Trisha Yearwood: Holiday Memories. Birthday Wisdom. Being a Step-Mom. Gratitude.

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Okay, cast up little food for you. So life. Oh
it's pretty bay, It's pretty beautiful thing that for a

(00:23):
little mouth kicking four? What Up? What Up? Happy Thursday?
Everybody super excited that Trisha Yearwood is back on the podcast.
Her first episode was so well received that I decided
to have her back on, and she wanted to come

(00:43):
back on. And it is not lost on me that
this is Trisia Yearwood and she's super busy. And I
got to hang out with her again for like another hour,
and she came over to my house and like you know,
hung out with Stevenson. We chit chatted in the kitchen.
I'm like, what is happening with my life right now?
So that was super cool and us she's sure Shearwood
and she's awesome, and she's got a cooking show along

(01:04):
with all the other amazing things that she does. I
decided to hit her up for holiday recipes and holiday traditions,
like what goes on with her and Garth and their family.
So we talked about that I get some life wisdom
from her because she recently turned fifty five and I
feel like she's lived a pretty amazing life. So we
talked about that and listener had asked me if I

(01:27):
could ask Tricia if she had any advice about being
a step mom, so I shared that with her and
then she gave her advice and I don't know, I
think you're just really going to enjoy this. Even though
she's been on the podcast before, this little talk was
completely different than the first, so give it a listen.
We also, of course cover gratitude, and we find out

(01:48):
what she's thankful for now, because every day you should
be thankful for something a little bit different. The first
time she was on, she shared four things, and this
time she shared a different four things. And speaking of gratitude,
in our interview, we talk about the gratitude journal that
Mary and I have been working on. And this is
exciting because at the time that I recorded this with Trisha,

(02:09):
I don't know that we had a revealed date or anything.
But if you're listening to this on Thursday and you're
a big SPA Four Things follower, then you know we
revealed what our journal looks like last night, and it's
just feel so good to have it out there. Mary

(02:30):
and I I feel like we've been working on a
gratitude journal for like a year. But a lot. It's
like we went so many different directions. This final version
that we put out there, we're putting out there to
the world. Our little baby is something that we've been
working on for months, and to see it come to
life is pretty insane. So I don't know, if you're

(02:51):
a creative type and you come up with things and
then you get to see the fruits of your labor,
just really really neat. I mean, you don't even have
to be creative, I mean anything in any work that
you do. When you see it actually come to life
and now it's something tangibles, still not tangible to the
people yet, but Mary and I have one one copy
that we have and then we placed an order because

(03:14):
we've got an amazing feedback and you have expressed that
you want it, so we put in a big order,
which was a big upfront investment for us. So um,
but we just are so excited about it. I hope
that you guys are too, and that you want to
buy it. But it's tied I, which is very in
right now. I mean, y'all love the tight eye pimp
and joy, So we thought, man, let's just carry this

(03:36):
awesome tied eye theme over to the journal um and
see what happens. Because it's something we want to carry
that we think is super cute and we feel like
if we want it, you'll you'll want it maybe hopefully.
And it's got four uh four things on it on
the front. It's not customizable. Those are the four things

(03:58):
that come. And then inside you get to write down
your own four things every day that you're grateful for.
And there's stickers, which I so pumped about the stickers.
There's um like a little note from Stevenson and Stashira,
a little note for me and Mary. There's prompts. So
some days we know you might be struggling with you

(04:18):
know what, I don't know. I can't even think of
things that I'm thankful for. So we decided we know
that there's those hard, hard days, So when when you
don't have the words, use a sticker when you can't
think of things, we put prompts. So we put questions
throughout the book that give you a like give you
a guideline, like, hey, you know, did you get to
talk to a friend today, did you get to go

(04:39):
grab coffee today? Do you have vital proteins? Did you
take a hot bath? Do you have running water like
stuff like that that that is a reminder. And then
just to tell you the four things that are on
the front, it says love hard, choose joy, laugh often,
and give things. So we thought those were appropriate. There
is fun quotes throughout that we picked o. I mean

(05:00):
every detail Mary and I did of this book. So
it's just shout out to j D who helps us
with um. He started working with us years ago with
Pimp and Joy. He did the original Pimp and Joy logo,
like helped us just come up with it and get
it you know, I don't know. He has the expertise
to like make it all the formatting and get it
all right and make it happen. So JD, we appreciate

(05:22):
you and all the emails back and forth and putting
up with us. Like it's just UM. So that's what
I would say right now. If I had to say
something I was thankful for, it would be I'm thankful
for j D, and I'm thankful for Mary and like,
and I'm thankful for our creativity and us working together
and being able to come up with this because I
just think that being able to and y'all, I'm excited

(05:45):
about it for myself because I want to have this
journal too to write down the things that I am
grateful for, because you know, study show it is good
for you. It's healthy for you to recognize what you're
thankful for, and you sleep better, you are happier overall.
Like there's no reason why we shouldn't be doing it.
And if you can't, you know, afford to buy the

(06:06):
journal to do it, then I encourage you to just
do it with us and get a piece of paper
out and write down four things every day that you're
grateful for. And by the way, it doesn't have to
be every day. We didn't put dates in the journal
because we didn't or like a route, like you should
write the date if you want to, because you can
use this to look back on and like have a
memory of like what was happening in your life with

(06:27):
this particular journal. And this will be like the four
Things Gratit journal first version, and then we'll have a
two point oh and then a three point oh. We'll
have updated versions with different colors or different covers, like
we'll move on from the tide Once we sell out
of the Tide Eye, there will be no more tid Eye,
will release a new cover and you can keep going.
You can collect them all and over the years, like
just look back at different things that you were grateful for. However,

(06:49):
we didn't include like a date line because if we
didn't want you to feel pressure to like have to
journal every single day, because that's what's hard for us.
And we we wanted to create something simple, not intimidating,
and that you know, you could just be relaxed with,
but also you know, serious, like you can be serious
about your entries or they can be you know, a sticker,

(07:11):
a fun emoji sticker or laid back um. And if
you skip a day, no big deal. You just do
it again the next day. If you skip a week,
no big deal. Pick it back up later when you
have time. But our hope is is that you will
love it. You want to take it everywhere with you,
you want to tell all your friends about it, you'll
want to buy it for yourself. And the journal is
a supporting Project Share education through Project Meta Share. And

(07:33):
we have a little note in there about them in
the journal as well, So if you give it as
a gift, when you open it up, um, it's it's
in there in the book. And oh, We also included
our macha recipe. Hello, Like that was kind of fun.
Each each edition that we put out, we're gonna include
a different recipe. So this one, it just made sense
for the first round to include the match a recipe

(07:53):
because I feel like that's our most asked question and
it'll be right there in the journal for you. So
it's kind of like you're getting I don't know you're
you're not getting. I can't say you're it's not like
you're getting a cookbook. I was about to say, it's
kind of like you're getting a recipe book, but you're not.
You're getting a one recipe. But who knows. As the
years go by and we start to do more than
maybe we'll start to include maybe a few more recipes,

(08:14):
and who knows, we could come up with a four
things cookbook. Just kidding, that's not gonna happen. Okay, now
I'm rambling. I know I'm rambling when I start to
just go off on things that don't make sense. But
I'm just excited and thank you for those of you
that have been excited with us, and that have wanted
it and believed in us and shopped us flaw and

(08:34):
supported things that we do and for those of you
that just love this podcast and the whole four Things
anything under the Four Things umbrella, which includes this podcast.
So thank you for subscribing, rating, reviewing, posting on Instagram.
I see you posting if I have missed it for
whatever reason. I'm bummed about that and I want to
see it, so post again and tag me. UM. So,

(08:55):
y'all are amazing and I hope you enjoy the Oh.
I guess I should say I've been talking about the
journal for all along and I told you all about it.
But if you missed the reveal, you can go see it. Um.
Just go to radiom dot com or go to like
shop a spall Instagram, the shop Forwards Instagram. There's so
many ways you can see it. But uh, the pre

(09:20):
order will be available tomorrow Friday. So if you're listening
to this podcast on Thursday, on Friday the two is
when the pre order will go down and then it's
it's gonna ship in December. I'm giving you that heads up, um,
but we couldn't. We don't want to wait till December
to reveal it and let y'all order because we know
a lot of you are wanting to get UH orders

(09:41):
in they will be delivered in time for Christmas presents.
So sorry for the tight deadline, but this was us
working as hard and as fast as we could with
this group in Chicago that was helping us do it,
who has office in London, and then they also have
an office in Turkey. So this whole thing is like worldwide.
I'd um amazing nous coming together to support Haiti. So

(10:06):
I love that. It's a very like a lot of
different people were involved to make this happen, but it
all started in Chicago. So shout out and um, yeah,
Friday tomorrow is a pre order or maybe you're listening
to this on Friday, it's right now, and so we're
going to do the pre order and then you know,
if we need to order more, we'll try to order more.
But again, like I said, once the tide's gone, it's

(10:27):
gonna be gone. And I really hope you'll like it.
And if you have other things, this is something we've
been seeing too with other things from Shoppus Boa the
Shop Forward that you want like stuff we have in stock,
like a star necklace or a pre made UH four
Things tote um or the if you want to customize
a tote, it probably would be shipped with the journal
because that takes a little while to get made. But

(10:49):
if you are buying stuff that we have in stock,
you may want to play separate orders, like order the
journal and just let that come when it comes, and
then do a separate order to order anything else that
you need that you want to go ahead and have
for Christmas shopping, because like everything you order is going
to wait until the journal ships because we don't want to.
We can't really, you know, we're not like it's still like,

(11:11):
I don't know what people think about our operation, but
it's very a mom and pop and like everything is
sent out with love, and you know, a lot of
you maybe have communicated with Ashley and um obviously Mary
that are at the shop forward, and there's a couple
of other people, but it's not like this massive operation. UM.
So we just are doing the best that we can

(11:33):
and we love that. UM y'all understand that and appreciate
that about us, we hope. So yeah that now I'm
done on my journal rant and we will get to
Tricia Yearwood. Here we go back by popular demand, Tricia Yearwood.

