In a slightly different episode we discuss weight lifting with my friend Toby. Toby is an Army Spouse that has made his own way by diving into the world of strength training. There are so many benefits to weight training, beyond they obvious, and we discuss some of those.

Toby is also a writer for the Military Family group independant.org where he writes about other issues military families face from a male spouse perspective.

Toby and I spend alot of time discussing different aspects of strength training and the impact it has had on us.

In the years I've been a Military Spouse something I have seen over and over again is people lacking confidence in themselves. I say that to let yall know I am guilty of it as well. I'm an overall pretty confident individual when it comes to most things. However, confidence in myself when it comes to doing things like starting this podcast back up after taking time off was incredibly low. Having the confidence to put yourself out in the public eye and try to accomplish something is no small feat.

There are things you can do to help build your confidence to try new things and take a chance on yourself. The number one thing I can tell you is, TRY. Thats it, thats the big secret, you have to be willing to take that first step and try.

Podcast Merchandise Available here: https://http-theawesome-com.printavo.com/merch/the-professional-dependa

This topic is one of the more divisive topics we have covered to date. Food insecurity affects a far greater number than most people realize. The reason why this topic is so divisive is because the cause of it is so misunderstood. All it takes is going to @glorynutrition instagram page and seeing the comments saying how its "not real" or "those people don't know how to budget", to begin understanding why the people this is impacting the hardest...don't want to talk about it. Thankfully we have people like Heather that are brave enough to have the tough conversations with policy makers to bring this issue to the forefront.

Heather brings the data backed knowledge to fight the battle of food insecurity and help bring better understanding to this problem.

If you want to connect with Heather her instagram link is above or you can connect with her on Linkedin at https://www.linkedin.com/in/heatherscampbell/

Have you ever faced your own mortality? As a military spouse we are often faced with the fact that something may happen to our partner when they are deployed or even in training. However, when was the last time you looked at yourself in the mirror and realized that something could happen to you? That is exactly what happened with Samantha when she received her cancer diagnosis.

September is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month and this episode is amazing. Samantha explains how this diagnosis went missed for so long, even with her background as a Physicians Assistant (PA).

We don't spend the entire episode discussing her cancer and its treatment. We also discuss how this has helped her want to be more involved in Patient Advocacy and the importance of knowing when to fight for the medical treatment you deserve.

Join us for a dive into the world of being a Navy Spouse with Ashley. Ashley walks us through her experiences of being married to a Submariner. The challenges that come with constant deployments, short notice missions, and having little to no communication with her spouse for months at a time.

These things can force a person to become incredibly adapt at carrying not only for themselves but for their family as well. It can lead to problems when the spouse is not out on a mission and tries to participate in day to day operations of the home. The issue becomes when the duty station is set up for short notice missions having a parent in and out of the home for weeks to months at a time can cause confusion to other family members. Ashely tells us about they handled this and more during their time in the Navy, and also how they began planning early for her husbands retirement.

Hope you enjoy this weeks episode!