Samantha's Secret Pleasures

Ever wondered about the hidden passions of your podcast hosts? In this spirited episode of Skirts Up, Samantha reveals intriguing hobbies that will leave you entertained and inspired. Discover the mystery behind 'Lottie don't lie' and what's new this season, including a colorful logo challenge and a custom item giveaway created by Melissa!

Samantha talks about her beloved book collection of inspirational titles to romance and thrilling mystery novels. Next Samantha delves into her passion for pen paling, sharing the joy of creative letters, while Melissa reveals that she has participated in her own spin on the craft!

Samantha’s hilarious plant-naming adventures will make even the brownest thumbs green with envy. Don't miss this captivating blend of humor, hobby talk, and heartfelt stories. Skirt up your day with curiosity and creativity!

#MonicaArya #KarenKingsbury #NoraRoberts #ColeenHoover

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Episode Transcript

(00:10):
If you got a problem?
Lottie's got the answer?
She won't sugarcoat them?
Cause it's Lottie and Lottiedon't lie?
Cause it's Lottie and Lottiedon't lie.

(00:31):
Hey, guys, it's Samantha and Melissa.
And today we're doing a LottieDon't Lie.
She don't.
So what is Lottie Don't Liethis season, though?
Because we've kind of madesome changes, haven't we?
We did.
We made a few changes.
Okay.
So last year, Lottie don't Lie.
I feel like we were.
She was kind of more of likean advice column is what she was
trying to be.
She was trying so hard.

(00:52):
She was cute, but it was,like, forced.
And Lottie is real.
Lottie is real.
And Lottie is you, me, everyone.
We kind of decided, like,she's an embodiment of, like, real
life.
So we decided to go ahead and,like, make our Lottie episodes this
season.
Like, every other season's aLottie episode.
If you.
As you know, because you're.
Well, not our fans.

(01:12):
Every other season or everyother episode.
Honestly, she's kind ofsprinkled in, like, sporadically
because we have so many guests.
Holy crap, guys, this seasonis exciting.
Jam packed.
Yeah.
Of guests.
Yeah.
So that's true.
We don't have as many Lottiesas before.
Like, we kind of had to useher as a filler last year, too.
Or I keep saying last year, but.

(01:34):
I know I did season.
It's okay.
But yeah, like, we're.
It's just pretty cool gettingto see that we.
Lottie is going to become herown thing.
She doesn't need to be forced.
She doesn't need to be a filler.
She's just going to pop inwhen she wants to and she needs to.
Yeah.
So our Lottie episodes aregoing to.
Be more about us, our lives,what's going on with us, and just
maybe a lesson in our livesthat we learned that we think that

(01:57):
you guys need to hear.
Would like to hear and couldlearn from as well.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Because I think you even hadpeople asking, like, I want to hear
more about you.
Yeah.
So what you guys have asked iswhat today will be about.
Exactly.
Did you guys notice?
Of course you guys noticed.
I'm sure that.
Of course they did.
Let's give them the benefit ofthe doubt.

(02:17):
They did.
I mean, hello.
That our cover photo and ourlogo has changed.
Yeah.
She's so cute.
She is cute.
She looks more real, I would say.
And what's really Fun is that.
Of course, we added in allthese colors that just kind of like,
make you feel.
They make us feel happy.

(02:38):
Happy.
Yeah, it's.
Happy is the word.
Like, I wish there wassomething more.
Elegant on her face.
You can see it.
She's so, like, vivacious.
Like, she's living life.
Yeah, right.
That's how I see her.
And what I love about theCOVID photo is that Melissa and I
got a little sneaky.
Sneaky.
This goes into the logochallenge that you saw get released

(02:59):
yesterday.
So, like we just said, we haveour new cover photo.
There are five images hidinginto the COVID photo that we felt
like, represented what skirtsup is what it's become and her journey.
Yeah, yeah.
So there are five littleimages hidden.

(03:20):
We want to see if you cancomment onto that.
That post what the five images are.
We want you to screenshotleaving us a review on your favorite
listening app and sending thatto us.
And we want you to share uswith your friends that you think
would really enjoy us.
Yeah, you've probably, like,listened to some of our episodes

(03:41):
and been like, oh, I gottashare this with so and so.
If you're like me half thetime, you get it done and forget.
But, like, take thisopportunity, because now, if you
share us with your friends,you're also getting entered into
a prize drawing.
So what are we.
What.
What did we decide we weregonna do for our prize?
You decided what we were doing.

(04:01):
I did.
Melissa is going to make thewinner the very first custom item
with our new logo on it for you.
And you get to decide what youwant the logo on.
Yeah.
T shirt, bag, koozie.
What do you want?
You get to decide, and you getthe first item.
And Melissa's making it.
I'm so excited.
So, yeah, that's what we'regoing to do.

(04:24):
So definitely go on ourFacebook page, our Instagram reshare,
our post about the contest.
Oh, and here's the thing.
If you do it on Facebook andInstagram, two entries.
Oh, boom.
Okay.
Like we said, Lottie, thisseason is going to be more personal
stories.
Melissa, with that, you dohave something going on with the

(04:44):
quilt shop.
I do.
I'm really excited.
So this is something that alot of shops will do in the summers.
Well, they.
We used to.
And in the Atlanta area, wehad something called the shop hop.
And in lots of countries andor cities and states, they have it,
but we haven't been able tohave it here in Atlanta for, like,
the last four or five yearsjust because a lot of shops have
closed.

(05:05):
But we've got new shopsopening now, and we've decided.
We've kind of, like, gottentogether, and we're planning a shop
hop for 2025.
We're calling it Stitching Atlanta.
That's our, like, theme.
And it's all about, like,shopping local with your local artisans
and crafters.
So the way it works.
And this is so fun.
So if you guys ever thought,hey, I've never been to a quilt shop,

(05:28):
or I want to go and check outwhat these things are about.
The way the shop hop works isgoing to be from the July 10th to
the 25th.
There's, like, 10 or 11 shops participating.
We're going to have, like, aFacebook page.
I don't think it's live yet,but it will tell you, like, the information
on how to do it.
And.
But basically what happens isyou go to one of the shops that's
participating.

(05:49):
The first shop you go to, youget a passport, and then you take
that passport around over thenext week or two, and you visit every
single shop and you get astamp at every single shop.
If you go to a shop, you getentered to win a prize at that shop.
So like, 10 or 11 entries,one, eight each shop.
And then if you get yourpassport stamped and you go to all

(06:10):
of the shops, you get, like, ahuge prize.
There's gonna be, like, agrand prize that all the shops are,
like, pitching.
Into together that everyonegets if they complete the whole passport
or they enter.
Enter.
Okay.
Yeah.
Okay.
This is fun.
It's kind of like a bar crawl.
Yeah.
For sure.
You guys should have a barshop is gonna happen.
I mean, we actually.

(06:31):
Mimosa.
Yeah.
The truth is, maybe thedistillery will be open across the
hall from my shop.
We've got a distillery going in.
And then.
I know, like, if you go to the.
Some of the Duluth shops,like, cool.
There's like.
And string and Story.
There's some.
Oh.
Like, little sipping sip shopsnearby wine shops.

(06:53):
But anyway, it's just fun.
There's gonna be demos at eachshop, so we're gonna, like, show
you something new.
You can learn things if youever thought, hey, what's all this
stuff about?
This will be the time to go.
It will be just so fun.
Get a friend and make, like, a trip.
Maybe we'll even put somelittle snippets.

(07:13):
Okay.
On our page.
Yeah.
Thank you.
Obviously, I know, Sam, you'rethe best.
She really is.
But yeah.
So that's our shop hop.
But that's what's going onwith me.
And interestingly enough,speaking of that, because that's
all about hobbies in a way.
That's our episode today too.