(11:53):
And but you know that every Girl album is out.
I think last time you were on we were prepping
for it coming. It was just about to come out,
I think. And so, how does it feel to have
you gave birth? I did. Um, I'm proud of my baby.
You know what it's It's such a it's been such
a long time coming. I think we talked last time
about how I've worked on this record for um from

(12:16):
start to finish. It didn't take that long, but the
process of getting it out and holding it after we
put out, let's be frank. So I've really been chomping
at the bit and it's been really cool because I
don't know, I've not had a response like this. People
know the single, people know every girl in this town.
But I've had UM. We've done a few shows now
on the tour and I've had people yelling out album
cuts and I'm like, they really are investing in the

(12:38):
whole album, which is in this day and age kind
of strange, but also really cool that they were resonating
with some of the other songs. Yeah, and you've been
out on tour and by the way, if you want
to know where Tricia is going to be, it's pretty
easy just Trishaarwood dot com. Yeah, really original um website
name and so like kind of getting back not you

(12:59):
have been on the road. I've been doing different things,
but kind of with this project. And then we were
together in l A for your album release. That memory
just popped into my head. That was like so fun
And that was the first time I had done all
those songs on the album live. That was the first
time I've ever done it. I was terrified that night,
but when you made it fun, No, You're amazing. And
the crowd. I've been to those before and sometimes in

(13:20):
l A it's a little bit I'd say sometimes l
A and New York like it's it's a different vibe
at times, um at the theater shows like that, But
yours was like when I my uber pulled up to
drop me off, there was like a lie and wrapped
around the building. I was like, okay, this is a
good side. But I mean, it's sure year what It's
not like I was worried for you, but you know,
the place filled up and it was like the energy

(13:42):
was great and people were yeah it was it was
so good. So I definitely encourage all to to check
it out. I'm sure you're probably already listening to, you know,
the Every Girl album, and you're singing every Girl in
This Town? And I feel like my kids when it
comes on, they jam out to it and me and
then I even just so you know, Alexa knows have
you ever said, Alexa, play every Girl in this town?

(14:04):
If you say, Alexa, play every Girl? Some what was
that band that came some other band came up? But
if you say every Girl in this town? She says,
here's every Girl in this Town by Tricia Yearwood, and
then she starts just so that are you the voice
of Alexa because that was really good? Was it? No?
I'm not, but uh, we're gonna get into four things
um with Tricia here, and I want to talk the

(14:26):
holidays because well your Tricia year would and I'm just
you seem like you're like the You're like a Martha
Stewart to me that also sings. Martha probably sings. I
don't know, is Martha made any records. She should, we'll
find out. I don't know. But so you have that going.
You've got like the all the recipes and the cocktails

(14:48):
like I was even looking up like festive drinks. You
have the festive drink. You inspired me to make ice
cubes with um, well, you're a recipe calls for pomegranate seeds,
but I didn't have those, but I had mint and
cranberry and I put them in ice cubes and I
was like, ma'am and not hard, right. I like I
like the I'm sort of the everyman's Martha Stewart because

(15:09):
like Martha would, Monica would grow the pomegranates. You know,
I probably see right, And I just um, I just
want to make it look. I like things that look
like they took effort, but they're really easy to do.
And there's a lot of that kind of stuff. Yeah,
so we're gonna talk holidays, including stuff like that, and
then I want to get into like you and holidays
and like memories or any traditions or stuff even growing

(15:32):
up or stuff maybe that you do at home these days.
And then you recently had a birthday, so happy birthday,
and we want to we want wisdom from the birthday. Girl, Well,
good luck with that. And then I have a question
from a listener that gets a little bit personal, but
I think can be relatable to a lot of people.
And so we'll kind of wrap out with that with

(15:54):
wrap up with that in a little little gratitude. So
let's get started with the first thing. Okay, first, okay,
So you're throwing a party or your family's coming over.
Do you have well, this could be two different questions,
because it may be two different answers. Do you have
a go to recipe for the holidays that you make

(16:16):
or do you have a most requested recipe to be made? Well,
if it's if it's just a meal that's not associated
with Thanksgiving or Christmas, the most requested meal is my
mom's roast beef, um rice and gravy or mastretaise and gravy,
because roast beef is one of those things that you
cook low and slow for several hours and when you

(16:37):
walk in the house, it smells so incredible in the
kitchen that even one of my friends will come over
and then she'll just walk outside and come back in.
She's like, I just wanna smell that smell again, you know. Um,
And that's that's so. And Garth will be like, if
someone's coming over, he'll be like, can you make that
roast beef thing? Which is really simple to do, but um,
the holidays, I don't know why we only make certain

(16:58):
things once a year, because I feel like they're so
good other times a year. And my favorite, my favorite
side is my grandmother's corn bread dressing that we serve
at Thanksgiving. Okay, so you're a cornbread dressing, not a
white bread, right, I am, well, I she actually this
has corn bread in it, It has white bread crumbs,
it has salting crackers, so it has three different kinds

(17:19):
of bread in it. Um, basically. And then um, you
use the broth off of your turkey that you cooked
to flavor it, and some onions and she put boiled
eggs in hers chopped up. Um. We're not sage people
at my house, so not a ton of sage. Um.
And it's just really basic and really really good, and
I love it so much that it's the like I

(17:41):
would not have a Thanksgiving me all without that on
the table. And I also sometimes will make it in
the summer because I'm like, why do we do this
once a year? Like, why this is one of my
favorite things in the world. Why do I wait until
November to have it? So? Um, I have it in
the summer too. Okay, now I'm tempted to crush up
some saltines. My dad already does like a corn bread
white bread mixture situation, and it's really good. But the saltines,

(18:05):
I could just see how that takes it to the
next level. Yeah, it does, and it's really um you know,
cru crush them up really small. And also it's what's
nice about the dressing is for Thanksgiving. If you're cooking,
there's so much stress. People think it's so stressful because
you have all this food to make, and now how
do you manage that? You know, well, you do everything
you can do ahead, so you can make the corn
bread the day before, you can make the you can

(18:26):
toast the bread crumbs a day or two before and
have them in a zip black bag. You can crush
up your saltines, you can have your eggs boiled, you know.
So basically that morning, all you have to do is
put it together. And my mom used to let us
um as kids like, she was like, clean hands make
really good mixer, so she'd let us us the best
way to get it all integrated and get everything mixed
together is to use your hands and just get it

(18:48):
all together and then you press in a pan. It's
basically cooked stick in the other to warm it up
and you're ready to go. Oh perfect. You know. Last
Thanksgiving my This year, I'm hosting it here in Nashville
because my dad just moved here and it's be easier
for everybody to come here, so my sisters will come
to Colorado. Last year, we were in Austin and I
was going over to my in laws and I contributed

(19:10):
a gluten free like call a flower based dressing and
nobody ate it. And it was just such a fail.
Like I was just I tried, I really and it
wasn't I didn't even follow a recipe, Tricia. I don't
know what didn't work. I just winged it, and I

(19:32):
really thought it was coming together and certain parts were
tasting really good. And I really rely on my dad
a lot of times to help me with flavoring. But
he was recently out of the hospital and had a
feeding tube and he still has it and can't eat.
So it really sucks because he loves food, but he's
I've lost my taste tester because he can't swall. And
so I was like, he was there with me, and
he really tried. He's like, well, I can't taste it,

(19:55):
but why don't you add some of that. Why don't
you add some of that? And then so, yeah, I
took a lot of it. Did you taste did you
eat to be like I'm proud I'm eating putting it
on my Yeah. It was almost like a matter of like,
I this is vegetables and it's gonna be good for
my body and I'm eating it, and then of like

(20:15):
why is nobody else? And so you had like a
gluten free cauliflower smoothie every day for the next week
and it went in the trash like it just is
like nobody wanted to. My husband was like he kind
of helped me. He's like, do you want me to
go get some just to like make it? Maybe other
people will follow suit, Like okay, so you know, hosting

(20:36):
for me, I'm not I'm not I'm the baby, I'm
the young sister. So my older sister plus she's kind
of like I love people that are Martha Stewart ish,
And my sister really is like she can everybody comes
over and the house is clean and she's got four
kids running around and everything looks perfect. Although she'll be
the first to say like it's not you're just getting
the you know, before you all came over. I was

(20:56):
everything of cereal on somebody like she's she's very real,
but she just always has it together if she's hosting.
My sister is the same. I'm the youngest. That's the
same thing. And so I just never really had to host.
So I don't host. But I mean, I'm hosting this year,
So do not make the culiflower. I'm gonna go old school.

