Latest / Pretty In Pink Again / Episode 75: Your Best Years Aren’t Behind You: Reinvention, Aging & Starting Again with Former NBC Connecticut Anchor Kerri-Lee Mayland

Transcript

Episode 75: Your Best Years Aren’t Behind You: Reinvention, Aging & Starting Again with Former NBC Connecticut Anchor Kerri-Lee Mayland · Pretty In Pink Again

• 0:00
  I'm Christina.
• 0:00
  And I'm t And this is the Pretty and Pink again podcast.
• 0:03
  We're motherhood needs rediscovery.
• 0:16
  Welcome back to Pretty in Pink again.
• 0:18
  Today we are so excited to welcome Carrie Lee Mellen to the podcast.
• 0:22
  If you're from Connecticut, there's a very good chance you already know Carrie Lee's face or recognize her voice.
• 0:27
  She's an Emmy award-winning journalist who spent more than twenty-five years in television news, including many years as an anchor at NBC Connecticut, where she became a familiar and beloved presence in homes across the state.
• 0:39
  But what we really wanted to talk to Carrie Lee about today is everything that came after the news desk.
• 0:45
  She has completely reinvented herself, turning a longtime passion for interiors into her own design business, expanding into writing and lifestyle media, and helping create Meet Me on Monday, which brings together local businesses and creatives right here in Connecticut.
• 1:00
  And now at 55, she's still learning, building, meeting new people, and figuring out what she wants to do next.
• 1:06
  We loved that so much because it really speaks to what we talk about here all the time on this podcast.
• 1:12
  There is no age when you're supposed to be finished becoming yourself.
• 1:15
  There's also a really funny story about how Carrie Lee ended up in our lives because apparently it took starting a podcast for us all to realize that we had basically been neighbors this entire time.
• 1:26
  She has since become such an incredible supporter of Pretty in Pink again, such a connector and champion of other women, and just someone that we feel so lucky to know.
• 1:35
  So whether you grew up watching Carrie Lee on TV or you're meeting her for the first time today, we think you're really gonna love this conversation and leave it feeling really inspired About getting older, starting over, and believing that some of your best chapters might still be ahead of you.
• 1:50
  Let's get into it first of all, do you see we're matching?
• 1:54
  We are.
• 1:55
  We are.
• 1:55
  Ooh.
• 1:55
  All of us are matching.
• 1:55
  We didn't try, and we're three people that live in the same neighborhood and didn't- I- even know it.
• 2:03
  To the point where, like, parties were happening, and others were like,"Why wasn't I invited?" I'm like,"We didn't know each other." It's insane.
• 2:09
  It's crazy.
• 2:09
  All crazy.
• 2:09
  And now we keep running into each other.
• 2:11
  I know.
• 2:11
  I saw you the other day.
• 2:12
  Y- you did?
• 2:13
  Again?
• 2:13
  Well, just the back of your car.
• 2:14
  Oh, that's so funny.
• 2:15
  Yep, but I was like, that still counts.
• 2:16
  I know.
• 2:16
  I think I saw you walking the dog.
• 2:19
  I think so.
• 2:20
  I- But I had already driven past Okay Like, now we're getting the little fleeting moments.
• 2:24
  I feel like that always happens.
• 2:25
  Once you realize- Mm-hmm and you, like, bump into somebody- Yeah then you keep seeing them all the time.
• 2:30
  Yeah, over and over and over again.
• 2:30
  Like, it's like the universe.
• 2:31
  Yeah.
• 2:32
  It's like when you get the car, then you see the car everywhere.
• 2:35
  Then you see the car everywhere.
• 2:36
  Right?
• 2:36
  So that's happening.
• 2:36
  Yep.
• 2:37
  We're the cars.
• 2:37
  I love it.
• 2:38
  Well, I love that we're matching.
• 2:39
  We're matching.
• 2:40
  I'm glad that you're here today.
• 2:40
  The best things happen in this neighborhood.
• 2:42
  Uh-huh.
• 2:43
  Yes.
• 2:43
  Yes.
• 2:43
  I have two speeds.
• 2:44
  So true.
• 2:44
  One is, like, traveling in Europe, and the other one is, like, staying in a one-mile radius.
• 2:49
  Yes.
• 2:49
  Yeah.
• 2:49
  Exactly.
• 2:49
  So I'm so happy that you're within that.
• 2:53
  Well, we can also do Europe, too.
• 2:54
  Yeah.
• 2:54
  Like, if that's the other speed, then...
• 2:57
  That's true.
• 2:58
  But you were really the reason why we connected was because you reached out to us.
• 3:02
  Yes.
• 3:02
  Mm-hmm.
• 3:02
  Yes.
• 3:03
  Because you're just that kind, thoughtful person that, sees girls that are younger than you that are starting something s- in the same vein of what you were professionally trained in doing.
• 3:14
  And instead of saying,"Oh, those two girls, they don't know what they're doing," or-"Those two silly little girls," you were so kind to us, and you complimented us on our work and our- Yeah podcast, and you invited us to do a project with you, and we really were so honored that we were able to do that with you.
• 3:29
  Well, it was so fun to do that with you.
• 3:31
  And honestly, you guys, give yourself a pat on the back.
• 3:34
  Yeah.
• 3:34
  You're doing great things.
• 3:35
  Thank you.
• 3:35
  Thank you.
• 3:35
  And you're so right.
• 3:36
  I do love...
• 3:38
  My favorite thing in the whole wide world is really bringing people together- and helping them in any way I can.
• 3:43
  Like, there's a reason we're around for a long time.
• 3:45
  Hopefully, we give back, right?
• 3:47
  And we know, my age group people older than me, we know what it's like to be you.
• 3:52
  We still wanna be you, but we're not, so we're gonna help you.
• 3:56
  But I think that it's- I love that.
• 3:58
  I know, but I feel like sometimes it is easy to, like, look down on a generation.
• 4:04
  Yeah.
• 4:04
  I, I was actually talking to somebody about this.
• 4:06
  Like, Alix Earle is, huge right now.
• 4:09
  Yeah.
• 4:09
  And she's, like, 25, so it's, the same.
• 4:12
  It's, like, 15 years, right?
• 4:13
  Right.
• 4:13
  Right.
• 4:13
  And I look at that generation of, content creators It's so different than what I did.
• 4:19
  Mm-hmm.
• 4:19
  But it's- Mm-hmm I'm very inspired by them at the same time.
• 4:22
  Yeah.
• 4:22
  And I said,"I'm not gonna be the generation of women that look down on another generation- Yeah.
• 4:28
  Yeah of women.
• 4:29
  And we can do our own thing, and also be proud of the things that they're doing.
• 4:34
  I just think it's, like, a really nice mindset to keep- Yes in the back of your head, and to act that way.
• 4:40
  And then you also said something that truly inspired the podcast.
• 4:45
  You said,"It only gets better with age." Yeah.
• 4:47
  And- It does we turned 40 this year, and hearing that, it's just like when a mom says, like,"Oh, it gets better," you know?
• 4:55
  Yeah.
• 4:55
  When you just hear that, it's so relieving to hear, Like, it's good up here.
• 5:01
  It's good up- Yeah.
• 5:02
  It's good from up here.
• 5:03
  The view is nice.
• 5:03
  The view is nice from here.
• 5:05
  The water's warm.
• 5:05
  Come and take a swim.
• 5:05
  Yeah.
• 5:05
  And I love that.
• 5:06
  Yeah.
• 5:07
  And so what we wanna talk about, obviously, like, your evolution, but I really do wanna get into that because I think that as women, it can be very scary to age.
• 5:17
  Mm-hmm.
• 5:18
  And you've had so many different pivots, and you really started, like, a new business- Yeah in in this phase of life.
• 5:26
  Yes.
• 5:26
  And so that is, that's so inspiring.
• 5:28
  It's so easy to just feel like the best years are behind you, and they're not.
• 5:32
  You know, it's funny, my husband yesterday was like we were talking about different things that I wanna do or things coming up, and I'm like,"Well, I am a registered contractor now." He's like,"Oh my gosh, would you stop bragging about that?" Literally, at 55, I became a licensed registered contractor, and I keep saying it.
• 5:48
  Yeah.
• 5:49
  And, like, no one cares.
• 5:50
  And he's like,"You've got to stop bragging." Like, all the things, I'll be like,"I'm so proud of that."'Cause I feel like it's so I left field, and I think- It is, but it isn't.
• 5:58
  Right.
• 5:58
  If you know me, it's not.
• 5:59
  Because of your creativity- Yeah the design aspect- Yeah how you get roped into these projects- Yeah and how...
• 6:03
  it is, but it isn't.
• 6:04
  Yes.
• 6:05
  Exactly.
• 6:05
  Yeah, but from the outside- And I have- it's like you went from being an anchor to an- Contractor you know, an interior designer.
• 6:10
  I know.
• 6:11
  And that's the thing I brag about.
• 6:12
  Like, I'm bra- That's- But I love that.
• 6:14
  I just feel like it's like, I'm not even kidding, I went online and I looked at Carhartts, and they're cute.
• 6:19
  Do you know what they are?
• 6:20
  Carhartt overalls and pants.
• 6:21
  Carhartt.
• 6:21
  Oh, like- Like work pants.
• 6:21
  Mm-hmm.
• 6:22
  Yes.
• 6:22
  Like work pants.
• 6:23
  Like- Mm-hmm very different apparel than what you're used to wearing.
• 6:27
  Yes.
• 6:28
  Rent the Runway, as far as I know- Rent the does not have Carhartts.
• 6:30
  Rent the Runway.
• 6:31
  But I don't know, maybe they do.
• 6:32
  What's that store, Cabela's they sell that all over.
• 6:35
  I'm sure they have it.
• 6:36
  Yes.
• 6:36
  Yes.
• 6:36
  And I also went upstairs at Dick's, and they have it, too.
• 6:38
  So I'm, you know, this is my new world.
• 6:40
  Different life.
• 6:41
  And this is, um, I, I hope that I have endless more of those- Mm-hmm moments that, for me, I feel like bragging about them because, I learned how to- Yeah I don't know, I'm trying to think.
• 6:50
  I've done some really weird random things.
• 6:52
  I, know, learned how to scuba dive at 50, and got, my card., I just wanna keep finding things like that, that are off the beaten path and surprising maybe, but I think that's what keeps us alive.
• 7:03
  Yeah.
• 7:04
  Yeah.
• 7:04
  You know, I think it was Raquel Welch, it was someone beautiful and amazing and lots of wisdom, who said,"The secret to aging is always having something to look forward to." Yeah.
• 7:12
  And if that's not the way you live, it's such an easy little twist to make to start being exciting about what's to come, not sad for what's gone by.
• 7:21
  Right.
• 7:22
  Just don't do the math.
• 7:23
  Right.
• 7:23
  That's the only thing.
• 7:24
  My, my friends and I are always like,"Don't do the math." Yeah.
• 7:26
  An awful friend sent me this terrible meme, and he's just, oh, next time I see him.
• 7:31
  It says something like,"You've reached the average age expectancy." Ugh.
• 7:35
  In 21 years?
• 7:36
  That's what we're down to.
• 7:38
  And that's if I get there, you know.
• 7:39
  So anyway, yes, aging is such a good thing.
• 7:41
  It only gets better and better.
• 7:43
  But I think it's as long as you just leave things open to that.
• 7:48
  Mm.
• 7:48
  It's when we shut down and say,"This hurts, that hurts.
• 7:52
  I'm not this anymore." Well, no kidding.
• 7:54
  You know, no kidding.
