Are you happy? What's your "Bliss Blueprint"? And are you happy with yourself? By yourself? Or in life? And how does one even know if or when they are happy? Plus, what is true happiness anyway?

Remember that, this is Season 5, which means there is one guinea pig, one challenge, and two experts.

For this unique YES challenge (which all BEING challenges are), the aim was to unveil the ultimate guide to finding true fulfilment as a modern-day human being. For this one, Akumu was the one to step up to the plate, alongside two amazing guest experts.

Guiding Akumu in her pursuit of happiness is Faith Nyoike. Faith Nyoike has handled freelance individual therapy, as well as family and marital counselling. She has also conducted corporate therapy consultations and various strategic partnerships in Mombasa County where she is based. She is currently the Founder and Lead Therapist at Shin Wellness.

Faith gave Akumu the following tasks to attempt for this challenge for 1-2 weeks:

• Take yourself out, alone.

• Start an exercise regime.

• Plan or purpose to let go of a grudge or someone that pissed you off.

• Have a week where you will purpose to get 8 hours of sleep every day.

• Plan to give to a cause or give your resources.

In the studio to discuss this huge topic and challenge with both Yes Girls as the second guest expert, is Jason Phillips.

Jason Phillips is a licensed therapist, confidence coach, and college professor, based in the US, who advocates relentlessly for prosperity and wellness to strengthen individuals, couples, families, and communities across the globe. He has been featured in Oprah Daily, WebMD, Forbes, NBC, Cosmopolitan and many more. With over 10 years of experience in the mental health and coaching profession, he is considered an expert in evidence-based treatment and strategic goal setting. Jason is the owner of Peace & Prosperity Coaching and host of the Peace & Prosperity Podcast. He is highly recommended and sought out for his passion for mental health and personal development.

So get ready to shatter conventional beliefs and embrace cutting-edge strategies that will revolutionize your pursuit of happiness. From digital detox to soul-nourishing practices, this episode unveils the hidden gems that will empower you to thrive in this fast-paced world. Prepare to embark on a life-altering journey where joy becomes your most cherished companion. Are you ready to unlock the keys to lasting happiness? So whether you want to know how to be happy when depressed, or how to be happy again, this episode is for you. Tune in!

Important resources and links:

Faith on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/faith-nyoike-520926204/

Faith on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nyoike.faith

Jason on the web: https://jasonlphillips.com/

Jason on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jphillipsmsw

Jason's Peace & Prosperity Podcast:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/peace-prosperity-podcast/id1566200301

https://open.spotify.com/show/0Eh8cI2EEfd97OmcVyXxAb?si=9a61978bf2c5404d

https://www.youtube.com/@peaceandprosperitypodcast

****************

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Do you wear makeup every day or ever? That's the question that brought this challenge to life. And for this one, it's Claire saying YES to learning the ropes mostly because she rocks a natural look beautifully and gets professional makeup done only a few times a year.

PS: You can watch the VIDEO DIARY too on our YouTube channel before or after you listen to this audio episode.

Remember, this is Season 5 - which means there is one guinea pig, one challenge, and two experts.

Claire took an afternoon off to meet with the first expert to learn the basics of the professional trade: Sharon Achieng. Sharon is a certified makeup artist based at a beauty studio in central Nairobi but also works with clients wherever they are.

In the studio for this episode is Savina Mercy. Savina is a makeup artist and fitness and nutrition influencer. But most importantly, she has actually done the girls' makeup for Season 4 Yesticles. Need evidence? Check out the videos on our YouTube.

There is a lot to learn from this episode whether you do makeup or not.

Listen in if you're curious about Makeup tutorials, basic makeup steps, how to apply makeup, how to do makeup step by step for beginners, essential makeup tips, contouring techniques and tips, makeup brushes and their proper usage, exclusive makeup artist recommendations, and tips for anyone who would like to get started as a makeup artist.

