Today’s episode harkens back to The Mugly Truth’s beginnings of long lists with really hard-to-pronounce words to tackle the world of PHILES! Phile is derived from the Greek word philos which means “one that loves, likes, or is attracted to.” So sit back, relax with your cup of coffee, and try not to spit-take as Kris stumbles from word to word and Kym valiantly guesses at what each might mean. There’s really not a ton of educational content except maybe how NOT to pronounce words. Mostly today is about laughs and fun. And cookies. So many cookies. We actually took a cookie break. Is there a word for loving cookies? Cookiemonster, are you listening? Please email us.
This whole topic started with Kris’ favorite phile of all time: Pluviophile (the lover of the sound of rain). Great word, fun to say, and the sound of rain is soothing. Unless it’s rain from a hurricane. But let’s not detour down that road.
During the course of the episode, you’ll discover that Kris is also an anglophile, and a clinophile. And it’s no secret Kym and Kris are cynophiles and ailurophiles AND dendrophiles. Kym needs bujophile to become a thing, because as far as she’s concerned it totally is but she isn’t sure to whom she should submit her application for, you know…wordship.
All is not lost in the education department. After all, we did learn new words, AND we learned that not everything looks like how it’s spelled. For instance, do YOU know what a hippophile, oenophile, xanthophile, autophile, or cartophile are? Mmhmm. Don’t be as sure as you just thought you are, snickering as you read that (but if you do know, then we bow down to your lingual superiority). We’ll bet you didn’t know there’s a word for the feverish need to undress. There is. We’re blushing. But not about THAT…mostly still cringing about that whole “Amadeo! Amadeo!” instead of “Galileo! Galileo!” thing. (You’ll have to listen to find out but spoiler alert Kris needs to stop singing.) And, hey, that’s not fair Googling this stuff…listen first, then Google. Because we’re still not sure we got them all correct anyway.
Check out our “Miles and Piles of Philes!” episode on iTunes/Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Libsyn, Pocket Cast, Stitcher or anywhere you listen to podcasts. Then all you need to do is 1) subscribe 2) download and 3) listen! AND!!! 4) If you enjoy what you hear, please leave a rating and a review (pretty please?). The more subscribers and reviews we get, the more opportunities we get to grow this podcast and bring you richer content.
And don’t forget to follow us here at themuglytruth.com (click that blue WordPress Follow button on the right side of your screen) so you get notifications every time we post an episode blog! You can also follow The Mugly Truth on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
Today’s episode is a PLOT TWIST like no other in The Mugly Truth Podcast lineup. Remember that heartfelt, tear-jerker “Let It Go” episode from two weeks ago? The one where Kris and Kym talk about letting go of loved ones and past hurts, among other things? Well. Today’s episode takes that episode and says, “Really? Hold my crystal ball.” Cracks knuckles. Proceeds to OMG all over the place.
Soooo, we went to a psychic. It’s one of those things lots of people maybe think about doing but don’t. It’s a curiosity, or a guilty pleasure, never indulged in. Maybe because it goes against their religion, or their sense of propriety, or intelligence. Or they’re scared of what they might hear. Many pooh-pooh the whole thing as folly and even judge those who walk over the threshold of a palm reader’s door or through the oddly satisfyingly clicky bead curtains toward a tarot deck as silly, weak, or foolish. But tell us: what is the Universe capable of with all its secrets? Oh, you don’t know? It’s ok. Neither do we. In fact, we’re going to go out on a limb and say the greatest minds on this planet have yet to fully understand the actual magnitude of what goes on “out there” (again, we are just guessing…we can’t reach Neil DeGrasse Tyson for comment). Whether it’s quantum physics or the sacred ceremonies, rites, and rituals of faith, we’re thinking it is ALL pretty magical.
Photo by Samir Belhamra @Grafixart_photo on Pexels.com
For those who believe that the Universe holds so many mysteries that we puny humans won’t ever be able to unclench enough to be able to accept all the things that bubble just beyond the veil of our limited material sight, we salute you for cracking open that lovely third eye of yours. Yes, energies, guides, angels – GHOSTS! – that’s a list that will raise the eyebrow of many, even those who are still rubbing the sleep out of Eye #3. We’re not sure how one group who follows the moral briefings of a book and another group who believes in a connection with their higher self and the spirit of everything in and around them are very different at all. It’s all faith in something beyond ourselves, something that transcends pages, pulpits, and meditative prayer. In the scheme of things there’s room for all of it, frankly. It’s what makes this plane of existence interesting. But HEY. Whatever your belief systems are, today’s episode is for fun and for free, and the fact is some WEIRDLY coincidental (really though? Was it?) crap totally went down and we recorded our reactions shortly after the readings.
