Wifestyle Hustle

Today was a huge treat. We got a chance to do an interview with a fellow gardener and podcaster, Jill Mcsheehy. She hosts The Beginner's Garden and our topic was gardening in small spaces and getting the most out of your garden. Jill had so much experience and knowledge to share. She also hails from an area we have little experience with but we have several listeners who live in similar areas so we hope to have brought some insight for them. Thanks so much Jill for joining us today!

Jill mentioned during the episode her partnership with Greenstalk. Use THIS link to get an additional 10% off.

Have you heard our two part series on saving money in the garden. Listen to part 1 HERE and part 2 HERE. The garden doesn't have to break the budget.

Transcript

Music is by Oliver Massa. It is called Weekend Chores

Recap

Gardening can be a fulfilling and cost-effective way to supplement grocery bills and contribute to a sustainable lifestyle.

The joy of homegrown produce and the impact of gardening on family legacy are significant motivators for many gardeners.

Succession planting and soil amending are valuable techniques for maximizing garden space and improving crop yield.

Gardening experiences and challenges vary based on climate, and the use of raised beds can offer greater control over soil fertility and reduce maintenance.

Gardening is a skill that can be learned and adapted over time, providing a continuous opportunity for growth and efficiency. Raised bed gardening offers organization and aesthetic appeal

Soil quality is crucial for maximizing harvest

Companion planting and vertical gardening can optimize small garden spaces

Gardening tools and resources are valuable for learning and improving gardening skills

Chapters

00:00 Raised Beds and Soil Fertility: A Gardening Perspective

20:44 The Benefits of Raised Bed Gardening

22:19 Optimizing Soil Quality for Maximum Harvest

25:33 Maximizing Small Garden Spaces with Companion Planting and Vertical Gardening

35:14 Gardening Tools and Resources

Today, we took on a subject a little more serious for us. But this is something we have discussed before and something that is near and dear to our hearts. If you haven't gone and listened to the speech, I highly recommend you do, in its entirety. Most of what has been said about it has focused on 2 sections. But, There was so much more to it than that. The rest of what he said gave context to the controversial sections.

As our listeners know, we live pretty similar lives to the one he described for his family. Therefore, It is hard to watch the media and talking heads have such vitriol over the way of life that has brought me the most happiness. I don't believe anything he said was really that controversial. Today, we discussed our thoughts on what he said and what the media had said about it.

The book mentioned in this episode is called Do Hard Things by Steve Magness. Excellent book to read with your teen boys. It can be found HERE. Through this book, I was able to connect with my son in a way may not have thought about before.

Have you heard our talk on marriage? Listen to that HERE

Transcript

Recap

Preschool graduations and other milestone ceremonies can be meaningful for children and parents.

The church should not change to fit the culture, but rather Christians should strive to fix the culture.

It is important to find a church that aligns with one's values and beliefs.

Church shopping is easier now with comprehensive websites and online sermons.

Context is crucial when interpreting speeches and news articles.

Christians should not be afraid to speak out about their beliefs and be counter-cultural. Each person has the opportunity to leave a legacy on the world.

Women have the potential to be salt and light in the world.

The controversy surrounding the speaker's comments about women may have been misinterpreted.

Motherhood is both a sacrifice and a source of joy.

Society often undervalues the role of motherhood.

Masculinity is important and should be embraced.

Men have the power to be good role models and counter toxic masculinity.

Education is valuable for both men and women.

Societal pressure often pushes women towards careers rather than motherhood.

Men should take risks and embrace challenges to grow and develop.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Recent Activities

06:18 Preschool Graduations and Milestone Ceremonies

09:01 The Changing Nature of the Church

13:19 Finding a Church that Aligns with Your Values

14:11 The Importance of Context in Speeches

16:25 Being Counter-Cultural as a Christian

23:33 Women as Salt and Light

25:11 The Controversy Surrounding Women

26:28 The Sacrifices and Joys of Motherhood

35:31 The Importance of Masculinity

37:07 Men as Good Role Models

38:38 The Value of Education

41:13 Societal Pressure and Motherhood

The big change happens today! We hope you enjoy this more conversational episode about how to create and fulfill your summer bucket list.  Look for our lists coming soon. 

Recap

The podcast format is changing to longer episodes with a focus on personal conversations.

Summer break is a valuable time to spend with family and create lasting memories.

Creating a bucket list for the summer can help prioritize and plan fun activities.

The bucket list should be fun and not stressful, with input from the whole family. Create a personalized summer bucket list that reflects your family's interests and preferences.

Include a variety of activities such as camping, backyard bonfires, reading lists, DIY projects, and rainy day activities.

Involve children in the planning and execution of the activities to foster engagement and a sense of ownership.

Make the most of the summer by checking off items on the bucket list and creating lasting memories.

