Normalizing the In Between (+ Celebrating Our 1 Year Anniversary!)

Welcome to the In Between Podcast.

I'm Astrid and I'm Alexis, and we're two best friends on a journey to living a fun, intentional life.

We know it's easier to share on a season of life once it's behind you, but what about when you're in the middle of the growth, confusion, and decision-making?

This lifestyle podcast is for the everyday gal who loves to travel, talk about business, relationships, fashion, and everything in between.

Hello friends and Welcome back to another episode of the In Between Podcast.

This is one of your hosts, Astrid, and the other half of the pod, Alexis.

Oh my gosh, today we are celebrating our one year of the In Between Podcast anniversary. It feels so wild.

It feels like we started it yesterday, and at the same time, it feels like we've been doing it for like two years.

Yeah, I am so proud of. Us for staying committed like every single week. And also the community that we've built is really meaningful. Like, I'm so glad we did this.

Oh, me too.

I—

whenever we first started it, there was so much of our conversations that we wanted to share, and we're like, well, maybe this will help someone. And I think like the reach that it has had, and like more on the impact side of things, has been so unexpected. Through our own conversations or people saying, like, I didn't, you know, I didn't expect to, to hear that, or I didn't— I've never thought of it that way. Or even each of us growing from each other by discussing different topics too. So it's been so beautiful to continue developing our friendship on this side of things as well. And like every week we get a little, how are you doing?

Like, I get to see you every week and it's so great.

I know, selfishly, you know, if you are wanting to start a podcast with your long-distance friend, It's a great way to just stay connected.

Yes, yes, for sure.

It's like your little diary.

Yeah, it's— we have our own audio diary from the last year. Uh, well, this is our anniversary episode, so think of this as like, you know, the 2023 highlights of like whenever you're at the end of the year, all your favorite things about the pod where Astrid and I are going to be sharing some of our favorite moments. And then also, if you follow us on Instagram, We're also highlighting our top 4 most listened to episodes. We'll be releasing one every single week in terms of which one they are. I know number 4 already released last week. And I'm sure you'll see number 3 this week as you work down to our number 1 listened to podcast episode, which is so cool. But let's start with what are you in between right now? We can't have a podcast episode and not at least like— do the theme of the show. And before we even do that, I feel like I just want to say how much this podcast has helped me actually stop and acknowledge a lot of the things that I have been in between over the last year. And it's helped me like normalize that.

Mm-hmm.

It's helped give permission for me to admit I'm in the middle of something. I haven't made a decision. I'm trying to make a decision. I'm trying to Stop a habit, start a habit. I'm trying to spend less money. Like whatever it is, if you've listened since the beginning or even just, you know, maybe this is your first episode, like normalizing how much of life is made up in the middle. It's made up between places and between feelings and between forgiveness. And like, I'm really thankful that this podcast has helped me become a better version of myself by opening that up and making that okay. And being like, that's actually something to celebrate. Instead of like, I need to just have it all figured out and it needs to be tied up in a neat little bow and I need to be on the other side of this hard thing. And I just love that we've created space for that.

Oh, me too.

Oh my goodness. I was just thinking today about how much that has impacted me of being able to stop and ask, what am I in between this week? And I think that a lot of times we just keep those conversations to ourselves.

Yeah.

It lives buried very deep into our hearts, and we're like, oh, I'm struggling with this. Or even at times, and this happens to me, like, we just feel this heaviness, and we know there's a little bit of things that are off, but we're not sure quite what it is. And there's something about naming it and saying it out loud, I am in between X and Y, that we're able to Really just like— it's almost like this big monster becomes like this thing that we just have to tackle, and it's a lot smaller when we're able to voice it. And that's what I've found a lot with our conversations and our in-betweens, is I'll feel a lot of anxiety or a lot of stress towards a situation, and simply just speaking it out, now I'm like, okay, that's what I'm in between.

Like, perfect.

Mm-hmm.

Like, let's, let's keep learning about this and embracing the learning Yeah, there's something powerful about speaking it out loud.

Absolutely.