(21:19):
I'm gonna and I'm adding salting crackers. But like, i
gotta think, like we're starting a new family, Like it's
only been a year and a half with our kids,
but like we've got to start traditions. Like what are
our traditions? So like what do you do you remember
anything from your childhood or is there stuff that you've
started now later in life for do you all have
anything that you look forward to? Yeah, well the I

(21:42):
My thing I learned after I became an adult was
that if you wait until like December tenth to start
to put up your tree for Christmas, um, you're just
doing all this work and then it has to come down,
you know. So I'm I am one of those I
used to be like you can't talk about Christmas until Thanksgivings. Over.
But then I realized the deck rations are just I
stopped putting stuff out because, um, they go down so fast.

(22:05):
And my mom and dad, Um, we loved Christmas in
our house. And my mother would she was that she
was totally Martha Stewart. She would have the house clean,
the table immaculate, and then she would she would wrap
our front door of our house like a present with
wrapping paper and put a bowl on the front and
light it. You know. I mean we lived in the country,
like nobody really saw it, probably, but yea yeah, And

(22:28):
she thought, you know, it's funny because when I was
a kid, she was like, we're not gonna put lights
around the house. And then after I left home, I
go home and there were just lights everywhere all over
the house. We would actually, they'll go and chop down
the Christmas tree and make it. You know. My dad
was always like, this will fit, and it never would
and you have to, you know, make it smaller to
get into the house. Um. And so one of the
things now that I have um children, you know, especially

(22:50):
when they were younger and being um a bonus mom
and them having another home and and their mom that
that you Christmas with we Gartha and I made traditions
for our kids that that our tree would be would
not be decorated until we could all be together. So
that was something that we did as a family that
really helped me. I would look back and know it
was really Garth letting those girls bond with me, giving

(23:11):
me something that could be ours. And now that they're grown,
they're all in their twenties, they live different places, they
have their own lives. We put up that tree right
after Thanksgiving, but we don't decorate that tree until we
can get all three girls together. And that's something we
have stuck to, which is not always easy now that
they're grown, but it brings a sense of family. And
these girls, now that they're in their twenties, if we go,

(23:33):
I know you're busy. If you can't do it, they're like,
no, no no, no, we have to do it. This is
our thing. So it's really cool to see something that
started when they were really young, that you thought might
not mean anything to them become something that they treasure.
And that's that's that. And it doesn't have to be
something elaborator. It can be something very simple. Yeah, and
then do y'all do you have certain like cookies or
drinks that you make to decorate, or a movie that

(23:53):
you put on, or music or just as long as
everybody's together or since like you know, half of y'all
sing sing yourselves, we play music. We play a variety
of things. Um, you know, we usually just put on
on like play Christmas music, and um, it's really weird
now that Garthen I have a Christmas album. Sometimes our
songs will come up and it's a little embarrassing to
hear yourself singing and when you're decor in the tree.

(24:15):
But have fun. But yeah, but and we do a
cookie party. We do a Christmas cookie party, which I
highly recommend. Um, have your friends come over and bring
their favorite recipe, something their mother made or they make
every year their tradition, and get you know, a bunch
of mixers going and get all these cookies going. Are
you all make all make them together? They don't bring
it over, They bring their recipe. They might bring a

(24:37):
mixer if you don't have enough to go around. I
have a couple of mixers in my house and we
all get together and it's just it's just flour and
eggs and sugar for days in the kitchen and then
you have all these cookies, and then you make like
little boxes of variety of all these cookies to take
and give to your friends or to take home with
you for yourself. So it's a way to share all
of your family traditions with your friends. Um and if

(25:00):
you don't if you don't have that recipe, you can
just be the girl that's like washing up the cookie
cutters because you're gonna use them next, you know, so,
so it doesn't you don't have to be a culinary
goddess to be able to do this. And it's really
a fun, a fun thing. The guys are usually watching football,
and I learned early on to make something savory for
that day because it's a lot of sugar, a lot
of sweets. So I'll usually have like a crock pot

(25:21):
with macaroni cheese in it, or chili or something that's savory.
So you've got some salt to cut all that sweet with.
But it's a really really fun thing to do. Okay, yeah,
I got it. Adding that to my list of things too,
maybe bust out, Yeah, and I totally do it. I'll
have people are gonna have to bring their mixer, but
I could I could see it that happening, and then yeah,
you have little gift things to pass out, so you

(25:44):
didn't it's a variety, but you only have to make
one of them ish exactly. And you know how you're
going to get Probably this Christmas, you'll get a ton
of really nice tins that are decorated with stuff in them,
and you don't ever know what to do with them.
Just save them, put them in a closet, and then
when that cookie party happens, you got all these cute
little tins you can throw stuff in. I mean, that's
like a hall. I was going to ask you if
you had any holiday hacks, but that's a good one.

(26:05):
That sounds like a hack. And then the ice cubes, Yeah,
that's cubes well, and also the ice cubes. If you're
making a drink that you're going to serve at a
party that's gonna get watered down, you know, make the
ice cubes out of the drink you're making. So if
you're gonna give next level than that, because you know
how what ice will melt and dilute the drink. Yes,
So if you're if you're making even if it's tea

(26:27):
or if it's some you know, some kind of cocktail
that has apple juice in it. Just just freeze your
ice cubes, freeze some apple juice, or freeze some tea,
or freeze some pomegranate juice or whatever you're using in
the drink, and then as it melts in the drink,
it won't delute your drink. I'm just now that's a
real I mean, that's a legit holiday hack. Okay for sure. Um, Now,

(26:48):
just to kind of round out, I know we were
talking about music a second ago when you were talking
about decorating the tree. But your favorite Christmas song either
to listen to a perform because again, that answer could
be different. Yeah. I love the Christmas song the Chestnuts
Roasting on open Fire. I love that song. I love
to sing that song. I kind of um channel the
Carpenters when I sing that song. But my favorite, my

(27:10):
favorite Christmas album to just put on listen to is um.
Emmylou Harris has an album called Out of the Stable
and it's all kind of bluegrass, very just acoustic harmony,
um songs and um it's one of my favorite Christmas
albums of all time. Okay, that's good. I feel like
this it's our job right now, Trisha, to get people
in the spirit. We're doing that and get maybe you're

(27:33):
maybe you're adding songs to their playlist. You've already suggested
a cookie party. I'm just saying I figured out how
to not dilute their cocktail. And now I need to
know favorite Christmas movie? Are your movie watcher? Some people
don't watch movies. I am a movie watcher. I mean
I love the funny Christmas movies. So I love Like,
I love like Elf. I love Elf. I love National

(27:54):
Lampoons Christmas. I love the Chevy Chase Christmas um pretty
much in a Ristmas story, which is really old. I
mean all I want those movies playing during the Holidays,
even if I want Miracle on thirty four Street, I
want all of it. So I um, yeah, I definitely
have it. But I you know, Elf is interesting to
me because it's more of a modern movie that has

(28:15):
become a classic, and I think it's hard for a
Christmas movie to become a classic movie. And I don't
I could watch that a million times. I think my
husband gets really like, are we watching ELpH again? I'm like, yeah,
we actually are. I mean it's too I mean, who's
too funny, not too. I was we were doing like
we're doing our four things like Christmas, uh pull overs,
like are similar to our totes, but we put your

(28:36):
four favorite things. Were brainstorming what people might like, and
the most popular movies that we were getting suggested to us.
We're Elf, the Holiday, Home Alone, and The Grinch. And
then the big debate is Home Alone a Christmas movie?
Because some people say it's not, but because you could
take that it could happen at any time, like not
around Christmas, and the same storyline could happen. And I'm like,

(28:59):
I think it's a Christmas and it's a great one.
I would I would put that, you know, but I
would also put Steel Magnolias on that list because yes,
because that's my favorite movies. But but it covers every holiday.
I mean, it starts at Easter, but but the whole
story of their lives are told through the holidays, if
you think about it. So it starts with Eastern it
ends with Easter, but Christmas is when they find out
that Shelby is pregnant and it's not a good thing.

