Tag: California

Episodes

Our True Crime Stories

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Today’s episode “Our True Crime Stories” is on  iTunes/Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Libsyn, Pocket Cast, Stitcher or anywhere you listen to podcasts.

If you have listened to us for a few episodes, you’ll have figured out we are obsessed with true crime. A year ago we were merely podcast fans, and our favorite podcast was (still is!) My Favorite Murder. Hosts Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark inspired us to begin podcasting in the first place. Because of the huge amount of true crime podcasts already out there – many of which are really great – we made a decision to go in a different direction. Yet true crime somehow finds its way into our show on the regular…usually in the form of discussing our latest “tc” podcast finds or binge-able television shows. Today we come full circle to where it all began for us by sharing two stories, in real MFM fashion, that aren’t merely “hometown murders.” Today’s stories are personal because we were both acquainted with the people involved.

The 2003 Murder of El Modena High School Champion Wrestler Diego Armando Gonzales

Diego Armando Gonzales was brutally murdered in Orange Park Acres

Kym starts us off with the tragic story of Diego Armando Gonzales, (also referred as Gonzalez and Gonzales-Sanchez in various articles) a 17 year old champion wrestler from El Modena High School (our alma mater) in Orange, CA. Diego was a bagger at the local Stater Bros. grocery store at Chapman Ave. and Prospect Ave. where Kym shopped and interacted with Diego occasionally. Sadly he became involved with a cashier there who later lured him to his death at a construction site in the hillside community of Orange Park Acres above El Modena.

Kym also talks about another Stater Bros. cashier (same store y’all!), Janell Diane Enos, who shot her husband in 2016!

  • Image courtesy of Google Maps
  • Image courtesy Google Maps

1991 Workplace Shooting at Fairview Developmental Center in Costa Mesa

Fairview Developmental Center, Photo By Leonard Ortiz OC Register/SCNG. The photo above shows the second story of the Administrative building. You can see the executive administrator’s office windows on the wall facing the photographer. Kris’ mom’s office window is above the entrance.

Kris’s story goes back 30 years but it’s as relevant as today’s headlines, replete with accusations of on-the-job discrimination and a workplace rampage that left one man, Allen Robert Motis, 53, dead. Two others, James Herbert Pichon, 36, and Hugh Kohler, 43, were also shot and gravely injured. Kris has a very personal connection with this story, as her mom was in the building when the shooting took place. The details are extraordinary; if you don’t believe in divine intervention, you might after hearing this episode.

Check out “Our True Crime Stories” 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.

© The Mugly Truth 2019 and © The Mugly Truth Podcast 2019. All rights reserved.
Intro and outro music, “Clever as a Fox”  by Espresso Music through premiumbeats.com.
Featured Photo by fotografierende on Pexels.com

Episodes

Ahoy There Queen Mary!

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View of the Queen Mary from the harbor side, Long Beach Harbor, CA.
Ahoy there! Today’s episode is about Long Beach Harbor’s very own Queen Mary! Listen in on iTunes/Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Libsyn, Pocket Cast, Stitcher or anywhere you listen to podcasts.

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/listen to the video of Bob Davis (of Planet Paranormal Investigations), talking to little Jackie , please go to his YouTube link.
  • 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 Bobby Grich information, go here.
  • 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.

© The Mugly Truth 2019 and © The Mugly Truth Podcast 2019. All rights reserved.
Intro and outro music, “Clever as a Fox”  by Espresso Music through premiumbeats.com.
Photos courtesy of WordPress free library, public domain, and Kym Wagner.
Episodes

Waiter? Fact-Check Please!

themuglytruth
  • Photo by Kaboompics .com on Pexels.com
    Coffee’s gone, facts are checked.
  • Photo by rawpixel.com on Pexels.com
    Pay that bill, we’re done.

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.

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com
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.
  • Photo by Anthony on Pexels.com
    This is a shamrock. It looks nothing like a spade. It does look like a club. These things…we know them.
  • Photo by Oleg Magni on Pexels.com
    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.

© The Mugly Truth 2019 and © The Mugly Truth Podcast 2019. All rights reserved.
Intro and outro music, “Clever as a Fox”  by Espresso Music through premiumbeats.com.
Photos courtesy of WordPress free library.
Episodes

Merry Christmas Happy Tuesday

themuglytruth

Santas and Jack
Part Kris’ Santa and Snowman collection with Jack Skellington playing the part of Elf on a Shelf

Happy Tuesday everyone! And MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! Today Kym and Kris talk about personal Christmas traditions, and also announce THE WINNER OF OUR CONTEST!

The winner is FERN ROUINTREE! Check out our photos from our last blog to see the contents, and here’s latest addition to the box:

The TMT mug!
We got the coffee and we get THE MUG! We like the mug! The gift box is almost complete! Just waiting on the TMT coaster.

Today we dive into our personal traditions at Christmas time. There’s the annual ornament purchase:

A glass Santa, the London callbox, the Ron and Harry ornaments and one of the peacock ornaments from last year.
Hayley’s 2018 ornament choice

As well as what to get as stocking stuffers (and when we open them), Christmas Eve pajamas, special feasts, the songs, the movies, and the activities, like making snowflakes to hang around the house, and collecting our favorite Christmas icons (Kris gets a new Santa every year, and Kym is partial to Tomtes).