__________________________________

Important resources: 

Beginner makeup tips according to experts:

https://www.instyle.com/beauty/makeup/makeup-kit-beginners-products 

Sharon Achieng on Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/makeup_by_sharon_kenya/

Savina Mercy on Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/_she_is_artt/

Savina Mercy's Makeup Page on Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/arttbeauty_/ 

****************

If you enjoy the podcast, we love you so much! And we'd like to ask you to rate us on Spotify - it will only take a couple of seconds, we promise! 

If you listen to us via Apple podcasts, please take some time to leave a short review. We promise it will take less than a minute unless, of course, you have more to say.

In any case, we appreciate you!

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_____________________

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Only one of the cohosts is called "Baker" but it's the other one that gets to be exactly that on this episode. Yup! Akumu said YES to doing baking with one of the best in the industry.

Be sure to watch the video diary on YouTube.

Unlike the other Season 5 challenges, this one only needed one expert because she is a force to be reckoned with.

Whether she's baking up a storm in her kitchen for Beldina's Delicacies, filming a recipe video for her YouTube channel, as a top baking YouTuber in Kenya, teaching young bakers how to do the same or showing influencers & brands how to create a storm on social media, she always does so with a smile and cupcake! It's Beldina Kirito!

So listen in if you're curious about easy baking or cake recipes, how to bake a marble vanilla cake, essential baking tips, tricks and hacks, baking gadgets and tools, baking science and chemistry, baking for beginners, baking classes in Kenya, baking schools in Nairobi, and, in general, how to start a baking business in Kenya.

__________________________________

Important resources: 

Beldina's viral vanilla cake recipe video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZrezZ_fDgA&t=100s  

Beldina on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/c/BeldinasDelicacies 

Beldina on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/beldina.kiritoj/

Beldina on Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/beldinakiritoj/ 

Beldina on Tiktok:

https://www.tiktok.com/@beldinakiritoj 

Beldina on Linkedin:

https://ke.linkedin.com/in/beldina-kirito-j-41321010a 

****************

If you enjoy the podcast, we love you so much! And we'd like to ask you to rate us on Spotify - it will only take a couple of seconds, we promise! 

If you listen to us via Apple podcasts, please take some time to leave a short review. We promise it will take less than a minute unless, of course, you have more to say.

In any case, we appreciate you!

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_____________________

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For blogs, visit https://yesgirlspodcast.com/ 

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Coffee is life, right? Especially for Claire Baker who, by the way, almost worships coffee and who is, for this episode, saying YES to learning barista skills and finding out a whole lot more about the details of this world-famous beverage.

Be sure to watch the VIDEO DIARY as well!

Similar to Season 2, only one of the girls is saying YES to each challenge and uniquely, this Season features not just one but TWO experts. 

For this particular challenge, Claire had to learn as much as she could about the coffee-making process but she got a couple of surprises along the way because there's a lot more that goes into making a single cup of coffee way before it gets to the barista's to-do list.

The first expert that Claire got a masterclass from is Martin the Barista, aka Martin M. Makau, from Masai Coffee. Masai Coffee is a brand of Goldrock International. They are a Kenyan-based coffee company, that has also forayed into the world of tea and leather artisanal goods, but coffee is its lifeblood. Martin is both a trained barista and a barista trainer.

The second expert (who's in the studio) for this episode is Ritesh Doshi. Ritesh is the owner and CEO of Spring Valley Coffee, which is fast becoming a household name in Kenya for its expertly sourced, roasted, and packaged coffee beans and ground coffee, as well as for its boutique coffee shops dotted around Nairobi. 

So listen in if you're curious about how to make coffee, what makes the best coffee shops "the best", details about coffee beans and their various types, the basics of coffee roasting and how to grind coffee beans, fair trade coffee, Kenyan arabica vs other countries' robusta coffee, the various coffee flavours, and the rich history of Kenyan coffee.

