Hey, hey! I have been super busy but I did not want to end before sharing this episode. My guests are Lynette Talley of VIrago 24/7 (check it out! It is a fantastic podcast) and Valentine Pooley. We had this conversation over the summer and I was holding on to it for this special week. This Saturday I will turn 40! As the year draws to a close I want to celebrate this transition with conversations with some of the women in my life. I'll have a few more episodes after this one. For now, enjoy! Also, here are links to two of the articles we discussed in the episode: 5 Brutally Honest Things Every Woman Turning 40 Should Know https://letslassothemoon.com/turning-40/ 20 Things to Look Forward to If You're Turning 40 in 2020 https://bestlifeonline.com/turning-40-2019/ As always, the music for this show is from the very talented Penn Davis. Check out his Instagram Page. The official art for the show is from the very talented Michaela Perkins. Check out the social media pages! I'm on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram all as @thisyeariturn40.

This week's episode is with THE Laron McAdoo and THE Sean McIntosh. I will definitely need to do a part two to this episode because Sean was a surprise. He is the descendant of a legendary figure in Arkansas History, Robert "Say" McIntosh. A person "of a certain age" from the city of Little Rock, AR would know who this man was and would agree that when one thinks of Critical Patriotism, they should hear the voice of, and see the face of (in that order) Say McIntosh. Laron is a dear friend/brother/teacher/mentor and I appreciate both of these positive male figures for coming on and discussing this topic with me this week.  Links to two articles that were referenced in the show are below. This week, ask yourself "Am I a critical patriot?"  Definitions for Critical Patriotism https://positiveorgs.bus.umich.edu/news/united-america-core-value-10-critical-patriotism/ https://www.towson.edu/news/2021/critical-patriotism.html  The 10 American Core Values  https://readthespirit.com/bookstore/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2013/10/United-America-insert-front-6x9.jpg As always, the music for this show is from the very talented Penn Davis. Check out his Instagram Page. The official art for the show is from the very talented Michaela Perkins. Check out the social media pages! I'm on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram all as @thisyeariturn40.

This week I talk to my friend and MILS-Sister (Military Spouse-Sister) Meg Kelvington. During the pandemic, between her leadership and determination to keep us Christ-centered and sane, and my determination to keep us jubilant and maybe slightly tipsy, she and I worked our magic to keep the heart and soul of our community vibrant. While much of our community-building efforts began before the shutdown in 2020, I feel, as a community, we were our best during the pandemic and this has motivated me to cultivate the same sense of community in every lived-in space I have going forward.  As I get older, I find that community where one LIVES is so important. We don’t always have to go out to find a sense of belonging and although it may seem hard at first, it is possible to cultivate a sense of belonging and togetherness in heterogeneous communities. Listen as she and I share our community stories and provide advice from our lived experiences on how to create a community where it is needed most, in our neighborhoods. About this week’s guest: I'm kicking myself for this because during the episode I fail to really capture what a badass Meg is. Please forgive me! Meg flew helicopters, planes and deployed to Afghanistan. Now she uses her Army leadership experience to coach others through her company "Riveting Mission LLC" while being an Army Wife and mother to 4 young children. She grew up in an Army family with both her mother and father being West Point graduates. She joined the family business and graduated from the United States Military Academy in 2006. After graduating from flight school in 2008, qualified in both the Blackhawk helicopter and RC-12 Guardrail airplane, she was stationed at Hunter Army Airfield. She then deployed to Afghanistan and flew over 200 combat hours. After additional schooling, she went on to the 82nd Airborne Division and 1st Corps before leaving the Army to focus on her family and pursue coaching and mentoring. She has done work with Team Red White and Blue, Wear Blue: Run to Remember, and led groups in her local church. She and her husband, Mike, have four children, McKinley (9), Madison (8), “Mac” Arthur (5), and Moriah (2). Find her at [email protected] and on Facebook @RivetingMissionLLC and Instagram @riveting.mission.llc She runs a Monday morning virtual group that shares a short Bible-based message and then does a workout together called "Fit To Serve." You can find details on Facebook or email her for more info. During the show, we mention some resources that are great for women and people in general. Find links to them all below. Breathe By Priscilla Shirer (here's an intro video too)  The Turquoise Table by Kristin Schell - We didn't talk about this during the recording but she shared it with me after. It seems like a great place to start with building community in heterogeneous spaces.  She Reads Truth Podcast  The Green Plate by Jill Connett - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6681123-the-green-plate