• 7:55
  You can look at someone your age and, and it's like, yeah, we were, we were there, too.
• 7:59
  Mm-hmm.
• 7:59
  And I, I, I- it just, honestly, I wouldn't go back.
• 8:02
  I wouldn't.
• 8:03
  It just keeps on getting better and better.
• 8:06
  It really does.
• 8:07
  Oh, I love that.
• 8:07
  You've listed- Yeah all these exciting things that you've explored- Yeah and career changes.
• 8:12
  Yeah.
• 8:13
  But what is something that you think has not changed with you- Ooh through all of these different- Yeah things of your life?
• 8:20
  Like, when you think of Carrie Lee and you don't think of, like, the news anchor or the contractor, yeah.
• 8:26
  The contractor.
• 8:26
  Like, what is something that- I love it like, anchors you- Yes that keeps you having such a zest for life?
• 8:32
  Yeah, I think confidence- Mm as well as curiosity.
• 8:35
  I think that if there's a fountain of youth, just keep asking questions and be curious, and go try things.
• 8:42
  You know, maybe you don't want to jump off that little cliff, but what happens if you do?
• 8:46
  Just try it.
• 8:47
  You know, what's the worst thing that could happen?
• 8:49
  I remember saying that.
• 8:50
  I had two suitcases.
• 8:51
  I was 19 years old.
• 8:52
  I had done a y- a year of university in Canada.
• 8:55
  I'm Canadian.
• 8:56
  And I thought,"Okay, I'm gonna go to the University of Arizona." So I'm either, it's either the worst thing I'm gonna do or the best.
• 9:02
  So literally, it's me on Alaska Airlines with two suitcases- Mm-hmm landing in Tucson, thinking,"I know no one.
• 9:07
  I know nothing.
• 9:08
  This is, uh, you know, this is before cell ph-" Like, this is now, now I'm gonna sound like the old person.
• 9:12
  No internet, no nothing.
• 9:13
  So you're really on your own when you do something like that.
• 9:16
  And I think if we all can be 19 again with two suitcases- Mm and just say,"I'm doing it." Yeah.
• 9:21
  This might be the best or the worst thing.
• 9:24
  Guarantee it's not gonna be the worst thing.
• 9:26
  Maybe it's not the best, but it's gonna be in there.
• 9:28
  So I think if we all can keep that as we get older and older, if we're lucky enough to get older and older.
• 9:33
  I heard this quote because I'm a what if negative Nancy- Yeah, yeah like, that's how I can be.
• 9:38
  Yeah.
• 9:39
  That's how my mind goes.
• 9:39
  Yeah.
• 9:40
  I'm working to not have it like that.
• 9:42
  Yeah.
• 9:42
  But I heard a spin on what if good thing, just what if.
• 9:47
  What if.
• 9:47
  The good thing happens.
• 9:48
  Yes.
• 9:49
  Yes.
• 9:49
  What if I- Try this and love it Yeah yeah.
• 9:53
  Not what if I try this and fail.
• 9:55
  I remember a doctor saying that in an interview when he was talking about, we were interviewing someone who had a terrible disease and it was potentially terminal.
• 10:05
  And the doctor said,"You know, I'm actually more scared that this drug might work." And I thought, what a spin to put on it.
• 10:12
  Mm-hmm.
• 10:12
  Everyone was talking about how scary it was if it doesn't, and he said,"I'm more scared if it does." And I thought, gosh, if we can just, channel that for ourselves, and if your what-ifs can be- Positive what if?
• 10:23
  Mm-hmm.
• 10:25
  Yeah.
• 10:25
  It's so powerful.
• 10:26
  I really love that.
• 10:27
  Yeah.
• 10:27
  That is great.
• 10:28
  I don't think that's ever been modeled to me.
• 10:30
  And I would love to model that to my kids so they can start hearing something- Positive more positive.
• 10:36
  Yes, yes.
• 10:36
  You know?
• 10:37
  I think our girls too, and we all have them.
• 10:39
  I think it's so important for our girls not to hear us constantly talking about our shortcomings.
• 10:44
  Look, if you wanna feel good about yourself, go to the burn ward, and your problem suddenly about the way your jeans fit today might not be as big a deal.
• 10:53
  Mm-hmm.
• 10:53
  I think if our girls, I think our boys too, I think everyone around us should be hearing us giving ourselves some grace.
• 11:00
  My goodness, cut yourself some slack, right?
• 11:03
  We're never gonna be perfect.
• 11:04
  There's always gonna be someone that looks way better than us and doesn't look, you know.
• 11:08
  There's just room for everybody, and I think if we can really harness that so that we truly believe it.
• 11:15
  Mm-hmm.
• 11:15
  We're not putting on an act for the kids, but if we're sharing those things in such a way that the kids are learning that glass half full or that, oh my gosh, what if, or just take the best of what you're showing up with that day because truthfully, we're, we're pretty blessed, aren't we?
• 11:33
  Mm-hmm.
• 11:33
  Like, we're pretty lucky.
• 11:34
  We're here.
• 11:35
  We woke up, and there's a lot of people that won't today- Mm and tomorrow and the next day.
• 11:40
  So I mean, just starting there.
• 11:43
  It's those little tiny mindset things you might start believing.
• 11:45
  Did you have anything in your life that happened to you specifically that helped you form this mindset or do you feel like this was just always innately, like how you trained yourself to think?
• 11:56
  I think a little bit innate.
• 11:58
  Cause sometimes I feel like you either think that way- Yeah or not.
• 12:01
  Like, you know?
• 12:01
  Or you don't.
• 12:01
  Yeah.
• 12:01
  Yeah.
• 12:01
  I, I agree.
• 12:02
  I remember reading a book years ago, and this is before the two suitcases- Mm-hmm in Tucson.
• 12:06
  And it was The Power of Positive Thinking- Mm by an author Zig Ziglar, and it made me believe that somehow I too could raise enough money to go--'Cause in Canada, you graduate and then it's like,"Good.
• 12:18
  What are you doing now?
• 12:19
  Bye." Like, it's not like here where there's a lot of sort of helping and nurturing through, you know, college and all that sort of thing.
• 12:26
  It's sort of like,"Okay, what are you doing?" So a lot of Canadians go backpacking in Europe or, you know, they put themselves through school.
• 12:31
  Mm-hmm.
• 12:31
  So I remember reading this book, laying out on my sundeck, reading this book and thinking,"Wait, so you can just think positive thoughts and really believe in these things and you can make them happen?" It's not like they're magically gonna happen.
• 12:43
  You can make them happen.
• 12:45
  Mm-hmm.
• 12:46
  And it was really that that- I mean, one of my proudest achievements was, you know, putting myself through...
• 12:51
  I was the beer cart girl, um, at a golf course.
• 12:54
  And I put myself through school.
• 12:57
  And then, went through all the different immigration statuses, and that was a proud thing, too, because that's hard.
• 13:04
  But it was because honestly, I read that book, and there's another book that I've encountered recently, that maybe some of your, your listeners, viewers would be interested in.
• 13:12
  Unreasonable Hospitality is the name of the book, and it's basically the same kind of mindset.
• 13:18
  It's believing- that things can happen and also doing so much more than is expected, and how that rallies people around you.
• 13:26
  And it's not just hospitality it's life.
• 13:28
  It could be getting on that sports team, doing well in that class that's really hard, being a really positive, encouraging person to someone that you changed their life because of, of them meeting you.
• 13:39
  So Unreasonable Hospitality, what if we look at life like that?
• 13:44
  Right?
• 13:44
  And then you start thinking,"Who cares about aging?
• 13:46
  There's not enough years left." You want more, you know?
• 13:49
  Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.
• 13:49
  So you're gonna appreciate every single day, crow's feet and all.
• 13:53
  It's, it's just thank goodness for them.
• 13:55
  Mm-hmm.
• 13:56
  The crow's feet are just a silly distraction sometimes- to get your mind off of the deeper things in life.
• 14:01
  Yeah.
• 14:02
  You know?
• 14:02
  Right.
• 14:02
  Exactly.
• 14:03
  Like- I think crow's feet are cute my crow's feet don't bother me- Yeah when I'm- They shouldn't happy and fulfilled And I don't see them, but- And there's a match.
• 14:08
  No.
• 14:08
  But you know what I'm saying?
• 14:09
  I know.
• 14:09
  I'm just saying, like, in life- Yes the, the silly things don't bother me- Yes when I'm feeling fulfilled.
• 14:15
  When I'm feeling down and out and low- Yeah a gray hair and crow's feet might put me over the edge.
• 14:20
  It's so true.
• 14:20
  Yeah.
• 14:20
  You know?
• 14:20
  Yep.
• 14:21
  It's so true.
• 14:21
  Well, they all come in a baker's dozen bundle, you know?
• 14:24
  Yeah.
• 14:24
  Like, can I just have one or two at a time, not 13?
• 14:26
  Yeah.
• 14:26
  I know.
• 14:26
  They all come fast.
• 14:27
  But you were known as Carrie Lee from the news.
• 14:32
  Yeah.
• 14:32
  And we had a whole episode on this w- early on when we started- Mm-hmm about, roles and identity- Yeah when they kind of all become wrapped into one.
• 14:40
  And you had to leave the news.
• 14:41
  You shared with us- Yeah personally a little- Yeah you know, why, if you feel comfortable sharing, you know- Yeah with our listeners why.
• 14:48
  Yes.
• 14:48
  Yeah.
• 14:48
  But what I'm even more curious was how you landed with that when you left that career.
• 14:54
  Right.
• 14:54
  That was part of your identity.
• 14:56
  Yes.
• 14:56
  And what most people would think would be this emptiness and what now, and- Yeah I want you to share what happened next,'cause I- Yeah really think that's, like- It's so relatable.
• 15:06
  Yes.
• 15:07
  The, the- Yes anchoring of this episode is- Pun intended you know?
• 15:10
  Yes.
• 15:12
  Like, what happens next, you know?
• 15:13
  Right.
• 15:13
  Yes.
• 15:13
  Right, right.
• 15:14
  Pun intended.
• 15:14
  How does it happen next?
• 15:15
  How does it happen next, right?
• 15:16
  You know, and what does happen next?
• 15:17
  So it was 2018 when, I had Lyme disease, and it was diagnosed a couple years earlier, and it's chronic, so it's never leaving.
• 15:28
  I Well, I got it in time.
• 15:29
  I didn't take it seriously enough.
• 15:31
  Instead of the vial of antibiotics this big, I was like,"I don't even have it, so I'm just, this is all preemptive, and-" First the Lyme made me allergic to every food under the sun, and that wasn't fun.
• 15:43
  But then that kind of went away, and then the organ it started attacking was my skin.
• 15:47
  But as a news anchor, you can cover a lot up, but it attacked my neck and my face.
• 15:52
  Have I ever shown you guys the photo?
• 15:54
  No.
• 15:54
  Oh, I will before I go.
• 15:55
  Mm.
• 15:55
  Because you really have to see it to really understand why that's a career ender.
• 16:00
  Ugh.
• 16:00
  It'll make tons of sense once you see it.
• 16:02
  But so y- there's amounts of makeup you can put on.
• 16:06
  Maybe that works for a little bit.
• 16:07
  And then there's lots of prednisone you can take, which is not great because then you also get puffy and bloated and I'm on it right now, actually.
• 16:14
  And then there's low-rade chemotherapy, which is what I had gotten too, because I had to completely suppress my immune system so I could go on air and not look, it's beyond a rash.
• 16:25
  It sort of looks, uh, like third degree burns, but all over your face.
• 16:28
  And talk about crow's feet.
