This week, I am incredibly honored and excited to share this episode, in which my friend and favorite barista, Russ Powers, shares his journey from self-destruction to redesigning his whole life.

You won’t be disappointed. Russ opens up about his struggle with addiction that began as a child, lasted many years into adulthood, and eventually brought him to the brink of death. After he finally surrendered and decided to face the dark reality of his life, he slowly began learning a new way forward.

Healing isn’t linear, and in Russ’s story, we learn that we can choose every day to continue rewiring our brains, or we can choose to live unaware and fall back into unhealthy patterns.

This episode is well worth your time, and I enjoyed every single minute of this conversation.

Russ is the real deal. This authentic, hopeful, truth-telling interview inspired and reminded me that we really can have the kind of life we want if we are willing first to believe and then start taking small steps toward the future we want.

All the ways to connect with Russ!

Contact Russ through his email at russell@realitybydesign.net

Click the link below to purchase a copy of Russ’s book on Amazon today! There is also an app you can purchase on the App Store, called Reality By Design, that pairs beautifully with the book!

amazon.com/Reality-By-Design

If you or anyone you know is looking for life insurance or mortgage protection, check out Oak Harbor Finance at Oak Harbor Finance on Facebook!

Need a professional website built that doesn’t break the bank? Head to powerscreative.co to see all the great options Russ offers!

Coming soon, Russ will be launching his new solar business, smarthaven.house. If you are interested in some super cool solar solutions to prepare you for rising energy prices, this website is where you can explore all the possibilities!

And last but certainly not least, don’t forget to swing by LoveCraft Farms - Kombucha + Coffee, off of Sunshine, Friday or Saturday between 8 am and 2 pm to get the world’s most delicious coffee!

I realize our country is a complete shit show right now. I also realize that sometimes we need to disengage and care for our mental health. Today’s episode is exactly for that.

If you need to kick back, breathe, and laugh, this episode is for you.

If you love animals like crazy, this episode is for you.

If you enjoy silliness, stories, and a mom and her girls cutting up, you’re in the right place.

My teenage daughters bring absolute joy to this episode with their delightful animal stories and open-hearted, refreshing honesty.

In the midst of hardship and heartbreak, we all deserve to take moments to laugh and remember that there is still so much beauty in life to enjoy!

Huge hugs to all my animal lovers and their lovely animals!

This week I share a story of how my messy teen helped me discover some deeply unhealed parts of myself. Learning to parent our children in a completely different way than we were parented can be so exhausting, confusing, and difficult.

I discuss:

- my relationship with constant, high stress

- the book I am reading that is helping me change my brain

- how journaling opened my understanding

- why messes trigger me so bad

- the importance of setting boundaries

- the incredible conversation we had with our teen

- how I am learning to balance the things I "see"

- my advice to other parents who want to break the unhealthy parenting cycle and write their own story