__________________________________

Important resources: 

What/who is a barista?

https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/finding-a-job/what-is-barista 

Coffee production process - from harvest to cup:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNh8aNyKWDg 

Martin M. Makau:

https://www.instagram.com/martinthebarista 

Masai Coffee:

https://www.goldrockinternational.com 

Ritesh Doshi:

https://ke.linkedin.com/in/ritesh-doshi-578020156 

Spring Valley Coffee:

https://www.springvalleycoffee.com/

Arabica vs. Robusta coffee:

https://www.masterclass.com/articles/arabica-vs-robusta-coffee-beans

History of Kenyan coffee:

https://www.kalro.org/coffee/?q=node/16 

Facts about Kenyan coffee beans:

https://ictcoffee.com/coffee-from-kenya-7-major-facts-you-should-know-about-kenyan-coffee-beans/ 

Coffee Taster's Flavour Wheel:

https://sca.coffee/research/coffee-tasters-flavor-wheel 

Specialty Coffee Association (SCA):

https://sca.coffee/ 

Coffee bean varieties:

https://www.homegrounds.co/coffee-bean-varieties/

The different types of coffee drinks:

https://coffeeaffection.com/different-types-of-coffee-drinks/ 

****************

If you enjoy the podcast, we love you so much! And we'd like to ask you to rate us on Spotify - it will only take a couple of seconds, we promise! 

If you listen to us via Apple podcasts, please take some time to leave a short review. We promise it will take less than a minute unless, of course, you have more to say. In any case, we appreciate you!

Thanks in advance!

_____________________

For video logs, visit https://www.youtube.com/@yesgirlspodcast 

For blogs, visit https://yesgirlspodcast.com/ 

Feel free to follow us across these platforms:

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And of course, you can listen in via:

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CASTBOX 

Coffee is life, right? Especially for Claire Baker who, by the way, almost worships coffee and who is, for this episode, saying YES to learning barista skills and finding out a whole lot more about the details of this world-famous beverage.

Watch the video diary here: https://youtu.be/itxcjPryG5k

Similar to Season 2, only one of the girls is saying YES to each challenge and uniquely, this Season features not just one but TWO experts. 

For this particular challenge, Claire had to learn as much as she could about the coffee-making process but she got a couple of surprises along the way because there's a lot more that goes into making a single cup of coffee way before it gets to the barista's to-do list.

The first expert that Claire got a masterclass from is Martin the Barista, aka Martin M. Makau, from Masai Coffee. Masai Coffee is a brand of Goldrock International. They are a Kenyan-based coffee company, that has also forayed into the world of tea and leather artisanal goods, but coffee is its lifeblood. Martin is both a trained barista and a barista trainer.

The second expert (who's in the studio) for this episode is Ritesh Doshi. Ritesh is the owner and CEO of Spring Valley Coffee, which is fast becoming a household name in Kenya for its expertly sourced, roasted, and packaged coffee beans and ground coffee, as well as for its boutique coffee shops dotted around Nairobi. 

So listen in if you're curious about how to make coffee, what makes the best coffee shops "the best", details about coffee beans and their various types, the basics of coffee roasting and how to grind coffee beans, fair trade coffee, Kenyan arabica vs other countries' robusta coffee, the various coffee flavours, and the rich history of Kenyan coffee.

__________________________________

Important resources: 

What/who is a barista?

https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/finding-a-job/what-is-barista 

Coffee production process - from harvest to cup:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNh8aNyKWDg 

Martin M. Makau:

https://www.instagram.com/martinthebarista 

Masai Coffee:

https://www.goldrockinternational.com 

Ritesh Doshi:

https://ke.linkedin.com/in/ritesh-doshi-578020156 

Spring Valley Coffee:

https://www.springvalleycoffee.com/

Arabica vs. Robusta coffee:

https://www.masterclass.com/articles/arabica-vs-robusta-coffee-beans

History of Kenyan coffee:

https://www.kalro.org/coffee/?q=node/16 

Facts about Kenyan coffee beans:

https://ictcoffee.com/coffee-from-kenya-7-major-facts-you-should-know-about-kenyan-coffee-beans/ 

