - Lau (Guest) Oh, I love that. I mean, I just went to see a theater show, a professional theater show, in Connecticut. That was a big topic of conversation: how do we have hope? How do we still have hope in what we do as people in the world and also in our professions, and really coming in with that mindset, despite all odds, despite what's happening, despite whatever oppression you're feeling and moving through, how do we find hope in what we do? I'd love to hear, you know, start out with some of those mechanics of like how do I wake up and get hopeful about our profession? I love that. 02:10 - Anne (Host) What a great way to start. I love that. So I think that, now more than ever, we need self-love, right? We need self-love, we need to find the things that we're grateful for in our lives, and we need to have our community, and that, I think, is going to help us continue to have hope. I mean, I feel like those are the three necessary things that I need for me to remain joyful and be hopeful and continue to see progress in everything that I do and have a purpose, right? I really think that understanding what is your true purpose in life, finding your true purpose—which I think might be a lifelong search—but I have a good idea of what I think my purpose is and what I want to do in my lifetime, and I try to keep my eye on that mission, and that keeps me, along with people who I love and who love me, and that keeps me hopeful. 03:06 - Lau (Guest) That's great. I also feel like the next step for me is to start with that and then to take action. Because for me, I'm very much an action-based, execution-based person. So I wouldn't be happy staying in a zone where I have a thought, I'm excited about the thought, or I'm connected to something larger than myself. I'm really investigating that thought, but now I want to do something. 03:34 - Anne (Host) Yeah, and in that action, now you have to execute. Now you have to execute. I love that. I think that's a natural progression for anybody that wants to realize their goals is that you can write them down. All you want, right, but you've got to take steps and have action. You've got to take steps. 03:49 - Lau (Guest) So in our industry, that is the question: how do I go ahead and take a step every single day, whatever is going on in the industry? We see a lot of moves and changes in the industry. How do I take a step every day towards being hopeful and towards being optimistic and towards really something that's action-based? That's the question of the day. 04:12 - Anne (Host) Well, I think number one, if we step back and we take a look and we realize that we are indeed not just creatives, but we are entrepreneurs, we are business builders. First of all, take solace and give yourself props and be prideful in the fact that you are a business entrepreneur. And bar none, if the voiceover industry dropped tomorrow, right, you are an entrepreneur, you are a business owner, you know how to take something from nothing and build it, right? Because that's what you're doing now, building your voice acting career. And wherever you are in the journey, you just have to realize what an entrepreneur you are. And so, no matter what it is that you do, right, you can build your business and move forward in it, or move forward in it. There are always choices. 04:59 And so that's number one: stepping back and looking at it, I think, from the larger perspective and the fact that we have built skills, not just in our voices, not just in acting, but in our business acumen, and that is helpful, right? And so if voice acting kind of takes a dip, right—and I don't honestly, it's not—I really believe that, I don't think that it's going anywhere, I think it's right where it always has been and might even be more important this year. But for whatever reason, we always have to have like what's our plan B? I mean, this is why I always like to have like my different side hustles, side gigs. We've talked about that multiple times. So looking at that picture and there's my hope, right, I've got skills beyond voice acting that can help me to survive no matter what happens, right? 05:46 No matter what happens, no one can take that away from me. No one can take away my education, no one can take away my intelligence, no one can take away my work ethic, right? And that, to me, gives me hope. 06:00 - Lau (Guest) You go, girl. I love that, my resilience. You know, I think you're talking about too, Annie, something that's really important, and that is when we hone in and we GPS into our career. I think we do forget that we're whole people. Yeah, we're whole people that have a lot of skills. 06:16 - Anne (Host) We don't just have one skill. A lot of craft, no, no, no, we can do an awful lot of things. Now. 06:25 - Lau (Guest) We love to call it side hustle, but it may not be a side hustle. It may be an integral part of your life, your business, your world, that makes you feel whole, that makes you feel stabilized. You know, oftentimes with actors, we'll call it a survival job, but it may not be that. It may be something that helps you build your world. So I think that's important. I also think you should be looking at the market. You and I are always like, what's happening? 