I think that it has power over us when we keep it to ourselves, when we stuff it down, when we suppress it, or we try to hide it from people. But when we just come out and say, this is what I'm in between right now, this is what I'm struggling with, this is a decision I'm trying to make, I think it Gives us permission to take back our power instead of it being something that we feel like we have to hide or try to figure out by ourselves.

Yeah. And I think too, in long-distance friendships especially, you'll have these periods where you're catching up on life. And so it's almost like big chunks. It's been a couple months or something like that. And so you catch them up like, oh yeah, I was struggling with this. And then now we're planning this and that. And this is what's coming up. But there's no really that week to week, like, oh, this was a rough week. My mind is struggling, my anxiety is struggling. And so I admire the hell out of you. I admire you so much. And there's so many people in my life that I admire too. And it's been such an honor to just see week by week how you navigate life and being able to share those in-betweens. When I think that in a long-distance friendship, it would've just looked like everything's tied up in a bow. Like, oh yeah, I have conquered this side of my bad habits. And oh yeah, me too. And this is what I'm working on. But sharing the nitty-gritty, it almost takes me back to like high school days where you're just doing life with people, but we're just doing it virtually.

I love that.

You're gonna make me cry already and we're only 5 minutes in.

Oh my gosh, I love you.

I, I agree.

Like, there's just something really special about the consistency of friendship and like having these conversations. So even if, let's say, you don't have a podcast with your friend, like, is there someone in your life weekly that you can have this like touchpoint? Like, I think what are you in between right now is it opens the door to so many different questions, different topics, different corners of your life. And is there someone in your life that you could ask that to weekly?

Mm-hmm.

You know, me and my grandma, we talk every Sunday. Maybe I'll talk, you know, like that's something I could ask her or like, I think if you can add that layer of consistency, I also think that it helps you feel more known.

Yeah.

And I think this podcast with you has helped me feel seen in ways I haven't always felt seen before. And I feel like you're very uplifting to me, and I can be very, very self-critical. And a compliment from you means so much. So not that I'm like out here seeking validation or anything.

Okay.

But what I'm saying is like, I think when you're in these healthy friendships, your friends get to remind you of who you are sometimes when you have lost sight of that, because you're tired, you're sick, you're stressed, you're busy. You might even be building the life of your dreams, but sometimes you end up doing that by yourself. And you're struggling to bring people with you. And I've just loved being your friend. Like, I've loved getting to witness your journey over the last year of being a solopreneur, growing a team, growing an associate photographer team, like being in a relationship again. Like, there's just so many things that you've navigated since we started in July that I, I feel like this Podcast got to document a lot of like your blooming, you know, and I'm just so proud of you.

Oh my gosh! You're making me cry now.

Who can make you gonna cry?

You're like you're making me cry. I make you cry.

You're gonna be sweet.

I'll be sweeter.

I'm gonna be nicer to you. That's amazing.

Oh my gosh! This is amazing. And also, this is your sign that if there's a project that's on your.

heart, that you've been wanting to do it, just do it. Because that was really where we came from. We're like, we don't expect to be famous. We don't expect anything besides like, this is where our hearts are at. We want to share that. And I'm so, so happy that we took on this project. So with that being said, and tears in my eyes, what are you in between?

Gosh, girl.

I think that And this isn't new.

And so if you've been, you know, listening to the pod for a while, you've definitely heard me talk about this. But I was just talking to my mom about this this morning. The book writing has stalled again, and I'm writing a book about confidence, feeling unconfident about writing it. And my mom— I feel like— I don't know why I'm gonna cry about this. I feel like a sense of shame about it going slower than I thought it would. And I'm just someone that likes things fast. Like, I want to make a decision and I want to make the decision quickly and I want it to like be successful or be done or like, I don't know, exceed my own expectations with how quick it can be done. Like, I want my pace to be high.

Mm-hmm.

And I have been avoiding The book writing because it's gone slower and it hasn't met my expectations. And that's no one's fault. Like, I can't point at someone and be like, this is your fault. Like, it's me. I'm taking ownership for that. But because of the shame, my cycle around shame is avoidance. So when I feel shame, I avoid. And I am in between trying to break that cycle. Because one, like, I don't need to feel shame about the writing process. No one's saying, Alexis, this has to be done by October 1st. Like, even if that— those were some of my goals, it's also okay for those goals to change. And I just told my mom this morning, like, I am tired of giving up on myself in some of these really big projects. And I think that—

Yeah.

