Ep. 32 Sarah Bessey on the awesomeness of solitude, surprises, and Sonic

October 22, 2015

Author and speaker Sarah Bessey joins Megan as guest co-host this week, and the two of them get to giggling over everything from jars of Noxema to the irresistible appeal of chick lit. This conversation spans the silly to the serious as they discuss parenting, daily rituals, the joy of being Canadian, and cross-the-border Sonic runs. All of that plus Awesome of the Week on Episode 32!

SHOW NOTES

1. The Great British Bake Off

2. El Sistema Oklahoma

3. Sarah Bessey: In which I am learning to live with the ache

4. Sonic Drive-In

5. Sarah Bessey: A beginner’s guide to Dr. Who

6. The Royal We, Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan

7. Sarah Bessey: In which I share 10 books I read over and over (and over)

8. Kathleen Norris Quotidian Mysteries: Laundry, Liturgy, and “Women’s Work”

Find Sarah on her blog, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram! Find her book Jesus Feminist on Amazon, and pre-order soon-to-be-released Out Of Sorts today!

As always, thanks to Progger for allowing us to use the song Strut! Find more from Progger at Proggermusic.com

Feedback on today’s show? Sign up for the show’s mailing list at tinyletter.com/SortaAwesome or leave a comment below (click the date link). And don’t forget to find us in the Sorta Awesome Hangout on Facebook or on Instagram! You can find Megan on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram!

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD EPISODE 32 OF SORTA AWESOME

Ep. 31 Birthday parties: less stress, more awesome!

October 15, 2015

Birthday parties are a pretty solid fact of life. They can be magical or a major pain depending on the party-thrower! Kelly of lovewellblog.com joins Megan to talk birthday party philosophy while sharing practical tips to inspire your next soiree. Questions covered include to surprise or not to surprise? How to make a party happen when you are busy adulting? And who really wants the junk in those goody bags? All of that plus Awesome of the Week on Episode 31 of Sorta Awesome!

SHOW NOTES

1. TiffyQuake on YouTube - Rosie the Riveter costume idea

2. Acure Organics Moroccan Argan Oil at Amazon. Also available (along with many other Acure Organics!) at ePantry.com. Referral link: https://www.epantry.com/referrer/30581/

3. Love Well Blog: spy birthday party, faux sleepover party, and ALL the 31 Days Of Birthday Party Ideas!

4. SortaCrunchy: red bird birthday party

5. Elizabeth Mitchell’s You Are My Little Bird

Find Kelly on her blog, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram!

Ep. 30 Our best beauty tips & all-time hits

October 8, 2015

Wanna peek inside our make-up bags? Ever wondered what our beauty routines might be? You are in luck because it’s beauty week at Sorta Awesome! Hollywood Housewife Laura joins Megan in discussing favorite brands and products, dishing beauty confessions, and sharing great hacks and tips. We even deliberate what to teach our daughters about beauty and whether or not we would consider plastic surgery. All of that plus Awesome of the Week!a

Show Notes

1) Seriously, y’all. UTAH.

2) John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath

3) NARS: blush stick in Orgasm, tinted moisturizer, Audacious lipsticks

4) NARS Audacious in RITA, chubby lipsticks

5) Clinique Different Lipsticks in A Different Grape, Surprise

6) Clinique All About Shadow Duos in Like Mink, Uptown/Downtown

7) M.A.C. Viva la glam

8) stila’s lip glaze in Berry

9) Loreal voluminous mascara curved brush black

10) Aveeno daily radiance moisturizer, Clear Complexion BB cream

11) Clairisonic Mia Face Brush, read more at Hollywood Housewife

Find Laura on her blog, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter!

As always, thanks to Progger for allowing us to use the song Strut! Find more from Progger at Proggermusic.com

Feedback on today’s show? Sign up for the show’s mailing list at tinyletter.com/SortaAwesome or leave a comment below (click the date link). And don’t forget to find us in the Sorta Awesome Hangout on Facebook or @sortaawesomeshow on Instagram! You can find me on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram!