06:46 What's competition doing? What's this one doing? What's happening here? What are the trends? 06:51 - Anne (Host) Right, very important. 06:53 - Lau (Guest) But what's important about doing that, besides the logistical stuff, is to inspire yourself, sure. 07:01 - Anne (Host) If. 07:01 - Lau (Guest) I can't think of anything else. Like I am really out of thoughts today. I feel burned out, which is very common now. Entrepreneurial burnout. I don't have any more to give. I've been doing this a long time. I don't know what's going on. Ah, let me go into the world and let me see what others are doing to inspire me. 07:17 - Anne (Host) Oh yeah, I love that. Get outside my bubble. 07:19 - Lau (Guest) Goodness, there's. So not to be a copycat, but to feel like there's a lot of options, there's a lot of ways of thinking about what we do. I'm just stuck like a writer. A writer gets writers, they get stuck, writer's block, writer's block, right, and they have no more ideas, or so they think. And then some action gets them unstuck and opens up the floodgates. 07:40 - Anne (Host) Absolutely. Go on a vacation, go people-watch in New York City or, you know, that kind of—I used to do that all the time—to step outside of your bubble, and that will help you to really get that mind going. So I'm going to say that number one, there's so many things that we can do for ourselves to continually see success and find fulfillment in what we do. Continually see success and find fulfillment in what we do, and I think if voice acting is it for you, right, don't forget about continually building up your business skills and don't forget about, like as we just talked about, educating yourself and really going out there and understanding what the trends are. Now there's been a big shift in the administration, right? How is that going to affect sales of companies? How is that going to affect advertising? There's so much we can go out there and learn, right, and we don't know it all right away. I don't know it all right away, but I can certainly see that there's probably going to be trends. 08:34 Now, depending on what we're talking about, in the corporate world, we're going to be talking slightly differently. A few years ago, what was a big trend was DEI, and no matter what you think about DEI—diversity, equity, inclusion—how are people going to be talking about that today? How are people in the energy industry going to be talking? Is it going to be sustainability these days? Is it going to be alternative energy or is it going to be fracking? And again, like I'm saying, understanding—you don't always have to be in agreement with these things—but understanding where the trends are going and how companies are speaking. 09:08 If you want to work in that world, right, you have to at least be educated on how that world wants to talk to its clients or potential clients, because you will be representing that world with your voice. 09:21 And so, again, I'm not suggesting that you have to agree with any of it. But again, that's also like what is your moral compass? Would you work for a company that maybe is no longer concerned about sustainability or that's not in their agenda? I mean, there's so many people going back and forth on different companies that, based upon their policies, right, "Oh, I don't want to buy from this company anymore because they no longer support this particular idea or this particular policy," and so that's okay. I've had so many people are like, "I don't want to look, I can't," and they want to like shy away, but I'm going to tell you, look enough so that you can be educated, right, because you got to survive. You got to survive in this world, and I'm very, very confident that you will be able to survive in this world. But you have to remain educated and informed. 10:04 - Lau (Guest) Great advice, Annie, great advice. And you know, it's interesting, I had a talent I was coaching the other day and she said, "I'm very interested in medical, I want to do medical work, I'm interested in that, I have a background." I said, "Great!" I simply hopped on Google with her. I hopped on Google with her and I looked up and, sure enough, and she said, "I can't get into it. It's very hard to get into. I've been trying to knock down the doors. I don't know how to direct market. I'm stuck." Now. That is not my forte. And I was honest with her. I said that's not my forte. But let's have fun together, let's go on Google. We looked it up and what did we find? We found two sites, sort of like an Indeed ZipRecruiter-type site, specifically for voiceover, for medical narration. And she started in that rabbit hole and she went down. She said, "Oh, my goodness, that was like the simplest thing to do and I had already self-talked myself out of it before I even tried the most basic things." And she got into it and it was a casting site and da-da-da, da-da-da. And then that opened up her whole world to potential clients. 