Today we talk about the value of tidying up, decluttering – creating a home space that brings peace instead of pain. Yep. We’re all about Netflix’s latest phenom hit Tidying Up with Marie Kondo! And of course we relate “sparking joy” to our personal experiences when moving that forced each of us to purge a lot of stuff long overdue for the garbage bin or thrift store.
We cover some of the concepts behind Marie Kondo’s tidying method, found on her website Konmari.com, and how we’ve applied some of her organizing tips in our own homes. Kym has some life-hacks for repurposing crafting supplies, donating books, and includes a great story about finding a long-lost treasure! Kris discovered freedom during her moving process by finally letting go of some really strong sentimental items stored unused for decades. (The current stash-monsters that are spilling over in the kitchen/workspace will also be dispatched shortly. Do you hear that stash-monsters? Shredder is coming!)
And on the topic of boxes and baskets for organizing? Can we get a HALLELUJAH!?!? Yes we can. Boxes and baskets are our favorites! But if for nothing else, then at least watch the show for the pure genius of how to fold and store clothes AND how to fold that wily fitted sheet you wad up in the linen closet out of sheer frustration. Oh…and let’s just take a moment to bask in the brightness of Marie Kondo herself. She is the embodiment of “spark joy.” In all honesty, the idea behind “spark joy” is an exercise in gratitude: being grateful for and keeping what makes you joyful, and being grateful and thanking all other items for their service to your life as you move them to the “donate” pile.
We love storage organizers! Photo by Anete Lusina on Pexels.com
But the biggest takeaway? It has to be the value of coming home to a space that is safe, secure, and serene which is much more than a physical experience. Clutter can make home an anxious space. Constantly bumping into, stepping over or rifling through things to find something is annoying every single time, right? Opening that closet door shouldn’t be an exercise in cranial caution. Consider how simply oppressive clutter can actually be. You know how good it feels to get into a newly made bed with fresh, clean sheets? That’s how purging even the most clutched-to-the-bosom belongings can feel. Not EVERY thing needs to go. But letting go of “sentimental” items that aren’t doing anything more than taking space…that’s doable! Coming home to a physically clear space can create a mentally and spiritually clear opportunity to detox, decompress, and relax in. Even for the laziest of housekeepers.
And as always we take a couple detours because when you’re having great conversations over coffee among friends, there’s no such thing as a linear chat. So, yeah, somehow we also talk about The Masked Singer, how some meds can cause anxiety/panic attacks, and the importance of making sure the CBD oil you purchase is from a reputable source. It’s a fun, squiggly, pit-stop type of discussion but we somehow always make our way back onto the tidying up highway.
Whose yer cabinet? I AM!! Ok, that was a mom joke. Steve’s Hoosier cabinet. Pretty nifty!
Hoosier cabinet detail of label, straight outta Indiana!
So check out That’s Purgetastic! 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.
Participate in International Transgender Day of Visibility by asking questions and having an honest conversation.
Today we talk with Terin, a long-time friend who is one of the most inspirational people we know for lots and lots of reasons. She joins us to discuss being the parent of a transgender daughter, and how having Vivian come out was a “non-issue” for their family. International Transgender Day of Visibility is right around the corner (March 31) and we can’t think of a better way to participate.
Unfortunately, as we see every day on the news, on the internet, and on the streets, this loving acceptance of one’s child becoming authentically themselves and empowered is much rarer than it should be. We’re hoping discussions like ours can help add to the awareness about the struggles and accomplishments of men and women (and in some cases, young adults, teens and pre-teens – see below) who have taken the steps to finally be the people they were born to be in the face of hatred, ridicule, violence, and often rejection by the people who are supposed to love them the most: their families and friends.
According to www.healthychildren.org, the development of gender identity in kids naturally occurs when children are very young. Kids label themselves as boy or girl by the age of three and have a strong sense of their gender identity by four, usually showing their gender preference through the type of clothes they want to wear, hair styles, etc. As gender stereotypes dissolve, the colors, clothing, styles, and even toys that are typically assigned “boy” or “girl” are changing. For parents who simply want a healthy, happy child, it’s important to know kids naturally are curious and might express themselves in different ways at different times. It’s important to allow them to navigate through the stages of this development.
