Planet Noun Podcast

September is Sickle Cell Awareness Month, and our guest for Episode 11 has a compelling story about how she learned about the disease.

Elle Cole is a writer and founder of CleverlyChanging.com, a lifestyle blog that focuses on “Empowering the Total Person.”

Elle and her husband have two daughters—twins. One of them has sickle cell disease, so the ups and downs of this genetic disorder are well known to them.

As an advocate and blogger, Elle hones in on sharing educational information the disease, the trait--which her other daughter has, how both are inherited, and about symptoms and treatments.

She also talks about the importance of empowering her daughter to advocate for herself as a patient.

Read more at https://planetnoun.com.

Our guest for Episode 10 is a person who does a LOT of the things well.

Her name’s Stacia D. Wright, an event and media strategist and owner of B. Reel Media Management, LLC.

As I’ve said in previous episodes (see Episode 8) small business owners fascinate me because of the risks they take and lessons they’re open enough to learn in order to keep progressing along the business pathway.

Through her business experiences, Stacia has a thing or three to say about knowing your worth, the value of your time and what you bring to any table. If you want to start your own business, her reminder: Working for others has invaluable lessons as well.

In addition to running B. Reel Media Management

Stacia is a wife and mommy. She’s even made a video to help her daughter remember when to potty, but Stacia wasn’t expecting the song travel around the globe to other parents having a doozy of a time teaching their young-uns how to independently use the toilet. After the video went viral, Stacia appeared on a D.C. area television station and the video was also featured on websites of other media outlets as well.

Read more at https://planetnoun.com.

The best pad bags are hidden in plain sight…

Cute. Jazzy. Snazzy… with a little bit of flair or not—depends on what floats your boat and makes your heart sing. Because your uterus isn’t singing during your period. It’s weeping blood.

In this bonus episode of Planet Noun, Liz and her guest, Lea pick up with their discussion about stuffing the perfect Pad Bag. That’s just another name for a to-go sanitary/feminine supply kit.

From there, we also talk about praying the ‘Broids away, and whether we think that works…to how social media can be harnessed to find connection with others grappling with uterine fibroids.

https://planetnoun.com

So this time it’s a thing we address on Planet Noun… Or, depending on how bad you’ve got it, it’s a whole bunch of things….

It’s also about a place that all people encounter during life’s dawning days. The human uterus.

So it’s the last day of Uterine Fibroid Awareness Month… My sister Lea and I know about these benign tumors very well because they’ve been our fairly constant companions—for some YEARS now.

We want to be free of the monsters--that’s what she calls hers-- But we’ve learned to live with them... Mostly in the shadows…mostly quiet about them. But we’re tired and want freedom from the secret.

Hello there….My name is Liz… the host of Planet Noun…

And I have uterine fibroids that beat me up sometimes.

According to a National Institutes of Health fact sheet on Uterine Fibroids:

Most American women will get them sometime during life. They say one study showed by age 50…. 70 percent of white women and 80 percent of African-American women were graced with these bastards.

My sister and I are part of that number.

The fact sheet continues:

“In many cases, fibroids are believed not to cause symptoms, and in such cases women may be unaware they have them.”

We wish ours were docile. But nah, they're all symptomatic all up in this joint.

This is a fragment of our story.

Read more at https://planetnoun.com.

Small business owners fascinate me. Why? Because of their courage. Or what I perceive as courage. Who knows, maybe some are faint of heart. But I doubt that.

Why?

Because when anyone ventures to go against the grain of employee-dom (did I just make up a word?) there’s a risk of failure. Yes, there’s a risk with being an employee, but in my mind, it seems the risk is greater for business owners. If you get fired from your job you can blame your wack boss...your fellow employees who are trying to do you in (whether that’s perceived or real or downright wrong). But who you ‘gon’ blame if your business flops—absent environmental disasters, floods or other things out of your control? Seems that losing a business would be a hit to the spirit...so hard you’d need to duct tape and air pump your poor spirit daily just to get out of bed in the morning.

That’s why small biz owners fascinate me. They’re willing to confront that risk every-durn-day.

They all fascinate me…. Especially the ones who make products to keep our skin away from the throes of crust-ashiness.

Meet Ayanna Alexander of Sixahwe Naturals. https://www.sixahwenaturals.com

Learn about the origin of the company name, why they decided to go into business, and an important lesson she learned about maintaining passion for what you love to do. http://planetnoun.com/episode-8-sixahwe-naturals/

What’s your assignment? That’s something you may hear at school or at work, and some other places. Another way to ask this question is—what’s your purpose? Sometimes folks learn it at a young age. If you’re like me, you figured it out while fairly young, but maybe it took (and is still taking) a circuitous path to get there.

Our next guest didn’t figure out this particular “assignment” or purpose we discuss until she was good and grown. Meet Pastor Michelle C. Thomas of the Loudoun Freedom Center in Episode 7 of Planet Noun. Learn more about what she’s doing to help preserve African-American history in her community. http://www.loudounfreedomfoundation.com

Life is filled with so much artistry.

From word play…

To picture play, painter’s creations—whether they be a portrait, landscape, still life.. or walls.

To tapestries hung on a rod or fine linens clothing the insides of a room.

Food—also art.

So is drink.

That’s where my next guests come in.

I learned about their business…. On my Facebook. Full disclosure—I went to school with them… lost track after graduation—and reconnected via Facebook.

Meet the founders of the Skarlet Beverage Company .

They’re bringing some spice to the world of upscale virgin drinks.

More at http://www.planetnoun.com

There’s nothing like good talks with longtime friends.

Those conversations between decades-old pals can sometimes get pretty personal and... adult. So here’s the warning: THIS ISN'T FOR YOUR KIDS. Go-on ahead and put the little ones. Doesn’t matter where. Try else. Or the den. Or the living room. Listen after you drop them off at school or shoo them out of the house.

Why? Because we’re talking to an author of an erotic poetry book today. *smile*.

If you don’t know, you’re about to find out...about Atlanta-based poet Rare Epiphany.

Find links to her book under the podcast tab at planetnoun.com or http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/rareepiphany

Meet two ladies who saw a void in the hair community and decided to fill it—with an app!

Yes hons, finding a solid stylist is tops for their clients.

SWIVEL BEAUTY aims to take you from looking for a hair stylist to booking one in just a few minutes.

Oh, and I also booked an appointment through this app. My hairdo is scheduled for next week. I’ll have to tell you how it goes!

Greetings! Merry post-Christmas, pre-New Year! Here’s a bonus episode of Planet Noun to end the year!

It’s an interview I found so interesting and relevant to the holidays, I couldn’t wait!

Question: What are some of YOUR favorite holiday traditions?

When my siblings and I were younger, my parents would always pack a brown paper lunch sack with natural treats…. an apple…an orange… unshelled walnuts, pecans and almonds. One of my parents even snapped a photo of me dancing around our green shag-carpeted living room holding one of those bags on Christmas Day in 19-something-ty something.

That’s an example of a gift given to me…. But what about family traditions surrounding gift-giving to others? What about traditions involving family members who are far away—separated not only by land, but oceans?

Well, I learned something new in this interview with Illinois based photographer and artist Jason Reblando. He wrote a piece for CityLab about special boxes that members of the Filipino diaspora send home each year for Christmas.

Find more about what Reblando learned about balikbayan boxes in the piece he wrote for City Lab. Get the link at Planet Noun-dot-com.