This Is EZ With Friends

Have you ever watched somebody grow up and then they go away for college and you’re in shambles.

Leah was born the year I graduated from high school and she was as cute as they come. She still is. She’s funny. She’s smart. And her laughter is contagious. She teaches me Gen Z slang and even though she cringes when I use it - she makes me feel cool anyway. 

She’s started at Clark Atlanta University last month and I’m just so f*cking proud. I’m proud in a way that leaves me speechless and makes me well up with tears of joy and a little bit of sadness because how did the time fly by so quickly ? And what do you mean I’m not gonna see her all the time now? 

What a blessing to watch a journey like this unfold. What a privilege to be a part of her tribe. We will watch the people we love be reborn so many times if we stick around long enough. To think this little baby is now a woman going off to do her thing is mind boggling. But she’s ready. And she’s going to do great things because she’s a great person. 

Of course we recorded one of our last big convos because I wanted us both to remember this time forever. She dropped wisdom for the little girl in these pictures, for the woman she is today, and gave a shout out to the woman on the other side of this experience. 

Our grandpa used to call her Leah the Great. He wouldn’t be surprised to find out she’s been leaning into it. Press Play!

Diana Zúñiga (she/her/hers) is a liberatory coach, cultural healer and worker, medicine woman, organizational consultant, system weaver, and business owner with 16 years of experience. She is the Founder of Tres Lunas Consulting, a holistic business that provides support through coaching, healing, and organizational consulting services for individuals, organizations, coalitions, and systems to build liberatory containers and infrastructures. Say that five times fast! Diana brought her brilliance to the podcast and shared in a fun conversation about a mushroom ceremony that she guided me through last year. Thank you thank you thank you for listening. Press play!

My plan was to record this episode and save it for the archives, but I really wanted to betray my own trust, so I'm releasing it. What kind of sick person does that? Me, that's who. It's artsy and demure AF.

Do I speak in southern accents sometimes? Maybe. But that's what artists do, okay babe? They art.

Buzz words include - falling off wagons, thinking about hopping on new wagons, collaborating, being lazy, asking the hard questions, eating like a pig, learning to stop eating like a pig, and I said balls once.

If this sounds like your cup of tea, pour it up and press play! <3

I’m back on my bullshit with another solo episode. This one is about my decision to stop drinking a month ago. Trigger warning: I cry in the episode. Couldn’t help myself. Had a lot of feelings while talking about what led up to this decision and how it has impacted the way I see myself and my life. Don’t worry. I’m not trying to convince you to stop. I’m just documenting this time, and the wave of emotions that came with it. 

As per usual, I’m excited to share a little bit of my story in the hopes that it might resonate with some or all of you. Wishing you a happy day, a happy week, a happy month, a happy rest of the year. I have a few more episodes coming your way before I wrap this thing up for the year. Press play!

If you’re a day one listener of TIEZWF, you remember my first ever episode with my bestie Kim on the topic of toxic relationships. I would encourage you to go back and listen, but the truth is that it’s cringeworthy. We both listened to it a while after we recorded it and felt so embarrassed by our lack of self-awareness. We’ve been apologizing off-mic ever since, but we’re back to say we’re sorry and we’re not perfect. 

We go real deep in this episode about our toxic traits. We’re just letting y’all know that we had no business talking about our ex-partners as if our sh*t don’t stink. It’s easily one of my favorite episodes ever. We laughed, we successfully avoided crying, and we made promises to work on the not-so-great qualities that we haven’t quite conquered yet. 

It’s funny and, hopefully, relatable to some or all of you. Please enjoy this extremely vulnerable episode. Press play!

Jen Mejan and Deborah Danhof came highly recommended by several people that I love and trust. Ralph and I were shopping for homes at the height of the COVID real estate bubble, and we had just about given up on homeownership. We went through several different agents that were unresponsive, sometimes flaky, and seemingly out for themselves. We understood that it was a business transaction, but we also wanted to work with someone who understood that buying a home is an emotional process as well. It’s stressful, and for us, it was brand new. 

They helped us find a home that was perfect for us, answered all of our questions, and negotiated a killer deal during an unprecedented time in which folks were being outbid by hundreds of thousands of dollars for homes that didn’t seem worth what people were paying. 