• 16:29
  It, it ages you, and you look 100 years old suddenly, and it's bizarre, and so that became not really doable.
• 16:38
  My station was so wonderful and worked with me, and they said,"How about you just work half days for a bit?
• 16:41
  Let's get stress under control." Because it became so stressful to wake up and think,"What am I gonna say today?
• 16:47
  What am I gonna do?
• 16:48
  Is it gonna get worse?
• 16:49
  Am I gonna be on the air?
• 16:49
  Am I inconveniencing my coworkers?
• 16:51
  You know, I'm just a big inconvenience right now.
• 16:54
  I don't know if I can do this." And so sometimes I'd show up and they'd see me and they're like,"Oh, no.
• 17:00
  No, no, no, no.
• 17:00
  I know you think you're gonna go up and l-" Yeah.
• 17:02
  "No.""We, we appreciate your effort for-" Yes.
• 17:04
  being here, but don't be here." But go home.
• 17:06
  Yeah.
• 17:07
  But don't be here.
• 17:08
  Yep, don't go on our air.
• 17:09
  So and they were just so wonderful and tender, and I was just really fortunate that they worked with me like that.
• 17:15
  Well,'cause it's cosmetic, but it's also like, it's, you're sick.
• 17:18
  Yeah.
• 17:18
  So- Yeah so you can imagine all the drugs.
• 17:20
  You were systemically sick, yeah.
• 17:21
  Yes.
• 17:22
  The chemo.
• 17:22
  Right.
• 17:22
  The exhaustion.
• 17:23
  Right.
• 17:23
  The mental confusion.
• 17:25
  I was getting brain fog.
• 17:26
  I sort of had a little pact with my co-anchor, like,"If I look at you and I'm like,'Governor...'" And he'd be like,"Right, Governor Lamont." Yeah, yeah.
• 17:31
  He's gonna be...
• 17:34
  You know?
• 17:34
  So it would happen occasionally.
• 17:36
  Now it just happens because, you know, I'm 55.
• 17:39
  Then there was a real reason for it.
• 17:40
  But, um- That was just practice.
• 17:42
  Yeah, exactly.
• 17:42
  Warming up.
• 17:43
  Warming up for the real thing.
• 17:44
  But it was, it was February 2020, so if you do the math, within a couple weeks, the world shut down.
• 17:51
  So literally the weekend, it was March 13th, I think, my last day on air you know, as a full-time news anchor in that role,'cause I did return.
• 17:59
  I was one of the immunocompromised and I had asthma, so I was one of the scary people that was told- You can't come.
• 18:05
  Right you can't come, and we also can't give you these meds anymore because in a pandemic we cannot suppress your immune system.
• 18:11
  And so I was like,"Whoa.
• 18:14
  Whoa, whoa, whoa.
• 18:15
  Wait, so- Whoa, what does this mean?
• 18:19
  And also it was terrifying those days, right?
• 18:21
  Mm-hmm.
• 18:21
  Like, we were all scared.
• 18:22
  Mm-hmm.
• 18:23
  And I didn't feel so sorry for myself as all the people that were dying alone in hospitals and everything else, and not being able to help them, not even being able to tell their stories.
• 18:34
  It was pretty dark, you know?
• 18:36
  It's like, what do you do, what did any of us do?
• 18:38
  But I really had the rug pulled out from under me and really did not know my place.
• 18:42
  You mentioned- Yeah like when something's your identity- Mm-hmm then who are you?
• 18:45
  So it was my mom who said,"So you can feel sorry for yourself, and you have a right to.
• 18:49
  You can feel sorry for yourself, or you can figure out a way to do something for someone else." Mm-hmm.
• 18:53
  And I thought,"Well, that does sound more fun than feeling sorry for myself." So I started looking at people- Smart woman.
• 18:58
  Yeah, right?
• 18:59
  Moms are always right.
• 19:00
  Mommies are always right.
• 19:01
  Always right.
• 19:01
  Yep.
• 19:01
  Even when we're wrong.
• 19:02
  Yeah, we won't admit that until now.
• 19:03
  But- But yes, yes, I've since told her she's always right.
• 19:06
  And she continues to be.
• 19:07
  But so I started looking at people's Zoom backdrops and, you know, because my eye's always going to what the wallpaper is or what the lighting is or what,'cause it's fun.
• 19:17
  It just feels good to look- Yeah around at stuff like that.
• 19:19
  And literally no one in the world would've been surprised when I ended up doing interior design.
• 19:25
  That was always the plan.
• 19:27
  But the wheel of news was going so wonderfully that it's like, why get off that until you have to?
• 19:33
  Mm-hmm.
• 19:34
  And so I started, like, helping my friends, you know, in a mask or from afar.
• 19:39
  If you move the bookshelf a little And yeah, no, a little more to the left and So I would help them with their Zoom backdrops, or people that were starting to go crazy you know, with the way their, the four walls looked.
• 19:49
  And everybody's now home, so it's- Exactly everybody had Home offices are like- Yes booming.
• 19:53
  I did 21- Yelling, yep my first year of doing design, 21 home offices.
• 19:57
  Yep.
• 19:57
  It was- Well, there you go so fun.
• 19:58
  So it just turned into all these great things.
• 20:00
  One of the other crazy things I've done is the Master Gardener program at UConn.
• 20:04
  That was during COVID, actually, getting my master gardener's certification, uh, which I did everything but the test.
• 20:10
  I still keep meaning to go back and take the test.
• 20:11
  But I learned everything, and I have all the textbooks.
• 20:13
  And so I do also know how to do, serious gardening.
• 20:18
  Mm-hmm.
• 20:19
  So I was helping their yards.
• 20:19
  Well, that makes a lot of sense now.
• 20:20
  Oh, it does?
• 20:20
  When truck going by your house- I know it's always like beautiful.
• 20:22
  Her beautiful landscaping.
• 20:23
  Oh.
• 20:23
  Perfectly manicured.
• 20:25
  Oh, I'm glad it looks like that.
• 20:27
  It's just green from the street.
• 20:28
  It's cool.
• 20:28
  I don't know what's growing in there-'cause we don't use chemicals or anything.
• 20:31
  As long as it's green from the street.
• 20:32
  And when you cut clovers and weeds, it just looks like grass.
• 20:35
  Mm-hmm.
• 20:35
  So that's what's, that's what's there.
• 20:36
  But yes, I do enjoy, landscaping and, and all that sort of thing.
• 20:40
  But I was able to use that skill, too, to help others.
• 20:42
  Mm-hmm.
• 20:42
  So then it- Started picking up and people were asking me to do it Mm-hmm.
• 20:46
  And I was like,"Wait, this might sort of be happening." Yep.
• 20:50
  And then, I'm like,"I'm jumping off the cliff." And I opened my business, and that was six years ago.
• 20:57
  So it's called the Keri Lee Mailing Company, and one of the branches of design and now building is called Refresh.
• 21:03
  And I think I chose that because when I saw people's reactions, for me it's always been honestly about heart.
• 21:08
  I can't do it unless I truly believe in what I'm doing, and buying into your story and making your story on your walls and your floors even better for you.
• 21:17
  It kinda doesn't matter whether I like it or not.
• 21:20
  If it's your best story and it's surrounding you, then that's a successful design job for me.
• 21:26
  Six years later, I'm still doing it, and now I'm a contractor.
• 21:30
  I think that that is so inspiring, and I'm sure our listeners have heard me say this 100 times, but I get so excited hearing stories like that.
• 21:38
  Yeah.
• 21:38
  Because it's, when you can build a business out of passion- Yeah and I love when businesses start where it's small, and then it just kind of- Yeah snowballs in a, in the best way, because I think that's so inspiring.
• 21:50
  And I know that we talk about this a lot with after COVID.
• 21:53
  Yeah.
• 21:53
  And just maybe moms were staying at home, and now their kids are older, and they're looking for something to do.
• 21:59
  They're looking for how they can fit back in- Yes the world.
• 22:04
  Yes.
• 22:04
  And I always think that it's, the first place is, like, what do you enjoy doing?
• 22:08
  Yes.
• 22:09
  And you have to think about that.
• 22:10
  Yeah.
• 22:10
  And it's always so inspiring and exciting when I hear these stories because you really can.
• 22:15
  When you're hearing stories from other people who have been in that same situation, but then they can turn it around and figure out a new direction, I just think those are the stories that need to be told.
• 22:27
  Yeah.
• 22:27
  So you're still telling your stories.
• 22:29
  Yes.
• 22:30
  Yes.
• 22:30
  But- Yes and this is an inspiring one.
• 22:32
  I think that this is, like, a great one for you to share with people.
• 22:36
  And I hope it's a great one for you and for you- Thank you and for anyone that hears it because we're not done ever.
• 22:42
  Mm-hmm.
• 22:43
  It's just more chapters.
• 22:45
  I don't like second act because, like- Mm what happened to the first one?
• 22:49
  Right.
• 22:50
  I wanna keep doing the first one.
• 22:51
  All it is is just another chapter in the book.
• 22:53
  I like that.
• 22:54
  It's not failure.
• 22:55
  It's a continuation.
• 22:55
  Yes.
• 22:56
  Yeah.
• 22:56
  Yeah.
• 22:56
  It's just that ended.
• 22:58
  And that's okay because, this is the exciting part.
• 23:02
  I just always love, like, okay, so I'm not doing that anymore, so what's it gonna be?
• 23:06
  Right.
• 23:06
  What are we doing?
• 23:06
  You know?
• 23:07
  Yeah.
• 23:07
  And then, if you leave yourself open like that, inadvertently, opportunity and the right people and the right situations find each other.
• 23:14
  And it's what can you do together?
• 23:15
  And I'm such a huge believer.
• 23:17
  Years before where you are now, you're both in, in your 40s when I was coming up in my career in my 20s, it was not this spirit of women have a shot after 40.
• 23:26
  You had a shelf life.
• 23:27
  Yep.
• 23:29
  And it was also not, like, helping other women.
• 23:31
  Mm-hmm.
• 23:31
  It really wasn't.
• 23:32
  It was do whatever you have to do to get where you need to go.
• 23:36
  And, you think of, like, what my generation, the Gen Xers, like, there's a reason we're scrappy and hardy.
• 23:41
  Like, we've been through the mud, you know?
• 23:43
  Mm-hmm.
• 23:43
  Um, uh, frankly, it's amazing we're still here just based on how unsafe our lives were- Yeah from seat belts to playpens to- Yeah.
• 23:50
  You know, i- it's incredible.
• 23:52
  Yeah.
• 23:52
  I don't know how we survived car rides, you know what I'm saying?
• 23:55
  Like, it was just the Wild West.
• 23:57
  Playgrounds?
• 23:58
  Cement.
• 23:59
  Yeah.
• 23:59
  With metal horses.
• 24:00
  Only the best- How about this?
• 24:01
  Only the best survived.
• 24:03
  Exactly.
• 24:04
  So you're, you're here to talk about it.
• 24:05
  If we're still here, then we've got a good shot at this, you know?
• 24:08
  But that being said, why, why did it have to be...
• 24:12
  I don't know where that came from.
• 24:13
  I'm just glad it's gone away.
• 24:14
  That's like that survival of the fittest.
• 24:16
  Yes.
• 24:16
  Survival of the fittest, and so in, in order to do that, anything was on the table.
• 24:21
  And did that mean, you know, not helping another woman or thinking- Not sharing the secrets you had options?
• 24:26
  Right.
• 24:27
  So, yeah.
• 24:28
  And, hopefully, my gosh, hopefully we've, we've all grown out of that, you know?
• 24:31
  Do you feel like you subscribed to that as part of it?
