Vertically Unstable

Why does everything suddenly feel so much more annoying after 40?

This week, Kelly and Christy compare notes on the everyday things that now send them into full-blown unhinged mode. From speakerphone conversations, airport behavior, tiny hotel pillows and terrible restaurant experiences to parenting, perimenopause and the mysterious aches that appear overnight, nothing escapes the list.

It's funny, honest, wildly relatable, and proof that getting older doesn't necessarily make you calmer... it just lowers your tolerance for stupidity.

If you've ever wanted to scream because someone stopped in the middle of a Costco aisle or left one square of toilet paper on the roll, you're among friends.

Forget everything you think you know about America.

With the World Cup shining a spotlight on the U.S., Kelly and Christy dive into the wonderfully weird habits, traditions, and obsessions that make America unlike anywhere else. Why is everything so big? Why does ranch dressing end up on everything? And how did Buc-ee's become a roadside legend?

From record-breaking stadiums and eye-watering parking prices to hotel horror stories, NFL culture, Waffle House, tipping etiquette, and supersized fast food, they unpack the quirks that leave international visitors equal parts amazed and confused.

Along the way, they explore:

• Why the U.S. is hosting the biggest World Cup in history
• America's obsession with convenience, size, and excess
• The surprising history of ranch dressing
• What international fans really think of American sports and road trips
• A hilarious round of "Buc-ee's or IKEA?"

Whether you're a soccer fan, a frequent traveler, an expat, or simply fascinated by American culture, this episode is packed with laughs, surprising facts, and plenty of "only in America" moments.

Come for the World Cup. Stay for the ranch dressing.

This week on Vertically Unstable, Kelly and Christy tackle one of the biggest changes of the past few decades: work.

As Gen X women, they grew up watching parents who stayed with one company for decades, worked predictable hours, came home for dinner, and somehow managed to leave work at work. Then they entered careers where success meant long hours, constant availability, business travel, and proving yourself by being the first one in and the last one out.

Now they're leading younger generations who value flexibility, boundaries, remote work, mental health days, and experiences over job titles. And honestly? They might be onto something.

The conversation covers everything from office culture, work-from-home life, loyalty in the workplace, corporate careers versus entrepreneurship, pantyhose, pagers, pajamas on Zoom calls, and the strange reality of being the generation caught between the people who raised us and the people we're now managing.

Funny, nostalgic, and surprisingly thoughtful, this episode asks a simple question:

If every generation thinks the others are doing work wrong... who actually has it right?

This week on Vertically Unstable, Kelly and Christy tackle a feeling that seems to be everywhere lately: whatever happened to normal?

Remember when a family vacation didn't require a second mortgage? When airline seats were uncomfortable but survivable? When youth sports didn't feel like a full-time financial commitment? When ordinary people could afford ordinary things?

Somewhere along the way, it feels like the middle disappeared.

Kelly and Christy dive into the growing gap between luxury and budget, the rising cost of everyday life, healthcare frustrations, subscription overload, travel headaches, youth sports expenses, and why so many people feel squeezed despite working harder than ever.

Along the way, they debate whether we're actually asking for too much, or whether we've simply reached a point where "good enough" has become surprisingly hard to find.

Funny, relatable, occasionally ranty, and guaranteed to make you say, "Thank God it's not just me."

Welcome to the middle. If you can still find it.

This week on Vertically Unstable, Kelly and Christy unpack the absolute delusion that is summer vacation as a parent.

Because while kids think summer means freedom, moms know it actually means sports schedules, snack inflation, sunscreen battles, destroyed WiFi, emotional support camps, and spending the GDP of a small nation on volleyball and childcare.

The episode takes a hilarious turn as Kelly and Christy realize they’re living completely different versions of summer. Kelly has officially entered the “grown kids and freedom” era, while Christy is still deep in the trenches of sports schedules, chaos, and trying to survive summer with kids constantly home, hungry, and loud.

The girls also dive into nostalgic Gen X summers before cell phones existed, the pressure parents feel to create magical memories, why travel sports have become a full-time lifestyle, and the realization that the moments kids actually remember are usually nothing like the ones parents stress over creating.

Funny, chaotic, nostalgic, and painfully relatable for every overstimulated woman trying to survive summer break.

This week on Vertically Unstable, we welcome our first ever male guest, Casey Hurbis… and immediately ask him why men are emotionally unavailable, why dads turn everything into a competition, and how he’s somehow been hit by FOUR separate cars.

