HyperLocal(s)

Mattoon native refers to the struggles of getting pregnant as just the beginning of the challenges that come with being a parent. Pregnancy, it turns out, was the easy part. The raising them without losing your cool—there lies the real test.

Listen as this certified teacher, coach and mother of three discusses the benefits of being an older parent, stopping spanking and screaming, why she doesn’t instruct about ages beyond what her kids are, the value of having a meal together, hating the toddler years, switching from parenting with anger to parenting with compassion, giving kids a healthy dose of power, starting Real Life Families and setting boundaries around health, safety and character. If you find yourself wondering why your kids are so “difficult,” maybe your parenting approach could use a refresh?

Thank you so much for listening! However your podcast host of choice allows, please positively: rate, review, comment and give all the stars! Don’t forget to follow, subscribe, share and ring that notification bell so you know when the next episode drops!

Also, search and follow hyperlocalscu on all social media. If I forgot anything or you need me, visit my website at HyperLocalsCU.com. Byee.

The Chicago Suburbs brought us, yet again, an awesome transplant. Finding a reliable, affable, text savvy plumber that takes Venmo is priceless. The everyday person with an everyday job has a story, too. 

 Listen as we talk my personal plumbing tragedies including the latest sh** storm, Aaron’s deceiving Italian background ala Mario & Luigi, why he doesn’t raise rates, living in a Brady Bunch situation, plumber’s crack and the dangers of entering a job with a feisty female behind the door. HHHhhaving a “dirty job” doesn’t always come with the stereotypes and stigmas from movies. TV and even personal experience. Aaron gets to to save a customer’s day call after call. Finally, do plumbers make more than lawyers? Aaron is a one-in-a-million service provider. He doesn’t need more work, however, if you need someone, Aspire is the company to call. P.S. Not sponsored. P.P.S. He’s the sh**.

Thank you so much for listening! However your podcast host of choice allows, please positively: rate, review, comment and give all the stars! Don’t forget to follow, subscribe, share and ring that notification bell so you know when the next episode drops!

Also, search and follow hyperlocalscu on all social media. If I forgot anything or you need me, visit my website at HyperLocalsCU.com. Byee.

This Champaign girl has moved around a bit in search of a feeling of family and stability. She’s finally found a good foundation of friends and job security just 45 minutes away in Bloomington. A few decades earlier we lived together in that same town for a few wild and eventful years.
 
  Listen to Natalie and I catch up after decades of not speaking to each other. A dysfunctional senior year in college lead to the demise of our friendship. Years, space, reflection and the podcast led to a reunion. Motherhood is a great common denominator and an excellent place to start over. Natalie talks about escaping a dead-end relationship with the father of her daughter. She had the strength and foresight to remove him from their lives before a bad relationship turned worse. Worried she would never have a maternal bond to this little human, she quickly learned that maternal instincts can kick in when they are needed the most. In just a short time after sending the dad packing, her decision was solidified when he died from alcoholism’s collateral damage. Now she appreciates quiet nights at home crocheting over dating and crowded bars. Raising a tween girl is providing all the drama she can handle! So glad to reconnect with someone who is a part of more core memories than I can count. Her spicy spirit, easy laugh and tell-it-like-it-is personality reminded me of all of the good times while fading away the bad. Happy to call her a friend again. 

Thank you so much for listening! However your podcast host of choice allows, please positively: rate, review, comment and give all the stars! Don’t forget to follow, subscribe, share and ring that notification bell so you know when the next episode drops!

Also, search and follow hyperlocalscu on all social media. If I forgot anything or you need me, visit my website at HyperLocalsCU.com. Byee.

This family friend has accomplished what I’ve always wanted to do. This educated queen has researched, Googled, learned from mistakes, enlisted help and finally self-published her first novel! The first book of the trilogy, The House by the Side of the Road, is available now where most books are sold.

Listen to Jean discuss her professional experience with understanding reading and the common learning disorder, Dyslexia. Jean advises on the concept of “reading to learn” and “learning to read,” and how this background fed into the reasoning behind publishing a book at age 67. “If other people can do it, why can’t I?” For three weeks Jean locked herself in a Milwaukee vacation rental to do nothing but walk her dogs and write. Using her local book club to review and her publishing company to edit, Jean created a print-on-demand piece of fiction for $6,000 from the ground up. This now-or-never approach is a motivational message for anyone needing a push to check off a bucket list item.

Thank you so much for listening! However your podcast host of choice allows, please positively: rate, review, comment and give all the stars! Don’t forget to follow, subscribe, share and ring that notification bell so you know when the next episode drops!

Also, search and follow hyperlocalscu on all social media. If I forgot anything or you need me, visit my website at HyperLocalsCU.com. Byee.

My husband, Andrew Harrington, and I podcast from Thanksgiving vacation in Florida, "the land of do as you please." An impromptu evening podcast (post Illini loss) and early morning addition (post endorphin-spiking run), round out the latest edition of, "Tales From Two Townies." 

 Listen as these two townies talk about the funny and not-so-funny current goings on where they often laugh so they don't cry. Bullying, social anxiety, falling on the treadmill, my latest personal endeavor and family Halloween costumes are all discussed in this latest ep.

Thank you so much for listening! However your podcast host of choice allows, please positively: rate, review, comment and give all the stars! Don’t forget to follow, subscribe, share and ring that notification bell so you know when the next episode drops!

Also, search and follow hyperlocalscu on all social media. If I forgot anything or you need me, visit my website at HyperLocalsCU.com. Byee.