• 24:34
  It's my greatest regret.
• 24:36
  Yeah.
• 24:36
  Not knowing that there was another option.
• 24:38
  Right.
• 24:39
  Because we were taught that was the only one.
• 24:41
  Yeah, sure, especially in news.
• 24:43
  Are you kidding me?
• 24:43
  Yeah.
• 24:43
  I mean, that's a shark tank.
• 24:45
  That's a really ferocious machine- And as a woman to survive.
• 24:48
  And as a woman- Yeah there were way less of us then.
• 24:51
  So we were surviving against guys that were probably gonna get the job.
• 24:55
  They were definitely gonna get paid more.
• 24:56
  Mm-hmm.
• 24:56
  Which I was like, that doesn't make sense.
• 24:59
  It was just normal.
• 24:59
  Like,"Oh, we've got the same amount of experience." Yeah.
• 25:02
  "They'll get paid more than me." It's like,"Here's the guy's salary, here's the..." You know?
• 25:05
  Yeah, you're already kind of- It wasn't even a thought that you would challenge yeah, right.
• 25:07
  No.
• 25:08
  It was just like an accepted thing.
• 25:09
  It was like me too.
• 25:10
  I didn't know, and this makes me sound really naive, but I was pretty street smart.
• 25:14
  I didn't know that we had a right not to sit through a news director saying sexual innuendos or, uh, how, oh my gosh, how hot you looked on the news last night.
• 25:25
  Turn off the volume and I wait.
• 25:27
  I didn't know that we, didn't have to giggle nervously at that- Mm-hmm and put up with that.
• 25:32
  And so that's just the way it was- It makes sense in the late'80s,'90s.
• 25:36
  It really makes sense that women would put walls up and, like, a lot of- Yes internal boundaries because- Yes of that toxic workplace and the innate competitiveness- Yeah of the business, and so that makes a lot of sense.
• 25:50
  But how did you end up breaking out of that?
• 25:53
  And now you're such, I would consider you such an- Such an advocate champion, yeah, of women and- Oh, thanks.
• 25:57
  I hope so supporting and, and collaborative efforts.
• 26:01
  So what clicked?
• 26:02
  Like, what made you change?
• 26:03
  What made me change?
• 26:04
  Thankfully, times had started to change, and so I felt like how I really believed and felt inside was valid- Mm-hmm and I could start standing up for other women and, and for myself.
• 26:16
  I think I also just saw it work.
• 26:18
  I realized when I help you and you help me, we are better together.
• 26:22
  Mm-hmm.
• 26:22
  If we're leaving Christina out, and you and I...
• 26:25
  Like, why, why?
• 26:26
  Why?
• 26:27
  Why?
• 26:27
  Why?
• 26:27
  Why do we have to triangulate, right?
• 26:29
  Right.
• 26:29
  Why can't we all be the same and friends'cause triangles are so, they, historically- Mm-hmm they have been really, really nasty machines for women- Mm-hmm and social circles.
• 26:40
  You know, we see it as we're growing up, and then some person has to ice the other one out, and it's just, you know, different year, wash, rinse, repeat, different story.
• 26:47
  It's that triangle.
• 26:48
  So true.
• 26:49
  And then I just decided, I think, I just am...
• 26:52
  It doesn't make me feel good.
• 26:54
  It's not who I am.
• 26:55
  Yeah.
• 26:56
  I'm not doing it, so let's try that.
• 26:58
  And then when you see that work, and then the better you make people feel, you know, there's that expression, I think it's Maya Angelou who says, you know, people won't remember what you say.
• 27:06
  It's how you make them feel." Yes.
• 27:08
  And isn't that the truth?
• 27:09
  It really is.
• 27:09
  I do that with design, too.
• 27:11
  Yeah.
• 27:11
  It's not so much what brand I put on the walls or the floors or whatever.
• 27:15
  How does it make the people come in feel?
• 27:17
  Mm-hmm.
• 27:17
  So I'm just a huge believer in that, and I think it made me feel better when I realized, no, I'm not gonna step on you to get ahead.
• 27:23
  And so no, it worked, and I, there was no going back after that.
• 27:27
  Yeah.
• 27:28
  And so, and then you ended up initiating a more community feel.
• 27:32
  So in addition- Yeah to your design business, which is your livelihood now- Yeah and that's what you do for your, quote-unquote, job.
• 27:38
  Yep.
• 27:38
  You also started pioneering these, like, community events where you were bringing all sorts of businesses- Yeah kind of in the, in the arts and entertainment, I would kind of say, or is it from all over the place?
• 27:49
  It's kind of whoever shows up.
• 27:51
  Which I love.
• 27:51
  It's called Meet Me on Monday.
• 27:52
  Meet Me on Monday.
• 27:53
  And actually, so that name came from my producer.
• 27:57
  Um, so we're going way back.
• 27:59
  So it, it was, uh, my days in, um, DC.
• 28:01
  I was the chopper chick.
• 28:03
  So I was in a helicopter, and it was really fun'cause I learned how to fly.
• 28:06
  Still would love to go back and get my license officially, but I- You were flying a helicopter?
• 28:09
  Yes, I don't- I don't know what's gonna come out of your mouth next.
• 28:11
  I know.
• 28:13
  Me neither, and that's why, that's why I'm excited about aging.
• 28:16
  You know, I've got years to get some more stuff done.
• 28:19
  Um- Okay, that, we didn't know that.
• 28:21
  Fun fact, yeah.
• 28:22
  So I would fly around, but I, uh, I had a- But yet it all makes sense pilot.
• 28:28
  Yeah.
• 28:28
  You had a pilot.
• 28:28
  And I was bored.
• 28:28
  I see it.
• 28:29
  I'm like,"So I gotta learn how to fly as well." So we would do you know, breaking news.
• 28:33
  Why am I bringing this up?
• 28:34
  There was a reason for the chopper chick.
• 28:36
  Meet Me on Monday.
• 28:37
  Meet Me on Monday gave you the name.
• 28:37
  Yeah.
• 28:37
  My producer, when I was the chopper chick- Yeah had this thing way back then called Meet Me Monday.
• 28:43
  Meet Me Monday.
• 28:43
  And was way before apps or anything like that.
• 28:46
  It was networking.
• 28:47
  And so when we did the article with you guys, Girl Friends- Mm-hmm Yeah which comes out soon.
• 28:51
  I can't wait to get you guys copies.
• 28:52
  I know.
• 28:53
  Cannot wait.
• 28:53
  I did one called The Dinner Party, Return of the Dinner Party, which is bringing people together.
• 28:56
  Yep.
• 28:57
  Yes, the return.
• 28:57
  And then the people that I featured, three other women- we all got together, we're like,"This was fun.
• 29:02
  Should we, like, really do this?" And Meet Me on Monday was born.
• 29:05
  And I said,"Well, what about Monday nights when no one has anything to do, and let's call it Meet Me on Monday." So that's how it started, and then it's just sort of been a runaway train ever since.
• 29:16
  So what have those looked like now?
• 29:18
  So, give us some examples of what...
• 29:20
  'Cause you've had, you've had several.
• 29:21
  So- Yeah, yeah.
• 29:22
  Well, the one coming up- They've, they've evolved too.
• 29:24
  They have evolved.
• 29:25
  So it started with a dinner party- Mm-hmm and we got 40 people- Mm-hmm and we were thinking more like 12.
• 29:29
  And then we're like,"Okay, so let's do something bigger." A different venue, different theme.
• 29:33
  It was, like, sort of a garden party in April,'cause what are we all thinking about?
• 29:36
  We're thinking about the mess of yard that we have here in New England.
• 29:40
  It's mud month, right?
• 29:40
  Yeah.
• 29:41
  So we had a gardener come, and she spoke to the group and, everyone learned landscaping tips, and it was really fun.
• 29:45
  It was a great time.
• 29:46
  It was at Weekend Home.
• 29:47
  Then it was at my house- Mm-hmm and it was a May market.
• 29:49
  Mm-hmm.
• 29:50
  And so that's the one you felt uninvited to.
• 29:52
  Yes.
• 29:52
  But you would've been invited had we known each other.
• 29:55
  But did you guys go past the traffic?
• 29:57
  Is that how you knew that there was a- No, I saw on social media- Oh that a lot of people that we knew- like, that I knew, were at your house.
• 30:05
  Yeah.
• 30:05
  And then I'm like,"I think that's around the corner from me." Like And then I remember- That is so funny driving by, and I was like,"There's quite a lot of cars at this house." And then I'm the asshole,'cause when we met, I had said to you, I go,"Christina and I were mad we didn't get invited." We were like,"We would've loved to have gone to that." We could have literally walked there.
• 30:22
  Like, someone's having a rager- feet away on a Monday.
• 30:24
  Like, okay.
• 30:26
  Yeah.
• 30:26
  It was just you.
• 30:27
  Well, it's gonna be you guys at the next one.
• 30:28
  Yeah, that's right.
• 30:29
  'Cause the one coming up now, we are- Yeah, tell us about it trying to bring together different brands, different people.
• 30:34
  It's not for men, and it's not for women.
• 30:36
  Right.
• 30:36
  It's for everybody.
• 30:37
  It's for anybody.
• 30:38
  It's not just one or the other.
• 30:39
  A lot of people think it's just a women's marketing event.
• 30:41
  It's not.
• 30:42
  It's networking for anybody.
• 30:43
  Mm-hmm.
• 30:43
  So are there different, spotlights for different brands, or is it just everybody coming together?
• 30:48
  'Cause you said, one of them was, like, a gardening- Yeah, yeah info.
• 30:51
  There's a theme there's a theme?
• 30:52
  There's a theme.
• 30:52
  We always try to do the third Monday of the month.
• 30:55
  Mm-hmm.
• 30:56
  There's always gonna be a different venue, different speaker or an author or something featured.
• 31:00
  Right.
• 31:00
  Some sort of content you take away.
• 31:02
  Right, right.
• 31:03
  And different, wardrobe kind of theme.
• 31:05
  This next one is celebrating the English countryside at Land Rover.
• 31:08
  Fun.
• 31:09
  Ooh.
• 31:09
  So you guys totally have to come- Yes because how cute, right?
• 31:13
  Yes.
• 31:13
  Like, little tweed- That's very cute and boots and and so we're, uh, if you know anyone- Tweed is very in right now.
• 31:18
  Yes.
• 31:18
  Yes.
• 31:18
  Very in.
• 31:19
  Yes.
• 31:19
  It would be very easy to shop for this event.
• 31:21
  So get a rent, rent the runway, yeah.
• 31:22
  Yep, yep.
• 31:22
  Get, get your orders in.
• 31:23
  But we thought that would be cute that, the ladies love to dress up for these events.
• 31:27
  Mm-hmm.
• 31:27
  Like, we had Dom's Italian Summer Nights.
• 31:29
  Mm-hmm.
• 31:29
  Big macaroni hanging from the ceiling and people in the cutest dresses, and everyone having fun.
• 31:35
  And that was more than 100 people.
• 31:37
  Wow.
• 31:37
  So now they've gotten to be more than 100.
• 31:38
  That's wild.
• 31:39
  You come and, you know, hopefully there's I'm putting it out there, anyone with an English accent, please contact me.
• 31:45
  We need you at this party.
• 31:46
  We really need to add to our I literally put the theme to work.
• 31:50
  Yes.
• 31:50
  I need an, I need a bartender with an English accent.
• 31:53
  I keep getting all these people sending in,"I can bartend, I can bartend," and I'm like- This is not- this is not the theme.
• 31:59
  Okay.
• 32:00
  Right.
• 32:00
  We're putting it out there.