The person we went to has been in business in our area for almost 30 years and when we talked about doing this type of episode she was the unquestionable go-to for the reading. Just like our dancing around the issue of ghosts and spirits, we went into this with no expectations, a little bit skeptical, and we provided zero, zilch, nada, nuffink in the information department.
We called for the appointment (two separate appointments, we didn’t go together) and when we showed up, we each forked over a personal item for her to hold during the session. Then we literally sat back and listened. It bears repeating, we provided no information at the time of booking the appointment (except our names, okay, yeah, that). And when we went in, we said nothing and she asked nothing. She just held our trinkets and began to speak. Don’t get us wrong. Our lovely psychic said some pretty generic things to kick things off (apparently we are both honest women. We are nodding piously. But…
But then the weirdness hit.
There’s too much to write here. (This is a podcast after all…go listen…it’s all there, including the lovely twitterings of birds and whoomphphphs of horses in the background. And planes. And helicopters. Always helicopters. Why Orange County airspace? WHY?). It’s really hard to put into writing, even two weeks later after time has passed and we’ve processed what she said. Because the things this lady said to both of us, these are things she did NOT have enough time logistically to find out about us.
Scour our Facebook and Instagram pages, listen to EVERY episode of this podcast, you do a deep dive and yeah, there’s a chance you could fool even the hardiest skeptic, we totally agree with that. But did this woman have that kind of time? There were over 40 episodes at the time of our appointment for cripe’s sake, and less than a week to listen to them all. All that datamining for a measly $50? We just don’t see it.
And it wasn’t the obvious stuff she pegged. It was the stuff we DON’T talk about publicly, or post on social media that she zoned right into. That’s the weirdness right there. And she brought up some things both of us had been thinking about a lot lately, but not openly discussed.
Finally, (holding the mic so tightly), the “Let It Go” episode was recorded the week prior, but was not released until the week AFTER we saw the psychic. If you haven’t heard “Let It Go” yet, do that first. THEN listen to this one. Again, she had no way of knowing what we talked about because IT HAD NOT AIRED YET. (Read that in Ryan Bergara’s voice. If you do not know who that is, are we even friends???)
Drop.
Mic.
Shiver. Gigggle. SHIIIIIVVVVVERgiggle. Teehee. We love this sh*t.
Oh, and she basically told Kris the same exact thing Kris dreamed about the night before.
WAAAAAT??
We’re not chilled, YOU’RE CHILLED!! Like. Soda. On. Ice.
Check out our “That’s What SHE Saw!” episode on iTunes/Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Libsyn, Pocket Cast, Stitcher or anywhere you listen to podcasts. Then all you need to do is 1) subscribe 2) download and 3) listen! AND!!! 4) If you enjoy what you hear, please leave a rating and a review (pretty please?). The more subscribers and reviews we get, the more opportunities we get to grow this podcast and bring you richer content.
And don’t forget to follow us here at themuglytruth.com (click that blue WordPress Follow button on the right side of your screen) so you get notifications every time we post an episode blog! You can also follow The Mugly Truth on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
This entire week celebrates the magic of Earth. Yesterday, Monday 22 April, was Earth Day and this coming Friday, 26 April, is the unofficial Mugly Truth Podcast Holiday (drumroll please): ARBOR DAY!!! Can you count how many times we’ve brought up Arbor Day throughout our podcast life? Really, can you please, and then let us know because we would love to have used all those soundbytes in today’s episode. Anyway, today we talk about how much we love trees, and the physical, emotional and even spiritual benefits trees provide, including oxygen, shelter, healing cancer, shade, Jenga, and maple syrup. In no particular order.
Joshua Tree or Whomping Willow? Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com
We also (finally?) get to the actual history of Arbor Day. The very first Arbor Day took place 10 April 1872 in Nebraska, USA. J. Sterling Morton and his wife Caroline Joy French made it their mission to beautify the – well, plain – great plains region after they moved there from Michigan. They encouraged the planting of trees to help the environment as well as entice more settlers to the area. It was through Morton’s actions that Arbor Day became an official national day. Their son established the Morton Arboretum, which is still active to this day educating people about the importance of planting trees and the benefits derived from this valuable resource. One hundred years later In 1972 John Rosenow began the Arbor Day Foundation in Nebraska which is a worldwide non-profit conservation and education organization whose current goal is to plant 100 million trees in forests and communities by 2022 — the 150th anniversary of Arbor Day.