(07:33):
You guys have asked what are your.
Well, okay.
Not what are your hobbies?
Some of you know what myhobbies are and are like, why are
you not talking about that?
People want to know more about it.
So, yes, I have someinteresting hobbies and we have pre
recorded that.
So welcome to Samantha's life.

(07:56):
So today, as you see, wethought that we've heard from several
of you guys that I have nottalked about my hobbies.
And I guess I have a few weird ones.
Well, there's one inparticular that I would say is not
super on trend, per se.

(08:16):
That's fair.
I.
We thought it would be fun totalk about my hobbies.
Some of the things that you dofor fun.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So tell me.
All right.
The one.
Okay, what should we start with?
I don't know.
Do we start with the odd oneor do we talk about, like, the more
normal ones?
Let's talk about some of thenormal ones.
Okay.
All right, so first of all, Ithink we've already talked about.

(08:39):
You have a book collection.
I do have a book collection.
And it's right there.
I think it was.
Did we talk about that?
It was like episode three,season one.
Is it with Lola?
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I think itwas with Lola.
And I talk about how I havethis, like, shelf of book collection
and like, sometimes Irearrange my books, which I have

(09:00):
rearranged them and you know,this weekend.
And I like, you know, I expectmaybe like low key people to come
and be like, oh, I love yourbook collection.
It's scrum.
No, I know what you mean.
I know what you mean.
I literally have some books onmy shelf that I'm like, I'm so proud
of this book being here.
Okay.
Okay.
That's like maybe a normal thing.

(09:20):
But yes, like, I love mybookshelf and like, I walk in, I
always, like, admire it andlike, low key, hope that other people
are admiring it when they sitin the living room.
So it's like, really funny.
Yes, I admire your bookshelf, so.
You did.
You did.
One of the first times youcame over, remember I had all my
books out and you're like, whoa.
And you started, like,actually picking up the books, like,
oh, is this one good?

(09:40):
Like, and you're like, lookingthrough the books and I was like,
I thought actually, yeah.
Remember that first.
Yes, I do.
At your other house.
Yeah.
Yeah.
That was fun.
So, okay, tell us more.
Tell me what kind of books doyou have in that shelf?
So I see quite an array, actually.

(10:02):
There is.
There's.
There's a common theme.
But what's interesting is thatsome of this collection is from,
like, early, earlier on, like,getting into reading, which didn't
happen until I was pregnantwith Logan.
So the end of high school, andI was, like, mega pregnant, and I

(10:23):
end up getting put on bedrest, and I didn't have anything
else to do.
And so I was like, I guessI'll read.
And my mom had this collectionof Daniel Steele books.
Oh, my God.
I remember my mom used to readDanielle still.
I know.
So I have basically inheritedthat collection.
And I read all of them.
And then I got really.

(10:46):
I don't know how it happened,but there's a whole series collection
that I have on the shelf.
Oh, I remember.
Okay.
There was this movie onNetflix, and it was basically called,
like, a inspirational movie.
And I remember when the movieended, I was like, oh, my gosh.
Like, that was amazing.
Like, that movie was so good.

(11:09):
And then I watched a couplemore, and I just always felt like,
oh, man, this feels, like, so good.
And so then I started, like,oh, maybe.
Maybe I'll start, like,reading the Bible or, like, you know,
learning some things.
And I do not.
This is.
Okay.
I'm so.
It did not last.
I did not know this.
It didn't last long.
But that led.
I found an inspirational author.

(11:30):
She is also a Christian, and Igot hooked on her books.
What's her name?
Karen Kingsbury.
Okay.
So all of her books, I say allof them, but the majority of them
are all intertwined with thesame characters.
So in most of them, the maincharacter is one character, and you,

(11:53):
like, see her journey in thesedifferent, like, situations and different
problems.
But then you might end one ofthe books in the series.
Maybe it picks up on hercousin's story that you got, like,
a little snippet in one of thebooks, and then that person has,
like, a small series.
But all of the series haveintertwined characters that you've

(12:14):
already heard of and, like,have met.
Yeah, it's really interesting.
And I just got hooked on,like, just wanting to know everything
about this whole family and,like, all their little series.
And I just read all of them,and I was really obsessed.
But obviously the religiousthing didn't stay.
Yeah, I mean, weird.

(12:36):
I mean, I still really enjoythe books, and I probably would reread
them.
Like, they were really good.
Oh, Nora Roberts.
I got into Nora Roberts afterthat when I decided that makes Sense.
She's a very.
Like, Danielle Steele.
Yes.
But a little more on the dirty side.
I mean, her books aren't.
They're clean, but a little more.
A little more smut.
Yeah.

(12:56):
I mean, it's still like a leadyou to the, like, bedroom and then
kind of like, leave it atthat, but, like, you know, just a
little more into it.
And I read a lot of NoraRoberts, except for the ones that
go into history, because Icannot get interested in anything
that's, like, in the far past.
Really?
Yeah.
I did not know that.
Yeah.
So anything that's, like, oh,in the colonial days, this girl.

(13:20):
Why I'm so obsessed with all of.
It, I.
I think that it bores me, andI can't picture what they're describing.
Okay.
Maybe.
Okay.
I just can't, like, build itin my brain, so I just.
You need something a littlemore tangible.
Maybe.

(13:40):
I just don't love it.
I love when I feel like it'ssomething that could be happening
right now.
Okay.
So Nora Roberts, all of herbooks are usually mysterious.
Some sort of thriller.
And then I realized when Iwas, like, looking, I read most of
her books that didn't haveanything to do with, like, you know,
historically history and waslike, there's got to be other.

(14:02):
Like, clearly, I like thethriller and the mystery.
Yeah.
So then I was like, oh, maybeI like these books.
And then that led into justpulling all these random thriller
books, like, Gone Girl style.
Yeah, I think I actually havethat one.
I think you might actually.
Every one of them is good, butI realized that I'm really good at

(14:24):
knowing, like, what the end isof each book.
And it kind of, like, wastaking some fun.
Like, I would get reallyhooked on the stories, but then.
And I'm constantly, like,every chapter figuring.
Out, oh, I get so judgmentalif I'm like, seriously, I already
know the ending.
Come on, be a little more.
Okay.
Yes.
I feel like I do some of that,too, but I have been surprised by
some of them where, like,there's no way those are the best.

(14:47):
And.
Yes.
So I'm hooked.
I love to know.
I love these, like, darker,mysterious, and, like, seeing if
it's well enough written thatI can't guess right.
And for some reason, that's,like, really addicting and fun.
It is fun.
I agree.
We used to do this thing wherethis is not books, it's movies.
But, like, same thing.

(15:08):
It's the same thing.
And, like, you kind of, like,want to, like.
Although it is annoying whenpeople talk during movies, but if
you're just like, pause.
Like, I'm going to call itright now.
Me and Scott and Melissa usedto do it.
Oh, yeah.
Like, I'm calling it.
This is what's happening.
And I'm like, because you justwant to be the one that was right.
That is true.
But, yeah, it is really fun.
One of the other thingsthat's, like, funny.

(15:29):
So Simon isn't a book reader,and he'll sometimes when he knows,
like, he can see that I can'tput a book down because once I actually
get into a book, like, Iliterally will get grumpy if I have
to do something else otherthan reading my book.
And so if I put it down, he'llpick it up and he'll flip to the
last chapter, last page, andhe'll read.