• 32:00
  Right, right, right, right.
• 32:01
  We're manifesting it.
• 32:01
  You're not, you're not the vibe.
• 32:03
  We are gonna find you the vibe.
• 32:04
  Mm-hmm.
• 32:04
  We're finding you the vibe.
• 32:05
  Yes, find the vibe.
• 32:07
  The vibe is out there.
• 32:08
  My, my trainer at the gym has a British accent, so I'm trying to fold in catch training element.
• 32:14
  Can you also make drinks?
• 32:14
  I don't Exactly.
• 32:14
  Yeah.
• 32:14
  Can you make drinks?
• 32:16
  Can you make drinks?
• 32:16
  Yeah.
• 32:16
  Right, um, so anyway, so that's the theme and- Can you stand next to the bartender- Yeah and talk for him?
• 32:22
  Exactly.
• 32:23
  Right.
• 32:24
  Um, we're that desperate.
• 32:25
  That may need to happen.
• 32:26
  So where is this one?
• 32:27
  Is it at Land Rover?
• 32:28
  So it's at Land Rover in Hartford, yeah.
• 32:29
  Oh, my God.
• 32:29
  So we're gonna also get together a, like, transportation concierge so that people don't have to drive.
• 32:33
  Fun.
• 32:34
  And when is it?
• 32:34
  We're figuring all that.
• 32:35
  So it's in because of course why would we give ourselves any time to plan?
• 32:38
  It's in less than three weeks.
• 32:39
  We just decided on the whole thing, like, two days ago.
• 32:42
  So yeah, that's coming up.
• 32:43
  But that's really what it's become.
• 32:44
  It's just fun.
• 32:45
  How could anybody get involved in that?
• 32:47
  So if you wanna- Yeah come and be kind of, like, part of the event- Yes you can just come and network, right?
• 32:53
  Definitely come and network.
• 32:54
  Yeah.
• 32:54
  We do sell tickets- Mm-hmm because, and every penny goes toward- Yeah the more tickets we sell, the better the event is.
• 32:59
  Of course, of course.
• 32:59
  So, um, we have a pianist coming to play, um, live music in the showroom.
• 33:04
  There are gonna be cars.
• 33:05
  We're gonna have vintage luggage and sort of a photo op.
• 33:07
  Oh, fun.
• 33:07
  Uh, so we want it to feel English countryside.
• 33:09
  And again, I don't know all the vendors yet because we're just creating it.
• 33:12
  But that'll be a surprise, right?
• 33:16
  You can put that out there too.
• 33:16
  Exactly.
• 33:16
  If anybody feels like they have something that can get involved- Yes.
• 33:18
  Yes then you can get involved from that angle too.
• 33:20
  Yeah.
• 33:20
  That's really cool.
• 33:20
  Like, we're gonna contact Take Tea in Avon and see if they can come and- Mm-hmm you know- English tea serve some tea.
• 33:25
  Yeah.
• 33:25
  And there's always- I love it you know, wine and drinks and- So lots of different activations.
• 33:30
  Yes.
• 33:31
  Yes.
• 33:31
  One of my girlfriends- Ooh, you're like such an influencer now.
• 33:34
  Well, I, no, one of my girlfriends hosts, Ashley Langer.
• 33:37
  She does.
• 33:37
  Yeah.
• 33:37
  She hosts these events, and any time I do anything, I always, like, ask her,"What is your opinion on-" Yes.
• 33:42
  X, Y, Z?" Yes.
• 33:42
  And she's like,"Well, the secret to a party is you have to have some kind of, like, icebreaker." Yeah.
• 33:46
  You have to have, like, a cruise director.
• 33:48
  Yeah.
• 33:48
  Somebody that knows everybody there- Yeah to, connect everybody.
• 33:52
  That's good advice.
• 33:52
  And you have to have activations.
• 33:53
  And I'm like- What's an activation?
• 33:55
  Yeah.
• 33:56
  Yeah.
• 33:56
  She's was explaining that's like the term you use- Yes for all of these different things.
• 34:00
  Yes.
• 34:01
  You know?
• 34:01
  Yes.
• 34:01
  So you don't just show up and sit your ass down.
• 34:04
  And then, then what?
• 34:04
  And then that's the end of it.
• 34:05
  You know, what are we supposed to do?
• 34:05
  Right.
• 34:05
  You know, how are you supposed to actually network?
• 34:08
  Yes.
• 34:08
  So.
• 34:09
  Yes, and so we try to always have an activity.
• 34:11
  The one after this, you also have to come to, it's a healing meals.
• 34:14
  Okay.
• 34:15
  Oh.
• 34:15
  And we're gonna have a celebrity chef cook-off.
• 34:17
  Ooh, fun.
• 34:18
  Aw, amazing.
• 34:18
  Okay.
• 34:19
  So everyone come watch that and cheer us out.
• 34:20
  And we're gonna put feelers out for that too.
• 34:22
  And network.
• 34:22
  Yes, exactly.
• 34:22
  And also, like, fill your philanthropy bucket.
• 34:24
  Like, you know, you help.
• 34:25
  Yes.
• 34:26
  Yeah.
• 34:26
  Like, I think in the winterfall- Oh, this is all selfish.
• 34:27
  This is all for me- Yeah'cause it feels good.
• 34:29
  I feel good watching people feel good and connecting, and that's the thing.
• 34:34
  There has been a magic secret sauce in all of this, and it's been the reverberations with the new friendships, new business relationships- Mm-hmm neighbors who'd never met- Right that needed to know each other.
• 34:44
  It's all the things that have come from it that have been life-changing- Yeah for everyone.
• 34:48
  And so selfish me, I get to just soak all that up and be like,"This feels so good,"'cause everyone feels good, and it's just been a really incredible community that I don't know half the people there, and that's the, that's the fun, right?
• 35:02
  Why would we want just all to just all do the same thing all the time?
• 35:06
  So let's meet new people.
• 35:07
  Let's learn new things.
• 35:09
  Let's see the world from a different perspective.
• 35:11
  It says a lot too- And- when those types of people show up to the events- Yeah because you're hoping they're most likely wanting the same things, right?
• 35:19
  Yeah.
• 35:19
  Like to connect.
• 35:20
  Yeah.
• 35:20
  And so I think that if anybody listening, even if you're not local to here, if you see something like that go.
• 35:27
  Go do it.
• 35:28
  Go do it.
• 35:29
  For goodness sakes, go do it.
• 35:29
  Yeah.
• 35:30
  We purposely keep our tickets really well...
• 35:32
  I have to sneeze.
• 35:33
  Excuse me.
• 35:33
  You're good.
• 35:35
  Excuse me.
• 35:36
  You have the cutest sneeze.
• 35:36
  This golden rod.
• 35:36
  You know, that was a really cute sneeze.
• 35:36
  Really?
• 35:36
  The cutest sneeze.
• 35:37
  Mine are- You good?
• 35:38
  'Cause there'll probably be 10 more.
• 35:40
  Mine is like,"Ah-choo." My sister goes,"Choo." Choo.
• 35:49
  Like why, why- I'm like,"Sorry, what?" With the choo.
• 35:52
  Like what?
• 35:52
  You're just saying that'cause you're supposed to say achoo?
• 35:53
  But she, she must have at some point she trained herself to do that.
• 35:56
  How do you do that?
• 35:56
  Her dad does it too.
• 35:58
  Choo.
• 35:59
  Like, did that satisfy anything?
• 36:01
  Like,'cause you want that,"Shoo," to really feel it, you know?
• 36:04
  Yes.
• 36:04
  Yes.
• 36:06
  Yeah.
• 36:06
  So.
• 36:08
  You know, sneezing weirdly feels good.
• 36:09
  It does.
• 36:09
  Like cleaning your ears.
• 36:10
  It can be a little exciting.
• 36:11
  Like actually, you know a sneeze is coming.
• 36:13
  You're like,"I just wanna let this one go." Right?
• 36:16
  And it feels so much better than you even expected.
• 36:18
  I love it.
• 36:18
  Yeah.
• 36:19
  Oh, I love it.
• 36:19
  The clean the ears, I have not had that adrenaline rush.
• 36:25
  Ooh.
• 36:25
  That's a good vibe.
• 36:25
  I'm, like, missing out.
• 36:25
  That's a good vibe.
• 36:25
  It's a good one?
• 36:26
  Mm-hmm.
• 36:27
  Wow.
• 36:27
  Try it.
• 36:27
  Okay.
• 36:28
  Go, go home and try it.
• 36:29
  So that's what I'm doing later.
• 36:29
  Yeah.
• 36:29
  So- Through aging- Yeah and through this process- Mm you are finding out what you like to hold onto, what excites you, what ignites you.
• 36:38
  Yeah.
• 36:38
  You are such a connector.
• 36:40
  Have you experienced, I'm sure you have,'cause we all have, when you have to maybe let go of a friendship or maybe push away from one.
• 36:47
  Have you ever found that a friendship wasn't serving you now in your 50s that it may have served you earlier on in your life?
• 36:53
  Yeah, and it's, it's so not a bad thing.
• 36:55
  It doesn't mean it's not serving you because it's bad.
• 36:57
  It just means- Mm that it's a different, chapter for you both.
• 37:01
  Yeah.
• 37:01
  Whether it's distance or whether you really just did grow apart.
• 37:04
  Yeah.
• 37:04
  That's okay.
• 37:05
  It doesn't need to be so negative and so bad.
• 37:08
  Someone told me, and actually I write about it in the article, just that I was really baffled by this relationship they had with an ex, and they said,"But Cara Lee, things don't have to last forever for them to have been good." Right.
• 37:19
  And I thought,"Whoa.
• 37:20
  Oh, so we have permission to do that?
• 37:21
  I didn't realize that." And then I started looking at it differently and realizing, wow, okay, so y- you know, I thought we were supposed to always just put all this energy into making everything work all the time.
• 37:32
  Mm-hmm.
• 37:32
  But what if it isn't supposed to?
• 37:34
  That's okay.
• 37:35
  It doesn't mean there's bad blood.
• 37:36
  It doesn't mean anything.
• 37:37
  It just means that, you know, you got to that fork in the road, and one said,"I'm going this way," the other said,"I'm going this way." Right.
• 37:43
  And that's okay.
• 37:44
  Right.
• 37:44
  You know, I hope the journey is great for both of the people but I don't think I ever- Thought that was an okay thing or that there was permission to do so, until I was much, much older.
• 37:54
  And by that I mean probably, like, in the last couple years.
• 37:56
  And now it's just sort of all okay.
• 37:58
  Yeah.
• 37:59
  You know?
• 37:59
  I think we were talking about all, like, the really good parts of aging- Yeah which is exciting.
• 38:04
  Yes, yes.
• 38:04
  But then with that, it is giving yourself a lot of permission to do X, right?
• 38:10
  Yeah.
• 38:10
  Yeah.
• 38:10
  And a lot of the times you don't really give yourself permission to be okay- Right with letting a friendship go.
• 38:18
  And I also liked what you said about it doesn't mean it was bad.
• 38:21
  Right, no.
• 38:21
  And it doesn't necessarily mean something monumental had to happen.
• 38:26
  No.
• 38:27
  But it's just kind of being okay with you're going this way- Yes I'm going this way.
• 38:31
  Nothing bad has to happen.
• 38:33
  The story just sort of quietly dies down and it's just- And you let that be.
• 38:37
  Okay.
• 38:38
  Yeah.
• 38:38
  And I think if we fight that sometimes, then we might feel very unrewarded for our efforts because it's not working and it's just- Right not what it used to be, and it's sad and it...