Ep. 29 Who watches this stuff? Clearly, we do.

October 1, 2015

Rebekah of SimplyRebekah.com joins Megan this week to talk all things REALITY TV! From the original cast of The Real World to the most recent season of Big Brother and every crazy concept in between, this week’s show is dedicated to all things (sorta) reality on the TV screen. All of that plus Awesome of the Week!

SHOW NOTES

1) Simply Rebekah: I am really trying, but … (when intentional living is met with resistance)

2) Sorta Awesome Hangout on Facebook

3) i hate green beans blog

4) Rob has a podcast (Rob Cesterino)

5) Television Without Pity (sigh)

6) SHAYTARDS (youtube)

7) Sam and Nia (youtube)

Find Rebekah on her blog, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!

As always, thanks to Progger for allowing us to use the song Strut! Find more from Progger at Proggermusic.com

Feedback on today’s show? Sign up for the show’s mailing list at tinyletter.com/SortaAwesome or leave a comment below (click the date link). And don’t forget to find us in the Sorta Awesome Hangout on Facebook and on Instagram! You can find me on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram!

Ep. 28 A peek behind-the-scenes of Sorta Awesome (a group show!)

September 24, 2015

Hail, hail! The gang is all here! We’re celebrating six months of Sorta Awesome with our first ever group show! Kelly, Laura, and Rebekah all join Megan this week and they take you behind-the-scenes of the show they love creating for you each week. Which awesomes of the week were their favorites? Which ones do they regret sharing? What have they learned about themselves since the show began? All of that plus DOUBLE the awesome of the week for you on Episode 28 of Sorta Awesome!

SHOW NOTES:

1) Laura’s pink tipped hair

Check out the show’s Instagram for a peek at Kelly’s new colors!

https://www.instagram.com/p/8JwLPYi9wd/?taken-by=sortaawesomeshow

2) Megan’s referral code for e-Pantry: https://www.epantry.com/referrer/30581/

3) The Periscope app: https://www.periscope.tv/

Find Kelly on her blog, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram!

Find Laura on her blog, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter!

Find Rebekah on her blog, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!

Ep. 27 Here, taste this!

September 17, 2015

Crisp cool weather is on its way to our part of the world, and you know what that means? Time to get serious. Serious about FOOD. This week, Megan and Kelly talk it up about all things eating. Which one grew up on from-scratch for every meal and which one endured the agony of fish sticks? Whose recipe fail is most embarrassing? What kitchen secrets will they spill? All of that plus meal planning recommendations from the Sorta Awesome community, plus a personality-filled Awesome of the Week!

SHOW NOTES

SORTA AWESOME HANGOUT OKC event page on Facebook

1) Childhood Cancer Awareness Month resources:
St. Baldrick’s Foundation
Tell Congress ‘Step Up: Make Childhood Cancer a National Priority’
#showyourgold with St. Jude’s

2) Personality Hacker Podcast
Introvert, Dear
Personality Hacker Episode 0082: Introvert Problems

3) Kelly’s recipe collection at Love Well Blog

4) SortaCrunchy Q&A: FOOD

5) SortaCrunchy Our Favorite Meal: Bierocks

Megan’s secret to stovetop popcorn: In a pot with a lid, melt 1 T. coconut oil over medium-high heat. Add ½ c. popcorn. Put lid on pot, shake kernels so they are coated with coconut oil. Keep lid on as corn pops, occasionally shaking pot to keep bottom kernels from scorching. When popping slows to 3 seconds between pops, remove pot from heat, pour popcorn into bowl. Pour over ½ c. melted butter. Sprinkle with sea salt. Toss and enjoy!

