Here we go—Season 3 energy, fully unhinged, lightly reflective, and extremely on-brand. 🥂🎉

🎆 Happy New Year, you beautiful under- and over-achievers. 🎆

Living Understaffed is ready, baby—Season 3 starts NOW with Sarah & Erika doing what they do best: existing loudly, being wildly unprepared, and accidentally having deep conversations while absolutely not sticking to the plan.

Episode 54 kicks off 2026 with the girls recording together in Alabama (yes, really), fresh off antique treasure hunts, Barnes & Noble chaos, travel trauma, lost luggage grief, and one extremely unfortunate suitcase incident that involved missing journals, emotional damage, and—somehow—penises. So. Many. Penises. 🧳✈️💀 Why????

What starts as a casual New Year catch-up quickly spirals into:

• Goal setting (eventually… like 54 minutes in)
• What success actually looks like after two years of podcasting
• Being confident while also admitting we don’t know what the hell we’re doing
• Mental health, feminism, careers, kids (or not having them), and why anxiety is basically a personality trait
• Friendship > content creation (but also… pls like, share, and subscribe)
• Proof that “understaffed” is not a phase—it’s a lifestyle

This episode is part reflection, part chaos, part heartfelt reset—and a reminder that progress doesn’t have to be perfect to be real. We’re not experts, we’re just honest, tired, and still showing up. And honestly? That’s the vibe for 2026.

🥂 New year.

🎙️ New season.

🔥 Same understaffed nonsense.

Welcome to Season 3. We missed you.

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/understaffedpod

Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/living-understaffed/donations

This week on Living Understaffed, Sarah & Erika sit down with Alan Mueller for a conversation that somehow manages to be inspiring, grounding, and still wildly unhinged (our brand). We’re talking burnout, leadership, community, hustle culture lies, and why rest is actually productive—even when your brain says otherwise. 😵‍💫

Alan shares how improv comedy intersects with leadership, adaptability, and executive presence, plus real-life lessons from solopreneur life that make building something of your own feel a little less terrifying. Honestly? He made Sarah’s many side hustles feel possible instead of daunting—and for that alone, we are grateful. 🙌

🎤 Also worth the hype: Alan’s TED Talk is a must-watch if you’re into leadership, presence, and not losing your soul to work. Truly inspiring human behavior.

📘 Get his NEW book:

Improv Comedy and the Art of Leadership

by Dr. Alan Mueller

✨ Want more Alan? Visit Adaptive Challenge Consulting to check out his services and work. [www.adaptivechallengeconsulting.com] Check out his socials also for the Etsy shop and travel agent biz. Listen... we're here for the hustle.

✨ Want more us? Head to our Linktree for all the things—including a $15 Instacart coupon for your first order, because feeding yourself matters. 🛒 [https://linktr.ee/understaffedpod]

Huge thanks to Alan for the inspiration, the wisdom, and the reminder that we might actually be doing okay. 🎧🔥

Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/living-understaffed/donations

Featuring: Indie author Trisha Otis of Daughter of Broken Light

Today’s episode arrives sizzling like a sunstone dropped straight out of the sky and into your group chat. 🔥💬

Sarah is still in her Moving Era™ (a saga sponsored by stubbed toes and college boys who load trucks like Jenga). Erika is beefing with ID cards, printers, and her caffeine addiction. And Trisha? She pulled up ready to unleash her villain origin story with the finesse of a fantasy heroine who definitely has a dagger tucked somewhere. ⚡📖

Once we settle into the chaos, we dive into Trisha’s debut novel Daughter of Broken Light, where magic, mayhem, and emotional ruin dance together like they paid extra for VIP admission.

Also… the amulet? The amulet. We are Not Okay. 🗝️🔥

Inside this episode:

✨ How a stolen sunstone sends an entire kingdom into meltdown

✨ The secret truth that her MMC is her husband in book-boyfriend form (collective gasp)

✨ Her lifelong dream of writing fantasy finally taking flight

✨ D&D character sheets, worldbuilding spirals, and swamp lore we enthusiastically endorse

✨ Her upcoming surgery and why she may sit at Lit & Libations like a politely wounded Victorian

✨ The audacity of Reddit giving her a FAKE one-star review (justice will be served)

Plus:

🐶 A tender tribute to Raiku, the dog who shaped her story more than he knew

🐈‍⬛ Cameo chaos from Maggie and Elrond

🧹 Erika and Sarah being written into Book 2 as cannibal swamp witch coven leaders (the honor of all honors)

If you love fantasy, friendship, chaos, and indie authors who drop stories that slap, this episode is your new comfort listen.

