Kitchen Confessionals

Here is what is making us uncomfortable this week – and it is NOT the seminal Pink Floyd song…although the lyrics DO capture a lot of what we are going to talk about here.

Building on the themes of episode 34, Leah and Shauna get real – like the realiest-real – about how and when they have ‘numbed’.

With the holidays looming there is a decided uptick in the number of family and community and work events and you cannot swing a dead cat without hitting a trigger in December.

From both a personal and professional setting, from booze to food to over-exercise and over-work, we have tried them all.

Spoiler alert: We have yet to find one that ‘works’

Episode 34 - Ho - Ho - Here Come The Holidays Expectations by Shauna and Leah

Here is what is making us uncomfortable this week - Conflict.

All of it. The kind that we avoid. The kind that makes us cringe. The kind that makes us roll our eyes or steam from our ears.

If conflict is a natural and healthy part of every relationship, how do you learn to fight? Are there rules? Is there such a thing as a 'fair fight'? Can everyone not just do what we like and thereby avoid all conflict forever and always? If not, why not?

These are the hard-hitting questions we explore in this episode.

Whether you avoid it or crave it or make it or complain about it, conflict is almost as unavoidable as death and taxes.

Don't the best conversations always happen in the kitchen? And when we say the 'best' conversations we mean a lot - sometimes the best is the most important or the hardest or the loudest.

We named it Kitchen Confessionals because what we crave is the kind of vulnerability and truth sharing that comes from these conversations even when - or even especially when - they make us uncomfortable.

If you have something that is making you uncomfortable, please let us know at [email protected]

In this episode, Shauna and Leah talk about their experiences camping under the stars. Leah shares fond memories from Canadian childhood summer camp, crossing paths with a moose! Thunder boxes, military tents and burning rubber. And even though it's not her favourite now, Leah camped out in a tent with her girl for Fiona's lockdown birthday, all in the name of memories. Speaking of memories, Shauna's camping recollections include deflated air mattresses, deflated inner tubes and buzz saw snoring, but none of them deflated her campfire love. Happy camping folks!

In this episode, Shauna and Leah continue the conversation about the notion of 'coming home', which started with 'stuff' and the things we accumulate in Part I. This time, they talk about what home meant to them as they matured and moved around, how it has evolved and what it feels like in the moment today.

In this episode, Shauna and Leah celebrate the one year anniversary of the podcast and sparked by Leah's milestone house move, they talk about 'Coming Home'. This is Part 1 and 2 and in it they discuss the accumulation of things, why and how it happens and some of the ways our lives get tied up in the 'stuff'. Stay tuned for Part 2

In this episode, Shauna and Leah talk about professional and personal dealbreakers. They talk about what puts you on their professional 'bad list', which personal boundaries they each enforce and there may or may not be references to Arya Stark from Game of Thrones and Wayne from Letterkenny.

Surprisingly, for a show called "Kitchen Confessionals", Leah and Shauna had never covered the often taboo topic of RELIGION. In this episode, they talk about their experiences growing up ('Immaculate Conception'? Really???), how that shaped their thoughts and beliefs now and how complex the topics truly is!

Love to hear your thoughts: [email protected]

In this episode, Shauna and Leah confront the topic of 'titles'. What does a professional title mean and how much weight does it hold?They each talk about their own experiences and they ask the questions: Does it help us get access, a seat at the table and is it possible to challenge the system that upholds the titles?

Your feedback is always welcome: [email protected]

In this episode, Shauna just returned from another vet trip with her dog Lola. Leah and Shauna both have dogs and they talk about the hijinks the dogs get up to, growing up with pets and their experiences with 'unusual' house pets.

Email them your pet pics! [email protected]

Or post on their Facebook or Instagram pages! They LOVE pet pics!