Prickly and Blooming

Thriving in your role as a step-mom can be a real challenge even for the best of us. For Jennie Herm, hitting a wall in her attempts to help raise her two young stepsons set her off on a journey to the kind of breakthrough most stepmoms dream of.

Living and working off of a 1200 acre cotton farm in Texas with her husband and two stepchildren, Jennie followed conventional wisdom and poured herself into treating her two bonus kids the same way she had treated her daughter— like her own. However, she quickly learned that conventional wisdom isn't one size fits all.

Listen in as she shares her journey to defining her own role. Hear about how she's developed a relationship with the mother of her stepchildren and how stepping back helped her embrace who she was meant to be.

• [00:46] Intro
• [1:26] Meet Jennie Herm
• [03:19] Creating a denim business with her husband
• [05:32] Her pivot point as a stepmom
• [08:45] Hitting the bottom
• [12:27] Why "treat them as your own" is a setup
• [15:36] Developing a relationship with the mother of her stepchildren
• [17:56] Letting go of a role that wasn't hers
• [20:09] Her eagle moment and finally feeling seen
• [32:13] Loving with more integrity
• [34:24] Empowering her partner and avoiding creating an at-fault parent
• [39:23] Eagle behavior
• [42:59] The tools she uses to maintain
• [45:03] Connecting with Jenny
• [46:34] Her new step-mom slogan
• [47:23] Outro

• Allred Farms

• "In all fairness to their mother, I'd taken on a role that wasn't mine and it wasn't fair to her." -Jennie Herm [14:51]
• "I was making myself small in my relationship to them by thinking that I had to throw myself at them all of the time and that they needed to see me. And really, the big way to be an eagle in this situation is to step back and just be an eagle and nobody's not going to see you and your efforts are not going to go unnoticed." -Jennie Herm [31:45]
• "Trying to be seen by other people just doesn't work. It's got to be a mirror. Who knew." -Jessie Browning [39:53]

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Allred Farms

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Bridget Barrett-Parker found out when she was 25 years old that she was pregnant. As she became a single mom, she grappled with what was happening, how she got there and how to move forward. In this episode of Prickly and Blooming, Bridget talks to host Jessie Browning about this experience and how parenting and becoming a Montessori teacher formed her business, Stable Bow Consulting, that she describes as helping parents CTFD ("calm the fuck down").

Episode Timeline:

• [00:03] Intro
• [03:33] Meet Bridget Barrett-Parker
• [04:22] Becoming a single mom
• [06:11] Finding out she was pregnant
• [09:08] Returning to the states
• [14:33] The pandemic opened her eyes
• [20:54] Being home with her children
• [29:10] Starting Stable Bow Consulting
• [34:38] The mindset is the most important piece
• [42:24] A learned helplessness
• [47:09] What she does with her consulting business
• [52:19] Contacting Bridget Barrett-Parker
• [52:56] Jessie's rapid fire questions
• [57:34] Outro

Resources Mentioned:

• Montessori education
• Aaron Carter
• Go, Dog. Go! by P. D. Eastman
• Kahlil Gibran
• On Children by Kahlil Gibran
• Codependent No More: How to Stop Controlling Others and Start Caring for Yourself by Melody Beattie

Standout Quotes:

• "For the next 10 years, just kind of buckling down, diving into my role as montessori teacher and learning as much as I could, committing fully, and then stepping away and saying, ‘You know what, my family needs me right now. I'm home. I'm dedicated to what I'm doing,' and just realizing again like ,'Wow, I really don't like being a stay-at-home mom.'" -Bridget Barrett-Parker [04:11]
• "COVID brought up so much in this beautiful opportunity that I don't think that we necessarily get, you know, when the bus is running full steam, but it's also really painful. It's really painful to step back and to pause and to question, to constantly question yourself as exhausting." -Bridget Barrett-Parker [17:52]
• "Having that experience earlier in life of going through, again what felt like rock bottom, gives you the perspective and the space to say ‘Pause, I've done hard things before and I can do hard things again, and this won't last forever.'" -Bridget Barrett-Parker [21:42]

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Learn more about Bridget Barrett-Parker:

Stable Bow Consulting website

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In this episode of Prickly and Blooming, host Jessie Browning speaks with Chelse, founder and owner of Smoky Mmmm-Eats, a vegan, plant-based food company. Chelse talks about how leaving Texas to move to New England helped her appreciate her Texas and Louisiana roots, and she also shares how she went from chemical engineering to starting her own business.

Episode Timeline:

• [00:03] Intro
• [02:10] About the Texas women series
• [04:46] Meet Chelse
• [06:04] The first time she left Texas
• [08:28] Studying chemical engineering
• [11:33] How the cities felt different
• [17:50] An appreciation of where she came from
• [21:16] Houston and Beaumont
• [23:58] Tacos, husband and Boston
• [30:42] Looked across the border in Rhode Island
• [33:22] No more meat
• [39:22] Creating her own vegan meat company
• [45:40] BBQ and Southern culture
• [50:06] Changing how vegan food is defined
• [51:26] Contacting Chelse
• [52:42] Jessie's rapid fire questions

Resources Mentioned:

• Pioneer Valley Transit Authority (PVTA)
• Drexel University
• King of the Hill
• Pledge of Allegiance to the Texas State Flag
• Prejean's
• Boston Harbor
• Earthlings
• Seitan
• Fakin' Bacon
• Hope & Main
• Jackfruit
• Salt Fat Acid Heat by Samin Nosrat

Standout Quotes:

• "I figured if I went to school in Texas, I thought I would never leave." -Chelse [09:25]
• "Vegan food doesn't have to be a sacrifice." -Chelse [43:55]
• "Food is a universal type of language. It transcends cultures, and I want vegan food to be able to do that as well." -Chelse [50:07]

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Smoky Mmmm-Eats' website

Email Smoky Mmmm-Eats

Smoky Mmmm-Eats on Instagram

For Dr. Wendy Slinkard, change had to come before she hit the ground. Giving up alcohol served as a powerful catalyst for change that she didn't know her life was missing.

