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Lighten Up with Melanie Dale

Author Melanie Dale is perpetually trying to figure out how we can all calm the heck down about parenting, friendship, getting older, and the world around us. Each episode she chats with a friend about ways we can let go and lighten up.
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Now displaying: February, 2018

Lighten Up with Melanie Dale

I use laughter as a coping strategy for life’s messes and this podcast to externally process everything going on in my mind, from books to the zombie apocalypse. Each episode I invite a friend to join me and we discuss hot topics, relationships, faith, trends, books, movies, and the latest developments on important things like Netflix and Twitter. I ask them how they lighten up and how they’re sharing the light in their communities. My goal is for you to feel like you’re sitting in the room with us while we eat Nerds Ropes, cackle hysterically, and solve all the world’s problems.
Feb 27, 2018

Today I'm back with Sarah Bragg of Surviving Sarah for our monthly crossover episode, where we take a topic and chat about how we can lighten up about it on this show and how we can survive it over on her podcast. Guys, I hate today's topic. It is so hard for me but somehow seems to be a theme right now. Last month over on Jamie Ivey's Happy Hour podcast I shared about my history with an eating disorder and today Sarah and I are talking about body image. Blech, I know. This is hard stuff. We all struggle in some way with accepting something about our appearance. So today we're talking about it and how we can lighten up about it. Who or what in your life shaped your view of what the "ideal" woman should look like? Sarah and I talk about ours, and we go deep into the 80s and early 90s on this one. Then we share the craziest products or procedures we've ever attempted to achieve our ideal look and our experiences with everything from sports bras to Spanx. Do you also struggle with perfectionism and comparison when it comes to body image? Listen in and lighten up.

 

Links from the Show:

Feb 20, 2018

Today I'm talking with poet and writer Carolina Hinojosa-Cisneros and we run the gamut from light to serious. She tells an amazing story about wearing leggings as pants, and you are in for a treat today because she agreed to perform her original poem, "By the Grace of God" for us and shares her process for writing poetry. We talk about how she serves her community by serving coffee, there's some serious power in a cup of coffee, and what she's learning these days about her faith and "decolonizing her theology." Then we chat about immigration, the current climate toward Mexican-Americans, and how white women can support and advocate for our Latina sisters. Super light stuff, right? Seriously, though, Carolina has some beautiful advice about how we can make space, create room, and understand the power we wield. And then at the end, she takes us to school with a fantastic reading list, which will be in the show notes. I love this conversation, a little light, a little deep, just the way I like it, so listen in, and lighten up!

Links from the show:

Carolina's Awesome Reading Guide:

Latina poets, writers, scholars
Non-Latina but fierce and amazing
The male names
Feb 13, 2018

Today I'm talking with my Coffee+Crumbs buddy Callie Feyen, author of the new book, The Teacher Diaries: Romeo & Juliet. We talk about dirty emojis, getting caught passing notes in class, pumping gas, and I think I drop my greatest segue ever, "speaking of blowing up at a gas station," how do you think people need to lighten up? Callie is super wise and she talks about teaching, writing, and her new book, The Teacher Diaries, which she says is a love letter to teaching middle school. Whether you're star-crossed lovers or would like to flip Cupid the bird this Valentine's day, listen in and lighten up.

 

Links from the show:

Two essays from Callie:

Feb 6, 2018

Today I'm talking with Jen Lewis, founder and executive director of Purse & Clutch, my favorite bag company dedicated to ethical fashion. We talk about road rage and breastfeeding...not together, because that would be a mess and probably super illegal, and then we dig into how Jen started an ethical purse company, how she collaborates with artisans around the world, what she looks for in a bag, and what's she's learned as a businesswoman and entrepreneur over the years. As a special gift to Lighten Up listeners, Jen has given us a coupon code for free US shipping. Use code LIGHTENUP through February, and orders placed by Friday, February 9th should arrive by Valentine’s Day. So grab a new bag or wallet for Valentine's, Galentine's, or because you love yourself. To support artisans around the world, listen in and lighten up!

Links from the show:

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