(15:50):
Not out loud.
No, he reads it to himself.
He does.
He reads the ending of whathappens, the conclusion of my books
a lot of times.
And so that way he can belike, so what do you think is gonna
happen?
And then like, oh, my gosh,I'd be so annoyed.
But it's because I wouldalways say, man, I love all these
books.
And, like, they're so fun, butI have no one to talk to about them

(16:12):
because no one's like, that'sreally sweet.
Is reading them with me.
Yeah.
And so his way of trying togive me a way to talk.
Talk about.
That's actually really sweet.
It is.
It is.
And he.
He never tells me the ending,even if I'm like, this is what happens.
Okay, tell me.
No, don't tell me.
No, don't.
Just tell me.
Tell me.
Yeah.
Am I right?
Am I wrong?
Yeah.
And then he'll like, you know,he won't give me.

(16:34):
Give it away.
And he has lied before.
He has lied before just so that.
You could kind of keep the thrill.
Yes.
One of them.
I was like, oh, I really.
I don't know who the killer is.
Like, it could be this, itcould be that.
I mean, like, one person is dead.
And he was like, actually, twopeople are dead.

(16:55):
And I was like, two people get killed.
Oh, I can't figure out the other.
He was lying.
There was no second person.
He was like, I just wanted youto feel, like, really intense, like
there was still something youwere missing.
Oh, thanks.
And then you're kind of, like,let down.
You're at the last page, literally.
I finished the book and I waslike, two people died.

(17:16):
Who am I missing?
And I'm like, going throughthe book, and I was like, you said
Two people died.
What did I miss?
And he goes, oh, I made that up.
Thanks.
I thought I went crazy and Imissed something, but.
Yeah, that's funny.
Let me do talk about myfavorite author.
Oh, yeah, that's right.
Because there's actually areally funny story right now.

(17:38):
I am hooked on someone.
Monica.
Aria.
I don't know how to say herlast name.
How's that spelled?
Do you remember?
A R, Y, A.
Okay.
I follow her on Instagramright now, and, like, I'm literally
obsessed with her.
Her books.
There is no.
No, no way that I think anyonecan ever guess the ending.

(17:59):
It's a challenge.
It is a.
It's a challenge.
Yeah.
I'm gonna do it.
Someone pick.
Yeah.
Pick one of her books.
And I can suggest, you know,at least two of us.
Just two.
Right now.
Right now.
Well.
Or the favorite girl.
And don't believe him.
Which one's better?
Which is your favorite?
Oh, they are different.

(18:21):
I.
The favorite girl was veryintriguing and very hooking.
But I will say the writing of.
Don't trust him.
Don't believe him.
Don't believe him.
It does have that I've neverread in a book before where it's
like, oh, this is what happening?
Just kidding.

(18:41):
No, this is.
It actually happened.
Just kidding.
It's like in a movie wherethey show you something and then
you're like, oh, that was just imaginary.
Like.
Yeah, but you can never.
It's like, there's severalpoints where you can't tell, okay,
which one's real?
Like, which one is the, like, imagination.
Oh, I might have to try that.
Yeah.
And so.
Yeah, and it's really funny.
Like, it really gets you.

(19:02):
And to where you're like,okay, wait, let me track this.
What is really happening?
So the author, like, the bookswere so good that I, like, looked
her up and I started followingher on Instagram.
And every time one of hervideos pops up where she talks about,
like, one of her books or,like, just does a reel of some sort,
I immediately go, oh, what isHannah doing?

(19:24):
My sister.
She's not.
She's also watching it.
No, but.
No, I think she looks like my sister.
That's.
Oh, I see.
I see that.
So every time she pops up, you're.
Like, oh, let me look.
See?
Yeah.
And then I go, oh, just kidding.
That's.
That's Monica.
Interesting.
So I screenshotted it or Isent Hannah the link or whatever

(19:46):
to.
To Monica's page, and I waslike, every time I see her, like,
I think it's you until I Realize.
And so my sister pulls it up,and she goes, she looks nothing like
me.
And I'm like, you're blind.
And so see her.
I'll show you.
Her boyfriend is in the car aswe're going back and forth of.
She does look just like you.

(20:07):
Like, how do you not see it?
Oh, really?
And she shows.
Yeah, she shows her boyfriend,and he goes, hannah, same nose, same
eyebrows.
When you do your eyebrows,same colored hair.
Like, oh, she looks like Hannah.
I'm not kidding.
Hannah.
And so it's the shape of theface and the cute little dim.
It's literally when she doesher makeup.

(20:30):
Yes.
No, I can't make my lips cutelike yours.
And her head is always tiltedlike how Hannah does it in photos.
Hannah, you're adorable.
And yeah.
Yeah, you guys look like each other.
And I will pop up a picture ofHannah right there for you.
And so.
Yes.
So Hannah's like, no, I don't.
No, I don't.
And her boyfriend's like,yeah, I'm in agreement.
Like, you guys look prettydamn close.

(20:51):
And so I was like, you know what?
I'm gonna prove this.
And so I took.
I screenshotted and took oneof the photos of Monica and sent
it to mom so you could tellthat it was, like, an Instagram,
like, post.
And I sent it to mom.
I was like, where did Hannah.
Did Hannah get a new laptop?

(21:12):
And Hannah was like, mom'sgonna know.
And so I'm like, literally cackling.
So I'm like, I'm gonna be right.
Yeah.
And so my mom responds, andshe goes, I don't know, but that's
not Hannah.
And I was like, dang, can wetry that again?

(21:32):
And give me a better response.
And so then she calls me, andshe's cracking up.
She goes, what are you talking about?
And I was like, no.
Like, you were supposed tothink that that was Hannah because
they look so much alike.
And then you're supposed to,you know, prove to me that she looks
very similar.
We should send a picture ofHannah to Monica.
We should try to get Monica on here.
I would love to.
I actually.

(21:53):
I keep sending her messagesand commenting on her stuff of, like,
can we record?
Can we record?
You did.
Yeah, I keep trying, and she's not.
She's not taking the bites,but maybe she will now.
Like, I'm literally obsessed.
Yeah.
I haven't tried tagging her ina photo of Hannah.
Shout out Monica.
Ra.
Aria.
All right, Ariah.
I don't know how you say yourlast name.

(22:14):
Well, maybe she Needs to tell us.
Okay, so you wanted to move onto the other normal one or the not
normal one?
I want to hear about the notnormal one.
I'm really interested in how.
Because this is some.
Okay, I'm going to say it.
Can I say it?
Yeah.
Pen pals.
So, like, that's somethingthat I did in third grade.
Like, we literally.

(22:34):
Our teacher had us.
I don't know if it was likeanother school across the country
or what, how they did it, butwe each had like a pen pal.
Now that you say that, I thinkI do remember something like that
in school where.
Yeah, I think it was another school.
And they were like.
They had.
I think we were learningcursive and we had to write a letter

(22:54):
to our pen pal at another school.
Incursive as a way to practiceand learn about an old style thing.
Yeah.
So that's funny.
I actually forgot about that.
Yeah.
I think it's really coolbecause nobody sits down and puts
pen to paper that much anymore.
Yeah.
And that's how you do it, right?
Yeah.
Yeah, I have one, so.
Oh, gosh.
I actually don't.

(23:15):
I can't think off the top ofmy head how many I have.
There's like a handful that isa consistent back and forth.
And then of course there'slike several were like an intro letter,
if you want to call it like,will get sent and then like no return
from them.
Yeah.
There are pen pal collectorswhere, like they just want to just
say they.
Have this many people written them.

(23:35):
Yeah.
Or like, I want a pen pal fromall 50 states.
You know, that was a thing.
It's.
It is like.
It's a round thing.
Girl, I want to have sex inall 50 states.
Okay.
A little.
That's a RA thing.
I wouldn't say pen pals are aRAL thing.

(23:57):
No, I just mean these womenget catty is what I meant.
I'm really sexy because I have more.
Oh, I see.
It's more just caddy.
Yes.

