Fortunate to have a friend in Lauren who shares insightful ideas, asks

relevant questions, and encourages me to think through situations, I was

happy to talk with her about strategies for dealing with toxic people we

sometimes have to be around. Not wanting to pander to their inappropriate

behavior, we spoke about The Alice Effect.

The reality is that we can find ourselves in a situation where somebody is

making it a less happy place for us. We can choose to be the bigger

person, keep our energy level high and not let people bother us, talk to

someone if we feel they are open to listening and find our Zen place.

Jessica Kutcha-Miller, an ombudsman at Washington University advises to

think about the time and place to have these conversations.

The Alice Effect is a lesson in bravery, courage, and accountability. It is

a friendship born from appropriate, emotionally mature behavior. After

mounting frustration, I asked Alice something and it was the straw the

broke the camel’s back. Alice burst into tears and then came back from it.

Alice demonstrated backbone and moxie and was able to accept my

apology-after she pointed out why I had hurt her feelings. We were able to

move forward. I’m grateful to say that Alice and I are friends and I am

forever humbled by her example.

What I learned is that I can say something in the right way with kindness

and respect with the intention of everyone getting their needs met, it

becomes a win/win situation.

Lauren suggests that as women we can appreciate an apology and if need

be, work on the something that needs to be smoothed over or healed.

Lauren also reminds us that it’s, “hard to hate up close. (although she

doesn’t advocate the use of the word hate) If you get to know someone,

learn their story and take the time to get to know someone, there is usually

more of a sense of connection, empathy, and less toxic feeling. Sometimes

this can grow into a beautiful, unexpected friendship.”

Lauren reminds me that there’s not any one way to do this, that’s right. We

use our gut and experience and lean on what others have taught us, what

we know about the experience, and apologize when we screw up.

Many thanks to Lauren who is a wise, loving being. I’m lucky to call her a

friend, too.

Expect Good. Defy Gravity. Sparkle ON! Use the Alice Effect and take the high road.

#stlouisgirlstorytelling.com

#stlouisgirlpodcast

#strategiesfordealingwithtoxicpeople

#braverycourageandkindness

#thealiceexample

I had no idea what microgreens were until my friend Suzanne pointed me

toward the microgreen table at the Goshen Farmers Market in

Edwardsville. I ended up meeting Todd, an organic, microgreen farmer who

listened to a podcast, and decided to combine his love of gardening with a

new venture. After learning more than he thought possible, he loves the

actual growing of the greens. Grown in light, microgreens are grown in a

7–10-day growth cycle and pack a nutritional punch. They are grown from

seeds and are harvested before they are mature plants and become bitter.

Todd grows his microgreens in his basement; he created a precontained

grow environment. There are no pesticides used. He controls everything

including high intensity LED lights. Microgreens are nutrient dense and

offer health benefits (check the website) as well as tasting good. They can

be added to anything you can imagine including chocolate chocolate chip

zucchini bread. (I tried. And it was good. Message me for the recipe. Happy

to share.) Thanks, Todd for always putting sunflower greens aside for me

every week!

Expect Good. Defy Gravity. Sparkle ON! Eat your greens!

#stlouisgirlstorytelling

#stlouisgirlpodcast

https://feedyourgreen.com/

www.feedyourgreenmicrogreens.com

social media: fygmicrogreens

Note: Todd has since taken a full-time job and no longer sells his

microgreens at the Farmers Market or to individuals. We will miss him and

his greens!

Michelle, an LPC, mental health therapist and psychotherapist, uses a

variety of modalities and strategies to help, support, and encourage her

clients. Listen here as Pam and Michelle discuss how Michelle uses

reflection, objective feedback and cheerleading. “The reflective part is so

that people can reflect on their own. Determining the direction of your life,

who you want to be and what you want to do. This needs to come from us”.

She also layers in an energetic and spiritual point of view including guided

meditation.

Michelle used her gifts of objective feedback and reflection with me. Using

guided meditation, Michelle asked me what I wanted: “I want to feel lighter.”

Michelle reframed perfectly: You want to live, and work based on your

values which are truth and working in an ethical way. I added, “The bigger

part: I would like to feel a little bit lighter and less angst”. After the guided

meditation I did feel lighter giving myself permission to feel instead of think.

I would find that over time the angst would go away. This felt good.

Following my heart, intuition and inner wisdom always does!

michellerubinlpc.com

http://www.claytonwellnesscenter.com/

Expect Good. Defy Gravity! Sparkle On. Shine your inner light!

