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Christina Larson - Maria and her sister on family, holidays and fun · She’s Smart

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Hey, everybody. Welcome to She's Smart. This is a very special episode,
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the holiday episode, with my sister, Christina.
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And she's on, so you can say hi. Hi, everybody.
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Christina lives in California with my niece and nephew, Aubrey Miles,
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and her husband, Noah, who we lovingly call Zio.
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Throughout the episode, you will hear me refer to Christina as sister because
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over the years, I've stopped calling her by her name.
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I don't know when that started. I think it's probably been at least two decades. At least two decades.
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Right. It's a good name. So we call it your sister. This is a very special episode
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because it's our Christmas episode. It's actually my birthday as we are recording this.
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And sister's package to everyone came today. And so did my birthday present.
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So I would like to open this with everyone and talk about what's in it.
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But we will get to that. It smells amazing.
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There's really some special treats in here. We're going to open it and talk
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about all the pieces in there because a lot of this is just you and who you are as a person.
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Christina lives about seven minutes from our parents. So thanks for taking that one, sister.
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Seven minutes. Drive really fast.
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When i drive seven minutes supposed to be 10,
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we were actually over there i was feeling lala's essence the last couple days
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and i celebrate winter solstice my kids also celebrate the like yule as well
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as they celebrate christmas so we blend.
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Lala always used to go get Italian cookies in a pink bakery party.
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So tomorrow night, we're going to go have Christmas Eve at Auntie Sandy, Uncle Steve's.
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And I was like, oh my gosh, I felt Lala and I need to love a fauna, the shit out of this.
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And I'm going to go get the Christmas cookies.
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We went to San Francisco this morning to a very special little Italian bakery.
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The box actually has the red, green, and white flag on it.
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We did all of our grocery shopping this morning too. We went to Berkeley Bowl
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and did all the fun things.
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San Francisco was our first hit. We went straight out at 8.40 this morning.
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Flew into San Francisco. It was so cool. No traffic?
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Not going over. We flew over and we got a few pounds of all the Lola cookies.
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Okay. And we came home and we boxed them all and ribboned them for everyone's
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Christmas present for tomorrow night. So cute.
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It was so sweet. On the way back, the reason I brought this up was because we stopped.
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There were chocolate eclairs filled with whipped cream. we bought daddy two
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chocolate eclairs and dropped them off on the way home to which
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i called because no one has responded
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to the delivery and daddy didn't know
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he was supposed to open the box that literally is a pastry box so i called and
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i said mama did daddy open the box and she's like what box and i was like the
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one we dropped off and she's like oh he's supposed to open it i'm like have
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him open it because he might need to put it in the fridge if he's not going to eat it right away.
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So hopefully they'll open the box. But that makes me think of them too as just chocolatey Claire's.
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So Lala was sister and I's aunt, our dad's sister.
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And now sister is Lala.
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Don't get confused. We all took different names when we had kids.
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I had the first kid and sister was like, I'll be Lala. I'm like,
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that's great. I will be Sissy.
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Her kids call me Sissy and my kids call Christina Lala.
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So a lot of different names. The whole group knows the name calling was very important to Maria.
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Sister really wanted everyone to have names.
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So it wasn't that you got to decide your
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name per se it was more that you were designated a
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couple options and noah who's not italian at all became zio yep because why
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the fuck am i a zio and we're like because that's what maria said you were you
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don't have to run with more and poor ben is just uncle ben he's no special name he's such an uncle ben,
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He couldn't be anything more just like Uncle Benny.
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Uncle Benny would be a great add-on to his name. That's a shout-out to my friend
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Amanda down the street, whose son is named Benny.
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And we joke that Benny was named after Ben.
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That could be a story in itself. That could be, though. So this episode is dropping
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on December 26th, which is Boxing Day for our UK friends.
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Yes, and we celebrate that, too. So you celebrate Boxing Day.
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What is Boxing Day? And what do you do on Boxing Day?
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We're going to the beach on Boxing Day. Okay, that makes sense.
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My understanding of Boxing Day is that in the United Kingdom,
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the royalty would have the people working for them on the Christmas Day.
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Most of those parents, adults, were obligated to be working.
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When they finished their shifts, they were given what was considered maybe the
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leftovers to box and bring home to their families.
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And they would celebrate with beautiful assortments of yummy,
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delicious things. But they were boxed and they were dispersed to their employees.
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And then they brought them home. And then the next day, they celebrated with
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their families. If I were to put a little glitter and sprinkle on it,
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hopefully they were all choosing to be working. I would hope so.
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Getting luxurious tips and gifts, and then they go home to their family,
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and by the end of Christmas Day, they were still with their family.
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I do know that Noah's family, when Grandma was still alive, we actually would
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have Christmas the day after.
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There was always some fun thing they tried to plan on Boxing Day.
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So shout out to Mamu. Yeah, Mamu.
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And A.V. A.V.
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Yes. I reached out to Danny and Tia.
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And I reached out to Danny and Tia because I really wanted them to pop in on
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the episode because I thought it would be super fun.
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But Danny is literally on a plane flying here. And Tia is in the midst of all of her life right now.
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But they're going to be all in Tahoe. I asked Tia what question she would ask you.
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And Tia said she wanted to know what your favorite memory of our Christmases together.
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Danny and Tia are our sisters from other misters.