Like shame can just really come in and it can manifest itself in a lot of different ways. And that's what's happened with like the stalling of the book writing process. So I think that I keep waiting for like my circumstances to be just right. Like if I just have a free day and I can just go to a coffee shop and just sit there for a couple hours, what will happen is I'll Oh, well, actually, before I go to the coffee shop, I should actually do this, and then I should also do this, and I should clean, and I should get caught up on laundry, and I should do this and this and this. And I'm avoiding just being at the coffee shop. And there's no reason why I can't open my laptop and like start writing now, or, you know, tonight. But I, I write better in the morning, you know. I don't really write as good at night. Oh well, the morning I've got my gym routine, and then I have a coaching client, and I gotta jump right into work, so that can't be a writing day. It's like I am just noticing my tendencies in the most rawest, truest form, and it is humbling. Like, as a coach who helps people with routines and with goals and with mindset and like taking out the trash of your mind, all the negativity that tells you— like, I still deal with that. And this has just been such a like humbling experience to the point where I'm like Eh, the world doesn't really need another book on confidence. It'll be fine. You know? And that is terrifying because I feel like that is the ultimate form of self-betrayal. And that's what I'm in between right now.

Oh, girlfriend, thank you for sharing that. I think that when we're sharing such huge pieces of our hearts, it's like the most vulnerable experience ever. And that's when those tendencies will come up where you're like, I am scared. That I am not good enough, so I am going to sabotage this. And I mean, that's just what I feel whenever I go through like my editing processes. I will, if there's something that I like really care about, and this happens with every wedding, I want to tend to sabotage when I edit it because I am scared and terrified that I didn't do a good enough job. And then I'm going to like have this confirmation of my belief that I'm not good enough to do what I do. And I find this in so many different conversations with creatives that we all tend to sabotage that because we care so deeply. We believe in it so much, and it's what we most desire. So we will turn to, what if I can't do it? I would rather not know than know.

You know, let me just take myself out of the game. Before we've even like started, you know, like I'm just not even going to show up to the field. I'm just going to like bench myself. And yeah, I think it's another thing too. Like I, when I hear other people talk about their imposter syndrome, I can see their magic. Like I can so see their talent, their skills, their passion, their energy. Like I can see it and like, I just want to draw it out. You know, I want to help you. unlock that. I want to help you move through it. But it's like I lose sight of my own magic. And I think so many of us struggle with that. Like, we can see the good in other people, but we, when it comes to building our own thing, making decisions, writing a book, whatever it is, I think that we can really lose sight of our own magic and we kind of hand it off.

Absolutely.

Someone else has already done that. Someone's doing it better. It's like I'm really working through just like finding, seeing the magic, holding on to it, trying to just like become friends with it instead of trying to lock it in a box.

Absolutely. Yeah.

And it's one of those things where a lot of times when we create these projects, we're working on the project and we're working on our project of ourselves. And so that takes so much energy, right? It's not just like an Excel document that you just like get these projections out. Like, your soul is involved in this. So you're putting in double the work because you are working through the self-betrayal and the habits and the mindset. And you're like, all right, well, I'm going to sit down and I commit it and all this stuff. And you're putting out this very, like, emotionally intense, mindset-driven piece and writing that and the whole concept of it too. So it's also like this grace period that we almost set as creatives the same standards for other projects that don't involve the soul and the mind and all of us as much as that. Those standards, I don't think apply to us.

Yeah.

Because it's so different. And for each person, it's going to bring out so many things that we didn't realize were there about ourselves and now we have to work through. And it's going to be a very different timeline. And we love timelines because they're safe and we're like, okay, this is what I'm saying I'm going to do.

Yeah.

But thank you for sharing that in between. I think so many— we have a lot of creatives that listen to this podcast, and I think we can all relate to that and the journey and the in-between of launching a creative project that you so deeply care about and believe in as well.