(24:18):
Yes.
Okay, okay, okay.
I'm so sorry.
Okay.
I can't take you seriously.
No, yeah, no, people on this.
On this site are really catty.
Wait, so it's the site or likea Facebook group or.
It's a Facebook group.
Okay.
And that's a pretty funny story.
It's actually a shitty funnystory on how I found that and how

(24:40):
it got started.
Why was it during.
I thought it had to do withthe seizures.
So we started the podcastessentially because I was having
seizures and needed something.
Right.
Sure.
Yeah.
We were looking for Guests.
Yeah.
And so I was on this guestFacebook group, like, where you can

(25:01):
find someone.
And I was really, really,really excited because there was
an author that was postingabout winning awards and.
Okay, yes.
And I was so excited.
And so I invited her to recordwith us before, like, actually getting
to look into her and read herbooks and stuff.

(25:22):
And so she said yes.
And I immediately ordered herbook that's won all these awards.
And dude, I can't get past,like, chapter three because it's
awful.
This is what.
And if Sam says that's awful,it's so bad.
I.
Because you try to find goodin things too.
I'm.
Well, I wouldn't say that Ido, but I was trying so hard to get

(25:46):
past it.
It was self published andclearly did not have anyone.
Like, I don't even know if sheproofread it.
Read it.
There's so many misspellings.
Misused words like improperpunctuation in the storyline as itself
is so.
Oh, I don't remember.

(26:07):
I just remember you telling methe story and I was like, that's
a weird there.
So I guess I will say.
So the name of the book wasthe Pen Pal.
Oh, okay.
That's right.
So I'm reading this bookthat's called the Pen Pal, which
there are several books calledthe Pen Pal.
So I'll let you.
I know.
I was scared for a second.
I will let y'all figure outwhat I'm talking about if you so

(26:31):
choose to.
And any publicity is good publicity.
You're welcome.
You're right.
That's right.
And this is just my opinion.
Maybe some people can get pastit, but the storyline is so.
It's like this, like, militarywife that's stuck at home and is
needing some connectionbecause, like, the husband's on deployment
and so she finds this pen paloff of a Facebook group.

(26:52):
They start talking and then,like, really fast, the pen pal mysteriously
disappears.
And she's like, immediatelylike, oh, my pen pal of two weeks
has disappeared.
I'm flying to another countryand I'm going to save her.
And the whole interaction,like, nothing just didn't make sense.
It makes no sense.
Yeah.
No sense at all.

(27:13):
And so I don't know.
Yeah.
Between all the mistakes andlike, the storyline making literal,
there's no way, like, a singleline of it, like, could potentially
have happened.
Like, I just couldn't.
And so I felt I did not finishthe book.
I literally think I got to,like, chapter three and I told Simon
I was like, I can't.
And I Stopped reading it.

(27:35):
And I learned from thatexperience that just.
I sh.
We should not invite anyone.
And that's when we actually.
Anyone.
Just anyone.
And that's when we started thepre interviewing process.
Pre recording interviewprocess because of that.
And that was so embarrassing.
And I didn't want to be put inthat spot again right where I had

(27:55):
it had a chance to interactwith them physically and, like, read
into their work.
The book's called the Pen Pal.
She found her pin Paul off ofa Facebook group.
And I was like, is that even a thing?
And so I'm on Facebook.
I didn't know it was a thing.
I didn't know either.
So I'm on Facebook and I typein pen pal in groups.
And sure enough, there's like,pages of pinpoint groups.

(28:16):
And so I picked one that said,like, women's only or whatever.
Like, so it's like a ladies only.
Sent in a request to be inthat group.
I got obviously accepted.
Was in the group readingthrough it.
I'm like, there's a lot ofpeople and they do this.
And so I just, like, keptwatching for a while.
And then eventually I waslike, maybe I should try.

(28:37):
Yeah, we'll see how this goes.
I don't know how it works.
And it's, like, reallyintimidating because I don't think.
Another thing that maybe somepeople don't realize is that people
pen pal differently.
There's like the extremeintense, and then there's just like,
the piece of paper writingthat's back and forth.
What's the intent?

(28:57):
When I say intent, what do you mean?
One of mine lives inAustralia, which I was not specifically
looking for out of the country.
This is just one that, like,happened because we had similarities.
When she writes, she makesthis whole presentation that is like
a smaller, like, you know,those presentation boards.
Trifold, like a diorama thing.

(29:21):
I don't really know what adiorama is, but it's like one of
those poster boards.
But the trifold, it'll becovered in this beautiful cloth of
just, like, collected papers.
And like, the people do.
Who do extreme journaling.
Yes.
And there's actually peoplethat do what they call junk journaling.
I tried that for really.

(29:41):
I thought I was gonna.
I didn't actually get into it, but.
Okay.
Junk journal.
Okay.
Me and my friend Amanda did, but.
Okay.
Okay, I got questions.
So in this extreme, like,there will actually be pockets that
she'll create.
And then, like, oh, in thispocket, it'll be labeled a recipe,
and she'll send me a New recipe.
That is the cutest thing ever.

(30:01):
It's cute, but.
Oh, I love it.
But then you feel like youhave to.
Yes.
There'll be, like, anotherpocket of stickers I thought you
might like, and there's, youknow, stickers in it.
And then there's, like,there'll be an envelope, a second
envelope in this, like, littlepresentation thing.
And that's the letter.
And sometimes I have to, like,unravel it.
It's really cute.
Oh, my God, it's adorable.

(30:21):
I will pull out one of themand open it so that you guys can
see.
Oh, I'm.
That's actually really cool.
It is.
It's intimidating, though,because I was like, oh, okay.
All right, I can do that.
I'll do it.
And then I'll put off writingher back for, like, two months and
keep saying, oh, I'll havetime to do something that creative.
I'll have time.
I don't have time for that,nor am I that creative.

(30:42):
I just can't.
I can't do that.
Right?
And so finally, like, I justwrote her back, and I was like, I
love this, and I'm just gonnabe honest.
It's not gonna happen for me.
I just can't.
So I felt really bad.
And she was like, oh, no, it's fine.
And she's like, but I'm.
I can still send you cutethings, right?
And I was like, yes.
Oh, you can still be you.
I gotta be me.

(31:03):
And so, yeah, there's extreme.
And you'll see people postingof like, oh, this is how extreme
my letters are.
And I expect someone just ascreative and not in these words,
you know?
But, yeah, that's what they'relooking for.
And I'm like, y'all arefucking crazy.
He's got time for that, butall power to you.
And then I do have one.

(31:24):
There's some people who arelike, if your letters are typed,
you're a pastor.
What is it?
Imposter.
Imposter.
Because pen palling is pen andpaper writing.
And isn't it about getting toknow someone and, like, sharing experiences
and giving support and.
And just mailing?
But the process of not knowingwhen you're getting positive mail

(31:48):
and.
Yeah, yeah, getting positivity and.
And, yes, that's.
That's another thing is, like,people are like, I sent my pen pal
a Facebook message saying, myletter is on the way, and they can't
respond and tell me when myletters are on the way.
And it's like, it's.
Then you have people, like,pressure that's not how pen palling
works.
Like, the point is, it's snail mail.
Like, yeah, you don't know.

(32:09):
It's a surprise.
And that's what some peoplefeed off of.
Yeah.
And one of my pen pals, shecollects, if I remember correctly,
old typewriters and fixes them.
Whoa.
And so she was really excitedthat she had gotten this new typewriter
to work.
New, as in, like, she justrefurnished it, got it to working.
And so she typed one of herletters off of this typewriter, and

(32:31):
she goes, hey, let me know ifthis isn't okay.
I was just really excited touse it.
And I was like, dude, Iliterally just got energy from this.
That is so, like, in my brainas I'm reading it, I could, like,
see the ding.
And I was literally, like, no,please only write to me on a time.
That is so cool.
Yes.
I actually, like, got.
Because it's also, like, justincorporating another hobby, another

(32:51):
part of her into it.
And actually, she's in alifestyle that I won't get into that
also aligns with something,and so it's someone that I can bounce
off of.
The only person that I have tobounce off of, like, situations.
Right.
And so that's actually reallycool, too.
Very cool.
So sorry.
That was a lot of talking.
No, it was all fascinating.