11:08 So why not go for a genre that you want to be going for and take new angles to how you find your information out? Don't go the same route you go every day. Try a new route. That's the feng shui of the soul, isn't it? They say if you drive to work this way, take a new route so that you can feel differently. If you drive to work, or you drive anywhere, take a new route. Well, this is the same thing. If I'm marketing and I tend to do the same thing all the time because I know it and I'm comfortable, go a different route. 11:37 - Anne (Host) And shameless plug, because medical is one of my specialties. There are ways that you've got to be seen by the people who can hire you, people who can hire you, and I do have a VO Boss Blast that has specific lists that can cater just for agencies and companies that work in healthcare and in pharmaceuticals. So there are lots of ways that can help and so just I'm throwing that out there. So if anybody's interested in medical and wants to find out how to market to them, I can absolutely chit-chat about you. 12:03 - Lau (Guest) And right, but I think the point is is like yes, you found a new way, Google. 12:08 - Anne (Host) I love Google, and I'll tell you what. I will be completely—a Chat GPT, sorry, Chat GPT, is a great answer of hey, tell me what's trending, but you have to have a professional version because it's now up to date or it can be as close up to date, so it's becoming a search engine. But Google is wonderful. 12:32 - Lau (Guest) Again, that's why they call me Anne Gang Google. You can Google anything. 12:33 - Anne (Host) I didn't know. They called you that. That's funny, Anne Gang Google, that's great. 12:35 - Lau (Guest) I love it. 12:35 - Anne (Host) So that's a wonderful thing. So, yeah, make sure that you educate yourself and stay informed. Don't stay in your little bubble, because that's going to help you. I mean, long ago, when I worked in technology, it was one of the things that you had to just be out there educating yourself on all different styles of technology, whether you like them or not, or thought they worked or not. It just was something. So it's always good to be more educated. So, so, absolutely, so important. That's the one thing that I have when you say to me, "Okay, Anne, when you've lost all hope, what do you have?" Well, I have my community. Lost all hope. What do you have? Well, I have my community, I have my family, I have love, and I have me, I have my intelligence and I have my desire to want to know more and to learn more, and that nobody can take away from me, right? 13:15 - Lau (Guest) And there's one more thing that's important, and I always bring this up. Mama always brings this up. You got to work your fanny off. Yes, because I'm tired of hearing people whining and complaining and being victims like, "I'm not getting anything and there's enough work." I'm like, no, you're not working hard enough, because there's plenty of work out there. You got to find it, you got to get it. You got to work at it, right, Annie? You have to go after it. They're not going to come after you. You have to go after it. 13:44 - Anne (Host) And the stories you tell yourself also. They're a big deal. "I can't, I just can't. I'm not, I'm not enough, or I'm not good enough, or I don't know where to look, or I can't." All that negative self-talk does not help you at all, believe it or not. I mean? 13:59 - Lau (Guest) And what if you are on Annie Gang Google's search site and you look up voiceover talent in your area or not? Either way is fine, and they are in your range. Maybe they're female, they're in a certain age range, and you look at them and you see what they're doing and you see who their clients are, because you can go right to their websites and you're going to go and you're going to go, "Oh, I want to do that, I want to work in that. I never would have sat here and thought that up on my own, but now I see this fabulous woman that I found somewhere in Texas is doing all the things that I want to do," and then you make a list of all the companies she's worked with, and then you create a fabulous letter for those companies. And then you look up all the email addresses at that company, and then you send that fabulous letter to that company. What are the chances that someone from that company may ping you back and say, "Hey, yeah, we kind of work with voiceover talent. Who are you?" 14:56 - Anne (Host) Absolutely. Well, and I know, marketing is never an easy task, guys. It just isn't, and again, remember. 15:03 Remember, there are multiple ways. How is marketing changing this year, right? And it's funny, because I did a lecture for a college class the other day and I said to them, "How do you like to communicate? If you were in voiceover today and you had a business, how would you like to find your potential clients? Or how would you communicate or reach out to your potential clients?" Not one of them. They said, "Well, we hate email, text." And I'm like, "Okay, that's fine for you and maybe everybody else. 15:28 Your age, however, you got to realize where are these potential clients? Some of them are older than you. Some of them have different methods of communication that they prefer. I mean, ultimately, in 20, 30 years, you'll all be the same age and you'll all—we'll all evolve to that method of communication. 