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Today's guest is the founder and Executive Director of Dis/Connect, a local non-profit attempting to create screen-free spaces for teens and young adults in our community. But let this conversation inspire you, wherever you live, to look for those spaces in your neighborhood.

If you’re in the mood for a how-I-found-my-calling-and-dropped-everything-to-follow-it story, this week’s episode is for you.

And it's incredibly powerful.

Kat was a high school English teacher during the pandemic and saw first-hand the havoc that that screens and social media (and doomscrolling, comparisons, FOMO and dangerous algorithms) had on her students. She had a front row seat to the mental health crisis of this generation of teens. 

So what did she do? 

She got the teens to talk about it. She asked them questions. She listened. 

"We need help," they begged. 

She heard that call, left her job at her high school and set out to create the spaces these teens needed to have the difficult conversations and find the support and off-screen accountability with their peers. 

Whether you’re a parent or not, this is a vital conversation we all need to be having. I hope you’ll listen and join in. 

I also invited my friend (and friend-of-the-pod), psychologist and addiction-medicine specialist, Thekla Brumder Ross. Longtime listeners will remember my series with Thekla last spring all about attention, mindfulness and how we can change our relationships with our screens. If you haven't listened to that, it's worth going back to listen! Thekla really is an expert here! (start HERE!) 

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In today's episode, Christina Dinur and Amanda Metropolus from RECONNECT MILWAUKEE talk about how and why they founded this group and what they hope to offer kids instead of endless (and mindless) screen time. 

A screen free childhood movement is growing (see links below) and it's powered by local folks who are trying to offer other ways for kids to connect, play, and experience the world IRL instead of behind a screen. 

There are so many ways to tap into the movement, but here are a few links, and we talk about more in this episode. And it's so much more helpful to navigate this journey with screens (and kids) together. 

Links from the show: 

RECONNECT MILWAUKEE

Wait until 8th Pledge

Smartphone Free Childhood US

Off February (global) 

Off February (Milwaukee) 

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Or NEW (!) even more fun, drop me a voice memo HERE!

Cream City Dreams is now Gather Connect Create!

New name, same host 👋🏼 Bite-sized episodes with big connection!

Join me weekly for inspiration, interviews and simple ideas you can use in your own community to create more connections IN REAL LIFE, no matter where you find yourself!

➡ CLICK HERE to send me a text, I'd love to hear what you thought about this episode! Leave your name in the text so I know who it's from!

If you've ever met someone and thought 'GAH I wish we lived closer, I'd love to be friends.' This episode is for you! 

It's also for you if you are tired of texting or emailing and want to put more emotion (and less emojis) into your friendships. 

Today, meet my dear friend Angie, who lives in Canada. We hardly ever talk in real time, and we've only ever met in person for less than a week. But we call ourselves soul sisters, voice friends, die-hard voice memo devotees! 

That's how we communicate. Hundreds and hundreds of memos later, we have a deeply connected friendship. 

And today we're talking about how to start up your own  friendship via voice memo, what it takes to keep it going, why it's worth it, and what it's meant to us. 

Short and sweet - and if you give it a try, I'd love to hear! 

Support the show

I'd love to hear what you think. Drop me a text (linked above) or an email: [email protected]

Or NEW (!) even more fun, drop me a voice memo HERE!

Cream City Dreams is now Gather Connect Create!

New name, same host 👋🏼 Bite-sized episodes with big connection!

Join me weekly for inspiration, interviews and simple ideas you can use in your own community to create more connections IN REAL LIFE, no matter where you find yourself!

➡ CLICK HERE to send me a text, I'd love to hear what you thought about this episode! Leave your name in the text so I know who it's from!

Another week, another way to gather and connect! 

Join me today as I talk with Rebecca Jankowski and Theresa Kopak of Interwovxn who alongside professional Event Planner Grace Fuhr are organizing quarterly dance parties for midlife women that promise to have attendees home at a reasonable hour! (my DREAM! yours too?) 