(29:20):
And I mean, I could quote every line in the movie.
You probably could too, So I will watch that at
the holidays, and what does she say? He's so confused.
He doesn't know whether to scratch his watch or wand
his button. I think says that. That's Dolly says that.
Dolly says it. Okay, see you're no, I'm sorry, No,
it's okay. Of course I love that. That's one of

(29:41):
your favorite movies. One of my favorite mines. Top three
favorite movies of all time are still Magnolias, Dirty Dancing,
and Pretty Woman. Oh You're We're This is why we're friends. Yes,
we totally should. And you can make me cookies. I mean,
you don't want me to make you cookie because I'm
gonna show up with a call of flower gluten free
one and you're gonna be like, this is just got's Yeah,
I don't know. I don't know. I'll try. It'll be great. Also,

(30:03):
I my sister and I watch Arthur at Christmas, the
original Arthur with Dudley Moore's It's not a Christmas movie,
but it does like maybe I saw that a long time.
You need to watch it? Is it something I can
It's something you can revisit and if you needed me
to go from like the beginning of the movie and
quote you the entire movie. I can it's worth it.
It'll be It'll become one of your favorites. If you
watch it again. You might be too young, but I

(30:24):
think you'll like it. What about Hallmark Christmas movies? Do
you indulge? Um? Not so much. I feel like you
could be in one. Have they ever asked you. I've
been discussed, Well, do you think you would do it?
I mean, my if the if the script was right,
and if you do, you want to come along, well,

(30:47):
I mean I could be an extra. I spring this
up to anybody. I had Kristin Chinewith on the podcast
a couple of weeks ago. Get that name off the
floor you dropped. So anyways, she is in a like
an upcoming Christmas movie and she I was like, so,

(31:10):
I had so many questions, Like I just couldn't even contain.
I mean, I'm sure I like overly geeked out, but
that I mean I was, you know, like she's on Broadway,
She's doing all this stuff. Tod I'm like, you just
did your first like Lifetime or Hallmark Christmas movie ever
And I'm like, oh, yes, hers is Hallmark? Right? Yes? Um.
A couple of other people have done like Lifetime ones,
but Hallmark kind of rules rules the Christmas movies. But

(31:33):
I mean I'll take I'll take it being an extra.
I was telling her, I could if you know somebody,
I'll work. I'll be the barista and the cute coffee shop.
You don't watch them, so you don't know, but it's
normally I don't watch them. Is that I think what
happened I used to watch a lot of those. Okay,
what happened is with with um all these streaming things
coming out and binge watching, I kind of started watching

(31:55):
series and I don't have a ton of time to
watch television. So I'll binge something when I can, and
i'll get umbil like, and then I gotta get caught
up on the things that I used to watch that
we're you know, one weekly shows, and so I haven't
had a chance to relive that. I'm gonna make you
a promise that this Christmas, I'm gonna watch a couple
of Hallmark movies and we'll discuss. Okay, do you and
Garth have something you all binge together like on Netflix?

(32:17):
And like you can't you can't binge, you can't TV
cheat right, like you can't watch it without him. No,
um no, he doesn't really do that, so I so
that makes it even harder. We don't sit and bene
watch stuff together. He likes to watch football and I
like football too, so we watch sports together and that's
really it. Sometimes I can get him to watch a
movie with me, sit in living and watch a movie,

(32:38):
but usually it's just sports um, or he's on a
tractor somewhere. He's like, he doesn't just sit and do that.
So I will binge watch my shows um in my time.
And but I have friends like my sister and I.
You know, if we're we're watching something, usually she will
tell me about something or I'll tell her about something,
and then we're we like, we can't talk about this
until you've got to get caught up. This is where

(32:59):
I am. You have to get cut so we can
talk about it. And she's my person. Yeah, okay, Well,
because I was gonna if y'all needed like a couples
want to binge. My husband and I are totally into
succession right now. Oh yeah, I want that. Leslie just
freak out over there, isn't it? So my list is
on my list? Oh it is so good Yellowstone, Yellowstone,
Did you do subcess subsess? I'm like, where where is

(33:24):
Mike Kevin Costner? I know, well mine's in mind's at
home right now. I know yours actually can't do a
lot of that. Like I'm sure that Garth like comes
up on his horse sometimes, which is like yeah, which
just makes it. That makes it that's like, yeah, okay,
whatever you need. Totally hot. I mean without the murdering.
He probably doesn't like engage. You didn't really talk about it, Amy.
I mean, there's a lot of similarities in doing that

(33:45):
show in our lives, but but I'm the hard part
about that one is it's like when is it coming back?
When is it coming back on the air? Let's google that?
And should we talk about Rip who was in like
school ties, who was like was he was like a
yuppy actor in the when he was a kid, and
now he's this It's like, look at me, bro hot cowboy.

(34:05):
I mean, I can't, I can't get over it. There
was a scene in that one of the episodes with
him and Beth, who she's amazing may yeah, the daughter
is amazing, and um they're talking and he's on a
horse of course, and um, that rhymed and uh and
he says, I'm they're kind of flirting with each other
and he says, well, I'm just gonna ride up into
the sunset now, and she says, um, you know it's uh,

(34:28):
it's morning, and he goes, He goes, I know that,
and you drive. He just rides off on the horse
and just like it was just so romantic. I kept
playing it over and over again. Yeah, and then and
then you made Garth re enact that. Yes, I did,
I did. He has chaps. That's all I can say. Well,

(34:52):
I know you're a year older since I saw you
last five five yeah, the big number. But you don't
look good. But I mean I only saw me like
like last week, but I had a birthday and I'm
still a mature so it works out. So, you know,
some people that knew that you were coming back on
the podcast started sending in things and comments and a

(35:13):
lot of them were and I'm quoting one now just
so you know, like this is a legit quote, and
there was multiple What is your secret to looking so
young and beautiful? You are so beautiful? Exclamation point? Wow,
that is very sweet. Yeah, did you see in person?
And then Chase who he's on the podcast. A lot
of people are starting to get familiar with who he is.
We do a Q and a episode and so he

(35:34):
will read the questions for me shout out Chase, and
then um, we kind of banenter. But he the first
time he met you. I remember me like, oh, Chase,
come on, because when we got dumb recording, he was like, sorry,
I don't know, I just have to say this, do
you You probably don't know if you were this, but
I remember because I was like, oh jeez. He was like,

(35:54):
you are stunning. Remember Chase your remember that you had
makeup on that day? Today he was like, you are stunning.
So anyway I think that you yeah, you do. You
are beautiful, but you have it. You carry yourself in
a way too, and there's this confidence about you that
also adds to all of that, and so kind of

(36:18):
how how do you handle it? And even being a
successful woman, sometimes there's you probably get a lot of
things in your ears that maybe even some are like, Okay,
that's cool to hear, but gotta keep it, not get
a big head. And then there's other times you hear
stuff about yourself and we all do from mean people.
That say stuff You're like, Okay, can't let that get
in my head. So how do you do all that

(36:42):
and be beautiful on inside and out? Because you are? Well?
Thank you. I think the hardest part is I think
it's I think it's hard to be a girl, first
of all, and I think that the insecurities that we
all have are not something that I don't have. I mean,
I think, um, you know, we're the hardest on ourselves.
The voice we the voice that we talk to ourselves

(37:02):
within our head is the harshest critic that we're ever
going to have. UM, So I don't have I'm not
overly confident. That's not my problem. I have to sort of, um,
I have to sort of have that conversation with myself
every day to accept myself the way I am. Because
there's we all have things about ourselves we don't like,
and we can go down that road easily and you
can live there if you if you try. I think
one of the nice things about being older, and there's

(37:24):
a lot of bad things, you know, like I'm like,
my back hurts right now, but um, there's a lot
of but the but the nice thing is you start
to really understand and appreciate the things that really do matter,
and you start to let go of the things that
don't matter so much. And I think that that's also
really hard to do. I see myself. Um, my mother

(37:44):
was beautiful and I um an inside and out. And
I always thought, man, if I if I can age
like her, I'll be so happy. And when I see
things about myself, even even look at my hands and
I see the wrinkles in my hands, these are my
mom's hands now, and I'm like, it's so wonderful because
she's gone, but I'm still I'm becoming in my my
best day, I'm becoming her. Um, it's so weird you

(38:07):
say that you see it in your hands, because I
see it in my hands, in my toes. Yeah, that's
what happens. But why is it the hands in the toes.
I don't know, but it definitely starts to happen in
the hands, um, And I think it's Uh, it's something
if you can open yourself up to loving yourself the
way you are, and that does happen as you get older.
It just frees you up to enjoy every aspect of

(38:29):
your life more. Because, um, when you get older, when
you get to be older, and you start to lose
people in your life, and I guess we always end
up here. But when you when that starts to happen,
it changes your perspective on what really is important and
it really does allow you, with all the sadness that
comes with that, to have joy in your life because
you really you learn to appreciate it more. And um,