15:43 But right now, if you're trying to get work in the corporate world and you're trying to get in with a company that has someone who might be, you know, in their 60s managing the company, they might prefer email. 15:56 They might prefer a method of communication that's not just text or pick up the phone are something that I think that every voice actor needs to understand and get on board with, that you are dealing with people in business who are very different. 16:15 There's lots of people that, yes, they do a lot of work via text, but a lot of people do work via groups, Microsoft Teams, Zoom meetings. There's so many ways. 16:25 Pick up the phone, talk to somebody, and, really, if you are uncomfortable with one method and you want to work in an area where you might be working with people from all different ages, all different styles, you need to get familiar with those methods and that, I think, is important again for you to stay afloat this year to be able to communicate with all different types of people, with all different styles of communication and hiring, really, and hiring methods, and so that is something that if you're not on board with, if you're like, "Nah, I don't want to email," or "I hate email and I think it's stupid," honestly, there's a bunch of people that still use email quite a bit, and especially now that maybe social media is kind of scattered everywhere. 17:12 Now it may not be as easy now on social media. Remember, we lost TikTok for less than 24 hours and the world panicked, right? All these people who had put all their eggs in one basket. So don't put all your eggs in the texting basket if you're young, right, as a means of communication or getting work, right? There's multiple ways that you can get work, multiple ways you can communicate and make your product known to people. 17:36 - Lau (Guest) That's great advice. It's so client-centered, which I love about it, and I think whole generations of people need to keep that aware of that. The mode of communication you need to keep open, whether it's a telephone, a text, an email, a DM. You need to keep that open and what your client or your rep is comfortable with is ultimately what you have to get comfortable with, and most agents do not want you texting them. They're going to work on email. 18:01 If you don't want to work on email, you're not going to be able to get reps. It's as simple as that, right? If you don't check your email. 18:07 - Anne (Host) You could lose out on jobs. If you don't check your voicemail, believe it or not. I mean, I have people that leave me voicemail still, and it's one of those things. I'm like, "We've gotten so much. We've been bombarded." Email, voicemail, text, and spam, right, because people are trying to get in touch with us, and so make sure you're checking your spam as well to make sure somebody hasn't reached out to you that wants a potential connection to maybe offer you a job, and not only that, but if you don't like email, you're really in trouble, because agents will expect you to answer within a reasonable amount of time, which is a matter of hours, not days, on email, so you can miss out on that job. 18:55 And you have to be adept at utilizing technology when you're submitting auditions. You have to make sure that you understand how to submit an audition. We've run our audition demolition multiple times. I'm running now a scholarship submission where people are like, "I don't know how to submit," and I'm like, "Well, you've got to read the instructions." So, guys, get yourself familiar with all different styles and ways of communicating and handling files and audio and that sort of thing. Now, Lau, we talked about first of all, like making sure that we're educated on different styles, on different trends. What do you think is going to be big this year? Is there a genre that's going to stand out? Are they all going to be similar to how they were last year? What do you think? 19:34 - Lau (Guest) That's a really good question. I think one of the things that I've seen more and more of as a commercial agent is I've seen more and more really fun and creative advertising campaigns that have come in the last, even in the last couple of years, that I would gather are going to come this year as well. Like, for instance, I've seen more animation. I've seen more of that character style come into the commercial world, which is really interesting because it's so oppositional to what we've been saying about be real, be relatable, be this, be that, which is predominantly, yes, still there, but we're also seeing these characters come in. 20:10 Like, if you notice, watch commercials, you'll see a lot of animals, tons and tons and tons and tons of animals. In commercials, the animals typically have personas of people, have personas of people, and whether they're speaking in their natural, everyday voice or whether they're doing a character sound, there's just a lot of it. There's more of it. So what's coming across my desk is just more character and more animation. Even in the pharmaceutical world, we're seeing a lot more exciting, dancey, musical animation, moving stuff, colorful stuff. 