Medium Lady Talks

Medium Lady Talks about Nail Polish

Hello, hi! Today's episode is all about nail polish... can you really pull of a full episode on nail polish? Well I love nail polish so much I'm willing to try.
In this episode I talk about:
LOW EFFORT nail polish - decided you want polish but can't handle any maintenance? I'll give you my recommendation for the "best set it and forget it" options
HIGH EFFORT nail polish - were you a bride in the 2000s like I was? Then this manicure/polish combo is going to sound very familiar to you...
MEDIUM EFFORT nail polish - I'll give my favourite type of nail polish, favourite colours and why. Plus I'll make a very sound recommendation for a specific budget friendly drugstore brand, I know you're going to want to try it.
PLUS a pretty great wife/husband nail polish YouTube account and the IG nail polish craze that has everyone under the influence (including me!)
If you want more thoughts on this episode, or musings about the many ways to love nail polish, please connect with me on Instagram @medium.lady
Music is Climb by The Ghost in the Machine - it is used with creative commons licence and I am grateful for their sharing it for use on my podcast.

Medium Lady Talks about Books Spring 2021

Hello, hi! It's time for a book review round up! I was so excited to record this podcast that I kept reading "one more book" so I would have enough to share with you.... however this episode now contains 14 books for review! Settle in, you're sure to find something to welcome into your reading life! If you want to see more of my discussion about books I plan to read please join me on Instagram @medium.lady!
When it comes to books this spring I read 7 Fiction, 3 Personal Development and 4 Non-fiction!
I'll rank these 14 books from my least favourite to my most favourite and I do that in three categories:
PROBABLY PASS: Ever read a book, then shared with someone "nah, you could skip it"? These are my bottom three books. They're all either books that didn't deliver on their promises, or books that left me wanting more, either from the story, the writing or the perspective.
KNOW YOURSELF: All books are not written for all people. I'm going to reach for more books that suit me, the better I know myself! The books in this category make up the necessary middle of the pack, they weren't bad, but I'm not going to recommend them to everyone, unless you identify with a particular element or feature of the book. 
MEDIUM LADY MUST READS: These are books I liked the most, and also are books that I feel will appeal to the broadest group of readers. These books not only suit me and my reading style but I feel like they have something to offer another reader!  
Books discussed in today's episode include: (in no particular order):
The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna
Maybe You Should Talk To Someone by Lori Gottlieb
Skin Care by Caroline Hirons
Professional Troublemaker by Luvvie Ajayi-Jones
Kingdom of Ash and Tower at Dawn by Sarah J Maas
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel Vander Kolk
The Skin We're In by Desmond Cole
Burnout by Emily and Amelia Nagoski
Delicious by Ruth Reichl
How to Break Up with your Phone by Catherine Price
The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel
Noopiming by Leanne Betasamosake Simpson
 
Music is Climb from The Ghost in the Machine and I am grateful for its availability for use on this podcast through creative commons licensing. 

Medium Lady Talks about Lowering the Bar with guest Emily Gibson

Hello, hi! I'm thrilled to introduce you to my BFF Emily, who joins me for today's episode on Lowering the bar. Emily and I break down our thoughts on lowering the bar in a few specific ways:
WHAT IT USED TO MEAN: Pre pannini "lowering the bar" meant something a little different than it does to us today, and it means different things for Emily than it means for Erin.
LOWERING THE BAR AS SELF_COMPASSION: Erin and Emily discuss lowering the bar as a mental health strategy when they experience depression or anxiety. And lowering the bar as a way to take a step back from what induces overwhelm to re-orient to what is really helping our wellbeing
HOW WE'RE LOWING THE BAR TODAY: In an effort to be a bit more practical, Erin and Emily discuss two areas of their respective lives where they are actively choosing to lower the bar. 
I hope this episode helps you sort out ways to proactively lower the bar in your own life as a way to experience more grace and less criticism. As always I would love to connect with you on Instagram, I can be found @medium.lady
Music is Climb by The Ghost in the Piano, it is used with creative commons license, and my thanks for it availability for use on my podcast.

Medium Lady Talks about Parenting on a Bad Day

Hello, hi! Have you ever had a bad day as a parent? Are you in the middle of a bad day right now? Today's episode covers some of my own reflections and process for dealing with a bad day. It doesn't fix anything, and doesn't even turn the day around, but it helps you get to the end with a bit more self-compassion and grace.
KNOW YOURSELF: Think about your bucket, what's going to take things from it? What's going to fill it even a tiny bit? What is going to trigger you today, what is going to give you a small moment of peace? Consider all possibilities. 
KNOW YOUR KIDS: Where are your kids on an emotional scale of 1 to meltdown? What might they need to fill their buckets? Where are they going to need the guidance of you, the grownup?
LOWER THE BAR: Imagine your day as a play on a stage. Think of the costumes, props and actors. Find a way to make the scene a bit easier. For me this is usually hot dogs for dinner...
SELF-COMPASSION BURSTS: Repeat after me "It's a bad day, and I'm doing ok." Now partner those words with something active and physical.
NOTICE RELIEF: Partner walk in the door? Baby down for a nap? Coffee hot? Notice with a brief pause. You got a wee bit of relief in your bad day. 
BAD DAYS END: Don't forget this. One bad day doesn't mean it's going to be a bad week or bad month. But if you're stuck in one of those know I hear you, and I've had them too. 
YOu're doing a good job. If you want to talk more about this episode please connect with me over on Instagram @medium.lady. I can't wait to talk to you soon.
Music is Climb by The Ghost in the Piano. It is used with creative commons license.

