In this show, we talk relationships, boundaries and asking for what you need these days. (And if there was ever a time when we all need to be able to get our needs met… well, that would be now.) Suzanne recounts how her own mother, who didn't like compromise, taught her to stand up for herself. And Debi shares a number of stories from the annals of raising kids as a single mom… and how they all taught her to set better boundaries.

You really CAN set better boundaries … and you can delegate, not matter how impossible it seems.

• How to set good boundaries
• Where and when to make requests
• What to reasonably expect from kids
• How to get your needs met

Then we take a question from Theresa about how to make a 'Me Time' regimen. Can be tough, right? But we got you on this. Both of us have LOTS of experience with getting some alone time even in the toughest circumstances.

May you enjoy!

Suzanne & Debi

Self-Care for Extremely Busy Women Podcast 

WHO ARE THEY?

Debi Granger is a true survivor. After nursed two of her children through life-or death experiences, she lost her home in Paradise, California after the worst wildfire in state history. She's also a working single mom with a disability. Yet, she remains a happy optimist, here to spread joy. She is a retired Dental Assistant with Expanded Function, and lives in the foothills of the Sierras with her fiancé, Chuck. 

Suzanne Falter is a writer, podcaster and essayist whose work has appeared in SELF, O, More, Fitness, New Woman and The New York Times, Tiny Buddha and Elephant Journal. She is the author of multiple self-help titles including How Much Joy Can You Stand? (Ballantine) and The Extremely Busy Woman's Guide to Self-Care (Sourcebooks). Suzanne also hosts the Self-Care for Extremely Busy Women podcast where she interviews leading self-care authorities for those who need better self-care.  

Raising animals make us happy. And as Debi puts it, "They're fun!" In some very personal stories, we share why that's so very true. For not only are these little beasts funny, surprising, interesting and loyal… they're also full of love.

• Suzanne's adventures raising street-smart chickens
• Debi's duck hilarity
• How Debi's dog Madi responded during the Camp Fire that took Debi's home
• The hilarious differences in personality between her dog and her partner's (much bigger) dog
• Suzanne's karmic connection to her current pet, her wife's German Shepherd Athena
• The reason to have a pet if you're lonely or depressed
• Hilarious animal family dynamics in the duck world

We also answer Marie's question about how to resolve issues using journaling. It's a wonderful practice to just write out what's on your mind, and we encourage you to begin now…

Submitted with love,

Suzanne and Debi

Self-Care for Extremely Busy Women Podcast 

WHO ARE THEY? 

Debi Granger is a true survivor. After nursed two of her children through life-or death experiences, she lost her home in Paradise, California after the worst wildfire in state history. She's also a working single mom with a disability. Yet, she remains a happy optimist, here to spread joy. She is a retired Dental Assistant with Expanded Function, and lives in the foothills of the Sierras with her fiancé, Chuck. 

Suzanne Falter is a writer, podcaster and essayist whose work has appeared in SELF, O, More, Fitness, New Woman and The New York Times, Tiny Buddha and Elephant Journal. She is the author of multiple self-help titles including How Much Joy Can You Stand? (Ballantine) and The Extremely Busy Woman's Guide to Self-Care (Sourcebooks). Suzanne also hosts the Self-Care for Extremely Busy Women podcast where she interviews leading self-care authorities for those who need better self-care.  

Ryan Thompson lost his dream job an engineering intern at Disney World when COVID hit. He had one week to leave the Disney housing, find a new home, and figure out how to get along without his much-needed job. Now he's the host of the inspirational podcast Crushin' Lemons, and he's thriving.

Ryan's the real thing when it comes to positivity. In speaking to him, we learned:

• Valuable life lessons gained from the crisis of being hired
• How surprised he was to find he was relaxed while being fired
• Where inspiration struck that led him on to a new path
• Where Ryan found unexpected joy
• A new lesson: There's more to life than just working…
• Some of the inspirational moments his guests have had

You're going to find this show truly inspiring. We sure did!

Thanks for being with us, as ever…

Suzanne & Debi

RESOURCES

FB Self-Care Group

Ryan's Website

Ryan's Podcast

MORE ABOUT RYAN

Ryan Thompson is a former engineering intern at Disney World in Florida

As the old saying goes, "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade." Ryan Thompson is host of Crushin' Lemons, a podcast dedicated to sharing the inspirational stories of our guests who persevered through life's challenges. We like to call those challenges lemon moments.