Happy healthy children grow up to be happy healthy adults. We need more of both.
As for us, we have never had an issue with our bodies (save for the usual suspects, “my butt’s too big!” “I hate my stomach!” and “I wish I was taller!”) and have always loved being women, never had any thought of being anything else. The concept of being a woman trapped in the body of a man (or a man trapped in a woman’s body) is so far removed from our psyche, it’s almost impossible to wrap our heads around how utterly miserable it must be – every single day and night – to struggle with knowing you are definitely a specific person but looking like someone you aren’t. It’s hard enough to feel comfortable in your own skin, let alone your own structure. This is the crux of our awkwardness with the topic. It has nothing to do with acceptance, that’s not the problem. It’s that we are so rooted in our own natural acceptance of our birth body that it never dawned on us there could be any other way to feel.
We want to learn and understand better. So we asked…what IS cis-gender (we are, turns out), binary/non-binary, gender-fluid? How do you refer to a transgender person if you aren’t sure (hint: even though it might be awkward, asking outright is usually the easiest way to set things on the right track). How did the rest of the family take the transition? What’s politically correct to say or talk about? What are the biggest struggles? What was the hormone therapy process like? What was it like to come up with a new name? What happens if you have to go to the bathroom? (Vivian’s reality regarding this basic need that most of us take for granted was unjust and awful.) And if you need help, where do you turn to for support and answers? (Another hint: GLAAD.org is a great starting point). We also learn the best answer a parent can give to the question, “will your child have gender reassignment surgery?”
Justice, equality and awareness is in our hands.
We know it’s really difficult for some people to understand. We get it. Whether the discomfort is based on religious beliefs, politics, or personal fear of what isn’t one’s norm, it is difficult to face any level of change. Either in others or ourselves, let alone a change as radical as gender transition. But the truth is, this world desperately needs happy, authentic humans. The more we cut down what we don’t understand…either through violence or cruelty…the more base and inhumane we become. If a person – a fundamentally good and civil soul – is of a religion, sexual orientation, ethnicity, or identity that doesn’t match someone’s expectations of what is “right” or “normal” who exactly is anyone to determine that? Why? The fact is, for every one person who stands firm and resolute in their belief system, there is another person standing equally firm and resolute in their opposing beliefs. As long as people keep focused on only one possible outcome, only one possible reality, we will all only be just standing angrily, shouting, pointing and name calling, in the name of a so-called “truth” and nothing changes. Nothing resolves. Nothing heals. Any man, woman or child who dares to stand in their own power in the face of hatred is a hero in our book. Any man, woman or child who dares face their own failings to show acceptance, tolerance or respect toward someone they once viewed as “too different”…is also a hero. Someday hopefully it will just be normalinstead of heroic.
It is our hope to talk to Vivian, get her story first hand. We’ve heard her mom’s story, so hopefully we can do justice to Viv’s. Terin is an amazing mom, a woman who has struggled through some tough times, like many. Her cellular makeup is one of non-bias, peace, and acceptance. She admits her own learning curves when it comes to the transgender community while embracing the “normalness” of her child becoming happy and healthy through the transition process. As for Vivian, she is a delightful person who has a story to tell and we are honored to record it. Hopefully that episode will be coming in the next few weeks.
Until then, here are some people we’d like you to know more about:
Janae Marie Kroczaleski, ex marine, cancer survivor, 2006 Arnold Classic WPO Powerlifting Middle Weight Champion, 2009 All-Time World Record setter in the 220lb class (surpassed in 2010), parent to three amazing boys, advocate for transgender athletes, author, and current subject of the Netflix documentary “TransFormer.” The show chronicles Janae’s biggest journey in reconciling her passion for power lifting with the body it gave her…a body she did not envision for herself as a woman. She discusses the documentary in this YouTube video. You can also follow her on Instagram to keep up with her inspirational story.