Oh, how I wanted to have a full episode ready this week but I have to be real with myself and you all. I am in the middle of moving and I am not superwoman (or a person who has a team to help produce this podcast. It's just me!) So, here is a quick bite and I will hopefully see you soon. Yes, there are updates and a praise report in this short episode. So take a break, listen, and plan to hear from me soon! As always, the music for this show is from the very talented Penn Davis. Check out his Instagram Page. The official art for the show is from the very talented Michaela Perkins. Check out the social media pages! I'm on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram all as @thisyeariturn40.

Perfectionism is... the stuff of victory and defeat. Best case scenario, our perfectionist habits propel us forward in our careers and talents and we make amazing contributions to our fields. Worst case scenario, these habits drive us crazy and lead us down paths that can be harmful for ourselves and others. My guest today is Susan Warren. She is back with us (she was also featured on episode 9, Acceptance is...) to lend her counseling and therapy knowledge to this topic.  To learn more about the data and other research shared during this episode you can view the links below. Susan is thorough for sure!  DiMaggio et al. 2018- https://psychotherapy.psychiatryonline.org/doi/full/10.1176/appi.psychotherapy.2015.69.3.317 - overview and general education on perfectionism. Dimaggio et al. 2018- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0010440X18300555?via%3Dihub - perfectionism within personality traits Elion et al. 2012- https://www.researchgate.net/publication/221809957_Perfectionism_in_African_American_Students_Relationship_to_Racial_Identity_GPA_Self-Esteem_and_Depression Nilsson et al. 2008- https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Johanna-Nilsson-8/publication/264649661_The_Relationships_Among_Perfectionism_Acculturation_and_Stress_in_Asian_International_Students/links/5e1a11c492851c8364c626bb/The-Relationships-Among-Perfectionism-Acculturation-and-Stress-in-Asian-International-Students.pdf Castro et al. 2003 https://www.researchgate.net/publication/10847633_Perfectionism_and_ethnicity_Implications_for_depressive_symptoms_and_self-reported_academic_achievement Bieling et al. 2004 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0191886903002356 Maladaptive versus adaptive perfectionism. Periasamy 2002- https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1300/J035v17n02_06 As always, the music for this show is from the very talented Penn Davis. Check out his Instagram Page. The official art for the show is from the very talented Michaela Perkins. Check out the social media pages! I'm on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram all as @thisyeariturn40.

Tarot is not scary, not demonic, and not fully occult, it really depends on the operator. It took me a while to work up to wanting to understand any of the psychic arts such as card reading, palm reading, or even mediums. Between last year and this year, I have met enough people and had enough experiences to realize that the boogyman is what you make him. This week my sister Loni and I interview my friend and sorority sister Tiffany about what Tarot Card reading is and is not. There's a lot of names floating around this episode so I've listed some resources here in the show notes to help you out.  Rider-Waite(-Smith) Deck  Thoth Deck Aleister Crowley  Pamela "Pixie" Coleman-Smith Here's another resource about Pixie  My guest, Tiffany Davis is a Tarot Card reader and she can be found by any of these means:  Website: tarotbytiffany.com YouTube [archived but active]: Tarot Tiffany  Vimeo: Tarot by Tiffany Instagram: @tarot_x_tiffany Twitter: @tarotbytiffany You can also subscribe to her services for as low as $5 a month at Patreon.  Patreon: Tarot by Tiffany. As always, the music for this show is from the very talented Penn Davis. Check out his Instagram Page. The official art for the show is from the very talented Michaela Perkins. Check out the social media pages! I'm on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram all as @thisyeariturn40.