(33:13):
I want to know, like, who wasyour first pen pal?
Like, how was your very first.
Like, I think, or maybe, like,your first letter that went out too?
Like, I want to say my firstone is my most consistent one.
I mean, I can't even keeptrack at this point.

(33:34):
And I.
I save all of them.
But, I mean, her stack ofletters sent to me is, like, probably,
like, this thick.
Wow.
Because we are so consistent,and, like, maybe it'll be, like,
one to two a month.
Do you feel close to her?
I know.
I, I.
It's hard to say, like, what?

(33:54):
Yeah.
Because, like, it's not like,we're physically close.
And, like, I can say, like,oh, we're close.
We talk about things, but,like, we're also physically close.
Yeah.
I do know her personal deep dark.
That's what happens.
I feel like you would be morewilling to.
Yeah.
Yes.
And that is a beauty.
With, like, the pen palling islike, yeah, you don't actually know

(34:15):
the person, so you could tellthem you murdered someone and hid
the body, and, like, what areyou gonna do about it?
Like, I could be using a P.O.
box.
Like, you won't know where I am.
A lot of what she says and stuff.
Is it's like, I'm talking to Courtney.
That's pretty cool.
Yeah.
So I guess maybe that's why we.
Interesting.
So, like, okay, now I havemore questions because I'm thinking

(34:38):
about, like, certain thingscoming to us.
Like, we put out energy, andthen, like, it brings back, like,
the universe gives back to us.
Yeah.
And it's like, okay, did yougo through, like, a lot of pen pals
to find this one girl that.
And then it turns out you kindof, like, have a lot in common or
just kind of.
Did it happen for you?
What the women will do in thisgroup is a lot of times they'll post

(35:01):
this about me thing, andthey'll be like, this is my hobbies.
This is what I do for work.
This is what I'm really mostpassionate about.
I'm religious.
I'm not religious, you know.
Right.
Just, like, keynotes that might.
Someone might be like, you'renot religious.
Like, Right.
I don't want to talk to youbecause I'm just.
I want to talk.
There's people who just wantto talk scriptures.

(35:21):
Sure.
And, like, you know, fine.
Cool is what it is.
But you'll post a little bitabout you.
Okay.
And so most people will picktheir pen pals out of, like, oh,
we have a lot in comm.
Like, let's.
Oh, that makes sense.
Actually, when I.
I think when her and I startedpimping, though, like, I didn't comment
on anyone, and I wasn'tparticipating because I was so overwhelmed

(35:44):
by everyone sharing these,like, big, elaborate things.
And like, oh, I'm lookingspecifically for this.
It and felt very judgmental,and I feel like it shouldn't be judgmental.
So I made a post and I waslike, hey, I don't know if this is
a thing, but let's.
Blind pen pal.
Let me know if you're interested.
Like, I don't want to knowanything about you.

(36:04):
Oh, I like that.
Because I was like, I.
This is so.
How.
How could.
How do these people write?
Like, oh, I don't want to talkto you if you're not religious.
Or, like.
Right.
I'm with you on that.
And it's just so.
Yeah.
Like, I didn't want to be thatpicky because I feel like the whole
point also is you're nothaving to have personal confrontation.
Not that you're writing confrontationally.

(36:25):
Right.
But, like, it's safe to have adifferent opinion because there's
not someone, like, yelling atyou in worst case scenario, they're
just not gonna respond.
Right.
Or you Know, say, die, bitch,and then you don't respond.
Bye.
Die, bitch.
Do you ever.
Do you ever send, like, littletreats or something from, like, our.

(36:47):
Okay.
I noticed that the majority ofthem always send at least one sticker,
like, unused sticker in their letters.
And I always thought, like,that's weird.
What am I gonna do with this?
And so I kept, like, holdingon to them, but I was like, what
do I do with stickers?
You keep, like, sending me stickers.
Yeah.
And now I'm obsessed.

(37:08):
And, like, I have this jar ofstickers that people have sent to
me, and now stickers.
You saw me in D.C.
now anytime I go anywhere, I'mcollecting, like, stashes of stickers.
I also collect stickers, but Ididn't realize you were collecting
them because of that.
That's so cool.
I'll, like, grab anywhere I go.
Like, a whole stack ofstickers that I thought were cool.

(37:29):
And you're sharing them?
Yes, specifically with, like,oh, this one would love this sticker.
Like, this one needs this sticker.
And, like, that is so thoughtful.
I love that.
I didn't know that.
I guess that's because wewere, like.
Digging through all thestickers together.
But I just thought that youwere, like, me being selfish and
just wanted them for you.
Because I was selfish.

(37:49):
No.
Now I'm, like, sticker crazed,and I'm like, oh, this person would
love this.
That's so cute.
It's just, like, a little.
Little way to think ofsomebody else and let them know you
thought of them.
Yeah.
So I was really confused atfirst and thought it was really weird
that people kept sending me stickers.
And now I'm like, this littlesticker whore.
Like, I don't know.
So cute.
And you'll see people post inthe group of, like, my pen pal keeps

(38:12):
sending me stickers.
What am I supposed to do with this?
Or, what do you do with this?
And then I learned that a lotof people will actually use stickers.
The envelope sent stickers,like, anything, parts of the letter.
Maybe they chop them up and,like, use them.
And they make these junk journals.
And so these junk journals areliterally just their favorite parts

(38:34):
of maybe a sticker on theoutside of the envelope that someone
stuck, and they'll cut it outand, like, glue this onto the page
with, like, some, like,decorate with the stickers that they
sent.
Or maybe the envelope wasbeautiful or the letter, like, itself,
like, was beautiful, andthey'll, like, put it in this journal,
and they call it a junk journal.
That's how I Used to journalin Japan.
So, like, we would have to.
We.
One of the rules, like, when you're.
And when you say Amanda, isthis the Amanda we talked about?

(38:55):
Or is this someone that wetalked about today?
Or is this someone.
Wait, when did I say Amanda?
I already forgot.
Oh, when we.
We briefly brought up junkjournaling, you said.
Oh.
Oh, yeah.
No, it's different.
Oh, okay.
Okay.
So tell me about the Japanese.
Okay, sorry.
Yeah, you're right.
You're right.
Oh, I'll say that.
So you've done it, like, twodifferent ways.
Yeah, yeah.
So in Japan, when we.

(39:17):
What?
1.
When we lived there, like, oneof the things, like, you just.
Just write letters to your family.
You're not allowed to callthem and friends.
You're not.
No, they changed the rules,but when I was a missionary for the
church.
Oh.
Because, like, the morningChurchillary, like, rule was you
couldn't call your.
Oh, no.
Like, calling.
You couldn't have, like.
Yeah.
Like, no contact with home.

(39:37):
That's a cult.
I know, but not anymore.
They did.
They changed the rule.
Oh, my God.
Now I just say you're in aculture or were in a cult.
I told you I was.
You did.
I guess I just.
Oh, my God.
Okay, okay, continue.
So they.
I sell you from your family.
No, wait, wait.
Now I feel like I have to,like, also for our Mormon listeners.

(40:01):
Oh, you're fine.
You're safe.
It's all good.
Okay, we're good.
In Japan, they have the beststationery stores ever.
Oh, it's, like, so hard tofind stationary stores.
Oh, my gosh, they're so amazing.
They have amazing pens.
They have super cute paper.
They have amazing stickers.
Is it because they origami?
I.
Maybe that's a part of it.