(38:51):
you can't get there till you get there. But I
think that that if you're talking about lessons, um, my
mom and dad both were really wonderful in that they
always encouraged my sister and I to find what makes
us happy and to be happy. And so for me,
music was something that nobody I knew did um in
my small town, but I knew it was what I
would bring me joy. So I followed that path with

(39:12):
a set of really conservative parents who probably thought, our
little girl is moving to Nashville at nineteen and she
doesn't know anybody, and she's going to pursue this dream
that is so out there. And they never said, well,
you're not able to do that, or they never said
that's too scary, don't do that. They always, you know,
encouraged me to be happy. And that gets to the
core of of all of it. And and I don't

(39:35):
know if it's turning fifty five or you know. I
told Garth yesterday, I said, I think I might be
having my own midlife crisis and that I'm reevaluating everything
and I'm going I'm where he and I both are
in the busiest time of our lives, which we didn't
think we would be in our fifties. Um, and it's wonderful,
but we also have to step back and go, Okay,
if we're kind of grinding it out when you know

(39:55):
the iron is hot again, this it's all wonderful, but
let's make sure we're doing the things that really matter
to us. And a lot of really cool things come
our way and you want to say yes because they
seem fun, but you have to really sit back and go,
is this really going to be? You know, what are
the things that I want to be involved in? And
for me, breast cancers one, animal rescue is one. And

(40:15):
I just had this epiphany yesterday of like, I need
to try to make all the things people come to
me for and want me to do work towards the
things that matter to me. So if you want to
come and do business with me. Then, how are we
going to make a difference in cancer research, how are
we going to make a difference in in uh, in
animal rescue? Like, let's find ways to promote the things
that I'm passionate about. And it was kind of a

(40:36):
cool feeling because I'm like, Okay, I'm at a place
now where I can figure out how do I make
the things that really matter to me become the things
that are on the top of the list, and not
just keep saying yes the things that seem like they'd
be fun. Yeah. I love that. That's some good wisdom
for sure. And I'm sure you know when you first
started out like figuring out what you can not when

(40:56):
you first started I guess I should say when you
first started to be the superstar. I can't imagine all
of the things that yeah, do come to you? And
then how do you You're kind of feel like a
yes person probably a lot, because you're building your building
and you well, and if you're naturally a yes person,
then you have to wire yourself to be like, Okay, no,

(41:17):
actually it's healthy for me to say no. Yeah, And
I'm I'm really at fifty five just getting there. I mean,
it really is kind of a thing where I'm going.
You know, there's a lot of really cool opportunity, but
I really need to sit and really be um thinking
about what what is really best for me to do,
because I can make a bigger impact, I think, with
less if I'm really focusing on the right things. Um.

(41:40):
And and you know, I don't know if I'll live
another fifty years. I mean I just built a home
with President Carter, who's ninety five, which is so crazy. Yeah,
So Tricia and Garth's f y if you don't know,
they work with Habitat for Humanity and they're out on
the ground like legit doing the work. And you're out
there with you know, a former president who's ninety five

(42:02):
and he's out there working too. I mean that is
a man of service service of the people, like he
genuinely cared like obviously he served our country as president,
but then like to still be serving the people, you know,
and then the same thing for you and Garth. I
feel like you'll genuinely have a heart for what you're
passionate about. You you things that you truly care about.
It again, yeah, and I think it's also that comes

(42:24):
with age too, but it kind of we were both
raised with to who much has given, much is expected,
you know, and it's like um. Being with the Carter's
has also been a real kind of re evaluating moment
for me because I mean Ms rosalind ise Um, so
she's much younger, but she's out there doing the same
work alongside her husband. They've been married almost seventy four years, um,

(42:46):
which is hard to fathom, you know. And they really
are about you know this, this whole build is about
with everything that's going on in our world right now,
it's about inclusion. It's about loving one another. It's about
putting um your political views aside, because they're every every
sort of person building alongside each other in these bills

(43:06):
and about focusing on someone else. And I think we're
in a in a place and I'm guilty of it,
of focusing so much on me, me, me and what
I need to do for me. And I've got to
make sure I take care of this and this is
bothering me and I have anxiety about this. If you
take yourself out of yourself for a minute, it kind
of fixes all that other stuff that is on your plate.
It just if you if you think about helping someone else.

(43:28):
The woman that we built for our house is a
single mom. Her kids came to see the house for
the first time. We went from a slab to drive
it in in five days. It was amazing. And so
her kids came and they have a backyard and they
have some woods behind their house. Where they live now
is not safe. They're not allowed to play and they're
not allowed to play outside. And then they have a yard,
and I'm like, first of all, I need to get

(43:50):
your rescue dog. And second of all, the joy they
came out and they were just putting their a little
their little kids putting their little arms around your leg
and thank you for building our house. And you're just thinking,
this is this is more important than what what I
weigh or what I you know, what I'm what what
my what number, my song is on the chart or whatever.
It's really important to get outside yourself. That's so wise.

(44:13):
Look drop it. I mean, this is stuff I know,
I know it, and I know that chases around the
corner chaste. I hate that I can't see your face
right now, but I feel like he's probably like Amy
needed to here this today because this week has just
been a weird week for me, and I felt like
I was losing my mind. But if I had at

(44:34):
any point when maybe I was going a little bit crazy,
not today, but was it yesterday? Probably, And yeah, and
I probably needed that reminder. And I remember my mom
telling me something similar when I was in college. I
mean it stuff you have to just I think it's
good to have people that you look up to and
that are wise and and to bring it back into you.

(44:57):
I'm like, oh God, I wish someone had just said
that to me yesterday, because like we haven't heard that before.
We don't know it, but it's like you can get
you get so wrapped up in what's happening right then,
and there you forget like okay, like take it's not
to take the focus off of me for a minute,
and the anxiety kind of goes away. Like I remember
in college, I was freaking out about something I had

(45:17):
going on, and my mom literally I think she was
over it. I called her and I was just complaining
about this and I was so worked up about that,
and she said, can you just go like volunteer somewhere,
Like I don't know, can you find somewhere that you
can start plugging in and volunteer and make it not
about you, serve somebody else. And I was like sure,
And I think also with you, I mean you, you know,

(45:40):
your children have have put you in a position of
your your life is definitely about somebody else. You know,
you have to you have this challenge of these kids
who you rescued basically, and you've got to figure out
how to Um, it's about them. I think it's not
your fault, you know. I think about my parents, who
were probably one of the last generations of people who

(46:01):
it was really instilled in them to do for others.
And then my my generation, which is ahead of you,
we were sort of all about like let's let me
take care of me, you know, and and and we've
kind of instilled that in the next generation. What I
what I love is when I see I'm I'm looking
at our Our youngest is twenty two years old, twenty
three years old, and she she's the first generation I'm

(46:25):
seeing of like, um, we gotta get back, we gotta
say the planet, we got to get back to all
the things that matter. We've got to do for others.
So maybe it comes in cycles, but we have to
remember that that that it isn't just about us, And
and again I say it's not our fault almost. It's
almost like somewhere along the way it became like you've
got to take care of yourself. It has to be

(46:45):
about you sometimes, but it is important to get out
and do for others. And I think that's something that
we need to teach our kids because um, because if
you if you're the example for your kids and they
want to go out and do that too. And the
grad you know, when we do habitat for instance, people
say thank you for being here, thank you for doing this,
and Garth, I'm like, we feel guilty being thanked because

(47:06):
we get so much more out of it than we give.
And that is the thing that sounds cliche, but it's true.
When you get outside yourself and do something for somebody else,
it does something for you that you can't even describe.
I need to give you my number. You need to
just text me next time you're having anxiety. I got you. Okay,
Well thank you. I mean I just but it was stuff.
I was just wrapped around and it was very selfish things.
But had I just stepped outside and kind of taken

(47:28):
five minuteses go focus on somebody else, Like how can
I serve somebody else in this moment? It probably could
help reset me. And you know, when you bring up
my kids and like the responsibility of you know, each
generation to the next. I that has been an epiphany lately,
sort of like you were talking about you had a
realization yesterday. Like I had a realization the other day

(47:49):
where my kids they came over from Haiti and now
they're nine and twelve, and I felt like, Okay, well
they grew up in an orphanage and now they're here
and they're older, so like they know the they know this,
that this is different and how that they're blessed. And
but I think they got here and then we've done

(48:09):
certain things with them that kind of have created a well,
this is just what life is now, and this is
how every kid lives when you come to America. And
I'm like, oh, but like because like they'll just non
you know, just non sholy how they speak of things.
And I'm like, like going somewhere or hopping on an airplane,
or going to New York for their birthday or like
a which I want to I want to show them

(48:32):
the world. I want them to experience things I want
to love them, but also I've got to bring it
back to where they need to be serving others and
see that other people and other kids and other families.
They don't get on airplanes. But also they don't they
don't do that. So it just made me think like
that that we got involved with a group here in
Nashville called Home Street Home, which was started by a

(48:54):
homeless guy, formerly homeless Nashville man, and so he knows
what it's like and he just serves the homeless homeless directly.
He doesn't have a shelter. He goes to where they
are and he takes families out and you can and
so yes, now it's confirmed, like I'm gathering up the
kids and then my dad because now he lives here
and he loves serving others. He's got a big heart.