Jazz Jennings, one of the youngest people to publicly come out as transgender, and interviewed by Barbra Walters on 20/20 in 2007. Jazz is a YouTube sensation and at only 17 is an internationally recognized advocate for LGBTQ rights. She is the star of TLC’s, reality series “I am Jazz” which documents the life of the teenager and her family.
Amber Briggle of Denton, Texas, USA. Mom to two amazing kids, Amber documents the daily life of her family, including her son Max who made it very clear at a young age that the female anatomy he was born with was not who he truly was. Amber shares candidly about the struggles her son faces going to school, and growing up in a notoriously conservative region of the United States. Get onboard with this mamabear at her website https://love-to-the-max.com/ .
If you haven’t watched Schitt’s Creek yet, you’re missing out. All the Canadian comedy royalty (Catherine O’Hara, you are our queen) aside, Dan Levy – Yep, Eugene Levy’s drop-dead gorgeous, wickedly funny son – has created some of the most hilarious, romantic, and memorable scenes between his character, David Rose, and David’s boyfriend Patrick (played by Noah Reid).
If you want to know about more amazing people who, against major societal pushback, became who they truly were born to be, there are some pretty cool stories that span almost 100 years in this time.com article, and in this Pri.org article.
Check out our “Transgender Awareness” 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.
Hello and Happy Tuesday! Today’s episode is a veritable hot-topic pie. We revisit last week’s episode by talking even more about powerful women in history as well as women today making history. We discuss the merits of California’s anti-plastic straw law, gush about Daylight Saving Time, marvel over the migration of millions of monarch butterflies, and update our stories on Coco Chanel and Jane Fonda with facts. Gasp. Then we “rrrrrrrrrrrrrr” hard-right turn into a full rant and FREAKING rave over the Lori Laughlin/Felicity Huffman/college admissions scandal (so much so Kris runs out of air mid-sentence). Then we wrap it all up with a spoonful of St. Patrick’s Day trivia. All the while wondering about the large amount of construction taking place below us during the entire episode. Question of the day: IS the construction downstairs actually the cover-up of a murder scene? You’ll just have to listen to find out. But first? Kym quacks us up with a mom-joke.
These ducks are gonna drop a beat right here.
Links and more information about what we talk about in today’s episode:
Investigative journalist Hal Vaughan’s biography about Coco Chanel, Sleeping With The Enemy: Coco Chanel’s Secret War, can be found here and here. The New Yorker article interviewing Mr. Vaughn about the book can be found here. In that article, Mr. Vaughan states that Chanel was backed by the powerful Wertheimer family, which helped her reestablish her business in France after World War II.
The coffee Kris mentions is: Death Wish Coffee and we dare anybody to try it first and let us know what you think because Kris is a scaredy-cat (but may still have to try it anyway).
The Washington Post article about Jane Fonda can be found here and another article here and quotes from Ms. Fonda about those events here in a Snopes article.
A must-read Forbes article about the college admissions scandal with 30 facts that SHOULD highly disturb you can be found here. Some of the truly disgusting facts? Parents of high school students allegedly paid about $25 million total to help their children get admitted to various colleges and universities and the alleged scheme has been ongoing since 2011. Among those who have been charged: 33 are parents, 13 are coaches and associates of ring-leader William “Rick” Singer (based in Newport Beach, California) businesses, including two SAT and ACT test administrators. Schools impacted by the scandal are: Yale, Stanford, Georgetown, Boston University, Northeastern, UCLA, USC, University of Texas at Austin and Wake Forest. GRRRR with a capital GRRRRRR!
Greta Thunberg, the Swedish climate-change activist you should be watching, is 16 years old. You can follow her on Twitter and Instagram.
Chloe-Mei Espinosa, the anti-plastic straw advocate from Southern California and another powerhouse you should be watching, is 12 years old. More information can be found here, here, and here.
Yes. Kris understands a spade on a deck of cards and a shamrock do NOT look alike. A club on a deck of cards and a shamrock do. #facepalm #hangheadlow.
This is a shamrock. It looks nothing like a spade. It does look like a club. These things…we know them.
Those two cards on the right? The left one is a club, the right a spade. Neither is a shamrock. Waiter? Check please.