We talk about their upcoming dance in Milwaukee, of course, but also - the logistics and behind-the-scenes work that goes into these events. It's a movement!  Women around the world are organizing these events for each other, and if you aren't in Milwaukee, maybe you'll want to bring one to your community? Today's episode might help. 

LINKS: 

If you are local, here's the link for tickets for the next dance on Friday, January 30. 

Find out more about Interwovxn HERE or join their substack HERE. 

Listen to my episode with Grace Fuhr HERE.

And info about the Hmong American Women's Association that this dance will support HERE.

And lastly, grab a ticket for the Gather for Good Yoga and Recipe Tasting class I talked about HERE. 

Support the show

I'd love to hear what you think. Drop me a text (linked above) or an email: [email protected]

Or NEW (!) even more fun, drop me a voice memo HERE!

Cream City Dreams is now Gather Connect Create!

New name, same host 👋🏼 Bite-sized episodes with big connection!

Join me weekly for inspiration, interviews and simple ideas you can use in your own community to create more connections IN REAL LIFE, no matter where you find yourself!

➡ CLICK HERE to send me a text, I'd love to hear what you thought about this episode! Leave your name in the text so I know who it's from!

I love this story of my friend Dorthy and her family, who share a meal, week after week, with the same family. They rotate houses, they cook the food, they share the meal, they put away the dishes and then they go home. It's simple. It's no fuss. No cleaning beforehand. NO guests to impress. 

Just one meal each week that they can count on together. And they've been doing this for years. 

In this conversation, we dive into what it's like to build community and deep connection in this way, what it means for their children, and tips for setting something like this up for yourself. 

Do you do something like this? I'd love to hear about it if you do! 

Support the show

I'd love to hear what you think. Drop me a text (linked above) or an email: [email protected]

Or NEW (!) even more fun, drop me a voice memo HERE!

Cream City Dreams is now Gather Connect Create!

New name, same host 👋🏼 Bite-sized episodes with big connection!

Join me weekly for inspiration, interviews and simple ideas you can use in your own community to create more connections IN REAL LIFE, no matter where you find yourself!

➡ CLICK HERE to send me a text, I'd love to hear what you thought about this episode! Leave your name in the text so I know who it's from!

It's been over seven months since I've been on the socials! And it feels GREAT. 

AND ... also slightly disconnected from reality, from my community and from my creativity. So I'm back in a new way. Or, really, an old-school way. A blog! 

Sharing this experience and a few other thoughts I have about creativity online in today's bite-sized episode. 

What are you doing in 2026 to stay creative, connected and present? I'd love to hear about it! 

Support the show

I'd love to hear what you think. Drop me a text (linked above) or an email: [email protected]

Or NEW (!) even more fun, drop me a voice memo HERE!

Cream City Dreams is now Gather Connect Create!

New name, same host 👋🏼 Bite-sized episodes with big connection!

Join me weekly for inspiration, interviews and simple ideas you can use in your own community to create more connections IN REAL LIFE, no matter where you find yourself!

➡ CLICK HERE to send me a text, I'd love to hear what you thought about this episode! Leave your name in the text so I know who it's from!

Today I am SO excited to introduce you to the woman who has inspired me for the last two decades (at LEAST). I've been following Andrea Scher from her earliest blogs back in the early 2000s and have learned so much about creativity, wonder, attention and delight by absorbing her teachings and being a part of her community. 

Andrea Scher is a Bay Area artist, creative, photographer, jewelry maker, retreat leader, podcaster, wonder-seeker, author, coach and all around beautiful human being. And I am so happy to call her a friend. 

Today we talk about where this comes from in her, and what it means to dream big. So much goodness in our conversation that I couldn't cut it short - but fans of Andrea won't mind. 

And if you are listening to this early on December 31st, it may not be too late to join Andrea in her Manifest 2026 live zoom from 9-11am (pacific time). But even if you miss it, there's a recording and a self-guided e-course option too! I'll be there! 

I hope you love this conversation as much as I did, and I hope you'll get yourself to Andrea's website (and Substack) to sign up for all the things she's got on offer. 

