Sucky Moment of the Week (4/5) Angela’s Friday morning consisted of a FULL 30 minutes of just getting the kids to put their coats on. They are at that stage where they listen to nothing. Inspired Action Prep as much as you can the night before so that by the time you wake up, everything is out and ready to go.

Simplicity Tip (New Segment!) Horizontal spaces – flats spaces like countertops, desks, and tables – are a common trigger for stress when they get messy. This week, go through your house or office and notice where you see piles of clutter that consistently stress you out. Start your declutter journey there. Designate a home for each of your items – a place where it will live from here on out.

Major Topic: Decluttering Your Spaces, Part 2 Angela and Nicole dive even deeper into how we can add more joy and freedom to our lives by keeping only what we love and need. They share specific ideas for how to stop the...

Sucky Moment of the Week (5/5) Nicole discovered that colic is NO JOKE after Fiona spent days crying non-stop. Inspired Action Parent or not, we can all relate to feeling helpless when we’re in an unfixable situation. Be patient and know that you’re doing your best. Try a mantra: “Be patient. It will get better,” or  “This is just a moment in time.”

Major Topic: Decluttering Your Spaces Nicole and Angela offer up advice on how to simplify your spaces by getting rid of items that don’t give you joy or purpose.

Try This: Go through a room or closet in your house and find a few items that you’ve held onto that you don’t really use or love. Ask yourself the question: What do I expect to achieve by keeping this item? Let us know how it goes!

Nicole SHOUT out to her mom, aka “Mimi”, who was there for support during the entire cholic episode.

From the Episode:

• The Minimalists: ...

Brilliant Moment of the Week (4/5) Angela found inspiration watching her toddler, Luke, turn a simple tape measure into an adventure using his imagination. Inspired Action Find more ways to be creative, even in simple ways.

Major Topic: New Year’s Fitness and Diet Resolutions  Nicole presents strategies for how to start healthy fitness and diet routines that fit our lives (not the other way around), with an emphasis on balance, flexibility, and inspiration.

Try This: Add five minutes to your day. Set your alarm five minutes earlier and use that time to start that routine you’ve been wanting to do (stretching, meditation, alone time with your coffee, whatever).

Angela SHOUT out to her winter hat for keeping her warm and cozy during the cold winter days. Secondary shout out to Nicole’s blanket doing the same good work.

Brilliant Moment of the Week (5/5) Fiona (formerly known as Baby E) made her grand entrance into the world DURING the solar eclipse. To honor that, Nicole gave her the middle name Soleil, which means “sun” in French. Inspired Action Take the time to honor and celebrate each and every moment, big and small.

Major Topic: New Year’s Resolutions Angela and Nicole challenge the unrealistic expectations and fears that often go with resolutions. Angela provides two new approaches to New Years goal-setting: the Un-Resolution, and Choose One Word.

Try This: Create an Un-Resolution and One Word for 2018 – write each of them down and display them

Nicole SHOUT out to all the Labor & Delivery Nurses on the planet for helping people through terrifying experiences every day. You are an inspired and selfless group of people.

From the Episode

• 5 Steps to SMART Goal Setting

In this special recap episode Angela walks us back through Season 1 of the Spark Inspire Your Life Podcast, stopping along the way to spend some time with our favorite episodes of 2017. We’ll revisit all the best parts of the best conversations with the best co-hosts and guests, and leave you inspired to take on the new year. 

Be sure to subscribe on your favorite podcast player to receive every episode from Season 2 right on your phone!

1. Episode 43: Denaye Barahona from Simple Families talks to us about how to take a minimalist approach to parenting that allows kids to lead the way in play.
2. Episode 39: Jeanine Donofrio of Love & Lemons uses the lessons she learned from starting a food blog to encourage everyone to just go for what they want creatively, to try something new without even knowing where it’s going. You can always stop if it doesn’t work out.
3. Episode 34: Sarah Reardon, the vagina whisperer, is our guest. If you are a woman, you must listen to...