Of course there would be no Mugly Truth episode without a few pitstops and detours on the treeway (term cred to Kym), so of course we spend an inordinate amount of time discussing 70’s kids t.v. shows (BECAUSE SCARY FORESTS!) and the possibility (we’re assuming, but NOT accusing), that the creators must have dropped acid at least ONCE before finalizing the concepts. (IF that’s not the case – BUT COME ON…THE 70’s AND HAVE YOU SEEN THESE SHOWS? – we apologize profusely, please don’t sue us). To see the colorful cast of characters, hear the catchy tune, see the shot of Big Bear Lake Kym mentions, and glimpse Freddie the Flute, Witchiepoo, JIMMY, et al, from H.R. Pufnstuf,here you go. Of course, don’t be a Kris; this is NOT to be confused with JOHNNY from Sigmund and the Sea Monsters. Two totally different dudes, as their hair will attest.
We also have a very special edition of Words With Kris and Kym, which include: • Susurration (thank you Terry Pratchett and Tiffany Aching) • Cerulean • Weenus (which is not an actual anatomical name, just fyi) • Lambdoidal (Tri Lambda!!!! Srsly, for the love of gawd, click THAT link if no others.) • Popliteal • Hyoid • Galley-west You now sound incredibly smarter because of us. YOU. ARE. WELCOME!
As always we swing back around to the topic at hand. Kris extols the virtues of a few heavy hitters in the tree world: birch, elm, pine, cinnamon, yew and the lovely red stinkwood, to name a few. And although we talk about how to utilize elements of these trees for health purposes, we strongly advise 1) reading up on edible plants in your region (for North America, we recommend this Peterson guide to edible plants and this Peterson guide to medicinal plants) and 2) DON’T destroy trees in your field survival/doomsday prepper/tree lick testing process (we see you, you tree smooching Superstar)! Trees may be a renewable valuable resource, but they are still prey to the stupidity of humans who can overharvest trees in the name of fuel and medicine.
We bring’er home with a shoutout to Pete Nelson of Nelson Treehouse, the tree-whisperer host of Treehouse Master on the Animal Planet channel. He builds ahh-mazing treehouses and if anyone knows the majesty and magic of trees, it’s Pete. We love how much Pete loves trees. And yes, we can hear you shouting and pulling out your hair, spitting at us, “Arbor Day special and you bring up a bunch of people who shove spikes in trees??!??” So we lovingly suggest watching Pete once or twice before you burn us alive, AND read this to maybe feel a bit better about what he does in his design process. I’m telling you, the guy would marry a tree if he wasn’t already happily wed to Judy for 30+ years. Besides, if the Arbor Day Foundation has a 50-foot treehouse to explore, who are yo…we to judge?
Check out our “Treehuggers Unite” episode on iTunes/Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Libsyn, Pocket Cast, Stitcher or anywhere you listen to podcasts. Then all you need to do is 1) subscribe 2) download and 3) listen! AND!!! 4) If you enjoy what you hear, please leave a rating and a review (pretty please?). The more subscribers and reviews we get, the more opportunities we get to grow this podcast and bring you richer content.
And don’t forget to follow us here at themuglytruth.com (click that blue WordPress Follow button on the right side of your screen) so you get notifications every time we post an episode blog! You can also follow The Mugly Truth on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
We riff off our That’s Purgetastic! episode talking a bit more about shedding material baggage, and then going beyond the physical purge by exploring how to let go of past hurts, unhealthy belief systems, love relationships, and expectations of what we think “should be.”
Kym shares her personal experiences of forgiveness involving her ill father. Kris reveals the painful process of having a parent afflicted with Alzheimer’s as well as how she has navigated the devastation of letting go a significant relationship. It gets a little deep for The Mugly Truth, but that’s ok.
Even though discarding a pair of too-high heels is not the same as letting go the dream of a future with someone, or the pain of a neglected childhood (oooorrrrrr, is it?? Some people are very attached to their shoes coffcoffsexinthecitycoff), the process is actually pretty much the same. It’s about being (sometimes brutally) honest with ourselves and asking how what is being held onto is serving us – is it for good or for bad (because something negative can serve us). Is it something we can let go of now or is it something we are willing to move toward letting go? How long are we willing to traverse the path to freedom? Are we ok with feeling some deep feelings, knowing at the end of the day (or year or five) It’s technically as simple as making a pros and cons list and examining the truth. Except that examining painful truths is not a simple thing. So there’s the element of courage as well. But no pressure.