Check out our “Waiter? Fact-Check Please!” 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 we celebrate International Women’s Day 2019! Yes, it was March 8th, but we are promoting this year’s theme “Balance for Better” and encourage our listeners to share their favorite stories – personal or otherwise – with the hashtag #BalanceForBetter in all your social media platforms! The hope for this year is to bring about a more gender-balanced world, so share the achievements, courage, generosity, and journey of women who inspire you!
Our very favorite symbol of female strength! “We Can Do It!” poster for Westinghouse, closely associated with Rosie the Riveter, although not a depiction of the cultural icon itself. Model may be Geraldine Doyle (1924-2010) or Naomi Parker (1921-2018). ArtistJ. Howard Miller (1918–2004), employed by Westinghouse which used the poster for the War Production Co-ordinating Committee. Image source: Wikipedia commons, public domain – from scan of copy belonging to the National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution, retrieved from the website of the Virginia Historical Society.
We talk about the values internationalwomensday.com focus on in their efforts to educate about and encourage women’s rights globally, some disturbing statistics about women and girls around the world, and mention a few amazing women whose achievements have made living in today’s world a much better experience: Marie Curie, Susan B. Anthony, Soong Mei-Ling, Sacagawea, Emmeline Pankhurst, and Hedy Lamarr, among others.
We know we just scratch the surface with a small number of stories about powerful, world-changing women, because there are so many hundreds of thousands stories of amazing women in today’s world and throughout history: Harriet Tubman, Rosa Parks, Ada Lovelace, Eleanor Roosevelt, Lady Diana Spencer, Amelia Earhart, Mary Seacole, Mother Theresa, Indira Gandhi…for a great read please go to biographyonline.net’s article about women who changed the world and become wildly inspired.
We wrap it up – or detour, yet again – by bringing up a controversial story (see correction below about Jane Fonda) which led to tackling some fairly deep issues about being accountable for wrongdoing, and how long should society continue to punish a person for their mistakes. Today’s episode is starts off about women’s rights, but we end up talking about justice in general.
Fact-checking and updates for today’s episode:
Please read the linked article on Hedy Lamarr mentioned above, but as a quick correction on Kris’ comment about Ms. Lamarr’s invention: Lamarr partnered with George Anthiel to invent “frequency hopping,” an unbreakable code that manipulated radio frequencies at irregular intervals, preventing third party interference. The invention had the potential to keep classified messages from being intercepted by enemy personnel signals; specifically, it was designed to prevent the Nazi’s from interfering with a ship’s torpedoes. Although she and Anthiel received a patent for their invention, they donated it to the Navy. The technology was too complicated to put into action during WWII, but it was implemented later during the Cuban Missile Crisis. The technology Lamarr invented was the beginning of the technology boom which allows us to use wireless communication. Perhaps Alexa should have been named Hedy? Hedy Lamarr died in 2002 of congestive heart failure, at the age of 85. Kris mistakenly thought she passed away at a younger age.
The actual lyric to the Disney song “Sister Suffragette“, composed by Robert B. Sherman and Richard M. Sherman, performed by Glynis Johns, Hermione Baddeley and Reta Shaw, from the film “Mary Poppins” is: “Take heart, for Mrs. Pankhurst has been clapped in irons again!” Kris mistakenly ((((kept)))) singing “Emmeline Pankhurst has been clapped in irons again!” Oh, Kris. Sooooooo close.
On Jane Fonda: the very popular story that Jane passed messages from POWs to the Vietnamese captors is an urban legend. While neither of us assert the allegations about Ms. Fonda as true, we do discuss her controversial actions during the war, including the possibility that she did pass notes. Please read details here and here .
Regarding Coco Chanel’s alleged Nazi affiliation, please read here and here.
For information about the Netflix documentary of women in India creating their own sanitary pads, “Period. End of Sentence,” please read here.
The artist who created the “We Can Do It” poster was J. Howard Miller, not Howard J. Miller.
Check out our “#BalanceForBetter” 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.