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We all grew up together in our hometown and spent holidays together.
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Our parents were friends. We were in Tahoe together.
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We spent a lot of our lives together. And when I moved to New York,
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I lived with Danny first and then with Tia.
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They're really our sisters, our family. So Tia wants to know what your favorite
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memory is of our crazy Christmases together.
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Okay, so I probably have two. The first one, let's just say this.
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I was usually stoned at most of our family holiday gatherings.
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So now looking back on it, there's a little bit of patchiness in deciphering it.
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Although, I mean, I love getting high. So I thank you for that moment,
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those moments in my life where I was doing that more and didn't have as much
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responsibility as I do now.
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But I remember specifically being at the table at mommy and daddy's house Christmas
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day, Ted bringing over Boilo.
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By like an hour in, there wasn't a whole lot of like sitting upness.
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And then you have to like actually get to the meal part where there's a lot
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of laughing. There's a lot of joking.
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And I just remember being the Christmas that we also decorated gingerbread houses.
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In the dining room. Yes, and we were paired up.
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The houses looked somewhere between a Christmas workshop gone wrong and anarchy
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of a brothel with movement and dancing, bodies,
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icing everywhere, candy being eaten rather than placed,
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foul mouths and total laughter being so high that everything was snorting funny.
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That's probably one of the biggest ones. Getting through dinner with all of
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us, I don't recall most of the meals.
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No. So I remember the meals. I didn't partake in the high that you did.
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My controlling nature didn't appreciate it the way you did.
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I'm pretty sure that my gingerbread house had Santa humping a reindeer of some
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sort because anything that was created, there was someone humping something.
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Do you remember going to Uncle Yu's?
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There's a restaurant next to our town in Lafayette, and it's called Uncle Yu's
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for all the California peeps.
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You know what I'm talking about. And in their drinks, we had Shirley Temples, Coca-Cola and Sprites.
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They always gave you a tiny little plastic monkey.
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Yes, plastic monkey, all different colors. And it would hang on the side of
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your glass, right? When it got here.
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I remember taking all of them and putting them together so that they all look
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like there was a humping train going on down the table.
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It always turned into that. it never stopped it
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always turned into how beautiful was the
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amount of laughing and silliness like there was so
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much i think we're still like that with
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our kids we're so open in the discussion they hear everything that's happening
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and sometimes you forget those little ears but i feel like we were given a childhood
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of being aware of where the world was all the time there was always commentary
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and laughter on any situation that was happening sometimes the
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scary things, sometimes the great fun things too.
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I don't think we ever had to worry about.
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No, I never remember worrying as a kid. I remember worrying about stuff that
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you were doing or thinking about, but age appropriate, like school situation.
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The only thing I would worry about because growing up, my bedroom was you had
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to cross the front door in order to get from my bedroom to sister's bedroom or my parents' bedroom.
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So when we were kids, sister liked to play a fun little joke on me where she
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would stare at me and look me dead in the face.
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And then she'd look behind me and start backing away as if there was something
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behind me that she could see that I couldn't.
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And she would say something like, okay, just move really slowly.
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And I would become petrified and Christina, stop it, Christina.
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And it was a fun little joke. There's no one ever behind me.
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So when I would go to bed at night, I would get scared and I would have to run
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in front of the door in order to get to my parents'
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room because I ended up sleeping in there quite a bit when I was little for
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no reason other than I scared myself.
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I wouldn't be able to just walk in front of the door. I had to run as fast as
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I could in front of the door because the boogeyman and was definitely at the door waiting for me.
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But in the midst of running, I would trip over a vacuum left in the hallway.
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In my parents' room, there was a giant hearth.
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They put the addition on in the early 80s, maybe mid 70s.
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They built this giant, monstrous stone 80s fireplace.
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I would run into that as well as I was trying to get to safety inside their bed.
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I know that i was an intense older sister
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i just fucked with you to no end
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which now i look back and go oh that was so not cool but i'm not saying there
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weren't spirits back there oh no the house is haunted i think that even though
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that feels like the intention was to screw with you a little bit i feel like
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i was always sensing energy in that house and i didn't know how to handle it Now,
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if you're able to energetically put up your edge and allow that spirit to get
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where it needs to go, or at least be like, hey, I'm going to be able to do that.
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If you're not healed and like here to visit me in the most enlightening alignment,
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I need you to find your way out the window.
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But as a kid, I don't know how to ask them to, you don't even think to talk
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to the spirits, you know?
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And now when you talk to spirits, if that's what you do, you're like,
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it's a whole like another like dimension of relationship, which is so fucking cool.
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Back then, I didn't know that everything was always made to be like,
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you should fear that type of stuff rather than you like actually embrace and be of that.
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I'm human in a body that's doing its thing, but your body's wrapped around this beautiful soul.
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It's just another level of spirit energy.
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Like now I'm always like, Oh, there's something, there's a gift there. Like what's the gift?
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So when you, I'm imagining you looking at me, you know, like going like.
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Don't do this to me right now in the hallway.
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You awful big sister behind you. It's probably like, what did you do with them?
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Part of it must have been a give and take because why wouldn't you torture your little sister?
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We had one of those relationships where you were definitely like,
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you came into my room and took out my Barbie doll mansion while I was at school.
