In this episode of The Powermomma Podcast, Sam sits down with Tara Lietzow for an honest conversation about motherhood in the tween years and why this stage of parenting needs a lot more support.

They talk about the emotional load of raising daughters, the shift from managing kids to coaching growing humans, and the idea of "tween leave" as a real and necessary form of support for parents. The conversation also explores leaving full-time corporate life, rebuilding work around family needs, navigating late ADHD diagnosis, and learning to let go of perfectionism.

Sam and Tara also bond over books, creativity, and the pressure to constantly produce, ending with a powerful reminder that not every season is meant for pushing. Sometimes winter is supposed to be winter.

A thoughtful, funny, and deeply relatable episode for moms navigating the messy middle years of parenting, work, and identity.

Links + Resources

Alchemy Advising: https://www.alchemyadvising.co/

The Kitchen Table Revolution: https://www.storytimela.com/kitchen-table

Follow / Connect with Tara:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/tara-yeto-lietzow/

Follow / Connect with Sam:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/samanthahoeynelson/

https://www.instagram.com/stories/samiam_hoey/

There comes a moment in every ambitious woman's life when she realizes the problem isn't her. It's the table.

In this episode of The Powermomma Podcast, Sam Nelson sits down with Amy Nelson, founder of The Riveter, to talk about what happens when you stop trying to fit into systems that were never designed for you, and start building something better.

Amy shares her journey from corporate litigator to founder, why she created The Riveter because it was something she needed, and what she learned in rooms full of power where not everyone gets listened to. Together, Sam and Amy get into the real stuff: the slow-burn breaking points, the "prove you belong" trap, why corporate America still isn't built for women, and how women create their own exit strategies.

This one is a kitchen table conversation in the truest sense: honest, strategic, and full of "wait… YES" moments.

In This Episode

The difference between pulling up a chair and building your own table Amy's early lesson: you can walk into powerful rooms… but that doesn't mean you'll be heard Corporate America's design problem: women weren't included when the system was built The moment motherhood changes everything Why community matters: finding women with a growth mindset when time and life are tight

Share This Episode If…

You've been working twice as hard for half the results

You're "at the table" but somehow still invisible

You're done proving you belong in places that don't deserve you.

You're building something new while raising kids, caring for others, running a home Links + Resources

The Riveter: https://www.theriveter.co/

The Kitchen Table Revolution: https://www.storytimela.com/kitchen-table

Follow / Connect with Amy:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/amynelsonriveter/

https://www.instagram.com/amy_k_nelson/

Follow / Connect with Sam:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/samanthahoeynelson/

https://www.instagram.com/stories/samiam_hoey/

If today's conversation sparked something in you, don't let it end here. Check out theriveter.co and explore the community Amy's building for women who are done waiting for permission. There's always a chair at this table for you.

Until next time, keep building what works for you.

PowerMamas, peace out.

There's a table most women know by heart.

It's the place where problems get named. Where decisions get talked through. Where someone finally says the thing everyone's been thinking.

In this opening episode of Season 3 of the Powermomma Podcast, Sam Nelson introduces The Kitchen Table Revolution — a season about slowing down to sit at her kitchen table and talk.

Sam shares:

• The kitchen table legacy passed down from her family

• Her thoughts on the corporate "table" was never built for working mothers

• The jobs report that revealed why so many women are leaving the workforce

• The choice to work from her own kitchen table to build a career around her family

• How women can stop reacting and start deciding

This episode introduces the core questions that will guide the entire season:

• Where am I standing instead of sitting down?

• What table am I trying to sit at that doesn't fit anymore?

• What's getting harder to tolerate?

• What's getting clearer?

• Who am I holding the chair for?

Season 3 is about building a safer table for women to think, talk, and make decisions that move them forward

If this episode resonated, here are a few ways to join me at the table:

— Sam

Pull up a chair.

🔗 Connect with me on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/samanthahoeynelson/

📝 Read more on Substack @samanthahoeynelson5

🌐 Visit my website www.storytimela.com

✉️ [email protected]

Holiday Episode: "The Gifts That Changed Everything"**

In this final episode of 2025, Sam gets festive, reflective, and a little emotional as she unwraps the ten life-changing gifts that shaped her as a mom, creator, partner, and Powermomma.

These aren't gifts you can order on Amazon. They're the kind that show up in the form of advice, questions, invitations, one-liners, and moments that reroute your entire life.