6) Recommended by Hangout Group:
Fresh 20 : http://www.thefresh20.com
Plan to Eat : http://www.plantoeat.com
Pepperplate : https://www.pepperplate.com
E-Meals : http://emeals.com
PrepDish : http://www.prepdish.com

Mel’s Kitchen cafe : http://www.melskitchencafe.com

Cheap Good Eats : http://goodcheapeats.comTwo posts about meal planning:

Nester’s Meal Planning Secret
http://www.thenester.com/2011/11/imperfect-flexible-do-able-meal-blueprint.html

Rachel Anne Ridge’s Meal Planning Guide
http://www.homesanctuary.com/rachelanne/2015/01/best-ever-no-fail-super-easy-menu-plan.html

Everyday Food
http://www.marthastewart.com/946620/everyday-food-sarah-carey

Find Kelly on her blog, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram!

Ep. 26 The truth about anxiety

September 10, 2015

Wait! Before you decide that listening to an entire episode about anxiety will be very un-awesome, we ask that you go ahead and hit Play. Laura and Megan both feel so passionately about honest, compassionate, and helpful conversations about daily anxiety that they spent weeks planning this show. Nearly 20% of American adults struggle with anxiety, so chances are that even if you do not, someone you love does! In this super-sized episode, they each share their own very different stories as well as their approaches to coping and conquering anxiety. (Also, you don’t want to miss Laura’s Awesome of the Week. One of the most …. INTERESTING we’ve had so far!) Anxiety discussion begins just after the 20:00 mark.

SHOW NOTES

1) Olay Smooth Finish Facial Hair Removal Duo Kit

2) Tinkle Razor

3) Shiseido razor

4) Trader Joe’s Vitamin E Oil

5) SortaCrunchy: his favorite chocolate cake

6) hollywood housewife: deep breaths are not the answer

7) L-Theanine

8) Plant Therapy: Stress-Free, Self-Esteem

9) Emotional Freedom Technique (tapping)

10) autogenic training

11) Hey Sigmund: Anxiety in Kids

Find Laura on her blog, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter!

As always, thanks to Progger for allowing us to use the song Strut! Find more from Progger at Proggermusic.com

Feedback on today’s show? Sign up for the show’s mailing list at tinyletter.com/SortaAwesome or leave a comment below (click the date link). And don’t forget to find us in the Sorta Awesome Hangout on Facebook! You can find me on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram!

Ep. 25 Q&A Grab-bag: t-shirts, talkers, and tossing out nicknames

September 3, 2015

Megan and Rebekah rifle through the listener question bag and offer their answers on some pressing questions. Does a perfect t-shirt exist, and if so, where do you find it? Does your Myers Briggs type determine how talkative you are (or are not)? And what nickname of Megan’s is just completely unbelievable to Rebekah? All of that plus Awesome of the Week on Episode 25!

SHOW NOTES

1) SORTA AWESOME HANGOUT in OKC! September 20th, 4PM, Bleu Garten: http://www.bleugarten.com/ Join Megan Tietz and Laura Tremaine for a very casual meet-up and hangout in real life in downtown OKC!

2) All Nutrient ClarpHx Active Clarifying Treatment 12 oz

3) Megan’s Happy Hour playlist on Spotify

4) T-shirts at J.Crew (Megan likes the speckled cotton best, but they seem to be sold out. The vintage cotton tee is a similar style!)

Find Rebekah on her blog, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!

As always, thanks to Progger for allowing us to use the song Strut! Find more from Progger at Proggermusic.com

Feedback on today’s show? Sign up for the show’s mailing list at tinyletter.com/SortaAwesome or leave a comment below (click the date link). And don’t forget to find us in the Sorta Awesome Hangout on Facebook! You can find me on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram!