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So that tracks. But then when you're in that house, there is some stuff that
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goes down, which is why I smudge the entire home.
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I feel it. And I'm also like coming in going, spirits of this land.
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Their house is a portal to something. And I just don't know if I want to go in the portal.
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So it's not for me. I'm just like, let's put a special protective seal about me, my family, my car.
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Let us get in and out of here. Let's get in and out of here.
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As just as much of ourselves as we can have back at the end of it.
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I didn't realize that spirits could follow you out of where they were.
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We went on the strip to Charleston and we brought spirit sticks, right?
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Dawn gave us these spirit sticks.
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Of course, she hands them to me because I'm the one who's going to be like,
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oh, yeah, let's go find out what's going on.
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We brought these spirit sticks with us and I read the directions if they go one way or the other way.
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The guide who does these all the time and Charleston is haunted beyond haunted.
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Not necessarily good spirits haunting.
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I told him I brought the spirit sticks. He goes, okay, we're not going to take
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those out until I tell you.
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He goes, because we don't need anyone coming home with us tonight. And I went, huh?
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Like, yeah, they'll follow you
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home. So we ended up going to the last spot where this one guy had a duel.
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Somebody shot somebody else. And the guy haunts this one walkway.
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And he's a doctor. I mean, he told us this whole story.
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And he's like, all right, go ahead and get the spirit sex. and I pulled the
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spirit sticks out and all of a sudden one of them went whoosh.
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And I went, okay, we're just gonna go ahead and put these away now.
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We're done. He's, we're good. You don't need him coming back. He's obviously around.
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People see him. People actually see the spirit running through. Not always good ones.
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We're gonna go to your birthday present because you just reminded me.
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I know you don't necessarily go into what I gave you as a book to read.
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But you might take this journey. If you like the book I gave you,
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the next book you have to read is Phantasma because the book takes place in New Orleans.
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It is so good. But when you open your present, the book I gave you, we'll talk about that.
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I feel like because you did that journey with your friend and you had this awesome
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experience, you girls really did have the best time.
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That book would be perfect to
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give all of you like if you need a girlfriend's group give yeah that would be
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all went there together you could that book and I feel like your group your
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sister wives and everyone with you would clamor onto it with all those juicy
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bits and the fact that you know the town wait.
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Phantasma. It is just the cherry on top of so many lusciousness things.
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Christina has been reading these fantastic novels.
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Tell us a little bit about these books that you're reading because my books
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are fluff and romantic comedies.
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Everyone ends up happy with love and beach reads. That's where I live.
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Rainbows and butterflies.
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And then I live in also like The Tipping Point. I read that too.
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Those are my books. They're either like, here's what's happening to yourself
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and the world around you.
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And this is a book that is all romanticized and lovely and rainbows.
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So what is this new genre? Because you started reading this over the summer.
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Okay. So it's been a full year.
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It's been a full year. I have a dark shadowy
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side to me that is just like just a
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sinister just hecate and then
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i have this very light like you know angelic side of me and i've noticed over
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the past like probably half a decade i've been realizing how much i want to
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have both of them play all the time like they both get to play.
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Prior to that it was always like the
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shadowy dark should stay hidden and then
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the other side of me is like the one that's like you
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know way more socially available to me so just in that kind of like stage of
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like getting rid of my give-a-fucks I'm like the black moon Lilith in me is
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going to play whenever she wants to play so I've indulged for like the last
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year and just the most just amazing book reading.
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It's all been fantasy, dark romance.
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I'm sure there's a place for this in my psyche of what I'm going through in life and where I'm at.
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I believe everything's synchronicities and I'm learning what I'm learning right now for a reason.
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But my journey through these books has been so much fun and captivating.
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It's also been like an escape for me when I just need time to myself.
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So these books nourish me in my quiet time.
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It's by a window, reading or sunbathing and reading in my pause to give myself what I need.
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So the one I gave you was not the first book I read. I read many, many books.
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I think I'm into like, I literally have filled,
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Which was in your bedroom when you were a child. I have that bookshelf.
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Wait, does it still have all the letters I put on it when I had my store? Yeah.
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It also has some insignia-y, like, scarlet letters in the back of this thing.
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Etched like you're carving out your time in the cell. I know.
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There's more to you etching, like, these things on the side of this bookshelf.
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Which I'm glad I took out of the house because someone needs to keep it intact the way it was for you.
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So when I was a kid, I pretended I had my own store inside my bedroom and I
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would sit in there for hours.
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I would sell all of my books and my goods to my stuffed animals.
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I would go down to Long's Drugs, which is now CVS.
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Back in the day, when you went to the drugstore, you had an account.
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You didn't even have to bring money with you. You just put it on the tab.
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Poor daddy, when he would get that Long's Drugs bill, it was like, I don't even know.
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But I would go down there because we could walk downtown from the house.
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And I would buy these little receipt pages that you would get from the store.
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And I used those to actually give to the animals.
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I did tax. I did all of it. But some animals didn't have cash or check.
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They had to play with their credit card.
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So I had a system of their name and their receipts would go by their letter
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of their name. It makes total sense.
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And instead of just making it, I had to write an indelible marker on the wooden bookshelf in my room.
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It had slats on the side, like these little pulls.
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Yeah, the knobs. They go all the way down. So in between those knobs is where
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everyone's receipts would sit.