• 38:47
  But just leave it.
• 38:49
  It's okay.
• 38:50
  Do you feel like people have to have a conversation about that?
• 38:54
  Or do you think that when you get to a certain age and just have lived through this, do you think that people just allow themselves to drift without a sort of conversation or closure?
• 39:06
  Or do you think that it needs to be something that's, like, spoken about?
• 39:10
  For me, I don't think it does.
• 39:11
  Mm-hmm.
• 39:11
  I, I would never have, uh, that conversation, so let's decide to end it, you know?
• 39:15
  Mm-hmm, yeah.
• 39:16
  Like, it just feels better if, I think you guys talked about something about what do you do when you're not invited to the party.
• 39:20
  Right.
• 39:21
  Do you say something- Right or do you not?
• 39:22
  Right.
• 39:22
  I think it's the same thing.
• 39:23
  Right.
• 39:24
  I think it's like this, this is just where it is now.
• 39:27
  Right.
• 39:27
  And we both clearly feel it.
• 39:29
  And it's just okay, you know?
• 39:30
  And- You allow.
• 39:31
  Allow.
• 39:31
  But I think it has to- You allow, yeah, yeah it has to be followed up with,"It's just okay." Yeah.
• 39:35
  It's okay.
• 39:35
  'Cause I think if you follow it up with anything else- Yeah you can become bitter, and then animosity- For sure could be there.
• 39:40
  Mm-hmm, for sure.
• 39:40
  And then you can look back in 10 years and say,"Nothing ever even happened." No.
• 39:43
  "Why are we in a bad place?" That's always what it is.
• 39:45
  It needs to just- Nothing ever, yeah be okay.
• 39:47
  Yeah.
• 39:47
  Yeah, because it is.
• 39:48
  Cheer from afar.
• 39:49
  It is.
• 39:49
  Especially now with lives never having been busier, and we're- Mm-hmm in contact with so many people.
• 39:55
  One of the people I write about in the article is my very first girlfriend, who isn't like a tight girlfriend now, but I met her when I was two, at preschool.
• 40:02
  And so I saw her, for the first time since high school three years ago.
• 40:06
  Wow.
• 40:06
  And so there we were going from 18-year-olds to 52-year-olds meeting.
• 40:10
  Yeah, wow.
• 40:10
  Wow.
• 40:10
  And, it's not like we were ever best friends or ever not best friends.
• 40:14
  She was just my first friend, and it was great to see her, and it was totally normal.
• 40:18
  But was there ever a conversation like,"Well, we're not the friends we used to be because we're not staying in touch like we used to"?
• 40:23
  Right.
• 40:24
  It just was unspoken and didn't need to be said.
• 40:26
  And I haven't even told her I've written about her yet, but there's gonna be pictures of me and Shauna- um, as angels when we're five, and then when we're meeting again at 52.
• 40:34
  Surprise Shauna.
• 40:35
  I know.
• 40:36
  Yes.
• 40:37
  And oh, my goodness in, in high school we were definitely anything but angels, but we were- when we were five, so- Oh, so that's a good, that's a good point.
• 40:43
  So there was never a conversation about the friendship drifting.
• 40:47
  Yeah.
• 40:47
  And then there didn't have to be a conversation again when you reconnected.
• 40:50
  Yeah.
• 40:50
  And it, we weren't even, like, really good friends.
• 40:53
  Right.
• 40:53
  And I thought that she was an interesting person to feature because it wasn't like,"Here's my bestie." It was a friend.
• 40:59
  Right.
• 41:00
  She was a girlfriend that we have still stayed in touch throughout life.
• 41:04
  But it's not that we were ever best friends.
• 41:06
  Right.
• 41:06
  In fact, we were quite different.
• 41:08
  But we still had a ton of fun together.
• 41:10
  Yeah.
• 41:10
  And I learned how to ride a bike at her house.
• 41:11
  Yeah.
• 41:11
  She just didn't know it because I was too embarrassed to say I didn't know how yet.
• 41:14
  And so she's like,"Wait, do you not know how to ride a bike?" I'm like,"Yes." So I got on the bike, and I was elated because when you have that much confidence, I knew I had to ride the bike, so I had so much confidence that I did.
• 41:27
  Except she's like,"What are you so excited about?" And I'm like,"Just nothing.
• 41:32
  I'll tell my mom later." I'm like,"Mom, I drove a bike." So anyway- And then the next day you got your driver's license and bought a car.
• 41:37
  Yeah.
• 41:38
  Right.
• 41:39
  Maybe I'll go for a trucking license.
• 41:40
  Like, I'm trying to think- what haven't I done that I can still check off, but- I love and admire your zest for life.
• 41:47
  And even though, like, if you just to throw all these different things that you've done in a hat and you've pulled them out- Mm they would be, like, so random.
• 41:55
  Yeah.
• 41:55
  But when you explain it- I love random sequen- like, sequentially- Mm-hmm the way you did, they're all actually kind of tied- together and makes perfect sense.
• 42:01
  Right.
• 42:02
  See, that means you're getting to know me, because- Yeah if it makes sense- Yes then now we're starting to understand each other It connects.
• 42:07
  Yeah.
• 42:07
  It connects.
• 42:08
  It connects.
• 42:09
  So now I wanna talk a little bit about what younger women should know, because we did an episode about turning 40- Yeah and, like, things that we wish that we could tell our younger selves.
• 42:23
  Yeah.
• 42:24
  But I still just do think that there's so much power in, like, looking back and giving, like, the tidbits of advice to- Yeah younger women.
• 42:33
  If you could sit down with your 25-year-old self, what would you tell her not to rush, fear, or take so personally?
• 42:41
  You know, it's hard looking back because it was so different then- Mm-hmm career-wise as it is now.
• 42:45
  So I had this urgency to make it in TV news.
• 42:49
  Mm-hmm.
• 42:49
  You probably weren't wrong to feel like that.
• 42:51
  Probably not.
• 42:53
  But I would love to say,"Just breathe.
• 42:56
  Take a second." Yeah.
• 42:57
  "It's okay if you don't move from Market 167 to Market 5 in three months." There was just this constant urgency.
• 43:05
  "I've gotta, I've go- I gotta keep moving.
• 43:06
  I gotta keep moving." Literally and figuratively.
• 43:09
  So I would love to have given 25-year-old me permission to just not feel the weight of the world and the stress of a career, and,"If I don't do it now, it's not gonna happen." Yeah.
• 43:19
  And that's probably the case.
• 43:20
  It probably wouldn't have.
• 43:22
  There was just no, no opportunity to breathe or relax.
• 43:26
  But I think that's probably even true now.
• 43:28
  There is such emphasis on having everything figured out- Yeah in your 20s.
• 43:33
  Yeah.
• 43:33
  And I think that a lot of times when you talk to somebody older and past that age, everybody's advice is to slow down.
• 43:41
  Yes.
• 43:41
  But then when you're living it, you're in a rush.
• 43:44
  Gotta get married, gotta find the guy, gotta- Yes have kids, gotta- Yes the time is ticking.
• 43:48
  What about this?
• 43:48
  What about work-life balance?
• 43:49
  What about...
• 43:50
  and so I, in my 50s, you know, mid-50s, I don't think about any of that anymore.
• 43:56
  And so it is exciting at this age to do something weird and zany- Mm-hmm and off the beaten path, and like, who saw that coming?
• 44:02
  I didn't have that luxury when I was younger.
• 44:04
  Mm.
• 44:04
  There was no luxury to breathe, pause.
• 44:08
  Even the language you used about driving your daughter to school.
• 44:10
  Yeah.
• 44:11
  "I get to do this in the morning." Yeah.
• 44:12
  "I get to do this in the afternoon." Mm-hmm.
• 44:13
  Even that's different language than what I use.
• 44:15
  I'm like,"I have to." I have to.
• 44:18
  You know, I also do get to.
• 44:19
  Well, yeah, having four, having two- Right.
• 44:20
  Yeah and having them spaced out, I- But I know, but even getting to hear you- Yeah say that is a shift.
• 44:25
  I get to.
• 44:26
  Yeah.
• 44:26
  You know?
• 44:27
  Right.
• 44:27
  That I hope that I get to do that, mm-hmm.
• 44:29
  And I truly feel that way.
• 44:31
  I really do.
• 44:31
  I mean, I do feel so.
• 44:33
  I missed a lot.
• 44:34
  My husband would tell me,"Oh, first tooth.""Riding the bike." You know, all the things.
• 44:38
  And I was so grateful that he was able to have a more flexible career that he could do that, but I, I still missed it all.
• 44:44
  So now I am the mom who drives everyone.
• 44:49
  Whereas I was the mom, no one even asked for me to drive.
• 44:51
  I didn't even know the other parents really because it was Kurt.
• 44:54
  They would, if they wanted a play date, they would text my husband.
• 44:57
  So I didn't even know who they were really.
• 45:00
  I didn't get to know them because I was, you know- every single day at the news station, which I loved those years, but I did miss a lot.
• 45:08
  So there's no work-life balance,'cause now I'm imbalanced, where I'm doing so much more family.
• 45:14
  And work is, you know, thankfully flexible, so I can still do a ton of work, but it's on my terms.
• 45:19
  So sometimes it's midnight, sometimes it's 4:00 in the morning, sometimes-- I mean, I think we've even texted, like, really early- Mm in the morning.
• 45:24
  Yeah.
• 45:24
  You have that flexibility which I just never had before, so.
• 45:26
  Yes, I have no boundaries.
• 45:28
  Right.
• 45:28
  I did recently just realize that- Yeah on the phone, on the iPhone, that there is a send later option.
• 45:34
  Never knew that.
• 45:35
  So as you write a text message- Did not know that when it pops into your ADHD mind at- Yes 3:00 AM- Yeah you can send the text message and you can schedule it to send- At a reasonable time.
• 45:45
  I don't know.
• 45:45
  I didn't know that you could do that whereas at a reasonable hour.
• 45:45
  Where is that?
• 45:46
  I need to learn.
• 45:47
  I'll show you all how to use it.
• 45:49
  Seriously.
• 45:49
  That should be my pink spotlight today, but I feel like everybody here should know it.
• 45:52
  It's very helpful.
• 45:53
  Oh, I need to know that.
• 45:54
  Yes, because sometimes I'll sit there with it on the screen.
• 45:57
  I'm like,"What time is it?" And I do, like, my burst replies.
• 45:59
  Like, I'll have- like, 10 minutes- Yeah where I'm like,"Okay, wait, I had 50 million text messages to respond to," and then I just- Yeah ba, ba, Ba, fire them off all at once.
• 46:07
  Or, like, if you wake up early to get work done- Yes the person you're sending the work to didn't have to make that same decision as you- Right.
• 46:13
  Right, right.
• 46:14
  to also start working early.
• 46:15
  I like that.
• 46:16
  It's ding, ding, ding.
• 46:16
  Yeah, yeah.
• 46:16
  I like that.
• 46:17
  Send later.
• 46:17
  So that's really crucial.
• 46:18
  But I think that, like, getting back to what you were saying too, I think that it's the lived in perspective is necessary.
• 46:26
  Yeah.
• 46:26
  So I think that we,'cause we even were talking about that on our episode, that it's like you wanna go back and tell your younger self something.
• 46:34
  Yes.
• 46:34
  But you need to live and learn for you to even have this perspective now.
• 46:39
  Absolutely.
• 46:39
  Like, you don't even know what you're missing, right?
• 46:41
  Yeah.
• 46:42
  Because you need to live it to know.
• 46:44
  Yeah.
• 46:45
  25-year-old me would've said- Right"What do you k- you don't know.
