Beautiful Shifts

Parenting Transitions, Why We Love the Good Inside Method & Parenting Episode Highlights

Today it's just us, chatting about parenting! We start by talking about some parenting transitions in our own lives. Then we chat about Dr. Becky Kennedy and her book Good Inside, why we love this parenting method, and some helpful tips we've taken away from her book and the ideas she shares. We wrap up by highlighting guests we've had on this season who have talked about different parenting transitions and give highlights from their episodes. 
 
We loved talking about parenting and kids and some of the helpful things we've learned along the way, and from our awesome guests! 
 
Thanks for listening!
 
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We hope you enjoyed this conversation. We'd love if you'd subscribe and follow along. Find us on Instagram @beautifulshifts_podcast and on Facebook where you can find more on the show, guests, and more. Thank you for listening!

Neurodiverse Parenting Journey with MARGARET WEBB

Today we are joined by Margaret who shares her story of parenting her son who is neurodiverse and on the autism spectrum. She shares lessons she learned that changed the way she was experiencing parenting and her relationships with her son, husband, and herself. We discuss letting go of judgment in parenting, following our intuition, helpful strategies, and finding peace, growth, and joy in the parenting journey. 
 
We really loved and valued this conversation and feel so lucky we were able to connect with Margaret and hear her story and expertise! She is a wonderful person and we loved getting to know her. 
 
Margaret is a former elementary school teacher and has been a parent coach for 12 years with many certifications and trainings. She recently released her first book "A Hero's Journey in Parenting" (available on Amazon) and has a telecourse "Parenting the Child You Didn't Expect While You Were Expecting" that has helped hundreds of parents. She is also the lead parent coach for the "Differently Wired" club since its inception. She lives in Austin, Texas with her husband, 20 year old son, and three Jack Russell Terriers. 
 
Thank you again, Margaret, for coming on Beautiful Shifts!
 
Find Margaret on Instagram @margaretwebbparentcoach
Facebook: Margaret Webb (personal) & Margaret Webb Life Coach (business)
Margaret's book on Amazon: A Hero's Journey In Parenting
 
In the intro of this episode we talk about Shantil's son Payton's Instagram page where he shares fun and creative reviews of Crumbl cookies from the perspective of his bike, the Zebra Cruiser. 
Find Payton's account @zebra_striper22 for Crumbl reviews and other fun content!
 
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We hope you enjoyed this conversation. We'd love if you'd subscribe and follow along for more inspiring stories. 
Find us on Instagram @beautifulshifts_podcast and on Facebook where you can find more on the show, our guests, and more.
Thank you for listening!  

Raising, Loving and Advocating for Her Son with RACHEL BARKER

Rachel is a wife of 30 years, mother of five children, and has two beautiful grandchildren. Today Rachel shares the touching story of adopting her son Noah, who is now 13, and what it has been like raising a Black son in Utah. She shares about the gift of adoption, the delightful person Noah is, and is honest and vulnerable about some of the challenges that have come with racism they have experienced. Rachel does a wonderful job addressing the delicate topic as she shares her experiences and perspectives.
 
Rachel has been a motivational speaker for over 20 years using experience she's gained in the nutrition industry and obstacles in life, and considers her life's work using her voice for good and encouraging others to do the same. Rachel created an annual non-profit formal event called The Galentine's Gala where women from all over Utah gather to honor carefully selected recipient as well as celebrating each other. 
 
Find Rachel on Instagram @dear.rach where you can follow her fun, uplifting content.
 
Thank you again, Rachel, for sharing your story with us!
 
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We hope you enjoyed the conversation. We'd love if you'd subscribe and follow along for more inspiring stories.
 
Find us on Instagram @beautifulshifts_podcast and on Facebook where you can find more on the show, our guests, and more.
 
Thank you for listening!

Coping with Loss of Twin Sister to Addiction and Having a Spouse Deployed with KARI HEAPS

Kari is a wife, mother of two young children, and an adjunct instructor in the department of Filmmaking, Art & Design at Southern Utah University. Today Kari shares about her husband's recent deployment to Africa where he will serve for the next nine months and how she and her kids are adjusting to him being away. She then shares about the tragic passing of her twin sister Kristi to a heroine overdose eight years ago. She shares how she has coped with this heartbreaking loss, lessons she's learned, advice for listeners, and how the major life transitions she's been through have come together in her life today.
 