Grab the book: https://a.co/d/gDBCdAQ

Then come scream with us about Eldren, the ball scene, and the spicy enchanted accessories we will not emotionally recover from. 😭✨

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/understaffedpod

#LivingUnderstaffed #PodcastChaos #IndieAuthor #DaughterOfBrokenLight #FantasyReaders #SunstonesAndSwampWitches #TrishaOtis #LivingUnderstaffedPodcast #IndiePod #IndiePodcast #Fantasy #Amulet #bookboyfriend

Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/living-understaffed/donations

🚨 Trigger Warning: This episode contains candid discussions of drug use, addiction, alcoholism, and sobriety. Please listen with care and step away if you need to. ❤️

It’s a Living Understaffed reunion episode — and yes, Daddy Kol (forever known as such) is back in the chaos seat. Sarah and Erika catch up with him on life, loss, laughter, and his incredible seven-month journey of sobriety. Sarah’s free from the woods, but her webcam didn’t get the memo. 🎥🚫 Erika and Daddy Kol carry the chaos while Sarah’s voice floats in from the void. Between laughs, near-tears, and one very unfiltered sobriety journey, this episode reminds us that growth is messy—and sometimes blurry.

From near-death experiences and heart attacks to parent-teacher conferences and shark vacuums, Kol gets real about turning his life around — all while roasting his own hair, collecting compliments, and demanding a T-shirt that says “Soft Lips & Nine Toes.”

This one has it all:

🌀 Chaos (obviously)

🧠 Deep conversations about recovery and purpose

💅 Sarcastic commentary from your favorite duo

😂 Way too much talk about vacuums and Subaru lesbians

❤️ Proof that healing, humor, and heart can absolutely coexist

So grab your coffee (or coin), press play, and join us for an episode that’s both unfiltered and unforgettable.

🎧 Living Understaffed with Sarah & Erika — where chaos meets compassion, one Daddy Kol at a time.

🔗 All links & chaos here: https://linktr.ee/understaffedpod

#LivingUnderstaffed #SobrietyJourney #AddictionAwareness #DaddyKolForever #PodcastChaos

Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/living-understaffed/donations

FIFTY. FREAKING. EPISODES. 🥂✨ Somehow, Sarah and Erika (yes, with a K, thank you very much) have survived nearly two years of caffeine dependency, questionable decisions, and Wi-Fi issues to make it here — Episode 50! 🎉

Sure, it was supposed to drop Wednesday alongside Episode 49 with Madison Chase, but as usual, we’re a day late and a dollar short. ⏰💸 Because chaos? It’s our love language.

But today? Today’s special. Because not only are we celebrating 50 episodes of Living Understaffed… it’s also the Lit & Libations: Great Gatsby Edition in Kansas City! 🥂💃✨ And yes — Sarah is absolutely f*ing showing up in costume.** Pearls? Feathers? Champagne in a travel mug? Don’t worry about it.

Tune in as we get real about two years of podcasting, long-distance friendship, emotional growth(ish), and how we’re somehow still not rich but definitely funnier.

Also featuring: Dolores the dramatic plant, married men who still don’t get it, and the mutual realization that we might just be thriving through the chaos.

🎧 Listen now and come toast our 50th with us — flapper dress optional, sarcasm required.

👉 Affiliates & chaos management tools: https://linktr.ee/understaffedpod

#LivingUnderstaffed #GreatGatsby #PodcastChaos #LitAndLibations #DayLateDollarShort #LivingUnderstaffedPodcast #podast #indiepod #indiepodcas #KCBookBeat #KCBB #KansasCity #KansasCityMO

Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/living-understaffed/donations

It’s giving collab chaos this week as Sarah and Erika welcome the powerhouse duo behind Madison Chase Books — authors of Dance with the Devil and Pack or Prey.

Expect equal parts sarcasm, storytelling, and “how did we get here again?” energy as the crew dives into:

💫 The wild ride from fanfiction to published novels

🧛‍♀️ Building dark worlds full of angels, demons, and very questionable life choices

🎧 Their upcoming audiobook (spoiler: it’s sexy AND spooky)

🧠 ADHD brain tangents, goblin tools, and why Trello almost saves their sanity

Oh, and there’s talk of vampire siblings, Buffy obsessions, and Lucifer himself. You know — just another Tuesday in the Living Understaffed universe.