Inside this episode:

🎁 The running advice that carried her through heartbreak and a half marathon 🎁 The Disney question that built her entire creative career 🎁 The Match.com message that led to an 8-hour date and a whole family 🎁 The power of one sentence: You're not a power bitch… you're a Powermomma 🎁 The autism mom who asked "How are you… really?" and changed everything 🎁 The meditation from Sam's sister that still guides her every morning 🎁 And the surprising "gifts" behind the Powermomma Podcast, Storytime, and Wonderkidz

Plus: a first look at Season 3 — The Kitchen Table Revolution A season built around the real, unfiltered conversations women have where life actually happens: the kitchen table.

It's heartfelt, it's messy, it's funny, it's real — the perfect close to a year that asked a lot from all of us.

Wishing you a beautiful holiday, a much-needed reset, and a damn good New Year. See you in 2026, Powermommas.

Three days after Thanksgiving, I'm back with the second half of the "NO Thanks / Thanks" series. This isn't the fluffy gratitude list your therapist wants you to make. This is the real version: the car-in-the-wildfire, we-built-this-city, "we're-alive-and-that's-what-matters" kind of thanks.

In this episode, I talk about:

• What I learned from a month of saying NO

• The day our family evacuated during the LA fires and found core gratitude in a car singalong

• Why everything after "we're alive and together" is just gravy

• What this first year of the Powermomma Podcast has taught me (including the messy, tech-broken episodes)

• Advocacy, autism, and turning our family story into something bigger for the community

• How to find real gratitude in a busy, noisy, burnout-prone life

• Simple questions to help you build your own "thanks" list going into the holidays

If this episode hits home, share it with a friend who's crawling into December already exhausted.

We've got this: strong NOs, true THANKS, and just enough holiday joy to keep us moving forward.

In this episode of the Powermomma Podcast, Sam kicks off her two-part "No Thank You" show, recorded on a hike at Runyon Canyon with her best friend of 28 years, newly-minted Dr. Helen Cunningham.

Together, they dig into:

• What NO-vember is and why saying no before the holidays is survival, not drama

• The long, messy list of "No's": overscheduling, pointless meetings, comparison, self-doubt, multitasking, burnout & fake obligations

• The USC homecoming rain game: saying no to playing it safe, yes to taking chances and making core memories with their kids

• Choosing quiet, simple Thanksgiving over performative "big gathering" energy

• How to stop comparing yourself to other moms, podcasters, "perfect" people & instead learn from them

• Burnout red flags and real-life strategies: hikes, meditation, journaling, and stepping away before you crash

This episode is the "NO" part of "No Thank You."

Next up: the THANKS side of the story.

This Halloween, we're taking off the masks. In this raw, honest episode, Sam unpacks the fears most women never say out loud — not spiders or ghosts, but the ones that haunt our everyday: fear of failing, fear of wasting potential, fear of being too much or not enough, and the mother of them all — fear of not being there for our kids.

Sam explores how fear doesn't always hold us back — sometimes it's pointing us forward. With humor, candor, this episode reframes fear as love in disguise — the pulse that proves we're still growing, still alive, still in it.

In this episode, you'll hear:

• Why "fearless" is the wrong goal — and how to use fear as a compass instead.

• How moms perfect the art of mask-wearinga nd what happens when we start to loosen it.

• The real cost of "doing it all" (and why rest is the bravest rebellion).

• The quiet fears of working moms: not being enough, being too much, falling behind, or outgrowing our lives.

Key Quote:

"Fear isn't the opposite of love. It's love's shadow — proof that something matters enough to scare you."

Perfect for: Working moms, creative entrepreneurs, women juggling ambition and motherhood, anyone tired of pretending to be fearless.

Listen if you've ever:

• Smiled through burnout

• Wondered if you're "doing it right"

• Hidden behind "I'm fine" when you weren't

• Felt scared to slow down, speak up, or take the next leap

Subscribe to The Powermomma Podcast wherever you listen — and share this episode with another woman who's doing it scared.

Because none of us are fearless.

We're just unmasked.

Much love, Sam

.

Summary We "took it to the hill" at Runyon and cracked open the E-word: energy. Not hustle fuel. Not a scarce ration. A flow you can tap, nourish, and share. From middle-school burnout triage to reiki basics, from grief that still powers action to the unexpected joy of pickleball, this episode flips the script from "manage your energy" to "open the valve."