Kari is fun, wise and thoughtful and we're so grateful she was so open and vulnerable in sharing her touching story. She shares so much we can all learn from. 
 
Find Kari on Instagram @karibethheaps
 
Second Chance 5k is the nonprofit founded in memory of Kari's twin sister Kristi, created by their older sister Holly Wever (Holly was also on our podcast!). This year's event is coming up April 20th in Las Vegas. Its purpose is to connect communities affected by substance use disorders and celebrate second chances for those in recovery. Visit their Instagram page @secondchance5k or website secondchance5k.org to register, for ways to donate, and get involved.
 
Make sure to check out Kari's amazing older sister Holly Wever's episode on our podcast last year, as well as their incredible mother Karen Cushenberry. Both share their powerful perspectives and stories.
 
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We hope you enjoyed this conversation. We'd love if you'd subscribe wherever you listen and follow along. You can find us on Instagram @beautifulshifts_podcast and on Facebook where you can find more on the show, our guests, and more. 
 
Thank you for listening!

Surviving the Empty Nest Phase, Finding Peace through Life's Storms, and Faith Evolution with SUSIE AUGENSTEIN

Today we are joined by the amazing and wise Susie Augenstein! Susie shares her experiences and lessons learned on some recent significant life transitions she's been through including the empty nest phase and how to find peace through life's storms. She then shares about her faith evolution as a member of the LDS church, as a former bishop's wife and lifelong active and devoted member. Susie's story, perspectives and advice to listeners are so well thought out and we know you'll find value in what she shares. 
 
Susie is a nurse, mom, traveler, wife, questioner, and advocate for all of her close friends who identify as LGFTQ+. She and her husband, Paul, raised five kids who are now figuring out young adulthood with all of its ups and downs. 
 
Thank you again to Susie for coming on Beautiful Shifts! 
 
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We hope you enjoyed this conversation. We'd love if you'd subscribe wherever you listen and follow along. You can find us on Instagram @beautifulshifts_podcast and on Facebook where you can find more on the show, our guests, and more. 
 
Thank you for listening! 

Living an Expanded Life Through Entering the World of Disability, Focusing on Adventure, Love and Gratitude with JORGE FONT

It's our Spring Break week, so today we are re-releasing an episode we had last spring with the incredibly inspiring Jorge Font. At 19-years-old Jorge was in a waterskiing accident and became a paraplegic. In this conversation Jorge shares his journey since then including challenges, lessons learned, and how ultimately his life has expanded in ways he is grateful for.   
 
This is a such an uplifting conversation and we're so grateful Jorge took the time to talk with us and share his experiences and perspectives! We're so happy we can reshare this so our newer listeners have a chance to hear Jorge's story and the rest of us can have a chance to listen again.
 
Jorge is a husband, father, author, speaker, the Director of Institutional Philosophy at the Telethon Foundation, and the Director of Meaning and Human Development in Nice. He has given a TedX talk Life In Earthquake Mode and published a book Ensanchar la vida (Expanded Life) found here on Amazon. 
 
Thank you again, Jorge, for coming on Beautiful Shifts and sharing with us! 
 
 

Poetry and Friendship as a Catalyst for Survival and Healing with DEBORAH and ELIZABETH

Today we are joined by Deborah Tobola and Elizabeth Buckner who have been friends for close to 25 years, brought together by being teachers at the same prison and a shared love of poetry. Both from California with unique backgrounds including living during the hippie era, they share their individual stories and traumas they've endured through the years, sharing poems they've written along the way, and how writing and sharing poetry with each other has been a catalyst for healing.
 
We loved this soulful conversation and know you'll be fascinated, touched, and inspired by Deborah and Elizabeth's poems, stories, passion for serving others, social justice, and friendship, as we were. 
 
More about Deborah and Elizabeth and where to find their work (with links):
 
Deborah Tobola is a poet, memoirist, playwright and co-author of a children’s book. Her work has earned four Pushcart Prize nominations, three Academy of American Poets awards and a Children’s Choice Book Award. Her memoir, Hummingbird in Underworld:Teaching in a Men’s Prison (She Writes Press, 2019), received positive reviews in the Los Angeles Times and the Los Angeles Review of Books. It also won several awards in the categories of social justice, social issues, creative nonfiction and heroic journeys. Tobola spent 30 years working as prison arts instructor, teaching creative writing and theatre. Tobola founded Poetic Justice Project, the country’s first theatre company for formerly incarcerated people, in Santa Maria, California in 2009. 
 
