Yesterday at work I met a man who is 91 years old. He had the bright spirit of a man in his twenties. He was born in 1929, right on the eve of the Great Depression. He’s currently living in his 11th decade. When I asked him which decade has been his favorite, he said the ‘40s because those were the years when he’d go to Appleton to watch the horses race. He loved the excitement of it all. When he asked his girlfriend’s father for her hand in marriage, he was told they had to wait until she turned 21 before they could wed. He married her the day after her 21st birthday. She was the bride of hi ..read more

I’ve tried to sit down and write so many times in the past few weeks. I get a string of words out in a rush, then backspace them just as quickly. No phrase seems to fit right. Every angle somehow feels awkward and wrong. I feel like I have something to say but no way to say it. Yesterday I realized that while I don’t have an answer to offer or prediction to make in this weird, historical, heartbreaking time, I do have an awful lot of questions. I think maybe we all do? I started jotting some down last night. Turns out a good session of question asking was just about the most help ..read more

This episode is definitely in my top 5 favorite conversations I’ve had with guests on the show. I’m joined by my friend Sam Sutherland this week for a lively discussion about his summer spent salmon fishing off the coast of Alaska. I basically just turned on the mics and asked Sam a on of questions about his experience, and what I learned was fascinating!  We talked about everything from life on the boat to crew dynamics to what it’s like weathering a strong storm in the middle of the sea. (Spoiler alert: It’s scary!) Sam brings a unique approach to life and work that’s equal pa ..read more

Surprise! I’m dropping not one but two podcast episodes this week! In this episode of our well-nourished work life series, I’m joined by David Porto, a friend of mine who co-owns a catering company here in southern Wisconsin. David is an amazing leader, is sharp as a tack, and is incredibly generous with his time. But what I appreciate most about him is that he’s not afraid to go deep. In this conversation we talk about the ins and outs of his work life but we also dive deeper into a discussion around career fulfillment, servant leadership, the value of delegating, and how introver ..read more

Life Well Nourished is back! Welcome to Season 3. If you’re familiar with the podcast you know that we talk about a wide range of topics around here—everything from health and wellness to spirituality, creativity, entrepreneurship, personality typing…all things that play a role in contributing to a well-nourished life. But this season, we’re narrowing our focus a bit. Season 3 is all about exploring pathways to a well-nourished work life. I had the great privilege of sitting down with a handful of guests recently from a really wide spectrum of career backgrounds. Over the coming ..read more

Prefer to listen to an audio recording of this post? Listen with the player below. *** My kitchen is warm with lingering oven heat and the scent of rosemary. I reach for the Pyrex to tuck some leftovers away into the fridge. Balsamic-stained dishes teeter high next to the sink. I’m tired and I’m happy. The sound of laughter bubbles like a fizzy drink in my living room. Five friends sit gathered around two narrow desks I pushed together in the middle of the room for a makeshift dining table. The chairs are mismatched—some are mine and some are borrowed from my neighbor down the ..read more

It’s the season finale of the podcast! As we round out this season, I’m joined by none other than my incredible sister for a chat all about personal discovery. When it comes to personality typing, there is a CRAZY amount of info out there about everything from Myers Briggs to Enneagram to StrengthsFinder to love languages and beyond! It’s all a little bonkers, isn’t it? In this episode, Brianna and I don’t dive into specific personality frameworks but instead we talk about the bigger point behind all that stuff: the deep value of learning who we are. We talk through a few of the way ..read more

This week on Life Well Nourished, we’re diving into one of my favorite topics with one of my favorite people! I’m chatting with my sister Brianna all about introversion. We’re both introverts and have learned a lot over the years about how to survive (and thrive!) as introverts in a seemingly extroverted world. In this conversation Brianna helps define introversion for us and shares about her experience as an introvert living in a house full of people. We also talk about weak spots introverts should watch out for, the joys and challenges of interacting with extroverts, and how to v ..read more

Yesterday my friend Nicola and I (and a bunch of others) bundled up to watch her husband and brother in law run a marathon…and today Nicola’s joining me on my podcast! There are just three episodes left in this season of the show. This week and next week we’re exploring two of my favorite topics: extroversion and introversion. Today on the show Nicola, a delightful extrovert, joins me to explore what it means to be a healthy extrovert. We talk through a definition of extroversion and from there explore ways in which extroverts can thrive in their lives by appreciating their strengths ..read more

This week on Life Well Nourished we’re diving into spirituality with Scott Cunningham, an Anglican priest, husband, and father who brings so much insight to this conversation. We’re talking about spiritual home. What is it? Why do we need it? And why are so many of us walking around feeling spiritually homeless? Although my Christian faith has been central to my life since early childhood, I’ve dealt with many seasons of spiritual homelessness and homesickness over the years. This conversation with Scott offered me some great perspective on where that may stem from and how those of ..read more