• 46:48
  Right.
• 46:48
  No, I'm not gonna slow down.
• 46:49
  I need to do this." Right.
• 46:50
  This is the pace and, and I had the energy for it and I- Mm and the drive and all those things.
• 46:55
  But yeah if I could do it again, which I don't wanna do um, I would love to have done the year backpacking before I got- Mm into the real world or- Yes have taken- Like, slow down a little just a little.
• 47:06
  Right.
• 47:06
  Just a little.
• 47:07
  Right.
• 47:07
  Yeah, I grew up really, really fast and was a career person really, really fast because we had to be.
• 47:11
  It was, it was very much a now or never scenario, which I think it was, right.
• 47:15
  I think it was.
• 47:16
  Now I think there's people getting into broadcasting in all way, shapes- Yes and forms, which I love.
• 47:21
  Yes.
• 47:21
  I love.
• 47:22
  People are really talented, and never would have known that were there not these opportunities to do it in different ways.
• 47:28
  So.
• 47:28
  I really think, I think that going back to you being, like, a very big champion and going back to kind of how we started this conversation- About being supportive of women, that is like a perfect example of someone who's a trained journalist.
• 47:43
  You could look at somebody like us and be like,"What the F are they doing?" You know?
• 47:47
  Like,"Who do they think they are?" And- It was more in reverse, like,"Wow, what the F are they doing?
• 47:51
  This is amazing." I wanna know them.
• 47:54
  I wanna know more.
• 47:55
  I wanna do some rapid fire.
• 47:57
  Rapid fire, yeah.
• 47:57
  Yeah.
• 47:57
  Let's do some rapid fire questions,'cause we love a rapid fire question.
• 48:01
  So what is something you are now better at now than you were at 30?
• 48:08
  30, patience.
• 48:09
  Ooh.
• 48:10
  Patience.
• 48:11
  Good answer.
• 48:12
  Yeah.
• 48:12
  Just did not have patience.
• 48:13
  Also impressive.
• 48:14
  Just was like,"Nah, nah, nah, nah." Max, when did, exactly did that start?
• 48:17
  Yes,'cause my- 40 I was gonna say, mine has gone down, ladies.
• 48:19
  It is still coming.
• 48:20
  It is still coming.
• 48:20
  40 and three-quarters?
• 48:21
  Just wondering.
• 48:22
  Yeah.
• 48:23
  You've- Patience clearly has not entered the chat box.
• 48:25
  You've got a couple more years.
• 48:26
  Yeah.
• 48:27
  Mine...
• 48:28
  What is- Late 40s are really good, by the way.
• 48:30
  Okay.
• 48:30
  Okay.
• 48:30
  Yeah.
• 48:30
  Okay.
• 48:31
  Love them.
• 48:31
  What is something that you don't apologize for?
• 48:34
  And it could be something that maybe you did at one point in your life- Mm but you no longer apologize for.
• 48:39
  Yeah.
• 48:39
  I'm not sure.
• 48:40
  Anything, to be honest.
• 48:41
  Mm.
• 48:41
  I think I want to live a life where I don't have to say sorry.
• 48:43
  I really believe, what I'm doing at all times is intentional and thought through.
• 48:47
  So I think if I'm doing it, I'm probably not gonna say sorry for it because I believe in it.
• 48:53
  Did you used to be a big apologizer, or were you always like this?
• 48:56
  I'm Canadian.
• 48:56
  All we do is say sorry.
• 48:57
  Yes.
• 48:58
  Yes.
• 48:59
  Yes.
• 48:59
  I'm so sorry.
• 48:59
  Sorry.
• 49:00
  I'm so sorry.
• 49:00
  They even have a special way of saying it.
• 49:01
  So, okay.
• 49:02
  Exactly.
• 49:03
  This was learned and like- Yeah okay.
• 49:04
  So that was for sure learned.
• 49:05
  That's exciting.
• 49:05
  Yeah.
• 49:05
  Wow.
• 49:05
  I think that that was something I had to shed actually, was this sort of apologetic Canadian thing where I would always see the Americans much more confident and much more unrepentant.
• 49:13
  Oh, they're a bunch of fakers.
• 49:15
  So.
• 49:15
  I- Now I'm one of them, so.
• 49:18
  What about what is one friendship green flag?
• 49:23
  Hmm.
• 49:23
  Oh, humor.
• 49:24
  Sense of humor.
• 49:25
  Oh, I love that.
• 49:25
  Yes.
• 49:26
  Oh, all day long.
• 49:27
  The second I smell that in there- Yep it's like, oh, we're gonna be friends.
• 49:30
  That's probably why we all hit it off right away.
• 49:32
  Oh, yes.
• 49:33
  Because we need to be able to laugh.
• 49:34
  Because you guys are funny.
• 49:34
  It doesn't have to be that serious- Yes all the time.
• 49:37
  And it really shouldn't be.
• 49:38
  No.
• 49:38
  Yeah.
• 49:39
  Even if it's bad.
• 49:40
  You have to keep some things light.
• 49:40
  It can be light humor.
• 49:41
  And I also think that's just a good thing to keep in mind when you're looking for people to connect with.
• 49:47
  Yeah.
• 49:47
  Like, that's something I gravitate towards.
• 49:49
  Like- Same if someone can laugh and not take themselves too seriously- Yeah I'm like, yes.
• 49:53
  Boop.
• 49:54
  Because then I bec- I'm, like, a little bit more comfortable- Yeah in that too.
• 49:58
  You know,'cause it's so fun to laugh.
• 49:59
  It is.
• 49:59
  I know.
• 50:00
  Laugh lines.
• 50:01
  That means you've had a joyous life.
• 50:03
  So.
• 50:03
  I love that.
• 50:04
  Um, and you don't have them yet, but if you get them, that's such a good thing.
• 50:08
  Yeah.
• 50:08
  Um, what an enviable life.
• 50:10
  It's like the crow's feet too'cause the crow's feet means you're smiling.
• 50:13
  What is something you are still becoming?
• 50:16
  Ooh.
• 50:17
  So I should look through my list of things that I still want to do.
• 50:21
  So lots of things, right?
• 50:23
  Like, I still wanna find all the things, the tests I can take, the trips I can take, the crazy, zany things that I can try.
• 50:30
  You know, whether it's jumping out of a plane or bungee jump, like, all the crazy adventure things.
• 50:33
  I think I just wanna just keep becoming all of that, i, I just don't want there ever to be anything that I'm not willing to do or try.
• 50:41
  The limit does not exist.
• 50:43
  Yeah, really.
• 50:44
  Yeah.
• 50:44
  I, I really don't feel like, like there is one.
• 50:47
  I really don't.
• 50:48
  Mm.
• 50:48
  And maybe we all need to feel that way,'cause really, is there?
• 50:51
  No.
• 50:52
  Why, why is there?
• 50:53
  No.
• 50:53
  Is just the limit just our brains, just what we think?
• 50:55
  I mean, maybe.
• 50:57
  So what if you live with no limits?
• 50:58
  I love- Yeah, they're self-inflicted, for sure that.
• 51:00
  Yeah.
• 51:01
  So I think I'm still becoming me.
• 51:02
  I love it.
• 51:03
  Oh, I love that so much.
• 51:04
  I love it.
• 51:05
  Ugh, what- I know a good- We should close on that episode.
• 51:08
  Like, I- So fun.
• 51:10
  Yeah.
• 51:10
  I, we adore you.
• 51:12
  Aw, thank you.
• 51:12
  We're so happy that you've come into our life.
• 51:15
  Thank you.
• 51:15
  We are going to close,'cause we close- Yeah and you've been so full of information that I feel like we've had, like, 37 pink spotlights already.
• 51:22
  Mm-hmm.
• 51:23
  But we always close our episodes with our pink spotlight.
• 51:26
  Yeah.
• 51:26
  Which if you're new here, it is our person, place, thing, tip, mantra, anything making life a little bit better for T and I's week.
• 51:34
  Mm-hmm.
• 51:34
  But for our guests, if you wanna go first, it's kind of like the floor is yours.
• 51:38
  Like, anything that you would tell your girlfriend.
• 51:40
  So I am accident-prone, so I have, I'm covered in stitches and marks, and marks.
• 51:46
  Oh.
• 51:47
  And this isn't even a good story.
• 51:48
  This was a jewelry box fell out of my closet and scraped my leg.
• 51:50
  But, um, so Westmore body makeup.
• 51:52
  Ooh.
• 51:52
  Westmore Body Makeup.
• 51:54
  I've seen that.
• 51:55
  Ooh.
• 51:55
  You've probably seen it.
• 51:55
  It's what all the celebrities use the Kardashians- I get targeted swear by.
• 51:58
  Yes.
• 52:00
  And so, it helps with, for photo shoots, it helps if you have an awkward sunburn and you don't want the straps right here to show, or if your jewelry box falls out of your closet and scrapes the heck out of your leg.
• 52:11
  I just put it on, so I just hope I didn't get any on the chair.
• 52:14
  No.
• 52:14
  We'll have to look after this.
• 52:15
  But wait, did you use it when you were on the news, when you were on air?
• 52:17
  Yeah.
• 52:17
  No, we didn't know.
• 52:17
  I, I didn't know about it then.
• 52:18
  Ooh.
• 52:18
  No, I wish I had of because, you know- And I just thought you cut yourself shaving.
• 52:22
  Yeah.
• 52:22
  'Cause Oh, it, well, this has been here for two months.
• 52:25
  It's, it looks gnarly.
• 52:25
  Think of how long- Yeah Mm it's gnarly stuff that's taken to get to that.
• 52:28
  Gosh.
• 52:28
  Wow.
• 52:28
  Wow.
• 52:28
  So the cream works.
• 52:30
  And so, but just even as women get older- Wow or maybe they have veins, or maybe they have whatever- Right it's the Hollywood cream that the celebs are using, and I th- it's called Westmore.
• 52:38
  So body makeup.
• 52:39
  Big black tube.
• 52:40
  Yeah, it's body makeup.
• 52:41
  Oh, I love that.
• 52:41
  Yeah, yeah.
• 52:42
  You know, you too can- Good look like a shaving cut- Good when it's really a deep gouge.
• 52:45
  I love a clumsy girl.
• 52:46
  Good tip.
• 52:46
  I also- Are you?
• 52:48
  I love a clumsy girl.
• 52:49
  I, well, I- Oh.
• 52:50
  And I also love when I hear things that people ordered from, like, a targeted ad, and it works.
• 52:56
  Yes, yes.
• 52:56
  You know?
• 52:56
  Like, a lot of the times- Right I'm, like, ordering something.
• 52:58
  Yeah.
• 52:58
  And I'm, like, my new obsession is TikTok Shop, which I- should have never been introduced to.
• 53:03
  Ooh.
• 53:04
  But my nanny introduced me to it- Oh, no and I was like,"You should not have been- And now you're a goner.
• 53:07
  This is where all, like, younger people order.
• 53:09
  Yeah, and it's like 90% off.
• 53:11
  Yes.
• 53:11
  It's like- And you're like,"Ah." Yes.
• 53:11
  And it's like basically a- a- an Amazon rabbit hole.
• 53:15
  That's not my pink spotlight of the week.
• 53:16
  Oh, my gosh.
• 53:17
  But it's like...
• 53:17
  And I would order stuff, like, and I'm like,"I hope this works," you know?
• 53:20
  Did it work?
• 53:20
  Like- Did it sometimes work?
• 53:21
  Some of the stuff has worked, but- I saw something you did where it was rolling your face out, and I'm like,"Oh, that's good to know." Oh, yeah, my- I'll have to try that one morning.
