Seize the Yay

Lovely yayborhood, you might have seen that we have quite a few friends on the latest season of Survivor (a few of whom you’ve already heard from on the show) and we thought for those of you who find some yay in watching the show it’d be the perfect opportunity to dish up some behind the scenes dirt for you. So, quick heads up for anyone who isn’t a big fan, there’ll be a few bonus episodes during this Blood vs Water season that assume you know the show and rule of the game well (but we’ll still be recording our regular content so no worries if you want to skip past).

For those who do listen, the episodes are right up to date so spoiler alert if you haven’t watched right up until Sunday 27th Feb when the two tribes finally merged. SO thrilled to have my love Khanh Ong join us for this episode, but also SO bummed that it's because his Blood vs Water journey has come to a blindsided end...

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I have been busting to share this week’s episode with you guys and if you’ve run into me at all since I met Gabe and Adam last December, I have probably already talked your ear off about them. I was lucky enough to meet this lovely couple during my very quick trip to LA as we were on the same shoot together and had a lovely whirlwind few days as a trio. You can probably tell that meeting new people and hearing all about their lives is one of my very favourite things and these two are so fascinating both separately and together, but our time as a trio was short. So, you and me both are hearing all the finer details for the first time and after this chat, I loved them even more.

With Gabe being born without limbs and adopted from Sao Paolo Brazil to Utah and both Gabe and Adam growing up in the Mormon faith which came into conflict with their sexuality, these two bring such unique and interesting perspectives to this chat on finding yourself and your yay. Then the story of the finding each OTHER is a beautiful one, with their wedding taking place just before we met launching Gabe into global Tiktok fame and consequently a whole new career. I’ll let them tell you the rest themselves - they are wise beyond their young years with such beautiful messages about self-acceptance, embracing your uniqueness and building a strong relationship. I hope you are as inspired and delighted by them as I am.

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Lovely yayborhood, you might have seen that we have quite a few friends on the latest season of Survivor (a few of whom you’ve already heard from on the show) and we thought for those of you who find some yay in watching the show it’d be the perfect opportunity to dish up some behind the scenes dirt for you. So, quick heads up for anyone who isn’t a big fan, there’ll be a few bonus episodes during this Blood vs Water season that assume you know the show and rule of the game well (but we’ll still be recording our regular content so no worries if you want to skip past).

For those who do listen, the episodes are right up to date so spoiler alert if you haven’t watched right up until episode 9. SO thrilled to have the wonderful Amy Ong join us for this episode, give her a follow here.

AMY'S JEWELLERY LABEL, VANAOC

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Somehow, between the 385725938 episodes we've done together, it seems Ang and I have never properly explained how we met!! So, we thought that'd make the perfect #yaysofourlives episode for Valentine's Day in honour of ALL the different kinds of love we can celebrate on Feb 14, including the love between friends.

We eventually make it to a few other random yayborhood watch good news stories plus a voice memo from one of our lovely listeners about the Gardiner Brothers story from a few weeks ago (which we LOVE, keep those coming!) Happy Valentines Day, everyone!

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It’s been such a fun few weeks easing back in with a few doses of #yaysofourlives for you, but we’re finally back with our first full interview guest for the year and I couldn’t think of a more perfect guest than Briony Benjamin. I read Briony’s book, Life is Tough, But So Are You, when it came out in August last year and again just before this interview and both times, for different reasons, it was exactly what I needed to find my yay again and I hope this chat is the same for some of you too – it’s like she looked into the future and covered off every topic that’s relevant to the world right now.

Her pathyay to her dream job as Executive Producer at Mamamia.com.au epitomises everything we love to talk about here taking twists and turns through drama teaching in London to a commerce degree then a second degree in film and TV after that. But it was finding out she had cancer all through her body while working in that role that really messed up her vision board. I don’t feel I can do justice to her journey without reading the full book out here, but I trust that by the end of this you’ll read it yourself as well as watching her short video 'You Only Get One Life' that went viral, touching millions including myself. Everything Briony shares about how to wade your way through tough times is painfully relevant to the pandemic and I feel so lucky to be able to share it with the yayborhood at a time where we all probably need a little reminder that, in Briony’s words, you can’t polish a turd but you can roll it in glitter.

WATCH BRIONY'S VIDEO HERE

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Welcome back to another dose of #yaysofourlives. We touched on Lunar New Year last week just before Ang went off to celebrate with her family, but today we’re joined by the incredible Francesca Hung to dive a little deeper into the celebrations and her experience of growing up Asian in Australia, which I think will be fascinating given we share that experience but from completely different backgrounds and perspectives.

