Into the Living Room: Behind-the-Scenes of a Lifelong Learner

Welcome to Into the Living Room: Behind-the-Scenes of a Lifelong Learner

I initially started this audio project 11 years ago. At that time, it was called, The Firebelly Chronicles. It was a video podcast where I interviewed people like author Julia Cameron (The Artist's Way) and owner and founder, Dave Dahl (Dave's Killer Bread). I had always admired people (and still do) who had a fire in their belly and the courage to bring that fire to life. 🔥 After my son was born, The Firebelly Chronicles evolved into Winging It. And as I reflect on the creative decision t...

Winging It | Midlife | Part 2: Ready or Not, Here I Am

Ready or not, here I am. In part two of our Winging It: Midlife series, I dive into learning to be okay with putting myself and my new projects out into the world. 

Winging It | Midlife | Part 1: Introduction

When I started Winging It back in 2015, my son Blaze was just two years old. At that time, I wanted to document becoming a parent while working full-time, all while attempting to do all the things. Since launching the podcast almost five years ago, a lot has happened, and I’ve figured some things out.  Today, I’m excited to share a new 5-part series I’ve created within my podcast. This new series is called: Winging It | Midlife. Follow along with me as I explore life after leaving my ful...

Winging It: Episode 22: Dream On, Part Two

In the second part of our deep dive into dream-making, I sit down with Dan Pilver who is one of the founders and owners of Magic Number. If you’re not familiar with Dan’s company, Magic Number creates craft-brewed, cannabis-infused beverages—which are all handmade in Bend, Oregon. Dan is someone who started his company while at the same time working a full-time job. I'm continually inspired by individuals like Dan because people like Dan are examples of creators and business owners who ul...

Winging It: Episode 21: Dream On, Part One

I believe we all have dreams within us that wish to be birthed. Dreams that are tapping their feet annoyed, exclaiming, “I’m waiting. What’s the hold-up? Hey you, do you not see me over here?” Sometimes we use excuses like, “I don’t have enough time” or “I’m too busy” or “I don’t have the financial resources to make it happen” — excuses that only postpone our dreams from becoming our reality. Shannon, founder of Shannon Lee Strategy, and my guest on this podcast episode, knows firsthand ho...

Winging It: Episode 20: Learning to Lean Into the Universe

In this episode, we re-visit what exactly Winging It means. Winging It is about preparing your heart-out and putting your full self out there. Then, it’s about surrendering it all. It’s about giving your all, and then, letting it all go. It’s about working your hardest, and then leaving the rest up to the universe, to God, to the cosmos, to nature—to whatever you may believe in. Winging It is about living your life full-out even when you don’t have all the answers, or know exactly what you...

Winging It: Episode 19: Life in a Straitjacket

Beneath all the labels and stories we tell ourselves, about ourselves, is where I believe, we will find who we truly really are—and this is where we will find true happiness. To me, a straitjacket is a great metaphor that represents human beings living beneath (and absorbed in) their labels, stories, and the accompanying pressures, expectations, and beliefs that are associated with the labels and stories we attach ourselves to throughout our lives. Since discovering this metaphor, I find...

Winging It: Episode 18: Death, Life's Greatest Teacher

Throughout my life, I've realized that my biggest teacher and companion in life has been death. It's when I ponder my own mortality, that I am most able to gain perspective, wisdom, and inspiration to live more open, more fully, and more alive. I reflect on death, and ask Johnny about death as well, in this latest Winging It episode.

Winging It | Episode 17 | Drug of Choice

Winging It: Episode 16: With Love, To My Younger Self

A love letter to my younger self. 

Winging It: Episode 15: Life is Messy

On our road trip out to our new home, I started thinking about the idea that life is messy. And, the more I thought about it, the better I felt. Then, I met author Michael A. Singer, and it all started to make sense. 

Winging It: Episode 14 | Bit by Bit, Drop by Drop

My family and I are settling into our new digs (new city, new state, new job, new preschool). It's been a lot, but after three months in our new home, we finally feel like we are finding our footing. Bit by bit, drop by drop, we are making it work. 

Episode 13: Jump

We jumped—and it has turned out to be one of the bigger jumps of my life. I've always been one who is up for the ride, but for this ride I've really had to buckle-up. I have moved a lot in my life, and I’ve changed jobs before, but for some reason moving with my husband and son has completely put a different kind of spin on everything—a spin that has not stopped, where I still feel like I am hovering above our new life. I look down and see all the pieces and players moving around, but I am...