Chapters

00:00 Changing the Podcast Format

11:23 The Importance of Summer Break

23:11 Creating a Personalized Summer Bucket List

26:44 The Importance of Making Lists

30:00 Engaging Children in Summer Activities

32:44 Making the Most of Summer

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Camping
00:33 First Camping Trip
01:27 Camping in Different Locations
02:28 Camping with Kids
03:04 Challenges and Improvements
04:23 Mixed Feelings about Camping
05:23 Exploring Historical Sites
06:23 Camping as the Main Experience
07:46 Family Bonding and Activities
08:47 Kids' Independence and Camping in the Backyard
09:52 Camping with Teens
10:51 Bringing Bikes and Wheelie Things
11:20 Different Types of Campsites
12:38 Preparing Food for Camping
15:09 Easy Meals and Separate Camping Dishes
17:06 Prepping Food at Home
18:00 Organizing Camping Gear
19:13 Essential Items and Paper Towels
20:08 Educational Opportunities
21:19 Bringing Bikes and Scooters
22:11 Preparing for Bad Weather
23:09 Waterproofing Tents
24:14 Memorable Camping Experiences
25:06 Games and Entertainment
26:09 Waterproofing and Tarp
27:15 Favorite Parts of the Trip
28:22 Ending the Trip with Ice Cream

Camping can be another form of entertainment to have with the kids. It’s not for everyone, but we really enjoy it. Today we are going to talk a little about the details of camping and what fun we have had with it over the years. 

To start it doesn’t have to be that hard.

Talk a little about the first times we went camping.Choose a location of interest

Picking a good camping spot. Depends on family interests, water spots for older kids, near the playground for younger. 

Planning for when you bring the kids.  I like to create excitement around the trip

   Food

   Gear (tent , cots, clothes storage in the tent/car) Consider borrowing some of the more expensive things to see if you like it.

   Location and time of year

FOOD!

Making it easier while camping by preparing food at home.

Plan for easy meals-whatever that looks like for you. 

With summer quickly approaching, we are starting to think about all the summer fun we plan for this year. Topping the list for us is our favorite warm weather get away!! Camping can be an extravagant glamping expedition or a simple tent and bonfire adventure. We definitely lean toward simplicity.

We discussed our experiences over the years. The experience changes as your kids get older and can help make it happen more. When your kids are younger, it is harder because they have a limited ability to help. But as they get older and can help with the set up, take down and food prep it becomes less work and more fun.

Big Announcement Coming!

Make sure and check back in on Wednesday! We have big changes coming for our podcast. We are going to mix up a few things we're doing to make it more fun.

Have you heard our episode on warm weather meals. You're going to need to eat while camping. Listen to this episode HERE to get a few ideas.

Transcript

The season of gardening is upon us. For this reason, you will find us out in the garden planting, watering, pruning and harvesting for the next few months. What better time than this to show the kids the joys of gardening. At least that is how we feel. We love to take our kids out and let them experience digging in the dirt and bringing in the bounty of a good harvest. That is why, we discussed how to sow that seed in their hearts. Like many things we parents teach, this is something they will take with them into adulthood. They will remember for a lifetime that you spent time with them outside.

We hope today's episode is the push you need to get your kids out in the garden this year. There is nothing more rewarding than watching them get excited about growing a tomato. In fact, we would love for you to drop a picture on one of our social accounts of your garden. We love to watch other people's gardens grow too.

Did you listen to our other gardening episodes? You can check some of them out HERE and HERE. Or search gardening on our website for a complete list.

Transcript

Recap

Start small and create a dedicated space for your child's garden

Let kids choose what to plant and allow them to experiment

Get kids outside and involved in the gardening process

Celebrate the harvest and involve kids in the joy of eating what they've grown

Chapters

00:00 Getting Kids Interested in Gardening

04:20 Creating a Space for Your Child's Garden

15:37 Involving Kids in the Gardening Process

Music is by Oliver Massa. It is called Weekend Chores

Recap

Transitioning from winter food to summer food is a fun and exciting change in cooking.

Eating something fresh, whether from the garden or a local farm, is important during the summer months.

Summer meals are often lighter and include grilled meats and plenty of vegetables.

Marinating meat adds flavor and infuses it with deliciousness.

Exploring different cuisines allows for a variety of summer dishes.

Infused waters with fruits, herbs, and vegetables can help with hydration.

Growing herbs is easy and adds flavor to summer dishes.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction: Summer Food and Cooking Changes

04:23 Keeping it Light: Cold Dishes and Salads

11:11 Grilling Everything: The Joy of Grilled Food

25:02 Conclusion: More Ideas for Summer Food

Today we dove into a personal topic for us. We don't center our podcast around God because we want to be inclusive to all demographics. Motherhood, gardening, cooking and all the rest are things we can discuss across all beliefs. That said, today's episode is a little different. We wanted to talk a bit about our beliefs as they are what makes us part of who we are. Centering our and our families lives around God and our relationship with Him is a huge part of who we are. We discussed it today.