(49:14):
But I need to go do that and take them
out into the or even if it was something like habitat,
take them out and show them like, this is how
we serve others that don't have maybe everything that we
have and you'll get something from that that they will
get something from that that money can buy. And also
don't stress over oh my gosh, am I not my

(49:35):
kids have to be this or that, because I have
a funny story to tell you. My my niece Ashley,
who is now um a nurse practitioner. She's like she's
a rock star. She's amazing. She's very kind, she's very giving.
When she was little, she was born when She's a
Love of the Boy came out, So she was born
the year that that single came out. So she only
knew me as this girl who had this career. And

(49:57):
they would travel with me, and you know, she would
she was when she was like two or three. I'd
bring her out on stage and I would saying somewhere
with a rainbow to her and she um, that was
her life, you know. And I remember walking out of
a hotel one day to get to get on to
go somewhere, and she said, and she's about three, and
she said, where's our limo? And I was like, oh
my god, like I have to fix this now or

(50:20):
I'm gonna be paying for therapy, you know, for later.
And then she also went on a school trip and
she got under the school bus and said, my, my
antritious bus is much nicer than this, you know. So
we had to have a conversation about you know, what
Auntie does is something really cool, but it's very special
and it's not not normal. It's not normal, you know.
And and then and then she's fine. She turned up fine,

(50:41):
So don't don't stress over it too much. Where's our limo? No,
that story, that's that's amazing. But I feel like, yes,
that's the trajectory where like my kids need to be
like not not limo since but you see what I'm saying,
they need to be reeled back in and kind of
also shown that. But you're real, You'll you've got it.
You're a real girl. Don't worry about it. You're good.
I'm and every girl you, every girl in this town

(51:02):
you are, and every girl you got this. We're both
wearing cameo by the way. I know I Tricia has
got on its podcast. You all can't see, but Tricia
has got on a hot pink shirt with a camo vest,
and I'm wearing like a new It's not even it's
a cameo pimp and joy hoodie. It just like a sample.
I just got the mail, so I was like, well,
I'm gonna put that. You need testing. I need them,
and I need one because I'm a camel girl. Yes, okay,

(51:23):
well I can do that. Tricia brought me a bucket
of goodies too, So I will never repay you for
all the really cool stuff you've given me. We'll just
keep keep just keep it going, keep it going and going,
keep it going. So earlier when we were talking, it
came up that your bonus mom. You just kind of
casually throw that in there. And I love that you

(51:44):
say bonus mom. And because there is a there's there's
step moms, there's um my dad's wife, which is what
my sister and I affectionately called our step mom of
like twenty years. And you know, she was nice, like
it was fine, but like I never felt connected to her.
And I had known her since I was eight years

(52:06):
old until I was thirty something, and like they're just
everything was surface, it wasn't. My dad would always try
to convince us that she loved us, and I don't
know when they got divorced. I haven't talked to her
from her at all, so I really don't think that
there was a relationship. Um. So this we have a listener, Michelle,

(52:26):
who emailed in to see if you had any advice. Um,
she just married her husband who has three kids from
a previous marriage, and she adores them, and you know,
she says that she can tell how great of a
mom you are and wondered if you had any advice.
It's interesting that you say that, because I can kind
of see it from both sides. I mean, I when
I married into um, a family of three girls. They

(52:49):
were young and um they were like six, eight, and ten,
and they have a mom, you know, and so they
it's it's a tough spot to be in as a
step mom because they have a mother. They no child
wants their parents to be divorced. So they especially at
that age. They may understand later and they do understand now,

(53:11):
like we understand where our mom and dad couldn't they're
so different, But at the time, they just, you know,
they watch Cinderella and they watch these movies, and they
want my dad to be together. So this new woman's
coming in who's not their mom. It's a tough spot
for both. It's a tough spot for the kids, in
a tough spot for the the new woman in the
in the in their lives. And it was actually Jada
Pinkett Smith. I was doing something somewhere and I was

(53:34):
talking let me pick up that? Did just pick that
up the floor. And jadaa my pal. Jada said, because
I said something about step mom just you know, brings
up these connotations of the evil stepmother. And she said,
you're a bonus mom, that's what you are. And she
was the one who told me that. And it's the
and it made me look shift into a perspective of

(53:55):
I'm a third parent who can love these children, and
but I have to find my own way. I'm not
their mom, um, but I am a woman in their
lives that can love them. And I think it was, um,
we were we were unique in that these these three
parents put anything personal aside and put the children first.
And and the other thing is Garth said, you gotta

(54:16):
jump in with both feet, and I was scared to
do that. So I could have been the kind of
bonus mom that was kind of surface and just kind
of like I'll let you, I'll let you handle all
the parenting and I'm just going to kind of be here.
But um, they were really open and those girls, it's
really it's really because they allowed me to be in
their lives and and he and Garth said, you're not

(54:36):
You're not their mom, and you don't need to be
their best friend. You'll find your way. And we kind
of found our way, um, with me learning when to
push in and when not to not, when to pull back.
And I really didn't know, um, how they felt about
it now that they're young adults, until um, there's a
there's an any special coming out on Garth pretty soon

(54:57):
and I've we've been watching some of the footage and
they interviewed the girl and I'm just waiting with bated breath.
I'm just like, what are they gonna say? You know?
And um, I'm blown away by how, you know, because
I sometimes think I don't know if I did a
good job or not. And the things they said blew
me away. It was so kind and so sweet, and
so I feel like, um, you know, I I've never

(55:20):
had kids. I'd had a dog and I was I
was fine. I was like, I'm good. I didn't have
the biological clock or any of that. And so I
kind of ended up with these three young girls, not
knowing what to do with them, and they they helped me.
They and uh, and now I can't imagine my life
without them. I love that. I mean, that's got to
be super special and to watch back and not really
know because you hadn't, but to have yeah, I mean yeah,

(55:43):
a special happened to be done on Garth to rehab,
an opportunity to hear how somebody feels is that not
was it? And our girls are honest? So I was
really nervous, like like, they're not gonna im mince words.
You know, they're not gonna and they and you know, Taylor,
the oldest um talks about, you know, how how weird
it was at first. You know, she doesn't she doesn't say, oh,

(56:04):
it was always just so great, you know, so um,
but just they really how they really embraced me. So
my advice would be to to not have a preconceived
notion about how you think it needs to be, because
it's going to be different in every family, but to um,
to not to not. I think it's the hardest for
a woman, especially who hasn't had kids, who marries into kids,
to know how to do that and to just but

(56:26):
I would just suggest for her, for Michelle was her name, Michelle,
to just be open and to um, you know, they're
gonna test you, They're gonna and they're gonna come to
you with something that they don't want help with and
you're gonna have an opportunity to be a parent. And
that's when you get those moments to kind of to
kind of figure it out. I also will say that
Garth was a great dad and that he um, he

(56:49):
would give me the good cop role sometimes, you know.
So he was the disciplinarian, but he would say, okay,
they there's or I'd go to him and go, I
found out something they did. How do we handle this?
And he's like, you can go to them and say,
if you tell your dad, the punishm won't be less.
If I have to tell your dad's gonna be bad.
So I got a chance to be the good guy
a lot in the beginning and that helped me kind
of earn my way with them. And then of course food,

(57:10):
I mean, you know Garth's may Garth. You know he
was a single dad. He had not cooked and he
but he did cook for those kids. They had a
lot of um the frozen chicken that you would bake
in a lot of box mac and cheese and um.
So I think honestly I just won them over with
mashed potatoes. I really think that was the key. Awesome Now,
I haven't met the other two girls, but I met

(57:30):
Ali Colleen, and oh my gosh, she can sing. She
she came and sang on the Bobby Bones Show, and
of course I already knew she was talented. And it's
not like because well, um Laura Birdwell, um Ray and
Bay they I knew of her through them and just
I mean, but it's kind of like, yeah, I was

(57:53):
blown away. Not that you can't. I didn't expect. I mean,
if well, you never know, you never know was someone
coming in because it's like, okay, well, let's like garden
Burns not her comment and sing on the show. But
it really wasn't and Bobby's not like that at all,
so I knew it must be like and it's not
even like that was like a big thing. It was like,
you're she's aside of even being attached to Garth in

(58:15):
any way, shape or form, or you for that matter too.
I know, I think what she can sing, she's very independent,
what she does as her own thing. So I think
if you didn't know whose kids she was, you might
not ever, you might not put those two together. I
remember when she was little, she's five or five or
six years old. You know, and she was the youngest,
so as they'd make her sit in the back back.