Today, Wendy sits down with host Jessie Browning to talk about taking control. She shares her experience recognizing the role alcohol played in her life and how she knew it was time to let it go for good. Hear her story of transitioning from chiropractic doctor to stay-at-home mom as she shares her passion for health and the platform she's creating for women like her.

• [00:03] Intro
• [00:45] Meet Wendy Slinkard
• [03:36] The moment her life changed
• [08:02] Quietly committing to herself and sobriety
• [11:33] Getting to her moment of clarity
• [17:15] Alcohol, coping and getting close to the bottom
• [19:07] The mommy culture dilemma
• [25:21] What has been working
• [30:23] Choosing to step away from her chiropractic work
• [32:43] Creating a platform for health and lifestyle
• [40:52] What she learned about alcohol and sugar
• [53:05] Cutting out sugar
• [59:24] Why you don't need a rock bottom
• [1:01:19] Contacting Wendy Slinkard
• [1:03:07] Outro

• This Naked Mind
• Quit Like A Woman

• "It didn't have to get to this nasty, big bomb of a bottom. Like, it can be enough that it's a problem without that. -Jessie Browning[20:16]
• "You have to accept that you're going to be going against the social norms and it's going to make people uncomfortable and that's still something I struggle with." -Wendy Slinkard [57:06]
• "You just have to get sick and tired of your own crap. You know? Sick and tired of being sick and tired." -Wendy Slinkard [1:00:06]
• Even bigger than giving up this or that, it's gotta be so much more than that. It's gotta be more about finding your own identity and going for that despite what other people might think. -Wendy Slinkard [1:00:44]

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Wendy Slinkard on Instagram

Wendy Slinkard Jewelry Consultant

Johanna Burkhardt knew she had to directly face her emotions from a death in her family rather than push them aside.

Today, Johanna sits down with host Jessie Browning to talk about she used this moment to not only bring herself back up, but also help and guide others dealing with trauma. Hear what healing tools and coping mechanism helped her and how she launched her Soul Evolution movement during COVID-19 pandemic.

• [00:03] Intro
• [01:12] Meet Johanna Burkhardt
• [02:52] The moment her life changed
• [04:16] A big shift in her life
• [13:12] Hitting the bottom
• [22:59] The day everything changed for her
• [23:14] The quote that got her out of bed
• [23:49] Realizing what matters the most
• [26:04] Facing what you're feeling
• [26:28] What saved her life
• [26:49] Discovering her mission
• [27:27] The pivotal moment when the pattern comes to an end
• [28:03] Putting your ego into work for you
• [28:47] The best advice she's received
• [32:32] Feeling becomes your fuel
• [34:12] Suffering is self obsession
• [36:32] Creating your reality and be the change
• [37:13] Self-realization
• [38:09] Four ways to find your root cycles
• [43:08] Using your survival instincts
• [48:38] Possibility or opportunity
• [50:37] How to get unstuck
• [53:13] Tools that work
• [54:44] What spirituality means to Johanna
• [55:12] Remembering the basics
• [56:22] Wound of abandonment
• [58:12] Her new routine for 40 days
• [1:02:42] Where the magic lies
• [1:03:18] Determining if an accountability partner works for you
• [1:04:45] Launching her Soul Evolution movement during COVID-19 pandemic
• [1:10:13] Johanna's work
• [1:12:08] Becoming a medium
• [1:17:38] Responding from a place of love
• [1:20:43] Contacting Johanna Burkhardt
• [1:22:32] Outro

• Gabby Bernstein - "May Cause Miracles: A 40-Day Guidebook of Subtle Shifts for Radical Change and Unlimited Happiness"
• Sylvia Browne
• Insight Timer

• "Here's the thing. You can't outrun your problems, right? What you don't face will return." -Johanna Burkhardt [04:08]
• "Your emotions have to be digested the same way food is. It has to be. And those raw emotions, they become the fuel for your driving force, your engine, your solar plexus. It is in sitting with and feeling those emotions and allowing yourself to not be a victim of them, but just say you know what, it's ok for me to feel right now." -Johanna Burkhardt [30:53]
• "We're not afraid of anything but we are afraid of feeling everything." -Johanna Burkhardt [32:16]
• "If it's not challenging you, it's not changing you." -Jessie Browning [59:44]
• "But if you want to create change in your life, you have to consistently show up for yourself even when you don't want to do it. Because here's the thing, what you resist is your greatest potential. What you resist is exactly what you need. So the more resistant you become to it, the further you come to getting the solution to the problem that you've been seeking. " -Johanna Burkhardt [01:01:49]

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