Thanks, friend. What about you? What are you up to right now?

I have no magic, so that's great.

Yes, you do.

No, I just feel like my magic is a little dwindled right now.

I think it's just one of those seasons where I'm in a season transition right now. And each one of those can be painful and can be stretching and can be challenging in so many different ways. And so I feel like there's so many different aspects of my creative journey, including my business, including different projects that I have launched and done and that have grown, and I'm very grateful for that. And each one of those is demanding so much more out of me as each of those grows.

Mm-hmm.

And so on top of that, of like my own life of, okay, I have these habits and these things that I want to do in my personal life, and now I'm in a relationship and like my friendships and all these goals, right, that we all strive for. And so when everything's kind of coming at once, it just feels like I can't catch a breath. And to me, that just signals a moment of growth. So whenever I go through these situations, I know I need to take a step back and be like, okay, what systems or what habits or what things aren't working for me right now? And what is this new season calling me to do? Do I need to hire someone? Do I need to delegate more? Do I need to stop something? Do I need to say no to something? And So I'm in that in-between right now where I feel very, very stretched. And to me, one of my core values, doing things with excellence and doing things really well. And when I feel like I'm not giving it my all, I start the shame cycle in my world where I'm just like, oh, this is why we can't do it good enough. And they're not going to believe in me. They're not going to trust me. All these things just start spiraling. And so it's just a matter of I have grown through not taking that as personally, but I am still in the point where I'm like, I'm still accountable for taking on too much. So, um, yeah, so I am navigating this new season, realizing my new capacities and learning how to— I think I need to go through like a whole saying no season of my life.

So I love that for you.

Oh, thanks.

When it comes to saying no, because I feel like you're really good at setting boundaries, like you're really good at navigating conflict, setting boundaries, things like that. Is this more like saying no to yourself? Or like, what, what do you feel like you need to say no more to?

Yeah, I think that there is quite a few different projects that I love to take on and I love all of them.

Okay.

And so I want to do all of them. And then now I need to be like, okay, just because we love them, it doesn't mean we have the capacity for them so that we might just need to say no to things that we love for a season because you already pre-committed to these other things.

Yeah.

So I think that it's mostly on that front. And then on the flip side is entrepreneurship overall is such an ebb and flow of income and resources and everything. And so whenever there's any low, it is a trigger for me and I start panicking and I start booking things that I would perhaps normally say no to. So I booked way too much.

So in one of those low seasons.

Panic book.

But at the same time, I'm like, well, I need to survive and live. So I I, but I've gotten better with that of now I have a whole like projections for the business of like, okay, what's the income coming this month? What, what's going out and what's my net per month? So now I'm actually having a true number of net that I can look at from now to the end of the year. And that is giving me the security that I need to not freak out in this month because so much money is going out in this month and then panic book. ahead. So there's a tip for any creatives if that helps you. It's definitely helped me to just see like that net amount, but I definitely in my low points chose to take on too much.

Hmm.

Okay. Well, I know that you'll navigate those conversations and those decisions with a lot of intentionality because that's just who you are. But I also hope that like, I know going into the fall is your busy season too. So it's like from one busy thing into the next. So you got this, baby. You just reconnect.

You got this. You got it.

I need like a morning hype, you know, like a hype audio.

You call me or, you know, I'll record something for you and then you can listen to it every morning.

Creepy.

You are magic. You are the sun and the moon.

You hold all the light. Oh my gosh.

You shine so brightly into everyone that you get to come in contact with. Oh my gosh.

We're just gonna snip that right there, and I'm just gonna listen to that specific thing on repeat.

But for our anniversary episode, doing one year of the In Between Pod, what has been one of your most favorite, like, memories from having the podcast?

Ooh.

Well, there's, there's like layers to it because there's the recording part of like us just, it's just you and me, you know, and then there's actually releasing the episode. I would say one of my favorite memories, there's a lot, but one of my favorites was whenever we decided to do the podcast. We were on our way home from a trip to 30A, which now carries a lot of really cool things for both of us over the last year and a half. Which is so fun, um, in Florida. And we had a shared note and we kept putting in different topic ideas and different things we could discuss. And I think it was really cool to see how quickly we had so much to say.