(40:22):
Okay.
Yeah, yeah, we.
Yeah, there's a lot of cuteorigami paper and stuff, but I don't
know.
They're just cute.
Everything they do is better.
But anyway, yeah, that was,like, a big thing is making sure
all the letters were really cute.
But any letters that I would get.
If somebody sent me a letterthat had, like, something cute in
it, I would cut it out andpaste it into the journal and, like.

(40:42):
Yeah, yeah, we would do, like.
We had a lot of, like,journaling like that.
So was this, like, essential?
Was.
Would you keep the wholeletter or would it just be, like,
a part that you liked and cut out?
It depends.
Like, if I saw something thatI just thought was pretty, I would,
like, cut that out and thendecorate my page with it and maybe
talk about, like, Where I gotit from or whatever.

(41:04):
To yourself, like writing yourself.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Okay.
So this was maybe more of likea diary used as a diary, but, like,
incorporated with reminders.
Sometimes the letters, wholeletters would be in it, but sometimes
just little pieces.
There was this.
Okay.
And there was this other thing.
Oh, I'm just remembering things.
There was another thing we didin Japan because you're missionaries

(41:26):
and you're traveling, they.
They don't let you.
You don't stay in one.
It's like, I want to say itwas six weeks in one space and then
six weeks in another.
Maybe it's longer.
I can't remember.
Okay.
But they transfer you around alot, so you don't, like, get comfortable,
I guess, anywhere.
I don't know.
Okay, but who wants to becomfortable, right?
I don't know.
But one of the things is,like, when you're there, you, like,

(41:47):
start bonding and you becomefriends with the missionaries that
are serving in the same areaas you.
So we have these things calledfriend books.
And so anyone who, in thatarea that you, like, care now, it's
kind of like joy is kind oflike signing someone's yearbook.
Okay.
They.
You would say, I would wantyou to.
Felt like a page in my friend book.
So, for instance, Brett, mynow husband, he was a missionary

(42:15):
in Japan there, too.
And he.
One of the things thathappened is the.
The.
The companion that I was withhad gotten in a car accident.
And so she was.
I had to push her aroundeverywhere in a wheelchair.
Oh, no.
Because of that, we were not.
Me and her, Aoki Shamay, werenot able to go on this one hike that
we were so excited to go on,and we couldn't go see these waterfalls.

(42:37):
So Brett, like, had a blackand white picture of this waterfall,
and he pasted it in my journal.
And then when you lift it up,it was like a color picture of the
waterfall.
And he had cut a picture of meand Aoki Shimai with her.
Me pushing her in thewheelchair, and pasted it onto us,
like, at the waterfall.
That is adorable.
I know.
And so really cute.

(42:58):
Like.
So this is your journal?
It was my friend book.
And he said, hey, can you puta page in my book and let him take
it?
You.
You take.
They take the book.
Yes, exactly.
And so, like, he wrote a fewpages of stuff.
And then one of the thingswas, I know you really wanted to
see the waterfalls, and youcouldn't be there, but now you can.
So, like, it was just reallycreative and cute things like that.

(43:19):
And.
But, yeah, you give them thebook, and then they, like, decorate
it up, and it's not like, intheir face.
Like, do something really fast.
Okay.
No.
Okay.
Yeah.
And sometimes they would haveto send their.
Your book back to you.
Oh.
Because they accidentally keptit too long or something.
Yeah, but, yeah.
Oh, yeah.
So that kind of into junk journaling.
So then later in Texas, myfriend Amanda and you guys met her

(43:41):
ex husband, Brad.
He was our musical therapist.
Oh, okay.
So this is Amanda.
Yes, this is my friend Amanda.
And I shout out, hey, Amanda.
But her and I got in thisphase where we thought we were going
to be, like, major.
Like, what we call.
What was it called back then?
It was like, shoot, Amanda,you'll have to remind us.
But it was like craftjournaling or something.

(44:03):
It was like.
Okay.
Or like, extreme journaling.
I think it was literallycalled extreme journal.
I haven't heard of that.
And it's like scrapbooking,but it's like, just a journal, and
you're just like, stickersgalore and cutting things out.
And if you see a picture ofsomething that you think is pretty,
you're gonna stick it in there.
Okay.
So, like, your journal is justkind of like this book full of stuff

(44:24):
that you light.
I wonder if this is whatvision boards come from.
Well, yeah, maybe not fromthat, but.
Yeah, that's another form of.
I would say, kind of likethat, too, actually.
Okay.
Yeah, for sure.
And then did you guys, like,send them back and forth to show
each other or you guys.
No, we lived in the same townas each other, so we spend tons of
money.
We all, like.
We went and got.

(44:45):
We all.
It was her and me, but we wentand bought, like, journals.
We bought, like, these, like,cool markers, and we.
We had all the things, stickers.
And then, like, I didn'treally keep up with it.
Yeah, I think she did.
She probably did it for, like,a year.
She's really good at, like.
I mean, I.
I did the same thing with baby books.
You have a baby and you get ababy book.

(45:07):
So Logan has, like, an actual,like, baby book, like, where it gives
you prompts and, like, whereto put things.
And Amelia, when she was born,I was like, well, I'm gonna make
my own scrapbook.
And so I bought thisscrapbook, all the paper, all these
stickers, and let me just tellyou, I made the first page with her
name on it.
Yeah, it was kind of like me, Sam.

(45:28):
I literally spent, like,probably $200 to make this scrapbook
and just to write her name ina book.
So Once.
Yeah, that's.
That's very much like me.
I spent a lot of money on.
Extreme journaling that Ididn't do.
Oh, man.
That's the thing with gettinginto, like, a new hobby.
Like, it's like, sometimeswe're not realistic on, like, what

(45:49):
are we actually gonna do?
It's true.
And it's just like, this girlthat sends me those extravagant and
beautiful letters.
Like, I wasn't responding, soI was like, oh, I'll do that, too.
Yeah, I'll do that, too.
And then I'm like, I'm notgonna do it.
I'm actually really proud ofyou for saying that, because that's
where I get in trouble, islike, I think I'm gonna do things.
And so I say yes to everything.
We've talked about this.
I mean, right?
I tried.

(46:10):
I didn't write her for, like,two months because I was.
But then you realize, andyou're like, no, let's just be real.
Who am I?
This isn't gonna happen.
I'm not ignoring you, but thisisn't gonna happen.
Yeah.
So.
Okay.
Okay.
Pen palling.
Yeah.
Oh, and then there was a ladywho was looking for a pen pal.

(46:36):
I did not start pen pallingthis lady personally, but she had
talked about having a daughterthat's, like, the same age as Amelia,
and that was, like, in her bio.
And I was like, amelia hasbeen, like, jealous, jealous of my
pen palling and has thoughtit's so cool, and she wants one.
And so I had arranged withthat mom, like, hey, are you okay?

(46:58):
Like, would you.
Is it okay, like, for thegirls to pen pal?
Like, would your daughter like that?
And she was like, she would love.
That is awesome.
And so Amelia ended up gettinga pen pal and was writing back.
Is she still writing her?
She has gotten distracted, butthey did back and forth, and she
was always really excited andwould draw pictures to each other.
Yeah, it was really cute.

(47:18):
So Emelia loves drawingpictures, too.
Yeah, she does.
She does.
She drew me pictures.
What?
Yes.
There.
When we took them on thecruise, Amelia brought a little journal
to draw pictures on.
That is adorable.
Oh, my God.
I.
You.
I hope I still have them toshow you.
So, like, she'd be.
She'd be like, what should I draw?