Medium Lady Talks about How to Connect to Your Intuition

Hello, hi! This episode is a partner to Episode 6 where I introduce my thoughts and ideas about intuition. Today I'll talk about my thoughts on three ways to connect to your intuition
HIGH EFFORT: high effort ways to connect with intuition require repeated habits, a willingness to fail and try again, and often lots of time and patience
LOW EFFORT: low effort ways to connect with intuition are brief and engage our senses to help us distance ourselves from the "hyper reactive" state that means there's too much going on for us to listen to intuition.
MEDIUM EFFORT: this is a practice of journalling. Journalling requires a bit of a prompt or a subject to think about, and can be a very rewarding way of listening to your own voice, and revisiting your voice through the passage of time.
For more of my thoughts on this and so many other topics, please connect with me over on Instagram, @medium.lady!
Music is Climb by The Ghost In the Piano it is used with permission under creative common license.
 

Medium Lady Talks about Intuition

Welcome to today's episode, all about INTUITION! I share my experience with becoming Zombie Erin at the end of 2020 and what it taught me about myself and about intuition. I also share that intuition became my "word of the year" for 2020, (despite the pitfalls of resolutions) and what I'm figuring out so far. 
In addition to this I'll talk about:
- what it means to get space so your intuition can be heard and felt
- how to step away from the demanding control panel of life
- INSTINCT vs INTUITION and which camp I'm in!
 
If you have thoughts on getting to know your intuition better, I'd love to connect with you over on instagram you can find me @medium.lady!
Music for this episode is Climb by The Ghost in the Piano, it is used with creative commons license.

Medium Lady Talks about FiveTips for Right Now

In this episode, Erin talks about five medium effort tips to try right now to have mindful fun. These tips are a collection of useful, actionable advice that have been tried and tested in the @medium.lady monthly assignments on Instagram.
The monthly assignment is a way that Erin decided up front how to spend her free time. These assignments, over time, have created a curated collection of practical tips and tricks that have helped her have mindful fun, every day.
These tips for Spring 2021 are:
1. Tell someone about what you're reading
2. Try a kindness challenge - ask someone for help
3. Drink a large water bottle in one sitting
4. Wear something special
5. Watch a kid's show
 
If you try any of these tips, especially the water one, please connect over on Instagram @medium.lady! 
Music Track is Climb provided by The Ghost in the Piano and used with creative commons license.

Medium Lady Talks about Doing Hard Things

In this episode, Erin talks about the last year of the pandemic and the themes and events that required her to re-consider her inner narrative when it comes to doing hard things. 
Back when we thought the quarantine was going to be a couple of weeks, to later on when she went back to work after Maternity Leave, there are a series of events worth looking back on. 
This episode wraps up with a final poem, originally posted to Instagram @medium.lady
When you arrive at your place
By Erin Vandeven
This week I laid bare my most complete self, in the stream in the Field of My Real Work.
 
It has been hard.
It has been painful.
It has peeled back the layers of appearance and perception and imposter syndrome.
What was left is what was always there. But I’m a bit raw. Very tender. Worn from my efforts.
 
What was left, in the Field, by the stream
revealed to me
that I have what it takes 
to step into the place in the world
that is made for me. 
 
But it takes real work.
So now I rest.
 *~*~*~
Welcome to Medium Lady Talks, the podcast extension of my writing and mindfulness experiment on Instagram @medium.lady.
Music Track is Climb provided by The Ghost in the Piano and used with creative commons license.

Medium Lady Talks to her Mama

Medium Lady Talks to her Mama, One Year Into the Pandemic.
Today, I talk to my Mama! We reflect on 5 questions that get us thinking about how much has changed since March of 2020. Mama and I have different experience and different reflections on what the pandemic has been like for us... but ultimately we end up in the same place. Listen and let us know what one year in the pandemic has meant for you.
This conversation originally aired live on Instagram @medium.lady
All questions were written by Laura Tremaine of the 10 Things to Tell You Podcast. You can find all ten questions in her episode 10 Questions to Mark One Year in the Pandemic - Listen here.
Music is Climb by Ghost in the Piano and used with creative commons license.
 

Medium Lady Talks about Red Lipstick

Hello hi! Welcome to Medium Lady Talks, the podcast extension of my writing and mindfulness experiment on Instagram @medium.lady. 
Today I'm going to talk about something I love to play with, makeup, and specifically red lipstick! I'm going to review red lipstick, from a high effort point of view, a low effort point of view and, my favourite, a medium effort point of view. 
Products recommended include:
Revlon HD Ultra Vinyl Lip Polish
Maybelline Superstay Matte Ink Liquid Lipstick
Burt's Bees Tinted LIp Balm 
Nars Velvet Matte Lip Crayon
 
Music track is Climb provided by The Ghost in the Piano and used with creative commons license.