20:45 - Anne (Host) They're vying for our attention in the pharmaceutical. They're vying for our attention, so we want actors. 20:50 - Lau (Guest) I'll use that word, actors. We want actors that can shift from just a real, down-to-earth sound to playing that duck or playing that pigeon. 21:00 - Anne (Host) Well, I'm going to say, medically speaking, because medical is one of my favorite genres, is, I also feel like, because there are changes this year with administration and how they're dealing with healthcare funding—a lot of it—and so I think that healthcare companies, which have always been very traditionally corporate America, money-centric, I think, are going to be vying for our business, and so I do feel like there's going to be a lot of competition between hospitals and medical products that are looking to get us as consumers to buy into it, because their funding might be less than it was and I think for a while it's going to make them compete more with each other to get the business and the money that they are used to having. Where they might have gotten some money in funding before, now they might, who knows? I'm not even going to speculate about prices, but I feel like, because it's going to be more competitive, it might work to our advantage for a little bit. It may not be regulated. I mean, I would hope it's somewhat regulated, but as a breast cancer survivor, I will say that I don't love the fact that it's been defunded or that kind of a thing. 22:08 I feel like certain things are important to be funded in this, but without getting political, but just know that, right, I happen to know that is one of the things that I have been hearing, so I'm like, "Okay, so how is that going to affect those companies that ultimately relied on that funding to operate?" 22:25 Right, are they going to now transition into healthcare and so maybe there'll be more demand in hospitals, right, so hospitals can get that money easier? So now maybe the context and the content of what we're going to be talking about will be slightly different or more centric on hospitals versus organizations, slightly different or more centric on hospitals versus organizations. So that's just something to be aware of and to know. And, again, like I say, I try to remain a little bit neutral on it because, again, if you want to work in those genres and you want to work for a company that is going to be in America in the next years, right, figure out how things are changing for them and then figure out how your voice and how their voice brand is going to change and then evolve with that or not. Choose to not evolve with that if you don't agree with it, yeah, and I don't know. 23:11 - Lau (Guest) I can't really predict, Annie, what's going to happen in the pharmaceutical market, because that's a really, really moving and shaking industry right now and everything is being shaken up with that. But there was a time that I remember that it was not legal to advertise on TV pharmaceutical products. 23:27 I remember that when that came in, that that was passed, that it was legal. Suddenly, we saw 24/7 advertising of pharmaceuticals, which is a very controversial issue for many people, but I'm just going to speak on the side of our industry and talent. It was a virtual candy land. It was a Disneyland of opportunities for both actors and voice talent that they were and still are auditioning for pharmaceuticals all the time. Will that change? I don't know. It could. 23:55 - Anne (Host) And will there be more? I mean, in the pharmaceutical side, yes, the commercial aspect of things, that corporate side, but there's also the educational side, right? Again. How is that going to evolve? How is that going to change? And so, keep your eyes open. That's I think my best advice would be for talent, to keep your eyes open and to really be as educated as you can, without suffering consequences of maybe getting too much division or toxicity from your news source or your social media, wherever you get that from, but make sure that you're educated and I think that, honestly, if you can again prove to yourself. It's like when the pandemic hit, right? How did we evolve as businesses? Here we are with another large kind of transition or, you know, maybe change that might be happening that can affect our industry. How can you, as a business, evolve along with that? 24:46 And I think you'll be fine. I mean, I really believe there's still a necessity. Nobody's saying that voiceover is illegal. 24:53 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) I'm just going to say it like voiceover is not illegal, so therefore the opportunities are endless, right? 