Shari Brune creates community, connection, and inspiration just by being

herself!

Spend a few minutes in the company of Shari and you will immediately feel

as if the world is a better place. She is simply a bright light in our world.

And I feel lucky to know her.

Shari and her daughter Paige are part of the Friends Group here in St.

Louis. Started twenty years ago by Shana Meyer who created Abilities

Awareness at Shendoah Valley Elementary in the Parkway School District

Shana wanted to celebrate everybody’s abilities. It was an idea for her own

daughter Gabby-and all the kids benefited. With the support of Bruce

Hunter, the Principal and the entire staff, our students came to understand

their own abilities as well.

While it takes a very special person to do what Shana did, it also takes a

very special person like Shari to step into those very big shoes and take

over the Girlfriends Group when Shana and her family moved.

When asked to chat about the Friends Group, Shari answers, “That’s my

favorite thing to talk about!”

Working diligently to create a space where the young adults can come

together, the Friends Group is also a place for parents and families. It’s the

place to share strategies and to bounce ideas off people who walk in the

same shoes. “Nobody can do this by themselves. We share

encouragement, Insight, advice, and suggestions from one another. We

laugh and cry and share a lot of meals!”

Shana wanted to get everyone together and kicked it with a pajama party at

her house, calling it The Girlfriends Group. This group is now celebrating

twenty years, and they are still going strong. Along the way, they included

dads, siblings and other family members and it became the Friends Group.

Shana’s idea was for inclusiveness which supports the involvement of the

entire family.

The Friends Group collaborate with community organizations including The

Down Syndrome Association and The Pujols Family Association. The organizations work together referring back and forth with one another. The

Friends Group is interwoven yet separate. Shari says, “They support what

we do. We have a special niche because of the parent connection. It’s

amazing to have the moms and dads come together and have that time of

sharing and fun. We have a great time celebrating with these young adults.

We love being together as a group.”

From a grass roots beginning based on the needs of a child to the Golden

Friends of today, Shari Brune is keeping the light of the Friends Group

shining.

Expect Good. Defy Gravity! Sparkle ON. Bring your unique and special

abilities to the world.

To find out more, contact:

Down Syndrome Association of Greater St. Louis

https://dsagsl.org/

The Pujols Family Association

https://www.pujolsfamilyfoundation.org/

To read more about the Friends Group:

https://www.stlouisgirlstorytelling.com/post/friends-group-moms-and-

daughters-on-a-fitness-journey

#shiningalight#friendsgroup#community#connection#inspiration

Julie’s journey to holistic health started the way a lot of functional health practitioners start-with her own health struggles. Listen here as Pam and Julie talk about the plan that veered off, what functional health is and how a practitioner like Julie takes a whole-body approach putting all the pieces together, navigating a way for our bodies to heal and maintain a state of balance. As an added bonus, Julie helps you look at what stressors are doing and teaches us to trust our bodies. She will walk with you on this wholistic journey.

#stlouisgirlstorytelling#stlouisgirlpodcast#wholisticfunctionalhealth#juliejames

Expect Good. Defy Gravity! Sparkle ON. Wholistic Health for Everyone.

https://www.facebook.com/wholisticfunctionalhealthJJ

https://www.wholisticfunctionalhealth.com

subscribepage.io/wholisticfunctionalhealth

Growing up outside of London, Hilary Persky and Bob Lewis knew their dad Tom Lewis had been in the British Army in WWII, however, he rarely spoke of his experiences. He was 18 when he was called up with 800 other young men. He was incredibly lucky to come home, start a family and a business. Their mom was in the WRVF. Listen as Hilary and Bob share their memories of their family and the message Churchill inspired. One story in particular caught my interest. When Italy was liberated, Tom Lewis was one of the soldiers in the mountains as the children came running out of the hills. What a sight that must have been. This podcast once more reminds me to ASK questions, get together with family and share stories, see what people know and gather these memories together so that they remain alive.

Thank you, Tom Lewis, for your service. Thank you, Hilary, and Bob for sharing your story.

Expect Good. Defy Gravity. Sparkle ON! Ask questions…Share your family stories. Celebrate your legacy.