Stuck at home? You CAN find your way back to peace and even fun. Suzanne has been digging through her closets and discovering lost treasures. And Debi reflects on dancing and other solo activities that are actually remarkably fun! We talk about ways to get back to you, using the at-home experience to the max…

• Dance parties you can do all by yourself on Zoom
• Debi's Havana dance (see below)
• Digging into closets and drawers … and what you might unearth
• Photos and memories… and recipes!
• At home renovations that spark joy
• Shifting our environment to make us happy
• Creating our own little niche in the home

We also answer a question from Lynne, about how our careers and passions might have shown up in our childhoods. Great question! Listen and hear a few personal stories from our pasts.

Love and a big hug to all of you!

So glad you're here,

Suzanne and Debi

Havana (aka 'Havana Camila Cabello Young Thug Dance Fitness --Melody DanceFit')

Debi Granger is a true survivor. After nursed two of her children through life-or death experiences, she lost her home in Paradise, California after the worst wildfire in state history. She's also a working single mom with a disability. Yet, she remains a happy optimist, here to spread joy. She is a retired Dental Assistant with Expanded Function, and lives in the foothills of the Sierras with her fiancé, Chuck. 

Suzanne Falter is a writer, podcaster and essayist whose work has appeared in SELF, O, More, Fitness, New Woman and The New York Times, Tiny Buddha and Elephant Journal. She is the author of multiple self-help titles including How Much Joy Can You Stand? (Ballantine) and The Extremely Busy Woman's Guide to Self-Care (Sourcebooks). Suzanne also hosts the Self-Care for Extremely Busy Women podcast where she interviews leading self-care authorities for those who need better self-care.  

Aside from just plain delightful laughs, we get a shot of inspiration from Leeanne. Her incredible perspective about major career catastrophe—the cancellation of the biggest tour of her 20 year comedy career—is nothing less than inspiring.

• Leeanne's caring for her elderly parents… and how she copes
• How Suzanne's relationship evolved with her siblings
• The importance of at least having a sight of someone's face on Zoom
• How Leeanne coped with the cancellation of her 100 city tour
• Some perspective based on the past
• What her takeaways from COVID have been so far…
• How you can find your own takeaways
• Debi's takeaway from the burning of her home in the Paradise wildfire

… and what Leeanne's learned from her wonderful fans.

You can learn more about Leeanne and how to keep a little humor, and perspective in tough times, at the links below.

What a fun interview! We're sure you're going to love it…

Suzanne & Debi

Leanne's website

Leanne's podcast, Sweaty & Pissed

How do you describe Leanne Morgan? She sounds like a country music legend. Perhaps Loretta Lynn or Dolly Parton, but she occasionally slips into the persona of Gregory House M.D. Her crowd work often consists of showering audience members with compliments and diagnosis of a "healthy thyroid." Morgan shares her own personal medical challenges that come with age and perimenopause. After almost two decades in the comedy business, she's shared the ups and downs of each stage of her life. For Valerie and myself, it has been a year-long goal to sit down and talk with the straight-talking Queen of "Yummy" herself.

We asked a very cool voice in the world of high performance and balance, Meredith Atwood to join us.

• Her path that took her away from self-loving and alcoholism
• Why the 'perfect life' is an illusion
• Her confrontation with suicide
• The link between despair and high performance
• The incredible number of negative thoughts we carry in our heads
• Overcoming trash talking in her own head
• What it took for her to accept herself?
• Overcoming internalized shame

The Year of No Nonsense

Meredith's podcast, The Same 24 Hours

Tony Robbins Website

Meredith's New York Post article

Some useful books on Recovery from alcoholism

Russell Brand, Recovery

Meredith Atwood is a recovering attorney, wife, mother of two, four-time IRONMAN triathlete who had never run a mile in her life until she tackled the sport of triathlon. In 2010 she started writing and created her Swim Bike Mom blog. She is now the host of The Same 24 Hours podcast, and author of The Year of No Nonsense.

The day we met, on the beach at Ocean Beach in San Francisco, where we scattered Teal's ashes five years earlier is indelibly sketched into our memories. Here is the story we can't wait to share with you… and all of the emotions, intensity, ideas, inspirations, and reminiscences that came with it.

For one thing, waiting to meet each other was a profound learning process for Suzanne. And it was all entirely, completely perfect. Listen and dig in…

Enjoy this pure moment of unconditional love between fellow humans. May it lift you up.