Coffee Taster's Flavour Wheel:

https://sca.coffee/research/coffee-tasters-flavor-wheel 

Specialty Coffee Association (SCA):

https://sca.coffee/ 

Coffee bean varieties:

https://www.homegrounds.co/coffee-bean-varieties/

The different types of coffee drinks:

https://coffeeaffection.com/different-types-of-coffee-drinks/ 

****************

If you enjoy the podcast, we love you so much! And we'd like to ask you to rate us on Spotify - it will only take a couple of seconds, we promise! 

If you listen to us via Apple podcasts, please take some time to leave a short review.

We promise it will take less than a minute unless, of course, you have more to say. In any case, we appreciate you!

Thanks in advance!

_____________________

For video logs, visit https://www.youtube.com/@yesgirlspodcast 

For blogs, visit https://yesgirlspodcast.com/ 

Feel free to follow us across these platforms:

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CASTBOX

As the Season 5 debut, the Yes Girls say yes to learning how to rap. But actually, just one of them said YES to this challenge: Akumu.

Watch the video log on YouTube after or before listening to this audio episode.

Certainly the perfect way to start a season where each Yes Girl only does half of the challenges (similar to Season 2). But the unique thing this time though is that there are more experts for each challenge!

You should know that Akumu went into this with no rapping experience - just a deep fear of poetry and a cult-like admiration for hip-hoppers and rappers.

And for this particular challenge, unlike most others, it did not take a week or a couple of weeks to get done. All it took was an entire day (i.e. a rap boot camp) with two of the most talented hip-hop artists in Kenya: Juliani and Tonii Vendetta.

Juliani is easily Kenya's rap and hip-hop godfather, an activist in his own right, and a well-known artist mentor. Tonii Vendetta, on the other hand, is a singer/songwriter, DJ, rapper, music producer, filmmaker, director, DOP, video editor, photographer, a model---- just to name a few. 

They both helped Akumu write and cook up the lyrics of her very first rap song as well as her final performance which you will get to listen to (within this episode) in its fully-produced glory flanked by Tonii's newly-minted beats and "hype man" sound effects: the song is titled: Season Ya "Mayoo" ("Mayoo" is a Luo exclamation).

So listen in if you're curious about what it takes to write rap lyrics, how to structure a rap song, how to flow in rap, how to develop a rap style, how to find your rap voice, how to perform rap live or in the studio, and how to use metaphors and wordplay in rap.

__________________________________

Important resources: 

The number of bars in a rap song verse as Tonii mentioned:

https://dailyrapfacts.com/19599/how-many-bars-are-in-a-verse/

Tonii Vendetta's Spotify playlist:

https://open.spotify.com/artist/2i0hJ4kfvCw4vGc4TcKVzd 

Tonii Vendetta's Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/tonii_vendetta/ 

Juliani's website:

https://juliani.co.ke/ 

Juliani's Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/julianikenya/ 

Juliani's YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCL8fZ0gpTA3x21j1J2jbz7Q 

What is Riddim?

https://www.last.fm/tag/riddim/wiki 

****************

If you enjoy the podcast, we love you so much! And we'd like to ask you to rate us on Spotify - it will only take a couple of seconds, we promise! 

If you listen to us via Apple podcasts, please take some time to leave a short review. We promise it will take less than a minute unless, of course, you have more to say.

In any case, we appreciate you!

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_____________________

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This is probably the most pointless episode you'll listen to from the Yes Girls. Apart from this other one, of course.

For this under-10-minuter, Claire and Akumu say YES to exposing their studio mishaps, messes, and mayhem—and not just theirs but those of some experts, too.

So yes, it's pointless, but you will definitely get a couple of laughs from it.

Enjoy.