Mm-hmm.

And I think what I have loved about this podcast is like, don't underestimate the power of your voice or your story. And both of us have unique experiences, different traumas, different, you know, things that we've celebrated, different accomplishments. And I think that by like taking that list in a shared note and turning it into a year of different topics and different themes and different, you know, like vulnerabilities and like seeing that turn into messages from listeners and like stories that they've shared with us and advice that they've asked us. Like, it's so cool to weave those threads together and like see how impactful this podcast is, not just because of us, but because of the community that we're building, but also like because we chose to, to use our voice. And I think that's really cool. So that's like my favorite memory slash like impact it's had on me. What about you?

Yes, I love that so much. I honestly, same. I think that, um, just being able to see it all come to life has been the most beautiful thing ever. And it's just really cool to see, like, work on a project that just brings impact. Like, neither of us make money off of this. We put in time every single week for this project. Simply to connect with people and share our experiences and share our thoughts. And thank you to everyone that listens and tunes in and cares to hear our thoughts on things.

Thank you for being here.

Yes.

But yeah, I would also add a favorite memory. I think it would be the photoshoot that we had for the pod right before. Like, we had worked up all the stuff that we wanted to do. So we knew what the concept and the project was going to be. And then we showed up to this shoot like empowered women.

I feel like we channeled that. We're like, we are empowered. You're about to hear our voice. This is our new era.

And it was just honestly, even if we were to never get the photos from that shoot, the experience itself of doing that with you, of being like, We're putting, we're putting out a project, we're doing this together, we're getting in front of the camera, we're being confident, we're conquering our self-image, thanks to that like pop-up for both of us, Very Real. It was just like such a raw, beautiful moment of being like, we're not perfect and we're showing up and we're gonna do this. And whoever listens to this, we're just excited to connect with you.

So I think this shoot is definitely like a core memory for me.

The COVID shoot was everything. I feel like such a badass. Shout out to Sarah Dybul for doing our makeup.

I feel like I was like, this is the best I've ever looked.

Anytime I'm with someone and sometimes people will ask what I do and stuff like that and we'll get on different topics and I'll say, oh, I have a podcast with one of my My girlfriends. And they're like, oh my gosh, like, what is it? And they'll immediately go to like Spotify or Apple. And they'll like have me put in the podcast name and our cover art will pop up. And they're like, they, they like are literally like, oh, wow.

That's right.

Very, very professional. It's giving empowered women empower women.

Yes. I love it.

Oh my gosh, that's incredible.

Okay, another core memory or favorite one is actually when I got to interview you and Matthew. Oh, for your anniversary.

It was so special.

I think for me it was twofold because I freaking adore all the couples that I get to shoot with, and I feel like such a connection to them. And I always feel so sad when like the wedding days are done. And I got to shoot your wedding and then we became friends. And so then I got to see like post-wedding, what happens with the couple, you know, like how do they develop their marriage?

So it's like a life dream come true.

I love it.

I never got to say actually goodbye.

You just keep like every, every year is a new episode of our love story.

So it is inside scoop into it. No, that was such a fun episode.

I also loved the episode that we did. It was pretty early on, on our embarrassing stories.

Oh my God.

I feel like we just cackled the whole time. We should probably do another one. Have you had more embarrassing stories happen in the last year?

I have, absolutely.

We should definitely do another embarrassing story one. Even professional, what's happened in your career, what's happened. Um, in your personal life.

I love that episode.

Yeah, there— what's another one? Oh, the photo shoot that we did in— should we tell them about the failed merch?

Oh, we never told the pod community. The failed merch.

So I don't know if you've been following for a bit. Astrid and I went to New York for her birthday in November last fall, and we were like, okay, the pod is a couple months old, like everyone's doing merch. We want to have a merch line. We want it to be super cool. We want to do like an oversized crew neck hoodie look, like where it's kind of like if you're familiar with Mayfair, they're like a mental health awareness, like loungewear company, love their hoodies. Like that kind of vibe, like stitching, you know, in between like different seasons, just like really cool. After him and I come up with the design, he finds an amazing photographer to do our shoot for us. In SoHo, in our merch. Is there anything cooler? The little Midwestern cornfield girl in me was like, I'm going to do a merch shoot for a product in SoHo.