(47:39):
And we were like, I don't know.
On the way to the.
And so Logan was on our nervesbecause he was always like, are we
there yet?
Can we eat yet?
Like, when are we gonna get to eat?
And so Amelia would draw apicture of Logan, and it would be
this, like, outrageous photo.
Like an ogre.
Yes, like an ogre.

(48:00):
Mouth open.
And then it would have this,like, thing in the mouth, and then
she'd put, like, a bubble toit and be like, that's me.
Logan's so hungry.
Logan's so hungry, he ate a million.
And so Amelia.
And I was like.
She was coming up, back to.
Back to back.
Just hilarious.
She's so funny.
She's so cute and funny.
She.
She's funny.

(48:21):
I love her funny.
Okay, so cool.
All right.
You have one last hobby.
And I guess you could say it'slike, well, not one last.
I know you have other thingsyou do, too, but that we were going
to talk about.
This one's more normal, I guess.
Yeah.
But I'm excited to talk to youabout this one, too.
Yeah.
And this won't be, like, as long.
But who knows with us?

(48:43):
So one of the other thingsthat I thought that I would dabble
in and thought that I, youknow, it's something that I could
do on my own when I was beingbabysat, as I call it, like, due
to the seizures and stuff, isI don't need someone to babysit me
while I plant plants.
So I was like, oh, I'm gonna garden.

(49:05):
And I planted some plants,and, like, they all died outside.
So I was like, oh, this is stupid.
And then we moved, and one ofSimon's friends, it's actually.
It's actually his exgirlfriend before me, like, her mom.

(49:26):
Oh, I love her.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
You met her.
And she.
Luann, she made the artworkfor that we.
That Marcia got for thecharity event.
She's.
She's really cool.
She's really awesome.
And so her and I started talking.
She is the plant woman.
Like, okay.
Her yard is, like, decoratedwith all these different types of

(49:46):
plants in, like, verystrategic ways.
Her house is like, oh, I doremember that.
At her.
Yes, I remember.
Okay.
Yeah.
So.
But she didn't.
We didn't, like, talk aboutit, but, like, now that you're saying
it, I'm like, oh, yeah, shedid have a nice yard.
And she did have plants everywhere.
Yeah.
And so when we moved to thishouse, we invited her over for dinner.

(50:10):
And I don't remember how ittranspired, but it ended up, we're
going to the nursery.
And so we made Simon take usto the nursery that was nearby, and
we ended up coming home with,like, a bunch of plants.
And so she helped me plant allthe plants that are out front and
get me started on that.
And they, like, look so pretty.

(50:32):
And I was like, well, I feellike it could be more pretty.
And so now outside I have,like, all these different flowers
and.
And I actually have, like, anew favorite flower right now.
Like, I.
It was always sunflowers, butI realized that sunflowers were,
like, always my favoritebecause, like, I felt like it was
like this happy thing that you see.

(50:54):
But I realized now that, like,I love my plants and I name them
and, like, pet them and tellthem, sweet plant, keep growing.
I always say that to Jacob, too.
I'm like, you have to sing toit and be nice.
Yes.
I.
Well, I.
There's some of them that I pet.
And yeah, I'm like, thank youfor being so beautiful and providing

(51:15):
my air with clean air.
It's so stupid.
No, it's not.
It's literal gratitude.
It's beautiful.
But I realized that one of theflowers that for a long, long time,
every time I saw it, it wouldgive me, like, this boost of, like,
hope.
Like, oh, this means somethinggood is coming.
Is the daffodil.

(51:36):
Oh, that's a really pretty flower.
Yeah.
I've always thought it was,like, kind of a weird looking flower,
but I realized that every timesomething was, like, really messed
up in my life, like whenCourtney and I were looking for a
place to live together and wecouldn't find anyone to rent to us,
that house had a singulardaffodil in the yard.
And I remember that stood outto me.

(51:58):
And then I realized every timeI drive around and like, amen.
A mood or something, like, adaffodil would always, like, show
up somewhere.
Oh, wow.
And so Luann gave me, like, acrap ton of daffodils because I'm
always saying, I'm gonna getdaffodils one day, I'm gonna do it.
And then I forget.
Awesome.
Are they bulbs?
They're.
Or do they have seeds?
They're bulbs.

(52:18):
Okay.
So I need to get those in the ground.
And then I just loved lookingat the indoor or the outdoor plants
so much, and I started seeingthat there were indoor plants that
they're like, purpose isbasically act as an air purifier.
Okay.
And I was like, well, we havea lot of dogs and shit in the house,
so let's get an air purifying.

(52:40):
Like, would you get.
So my intention was to get asnake plant.
We like snake plants at ourhouse too.
Okay, well, the plant Ibought, I thought it was a snake
plant.
And it's for sure not.
It doesn't even look like it.
Oh.
I just.
I Think it was labeled snakeplant at Walmart.
And so I was like, oh, I gotto get it.
And I got it.

(53:00):
And then I, like, kept saying.
I was like, I don't think thisis a snake plant.
So I actually don't know whatit is.
Interesting.
But it was my first plant, andI named it Sally.
Have you ever used the appwhere you can, like, point it at
a plant and it'll tell youwhat it is?
No, but I should.
Yeah, let's just do it.
Find out.
We'll find out what Sally is.
So Sally's beautiful.
She's my first plant, and I.
And I love her.
And I've already had to, like,repot her.
She's gotten so big.

(53:21):
Oh, awesome.
And then when we were in D.C.
do you remember snake plantsbeing everywhere?
Not really.
No.
I'll be honest.
They were everywhere.
And I go, I'm going home, andI'm gonna get an actual snake plant.
Awesome.
I did.
Very cool.
Yeah.
I named it Regina.
Oh, I love that name.

(53:41):
Because they're.
They're like.
The plants, they say, like,they're, like, the most indestructible.
Like, you can't kill them.
Like, that's.
They like to be neglected or whatever.
And I don't know, just Reginapopped out, and I have Regina George.
I don't know why.
Okay, that makes sense.
She's pretty indestructible.
So I named it, named the stateplant Regina.

(54:02):
And then it was winter time,and Nora and I were, like, just wanting
to get outside, and so we wentto the nursery, and we bought this.
We're looking at flowers.
There's not a lot of options.
It's winter, so nothing'sreally out.
So they took us into this greenhouse.
They're like, well, there's alot of succulents.
Really?
I got some succulents.
I got some succulents.
Well, but I don't know whatkind they are.

(54:23):
They're just.
I had succulents.
I killed them.
Oh, water them.
I think I forgot about them.
So that happened, and theydied to a crisp.
But I ended up finding.
Which I didn't know what itwas called, but it's like.
It's like this viney greenleaf with, like, pink stripes through

(54:44):
it.
I've now learned that it'scalled a climbing jewel.
Okay.
So not, like, a great name.
Right?
But I.
It's so beautiful.
Wait, it's not the Wandering,Wandering Jew.
I think it's that what it is.
Yeah.
Okay.
I love it.
It's gorgeous.
I named that one Lola.
And it probably.
It probably has some kind of,like, a scientific name.

(55:05):
It probably does, but.
But everyone that I see thatcomments or I don't like posts about
it, they're like, oh, that'sthe Wandering Jew, or whatever.
And I got an airplane thatsame day because they were like,
oh, yeah, these are indestructible.
Oh.
Like, there's no dirt.
Right.
The roots go in.
There's no water.
It's not sitting in water there.