25:00 - Anne (Host) Just if you step back and kind of look at the humorous part of it. It's not illegal to do voiceover, right? So guess what, the opportunities are what we make of them, right? We can create as many opportunities as we want, right? Again, it's up to us. We are the entrepreneurs, we are the creators of our businesses and of our destiny. I can't lose hope in that. 25:21 - Lau (Guest) And, of course, we're always going to need human beings. We're always going to need human voices. It may shift and pivot in different directions, but the industry does that anyway. It really has done that the whole way through. And I want to throw in one more before we wrap, Annie, I want to talk about self-producing. I think it's very important that people feel empowered to self-produce their own work. Like maybe you say, "I always wanted to do this. I haven't gotten hired." Well, produce your own, write a script, create it, clean it up, throw some music in, put it on YouTube, put it on your channel, make it known that you want to do this work by doing the work, right? That's the power of a demo. The demo is demonstrating the kind of work that you want to do. 26:05 - Anne (Host) But I am going to say, as a demo producer, Lau, that again, you've got to be careful, you've got to be really careful. I mean, yes, you can create samples, you have to be careful. 26:13 - Lau (Guest) But I'm not saying to create a full demo. I'm saying if I want to do animation and I have no work under my belt and no one's going to be looking at me, I want to say, "Hey, I want to do a 15-second spot," and produce that and see what that's like. 26:28 - Anne (Host) But make sure that you have the license for the music, make sure that everything is legal on that end of things, because, again, there's a lot of DIY going on in the animation world and there's a lot of again. Remember, what you do speaks volumes. Yes, right, and yes, DIY is great for education, absolutely. I don't think there's anything wrong with that and I think you can learn a lot by doing that and, as a matter of fact, it's probably a great way to get to know better what you want. Ultimately, when you have the money to invest in a professionally produced sample or demo. 27:06 - Lau (Guest) So if you do it yourself, you know what's involved in it. Yes, and that is so great that you brought that up, because I'm seeing so many talent getting into audiobooks, which is fantastic because it's such a wonderful world, but I see so many talent getting out of audiobooks because, guess what? They're doing it and many of them don't want to do it and they don't realize they don't want to do it until they do it, until they do it. And then others do it and they say, "I have fallen in love, this is it. I didn't even know how wonderful this is." Absolutely, and this is really my calling. So the point is, I think what I'm trying to say is, of course, work under qualified coaches, work with demo teams. Of course, what I'm saying is dabble your toes in water of doing the work to see how you feel about it. 27:47 You know, the idea is different than the reality. 27:50 - Anne (Host) Agreed, agreed, and I don't think there's anything wrong with a DIY that educates you. Yeah, really, always, because, like I always try to learn from when I create videos, I'm trying to learn my video editing software. Does it mean that I'm a video editor for reals? Right, I mean, but I want to be able to know the steps and what's required so that I can direct somebody else that can maybe do it for me, right? 28:11 - Lau (Guest) So yeah, there it is. There it is. There's a plethora of actions you can take and go with the trends and pay attention and see what your competition is doing and see where it leads, but also create your own path. 28:23 - Anne (Host) Pioneer your own way. 28:25 - Lau (Guest) That's the best entrepreneur, isn't it? 28:28 - Anne (Host) The future is bright and I'll tell you what, I'm excited. And again, I am excited for evolving, I'm excited for changing if I need to, and I'm excited to see. I mean, honestly, you have to embrace the change. You have to embrace evolving along with change and allow it to be something that ignites you and excites you. And I have all sorts of positive thoughts about this year and for you guys, for bosses out there, positive thoughts. Absolutely. All right. Thumbs up, big shout out to our sponsor, IPDTL. You too, can connect, network like bosses, and move your businesses forward. Find out more at IPDTL.com. You guys have an amazing week. Lau, thank you so much. We'll see you next week, guys, see you next time. 29:13 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) Join us next week for another edition of VO Boss with your host, Anne Ganguza, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at voboss.com and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies, and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Redistribution with permission. Coast-to-coast connectivity via IPDTL.