Sucky Moment of the Week (2/5) It was time to go to soccer practice, but the socks were still wet, so… the kids wore wet socks ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Inspired Action Be prepared. When there’s a lot going on, set yourself up for success by getting things ready ahead of time.

Major Topic: Capturing the Everyday Melissa Culbertson has made a career in the world of digital sharing, from her role as a social media strategist at Burt’s Bees to her site helping other bloggers and online entrepreneurs. But Melissa thinks we need to shift away from creating the perfect scene to share on social and more toward capturing the everyday moments as they actually happen. How and why to do that, on the podcast.

Try This: Give your phone or camera to someone else and have them take a picture of the moment you’re having. Make it a natural, unposed moment, and make sure you’re actually in the picture.

Melissa SHOUT out goes...

Sucky Moment of the Week (4/5) Jessica is facing another long period of long distance with her beau. Inspired Action Reach out for support and problem solve, but don’t forget to take care of yourself, too.

Major Topic: Negotiating Your Salary Jessica Williams, a leader working to advance the professional development of strong, powerful female leadership, gives us her steps to successfully negotiate your salary, focusing on the specific challenges that women face in the workplace.

Try This: Work on your relationship with money and how you relate it to your worth in the world. Notice what your belief systems are. Read The Soul of Money to transform how you think about money.

From the Episode:

• Useful job sites to find information on salary and career moves
  • Glassdoor.com
  • Salary.com
  • Payscale.com
  • Indeed.com
  • Linkedin.com
• Find Jessica and all things Superwoman
  
  • on Linkedin
  • on Pinterest
  • on the Website: ...

Sucky Moment of the Week (4/5) A patient repeatedly passed on his doctor’s advice, and last week he found out some really bad news. Inspired Action There is nothing you can do but try to support and encourage people; the decisions they make are their own.

Major Topic: Healed Dr. Robin Miller iwill discuss some of the secrets she’s learned for how to take control of your own health and happiness.s integrative medicine physician and co-authored the book Healed! Health & Wellness for the 21st Century: Wisdom, Secrets, and Fun Straight from the Leading Edge and 

 Try This: Take a ballroom dance class!

Dr. Robin Miller SHOUT out Dave Kahn is not only the co-author of the book, but a wonderful ballroom dance partner!

From the Episode:

• Find Dr. Robin Miller
  • on Twitter @rmillermd
  • on Instagram @drrobinmiller
  • on her website, wellhealed.net
  • via email: [email protected]
• Purchase the book,...

Sucky Moment of the Week (4/5) Melissa pulled her neck while brushing her hair, and had to go to some extreme measures to address the pain. Inspired Action Be grateful for what your body can do, and don’t take the small things for granted.

Major Topic: Mindfulness Melissa Garner is an expert in mindfulness and meditation and tells us how a mindfulness practice can help us to reach our goals, train our brains, decrease stress and get an overall boost in wellness that can last a lifetime.

Try This: Let the absolute last thing you consciously think about before bed be a thought of a pleasant, happy, or relaxing place, and of you reaching your goals. A mental vacation and inspiring notion before bed can promote better sleep.

From the Episode:

• Read this mind-boggling article on how meditation can change your brain
• Ariana Huffington wrote a revolutionary book about sleep, The Sleep Revolution
• The beautiful work by a Holocaust survivor...

Brilliant Moment of the Week Angela found a deliciious surprise growing in her front yard!

Major Topic: Very Serious Sarah shares the story behind her new writing project, and talks about how we can all feel more connected to each other by simply looking around.

Try This: Go explore a new place in your neighborhood. Don’t do any research beforehand, just walk into a place that intrigues you, introduce yourself, and learn something new about the people and places that surround you.

Sarah SHOUT out Deep Ellum Art Co. is helping revitalize the neighborhood while still honoring its history and tradition of embracing the creative and the unus

From the Episode:

• Follow along with Very Serious and Sarah:
  • on the website, VerySerious.co
  • on Instagram as Very Serious and as herself, @ohreallymow
  • via email, [email protected] and [email protected]
  • Read Sarah’s post, A Day in the Life of My iPhone, for a hilarious...