As a way to help you get started on the “let it go” journey, here’s a link to the Tiny Buddha article called 40 Ways to Leg Go and Feel Less Pain (and be sure to look for that pesky breathing practice Kris couldn’t pronounce: ujayii.)
Check out our “Let It Go” episode on iTunes/Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Libsyn, Pocket Cast, Stitcher or anywhere you listen to podcasts. Then all you need to do is 1) subscribe 2) download and 3) listen! AND!!! 4) If you enjoy what you hear, please leave a rating and a review (pretty please?). The more subscribers and reviews we get, the more opportunities we get to grow this podcast and bring you richer content.
And don’t forget to follow us here at themuglytruth.com (click that blue WordPress Follow button on the right side of your screen) so you get notifications every time we post an episode blog! You can also follow The Mugly Truth on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
Today The Mugly Truth goes back to our roots! We get all creepy crawly with ghostly stories about our favorite Queen of the states. Of COURSE we mean the lovely luxury liner-turned-hotel: the Queen Mary in Long Beach Harbor, CA! We don’t talk ONLY about ghosts, but we definitely discuss a few of the most famous onboard hauntings. We nope-out about Room B340, and wonder if John Henry (who loves beer), little Jackie (who roams the pool area), John Peddler (crushed by door 13), and the Grumpy Growler (so named for growling at passers-by) will make themselves known to Kris and family when they stay overnight for her birthday! Kym recounts her own sleepless night and curious tapping on her door during her recent stay in the lovely Eisenhower Stateroom.
Of course Kym has more than just ghost stories to tell. She goes into the childhood vault to pull out not one but TWO celebrity interactions – in pure Kym fashion – on the same night at the Queen Mary about thirtyahemmmmaahsomffing years ago. One story has her telling off Bobby Grich (of Angel’s baseball fame) in the parking lot and later she was actually speechless during an elevator ride with 80’s hearthrob Perry King. It’s feast or famine with that woman.
We delve just a bit into the history of the ship: the legend of how she became so named, her tour of duty during World War II, and her journey back to grandeur as a luxury cruise ship after the war.
And perhaps the most important takeaway from the entire episode is probably this: if staying overnight, it’s best to bring your own coffee pot because there wasn’t one in Kym’s extra lit suite. Mmmscuseme? We believe a mutiny is in order! SOMEBODY NEEDS TO WALK THE PLANK! There ain’t no java thar! What are you THINKING Queen Mary Hotel? Coffee is LIFE, do you not understand this? BYOCP people, BYOCP.
Once you’re sufficiently recovered from this revelation, go ahead and check more information about what we cover in this episode:
To see what Perry King is up to, please visit his website. He’s an active guy! We love Kym’s stepdad Ted, but we wouldn’t have minded a stint with Mr. King as Mom Jackie’s beau. Wink wink.
For more information about tours on the Queen Mary, go here. For general information, visit the Queen Mary website, but there’s also information here.
To watch Buzzfeed Unsolved Mysteries, go to their YouTube channel. To watch Ryan Bergara and Shane Madej’s Queen Mary Room B340 stay (and see the toothpaste fly HORIZONTALLY off the sink – not vertically KRISSSS – video), go here. There’s also a blog highlighting the more eventful bits and pieces here.
The writing desk in the Eisenhower Stateroom on the Queen Mary. Photo courtesy Kym Wagner.
Second guestroom in the Eisenhower Stateroom on the Queen Mary. Photo courtesy Kym Wagner.
Peeking into the Eisenhower Stateroom on the Queen Mary. Photo courtesy Kym Wagner.
The seating area in the Eisenhower Stateroom on the Queen Mary. Photo courtesy Kym Wagner.
So check out Ahoy There Queen Mary! today. And while you’re at iTunes or wherever you listen to your podcasts, it’s SUPER EASY to 1) subscribe, 2) download, 3) listen aaaaaaaand 4) If you enjoy what you hear, rate and a review! (Pretty please?). The more subscribers and reviews we get, the more opportunities we get to grow this podcast and bring you richer content.
And don’t forget to follow us here at themuglytruth.com (click that blue WordPress Follow button on the right side of your screen) so you get notifications every time we post an episode blog! You can also follow The Mugly Truth on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
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