This Northern Illinois farm girl describes the love story of her and her late husband as the definition of teammates. As parents, as friends, as husband and wife, decisions were made together and support endless and abundant. 

 Listen to this witty lady talk about her fast courtship with the well known and locally revered, Lou Henson. For more than two decades Lou led the University of Illinois Basketball team to countless victories and the Final Four mountain top. All the while Mary took on the majority of the household management and raising four kids, which is often the case with the unsung heroes behind our esteemed coaches. With grace, Mary traveled and moved where Lou needed to go to further his career and increase his impressive coaching credentials. After losses, they would review the tapes together. After wins, celebrations quickly ended to focus on the next game. While refusing to take a job unless the school was integrated or facing adversity right here at the U of I, Mary was and still is Lou's biggest cheerleader. Finally, Mary gives her hot take on the state of this basketball season!

Thank you so much for listening! However your podcast host of choice allows, please positively: rate, review, comment and give all the stars! Don’t forget to follow, subscribe, share and ring that notification bell so you know when the next episode drops!

Also, search and follow hyperlocalscu on all social media. If I forgot anything or you need me, visit my website at HyperLocalsCU.com. Byee.

This East St. Louis native came to Champaign to find the help he desperately needed. Being raised in a bar and mimicking the behavior around him combined with childhood molestation and addiction didn't set Steven up for success.

 Listen to this mild mannered dad to two sons and a daughter (that he until recently thought was his biological child) explain the tattered tapestry that created the fabric of his life today. Regardless of the mess that was his childhood, teens, 20s and even 30s, Steven has worked hard to presently give back to others and create a safe place to raise his two sons. Fighting passionately to prove his worth and value as a citizen and dad, Steven has had to navigate the court system to legally get and keep his sons under his roof in Urbana. Letting go of childhood trauma, blaming himself for his father's death and absorbing the resources around him to recover from drugs and alcohol allowed him to clean up his act. Losing both parents to drug and alcohol abuse, going to jail, experiencing homelessness and having a girlfriend strip to keep bad habits afloat is just the beginning of this story with a happy ending. 

Thank you so much for listening! However your podcast host of choice allows, please positively: rate, review, comment and give all the stars! Don’t forget to follow, subscribe, share and ring that notification bell so you know when the next episode drops!

Also, search and follow hyperlocalscu on all social media. If I forgot anything or you need me, visit my website at HyperLocalsCU.com. Byee.

This Chicago Suburbanite literally starts her story at 72-hours old. From adoption to addiction to sick parents to divorce and remarriage, there was so much to talk through with Callie we needed THREE episodes.

 Listen to the third episode where Callie and I talk about life today. To deal with the instability, Callie turned to teenage rebellion at an accelerated pace. Using, selling and getting busted became her norm followed by rehab and the start of a different life. Babies, marriage and losing her mom shifted her focus. Through time and self-reflection, Callie thankfully met her current husband and had two more children. Champaign has become a fresh start. A place to break the cycle of drama and grow strong roots with new friends that have become family. A place to raise a functioning, healthy family.

Thank you so much for listening! However your podcast host of choice allows, please positively: rate, review, comment and give all the stars! Don’t forget to follow, subscribe, share and ring that notification bell so you know when the next episode drops!

Also, search and follow hyperlocalscu on all social media. If I forgot anything or you need me, visit my website at HyperLocalsCU.com. Byee.

This Chicago Suburbanite literally starts her story at 72-hours old. From adoption to addiction to sick parents to divorce and remarriage, there was so much to talk through with Callie we needed two episodes.

 Listen to the second episode where Callie and I big talk about the tangled web of biological parents, adoptive parents and step parents. To deal with the instability, Callie turned to teenage rebellion at an accelerated pace. Using, selling and getting busted became her norm followed by rehab and the start of a different life. Babies, marriage and losing her mom shifted her focus. Through time and self-reflection, Callie thankfully met her current husband and had two more children. Champaign has become a fresh start. A place to break the cycle of drama and grow strong roots with new friends that have become family. A place to raise a functioning, healthy family. **Stay tuned NEXT week for an UNEXPECTED Part 3!**

Thank you so much for listening! However your podcast host of choice allows, please positively: rate, review, comment and give all the stars! Don’t forget to follow, subscribe, share and ring that notification bell so you know when the next episode drops!

Also, search and follow hyperlocalscu on all social media. If I forgot anything or you need me, visit my website at HyperLocalsCU.com. Byee.

This Chicago Suburbanite literally starts her story at 72-hours old. From adoption to addiction to sick parents to divorce and remarriage, there was so much to talk through with Callie we needed two episodes.

 Listen to the first episode where Callie and I small talk about wrestling, pee wee football and youth sports in general. Callie then takes us along her childhood timeline where life is filled with more challenges than any little one, or adult for that matter, should have to process. To deal with the instability, Callie turned to teenage rebellion at an accelerated pace. Using, selling and getting busted became her norm followed by rehab and the start of a different life. Babies, marriage and losing her mom shifted her focus. Through time and self-reflection, Callie thankfully met her current husband and had two more children. Champaign has become a fresh start. A place to break the cycle of drama and grow strong roots with new friends that have become family. A place to raise a functioning, healthy family.

Thank you so much for listening! However your podcast host of choice allows, please positively: rate, review, comment and give all the stars! Don’t forget to follow, subscribe, share and ring that notification bell so you know when the next episode drops!

Also, search and follow hyperlocalscu on all social media. If I forgot anything or you need me, visit my website at HyperLocalsCU.com. Byee.