"Sometimes," my mother went on, "I think of white dresses as a way of starting over. They're sort of a way of wiping the whole slate clean. Just like what happens in the wintertime when the snow comes. It wipes away everything in preparation for a new year, a new spring." --Mary Pflum Peterson (author of White Dresses: A Memoir of Love and Secrets, Mothers and Daughters)

Today I'm talking with Beaver Dam, WI native Mary Pflum!

Mary began her journalism career in New York at CNN where she had the opportunity to report from Istanbul, Berlin, and Atlanta. She was the CNN Bureau Chief in Turkey, and then she moved on to ABC News/Good Morning America.

She is currently a reporter and producer for NBC News. 

During her carried and exciting career, she's won 5 Emmies, 2 Edward R Murrows, a Peabody, a DuPont, and a WGA Award.

She's covered presidential elections, the Oscars, Hurricane Katrina, the London bombings, royal weddings, the death of Pople John Paul II, and the political rise of Barak Obama.

Today, we talk about her amazing book White Dresses: A Memoir of Love and Secrets, Mothers and Daughters. It looks into Mary's complicated--and loving--family through the lens of the white dresses that the women in her family have worn on special occasions. 

You can find her and see what she's up to at  http://www.marypflumpeterson.com/

and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mary.pflum

"Yes, sitting in your car alone in your pajamas, chowing down on your favorite fast food and super-sized soda while rapping along to songs about drugs and money is a completely valid and oftentimes necessary form of self-care."  --@Marrage and Martinis

NEVER have I done any of these things, but I think the visual is hysterical!

This week, the Sidetracked Sisters got together to write about Self-Care.

In our discussion, we get into Judy's luxurious foot rubs, Sandy's sanity-filled gardening and reading, Michelle's napping and treating herself to Life Coaching, and my ability to "stop and smell the roses" (or dandelions) while on long walks. We also get into kicking up our feet at the cottage and enjoying something called a "sound bath". 

But the real question we grapple with is "Does Netflix binging...count. as. self-care?"

"If you're going to live, leave a legacy. Make a mark on the world that can't be erased."  --Maya Angelou

Legacy writing is a creative process that we HOPE our kids and grandkids will appreciate someday down the road! Today's guest, my cousin, Marcia Hero, isn't recording her life using only a pen and paper or a laptop. Instead, she is a visual artist who uses a variety of mediums to do this.

Artists, writers, journalers, and storytellers, are each making a legacy in their own way. What stories do we have to tell? What lessons are we feeling the need to share? How do we want to be remembered?

In today's episode, Marcia talks about her creative journey. We get into the importance and value she places on the small community she has with 3 other artists who together call themselves "The Martini Girls". She talks about art journaling as a way to play, to express yourself, and as a chronicle of your life.

There are so many similarities between legacy writing and expressing yourself through artistic endeavors...

Here are links to the groups and sites that Marcia referenced during our interview:

Wisconsin Visual Artists  The oldest continuous art group in Wisconsin, formerly named Wisconsin Painters and Sculptors  This group accepts beginners through professionals, in just about any fine art medium, including photography and book arts.  https://www.wisconsinvisualartists.org

League of Milwaukee Artists  2nd oldest group in Wisconsin.  Acceptance into the group is by application and jury of artwork.  https://www.milwaukeeartists.org/

Wisconsin Pastel Artists  This group's members work only in chalk pastel.  Accepts beginners through professionals.https://www.wisconsinpastelartists.com

On-line courses:

https://jeanneoliver.com/course-home/

https://www.fredbellpaintings.com/book-online

https://www.artsybohemian.com/

The Martini Girls Facebook page:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/95932916063

My Facebook fine art page:  https://www.facebook.com/mherosart

My personal FB page:  https://www.facebook.com/marcia.hero

Would you describe yourself as a quantrelle? Are you a bold woman who loves deeply, someone who lets go of pressure and false identity to follow your heart?

Or, maybe you are a novaturient kind of person who desires or seeks effective change in your life, behavior, or situation.