Snowflakes
It’s snowing in Kris’ household! There’s flakes (of glitter) EVERYWHERE!! Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

ITOMTE
Kym’s FAVORITE! A classic Swedish gnome called Tomte.

Santa & Snowman Collection
Part Kris’ Santa and Snowman collection, including her latest tin Santa drummer (bottom right corner).

But one of our favorite traditions both of our families celebrate is to look at Christmas lights in Orange County. There are neighborhoods all over Orange County that go absolutely over the top, but two in our area are Olwyn Dr. in Tustin, CA (Olwyn Dr. and Redhill Ave.), and the historic section of Orange, CA (the Old Towne Orange Holiday Decoration Contest  held by the Old Town Orange Preservation Association).

In Orange, this year’s theme was the Stories and Songs of the Season. Awards are given for various categories, including Most Beautiful, Best Use of Lights, Most Whimsical, etc. And while it’s something residents throughout historic Orange participate in, it seems that one of the awards (Best Block) consistently goes to Pine St. (and deservedly so). Parking and walking (or driving very slowly) is something both our households look forward to participating in every year. If you’re interested in leaving the driving to someone else, you can ride on the trolley to see the lights in style.

Some of the families in both neighborhoods even offer up candy canes, hot cocoa, and bags of popcorn to go with the music, lights, and lots and lots of happy people oohing and aahing all over the place. If you’re in the area definitely check out these neighborhoods.

Some highlights from Pine Street:

Old Orange Decorations 5
One of the more fantastic homes (even without decorations) on Pine Street in historic Orange, CA

Old Orange Decorations 7
ITOMTE! Kym’s FAVORITE!!

Old Orange Decorations 1
The theme on Pine Street in historic Orange, CA was Stories and Songs of the Season, and this family chose “Elf”

IMG_1654
One of the many award-winning home decorations on Pine Street in the historic area of Orange, CA. This family always decorates with bears, and they had Winnie the Pooh to tie in with the theme.

Old Orange CA Decorations 8

Old Orange Decorations 3
One of the many award-winning home decorations on Pine Street in the historic area of Orange, CA. This celebrates the song “Winter Wonderland”.

Old Orange Decorations 2
One of the many award-winning home decorations on Pine Street in the historic area of Orange, CA. This family did a bang up job with their “Home Alone” theme.

Old Orange Decorations 1
This place. Unbelievably cool. Amazingly so. Don’t know what their theme was. Doesn’t matter. Winner winner chicken dinner you get the trophy because SPECTACULAR.

Old Orange Decorations 4
The lovely gentlemen still participated with decorations (he and his wife lovingly decorated with the rest of Pine Street in historic Orange, CA every year), even with a broken heart. 

Check out our MERRY CHRISTMAS HAPPY TUESDAY 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.

© The Mugly Truth 2018 and © The Mugly Truth Podcast 2018. All rights reserved.
Intro and outro music, “Clever as a Fox”  by Espresso Music through premiumbeats.com
Episodes

Wii Be 50

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Kym and Kris feel FINE!
There is a lot of stuff captured in today’s episode, but the real takeaway is Kym and Kris feel FINE AT FIFTY! Photo by Kimberly Sickel, @riverdeer 500px

Happy Tuesday! Hope everyone’s election day went…well. But enough about politics.  Today Kym and Kris get into a series of discussions ranging everywhere from the latest California wildfires to teenagers strangling their mom’s (FLORIDA KNOCK YOUR SH*T OFF) to Kym’s shopping for sub-zero temperatures clothing, how Xboxes and Wiis can be completely heartless, cruel and insensitive, and then Kris recounts her harrowing trip to the ER in the middle of the night. (Ok. NOT harrowing, but eventful). Oh, and Kym is CLEAR OF CANCER! All her tests came back and she is a clean, clear, cancer-free slate. We could not be happier! There’s so much to be grateful for!

Rocky the Podcat
Rocky the Podcat hasn’t left Kris’ side since she got home from the hospital. She loves her hooman. Kris swears this is true.

And then there’s the discussion about our total obsession with bullet journaling (aka, bujo) and exactly how it is NOT just for women. In fact, it was started by a guy named Ryder Carroll, who explains it all in this video. So, if you need a little organization, focus, tracking, spaces for ideas, doodles, lists, or anything else you can think of to keep your life running a little more smoothly – and have it all in one place – we highly recommend trying this personalized planner system that you can keep as simple or as embellished as you want!

Kym's Bullet Journal
Here’s Kym’s bullet journal week at a glance done in a very creative, yummy way!

Kris' Bullet Journal
A really washed out Habit Tracker for Kris to track how many days in the month of November she cusses out people in traff**k. Considering today is the 13th, we’re thinking Kris has a lot to think about. Just sit there and think about what you’ve done Kris.

Check out the Wii BE 50 episode on  iTunes/Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Libsyn, Pocket Casts, 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.

© The Mugly Truth 2018 and © The Mugly Truth Podcast 2018. All rights reserved.
Intro and outro music, “Clever as a Fox”  by Espresso Music through premiumbeats.com
Location photo by Kimberly Sickel, @riverdeer at 500px