I was so excited.

She gets to the hotel.

She's like, I don't know what you're going to think about this first mockup of the merch. And I was like, okay. Now you go, you, you tell the rest, you tell the rest.

Okay, well, we—

well, you already set the scene of what we were expecting and what we were wanting, and so it was a very quick turnaround time. So I picked up these sweatshirts like 2 days before flying out, or a day before flying out. So when I saw them, I was like, oh God, no, like, this is not—

this is just not it.

I was like, we have a photographer lined up I was like, well, I'll just take it. And if it's me— because I can also be like a perfectionist— so like, if it's just me being so picky but Alexis feels like it's good, it wasn't you, then I was like, whatever, we'll just roll with it. And so I bring this to New York, and I was like, um, she gets it. I don't know if you're gonna like this, but, um, she's like, Do you not like them? Like Alexis, whenever she starts like freaking out, she'll like talk really fast and be like—

and moves her head quite a bit.

She's like, do you not like them?

Yeah.

And I was like, if I'm honest, no.

But if you love them, we can continue with this. So I like unveil it and just silence, absolute silence in the hotel room. And you're like, yeah, I don't know about that.

I also didn't like—

I didn't want to hurt your feelings because you had Like found someone and like, it wasn't your fault. And I didn't want you to be like, I didn't like, oh, I don't like it. And I didn't want it to be like you. I just didn't like the merch. So I was like, uh, I mean, what do you think?

And you're like, I don't know.

I was like, I just don't feel like this is reflective of us.

No, it was terrible.

It was—

I literally use it to sleep and I've never worn it out once.

I already gave it to Goodwill.

Oh my God, I gave, I gave the extras to Goodwill.

I only have one other one.

Someone here in Houston, Texas is sporting a very, very badly designed Inbetween hoodie.

Oh my God, if someone spots that, please take a picture.

Take a photo of it out in the wild. Talk about like a Pokémon, uh, whatever, gotta catch 'em all. But One day there'll be merch, but that was just not us. But we ended up going forward with that shoot anyways. And that's one of my favorite shoots of us. Even though it was a really short shoot, we don't have a lot of photos, just iconic.

It was so fun.

We're wearing like, I remember our outfits. I loved our outfits. And I was wearing this leather 2-piece set and I had a UTI. And if you've ever had a UTI and worn leather, UTIs and tight pants just don't go together at all. And I remember using telehealth, the telehealth app through our insurance, and I was able to get an antibiotic in New York, which was so helpful. But that morning, remember I was really bloated. I did not feel good. I was like, we're gonna rally. It hurts. It hurts down there.

I'm pretty sure during the shoot when you were like commenting, you're like, it hurts so bad. I was like, I'm so sorry. And you would go straight face, like, you know how to pull it together because you go like straight face, like, okay, what's the next spot?

Where are we going?

And then I turn it on and I turn it off.

And then when she starts shooting, she's like, Perfectly happy, like just walking down the streets of SoHo like she's in a freaking fashion week, New York Fashion Week. And then once we're done shooting, she's like, where's the telehealth?

Where's the pharmacy? Where's the Duane Reade? Oh my gosh, I love that memory.

That was—

I still love those photos so much.

I know, they were so fun. They were absolutely— we need to have another like fun shoot for the pod.

I agree. We need to like make that happen in the next couple months.

Absolutely.

Absolutely.

Um, okay, do we want to share some favorite moments that we've gotten from like our audience, from listeners?

Yes. Um, I have one.