Perhaps you would describe yourself simply as a philocalist--a lover of beauty...one who finds and appreciates beauty in all things. 

Today the Sidetracked Sisters talk about our Legacy Writing topic "3 Words to Describe Yourself". No one used any fancy words to describe themselves. But the words we did use felt real and meaningful. 

In this discussion, we explore Michelle's qualities of organized and jokester, Judy's qualities of integrity and sensitivity, Sandy's snarkiness and persistence, and my desire to be adventurous.

"You already know the story that you should be telling that will break the chains of your past and bring healing to your present. This healing creates a ripple effect out towards your future, as well as to those around you." --Codi Chen

Today I am interviewing Codi Chen! She is the co-owner, with her wife, Renee, of HeartWorks Writing. She loves traveling, coaching writers, editing, and all things writing. 

I'm talking with her about her interesting writing journey. We get into her suggestions for writers who have challenging stories to tell and what to do if others have different memories of a story event.

She also gives some tips to solve writer's block, what to look for when you want to find a sacred group or writing community, and how to set yourself up to give and receive feedback effectively.

Codi can be found...

at her website- www.HeartWorksW.com

on Instagram- @codielizabeth

and Facebook- facebook.com/codi.thompson

"You'll never be bored when you try something new. There's really no limit to what you can do." --Dr. Seuss

I have to admit that writing about the topic, "My Greatest Fear" is NOT for the faint of heart!

Besides writing, and sharing about a challenging topic, this new format of the four of us all on one Zoom call is taking some getting used to. Thank you for joining us for what is, at times, a HOT MESS!

Today the Sidetracked Sisters are talking about storms, car crashes, loss, shame, and aging. (Sounds like a real party--right?)

Welcome to our world as we share, laugh, and cry (but mostly laugh) about the stuff that keeps us up at night...

"Everyone has a writer living in their soul." --Maria Secoy (teacher/mentor/writer) Maria Secoy believes that your voice is the best one to tell your story. She has worked for more than 15 years with writers of all ages and levels of experience. She's on a mission to help women use the communication skills they already have to tell their stories.  Today we get together and talk about writing and getting our stories down. We get into the advice she gives to women who haven't written much--or at all--since high school. We talk about inspiration and the brass tacks of making writing a manageable process to record our memories.  Maria is a warm, encouraging, talented writer, mentor, and teacher. She agrees with the Sidetracked Sisters that we need to record our thoughts, stories and experiences. I'm so excited to share our conversation with you! 

Her new book is Alongside Lucy. You can also get a signed copy here! 

Here is Maria's contact information: 

Website -- https://allwritewell.com 

Facebook -- MariaSecoy-writer 

Instagram -- @AllWriteWell 

Twitter -- @TeachingSecoy

"Too many people spend money they earned, to buy things they don't want, to impress people they don't like." --Willl Rogers (American actor)

I think we all know people like this and probably have succumbed to the temptation once or twice ourselves.

This week, the Sidetracked Sisters got together to talk about money. We all had different perspectives and stories on wealth, money, and abundance. We talk about making money, having it, saving it and spending it. 

I'm not sure that we discovered or uncovered any great truthes, but we sure did have fun!

"Stay committed to your decisions but, stay flexible in your approach." --Tom Robbins (American novelist)

The Sidetracked Sisters definitely believe in the philosophy of flexibility. My sister, aunt, mom and I have been writing together for many years. Then, just 4 months ago, we decided to start this podcast to let more people know about "Legacy Writing". To do this, we would write together, and then everyone would have an interview about that week's writing. 

But, it didn't turn out as juicy as we had hoped. The camaraderie, the snarkiness, and the disagreements were missing!!! Mom would regularly be wanting to rebut and Judy would want to clarify an idea. However, none of that was shared with you!

So...we are changing things up. We are going to be moving to 2 podcasts a week. One will be the four Sidetracked Sisters getting together as a group to share, talk, laugh, question, disagree and just explore ideas together. The other will be where we talk to friends and experts about journaling, memoir writing, and storytelling to help us share our stuff in a more interesting and engaging way. 

Here is our first four-person discussion about this change...