Naturally, we also spiral into parenting guilt, work-life balance being a complete scam, sports-parent trauma, executive burnout, emotional suppression, AI taking over humanity, and why every family has at least one child actively lowering the collective GPA.

Casey opens up about raising teenagers while leading massive brands like Rocket Mortgage and BetMGM, Kelly questions whether ambitious parents accidentally turn childhood into performance reviews, and Christy debates whether getting lightly hit by a car for a week of uninterrupted sleep is actually… worth considering.

This episode is funny, painfully relatable, mildly therapeutic, and proof that nobody knows what they’re doing. Some people just have better branding.

This week, Kelly and Christy are joined by Enneagram expert Kenzie for a conversation that starts with personality types and quickly turns into a full-blown identity audit.

From leadership styles and conflict patterns to childhood conditioning and why certain people make us absolutely lose our minds, the three unpack what the Enneagram actually reveals about how we move through the world. Kelly comes to terms with being an Enneagram 8 who treats vulnerability like a security threat, while Christy realizes being everyone’s emotional support human may not always be the healthy choice she thought it was.

Somewhere between laughing about corporate personality tests and accidentally unpacking decades of coping mechanisms, they discover why certain friendships work, why some relationships feel impossible, and why the people who intimidate you are sometimes just aggressively authentic marshmallows.

Equal parts hilarious, uncomfortably accurate, and slightly therapeutic, this episode may explain more about your life than you were emotionally prepared for.

What starts as a girls’ trip to Miami quickly turns into something a little more… revealing. Somewhere between outfit changes, late-night conversations, and “one more drink,” Kelly and Christy realize that a weekend away doesn’t just help you escape your life, it shows it to you in high definition.

In this episode, they unpack the unspoken roles that show up in every group, the version of yourself you thought you were bringing vs. the one who actually arrives, and why confidence seems to shape-shift depending on the room (and the lighting). From deep belly laughs to subtle tension, nothing stays hidden on a girls’ trip.

They also get into the real magic and complexity of female friendships, why those connections matter more than ever, and what happens when the trip ends and real life quietly taps you on the shoulder again.

Because sometimes the biggest takeaway from a weekend away isn’t the memories… it’s the clarity.

Welcome to the guilt carnival… where the rides are rigged, the prizes are fake, and somehow moms are expected to win anyway.

In this episode, Kelly and Christy rip the mask off “perfect motherhood” and say the quiet part out loud: we are all winging it. And despite what Instagram says, that’s not failure… that’s reality.

From chaotic tournament weekends that push Christy to the brink, to Kelly’s wildly relatable parenting confessions (yes, including questionable braiding skills and creative storytelling hacks), this episode is equal parts hilarious and uncomfortably honest.

We get into:

• The invisible pressure to be the “perfect” mom (and why it’s a losing game)
• What mom guilt is really hiding
• Co-parenting chaos and how divorce reshapes everything
• Why being real with your kids might be the best thing you ever do
• Letting go of the selfless-mother myth without losing yourself

This isn’t about doing more. It’s about dropping the act.

If you’ve ever felt exhausted, stretched thin, or like you’re the only one barely holding it together… you’re not. And you don’t have to pretend here.

🎧 Come for the laughs. Stay for the truth.
Because the bravest moms aren’t perfect… they’re honest.

What if the thing you’ve been calling a side hustle… is actually your next identity?

In this episode, we go all in on reinvention — not the cute kind with a new haircut (though yes, we talk about that too 💁‍♀️), but the kind that cracks you open and asks: who am I now?

From corporate burnout to podcasting as a lifeline, we unpack the quiet lie behind “just a little side thing” and why so many women are downplaying the very thing that lights them up. Because let’s be honest… if we could do this full-time, we would. In a heartbeat.

We get real about:

• Why calling it a “side hustle” might be keeping you small
• The identity crisis that hits when your title disappears
• How women are conditioned to put themselves last — and what happens when you stop
• The truth about corporate loyalty (and why it’s not what you think)
• Reinvention without permission, perfection, or a backup plan

And somewhere between Christy's hot new hair extensions, perimenopause, and a chaotic school project meltdown, we land on this:

👉 You don’t need to justify your next chapter.👉 You don’t need to earn your way into becoming yourself.👉 And you’re definitely not too late.

This isn’t about starting over, it’s about starting honestly.

✨ If you’ve ever felt like there’s more to you than your job title… this one’s for you.