• 53:26
  That was my pink spotlight.
• 53:28
  We have, we have one here actually.
• 53:29
  Yes.
• 53:29
  That was my pink spotlight last week.
• 53:31
  Yes, that does work.
• 53:31
  And it tightens.
• 53:32
  That was an Amazon buy.
• 53:33
  Yeah, she won't share it if it doesn't work.
• 53:34
  Yeah.
• 53:35
  Got it.
• 53:35
  Yeah.
• 53:36
  Well, that's good to know.
• 53:36
  Yeah.
• 53:36
  Okay.
• 53:37
  But I love- Well- when I know, like, when I'm like,"Ooh- That's a good one somebody found that- Yeah.
• 53:40
  and this is the real thing.
• 53:42
  Yes.
• 53:42
  Like, I love to hear that- Mm-hmm'cause I always see those ads.
• 53:44
  Now I'm gonna get them every day.
• 53:45
  Okay.
• 53:46
  Yes.
• 53:46
  Westmore.
• 53:46
  Okay.
• 53:47
  All right.
• 53:47
  Cool.
• 53:47
  Done.
• 53:47
  Westmore.
• 53:48
  What about you, T?
• 53:49
  What do you have for us this week?
• 53:50
  Okay.
• 53:51
  I'm going to share my new obsession- Oh.
• 53:53
  And it is my Meta glasses.
• 53:54
  Oh.
• 53:55
  Oh, yes.
• 53:55
  I actually- Yes have two pairs now.
• 53:57
  I have one that are sunglasses for when I'm driving- Yeah or walking, and then I have one for, like, when I'm in the house, and I am obsessed with them.
• 54:05
  She doesn't take them off.
• 54:05
  I don't take them off.
• 54:06
  Oh, and they look so good.
• 54:07
  They have the blue light lens- Mm-hmm so when you're doing computer work- Yes or when you're on your phone, they're good for that.
• 54:13
  Right.
• 54:13
  You can get prescription.
• 54:14
  I don't need prescription yet.
• 54:16
  But instead of wearing my AirPods,'cause I would wear AirPods, like- Yes all day long.
• 54:21
  Me too.
• 54:21
  Just, like, all around the clock because I don't...
• 54:23
  I don't know.
• 54:24
  If I'm, like, editing or listening to something or- Yeah doing, like, anything- Yeah related, not everybody around me needs to hear what I'm doing.
• 54:29
  Right.
• 54:29
  So you can, like, play the audio through here.
• 54:31
  You can take pictures.
• 54:32
  You can take videos.
• 54:33
  I find that, like, when I'm watching my children enjoy something and I wanna document them and I'm, like, filming them on my phone- Yes It takes you- I'm in the moment out of the moment.
• 54:42
  Yes.
• 54:42
  Yes.
• 54:42
  But it takes me- Yes out of the moment.
• 54:44
  Yes.
• 54:44
  So you can do everything, like, on here.
• 54:45
  I really like them a lot.
• 54:46
  I also learned- And they look super cute because your husband was giving me, like, a TED Talk about them the other night.
• 54:50
  We all have them now.
• 54:50
  I know.
• 54:51
  We all have them.
• 54:51
  My kids have the- And he was like, he was like an infomercial when I saw him the other day.
• 54:54
  And he said that there is a light, though, that goes on when you're filming so people- People know.
• 54:59
  So you know.
• 54:59
  Yes.
• 54:59
  People know.
• 55:00
  So when you're on- There's a courtesy light, so you're not just- Thank goodness being filmed creepy.
• 55:03
  But I- We took- Which I liked.
• 55:05
  I was like- Well, Me and my mom took the kids to New York a few weeks ago to go to the American Girl doll store, and my son- Oh, fun Joseph was like,"Noni, will you take me to Meta?" Yeah.
• 55:11
  So they got a full Meta tutorial.
• 55:14
  Love it.
• 55:14
  Wow.
• 55:15
  And everybody in the family ended up getting a pair because we were all, except for the twins, like, everybody was like,"We're in." Yeah, but they- Like, how did we not have them, right?
• 55:22
  Yeah.
• 55:22
  You're real- It's kind of one of those things where you're, like, really using.
• 55:24
  It's like cost per wear- I really use it.
• 55:27
  Yes.
• 55:27
  It's like- Yeah.
• 55:27
  But I will say that they're up to generation three now, so one, two, three.
• 55:30
  Okay.
• 55:31
  You can buy a o- generation one.
• 55:32
  They have all the same technologies.
• 55:34
  Right.
• 55:34
  Right.
• 55:34
  Maybe the camera's not as good.
• 55:35
  Are but I bought the generation one'cause I didn't need the most expensive pair.
• 55:38
  Okay.
• 55:39
  I think I'm influenced'cause you guys both like'em, right?
• 55:41
  Love'em.
• 55:41
  And they're cute.
• 55:42
  Okay.
• 55:42
  I look cute in them.
• 55:42
  Love'em.
• 55:42
  They're, they're, they're really flattering.
• 55:42
  And they're functional.
• 55:43
  Yeah.
• 55:43
  They're like the most- Not that I care about how I look or anything functional.
• 55:52
  is my new fitness class that I started- Mm to go to a couple weeks ago.
• 55:56
  T joined me a couple- Mm-hmm of the times.
• 55:58
  I have always said that since becoming a mom- You love it there.
• 56:01
  I love it.
• 56:02
  You love it there.
• 56:03
  So I've been probably for the last five-ish years, like, a workout h- work out at home.
• 56:08
  At home.
• 56:08
  Yeah, yeah.
• 56:08
  Yeah.
• 56:09
  And I used to love going to fitness classes, but then when I became a mom- Yeah I was like,"I have to fit this in my schedule." Yeah.
• 56:15
  And really utilized working out at home, and I- that was great, but I joined a fitness class in town, and it's both, like, strength and then the reformer for Pilates.
• 56:27
  Ooh.
• 56:27
  And so it's a nice mix of the two, and it was very intimidating to go because I haven't been doing something like that in a really long time.
• 56:33
  T came with me, but I real- I've gone a ton, and I am very proud of myself for, like, getting out of the house- Yes meeting new people.
• 56:43
  It's an all-women workout place, so I really like that- Oh, it sounds great on the strength side because I get very intimidated.
• 56:49
  Mm-hmm, yeah.
• 56:49
  That is not my thing.
• 56:50
  I feel very at home on the reformer side, but it's very overwhelming on the other side.
• 56:54
  Yeah.
• 56:55
  And it's just been- Back to, like, women just being so freaking awesome.
• 57:00
  Mm-hmm.
• 57:01
  Everybody I've met over there is, knows I'm, like, new to that side.
• 57:05
  Everybody's been so encouraging.
• 57:07
  No- They, like, stopped in the middle of class to introduce themselves.
• 57:10
  So sweet.
• 57:11
  Wow.
• 57:11
  And like- Just all their help and support was very cool I always think, I just think later in life, you're like, women are amazing.
• 57:17
  Yeah.
• 57:17
  They are.
• 57:17
  Like, everyone is just so kind.
• 57:19
  There's no judgment.
• 57:20
  Yeah.
• 57:21
  I felt very welcomed.
• 57:22
  It's been very encouraging to go- Yeah and keep up with it.
• 57:26
  And now I feel like I'm one of those people where I'm like,"Ugh, this week, like, I'm traveling.
• 57:29
  The kids started school.
• 57:31
  It's just been too hard.
• 57:32
  Like, I'm missing the week." Yeah, you're, like, sad to miss.
• 57:33
  Yeah.
• 57:33
  And I'm sad.
• 57:34
  And it's, I love it.
• 57:35
  So shout-out to Fit for U CT.
• 57:38
  I will tag them in my pink spotlight, but I joined, and I am obsessed.
• 57:42
  I want to try.
• 57:43
  So I'm excited.
• 57:44
  Yes.
• 57:44
  Yeah.
• 57:44
  It's been really fun.
• 57:45
  Oh my gosh.
• 57:45
  I'm gonna get the link from you guys.
• 57:46
  It's great.
• 57:46
  Really fun.
• 57:47
  Fun.
• 57:48
  So, but we are so, so happy to have you here.
• 57:51
  Thank you.
• 57:52
  We appreciate all of your wisdom- Thank you and sharing everything that you shared.
• 57:55
  This was an incredible convo.
• 57:56
  Thank you for being so kind to us.
• 57:57
  I know.
• 57:58
  Does it get lost on us- I know when other people- It really doesn't take time out of their lives- Mm-hmm to enhance ours.
• 58:03
  Mm-hmm.
• 58:03
  You know?
• 58:04
  We really appreciate it.
• 58:05
  Well, it's only just begun, ladies.
• 58:06
  I know.
• 58:06
  We got a lot of time, and a lot of years, and a lot of- I know neighborhood stuff to do next.
• 58:11
  Yeah, and so we didn't really, we didn't talk about this, but how we kind of connected was you listened to our podcast.
• 58:16
  Yeah.
• 58:16
  And then you were writing an article, because you also write articles for a magazine.
• 58:20
  We'll also tag- Yeah all this information in the show notes, too.
• 58:23
  And you reached out to us to interview us on female friendships.
• 58:27
  Yes,'cause you happened- And- to be talking- Yeah about exactly what the article was about.
• 58:31
  Right.
• 58:32
  And I'm like,"Oh, wait.
• 58:32
  Like, they'd be perfect." Yep.
• 58:33
  They're friends.
• 58:34
  It's on girlfriends.
• 58:35
  Let's feature them.
• 58:36
  Yep.
• 58:36
  So we've had photo shoots since then.
• 58:39
  Yep.
• 58:39
  We have, uh, you know, articles done.
• 58:41
  Lots of conversations.
• 58:42
  We've, yeah, lots of conversations.
• 58:42
  Yep.
• 58:43
  Well, we're really excited for that, too.
• 58:44
  Yeah.
• 58:44
  So that was really exciting.
• 58:45
  I know.
• 58:45
  That'll be fun.
• 58:46
  So thank you for that.
• 58:47
  Of course.
• 58:47
  And we'd love to have you back on, and we'll chat something else- Yes next time.
• 58:50
  But- Who knows what'll bring next time?
• 58:51
  I know.
• 58:52
  No, when she's in her another era of something.
• 58:56
  She's gonna, she's gonna come in her Carhartts.
• 58:57
  Yeah.
• 58:57
  I'll be in my Carhartts.
• 58:58
  Yes.
• 58:58
  Oh, we love to hear it.
• 58:59
  To cover up any potential injuries or cuts and- We're gonna talk about how to remodel your home on a budget.
• 59:04
  I know.
• 59:05
  So Carrie- And perfect and, uh, Carrie Lee, where can we find you on anything and everything?
• 59:09
  Yeah, so it's all just Carrie Lee Meylan.
• 59:11
  Perfect.
• 59:11
  It's carrieleemeylan.com.
• 59:11
  It's carrieleemeylan on Instagram.
• 59:11
  No, you can get on.
• 59:11
  It's carrieleemeylan on Facebook.
• 59:15
  I love it.
• 59:16
  Or just do a Google search, and I apologize for some of what you'll see.
• 59:20
  Yeah.
• 59:20
  But.
• 59:20
  Or you're welcome.
• 59:20
  Not all true.
• 59:21
  You're welcome.
• 59:21
  Or you're welcome.
• 59:22
  Thank you so much.
• 59:23
  Right.
• 59:24
  It was so great to have you.
• 59:24
  Thank you, ladies.
• 59:25
  We'll see you guys next week.
• 59:26
  Bye.
• 59:27
  Bye.