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I mean, it made total sense to me. So now sister has it in her house.
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I was spray painting it a gold color and vintaging it a bit.
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It still has the notch, like little lines dug into it. It's the perfect.
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Fantasy book library because it tells a story in the shelves,
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not just the books. But it is loaded with every book that I've been reading.
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I have this thing about paper books.
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I need to be touching them when I go anywhere. I need to be reading it.
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I like to, I mean, there are so many books right now that I'll go back to just
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to read chapter 55 or chapter 33 or whatever I want.
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They have this sacred space in the corner. And right now, our Yule Christmas tree is in front of it.
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And they're like, are you going to seriously leave the bookshelf there?
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There's a broom, there's the bookshelf, and then there's the tree.
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They keep looking behind it. And they're just like, I can't believe we see books
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are behind the tree. And I'm like, well, that's the only place that shelf.
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It actually, Maria, it can't move because one of the legs, clawed legs, right?
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It's like a clawed bathtub, but it's a clawed bookshelf, which is even cooler.
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I think that was probably mommy's moms or like mommy's grandmothers.
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Because remember my beds in my room, the twin beds were her grandmothers.
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Yes. And I'm pretty sure the mattresses were her grandmothers as well.
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Yes. And right next to it is the dresser, the marble dresser that daddy refurbished
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and put the glass panels on.
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Oh, my. They're right by each other. Yes. A piece of you is more and more ways
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than one. But that was from Sissy's bedroom.
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That's amazing. That's what I'm going to.
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I'm going to open a present. Happy birthday. Birthday.
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And I love what you posted about what your 45th year was for you.
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And now what your 46th year is going to bring.
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That's like the best for a birthday.
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You know what's funny, Christina? I wrote that after we had talked one day.
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Sister and I go into these deep dives in our conversations, which happen almost
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daily when we're not crazy.
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And sometimes stuff comes up. We've both over the years been working really
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hard on just shit that's sitting there inside of you that you've got to work
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through and heal. I can't remember what we were talking about.
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But it was after I talked with you that I sat down and I was like,
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well, shit, this all just came up. And then I wrote it all down last night when
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I was going to bed. I'm like, you know what?
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I never post stuff like this. I'm posting it because I wrote it for a reason.
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I'm putting it out there. This is it. 45th year. This is a good one.
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I always felt it was going to be good.
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I tied it. It was going across the country. So it had to stay.
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Does all of that get to you in one?
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Did it all package pretty well at that time? It was beautiful.
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And all the other pieces that you made oh yeah i can't say what they are because
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the girls are going to be getting them but i will talk about them after they're
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given to them they're beautiful christina people need to buy them like they're
25:11
just so beautifully done sister,
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so beautifully done i'm gonna post a picture of it when apple was all right
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here we go The first thing I'm pulling out is the magician magic hour.
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Okay, so that company that you're now telling everybody that they should get,
25:31
Magic Hour Tea is the bomb.
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It's the most beautiful assortment of just possibilities to just be devouring
25:41
and soaking into your beautiful body and aligning with your essence.
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And there are so many options for whatever you want as a tea.
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I love, love, love their teas.
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And I buy them and I share them. This one is just one of, there's so many options.
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You have to go search for yourself because you can dive into that ocean.
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I love what's in here. This one's magic hour. Ginger, berry,
26:06
vanilla, herbal tea for grounding, creating, and balancing with astragalus.
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Is that how you pronounce that? I do not know, but let's say.
26:16
We're going to go with that. Elderberry and dandelion. Oh, Christina,
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this is going to be so nice. I've been drinking so much tea lately.
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I have it in the afternoons and then I have a cup before I go to bed.
26:28
I want to save that one. Fat bombs. Those are shower steamers.
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You drop them in the shower and just let it.
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I have this thing with sand and salt on my feet. I love the coarseness of the exfoliation.
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But those have a very aromatic like loveliness to them.
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Self-love, lavender, geranium, and rose. And this one's relax.
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Ooh, I can smell the anise in it.
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This one is lavender, rosemary, and anise seed. Christina, these are cool.
27:04
Company, online company. And I was, I'm always looking for, I love,
27:10
I think one of my like, just ways of like filling my cup is to give just gifts.
27:18
And I love gift giving, but I also love like adding in those little treasures.
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When I look for the treasures, I find those are the things I like think of.
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Amazing. How do I nourish your body?
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Like give yourself all that love and smell and sensual, all the areas, right?
27:35
These are beautiful. I'm going to use this. And they travel really well too.
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So this next piece I asked for because I do this every New Year's Eve.
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I used to have everyone here on New Year's Eve. We won't be here.
27:50
We'll be at another wife's house. but every new year's eve everyone who was here.
27:56
Be saged along with the entire house
28:00
so yes i sage all
28:03
the rooms i get all the corners everywhere go upstairs everyone's
28:07
getting sage that's in the house people are like is that sage i'm like yes it
28:11
is i promise this is sage and you open up all the windows all the doors and
28:17
you let out all the negative energy and you start the new year fresh and vibrant smudges. Smudge.
28:26
My smudge. This is beautiful. And I got little crystals in here too. Magic.
28:32
I'm going to put this in my little...
28:35
Meditation table. That's where all the other ones are. And the candle you made me.
28:39
This is cool, Christina. Is it okay if the feather burns? Am I going to burn down the house?