Take care,

Suzanne & Debi

Self-Care for Extremely Busy Women Podcast

Debi Granger is a true survivor. After nursed two of her children through life-or death experiences, she lost her home in Paradise, California after the worst wildfire in state history. She's also a working single mom with a disability. Yet, she remains a happy optimist, here to spread joy. She is a retired Dental Assistant with Expanded Function, and lives in the foothills of the Sierras with her fiancé, Chuck. 

Suzanne Falter is a writer, podcaster and essayist whose work has appeared in SELF, O, More, Fitness, New Woman and The New York Times, Tiny Buddha and Elephant Journal. She is the author of multiple self-help titles including How Much Joy Can You Stand? (Ballantine) and The Extremely Busy Woman's Guide to Self-Care (Sourcebooks). Suzanne also hosts the Self-Care for Extremely Busy Women podcast where she interviews leading self-care authorities for those who need better self-care.  

Can you be healed by your dreams? Can they actually shift things in your subconscious. Yes, we say. Both of us have had profound dreams around major life transitions. Some of which have been so blatantly symbolic, the meaning couldn't be missed. 

In some dreams, Suzanne has been teased by her daughter from the afterlife. And had the chance to connect with her son when he was on the other side of the world for a year. Debi dreamt about her house after it burned down… and it helped her heal from that trauma. 

If we let them, dreams can inform us about the next steps we need to take— and heal the things that are heavy in our heart. As Debi put it, 'If you let 'em, dreams can be very helpful…' 

Also we answer Julia's question, 'How do I love my body?' with some concrete ideas. And Debi shares her experience of overcoming shame about her differently formed hips and knees. 

Whatever is bothering you right now, may this help you get back to happy! 

And we're here to help. 

Take care, 

Suzanne & Debi 

RESOURCES

Self-Care for Extremely Busy Women Podcast

Debi Granger is a true survivor. After nursed two of her children through life-or death experiences, she lost her home in Paradise, California after the worst wildfire in state history. She's also a working single mom with a disability. Yet, she remains a happy optimist, here to spread joy. She is a retired Dental Assistant with Expanded Function, and lives in the foothills of the Sierras with her fiancé, Chuck. 

Suzanne Falter is a writer, podcaster and essayist whose work has appeared in SELF, O, More, Fitness, New Woman and The New York Times, Tiny Buddha and Elephant Journal. She is the author of multiple self-help titles including How Much Joy Can You Stand? (Ballantine) and The Extremely Busy Woman's Guide to Self-Care (Sourcebooks). Suzanne also hosts the Self-Care for Extremely Busy Women podcast where she interviews leading self-care authorities for those who need better self-care.  

If you're in a fun right now, you're actually…in luck! In this show, we dissect some of the ways we've been able to move our moods from bad to better. Debi shares tips that immediately help. And Suzanne talks about how she was able to hold a major loss, Teal's death, as a way to actually improve her life—against all odds.

Whatever is bothering you right now, you really can get back to happy!

And we're here to help.

Take care,

Suzanne & Debi

Self-Care for Extremely Busy Women Podcast

What you may not know about finding support might be seriously hurting you. Whether it's a trusted friend, or a roomful of strangers, getting out of your bubble of discomfort is essential. You can do this!

Among other things, we talked about:

• The nuance about asking for support … so you get it
• Suzanne reflects on how her ego kept her from getting help after her daughter's death
• How online resources can bring in some unexpectedly fun support
• What happens after you wallow in your pain? What's next?

Our question fits right in here, because Luna asks, 'How do I start a tribe?'

We riff on some really good, specific possibilities!

Hope you enjoy!

Suzanne & Debi

Self-Care for Extremely Busy Women Podcast

A Capella app

Debi Granger is a true survivor. After nursed two of her children through life-or death experiences, she lost her home in Paradise, California after the worst wildfire in state history. She's also a working single mom with a disability. Yet, she remains a happy optimist, here to spread joy. She is a retired Dental Assistant with Expanded Function, and lives in the foothills of the Sierras with her fiancé, Chuck.

Suzanne Falter is a writer, podcaster and essayist whose work has appeared in SELF, O, More, Fitness, New Woman and The New York Times, Tiny Buddha and Elephant Journal. She is the author of multiple self-help titles including How Much Joy Can You Stand? (Ballantine) and  The Extremely Busy Woman's Guide to Self-Care (Sourcebooks). Suzanne also hosts the Self-Care for Extremely Busy Women podcast where she interviews leading self-care authorities for those who need better self-care.