Also featuring: Daisy the dog demanding attention, debates on whether 130 lbs is a realistic weight standard (it's not), and Erika trying very hard not to overbook her life (again).

Listen now before we regret our life choices on-air. 🚨🎧

💼 Support our chaos (and caffeine habits) through our affiliates — because your girls are hustling:

FOREVER | Liquid I.V. | Casetify | Dossier Perfume | And more linked below 👇

🎙️ Linktree: https://linktr.ee/understaffedpod

#LivingUnderstaffed #AuthorLife #PodcastChaos #UnderpaidAndOverIt #BookTokChaos

Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/living-understaffed/donations

Did Erika miss her ADHD evaluation by an hour and a half? Absolutely. Did she also forget what day it was? Also yes. Welcome to another week of Living Understaffed, the podcast where chaos has a punch card, the reward is emotional damage (with a side of bagels and apricot jam) and the everlasting question of if our milkshake brings all the boys to the yard, is it even worth it? 🥯✨

This week, your favorite hot mess duo unpacks Logan Ury’s “How to Not Die Alone” — a dating book that hurts their feelings in the most educational way possible. From dissecting dating types (Romanticizers, Maximizers, Hesitators 👀) to ranting about men who think “friends with benefits” means “free therapy,” Erika and Sarah are on one.

Other highlights include:

🧺 The emotional trauma of folding fitted sheets.

🐶 Erika’s ironclad rule: only reply to exes who text dog pics.

💔 The “pool” of dating being a full-blown swamp, and yes, Sarah is Fiona.

🚐 The dream van that’s one disco ball away from a true-crime podcast episode.

📚 A chaotic love letter to Lit & Libations (booth 21 + 22, come see us!)

📍 Co-Op at Shoal Creek — 6816 N Church Rd #101, Pleasant Valley, MO 64068

📅 November 8, 2025

🕰 6 PM – 9 PM (VIP Early Entry: 4:30 PM)

Also featuring spirit fingers, caffeine dependency confessions, and the mutual realization that maybe they just need therapy and a nap. 😅

Don't forget to join our discord and check out all the badass things on our Linktree: https://linktr.ee/understaffedpod

🎧 Listen now before one of them joins a Facebook group for “men who only own fleece blankets.” #LivingUnderstaffed #DatingFails #FittedSheetWars #HowToNotDieAlone #PodcastChaos

Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/living-understaffed/donations

Kicking off our brand-new Women in Mythology Series, Erika and Sarah dive headfirst into chaos, crows, and the eternal struggle of Irish pronunciations.

Erika is busy being understaffed but still a princess (don’t even THINK about taking away her second monitor), while Sarah is thriving on a healthy cocktail of ✨avoidance, anxiety, and projectile vomiting✨. Together, they spiral into work woes, moving-to-Texas dread, and their mom’s wildly questionable dating decisions (yes, there was a van… with a bed… we’ll never recover).

But because we’re nothing if not accidentally educational, we dive into the mythology of The Morrígan—Ireland’s most badass chaos goddess—who basically invented “main character energy.” 👑🪦⚔️

Special shoutout to Nicola Bardon from Tis Yourself Podcast for helping us attempt (and fail) to unf*ck our Irish pronunciations. Nicola, you’re doing the goddess’s work, and we owe you a pint. 🍻🇮🇪

IG: @tisyourselfpodcast / X: @WellTisYourself / Apple, Podchaser, Facebook - Just go follow her!! :)

So grab your journal (yes, we made one, and yes, you should buy it), laugh at our mispronunciations, and prepare for chaos. Because if you’re not screaming into the void like a banshee, are you even Living Understaffed?

Book Club: The Innkeeper by Pirateaba 📚 - Join our Discord! Meeting Sunday, 28-Sep.

Sponsors: From Moments to FOREVER, Everyday Dose & Primal Queen

New Sponsor: World Citizen Travel Agent! Send us a PM for your travel, cruise, concert and bucket list needs!