Did you have a great PRIDE weekend?!?! I hope so! Wrapping up our month of Love is this episode featuring two couples, a lesbian and a gay couple. I enjoyed learning their union origin stories (they are very similar or else I really am getting to be too old!) and how they maintain health and balance in their relationships. Spoiler alert!! Communication was number one on both couples' lists.  I want to thank my guests Auna and Jennifer and Reginald and Robert for taking time out to indulge me for this episode. I had fun talking to and catching up with them. I also encourage you to check out the resource links at the bottom of the episode notes. Some are mentioned in the episode.  Knowledge is power and ignorance creates fear. Power up y'all!  Resource Links:  Article about the White Horse Inn in Cali: https://www.grubstreet.com/2013/05/white-horse-inn-oakland-berkeley-oldest-gay-bar.html Web Page for Lafittes in Exile in Louisiana: https://www.lafittes.com/about2 Unfortunately, I had to rely on Wikipedia for information about the oldest gay establishments in the country. Here are two articles I found, but I can't swear the info is all true.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gay_bar#:~:text=Cafe%20Lafitte%20in%20Exile%20in,bar%20in%20the%20United%20States. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Horse_Inn_(Oakland,_California) OutRight International is an LGBTQIA+ Rights Advocacy Organization: https://outrightinternational.org/content/acronyms-explained As always, the music for this show is from the very talented Penn Davis. Check out his Instagram Page. The official art for the show is from the very talented Michaela Perkins. Check out the social media pages! I'm on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram all as @thisyeariturn40.

Interracial love is the topic of this episode. Although Loving Day has passed, I still wanted to take this time to commemorate the day by talking with my husband Ace about our experience as an interracial couple.  As always, the music for this show is from the very talented Penn Davis. Check out his Instagram Page. The official art for the show is from the very talented Michaela Perkins. Check out the social media pages! I'm on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram all as @thisyeariturn40.

Juneteenth is... or means something different to different people. This week I discuss my views on the holiday and how my views have changed over time from my twenties until now. I put some research into this episode and learned some things that I didn't know before.  Below are links to the articles and websites I visited to create this episode.  http://nationaljuneteenth.com/Juneteenth_National.html  https://www.archives.gov/exhibits/american_originals_iv/sections/preliminary_emancipation_proclamation.html# https://news.ucdenver.edu/juneteenth-history-why-doesnt-everyone-know-about-texas/ https://nmaahc.si.edu/blog-post/historical-legacy-juneteenth https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/10-facts-what-everyone-should-know-about-civil-war https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/nation-world/juneteenth-us-states-official-holidays/507-aa8e98a6-8e01-4f39-b3b5-632d3bf8c83b https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/19/us/juneteenth-state-holidays-trnd/index.html https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R44865.pdf If I left something out or even got something wrong, message me! You can email me at [email protected] or send a voice memo through the Anchor webpage for the show.  As always, the music for this show is from the very talented Penn Davis. Check out his Instagram Page. The official art for the show is from the very talented Michaela Perkins. Check out the social media pages! I'm on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram all as @thisyeariturn40.

June is full of reasons to celebrate. The end of the school year, procurement of a degree, and even the opportunity to barbeque without fear in a semi-post pandemic world are great starters. Add to that the celebration of love and liberty and you have one month full of ticker-tape parades. Although many cities are forgoing their PRIDE parades in respect of the health and wellness of their communities, there is still room to celebrate. This month I'll feature three shows that highlight LGBTQIA couples, interracial couples, and the celebration of Juneteenth.  As always, the music for this show is from the very talented Penn Davis. Check out his Instagram Page. The official art for the show is from the very talented Michaela Perkins. Check out the social media pages! I'm on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram all as @thisyeariturn40.