Live Your Love Story

Inspired by the times we live in, and the book "First, We Make The Beast Beautiful" by Sarah Wilson. Topics covered include... Siena's weird pet peeve about books Myths about anxious people How anxiety has affected our relationship Anxiety vs. Depression Insomnia   The blog post for this episode is at: https://sienaandtoast.com/podcast/110-on-anxiety-1of2   Join the email list at https://sienaandt...

There’s more than one way to watch TV. Siena watches one way. Toast watches in a completely different way. After we tease each other about our differences, we share thoughts and experiences of watching shows like... Hamilton The Revenant Love, Simon Downton Abbey Homeland Penny Dreadful ...and more. We also talk about how TV and film help us be more human and humane. The blog post for this episode...

In the early days of the pandemic in America, self-quarantining, social distancing, and lockdowns were portrayed as a "pause." In this episode, we discuss how we are reckoning with the fact that in reality, there never was, nor will there ever be, a "pause," at least when it comes to life. What life looks like and feels like, is in fact, life, not a pausing of it. We've discerned some profound gif...

Questions asked and answered: When did you first know you were gay/liked girls? Who's the "man" in the relationship? Do you ever look at a man and find him attractive? If you're attracted to a masculine-presenting type person, then why not just be with a man? Was it love at first sight? Do you call your partner your "wife"? Explain the U-Haul thing? Have you ever been a victim of homophobia? Are y...

So, we cleaned and rearranged furniture in our house this past weekend and wow – we were reminded of how refreshing, uplifting, and just plain good it can feel to do. Physical things are aspects of spiritual things, and vice versa. In this episode, we have a blast talking about how even reluctant cleaning can produce gratifying and clarifying results for your spirit. The blog post for this episode...

If you follow us on Instagram, you'll notice we are "cat people." How did we end up becoming "cat people"? (This may come as a shock to some, but it's possible to be a lesbian without being a "cat or dog person." 😜 ) How cats find you, how learning about animal health helped us level up our own health and nutrition, and why we're embarrassed to have only one cat (at the time of this recording, an...

Self-care can feel so overwhelming, like another thing to "get done." And yet we know we need TLC because wow, the stress of these times right? So, how can you simplify self-care so it doesn't become just another source of guilt or self-doubt? The blog post for this episode is at https://sienaandtoast.com/podcast/104-how-to-simplify-your-self-care   Join the email list at https://sienaandtoast.com...

Full disclosure: only Indigo Girls fans will understand most of what we're talking about in this ep.  The blog post for this episode is at https://sienaandtoast.com/podcast/103-for-indigo-girls-fans-only   Join the email list at https://sienaandtoast.com/emailsignup –––– Our intention has always been to uplift, entertain, and encourage people, especially fellow LGBTQers and progressive allies arou...

“Live Your Love Story” is our motto, but what exactly are we thinking when we say that? This episode, we focus on the idea that “life is an unfolding story.” Stories and ideas we share in this ep include: unease about the (in)significance of your life You may not be able to change the world, but you can change the world for one person. life is not a math problem timeline of the human species "this...

“Live Your Love Story” is our motto, but what exactly are we thinking when we say that? This episode, we focus on the idea that “the point is always love.” Stories and ideas we share in this ep include: how Toast has created fights in our relationship (!) “Seek first to understand, then to be understood.” - Stephen Covey training in speaking and writing vs. training in listening listening so that...

This episode is the first in a multi-part series about what we mean when we say “Live Your Love Story.” It’s our motto, but what exactly are we thinking when we say that? We begin to answer that question head-on, in this episode. This episode, we focus on the idea of “life as a romance.” The dictionary definition of romance is “a feeling of excitement and mystery associated with love.” The ideas w...

In this episode we give a super quick overview of the Cass Identity Model of the coming out process, and then each of us shares our personal experiences of coming out, which continues to this day. Siena was raised Catholic and attended an all-girls Catholic high school. Toast was raised as an Evangelical Christian. By sharing our stories, we hope it helps to encourage and affirm, validate and supp...

We recorded this episode on Fri. June 12, 2020, which marks our 92nd day of self-quarantine during the global COVID-19 pandemic, amid continuing protests in the United States and around the world against systemic racism, oppression, and police brutality. On social media this past week, author and activist Marianne Williamson posted this: “The more the protests are filled with dancing, singing, con...