Before dedicating herself to poetry, Elizabeth Buckner was a welfare worker in Los Angeles and San Francisco for four years and a prison educator in San Luis Obispo County for thirty years, with a stint in San Francisco as a substitute school bus driver in between. Her poems are her life stories written in shorthand, distilled to their essences. She has self-published two books of poetry, Naked Lady in 2012, and Spirits in 2016. She recently re-published an expanded version of, Naked Lady, A Poetic Memoir of Rape and Recovery. Both books are available on Amazon Kindle and Apple Books.
 
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We hope you enjoyed this conversation! We'd love if you'd subscribe and follow along. You can find us on Instagram @beautifulshifts_podcast and on Facebook where you can find more on the show, guests, etc. Thank you for listening!

Language of the Human Experience from Brene Brown's Atlas of the Heart & Meaningful Themes from Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

Today we chat about some recent books we've read (some of you may have read along!). Whether you've read these or not, we've structured this episode so you can listen and take away some highlights and meaning from each book.
 
We start with Atlas of the Heart by Brene Brown, which draws on her research over two decades, mapping connection and language of the human experience. We share a few words/emotions that stood out to us and discuss takeaways. We hope this can be a helpful and fun recap, and there's plenty more to dive into if you haven't read it yet!
 
Next, we chat about Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus, a novel we both read this month that follows the lovable, smart, inspiring character Elizabeth Zott. We loved this book and talk about some meaningful themes such as womanhood, motherhood, family, friendship, and religion and spirituality. We also read some listener thoughts/submissions! We tried not to include spoilers if you haven't read it, and also hope if you did this will be a fun discussion. 
 
We hope you enjoy this chat about some great books and takeaways! 
 
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We hope you enjoyed this conversation! We'd love if you'd subscribe and follow along. You can find us on Instagram @beautifulshifts_podcast and on Facebook here where you can find more on the show, guests, books, etc.
 
Thank you for listening! 

Finding Peace in Running, Faith Journey Leading to Pursuing Wisdom, Curiosity, Compassion, and Acceptance with JORDAN STUART

Today we are joined by Jordan Stuart who is a trail runner, husband, and father of three. Jordan shares how an LDS faith journey led to pursuing wisdom and concepts bringing expanded perspectives and peace, as he remains active in the LDS church. Jordan shares a few of the concepts he's studied and contemplated, and we have a discussion about them including ontological shifts, how personal narrative shapes reality, curiosity, compassion, acceptance, and MGI (Most Generous Interpretation). 
 
Jordan is very wise and shares his story and thoughts in an interesting and thoughtful way, and we thoroughly enjoyed this conversation. Thank you, Jordan, for sharing your valuable perspectives! We hope to have Jordan back in the future.
 
You can find Jordan @_just_another_runner_ and on YouTube at Just Another Runner where he shares short videos he creates on concepts he's learning surrounded by beautiful scenic mountain trails of Utah.
 
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We hope you enjoyed this conversation! We'd love for you to subscribe and follow along. You can find us on Instagram @beautifulshifts_podcast and on Facebook here where you can find more details on the show, guests, book club details, and more.
 
Thank you for listening! 

Becoming an Influencer and Entering Adulthood with ASHLUND JADE ORTIZ

Today Ashlund Ortiz joins us, who is a 21-year-old Instagram influencer from Riverton, Utah. We get to hear what led Ashlund to become an influencer, what it has been like to enter her 20s, and the ups and downs of young adulthood. Ashlund is fun and relatable and it's interesting to get a glimpse into what this career path entails. She shares insights on following your own path, friendships, and more through the young adulthood years.
 
Thank you so much to Ashlund for making the time for us! We are excited for you to get to know her fun personality and hear her story.
 
You can find Ashlund on Instagram @ashlundjade
 
Also, thanks to @whitneygarn for guest hosting today's episode!
 
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We hope you enjoyed this conversation! We'd love if you'd subscribe and follow along.
 
You can find us on Instagram @beautifulshifts_podcast and on Facebook here where you can find more details on the show, guests, book club details, and more.
 
Thank you for listening!