I actually—

I have— well, I have quite a few. I feel like honestly, since we launched, I will mostly get, um, voice messages, and those are my favorite to get. And I so wish I would have been like keeping these because it will just be the most heartfelt messages saying specific things about the pod and specific things that really impacted them. And now it's just— oh my gosh, it makes me emotional. Like, I could not believe when people were messaging me that stuff and just saying how much it helped them. So, but one of the texts that I got was Um, not a voice message, it was a text, and I'm gonna share it with you all because I love it so, so much. And this is from last year when we launched, so there was like maybe 8 episodes out at that point. And so it says, hi, I just binged the podcast. Oh my God, it's incredible listening to you two. Has, like you were talking about with those good books, unlocked so many things that I've had in the back of my mind That I just have not been showing up well for myself and in turn the people in my life. I cannot wait to start some pointed work with myself to get a more thriving mindset and body set. And I wanted to thank you for that. I cannot wait for more episodes. You both had me completely engrossed as I drove today. I, I knew the podcast would be a huge success, but I didn't realize it would turn me upside down and shake me like it did. Well done to the both of you, babes. I can't wait to see where the podcast goes next and directs you both, directs you both in your life and in all the lives you positively impact.

And then afterwards says, I was laughing out loud, crying out loud, and had my wheels spinning either every topic you broach and my relationship with each subject and pain point.

So I just love hearing that because it's both you and I are people who will dive deep into conversation, share the most raw things with each other, and also we'll just laugh at the dumbest things, just share the lightest topics. So knowing that our audience really connects with both sides of us and all the different topics that we want to tackle, and that we don't feel cornered into like, okay, you're only self-development or you're only business or you're only this. But it's like, no, we love all of you. And however you guys decide to show up, we want to listen to that. So Truly the best and such an honor.

I agree. Like, I love that our community is so open to us evolving, you know, like us being able to take the podcast in different directions. So I love that. I have one, um, it was a message to me. I'm not gonna read it because it's very long and it's, it's very personal, like in terms of what they were sharing, but It was in January, we did our first like themed month and we've been doing themed months this year in 2023. And 2020, sorry, January was around like health and wellness. And we did one on spiritual wellness. And I opened up a lot about my journey with my faith and deconstructing my faith and just feeling very, very distant from my spirituality. And I received several messages from that and like really kind, very thoughtful, very respectful messages from that episode. But one in particular was her sharing her story as well. And she connected so many parallels between my story and her story. And she said it was really healing to hear someone talk about the journey that they had gone through and like trying to find their way back. And It was really meaningful to me because I think talking about your spirituality can just feel like a whole other layer of vulnerability. Like, it's not just like, oh, I've had a bad day, like, this is kind of what happened at work. It's like, no, this is a huge part of your identity.

Mm-hmm.

And to read her message and to see how deeply that episode in particular impacted her and affirmed her was like so meaningful to me. So I just wanted to highlight that.

Oh, I love that so much. I think that's a huge part of the podcast is those really hard conversations.

Yeah.

That we're willing to go there in a very still broad sense, but enough to like people be able to relate to it and be able to say, I feel that too, or I've experienced that too. It's so equally validating for us sharing those things specifically in this scenario you, and also for them to be like, okay, I'm not alone, or like, I'm not standing in this by myself, even when like my family or whoever around me is in a different mindset. So I love that so, so much. I think that reminds me too of the message that we got whenever we did the career mindset theme.

Mm-hmm.

That she had listened to the podcast on like negotiating your salary that we did.

And that one just makes me so freaking happy. Like, I love a woman that is working hard and is advocating for herself.

And we just shared some of our personal experiences on the pod from our careers and some tips that we had for negotiating your salary. So she implemented these things and went to her boss and was able to negotiate like I can't remember what the amount was, but it was insane raise.

It was like a 40% salary increase.

Yes.

Yeah.

And vacation time. I think it was like an extra week of PTO or something like that.

And on top of that, I need an extra week off.

And while we're at it.

I love that.

And I just love that. I feel like that was such a powerful episode where we got to just give back our experiences to people and seeing it Fully impact their finances. It was just, I will never forget that. I will take that forever in my heart.

If that's the one thing, I'm like, I helped someone get a raise. It's such a good feeling, helping people feel seen, helping people get real results, equipping people with steps, knowledge, or, hey, read this book. This helped me. I think that's such an important part of like the generation that we're a part of is I feel like we're really willing to help each other.

Like, yes.