Support the show

I'd love to hear what you think. Drop me a text (linked above) or an email: [email protected]

Or NEW (!) even more fun, drop me a voice memo HERE!

Cream City Dreams is now Gather Connect Create!

New name, same host 👋🏼 Bite-sized episodes with big connection!

Join me weekly for inspiration, interviews and simple ideas you can use in your own community to create more connections IN REAL LIFE, no matter where you find yourself!

➡ CLICK HERE to send me a text, I'd love to hear what you thought about this episode! Leave your name in the text so I know who it's from!

Happy ALL THE Holidays today. A short and sweet episode about a book I recently read with my daughter. Ordinary Mary's Extraordinary Deed, by Emily Pearson. A beautiful book with an extraordinary message about the power of kindness. 

AND an invitation to join me for a year end reflection with Andrea Scher. Andrea is offering an e-course on December 31st from 9-11 (Pacific Time) called Manifesting 2026: Visioning your New Year with Power, Clarity and Magic. I've signed up and I'd love for you to join AND Andrea will be on the podcast next week ... so I wanted to give a heads up so you don't miss out! 

You'll hear next week why I love everything Andrea offers! 

Sign up HERE. 

Support the show

I'd love to hear what you think. Drop me a text (linked above) or an email: [email protected]

Or NEW (!) even more fun, drop me a voice memo HERE!

Cream City Dreams is now Gather Connect Create!

New name, same host 👋🏼 Bite-sized episodes with big connection!

Join me weekly for inspiration, interviews and simple ideas you can use in your own community to create more connections IN REAL LIFE, no matter where you find yourself!

➡ CLICK HERE to send me a text, I'd love to hear what you thought about this episode! Leave your name in the text so I know who it's from!

Today on the show, how can we gather, connect and CREATE through music? With voice, with song and with breath, we are ALL musicians and creators. Today's guest Holly Haebig is Milwaukee's musical maven and talks with me about the power of music to bring us together, into belonging, into love, and perhaps most importantly, into ourselves. 

Over the past 20+ years Holly has played regularly with well known groups such as One Drum, Kirtan with Ragani, Devanation, Painted Caves, De La Buena, Urban Empress and The Urbanites, The Earth Poets and Musicians, Express Yourself Milwaukee and a popular duo with her brother-in-law Jeff Bray.

Connect with Holly on Facebook, or email her HERE. 

Support the show

I'd love to hear what you think. Drop me a text (linked above) or an email: [email protected]

Or NEW (!) even more fun, drop me a voice memo HERE!

Cream City Dreams is now Gather Connect Create!

New name, same host 👋🏼 Bite-sized episodes with big connection!

Join me weekly for inspiration, interviews and simple ideas you can use in your own community to create more connections IN REAL LIFE, no matter where you find yourself!

➡ CLICK HERE to send me a text, I'd love to hear what you thought about this episode! Leave your name in the text so I know who it's from!

If you have been longing for connection in a safe and - dare I say - sacred space, filled with people who are authentic, and who bring their full selves, look no further than a circle. And if you've not experience the magic of a good circle, let this episode be your guide on how to create one for yourself (and your people). 

Today I am talking with a friend and fellow circle gatherer, Nora Oaks. In addition to a gatherer of women, Nora is a community folk herbalist, a birthworker, mother, and half of the folk hip hop band Never DeadBeat Poets. 

And bonus, if you are in Milwaukee, get on Nora's list by emailing her HERE or find her on the web HERE. 

Other links from this episode: 

Tabi Po Poetry

Angela Davis @ UWM

Support the show

I'd love to hear what you think. Drop me a text (linked above) or an email: [email protected]

Or NEW (!) even more fun, drop me a voice memo HERE!

Cream City Dreams is now Gather Connect Create!

New name, same host 👋🏼 Bite-sized episodes with big connection!

Join me weekly for inspiration, interviews and simple ideas you can use in your own community to create more connections IN REAL LIFE, no matter where you find yourself!