Have you heard our episode about Marriage? Listen to that HERE

Have you been listen to us for a while? Do you enjoy our show? If so, consider a review of our podcast. Also, we would great appreciate it if you would share our show with your friends. Thanks so much! We really appreciate any help you can give us.

Transcript

Music is by Oliver Massa. It is called Weekend Chores.

Recap

Becoming a Christian can have a profound impact on one's perspective and life.

Attending a Christian summer camp can make being a Christian cool and fun.

Challenges in faith include letting go of control and trusting in God's plan.

Living out one's faith in front of children is important for their spiritual development.

Answering tough questions about faith helps strengthen one's own beliefs and provides guidance to others.

Chapters

00:00 The Journey of Becoming a Christian

06:26 Challenges in Faith: Letting Go and Trusting God

10:54 Living Out Faith in Front of Children

15:37 Answering Tough Questions about Faith

Today, we continued our budgeting series. Vacations can be so expensive but they don't have to be. A little bit of for thought can save you heaps of money while still having a great time with your family. We wanted to do this episode early in the season because the most important part of budgeting for vacation is starting with a plan early. If you wait until the last minute it is much harder to stay within your budget.

Have you heard the other episodes in this series? If you're looking for ways to save money, we have done episode on most topics. You can listen to them all by searching "budgeting" on our website. You can catch a few of our most recent ones HERE and HERE.

Listeners, please consider sharing our podcast with your friends. If you know a mom that needs encouragement and a good laugh, our podcast is for them. One of reviews mentioned she really appreciated that our podcast was okay to listen to with her kids. She didn't have to worry about any language in front of her kids. We were so thankful for the nice review.

Music is by Oliver Massa. It is called Weekend Chores

Transcript

Recap

Traveling off-season can save you money on accommodations and attractions.

Booking accommodations in advance and shopping around for deals can help you find the best prices.

Packing your own food and taking advantage of free breakfasts can save you money on meals.

Setting a budget for souvenirs and bringing entertainment for downtime can help you stick to your budget and keep everyone entertained.

Vacations don't have to be expensive to be enjoyable.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction

04:23 Booking Accommodations

10:31 Setting a Souvenir Budget

Have you ever seen those surveys online? Would you rather live in the on the beach or in the mountains? I think we all have. Well, today we took on a few of those questions and discussed our answers.

It is always fun to think about, if I could have things be different, what would I choose? For most things I think we would choose the lives we have over and over. But how fun would it be to live in a place totally different from where we are.

What do you think of our answers today? What would you choose? Drop us a comment on our social pages or on the website. We would love to hear from you.

Do you have questions you would like to hear us answer? We're open to ideas. Send us a private message and we'll put together another of these episodes in the future.

Have you heard our episode on the Trad Wife Trend? Listen to that HERE

Transcript

Music is by Oliver Massa. It is called Weekend Chores

Recap

Having a maid is preferred over having someone to do laundry or a cook

Preferences for living in town or in the country can change over time

The number of states visited can vary greatly among individuals

Having triplets can be challenging, but some prefer it over spacing out children

Vans and SUVs have different advantages and disadvantages

Chapter

00:00 Answering Common Internet Questions

06:08 The Town vs. Country Debate

13:19 Counting the States Visited

Today, we took a little more serious topic on the podcast. We discussed man bashing and why we think it is wrong. I'm sure you've noticed, man bashing has been around for many years. Men are portrayed a stupid and inept, unable to do even the most menial tasks without the intervention of the extremely smart women in their lives. Obviously, dear listener, you can see we are not fans of this trend of running down half the the population and the father of our children.

Clearly, it's bad for our daughters for them to feel like they can't depend on a man and It's bad for our sons to feel like they are destined to be the butt of every joke.

Join us for our discussion today. If you have any thoughts on this, we would love to hear them. Drop us a comment on our social pages or on the website. We'd love to hear from you.

Did you hear our episode about Marriage? Listen to that HERE.

Lastly, would you consider sharing our podcast with your friends. We need to grow our podcast. So, if you know someone who loves to garden, is a mom, needs budgeting help, or just needs a pick me up, send them our way. Then, you'll be that friend who recommended a great podcast!!

Transcript

Recap

Men are often portrayed as foolish and incompetent in media, which has a negative impact on our culture.

The negative portrayal of men in media affects relationships and the confidence of young men.

Creating male role models outside of school and treating spouses with respect can help address this issue.

Allowing men to lead in the family is important for a healthy partnership and family dynamic.

Chapters

00:00 The Negative Portrayal of Men in Media

06:32 The Impact on Relationships and Confidence

12:01 Treating Spouses with Respect