Ep. 24 Asking hard questions and answering your calling with guest co-host Dr. Cara Pence

August 27, 2015

Dr. Cara Pence is a wife, mom, and active member of her church and community, and she is also a practicing general surgeon. This week, she joins us on Sorta Awesome to speak about the way her choices in life have defied the expected gender roles in both her faith community and the medical field. She shares the experience that almost made her quit medical school, how she battles mom guilt, and why having a husband who is a stay at home parent makes the most sense for their family right now. All of that (and more!) plus awesome of the week on Episode 24 of Sorta Awesome!

SHOW NOTES

1) Geocaching.com

2) The Good Wife on IMDB

3) Wiki on escape rooms

Find Cara on Twitter - @surgeonsongs

Ep. 23 Ten awesome tricks and helpful tips

August 20, 2015

Megan and Kelly are all about letting you in on some helpful tips and tricks that are sure to bring some sparkly awesome to your life. This week, we share ten little life hacks on topics ranging from laundry stains (we know! but really!) to pie crusts to essential oils. Also, Megan shares her number one most important YouTube trick that she forgot to tell you in episode 21! All of that plus Awesome of the Week in Episode 23 of Sorta Awesome.

SHOW NOTES

1) Love Well Blog: Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken

2) Two Bossy Dames: newsletter sign-up, Twitter, Dame Margaret, Dame Sophie

3) Ninja on Amazon

4) Carbona stain removers - entire set on Amazon

5) school supplies on Amazon

6) Palazzo pants on Amazon

7) Thred Up (Kelly’s referral link; use it to get $20 off your first order!)

8) Plant Therapy: KidSafe blends

9) Pie Crust tip

10) Tart Cherry Juice on Amazon, Mama Natural video

11) Time: Watch All the TV You Want Without Paying a Cable Bill

12) YouTube playlists

Find Kelly on her blog, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram!

Ep. 22 Break-ups, Favorites, and Other Confessions

August 13, 2015

This week, Laura joins Megan on the show, and they take some follow-up questions from listeners. What do you do when a friendship comes to an end? How can you work on a friendship the same way you would work on a marriage? Then the topic turns to books and they compare notes on all-time favorite authors and books. Finally, both of them reveal their lists of pop culture guilty pleasures.

SHOW NOTES

sortaawesomeshow on Instagram!

1) Hollywood Housewife: birkenstocks are (back) in style

Women’s birks on Amazon (affiliate link)

2) Facebook Groups app

3) The Mid: The Meta Friend

4) Hollywood Housewife: favorite books of all time

5) SortaCrunchy: Gatsby in the springtime

Find Laura on her blog, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter!

As always, thanks to Progger for allowing us to use the song Strut! Find more from Progger at Proggermusic.com

Feedback on today’s show? Sign up for the show’s mailing list at tinyletter.com/SortaAwesome or leave a comment below (click the date link). And don’t forget to find us in the Sorta Awesome Hangout on Facebook! You can find me on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram!

Ep. 21 Uncovering the awesome of YouTube

August 7, 2015

In Episode 21, a listener question about kids and YouTube safety inspired Megan and Rebekah to leave no stone unturned in exploring just what it is that makes YouTube so awesome. The history of YouTube, why millions of people are subscribing to channels, how much money professional YouTube personalities make, and what parents need to know to keep their kids safe - all of that and a whole bunch more gets covered today!

The audio in this episode is at times very UN-awesome. Thank you for bearing with us! And if you have just a few minutes, please head to http://sortaawesomemegan.tumblr.com/survey to tell us just a bit about yourself. It will be so helpful as we plan the future of this show!

SHOW NOTES

1) The Art of Simple : Date nights/Tate nights

2) The Skimm

3) Business Insider : History of YouTube

4) Channels mentioned on the show:

Evolution of Dance
Chocolate Rain
My Drunk Kitchen
Tyler Oakley
Grace Helbig
Shaytards
Bethany Mota

5) Rebekah’s pop bottle sprinkler video

6) PewDiePie discusses how much money he makes

7) Common Sense Media: A Parent’s Ultimate Guide to YouTube

Find Rebekah on her blog, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!