We recorded this episode on Sun. June 7, 2020, which marks our 87th day of self-quarantine during the global COVID-19 pandemic, and amid continuing protests in the United States and around the world, against police brutality and systemic racism. We cover: 🌸 when you enjoy and create beauty, it's a finger in the face of authoritarianism and helps combat it; keep on keeping on 🍰 baking "sort of go...

We recorded this episode on Sun. May 31, 2020, which marks our 80th day of self-quarantine during the global COVID-19 pandemic, and also the first week of historic widespread protests against police brutality and systemic racism in the United States. We discuss: your point of view affects how you feel activism looks different for everyone present day events can activate feelings about the past qui...

We recorded this episode on Mon. May 25, 2020, our 74th day of self-quarantine during the COVID-19 pandemic. Some of the things we touched on, in this ep cabin fever, thai take-out, and at-home haircuts vodka, and Bear gives the episode the feel of a horror movie just for a sec Siena shares her experience of resisting vs. accepting a thing that just plain ol' needs to happen Toast shares her exper...

We recorded this episode on Mon. May 18, 2020, which was our 67th day of self-quarantine during the COVID-19 pandemic. Here’s a List of Some of the Things We Shared Serendipitous sighting of a wild goose, in-flight and up-close A hate comment we got on Instagram: internal reactions Victims of COVID-19: personal stories Baking a grain-free birthday cake: yellow, three-layer, chocolate frosting Lesb...

This episode was recorded on Fri. May 8, 2020, which was our 57th day of self-quarantine during the COVID-19 pandemic. What’s been challenging and/or helpful to you during this time? That's the first question we ask. A few of the other topics we touch on: The stress of the uncertainty we see and feel, in many directions Psychological contrast between watching TV during dinner vs. not Highly Sensit...

We recorded this episode on Mon. May 4, 2020, which marks 53 days of our self-quarantine during the COVID-19 pandemic. This is a light-hearted episode, but know that our hearts are always with you, as we all keep on keeping on, in this new era. Some of the topics we hit on this ep: Toast’s imitation of the sound a frog makes vs. the sound a toad makes Our remarkable human capacity to adapt Hawaii-...

We recorded this episode on Sun. Apr. 26, 2020, which marks 45 days of our self-quarantine during the COVID-19 pandemic. We hope this episode finds you and your loved ones safe and healthy. An abridged overview of the thoughts we share in this ep: Siena teases her healthy chocolate chip cookie recipe (vegan, grain-free, gluten-free, soy-free), which she plans to share with our email list on around...

We recorded this episode on Mon. Apr. 20, 2020, which marks 39 days of our self-quarantine during the COVID-19 pandemic. Opening remarks (that don't directly relate to the main topic include): anyone else cleaning house more during our collective stay-at-home efforts? What about sorta freaking yourself out over owl legs? How about just cooking? The main topic of self-care during our collective COV...

We recorded this episode on Sun. Apr. 12, 2020, which marks 31 days of our self-quarantine during the COVID-19 pandemic. After some opening chitchat about who's zooming who, the service and sabotage of smartphones, and a cat lady card game, we turn to the main topic of quiet. One of the pleasant side effects of our various “stay at home” initiatives around the world has been cleaner air and water....

We recorded this episode on Sun. Apr. 6, 2020, which marks 24 days of our self-quarantine during the COVID-19 pandemic. It starts with chit-chat about the ongoing Toilet Paper Challenge, the joys of attending livestreamed virtual concerts, and moves into deeper topics like our species' need for a sense of community and belonging, the dynamics of in-person social interaction, and tying it all toget...

We recorded this episode on Sat. March 28, 2020, which marks 16 days of our self-quarantine during the COVID-19 pandemic. Silly: the way different people sleep, cat toys that talk, cats that act like dogs, the Siena and Toast Toilet Paper Challenge: can you dispense your ration of squares in just one tug??? Serious: humanity's mid-life crisis or coming-of-age traumatic event, the power of technolo...

More obviously than ever in our generation, we humans are being invited (forced?) to consciously and seriously engage in the next evolution of our beingness. Who do we want to be? As individuals? As a society? As a species? What strange times, and what a strange episode. Lots of laughing, unintended jokes, and talking about cat toys that talk. Coming to you from self-quarantine in Portland, Oregon...