Greetings and happy Tuesday! Today’s episode is all about catching up over a cuppa of Kris’ Keurig coffee and Kym’s Medicine Ball elixir of life from Starbucks (10/10 recommended!). We talk celebrity podcasts, the most notorious cold case of the 20th century, how successful we were at being randomly kind, Kym tries to sing opera even though she has no voice, and in the end we try to come up with some ways to improve certain areas of our lives. Confused? Especially about Kym singing opera? Don’t be! Today’s episode is brought to you by caffeine-fueled stream of consciousness! LET’S GO!!
Today we fall prey to a wee bit of celebrity podcast listener envy. Yep. We whine just a little about how all these famous people with millions of fans start podcasting and are top of the charts within two days. Waaaah. That’s ok. WE’LL GET THERE!! Just you watch. AND listen. And subscribe, download, rate and review…
We go on to discuss our escapades from Valentine’s day and just how successful we were during Random Acts of Kindness week, even in the face of adversity. As for VD (Valentine’s Day) Kym got some sweet kicks, while Kris just waited the day out. Good news, everyone survived.
But then we get into the real weeds about our latest favorites on tv and in the podcast world…including The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Kris went from “meh” to “BINGED BOTH SEASONS!” in no-time flat), Kym is all about the new Dirty John filmed documentary, and we’re both interested in a new podcast from Australia called “Who the Hell is Hamish” (introduced through the Teacher’s Pet podcast out of Australia). And we mention a few of those danged, uber-popular (and TBH, really good) celebrity podcasts: Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend, The Monday Morning Podcast with Bill Burr, and SuperSoul Conversations with Oprah Winfrey. We REALLY do love them and don’t begrudge them their success. REALLY.
Unlike our coffee, we’re not bitter.
“I Am the Night”. Photo courtesy of TNT.
But wait! The discussion gets juicier! And by juicy we mean downright gruesome, so honestly if you’re not really into discussing mutilated bodies, skip ahead, because we blithely chatter along, not paying much mind to the details of our subject. Some people might not be so immune to the subject as we seem to be. Of course we are talking about true crime, and our latest obsession being the limited series “I Am The Night” starring Chris Pine.
The show chronicles the life of American author Fauna Hodel, granddaughter of the infamous and disturbed (our words) Los Angeles physician George Hodel – who is suspected by his Los Angeles Police Department homicide detective son (and author) Steve Hodel of being the Black Dahlia murderer!
Elizabeth short, forever known as the Black Dahlia, brutally murdered in 1947.
Ahem. How horrible do you have to be as a parent (and a person) to have your child grow up and write a book outlining their theory that you’re the perpetrator of the 20th century’s most notorious cold case ever?
The limited series is fantastic. If you didn’t know the truth behind it, you might not believe it was based on real life events because when we say it’s fantastic we mean in the “unfathomable” sense of the word.
Luckily there’s our new favorite podcast called “Root of Evil“, which is hosted by Fauna Hodel’s daughters Yvette and Rasha, with audio recordings of their mom and grandmother Tamar, as well as input by other members of the Hodel family, including their great-uncle Steve.
THIS PODCAST! This is the album art for the Root of Evil: The True Story of the Hodel Family and the Black Dahlia. IT IS A MUST-LISTEN! Go! Now! LISTEN!
The family members reflect on growing up behind the closed doors of Hollywood’s Sowden House (a Lloyd Wright architectural icon at the corner of Franklin and Normandie) and in the process they reveal the dark secrets and not-so-secret dastardly exploits of the family patriarch, Dr. H.
We top the episode with some pretty good ideas about things we’d like to be better at. Like being funny. (FunnIER.) And better at art. And emotional maturity. You know, typical goals. And just like that, we call it a day. Done and done. Because honestly, Kym is still REALLY sick in this episode and even though she made a valiant effort, it’s just clear as can be that all she really needed to do better was to go home and take care of her poor self.
OH and before we sign off, it’s imperative to shout out HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO SAMANTHA!!!!!!!! TODAY is Sam’s birthday and I (Kris) couldn’t be prouder of her. (I love you to the moon, the deathstar, and to infinity and beyond Sami…so proud to be your momma, and so lucky).
Check out our Grande Upside-down Catch-up Frap, No Whip! 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.
themuglytruth.com 