As always, thanks to Progger for allowing us to use the song Strut! Find more from Progger at Proggermusic.com

Feedback on today’s show? Sign up for the show’s mailing list at tinyletter.com/SortaAwesome or leave a comment below (click the date link). And don’t forget to find us in the Sorta Awesome Hangout on Facebook! You can find me on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram!

Ep. 20 How to fit the fun into busy lives with Jessica Turner

July 30, 2015

Jessica Turner is the blogger behind TheMomCreative.com and is the author of The Fringe Hours. Today, she joins the show as guest co-host! As a working mom of three children, she knows the importance of creating efficient systems so you can free up time to have fun and pursue your passions. In this episode, she takes listener questions and shares her tips and examples of what this looks like in her life.

SHOW NOTES

1) Honest Company

ePantry (new customers get a $10 credit using that link!)

Amazon

(Jessica’s affiliate links!)

2) AMC’s Turn

3) BONUS! The Fall; Bletchley Circle

4) Jessica’s husband, Matthew Paul Turner

World Vision

5) Fringe Hours website, Fringe Hours on Amazon

Find Jessica on her blog, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram!

As always, thanks to Progger for allowing us to use the song Strut! Find more from Progger at Proggermusic.com

Feedback on today’s show? Sign up for the show’s mailing list at tinyletter.com/SortaAwesome or leave a comment below (click the date link). And don’t forget to find us in the Sorta Awesome Hangout on Facebook! You can find me on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram!

Ep. 19 Asked & Answered: Megan in the hot seat!

July 23, 2015

Our incredibly awesome listeners have submitted some questions just for Megan, so Kelly returns to her journalist roots to pin her down for some answers. Topics include God and Myers Briggs, approaches to family planning, public school parenting joys and struggles, and the one item on her bucket list that might surprise friends and family.

SHOW NOTES

1) STORM app

2) Bialetti Moka Express 6 Cup Espresso Maker

From YouTube: Moka Express Review and Demonstration

3) Gary Thomas, Sacred Pathways

4) Toni Weschler, Taking Charge of Your Fertility

5) From SortaCrunchy: On feeling called to public schools, on (still) feeling called to public schools, the truth about urban schools

6) The Art of Simple: Create a family purpose statement

Find Kelly on her blog, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram!

As always, thanks to Progger for allowing us to use the song Strut! Find more from Progger at Proggermusic.com

Feedback on today’s show? Sign up for the show’s mailing list at tinyletter.com/SortaAwesome or leave a comment below (click the date link). And don’t forget to find us in the Sorta Awesome Hangout on Facebook! You can find me on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram!

Ep. 18 Host an awesome party - Hollywood Housewife tells you how!

July 16, 2015

Laura brings her A-game this week to answer a listener question on how to actually enjoy hostessing without running around crazy in the kitchen. She’s been practicing the art of hospitality since long before she became the Hollywood Housewife, and her Top Five Tips for hosting parties are inspiring for beginner hostesses as well as those who are no stranger to hosting others.

SHOW NOTES

1) braingpickings.org; Musicked Down The Mountain: How Oliver Sacks Saved His Own Life by Literature and Song

2) Hollywood Housewife: mostess hostess posts

Hollywood Housewife: Spirit-Led Parenting release party, Jesus Feminist release party, Semi-Charmed Life release party

3) Mothering.com: How to host a crappy dinner (and see your friends more often)

Find Laura on her blog, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter!

As always, thanks to Progger for allowing us to use the song Strut! Find more from Progger at Proggermusic.com

Feedback on today’s show? Sign up for the show’s mailing list at tinyletter.com/SortaAwesome or leave a comment below (click the date link). And don’t forget to find us in the Sorta Awesome Hangout on Facebook! You can find me on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram!