28:44
I don't. You could remove the ribbon. The feather can go somewhere gently.
28:49
There's the dried flowers with it.
28:51
They'll all burn. I think it's just being safe with how you burn it too.
28:55
If you have a shell or a dish or something that you lay it in,
28:59
because it does spark and move around you don't
29:01
want the abalone i have an abalone show perfect i
29:06
love a smudge and i think too like ceremonies and rituals
29:09
like it's it's so part of like you know the process of going from where you're
29:15
beginning and then after a whole ceremony or ritual you're in a new space and
29:20
a different person in a way i love that you do that with your circle it's so
29:24
awesome yes no it's forced on them.
29:26
When we go on trips, we always do something.
29:29
We've done a goddess circle almost in the ocean.
29:32
It was pitch black and we walked out the rocks. The next morning when we looked
29:38
out, the rocks were not there.
29:39
We could have been slept out to sea in the middle of Massachusetts.
29:43
We've done that. We also did it in a mountain cabin around a big fire pit.
29:50
You had written us a poem or things to read.
29:53
So I read those. And then my wife's daughters were like, what is this? We want to get into it.
30:01
So they asked for little goddess packages.
30:07
Well, one Christmas I gave them this box and it had all the things to make their
30:11
own potions and all that stuff.
30:14
And poor Tyler woke up one night and her daughter wasn't in the house.
30:20
Her daughter had gone outside to the woods next to the house and lit candles.
30:27
With her friend, she was like, Auntie Maria told us this is what we had to do.
30:32
We had to go out to the woods and create magic and chant.
30:37
I hope it was all safe. It was so cute.
30:41
I hope that for every human that they just get into the woods and just find
30:48
their wild ground itself.
30:51
Thankfully, they were fine. And so were the woods.
30:54
Okay. in here. I know, right?
30:57
And then this is a very thick book.
31:01
I am not a fast reader. This is amazing. It is Quicksilver.
31:09
Do not touch the sword. Do not turn the key.
31:14
Do not open the gate. Do you want to do all these things as you're reading this
31:19
book? Hopefully you do touch a sword.
31:22
You do all the things with the key and you do go right through that gate.
31:28
It is so good. And that is one of those books where if you've read a bunch of
31:34
this genre, you'll have read this before because that's kind of where you end
31:39
up going. You just cannot get deep enough in the dive.
31:42
You cannot siren and take on the pirates.
31:47
There's no boundaries for any of that thought process. Once you're in, you're in.
31:53
But this book has that crescendo when you've read all these books,
31:59
the roles of who you're reading about.
32:02
It kind of just is such a great bringing together of all of this badassness
32:07
between a warrior and fierceness and all of that is,
32:14
there's no boundaries between who you are gender-wise,
32:19
who you are as far as capabilities.
32:23
What your calling is, is truly in, it's of your own making and creation.
32:31
Like you believe what you see for yourself.
32:33
And And if you don't, you just fall back. But if you push forward and keep believing
32:37
in you, you push forward.
32:40
It's just such a cool book. And it is hot as fuck.
32:43
I mean, you can't not, unless you don't like feeling that or talking about that, I get it.
32:49
There's a lot of triggers and there are uncomfortable discussions or thoughts.
32:53
But if you're in it for a ride, go.
32:56
Just go. So this is what it says. Never forget.
33:00
Monsters thrive best in the dark. Commit all you read here to memory. Prepare for war.
33:08
There's a pronunciation guide. I'm glad because I would have pronounced all
33:12
of these people's names wrong.
33:14
Zalvarian. There's no need. Oh, this is going to be fun, sister.
33:18
I'm reading my friend's book right now.
33:22
She passed on a copy of the book she just wrote. It comes out in May.
33:27
I love it. She's just such a good writer. It's crazy how good she is.
33:32
But I have to give it back to her because she only got a few advanced copies.
33:36
So I'm going to have her on the podcast.
33:38
I know. I was very excited. When she called me two days, I can't remember,
33:42
a couple of days ago, and she texts and she goes, I have a copy of my book.
33:47
Do you want to read it? And I went, when can I get it?
33:49
And she goes, well, I'm leaving for vacation, but I could drop it off.
33:54
I'm like, I'm on my way. She literally lives down the street.
33:57
So I'm like, pull into her driveway.
34:01
She's like, you're hysterical. I'm like, I have been so excited to read this
34:05
book. and I'm so pumped for her.
34:09
She just wrote a book too. Hopefully she comes on the podcast as well.
34:13
Her book is two entirely different genres.
34:16
I can't tell you in this because this is the book you were going to want to read. Holy shit.
34:24
Wait, I can cut all this out. I'll cut this out. Daniella's sister, Isabella, wrote a book.
34:30
Okay. And the book is a gothic horror book.
34:36
And it is about, like, basically birthing the devil.
34:41
And it's all of this, like, Latin-Brazilian root history in it.
34:46
And she's like, why am I so drawn to this?
34:50
Yeah. So, Christina, it got picked up in, like, 12 countries.
34:56
So, Maria, I know that you don't go goss, but I go goss. There's love as well as luck.
35:03
Yes, Sima and Noxia, if I'm butchering the two names.
35:07
And Phantasma, actually, her name is, actually, you're on my phone. Hold on a second.