Winging It: Episode 13: Jump

We jumped—and it has turned out to be one of the bigger jumps of my life. I've always been one who is up for the ride, but for this ride I've really had to buckle-up. I have moved a lot in my life, and I’ve changed jobs before, but for some reason moving with my husband and son has completely put a different kind of spin on everything—a spin that has not stopped, where I still feel like I am hovering above our new life. I look down and see all the pieces and players moving around, but I am...

Winging It: Episode 12: Small Town vs. Big City

I love big cities and I love small towns. I see the benefits of both. What is best for my son? What is best for my family? What is best for me? I explore this and more in Episode 12—Small Town vs. Big City.

Winging It: Episode 11: Go Live Your Life, Man

Recorded at a local diner, I realize it is not about the search, but about the living. 

Winging It: Episode 10: The Magic of a Boring Evening at Home

The backdrop of my life has been muted by the recent world events. I had a planned a different theme for this episode, but after what happened last week in Orlando, my thoughts and heart have been focused only there. At times like these, I recall a speech I heard at the Academy Awards by a woman named Gerda Weissman Klein. It has stayed with me forever. 

Winging It: Episode 9: Turn Your Brain Off For Awhile

For me, I know when life gets extremely busy—too busy where my priorities get out of whack—I am the only one to blame. I set my own priorities, and it is my responsibility to protect those priorities. In Episode 9, Turn Your Brain Off For Awhile, I own up to neglecting to pay attention to my priorities, and after I bomb a live interview at a conference I was invited to participate in, I become determined to get passed my issue of public speaking. 

Winging It: Episode 8: Show Up (Even Without Your Shoes)

Can you imagine learning at two years old, that you have the power within yourself to be happy? I want to teach my son this. In Episode 8, Show Up (Even Without Your Shoes) I revisit balance in my life and how I continue to struggle with what's most important to do each moment and also, when it is just as important to do nothing at all. We are all trying to figure it out, we are all doing the best we know how to do, we’re not perfect, no one is, but isn’t our best foot forward enough? I...

Winging It: Episode 7: Life's Big Questions

I've always been intrigued with the big questions in life. Why are we here? What happens when we die? Do we all have a purpose? In Episode 7, Life's Big Questions, I explore these questions with individuals who have already lived a full life. I also give an update on my health and fitness, and socializing my son. 

Winging It: Episode 6: Suck Less

In this new episode, I try out a new gym daycare for my son for the first time, and ask my sister for her fitness advice. I also dig into why I was constantly hiding throughout my life, and how I am determined to step out for the sake of my son.

Winging It: Episode 5: We are all Winging It

My son has been my greatest teacher. Being his mother has pushed me into myself – all my issues, my unrealized dreams, and upon his arrival, reminded me of all that I was before he came into my life, as if I was looking at myself outside myself. The more I grow in motherhood, the more I learn about life. I know these learnings would have made their way to me via a different route had I not decided to become a mother, but I am extremely grateful it was my son who dropped them on my doorst...

Winging It: Episode 4: The Awkward Girls' Guide to Playgroups

I’ve always been a bit of an awkward girl. It’s something I’m learning to embrace. With my son getting older, I intellectually understand the need to socialize him. In this new podcast episode, The Awkward Girls’ Guide to Playgroups, I explore what I can do to break out of my shell for the sake of my son.

Winging It: Episode 3: Spiritual Cocktail

My time is precious to me. Determining how to spend my moments of time is a stress trigger. I want to fit it all in and yet at the same time, I want the space to take it all in as well. It's tricky like that. In Episode 3, Winging It: Spiritual Cocktail, Johnny and I explore how we want to raise Blaze spiritually, and I investigate why I get so stressed out with time.    

Winging It: Episode 2: Finding Balance

Since having my son almost two years ago, finding the balance between him, my husband, my friends, my family, my work, my health, my finances, and my creative projects, has been a bit of a struggle. Once I feel like I have it all down, the next day, it all falls apart. I don’t know if my life will ever be balanced to be honest, I don’t even know if that is realistic for me, but as long as I am able to strive for a balanced life, and am conscious of when my life feels out of balance, that i...

Winging It: Episode 1: Health

It was author, Kurt Vonnegut who said: "We have to be continually jumping off cliffs and developing our wings on the way down." I’m a new mom and I constantly feel like I’m winging it. Winging it with motherhood, winging it with marriage, winging it with my career, and winging it with life in general. My life looks different than it did before I had a child (obviously). And it’s not that I didn’t think that was not going to happen, but I guess I didn’t think it would be so drastic and ...