(55:26):
It's not sitting in dirt.
It's just this plant that yousit on a shelf, and you just have
to remember to, like, dunk itin water like, once a month, every
two months, and, like, sprayit with this, like, nutrient spray.
Really?
Huh.
And that survived for a while.
A long while.
Like, I had that for, like,six months before actually, like,

(55:47):
a week ago, I went to go pickup Aries, and that's a good name.
It fell apart because it wastoo air.
I don't know.
It died.
I know.
It was a funny joke.
It worked.
I picked it up and it, like,literally separated.
And I was like, what the hell?
And I went to go pick it upagain, and that separated because

(56:08):
it's, like these, like,sections, like, where it's, like,
inside of each other.
And I was like, what is happening?
And so I look it up and it'slike, oh, that's a dead airplane.
Oh, no.
I was like, oh, okay, I killedan airplane.
How long is his body sittingon your shelf?
I don't know.
So I had a dead body in my.
In my house for a while.
I don't know how long.
So.

(56:29):
And I think that's.
I had my airplane, my aloe,Lola Sally, and now my snake plant.
Okay.
Oh.
And I started, like, finding plants.
I was like, oh, that has tocome into my indoor collection.
Okay, there's that one.
And I can't remember, like,what it's really called, but it's
on my table and it's like aSwiss cheese.
Oh, those ones stress me outso bad.
Starts with an M, and I can't remember.

(56:49):
I don't.
Monstera.
Monstera.
Yes.
So that was on my list, and Iaccidentally fell upon that one,
I think, at Walmart.
I was like, jacob wants aMonstera next.
I think they're.
They're gorgeous.
And I knew from, like, I mean,since Christmas that a plant that
was on my list was the stringof pearls.
Yes.

(57:10):
Yes.
And so I kept thinking, like,oh, well, I keep collecting other
plants, so maybe someday I'llget it.
And Then I took my mom to thenursery for her birthday, and there
was a string of pearls.
And I go, is there a way.
I could get a clipping of thatand take it home?
Yeah, I think you just clip itand you, like, put it on dirt.
I think so.
Because it's like, a.
Right.

(57:31):
Yeah.
So now I have all of the,like, must haves.
And I'm sure eventually I'llbe and be like, well, now that I
have all my must haves, let'sjust get.
A little more exotic.
Let's do a cactus.
So, yeah, it just has grown,and now I have this, like, whole
corner in my sun room ofplants, and that's like, I love it.

(57:51):
All happy space.
I can sit in there.
And it's our dining room, too,so every time we eat, I get to stare
at my plants.
And it feels good, too, tokind of, like, nurture something.
Yeah, right?
Yeah.
And I really.
I mean, literally, Aries isthe only one I've killed in my indoor
plants.
I have not killed any otherindoor plants.
Knock on wood.
Please don't die, guys.
Yeah, but.
Yeah, so they all have namesto where, like, my kids or my mom.

(58:14):
If I haven't been home, I canbe like, oh, have you checked on
Lola?
I was really worried about herbefore I left.
What's the string of Pearl's name?
I don't think I named her,but, I mean, Pearl is probably a
good name.
Oh, I guess so.
I'm like, pearl.
What about.

(58:35):
No.
Should I let you guys name her?
I was gonna say that.
Of course you were.
Yeah.
Read your mind.
I should do that.
About your own plant.
No, let's do it.
Okay.
Okay.
So the day that this.
The day.
Maybe the day after, onFriday, after this episode gets posted,
I will post a picture of Pearlor my string of pearls.

(58:57):
And y'all already named it.
Too late, y'all.
No, no, no.
Y'all will name her.
I will leave that to you.
She'll still be calling it Pearl.
Just kidding.
I'm just kidding.
I'm just kidding.
Okay.
You are good.
You're amazing.
Yay.
I wanna.
I want to get a clipping from her.
Yes, we can do that.
Very cool.
And we talked about going andgetting clippings of Wisteria.

(59:19):
Yeah.
And I know they're in.
It's invasive, and somebody'sprobably gonna school us and be like,
don't.
I don't want to hear it.
And they smell so good.
It's happening.
Yeah.
So, yeah, I was excited tohave this episode because it's true.
Like, we have talked about.
Even my therapist was like,have you talked about pen palling
on your podcast yet?

(59:40):
And I was like, no.
And then, like, we talk.
We'd meet again.
She goes, did you talk aboutpen palling?
Because I got questions, andif it's okay with you, and I have
permission, I like to listento it.
I'm like, no, I haven't.
And then, like, someone, like,a listener would be like, that knows
me personally would be like,hey, you do that thing.
Yeah, like, I got questions.

(01:00:01):
Yeah, sure.
You, like, kept saying, like,people don't do that.
Like, it's not normal.
It's really cool.
And so finally, I was like,fine, we'll talk about it if we have
to, begrudgingly.
And I've always said I don'thave hobbies.
And I realize, oh, I collect plants.
And you do?
Yeah, you do.
You keep your.
Collect books.
And I guess I only saw them ascollections and not, like, a hobby.

(01:00:21):
Got you.
I collect books, I collect koozies.
I collect plants.
It is an interesting thing to say.
I collect books, I collect plants.
But it's like, those areactive things that you, like.
You have to read the books andfeed the plants and.
Yeah, so I see how it's ahobby, but in my brain, it was a
collection.
Like, I see a koozie, and Icollect the koozies.

(01:00:42):
Yeah.
Like, because I just have awhole basket of them.
Because I like to have them,and I don't need.
I just might need a koozie.
I might have a huge bangingrazor one day, and, like, everyone
might need a koozie.
Everyone's gonna need a koozie.
You get a koozie, you get a koozie.
Oh, we'll have to do that atour next event.

(01:01:03):
Oh, actually, you know how Icollect koozies, Simon?
For my 30th birthday, we wentto Mexico, and he had these koozies
made for me.
He did?
That is awesome.
He had this, like, a stack ofkoozies made for me so that at.
On my birthday at the resortin Mexico, I could literally just
pass them to people at the bus.

(01:01:23):
Like, have my koozie.
Have my koozie.
Here's my.
You know.
Oh, I have a surprise for you.
Okay.
No.
Okay.
I can't say it out loud.
Can you whisper it?
Nope.
Oh, okay.
It's not a surprise for them.
It's a surprise for you.
Okay, bye.
I'll whisper it to them.
Oh, thanks.

(01:01:43):
That was a huge surprise.
Couldn't have guessed that.
I'LL have to tell you guys.
You'll find out later.
Well, maybe even next episode,because I can share it on the intro.
That was very Beavis andButthoody, actually.
It would.
It'll end up being the intro.
Oh, we could make it the introfor this episode, actually, because

(01:02:06):
it'll.
You're right.
I could do the intro.
Yeah.
For this episode.
Okay.
That means I have to get on it.
Well, it's like in two weeks, so.
Okay.
I got this.
You got this.
Yeah.
It's really cool that you had,like, your own similar what I have.
You are always like, oh, thepin palling.

(01:02:28):
So cool.
The pin palling's so cool.
Then as we talked about,you're like, oh, I did stuff.
I know, you're right.
And you have, like, threedifferent variations of it.
Well, one of them was neveractually done.
I just went and bought stufffor it.
But yeah, yeah, we did.
And so that was interesting.
When you're on a mission,though, in Japan for the Mormon Church,
you've got, like, you're.
It's very rigid.
You have routine and you have to.

(01:02:49):
You're like.
Literally, one of the rules isyou have to write home every week.
So you can't talk to them, but.
You have to write.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Okay.
That's weird as fuck.
So.
But it did help with, like,now I have, like, memories.
Yeah.
So.
Okay.
It's a thing.
Okay.

(01:03:10):
We're going to have to talkmore about this Mormon thing someday.
Oh, yeah.
Well, all right.
That's what we got today for you.
Yeah.
So happy.
Pen pally.
Thank you so much for sharingall that.
Yeah, it was awesome.
Thanks for being curious.
Maybe you guys can do it too.
Or if you do, let me know.

(01:03:30):
That's right.
Let's get to penteling Skirts out.
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