In this episode

• Why "manage your energy" can backfire, and what to do instead: shift from control to flow

• Parenting the new middle-school workload without melting down (you or them)

• Mindfulness that actually helps when your brain time-travels to the terrifying future

• Reiki 101: what it is, what it isn't, and how presence restores energy fast

• Grief as rocket fuel: how a father's Top-10 birthday ritual keeps giving energy forward

• Surprise energizers: Runyon hikes, laughter, and… pickleball

Top takeaways

• Flow beats force. Treat energy like a river, not a bank account. Open channels; stop building dams.

• Presence is power. Exhaustion spikes when your mind lives in tomorrow. Return to now: breath, senses, feet on ground.

• Model sustainable effort. Teach kids to move tasks and reset pace; perfection is not the assignment.

• Love can energize. Let the love you carry become momentum for good.

• Move first, decide later. A ten-minute walk changes the story in your head.

• Find your weird joy. If pickleball or line dancing lights you up, that's strategy, not fluff.

Try this week

• 5 minutes of mindful breathing before you touch the to-do list.

• Write today's 3: what truly must happen, and push the rest.

• Do the Top-10 ritual at dinner: last year's 10 wins, next year's 10 goals. Kids included.

• Schedule one movement date with a friend. Accountability = energy.

Quotes to steal

• "Energy isn't something you hoard; it's something you let through."

• "A lot of our exhaustion lives in the future. Come back to now."

• "We're not alive to do all the things. We're doing things while we learn how to be human together."

If this gave you one inch of lift, tap follow, leave a 5-star review, and text the episode to the mom who keeps saying she's "fine" while her eye twitches. New here? Hit subscribe on for the weekly notes, templates, and the occasional spicy pep talk.

Episode credits Hosts: Sam & Tange Recorded: On the hill at Runyon, where the dogs are king and there's lots of eye candy. Production: Storytime LA

Show tags #Powermomma #EnergyReset #WorkingMoms #MindfulParenting #Reiki #GriefToGrowth #RunyonCanyon #PresenceOverPerfection #MomLifeStrategies

Powermomma Podcast – Episode 8: Season 2 Fall Kick-off 🎉 Summer's over, season two is here, and we've got a lot to catch up on!

In this episode: ✨ Tange's epic summer road trip (and a milestone birthday—hello 50s!) ✨ My own Storytime projects that kept me creating all summer long ✨ Why I'm calling fall the Second January—a fresh start for parents too

Think of it like Dry January… but with habits you'll actually keep. Back-to-school isn't just for kids—it's a chance for us to reset, recommit, and start again right now.

So grab your coffee, take that deep breath, and let's dive in. Season 2 of Powermomma starts here. 💪

Episode 7: "The Big Exhale: Summer, Sanity, and Saying It Anyway (Our Season One Finale)"

You know what's harder than launching a podcast while working and raising kids? Wrapping up your first season while your kids are home for summer break. 😅

Season One of the PowerMomma Podcast was sometimes messy, unpolished, and exactly what I needed—and maybe what you needed, too. We let go of perfection, hit record anyway, and somehow found gold on the other side of the chaos.

Now, we're wrapping it up with a big, collective exhale.

Because if we've learned anything, it's this: You don't need to have your sh*t together to say what needs to be said.

Summer's here. The world's on fire (again). The kids are home (always). And somehow, we're still expected to feed them lunch and remain professionally relevant while pretending we're fine. Cute.

This finale is your permission slip to take a breath, drop the guilt, and embrace the chaos—because if there's one thing this season taught us, it's that there's gold on the other side of messy, honest conversations.

Inside this episode:

What recording live taught me about letting go of perfection (your "ums" won't kill you) .

What we learned this year about boundaries, self-care, and saying "hell yes".

Why taking a walk with your ride-or-die is exactly what we all need.

If you're a working mom juggling career, caregiving, and trying to stay connected to yourself without dropping everything on the floor—this one's for you.

Take a breath, grab your coffee (or your wine), and let's exhale together. #PowerMommaPodcast #WorkingMoms #SeasonFinale #RealTalk #MomLife #Leadership

Let's walk and talk. 💛

Happy rest of summer with love, Sam & Tange

Connect with us:

https://www.storytimela.com/podcast https://www.linkedin.com/in/samanthahoeynelson/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/tangelia-rouse-33326a64/ https://www.instagram.com/powermommapodcast/