35:12
I'm going to look it up while I'm talking to you because, yeah,
35:14
I have to share them with you. Smell these bath things that Lala got me.
35:18
You put them in the shower.
35:21
The idea that believing you have the power and magic inside of you to do something,
35:28
and then pushing through all the
35:31
doubts and fears and voices in your head that tell you you can't do it.
35:36
And then you make it through that and accomplish this creative offering.
35:41
And then when you give it, the universe takes on after that.
35:44
It's like you have to get past yourself and all the bullshit.
35:48
And then you go, okay, now I'm gonna offer it. So now it's out there finding its way.
35:54
And then you're reminded of how important it is for you to speak your truth
35:58
and to say and do and feel and believe in yourself.
36:05
Because there's no, I don't think there's a more important person for anybody but themselves.
36:11
So that's awesome that she did a thing that was all about being,
36:16
it takes so much bravery and courage and then you cross over and you're like
36:20
a new person. You're like, oh, this is me and I have just upgraded.
36:26
Let me find your next
36:30
upgrade what are we here for other than to upgrade and
36:33
get rid of our bullshit right slough off the bullshit
36:36
sister you know what i got for a christmas print
36:39
from my good friend karen notice there's a witch's
36:42
hat fox to give fox to give no fox to give it's a jar of fuck a jar of literal
36:49
fucks that is brilliant a jar of fuck so good there's a little letter that comes
36:55
with it it's very long-winded as far as our moment here but it is the most hilarious,
37:02
little letter that goes with the jar so i'm like oh and i was thinking that's
37:06
what i was going to bring to auntie sandy uncle steve's but then i was going
37:10
to give auntie sandy a jar of fucks i'm always like put your fucks in the cauldron
37:16
just just freaking do it and then i'm Like,
37:20
I don't know if everyone would appreciate that on Christmas Eve dinner,
37:23
but we went Italian cookie wrap instead.
37:29
So it's a safer choice. It's a safer choice.
37:36
What is Auntie Sandy making? Or Uncle Steve, what are they making?
37:39
I don't know. There's going to be crab, which is delicious.
37:42
I love one, Steve. Yes. And I just know that they're going to make so much yummy
37:46
food and they're going to be feeding the army.
37:50
Of humans that are coming. Are Dawn and Teresa coming? I don't think so.
37:56
I want to check in and say hi to all of them and send my love.
37:59
I just love that family so much. I do know that there's going to be...
38:03
The usual suspects. And then we'll all be standing in a stand-up kitchen.
38:08
And we'll be laughing and the whole thing.
38:10
It's going to be so much fun. And then we'll do the dishes at the end.
38:13
We'll do the dishes and I'll get hollered at for being at the thing.
38:16
And Matt will fight me for trying to get to the dishes.
38:20
Because there is a... That's right. So I know it's a great spot to go.
38:24
And I will wash the dishes. I'm cleansing.
38:27
I'm cleansing with the soap. The whole thing.
38:30
And then the window. I know Matt likes to do the dishes too.
38:33
And have the towel over his shoulder.
38:36
But Steve, last time I was doing the dishes, daddy and Noah believe that I don't
38:41
know how to load a dishwasher to save my life.
38:43
I've heard this too for myself. I've been told this.
38:47
That's something I'm not good at. I'm fine with that being the case because
38:50
I'm not really into that whole being good at loading dishwashers.
38:54
But I do love that someone criticizes how you load a dishwasher.
39:00
There's some serious issues there.
39:03
That week there's some patterning and
39:06
like stuff going on but I remember last time I loaded
39:09
the dishwasher there was just a lot going on so I'm hoping I get allowed by
39:13
the dishes again I hope you do too so what are you doing so what are you doing
39:19
for Christmas day are mommy and daddy going to your place what are you guys
39:22
doing so we're going to wake up in the morning and do our morning routine.
39:26
I think Noah's already prepping and mise-en-place-ing everything.
39:32
I'm making one of the British baking shows. It's the snowflake,
39:36
the cinnamon bread snowflake, but it's gone viral.
39:39
And I'm going to go on a walk tomorrow while it rises because it needs like two hours.
39:44
Then I'm going to bake it tomorrow before we go to Sandy and Steve's and then
39:48
just warm it up on Christmas morning because it's supposed to be warmed up. Yeah. And then.
39:54
I have all these delicious berries. I don't know what's happening right now
39:57
because berries didn't taste very good like a month ago.
40:00
But all of a sudden, strawberries and raspberries are freaking delicious right now.
40:05
We have the strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, and the berry salad and
40:07
the cinnamon snowflake.
40:10
Then I have all the cool stuff I want to have on the table. I've got the oranges. I've got the peonies.
40:17
The peonies are wine colored red.
40:20
Oh, those are so pretty. Pretty. And they're just starting to open right now.
40:24
And then I made a tablecloth because I was going to do just a cloth white,
40:29
but then not that we are a messy family, but we are. I'm going to do just a white parchment.
40:34
And then I glittered on these parchment brown black roses underneath a circle
40:42
charger kind of shape. And I did all this glitter.
40:46
The candles are green and gold candlesticks, which go with the green leaves
40:51
of all the roses and the mandarins. Yeah.
40:54
I have velvet peacock blue colored napkins, which I'm so excited for.
41:02
I wanted to put out my black owls with the red eyes as the napkin rings, but I only have four.