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This week, we're talking all about birth doulas—what they do, how they support moms, and why they're a powerful part of the birth team. I sit down to answer common questions like: Are doulas medical professionals? Do they only attend home births? And can they really make a difference in the experience for both mom and her partner? We also explore how doulas provide support during pregnancy and postpartum, plus how to find one and whether they're covered by insurance. Click HERE for today's shownotes.

Julia Barretto, ready na bang maging ina?SB19, grabe kayo!!!Red Sternberg(+), ang huling pag-uusap nila ni Ogie Diaz...

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Dr. Arlene Hollingsworth - psychologist, Youtube creator, and mama of three - shares how she and her husband, Javoris (PhD), turned a family dream into Gracie's Corner - the viral YouTube series that celebrates Black culture through animated kids' songs. But the road wasn't easy! From failed businesses and financial stress to finding their way as a family during the pandemic, Arlene reflects on how staying rooted in their purpose led to their breakout hit, The Phonics Song. This episode is for every parent chasing a dream while raising little ones - proof that with patience and resilience, ordinary people can build extraordinary things.======We love getting Listener Letters! Send any thoughts or questions for the Mamas at podcasts@blacklove.com.Make sure you connect with our Mamas:Ashley - @watermeloneggrollsCodie - @codiecoFelicia - @felicialatourMelanie - @melaniefiona

Kate Lombardo‘s influence as a yoga instructor + wellness business strategist spans the globe, touching tens of thousands of students internationally.For almost a decade, Kate has been teaching and leading training programs through her award-winning yoga studios before expanding virtually through YogaRenew. She answers to many titles-- Yoga Director, CEO, CMO, Speaker, Leader, Writer, Podcaster-- but most importantly... Mama.Kate teaches in Hoboken, NJ In this powerful first episode, we explore one of the most underrated skills in entrepreneurship—the pivot. Our guest opens up about a pivotal moment in her career when letting go of an original plan created space for something even better. Whether you're a yoga teacher, group fitness pro, or wellness entrepreneur, this conversation will give you permission to reimagine your path.If you've ever felt stuck, scared to start over, or unsure if changing course means failure—this one's for you.Key Topics Covered:A personal story of a major pivot: what changed and whyWhy pivoting is scary—and why it shouldn't beHow to know when to shift vs. stick it outRedefining “failure” as fuel for growthEncouragement for anyone afraid to start overA real-life example of how letting go opened new doors

We're enjoying plum candy for this episode! Mark discusses some highly objectionable song lyrics. Jana shares indicators of gaslighting behavior. In Paranormal Corner, Jana and Mark examine the latest unusual occurrences at the manor.

Three of Diddy's former assistants + Kid Cudi, Cassie's Mama, Cassie's former bestie, an escort from the Freak Offs, Cassie's former stylist and more, detail a criminal enterprise that included arson, kidnapping, possession of narcotics with intent to distribute, sex trafficking, force, threats of force, fraud, coercion, etc. And a never ending supply of baby oil, a couple of ducks, but no turkey bacon. (Listen to the episode. It will all make sense.)  Also, a forensic psychologist breaks down why victims of abuse (ie, Cassie and all the assistants) stay in these f—ed up situations and how they cope.  It's a doozy.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week we discuss which Gemini celebrities give Geminis a bad name, Miley Cyrus' gayest album yet, the Sue Nami that hit my Survivor 48 finale party, and my best garage sale find of the year… my new trash can on wheels. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices