Friends August is knocking on our door and you know what that means…… It’s County Fair time! I can hear the sizzle of the deep fryers, the laughter from the carnival, and the cheers from the grand stand. Are you a tractor pull fan? Maybe the derby is more your speed or do you like to stroll through the home arts building? And for the love of everything holy, hot dish, and target….Don’t for get to take a moment to pet a chicken! Pull up a seat, pour yourself a beverage, and settle in as I share which county fairs are my favorite.

Hey friends! Can you believe we are already half way through the month of July? Where the heck did the first half of summer 2021 go!? If you blink fall will be knocking on our door before we know it. I finally found the swimsuit that dreams are made of. Got brave and bought a SUP, hit a Boulder with my Prius, harnessed my inner Blanch at cardio bay, and why yes, our cabin project is still going strong! I’ve been having a blast and I am not ready for hot girl summer to be over. So pour yourself a glass, pull up a comfy chair and listen in to my hot girl summer antics.

Hey friends! Hope you all had a good weekend! I spent my weekend in the beautiful Wisconsin Dells and I have some tips for your next vacation. Yes, the Dells is considered the tourist trap of Wisconsin, but if you have a little intel you can avoid the gimmicks and put towards the good stuff. Mount Olympus is evil, mom & pop motels are still my favorite and yes we have to talk about cheese, along with my favorite WI Dell restaurants. So pull up a comfy chair, pour yourself a beverage and listen in.

Some duos are not meant to last forever. A friendship should be a safe space where one can share their hopes, dreams, feelings, and mundane parts of life. We have to realize that not everyone’s life is the same. There will be good times and there will be bad times. We ride out the ruts with our friends because we know happier times are ahead. We cheer them on during their highs and bring over a bottle of wine during the lows. Some of us can handle all sides of our friends. Others only want the good side. I want it all, bring me your mess and I’ll help you sort it out. That’s what friendship is, it’s surviving the mess together.

Hey Friends! We all have our hang ups. Some of us love the wrinkles under our eyes while others buy every eye cream they can get their hands on. Some of us look in the mirror and see our curves as strength instead of a weakness. For me it was hiding behind my fake blonde locks, hiding so I could blend in to society’s beauty standards. After 11 years living under the disguise of a blonde I chose to go back to my natural hair color. It wasn’t an easy choice, but I am glad that I made it. So pull up a seat, pour yourself a beverage and let’s discuss my journey to self love and being a role model for blue eyed native girls.

Hey friend! Let’s jump in my time machine aka The Prius and head back to a time where 35W didn’t exist and the best way to travel was by rail. We will be heading on down to Owatonna to learn about the Minnesota State School Indentured Servant program. Yes, children were entered into labor contacts in exchange for minimal room & board? Appalled by this, yup me too!

Here in Minnesota we have something I like to call “cabin culture.” When the temps rise people load up their families and head north to the cabin. In my case we head southeast to our cabin in western Wisconsin. (that threw you for a loop didn’t it!?) While others spend hours in Cabin traffic I am sitting by the fire popping a cold one listening to the frogs sing as dusk rolls in. Come grab a seat by the fire and listen in as I tell you about our day camp restoration project.

Hey friend! I realized that I haven’t properly introduced myself yet.... that was so impolite of me! Hi I’m AmandaJean, but you can call me AJ. I hail from the land of 10,000 lakes, have a weird obsession with dinosaurs, sour gummy candy, and PYREX. I’ve been through a lot of shit and sharing my stories the good and the bad ones helps me heal. So get out of the heat, pull up a chair, poor a beverage and listen in to the story of me.

Pot heads! Everyone knows one. You’ve probably dated one or two..... and maybe you yourself are one. The pot heads are chill laid back go with the flow souls and the ones I dated taught me a lot of lessons. Lessons of letting go. Of letting my guard down so that I can actually relax and enjoy life. Nick, Sean, Todd, and Paul are the most remembered ones. Come along with me as I truck down memory lane and share the good, the bad, and the down right funny moments of my dating escapades!

---

Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/maybeswearinghelps/support

This week we are going to talk about the down right hard parts of life. Charlie will be forever forty, today would have been his fiftieth birthday. I cannot believe he’s been gone almost ten years and that he would be fifty today. That’s the thing about death, it creeps in when we least expect it and freezes us in time. In three years I will have outlived Charlie, in all time going forward I will love longer than he ever did. His life was cut short, forty is to young. One thing I do know is, he died loving me until his last breath and because of that he will always be apart of me. Love is stronger than death, for it keeps memories alive and allows us to look back at what was with a smile. I miss him dearly, but I know he is proud of me and this little life of mine. I’ll celebrate his birthday with a slice of cake and a quiet smile.