My 11-year-old daughter asked for a $40 Stanley Quencher for Christmas and that inspired me to bring back my podcast.  ///// Shout out to these water bottles: Stanley Quencher | Owala Freesip | Hydroflask | Yeti Rambler | Nalgene Ultralight | Gatorade SqueezeGo deeper: @TheBuyGuide | Stanley marketing | Mormon Mommy Blog Empires via Kate KennedyMembership community: BestStuff.substack.com | Instagram: @MyInternetBesties ★ Support this podcast ★

Today by the way, the new year falls on a Monday, so it's this feels like the best day to relaunch things. Welcome to My Internet Besties. This time it's more than a podcast. It's a community for moms in the middle- midlife, midday, or mid-mess. New episodes come every Monday morning and our Best Stuff is on Substack at BestStuff.Substack.com. Community: BestStuff.Substack.comIG: @MyInternetBestiesBlog: MyInternetBesties.com (coming soon!) ★ Support this podcast ★

You may have heard the news: I have landed my dream job as the community manager for my favorite podcast. Today I share why doing a solo podcast was harder than I thought plus my hopes for the final seven episodes of TBTW and what’s next for this beloved community and My Internet Besties.

It’s the first Monday of the year, so NOW is the time we actually buckle down on our new year's resolutions. Today we discuss our dashed dreams of 2020, our word of the year for 2021, and the one thing that I’ve used for goal planning for the last three years. 

Oh, Alex Trebek, what a gift you were to the world. Today I discuss my unrealized childhood dream of appearing on Jeopardy and the best thing you can use to prepare yourself for your own Jeopardy audition. I also discuss my stance on video games, where I’m buying a Nintendo Switch, and what new recipe I’m trying for Thanksgiving (Hint: it’s the main event). Also: #TeamHam. Today’s episode is brought to you by Care/of, a wellness brand that makes it easy to maintain your health goals with a...

A quiet explanation about TBTW's absence... basically my voice is gone and it's been gone for a week. 

It’s my birthday so today I talk about the legal battle it took to get the Happy Birthday song into public domain. My plan next year is to sign up for allllll the birthday freebies during the month of October, and this week’s challenge is to leave a glowing review for all the podcasters you love.

Yesterday’s bonus episode was about how Jesus changed everything in my life so today’s bonus episode is what that looks like, practically speaking, for me as a busy mom and for us as a family with little kids. 

I’ve shared this story in bits and pieces with my church and my closest friends know the details, but I’ve never shared it in a public space, despite living somewhat publicly online most of my adult life. I hope you can hear it not as my story, but rather as God’s redeeming story in my life so far. This is a bonus episode, so if we don't share the same faith of if you carry church hurt, please feel free to skip this. I'll see you Friday.

It’s my birthday week! I thought I’d kick off this episode with how not great my 40th year has been… except when it comes to my skin! My adult skin hasn’t looked this good maybe ever and that’s because my skincare routine used to be: Step one: sometimes wipe my face off with a makeup remover wipe. Step two: There is no step two. Now I have lots of steps and I’m trying new makeup and honestly? It helps get me moving in the mornings. 

We’ve established that I was not a cool kid, right? Despite this, one day in 7th grade I decided to rap my student council speech. Today I discuss how I see a little bit of that in one of my kids and ponder if I might give her a heads up. Our #TBTWChallenge this week is to try something different with your makeup and our good time / good deal is super cheap bedding and J.Crew’s early access Black Friday 50% off sale.

I was making fun of the way Chris draws a star (guys, he starts at the top! I thought everyone started the lower left!) and we started chatting about all the mundane things that we do that we never stopped to think about how others do those same things. Toilet paper: over or under? Stars? Start at the top of lower left? Toothbrush: toothpaste goes on a wet brush or a dry brush? ... and more!

The is an entire episode in the format of our Good Time / Good Deal Section! Today and tomorrow Walmart, Target, Best Buy, and Amazon are having Black Friday-esque sales. All the deals mentioned are linked at TBTW.IN/86.

Warning: I say the word sexy a lot. Like a lot a lot. If you don’t want to have to answer “Mommy, what’s ‘sexy’ mean?” pop those headphones on.  If last week was the heaviest episode this is the lightest. Today I discuss our family’s Halloween history and then tell the story of when I found out that Sexy Halloween wasn’t just something from the movies. 

CONTENT ADVISORY: This is the heaviest episode we’ve had to date as we discuss emotional exhaustion, cancer, death, depression, and infant loss and grief. As a parent, I thought I knew tiredness, but collective exhaustion is a whole new kind of tiredness. If you’re feeling hardened and delicate, just know, you’re not alone.  If you or someone you know is suicidal or in emotional distress, contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. 1-800-273-TALK (8255) - TTY: 800-799-4889 or Live...

Chris joins me for an unscripted, unedited conversation about autumn, the best month of the year, the worst exercise ever created, and how to give every person the best gift ever.

So American Girl just came out with a doll for their HISTORICAL line who is from 1986. Guess I’ll go lay down with the Crypt Keeper now. Just kidding. I plan to put myself on the Paul Rudd plan and just not age. 

Do you remember, the 21st night of September? Maybe after tonight you will...  Today we talk about September 21st, how part of RBG's legacy was her friendship with her political opposite Justice Scalia, and I share three places to find good sweaters now that tomorrow is officially fall. Also, Earth, Wind, & Fire, please don't sue me.

I saw my first big crush holding a Simon and Garfunkel CD and it opened a whole new world for me. That crush went nowhere, but it did convince me that music could tell me a whole lot about a person and I was later endeared to Chris after he mailed me the perfect mix CD. I take my playlists very seriously and made one just for you (check the show notes).

I used to hate ketchup but then one day I changed my mind and there’s a scientific explanation. Do you know what there’s no explanation for? The fact that I once broke a world record and forgot about it (don’t let anyone tell you that mom brain isn’t real). 

Nineteen years ago My friend Kati told us that one day our children would ask us where we were on September 11, 2001, and she was right. We shared the full story with our kids at the dinner table tonight and now I share that with you (including how I empathize with Toby Keith? TELL NO ONE). ). 

It’s Labor Day! What’s the deal with not wearing white between now and Memorial Day? Let me tell you about the OG influencers who put this trend in action and (the mean reason) why. Also: For the first time in my life, I found an exercise that I love: rowing.

How can I be expected to have a friend group when I don’t even have one good friend? I know that’s a lot to ask, but hopefully, I explain why this is necessary.  Our community challenge this week is to declutter your digital network. Keep, mute, and delete so that your feed gives you what you want more of.

We talk about friendship a lot here on TBTW, but I don’t know if we’ve ever talked about what to do if a friendship has run its course, if a friendship is unbalanced, or if a historical friendship can sustain currency differences. Part two comes Friday.