41:11
Aubrey's okay with me not having enough so that I can't use them.
41:14
She preferred me not to use those.
41:16
They're just a little too good for her and Noni. I got one of those little jars
41:21
of the pre-made Cosmos for her because it's very pink.
41:24
Nice. She likes it. So we're going to make her have her drink so she can enjoy it.
41:28
And then Noah's cooking an entire dinner and we picked out the chanterelle mushrooms
41:32
and we were at Berkeley Bowl.
41:34
Just Berkeley Bowl was a fucking junk show. It was so crazy.
41:39
There's so many people who are like, nope. I don't care what you're going to do.
41:44
And there's so many people who are just making it through. I just need sour cream.
41:49
And the lines are like 20 deep down the aisles, you know. I'm going tomorrow morning at 8 a.m.
41:57
I think on this trip to the grocery store,
42:01
I will wear my giant headphones and just be in that space because I get such
42:09
horrible anxiety going to the grocery store at the holidays.
42:13
I hate it. Ben makes fun of me, which is fine.
42:17
I'm the one doing all the grocery shopping. So I get to do it on my time. What feels best to me.
42:24
And that's how we're going to do it. I think I might need headphones tomorrow.
42:27
Everyone said today was crazy at the grocery store. Crazy.
42:31
Right. We were coming. When we got there, we like, we kind of like have the
42:37
list and we do the whole thing.
42:38
But it was really, I mean, for our family, it can be kind of a shit show because
42:44
we all are definitely...
42:46
Noah has his goals and his like, I'm going to be in charge of this is like,
42:53
this is what we're doing is when chef turns on and he's very methodical.
42:57
And then the kids just aimlessly through.
43:02
So they're like, all they want to find is sushi and kombucha in whatever flavor they want.
43:09
But then there's always like this like list
43:13
of things that we forget or we're in the line and we
43:16
forgot horseradish and cocktail sauce we can't make the prawns without it that
43:20
whole thing happens but we were pretty chill today then you get up to the front
43:24
of the counter today was so cool i love when whoever's working we cruised in
43:28
front of them and we were like merry christmas happy holidays the whole thing
43:31
they were just laughing and it was two women leaning into each other.
43:35
How many people have they had to deal with going through their register?
43:40
And they were so sweet and lovely. And we were laughing. Noah's funny.
43:43
So they're laughing at him and they were just having the best time.
43:46
I love that. If you could be laughing after seeing 200 people in there,
43:50
probably more. Probably more during the holidays.
43:53
There's like six people in line. Do they bag everything for you or do you have to bag everything?
43:58
No, I don't ever have. They're very diligent
44:02
and graceful and they ask you and i always
44:05
forget my bags that i bring oh always
44:08
always you want double or not in the
44:11
night we we packed them in they were thick like
44:14
we had four thick bags and
44:17
then they were laughing and they were like one
44:21
of the women was wearing a santa hat and the
44:23
the other lady was in a hood because it's not warm inside the grocery store
44:27
yeah yeah they're doing their thing and then we go out and then you have to
44:31
navigate into the parking lot and miles dances around he's like oh i know why
44:37
he's dancing because we were in san francisco and we were talking about not stepping in puddles yes,
44:44
And at Berkeley Bowl, he took the not stepping in puddles everywhere today.
44:49
So he's hopping around this puddle because we had a huge rainstorm last giant.
44:54
And he's wearing a training suit, like a track suit.
45:01
Amazing. It's just so cute. I get really stressed out going to the grocery store
45:06
when they have you pack your own bags because I feel this pressure to do it
45:09
quickly. I also have to get it onto the moving thing.
45:15
And then you're packing it and the people are staring at you and you want to
45:19
be a nice citizen who does it quickly and efficiently.
45:23
I also have to have everything correctly put into the right bag.
45:28
So cold has to go with cold and freezer goes with freezer and produce goes with produce.
45:34
And as I'm doing that, I feel the energy of the people trying to suffocate me.
45:40
Chips end up in the freezer bag.
45:43
The meat ends up with the produce. And I do not enjoy that part of it because
45:48
it just makes putting it away that much more annoying.
45:50
I want all the things supposed to be where they're supposed to be.
45:53
And so they don't always... You would not have liked our groceries when you got home today.
45:58
No, probably not. I was totally okay with it. But if I bag myself,
46:03
that's how I would bag. Yeah.
46:04
Well, I also go to the grocery store and I have a strategic manner of which
46:10
I go into the grocery store.
46:12
Like I always go outside.
46:16
I go outside this way and through the vegetables and the produce all the way
46:21
around the outside because it's all the cold section and the freezer.
46:26
Then I make my way into the aisles of dry goods, which are usually less than
46:33
all the rest of the things in my cart.
46:35
After that, I make my way to the checkout.
46:40
Maria, if you were shopping with me, you would have seen me carrying blue eggs, blue eggs, blue eggs.
46:47
Topo Chico, butter, and Chantrelle mushrooms,
46:52
and pacing up and down aisles trying to find my family for 10 minutes straight
47:01
where I had to readjust the Topo Chico so that I could carry and not drop the blue eggs.
47:06
And then I couldn't find them for all of that time. And you were with a group
47:13
of people trying to find their home.
47:15
Yes. And I finally saw Noah and then I drop what I do and then I go back out
47:20
for the next four things.