(58:36):
You know, she was in the third seat, um, because
the older two would't let her in the in the
middle seat. Um. She would be singing with the radio.
And I remember just thinking at five, going, you know,
she's on pitch like you know, like she's like she's
she's she's good, and all of them saying, you know,
but she, Um, she really was bitten by the bug early.

(58:56):
The dance there for us is to um, let you know,
allow her to use us if she wants. But we're
not necessarily a positive thing. You know. People are harder
on her because of whose daughter she is, and it's
a blessing and a curse. Um. But the thing about
Ali is if there's something that Garth, by virtue of
her being Garth's daughter, gets her in the door, she

(59:18):
still has to prove herself and she does. My money's
on her. Um. She she's done most of it all
by herself. She knows, she doesn't. She's very proud. She
doesn't want Well, it's not like her name is you know,
Ali Brooks or her stage name, and she has she
has Ali Colleen, Colleen's her middle name, that's her Coline,

(59:39):
and she's her grandmother's namesake. And she's done that on purpose.
And she works. I mean she when when we were
living in Oklahoma, she in high school, she had a
job she played at a barbecue joint and she would
go in and she'd sitting there when people come in
have barbecue and she's played for tips. She made so
much money. I was like, I never Garth and I
were both like, we never made that kind of money
when we were playing like like the as kind of gigs.

(01:00:01):
So she's kind of done it on our owns from
day one, and um, I'm excited to see what she does.
I love that. I mean that's huge for like in
the work ethic. I mean, do you feel like growing
up with y'all as you as the bonus mom and
Garth as a dad, was there ever times where because
I feel like some kids might be like, I don't
really need to go and do anything. Our kids were,

(01:00:22):
and I think I think raising them in Oklahoma was
key because we were we were such a part of
that community and we were at every soccer practice and
had the snacks every now and then, and we we
were we were as we were as gave them as
normal a life as they could have with with parents
who do a job that's not normal, and became such
a you know, such a regular at every every place

(01:00:45):
that people in that community there. You know, it's a
land of common sense. So it's kind of like, I
know this what you do, but you're you know, you're
your August dad and you're just at soccer or whatever.
That it gave them a very normal life. And also
you know, requiring them to work in the summer um
as soon as they could drive a car. Um A
lot of the kids were never like why do I

(01:01:05):
have to do that? They never were. It was our friends,
who are people that we would say, you're why why
is your kid waiting tables? And I'm like, because they
need to learn as what they don't want to do
in their life. You know, we're trying to set them up.
Gartha and I didn't come from that kind of background,
so how do we balance that? We were when they
turned sixteen, you know, we both had that conversation about

(01:01:27):
we we didn't get new cars. We had a beat
up piece of crap, you know that we had to drive.
And when they're not going to get a new car
when they turned sixteen. And then we thought, okay, so
we're gonna put our kid in a car that doesn't
have an airbag, that is, you know, when we can
afford to put them in something good. So the way
we navigated around that was when our oldest turned sixteen,
she had to go to car lots with her dad

(01:01:49):
and to make notes, and she had a budget and
here's your practical car. And none of them wanted a
crazy car. They all drove practical cars. And they would
tell you that, Um, the rich kids in their school
were not them, Like, no one thought of them as
the rich kids in school. They had other kids that
were driving the BMW two two class, you know, but
I'm not our kids. Yeah, okay, I love that, And

(01:02:11):
I think a lot of parents will take that, um
advice with I mean, even if you grow up like
you don't have to be you know, selling out arenas
or anything, but you can do well enough to where
maybe your your kid doesn't think they have to work,
or you can buy them whatever car they want, but
maybe it's it's probably best to dial it back so
that they do have some work ethic instilled. And I

(01:02:32):
think Bobby says that every person should work in the
service industry because you should know how to It just
teaches you so much. And that's what Garth says too,
and he did it too and finally made it to hostess.
I didn't make it to waitress, so did you wait? No,
I didn't, but I didn't. But I my summer jobs
were like I worked for an aggres sales company, so

(01:02:53):
I sold um feed tross for like pigs, so that
was a good job. Um. I do think though it's important.
And our kids, all of our girls are strong, they're independent,
they work hard, they they're very proud. So the part
of them, it's almost the reverse now it's like let
us help you with this, like let us give let

(01:03:14):
us give you some support and help. And they're very
much I got this, you know. But my money is
on them, like they can do anything. And I think
I think it's a really attestment to Garth and really
trying hard because we were both raised um with parents
that took care of us, but we were we didn't
have that kind of we didn't have money, you know,
so we had to everybody had to work. And I
just think, um, it's it's important and it helps you

(01:03:37):
learn um our our oldest worked, she waited tables. UM.
She's done a lot of different jobs. Sometimes she had
more than one job at a time, and most of
the people that were working with her were older, didn't
have college educations. UM, and she learned what she didn't
want to do. And now she's here, she's at Vanderbilt.
She's getting her masters in uh, theological studies. I don't

(01:03:58):
know what she's gonna end up being, but she had
she had a long road and she'd been college a
long time. She should be out by now, but she
it took her longer to figure it out. But it
helped her learn what she didn't want to do. And UH,
I think it's I think it's important. So when you

(01:04:21):
were on at the end of July, ish uh I
had to share some things you were thankful for, like
four things, and so I'm just curious you're you're the
only person that's come back. Well, so just just you know, no,
not don't make sad if we've only been doing this.

(01:04:41):
We just celebrated our one year anniversary here at the podcast,
and so we have I have a lot of like
guests that come back for like one thing, you know,
but the guests that come for like the whole four things.
You're the first returning four things, so I'll give you
a prize for that. But but I'm happy that we

(01:05:02):
had a good time last time. I mean, that could
have been a two hour podcast because we just kept talking.
That's why we're doing part two because it was just
so good. Two point now, so, UM, you know, I
thought I would check in and see if things they're
thankful for have changed. I'm like, well, this could be
fun because gratitude is you know, we've launched our four

(01:05:22):
things gratitude journals and we want people to really start
to try to implement. It's easy, it's not intimidating. You
just think of four things from your day and do
it daily like it's a daily practice. It can there's
all kinds of health benefits and just again maybe taking
taking that we can probably call them the anxiety. If
you're having one of those days, you could sit down

(01:05:43):
and just journal that, um, even with just one word.
So what what would your four things be if you,
you know, you were filling out your gratitude journal today,
If I was filling it out today, UM, I would
be grateful for fall because I love that the weather
is changing. Love pumpkins. I do, because some people don't.

(01:06:06):
And I'm like, this is very negative. Did we bring
her any pumpkin flavored coffee? Alright on it, I have
sas some pumplic flavored coffee for you. Um So. So
I would definitely say fall because I love it when this,
when the weather starts to change. Um. I don't even
remember what my four things were last time. Um So,
I don't know if I'll give you any of the
same ones or not. Um, yesterday was such a gorgeous

(01:06:28):
day and I, um, I went out um by myself
and hiked my dogs. So I would definitely say, I'm
pretty sure I'll put at rescue dogs on avery. I'm
sure everything this is this is good. I kind of
like I'm envisioning if Tricia was sitting down at her
kitchen counter with her journal filling it out, like it
would be like it's fall now, and then you go
back and you reflect like, oh, this was that day
and it was fall and it was so beautiful out

(01:06:49):
and I walked the dogs. Yeah, I mean it really
it really definitely didn't say that in July because it
was probably hot, not not, but just so hot here,
just grateful, you know, for for I worry about. You know,
I shouldn't put worry on my list because worry is
one of those things that I work on not not doing.
It's it's definitely in my dna. My grandmother was a
big warrior. But um so you know, we we have

(01:07:11):
to live on a farm. We have kaya it's we
have you know. You know, I hike these dogs and
they go running in the woods and my first thought
is there's a coyote, and it's usually like a chipmunk
or a deer or something, you know. Um, but to
kind of give it over. And so I would say
faith is on my list because I, um, I just
have this I have. I can't imagine waking up in
the morning and not believing in a higher power than

(01:07:32):
me and not believing that, um, God's got this. You know,
You've got this, baby, You've got this guy. Because I
have to, I have to every day kind of turn
it over and go. These dogs are living, they're having
the best time, they're playing, they're having a great time,
and I need to I need to let them be dogs,
like don't worry, like let it, let it happen and
I and I just um, that gives me peace. So

(01:07:54):
I think it's fall. I think it's rescue dogs. I
think it's faith and peace. And I feel maybe it's
the turning fifty five. But I feel really good in
my own skin right now. I feel at peace. I
feel I feel like everything's good. I love that that's good. Quick.
Four things see I want to do. I want to
do this every day. I love that the journal is

(01:08:16):
even at this moment, even though we had a pre sale,
but they're not physically going to be in our hands
until December because Mary and I it's something we've been
wanting to do for like a year. But of course
we've never print done anything when we do the shirts
and the totes, and we've never done print in like
a book, and so we had to find like a
publisher and different. So we found one. We feel real

(01:08:37):
fancy because you know, we googled, you know, journal publisher
and then like vetted a few found in Chicago, but
we were working with them and then we found out
that they do a lot of the work at their
London office. So then that made us feel really fancy
because we're like, did you get an email from the
London office. They sent a proofover of our new journal,

(01:08:58):
so it's like totally not but I mean for us
it was like so excited a big deal because we're like, oh,
we're this is plushing a little book. And I mean
we had to say there's um quotes throughout, like fun,
you know we should do We're gonna have different editions
our next edition. I'm gonna do a Tricia quote. Yeah,
that would be so fun. So, um, I quoted Tupac

(01:09:20):
in this one. That's kind of a surprise. Well people
will find out in December, but you're like, why is
this quote in here? But it is actually good. Um.
And then there's like different pages and we included stickers
because like sometimes you just don't have the words and
so you can just love it throw a sticker. I
am so my um My day Planner is one of

(01:09:41):
those that has like colorful things and sayings and stickers.
I'm a big sticker girl. I like and I like
to in a place to write like here's what's gonna
here's what my here's what I'm gonna do. And I
have found that. Um. I used to journal when I
was young, and I don't do I don't really journal anymore,
but I, um, I do try to write down one
thing happens, it's important and just kind of write it out.