Ep. 17 How to build a love-filled home

July 9, 2015

This week, Megan and Rebekah talk about building a loving home. Whether you are single or married, a parent or not, tune and hear us discuss how to learn to speak a new love language, what to do when you are NOT feeling the love for those around you, and how to foster love (and like!) between siblings.

SHOW NOTES

1) Mystery Show from Gimlet Media. Starlee Kine on Twitter

2) Acoustic Covers playlist on Spotify

Imagine Dragons cover Blank Space (YouTube)

3) 5lovelanguages.com
The Five Love Languages: The Secret to Love That Lasts, Gary Chapman

Five love languages: Words of Affirmation, Quality Time, Acts of Service, Receiving Gifts, Physical Touch

4) Simply Rebekah: Six Simple Sanity Savers for When I Feel Like I’m Going to Lose My Mind

5) Dr. Laura Markham ahaparenting.com

How to stop siblings fighting

Siblings Without Rivalry, Adele Faber

Find Rebekah on her blog, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!

As always, thanks to Progger for allowing us to use the song Strut! Find more from Progger at Proggermusic.com

Feedback on today’s show? Sign up for the show’s mailing list at tinyletter.com/SortaAwesome or leave a comment below (click the date link). And don’t forget to find us in the Sorta Awesome Hangout on Facebook! You can find me on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram!

Ep. 16 Wisdom, grace, and a donkey with author Rachel Anne Ridge

July 2, 2015

What a delight to welcome my long-time blogging friend and acclaimed author Rachel Anne Ridge to Sorta Awesome! Publisher’s Weekly listed her book Flash: The Homeless Donkey Who Taught Me about Life, Faith, and Second Chances one of their Best Summer Books 2015. Today, she joins us to talk about coffee, parenting (especially parenting teens! eek!), and a donkey named Flash who changed everything for their family.

SHOW NOTES

1) Joy Williams on VENUS song by song at Medium.com

2) Heather King :: The Extraordinary Ordinary, Your Hard is Hard

3) Book Trailer for Flash

4) FlashTheDonkey.com and Flash on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!

Find Rachel Anne at her blog HomeSanctuary.com and on Twitter

As always, thanks to Progger for allowing us to use the song Strut! Find more from Progger at Proggermusic.com

Feedback on today’s show? Sign up for the show’s mailing list at tinyletter.com/SortaAwesome or leave a comment below (click the date link). And don’t forget to find us in the Sorta Awesome Hangout on Facebook! You can find me on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram!

Ep. 15 Sixteen shades of awesome: all about Myers Briggs

June 25, 2015

This week, Kelly is my co-host and we are giddily geeking out about all things Myers Briggs. After we share our Awesomes of the Week (red lipstick! great movies!), we dig into some fantastic listener questions about the Myers Briggs personality typing system. Which type is the most introverted of the extroverts? And can a cabin in the woods help you discover which type you are? Take a listen and find out! We would love to hear your type, too! Find us on Twitter @SortaAwesomeMeg or in the Facebook Group: Sorta Awesome Hangout

SHOW NOTES

1) Sephora’s The Red

2) Creativity, Inc.

3) Pop Culture Happy Hour episode on Inside Out

4) Monkey See blog: Why the Key Character in Inside Out is the One Who Isn’t There

5) 16personalities.com

6) Davesuperpowers on Youtube

Find Kelly on her blog, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram!

As always, thanks to Progger for allowing us to use the song Strut! Find more from Progger at Proggermusic.com

Ep. 14 All about friendship

June 18, 2015

Episode 14 brings our Hollywood Housewife Laura back to the show and we have a deluxe edition of Sorta Awesome for you this week! We are talking all about friendship: the good, the bad, and the Facebook. Laura shares the two ways she was able to overcome loneliness as a newcomer to LA, and we talk about the key ingredient to building strong friendships as grown-ups. We would love to hear your advice on the topic of friendships! Find us on Twitter @SortaAwesomeMeg or in the Facebook Group: Sorta Awesome Hangout