From a shy young girl growing up on the Northern Beaches to our first Miss Universe Australia of Asian descent and now E! Australia host, Francesca is an absolute delight to chat with and I hope you enjoy this one as much as I did!

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Lovely yayborhood, you might have seen that we have quite a few friends on the latest season of Survivor (a few of whom you’ve already heard from on the show) and we thought for those of you who find some yay in watching the show it’d be the perfect opportunity to dish up some behind the scenes dirt for you. So, quick heads up for anyone who isn’t a big fan, there’ll be a few bonus episodes during this Blood vs Water season that assume you know the show and rule of the game well (but we’ll still be recording our regular content so no worries if you want to skip past).

For those who do listen, the episodes are right up to date so spoiler alert if you haven’t watched episodes 1-3 yet. Also a little content warning that these are a probably a little looser than our normal episodes so you might catch some saucier content or a few more profanities than usual - all in the name of the drama. Some bombshells are dropped, some secrets are shared, and A LOT of yay was had in the process - hope you enjoy!

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Another chaotic dose of #yaysofourlives with our resident co-host Ang who brings out the crazy in me and hopefully a few laughs in you.

I came across the perfect #quoteoftheyay for the times we're living in from the incredible Helen Keller - A bend in the road is not the end of the road, unless you fail to make the turn. We're all facing huge disruptions to the path we thought we were on, but never forget you have the power to pivot and reach your destination in another way.

Don't forget to DM or email us any good news stories you see for yayborhood watch or any requests and feedback on our idea for a historical YesterYAY series!

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Lovely yayborhood, welcome to the first episode of 2022! We took a much longer break than anticipated as the brain took her sweet time replenishing after a crazy year, so thank you very much for your patience and hope you too had a chance for some down time.

If you're nonetheless having a bit of a hard time kickstarting the year, you are absolutely not alone - hopefully you find some reassurance in Ang and I still being unable to find our marbles. Things have not exactly gone back to normal, so you can't expect yourself to either hence our first #quoteoftheyay for the year - you have exactly enough energy for one day at a time and taking it day by day is all you need to do right now.

To keep you smiling in the meantime, we also had a backlog of good news stories to share in our ongoing protest against the negativity of the news cycle from unfathomable kindness by strangers to real time sign language translation. If you're ever losing faith in humanity and look hard enough, there are reminders everywhere of the pure good in people.

And something a little different for recommen-yay-tions to start the year - we want to hear YOURS for what you'd like in 2022 and also share a new segment idea to see what you think. As always, please DM or email me [email protected] with your thoughts and feedback. LOVE YOU ALL!

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I can’t believe we’ve reached our last guest interview for the year! My gosh, we’ve had some touch and go moments in 2021 - in and out of lockdown (and therefore in and out of motivation) with rapidly changing schedules and everything in between, but we made it and I’m so proud of the yay we’ve created in our third year together.

I can’t say enough how grateful I am for the yayborhood, you’ve absolutely kept me sane this year and given me so many reasons to smile with our healthcare worker care packs, Q&A episodes and just your lovely messages each week. I’ll be taking a proper break over the festive season but as usual re-releasing some favourites in case you missed any, and will be back early next year (with Ang of course) to bring you bigger and better yay next year.

For today, I couldn’t think of a more perfect guest (or should I say guests) to finish off the year on a high than the two amazing humans you’re about to hear from. And this episode is all the more special because, despite amassing an enormous community with whom they share so much of their lives on social media, this is the first time EVER that they’ve shared their story on a podcast and I’m still pinching myself that they said yes.

Of course, I’m talking about the Real Dads of Melbourne aka Jarrad and Michael Duggan-Tierney who give the beloved sitcom Modern Family a good run for its money sharing their life as parents to son Reid who was born via a surrogate and now foster parents to baby Junior. They probably need no introduction to most of you, stealing hearts all over the nation (and beyond) for their hilariously down to earth recounting of the ups and downs of family life.

If you haven’t heard about them yet, you are in for an absolute treat (and even if you do know them, given that this is their first podcast, this is the Real Dads as you’ve never heard them before covering everything from coming out, meeting at Qantas, the process of surrogacy and teaching your kids to embrace their uniqueness). We’re very lucky to share an incredible manager (shout out to Gen at Day Management) and I live around the corner from the dads, but there’s so much I hadn’t heard before…

I usually give away more teasers in the intro but my words just can’t do their wit, honesty, love and genuineness justice – there’s laughter, tears, and every other emotion in between. I’ll let Jarrad and Michael tell you their story themselves and if you’re not as in love with them as I am by the end I’d be surprised.

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