The Laundry Basket Podcast

This week, we want to explore the limits of our imagination and discuss the realm of the supernatural. In all cultures of the world, there are stories of sorcerers, witches, magicians, fortune tellers, magic potions, and many other ways in which humans entertain the idea of tapping into another dimension of reality. Salima and I were eager to bring up this conversation because we have different experiences with the idea of psychic abilities. I find that, since childhood, the world of fortune tellers, dream interpretation, palm reading, tarot cards, amulets, spirits, and spells are just an obvious part of life. To my surprise, I found out that for Salima, it's the opposite! This type of magic has not really played any role in her upbringing nor her adult life, so her curiosity is at top levels. To make things more interesting, we decided to invite one of Salima's friend who will perform Salima's first ever tarot card reading! Let's see what the spirits have to tell us…

Quote of the week:

“Everyone is born with psychic abilities. It’s just a matter of knowing how to tap into it.” 

- Julien Offray de la Mettrie 

Book reference: Practical Intuition by Laura Day

Modern Families is a new series on the podcast. In this episode we will talk about modern moms. 

Our modern societies have evolved to create a wonderful environment where women can enter any career they please and thrive at work. However, amidst this passionate fight for women’s equal rights and opportunities in the professional realms, many mothers are beginning to notice that there is an aspect of our societies that is still lagging behind, not reconciling completely between the ambitious desires of working moms and their parenting obligations. We are calling these women “Modern Moms” during our podcast, as we are referring to the new wave of mothers who are going through internal debates about what it means to be a working mom and how to translate this internal struggle into a social movement to create new solutions and choices for modern moms. 

Our guest today, Mina Fadol,  is a modern mom of two children. She lives in an urban context, in the city of Calgary, Alberta, in Canada. Her husband owns a Gourmet Pizza Restaurant and she is an Athletic Therapist. After giving birth to her first child, she decided not to go back to work for some time. After giving birth to her second child, she realized staying at home with two children was not making her happy and tried to find solutions that accommodate both her professional desires and her mother obligations. Today we dive deep into this struggle in the hope of creating a dialogue between modern moms, moms-to-be, women who are hesitant to have children because they do not want to sacrifice their career, and very importantly, the rest of the society and its expectations of modern moms. Can we find a middle ground? 

Quote of the week:

“We expect women to work like they don’t have children and raise children as if they don’t work.” 

– Unknown

The union of marriage exists in all societies around the world. Each country and religion shapes the requirements, conditions and laws that regulate marriages, sometimes radically different from one culture to another. Beyond the legal or holly framework of this union, does marriage mean the same thing to everyone on an emotional level? Are there fundamental questions we should ask ourselves when considering getting married? Is there a secret to a happy and long lasting marriage? Salima and I have had extremely different experiences with marriage, let's see what we have discovered over the years! 

Quote of the week:
“A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person.”
– Mignon McLaughlin

Interview with Divorce Lawyer, James Sexton with Lewis Howes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-iXwkwIEIbI

The oldest traces of grape wine production have been found in Europe, somewhere between what is today Armenia and Georgia, dating as far back as  4000 BC. Ever since, wine has been a loyal friend to many artists, poets, travelers, emperors, and even religious leaders. It has become a major part of many culture’s identities around the world and every year, millions of tourists travel from one country to another, to discover the treasures each wine region has to offer. Exploring the world of wine includes learning about geography, history, geology, agriculture, and much more. It is no wonder that in the Greek mythology it is considered “the nectar of the Gods”. Salima and I always enjoy savoring a glass of wine when we visit each other and some of our fondest memories of time spent together involve a glass or two. Today, we dedicate the next hour to learning more about how to appreciate wine and its significance in our world. 

“A bottle of wine contains more philosophy than all the books in the world” -Louis Pasteur

Today we interview Italian Sommelier Maria Luisa Costa.
Maria Luisa Costa was born in Florence, Italy, and grew up surrounded by the lively culture of delicious Italian food and wine. She comes from a long family tradition of restaurant ownership and wine connoisseurs. It’s not surprising that she studied to become a professional sommelier and has several years of experience working in the wine and dine industry in Europe, Latin America and recently, Canada. She has gracefully accepted to join our episode to share her perspective and knowledge of the wine and spirits industry. 
Linkedin: https://it.linkedin.com/in/maria-luisa-costa-b8a72476/en 

At this point in our lives, we’ve had our fair share of experience with romance. Today we’re talking all things romance, from past romantic gestures to societal expectations, and diving deep into our understanding of the 5 love languages.
“There are five love languages: Words of Affirmation, Acts of Service, Receiving Gifts, Quality Time, and Physical Touch." - Dr. Gary Chapman
Take the quiz to find out your love language here!

Since mid-March 2020, most of the world has been in a state of quarantine to contain the spread of the corona virus. It is during this time of confinement that the Schmooze and Booze podcast is born and we are dedicating our first episode to the extraordinary circumstances our world is facing, forcing us to be patient, resilient, positive and compassionate. Can we find a silver lining through the atrocities of illness, death, and economic recession? Let’s dive right into it.

“Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.” - Rumi