One of the lessons I learned during the home buying process was that I should have done my homework a lot sooner. I could have bought a home YEARS before I actually did, but I lacked the resources and the know-how. 

I bring you an episode that is as fun as it is informative. You had questions, I asked them, and I got your answers! I even got answers to the questions you didn’t ask, such as “do you have any favorite real estate stories.” I got chills hearing about a haunted house situation, and you probably will too. 

It’s a great episode. It was so much fun to record. I’ll admit that I don’t feel optimistic about the current state of the real estate market, but I still think it’s possible to get educated on what you can afford and figure out where you’ll need to go to land that house you’ve always wanted. 

What are you doing still reading this? Go press play!

Miguel Sandoval is an educator, a native plant lover, and just an all-around cool-ass dude. I met Miguel a few years ago when my friend Niki posted a picture of him with a poll that read “What is Miguel talking about?” The options were: succulents, the moon, or music. I was like “Your husband sounds like my husband,” and we planned a date for our husbands to meet. Miguel later helped Ralph with our landscaping, and if you’ve never had the pleasure of seeing their work, I'll include it in my Instagram post for this episode.

Miguel agreed to join the podcast to talk about his experiences working with young people, and all the ways we can empower them, and ourselves. He’s a brilliant mind, and it was truly a pleasure to sit and chat with him. Editing the episode over the last few days had me reflecting on how I show up for the young people in my life, and was a reminder that our culture needs a serious makeover. It’s a great episode, ok? Press play and stay tuned for part 2, where more knowledge gets dropped.

Greetings, loyal followers far and wide! I was going to release an episode today with the homie Miguel Sandoval, but I felt inclined to keep it real with y’all about what’s been going on in my personal life. Today I bring you a solo episode, and with it, a piece of myself.

I’ve had to postpone some of my episodes due to being in a state of overwhelm. This happens to me sometimes, and I’ve learned to be kind to myself through it.

I thought that if I shared a vulnerable story about myself some of you might see a little of yourselves in it, and thus feel less alone. That’s the whole point of the podcast, afterall. It’s a safe space. A place where people can share and not be judged.

As part of my healing process, I’m sharing loudly and proudly. I’m not okay right now, and that’s okay. I will be. 

Thanks to all of you who listen, who reach out, and who make space for me in your lives. I appreciate you so much. It can be lonely on this end of the mic, but even if I feel lonely, I know I’m not alone.

Special thanks to my therapist, Cynthia, who doesn’t even follow me on here but has added so much color to my life and given me the freedom to be kind to myself, unapologetically. I know therapy isn’t for everyone, but it’s definitely for me and I encourage any of you who have been wanting to give it a try to go for it.

And understand that your first therapist might not be the one, but the one is definitely out there. There is so much power in being heard and understood.

We all need to feel like our story matters. And it does matter. Your story matters. Whoever you are. The fact that you read this far means you needed to hear this. Sending you love and light. Releasing this episode earlier than usual because I want to go to bed early. LOL! Besos. 

Kellie G. Espinoza is my neighbor turned friend that I met a little over a year ago when Ralph and I decided to have a yard sale on a weekend when we weren’t even allowed to. Kellie and her husband Joey were among the five people who actually stopped by. Her Texas twang and cheery disposition were like magnets for the friend addict in me. We exchanged Instagrams and I learned that her thumb is as green as they come. Joey’s culinary background and Kellie’s natural talent in the garden create the perfect recipe for a powerhouse couple and some bomb ass backyard dinner parties. 

Kellie joined the podcast to share all about her passion for gardening, health, apothecary, and personal growth. We got to drinking on this episode, and went on several tangents that include but are not limited to: setting boundaries, friendship, old relationships, word association games, dog rescue, food, gardening, and pretty much anything else that we felt was worth mentioning. 

It’s a hoot. There’s a lot of laughter. Kellie is rad. She is loved and appreciated. 

Follow her @gardentotablebliss. And then follow her @innatespiritbeauty for some incredibly clean apothecary curated from her own garden. Just support everything she does, because she does everything with her whole heart. Press play!