Linktree for chaos & discounts: https://linktr.ee/understaffedpod

Shoutout to Kareena from Freedom Literature, the indie book lover behind a mobile pop-up bookstore and The Book Nook in Harrisonville, MO. With blind date books, local authors, and a passion for making literature accessible, Kareena is putting stories back into the hands of readers everywhere.

| freedomliterature.com |  @freedom_literature_books

Also Featuring Eisley Rose—the registered nurse-turned-author behind Glitched, a sci-fi thriller where modern-day Spartans battle biological threats and dark conspiracies. Expect mythology, mystery, and medical-inspired storytelling.

| eisleyrosebooks.com | @eisleyrosebooks

Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/living-understaffed/donations

Soft life? More like chaos with whimsy—unpack your Target bags, join our Discord book club 📚, and thank our sponsors for funding this mess ✨☕👑.

Welcome back to Living Understaffed, where Sarah and Erika are once again oversharing the chaos you cannot clock out of. This week, we’re diving into the elusive “soft life” 💅—you know, the one Instagram influencers pretend is just candles and cashmere, but in reality looks more like:

• three full Target bags you still haven’t unpacked 🛍️
• Daisy refusing to poop unless the vibes are ✨immaculate✨ 🐕
• and, oh yeah, Erika throwing up in Graygg's car (love that for her, not at all genuine). 🚗💀

We’re talking about meal prep, why crying is basically a national emergency 🚨😭, and the art of adding more whimsy to everyday life—like naming your plants Dolores and Beverly, or giving bugs entire backstories. (Sorry, Frank the beetle, your divorce sounds rough. 🪲💔)

Also featuring: being bullied by capitalism, the guilt of rest, and our ongoing battle to remember that self-care counts even if you don’t post it on Instagram.

💡 PSA: You deserve whimsy. Drink tea with the dishes still in the sink, tell the neighborhood dogs to stop yelling at you, or buy the damn fancy bread—your soft life doesn’t have to look like anyone else’s.

📚 BOOK CLUB ALERT: Join our Discord. Seriously. It’s the best decision you’ll make all year (and we don’t say that lightly because we make terrible decisions). This month we’re reading Rider’s Blood, Moonlit Black by Myka Silber—forest, mountains, ocean, mystery, and a cat with better boundaries than we’ll ever have. 🌙🐈‍⬛

✨ Sponsors:

• From Moments to FOREVER – because memories deserve better than your phone’s “storage full” notification. 📸
• Everyday Dose Mushroom Coffee ☕🍄 – fueling our chaos one adaptogen at a time.
• Primal Queen 👑 – skincare that makes us look like we slept (spoiler: we didn’t).

LINK: https://linktr.ee/understaffedpod

#PodcastGirls #SupportIndiePodcasts #SoftLifeStruggles #PodNation #PodcastCommunity #PodcastLife #LivingUnderstaffedPodcast 🎧 #UnderstaffedChaos #LivingUnderstaffed #Understaffed #Sarah #Erika #IndiePod

Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/living-understaffed/donations

Erika survives five days of work crammed into two 😵‍💫, an office barbecue she refuses to let anyone sulk through 🍔, and Daisy’s post-spay Houdini routine 🦴🪄. Sarah, meanwhile, juggles Army chaos 🎖️, overbooked weekends 📅, and the dawning realization that her “best employee ever” era is… on pause 🙃. The duo also dive into the Halo 3–based study that proves misogyny is, in fact, a skill issue 💅—complete with hostile low-performers, fragile male egos, and the eternal “maybe she’s just better than you, bro” problem 🎯.

Shoutouts to:

• Dillon Wallace, author of The Hunt Initiative 📖—a mild dystopian, present-day thriller with action, suspense, humor, and just enough doom to keep you hooked 💥. If you liked The Hunger Games, 1984, Minority Report, or The Purge, this one’s for you.
• Alexandra Rovirosa of A Place For Us Productions 🎭, creating a collaborative, skill-focused theatre space in Kansas City for actors of all levels—because everyone deserves to grow in their craft 🌟.

Book Club 📚: Rider’s Blood, Moonlit Black by Myka Silber 🌙—forest, mountains, ocean, mystery, and a mercurial cat 🐈‍⬛. You know you want in.

Sponsors: From Moments to FOREVER, Everyday Dose Mushroom Coffee ☕🍄 & Primal Queen 👑

Linktree for chaos & discounts: https://linktr.ee/understaffedpod

#AugustVibes #2025Aesthetic #InstaGlowUp #SelfCareSeason #EcoLiving2025 #WeekendWander #MindfulMoments #LinkInBio

Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/living-understaffed/donations