(01:10:02):
And I do find that having I don't know whether
it's like if I hike the dogs, I put a
star on that day because I got out and did
something physical. You know, it's like I'm a believer in
like having that kind of task. That kind of it's
fun to record what you did and look back on it,
and it also keeps you motivated to get a star
the next day. Right. Yeah, we have some stars and

(01:10:23):
stickers and we kind of felt those in and we
have like little we have, um dog a dog sticker,
I think too, So yeah, you could probably put that
on there and maybe like a son and then yeah, so, um,
I will definitely get you one. And it's not intimidating
journal And if you're saying used to journal for us,
mary E, the reason why we created is journaling intimidates us.

(01:10:46):
Writing is overwhelming, like coming up with the words. So
it's just like one, two, three, four boom if you
want to if you want to do one word. I
love that. I love that. I feel like that four
four things a day is doable. Yeah, I and you
can do it when you wake up or when you
go to bed or whatever. So the next time I
come onto your podcast, because I'll be a third time visitor,

(01:11:07):
I'll have my book and I'll just I'll just slip
there and go, well, on this day, here are my parents. Yes,
I think it will be fine. And we have different
editions with the covers different each time. Then you can
just like keep them on your little bookshelf and pull
out and be like, well, back in two thousand, how
are we going to say that back in It's so funny.
I've been listening about to flip over. I've been listening

(01:11:29):
to their playing on the radio. They're playing a bunch
of old Johnny Carson shows and they're like from the
seventies and eighties. They go through and they'll they'll say
what it is, and they were it was it was
January two, I think of ninety five, and it was
the year after like Nixon was Nixon resigned and all
that stuff, And they were talking Johnny and Ed we're

(01:11:50):
talking about, uh, can you believe like we're talking like
it's night seventy five, just thinking about the year two thousand,
Like how are we going to say that, and are
we going to make it to two thousand and what's
that going to be like? And do you think people
are going to look back on the seventies and think
these are the good old days because they're not. And
I'm listening going they were the good old days, and
also just that you know they you know, Johnny Carson

(01:12:10):
lived to two thousand five, so you're just kind of listening, going,
that's so crazy. And I was thinking about that on
the way over here. That man two twenty is so
what I'll probably call it right around the corner, and um,
it really is a special moment. It's a it's another
decade down. And I mean when I was a kid,
I mean I'm born in sixty four, so I'm sitting
here going just seemed like far away. And now you

(01:12:33):
see when you watch all movies that are futuristic, they're
usually like, you know, your two thousand ten and we
passed that now and sometimes not nearly as future as
they predicted. It would be like, yeah, none of us
were still not wearing the weird clothes. All the clothes
are the weirdest thing in the future. There're always something
that's metallic, and they have some little weird rings around

(01:12:54):
the shoulders and no one's that's never gotten there, Like
that's the one thing we're just not doing. Yeah, um, okay, well,
one thing you need to do before you come on
next is watch Succession. I want you to be as
passionate about it as you are yellow Stone. And then
if you ever want me to come over and role
play yellow Stone with y'all, I mean just saying like

(01:13:18):
I'm available now, it just got weird. So big thank
you to Tricia for coming on the podcast again. I
just love her so so much. Um. I was at
the c m A Awards when she was there with
Garth and it was crazy to just go over and

(01:13:40):
be able to hug her and say hi, and like,
that's that's something if when I was a child, if
you would ever have told me that would be a
part of my life, would be like shut up, You're like,
I'm just gonna walk over and casually say hi to
Trisia your wind and Garth Brooks and then Garth one
Entertainer of the Year. Kind of crazy. So um, big
thing you to her, and congratulations to Garth on that win.

(01:14:04):
I'm acting like Garth's listening right now he's totally not.
But I'm going to do the email shout out now.
And this email is from Sam and it's something. I
don't know if Sam is a boy or a girl,
but you know, sometimes I like to pretend a lot
of men are listening to the show. Every once in
a while get an email. But either way, this email
is from Sam. Hey, Amy, I wanted to tell you

(01:14:24):
a story that I read from a Joel Old Steam book.
There was an older gentleman and a young child traveling
with a donkey. At first, the older gentleman thought it
would be best if the young child rode the donkey
when passing through People couldn't believe that the young child
would make the older gentleman walk while he rode, so
the older gentleman took the young child off and rode
the donkey himself. When passing through another area, people would

(01:14:46):
make remarks that the older gentleman was so rude to
ride the donkey while making the younger child walk behind.
The older gentleman decided they could both ride the donkey
and fix the problem. When passing through another area, people
made remarks that the poor donkey was caring too much weight.
The older gentleman had wasted so much time trying to
figure out how to travel that he didn't get to

(01:15:07):
his destination that day. And um. Then Sam wrote, I
hope you will not let others throw you off or
delay you from getting to your destination. Keep on keeping on.
Some of us are looking to you through our own
struggle as you're making an impact. So Sam, thank you
for that note of encouragement. And I thought I would
just pass that on to others that maybe need to

(01:15:28):
fork the noise. As my friend Lisa would say, um
from the well necessities hers that typically um, she uses
that to refer to the noise in her head about
body image and food. But I feel like that applies here.
You can like fork the noise when others are just
giving you too much input. And really you knew what
you need to do at the beginning of the day

(01:15:49):
to get it done, and your intentions were right. So
if the older gentleman wanted the little boy to be
on the donkey the whole time, you should have just
let the little boy bey on the donkey and just
gotten to his destination. Um, Because you can't please everybody.
And I definitely appreciated this little story because I had
never heard it before. So thank you, Sam, Thank you
to all the emails that we get. If you ever

(01:16:11):
have stuff you just want to share, It's Four Things
with Amy Brown at gmail dot com and you can
also send questions there for our Q and A episode
UH episodes which air on Tuesdays, and the past few
weeks I've been having guests on and just doing questions
with them. But I'll get to a an episode where
we address questions on the email. UH my Amazon page.

(01:16:34):
I get a lot of questions about that. I feel
like I answer it a lot. So if if you
know the answer, just go ahead. You're done with the
podcast now. But if you are wondering what the heck
my Amazon pages, It's where I put all my favorite things,
products that I use and love, and I just always
am getting questions like I don't know how to access
your Amazon page? Radio Amy dot com Easy way to
find it? Um for sure. That's where you can find

(01:16:57):
shop Spoa. You can find stuff to pay and Joy.
You could like shop a spaws like the Four Things,
like anything that supports haiti Um. You can find stuff
to the Bobby Bones Show. You can find my Amazon page.
You can find a blogs that we put up that
it pertained to the podcast, So yeah, that's where you
can find it. And that's the easiest way to make

(01:17:18):
sure you're getting to my favorite things. And I recently
found some new eye patches that I love. I wear
a little eye patches every morning when I wake up,
and I just feel like they really helped me with
dark circles and bagginess and puffiness and whatnot. And I
found a cheaper pair or a cheaper container that gives
you a pair for like a month. You can wear

(01:17:40):
like two patches a day if you do it for
thirty days, and it's like half the price of what
I was paying. So um, I'm pretty excited about that.
Was so all right. I hope y'all have a great Thursday,
and we'll see you um next week. So next week,
just heads up, will be Thanksgiving and Mary and I
are gonna be doing our Gift Eyed episode. That's what's

(01:18:01):
gonna air on Thanksgiving Day because everyone's gonna be gearing
up for shopping. Black Friday is the next day, and
then Cyber Monday the following Monday. So anyway, we're gonna
share some like a little gift guide for you guys,
So that's what you got to look forward to next week, right,
peace kind never laughka cass up road, Little food for you.

(01:18:27):
So so life ain't Oh it's pretty Bay, it's pretty
beautiful things beautiful that for a little moth's side tightening
up because said he can't eat your kicking with four
with Amy Brown

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