#stlouisgirlstorytellling#stlouisgirlpodcast#legacymemoirs#thankyouforyourservice#keepcalmandcarryon

I was born when Uncle Steve was 18, a senior in high school. He was the

tallest person I knew and loved to laugh. My earliest memory of life was

when I was 4 years old and my sister Staci was 18 months. We were flower

girls at his first wedding. (We were also at his second wedding.) To this day,

I feel we were the luckiest people to have Uncle Steve as our Uncle. Listen

here as Pam and Steve’s good friend Harvey Lehrer talk about Steve’s

influence on their life. As Harvey says, “Most of us followed life’s highway.

Except for Steve. He heard a different drummer, a different orchestra. He

was just brilliant. You would never come away thinking that… Steve could

say something in a sentence…not a paragraph. Our friend group still gets

together, and we often talk about Steve.”

When I began writing seriously, I couldn’t quite find my voice. In an email,

Uncle Steve wrote: You need to find your voice. I wrote and I thought and

finally I wrote something and sent it to him. His reply: “Oh, you found your

voice”. He loved to read anything I wrote and we were each other’s biggest

fans.

Thank you, Uncle Steve, for the postcards, the laughter, the stories and for

believing in all of us. Thank you to Harvey, too, for sharing his thoughts

about his friend Steve Wilson.

To read more:

https://www.stlouisgirlstorytelling.com/post/post-cards-from-my-uncle

https://www.stlouisgirlstorytelling.com/post/post-cards-from-my-uncle

Expect Good. Defy Gravity! Sparkle On. I will always love you, Uncle

Steve!

#stlouisgirlpodcast#stlouisgirlstorytelling#uncles#friendship#family

When you see Mary Ann anywhere, she will likely have on a hat and her beautiful smile. She has a lot to live for. Five years ago, she was diagnosed with AML and after a bone marrow transplant, she was entering her 5th year when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Listen as Pam and Mary Ann talk about life, Mary Ann’s optimistic views and her life lessons.

Family and friends have shown up time and again for Mary Ann and she believes this is one of the reasons she is still here. Mary Ann reminds us that Everyone is going through something, inspire where and when you can, if you have to, put something on the back burner to enjoy the moment you are in, you will build confidence as you continue to get stronger, celebrate! And gather the people you love around you!

For more with Pam and Mary Ann: A Reason: Inspiring Journey of Cancer: Pain Management: Mary Ann Schreiber – StoryCorps Archive

Expect Good. Defy Gravity! Sparkle ON. Celebrate where and who you can!

#stlouisgirlstorytelling#stlouisgirlpodcast#havethepeopleyoulovearoundyou

Jess Phillips brings women light, love, support and guidance through Reclaim Your Shine. In this podcast listen as Pam and Jess share ideas about living in alignment, using our Human Design to show up, sharing our unique gifts and being present for what lights us up. Both Pam and Jess are projectors. Jess did a deep dive with Pam’s Human Design which included talking about aura’s (Pam has a very large aura), her love of water (the Ocean is the Mother Ship), and validating Pam’s inner voice that often encourages her to reach out to “her people.” By Jess “connecting the dots”, Pam now has a better understanding of herself as a projector, including what “invitations” feel and look like.

Jess Phillips: reclaimyourshine.com and on Instagram: @reclaimyourshine8

Expect Good. Defy Gravity. Sparkle ON! Find the light, love, support and guidance in your life!

Big Daddy’s in Edwardsville is packed and Drew and Audrey begin their set with White Rabbit. Drew on guitar, Audrey on her cool drums. She opens her mouth and I’m blown away. The energy is GIANT….the songs, the arrangements, the fun, the party atmosphere.

Listen as Sheafor and Simes share their JOY and connection with their audiences. Both musical, once they found one another (during Covid), they immediately hit it off and began making music together. They are IN TUNE with one another. Drew says: "It was instant. We knew we liked each other immediately." Audrey answers: "I was always looking for a partner who I could do projects with. My ride or die. I never imagined that that person could be my partner in life, my partner in everything."

Drew and Audrey agree, “It's like we were waiting for each other. And now we are doing what we really want to be doing with someone we really want to be with.”

Instagram: @sheafor_and_simes

TikTok: @audrey.simes and @drew_sheafor

YouTube account: @drewsheafor

www.audreysimes.com

https://www.facebook.com/sheaforandsimes

https://www.facebook.com/audreynsimes

https://www.facebook.com/drew.sheafor.5

Expect good. Defy Gravity! Sparkle ON. Share your musical joy!

#stlouisgirlstorytelling#stlouisgirlpodcast#sheaforandsimes#music#fun