47:22
I would have taken myself to the car and I would have said, I will be there.
47:28
And just when you're done, come find me. I'll buy everyone coffee.
47:32
Now I put an allusion to life right now. Well, and I actually see that as being
47:37
very valuable because if you are the one who's just in the car and you're just
47:41
doing the thing that keeps you the most at peace,
47:43
I I feel like if everybody over the holidays just chose to do the thing that kept them most at peace,
47:50
everything would still get done.
47:53
It's when your thing that gets you the most at peace is going with the person
47:58
who's not at peace and you try to do the same thing or the same store or the same drive.
48:04
And everyone has it's a conflict of interest. Like, yeah, everybody should say, I am good at this.
48:10
Do not take me over to your world.
48:14
I respect what you need, but we're not going to do it at the same time.
48:18
And then I bet everything would happen faster. You'd be like,
48:20
I'm in the car. I've got the engine running.
48:23
I'll drop you off and go find a parking space. That's a great job for me. I could do that.
48:27
Or someone else could be like, hey, I've got this thing called going to the bank under control.
48:34
Yeah, I'll take on that today. I don't like taking the kids with me if I don't have to.
48:39
If I don't have to take them with me, I will do it all on my own.
48:44
Mommy went with me. She did not enjoy the grocery trip because it stressed her out.
48:49
Because she was like, why are we doing it this way? Because this is the way I do it.
48:54
I do not deviate from this way. When I deviate, things get forgotten and I'm going backwards.
49:00
I don't want to go back. I don't want to be the salmon swimming up the wrong way.
49:04
I found this was funny. When we were in the city getting the cookies,
49:08
depending on who's in the car as the parent, the kids act a different way, right?
49:12
Yes. When they're in the car with me, it is kind of free for all.
49:16
I wish they were babies still and were strapped in. It was so much easier when
49:20
they didn't move in the car seat.
49:23
But since they're 11 and 8, I get it. That's not how it's going to be.
49:28
Noah wants them still to be in the car seat. So when he's in the car with the
49:31
kids and I'm not there, the seatbelt the whole time. The second Noah went in
49:35
to get the cookies, they were like, Rochambeau, give me next,
49:39
give me no. Rochambeau, climb, climb.
49:43
Leaning against, pulling the hair,
49:45
the whole thing. And then Noah's coming back in and he opens the car.
49:50
He's like, why is everyone out of their seatbelt?
49:56
And I was like, there's only one answer. Me. I'm the reason I'm not in their seatbelt.
50:03
I'm telling them not to. And then part of me is like, but they're not,
50:05
you know, wild animals in a way.
50:08
I guess they are though. They are 100% wild animals, Christina. They all are.
50:12
They can't contain all of the things. And Aubrey, this is wanting to be out of the car so bad.
50:19
Anyway. So, yeah. Oh, I'm so glad we're done with that part of the day. We're all done.
50:26
And Maria, we hit traffic coming home because that was at 845 this morning.
50:31
A truck had gone up on the hill after the tunnel.
50:35
It was such a storm last night. So there was some serious stuff going on.
50:38
And then on the way home at 12, 15, 1230, one of the tunnels was closed.
50:46
It was just like probably 45 minutes of traffic from Broadway,
50:52
which was totally fine. We were navigating and dealing.
50:56
We were right at the end, right before the two highway patrols moved off the
51:04
freeway, having stopped the tunnel of traffic.
51:07
Those highway patrols were pulling over at Wilder.
51:12
They could have been, the next motion would have been high-fiving each other.
51:16
They were so happy. They were smiling.
51:19
They were so glad that that part of their day was done.
51:24
And we all, all you see is every person in the car just like, sure.
51:29
Yeah. Noah's like, don't do that right now. Don't do it so fast.
51:33
Don't jinx it. I was like, fuck that shit.
51:35
Those two dudes are smiling. They know that we are free flying right now.
51:40
And they were like oh man like they were
51:43
two these two iowa trolls were just like we made it
51:45
through and they probably had been doing that for like four or five hours
51:48
you know i could not imagine being that guy or that
51:51
girl i could not imagine it no and before we left like one of my container this
51:56
morning was just about getting back in front back being to and fro safely in
52:01
the weather and like you know just like ease and stability through our journey
52:07
today as we were like hitting a little bit of unease.
52:09
I was like, okay, because we're going to find the ease coming.
52:15
But it's just funny how everyone in your car reacts a different way.
52:18
And our reaction is don't let anybody in.
52:21
Don't let anybody in. And I'm like, please go, sir.
52:26
Merry Christmas, sir. The only way we will survive this is if we are generosity and gratitude.
52:34
Did you drive in the rain? I
52:37
it wasn't raining last night was raining nice nice I
52:41
know you don't like to drive not like that
52:44
no I prefer white outs do
52:46
not do it for me no thank you
52:49
the white was only from the arenda side of the tunnel oh I take that back the
52:54
white out was crossing over the bridge a little bit too it was very cool it
52:59
was a wintry foggy i miss the fog magic out there it was,
53:07
so much you know who's calling right now mama calling mary's calling right now
53:12
of course she is who who else to call in the middle of our podcast,
53:18
i'm gonna let you go because the boys want us to have a birthday oh okay i love
53:23
you maria i love you i'll talk to you later thank you i love you.