****************

If you enjoy the podcast, we love you so much! And we'd like to ask you to rate us on Spotify - it will only take a couple of seconds, we promise! 

If you listen to us via Apple podcasts, please take some time to leave a short review.

We promise it will take less than a minute unless, of course, you have more to say. In any case, we appreciate you!

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_____________________

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For this miniature episode or Yesticle, the Yes Girls, Akumu & Claire, play Truth or Dare, which they'd much rather call Truth or Yes! So in less than twenty minutes, who'll give in to the truth, and who'll give in to the spontaneous & daring Yes?

Watch the video version of this episode on our YouTube channel here. 

They say YES to exploring whether they've cried recently, their fears and failures, their skills are impersonations and whether they can beatbox.

Here's a list of related episodes that go well with/after this one:

• Get To Know The Yes Girls
• The Yes Girls' First Official Book Club Episode
• Inspiring Yes People in Africa & Beyond
• A Conversation With No Girl (Freyja)

This episode was produced by Blueberry Africa, all thanks to the 2022 Rising Talent Award by APVA.

___________________

If you enjoy the podcast, we love you so much! And we'd like to ask you to rate us on Spotify - it will only take a couple of seconds, we promise! 

If you listen to us via Apple podcasts, please take some time to leave a short review.

We promise it will take less than a minute unless, of course, you have more to say. In any case, we appreciate you!

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_____________________

For video logs, visit https://www.youtube.com/@yesgirlspodcast 

For blogs, visit https://yesgirlspodcast.com/ 

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The Yes Girls' book club is in studio for this Yesticle! Representing the large group of "yes girls" who make up the actual book club where this podcast was birthed, are Muthoni Thuo-Ngunjiri and Freyja Oddsdotir.

Muthoni and Freyja join Akumu and Claire to discuss whether they are indeed yes girls, what they would like the originals to say yes to next, what they hope for the podcast in future and other nuggets of wisdom they share freely during the discussion.

This is a mini episode also called a Yesticle, or rather, "a popsicle for yes girls".

Here is the list of other episodes mentioned or related to this Yesticle:

• World-first's interactive podcast w/ Fabella & Wanderword
• Get To Know The Yes Girls
• The Yes Girls' First Book Club Episode
• A Conversation With No Girl (Freyja)

****************

If you enjoy the podcast, we love you so much! And we'd like to ask you to rate us on Spotify - it will only take a couple of seconds, we promise! 

If you listen to us via Apple podcasts, please take some time to leave a short review.

We promise it will take less than a minute unless, of course, you have more to say. In any case, we appreciate you!

Thanks in advance!

_____________________

For video logs, visit https://www.youtube.com/@yesgirlspodcast 

For blogs, visit https://yesgirlspodcast.com/ 

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Yes People come in many shapes and sizes. And the ones, we mention here are some of the biggest ones the Yes Girls could think of. "Big" meaning "Inspiring x infinity*". Listen in to understand those references.

You can also watch this on our YouTube channel here.

This is a mini episode also called a Yesticle.

Claire and Akumu discuss their definition of a Yes Person, and the two or more people who they think embody that exceptionally and why.

Here is the list of everyone who is mentioned in this Yesticle:

• Tanni Grey-Thompson
• Damien Birambeau
• Dolly Parton
• Joy Kendi
• Adelle Onyango
• Lewis Howes
• Tim Ferriss
• Andrew Huberman

****************

If you enjoy the podcast, we love you so much! And we'd like to ask you to rate us on Spotify - it will only take a couple of seconds, we promise! 

If you listen to us via Apple podcasts, please take some time to leave a short review. We promise it will take less than a minute unless, of course, you have more to say. In any case, we appreciate you!

Thanks in advance!

_____________________

For video logs, visit https://www.youtube.com/@yesgirlspodcast 

For blogs, visit https://yesgirlspodcast.com/ 

Feel free to follow us across these platforms:

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And of course, you can listen in via:

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CASTBOX