I feel like in the past, other generations have kind of, kind of been like, all for one and one for all. Like, this is, this is for me, and I'm gonna get mine kind of thing. And I just feel like we're a very generous generation. We're like, I want to help, I want to share. And I love that podcasts are like such a cool medium to I know, I love that so, so much.

It's crazy that— oh, was there any other ones that you wanted to share?

Um, uh, on the same one, like we did the, the job, um, theme, the career theme in March, and I remember getting some messages from a friend of mine who was navigating a career change, pivoting, and she said that our episode on Interviewing, like, helped her be able to avoid companies that weren't going to be a good fit for her culturally, because she felt like she had questions and ways to ask certain things in interviews to be able to discern if it was going to be a good fit for her or not. And our episode, like, helped her gain the confidence and, like, empowerment to, to do that in those interviews. And I was like, yeah, like, I love that.

That's insane.

I feel like If you could put us back on our road trip down to Florida, whenever we were like, maybe we should start a podcast, and someone would show us like a little highlight video of everything that this year has held up to today and the lives that we know that we have impacted. I'm sure there's other ones that we haven't heard of. I just feel like those doubts, those insecurities, those things that popped up whenever we're like, are we sure? Okay, like we're kind of scared. Like this is so new. It would just completely go away. And I'm just so proud of us for not knowing what was ahead and still committing to it and still doing it because we had such a strong why behind it as well. And our commitment to just keep doing this every single week. Like we just took a break after a whole year.

Last week was the first week that we didn't put out an episode.

And so this month we're taking a break, of course, besides this episode. But it's just been really cool to do something consistently and to do it with you and to commit in this project with you and see the impact. Like, truly the biggest honor to have done this with you, friend. And to everyone listening, thank you for letting us into your ears every week.

Thank you.

Whether you're listening, you're getting ready, or you're at the gym, you're in your car, like We want to be, you know, your friends. So thanks for hanging out with us wherever you are. Um, should we talk about the giveaway?

I was just about to say that.

Should we tell them?

We're doing a giveaway, um, to celebrate our anniversary. I'm so excited. Do you want to talk through the details?

Um, yeah, so we're gonna be giving away, of course, You guys know we love good habits and we love a good routine. So we're going to do a giveaway around that to help you support that. So we're giving away a Hatch alarm clock, which we've talked about on this episode before.

I am a Hatch fan. It has genuinely helped me wake up every day at 5:30 in the morning. So it's like a sunrise alarm clock and I'm super excited to give this away.

And it has like the red light on there too, right?

Yeah, you can set it to different lights at night. There's a morning routine and an evening routine. I do 15 minutes of red light at night to help my eyes adjust. And then it's a sound machine as well. I absolutely love it. And then you can change— my sunrise is 30 minutes. So I have a 30-minute sunrise and it really helps me acclimate and wake up naturally. Naturally, even when it's not— the sun's not out yet. So anyways, I'm excited to be giving this away.

I love that. I love that. So for this giveaway, it's basically like, that is Alexis's side where she's like, I advocate for this one item. And my side is, of course, We're Not Really Strangers cards, because I am obsessed. I feel like they are life-changing.

There is a chance that we might be doing a specific kind of like, um, because they have different editions. But other than that, um, we'll be having the We're Not Really Strangers cards, the Hatch alarm clock, and all the specifics on like how you can enter the giveaway will be on the post. Um, but definitely we'll be launching that on Wednesday, so just stay tuned.

On Instagram.

Yes, on Instagram.

And you can go to our Instagram @inbetween.pod to enter the giveaway. And I'm really excited. Why are you laughing at me?

I'm sorry. What?

No, it's just Nick is here to pick me up to go to the gym. He just like went like this.

He's like, oh, you're recording by myself. I'm sorry. Yeah.

Um, okay, but yeah, enter the giveaway at inbetween.pod. And thank you so much for just the community that we've built over the past year. Like It kind of feels surreal to me. Like, I, I can't believe that it's already been a year, but, and then it's only been a year in the same way. Yeah. So thanks for doing this with me. I love you.

Here's to season 2.

Season 2, maybe.

We'll see you next time.