Midlife Cry, Sis (Formerly known as The Bettys Podcast)

Okay. “ Do you remember the 21st of September ”? We do, and it’s now on Mary and Lexy’s HYPE playlist ( check it out on Spotify here !) We talk a little about how much we love the month of September, and its’ kick-into-gear vibe.   This song reminds Mary of one of her favorite movies: Dan in Real Life , the 2007 movie starring Steve Carrell, Juliette Binoche, and Dane Cook (stream it here on Disne...

Happy Friday, friends! We’re talking a little more about belonging today. Here are some of the quotes:   From Brené Brown : “The truth is: Belonging starts with self-acceptance. Your level of belonging, in fact, can never be greater than your level of self-acceptance, because believing that you're enough is what gives you the courage to be authentic, vulnerable and imperfect.”    Lexy talks about...

Good day, Bettys and Jacks! You may think you know us, because we updated our pictures recently, but . . . actually Lexy’s hair is almost black now, and Mary’s hair is quite blonde. And we both want to go red for Fall. And next summer we’ll wanna go blonde again. Just when you think you know us! “It’s a circle!”    Everything comes down to belonging. Younger kids have a confidence that we admire a...

Howdy ho, neighbors! This Betty Byte was recorded from our hotel room in Austin, Texas, so please forgive the burps and mouth sounds and stuff; there’s not a lot of editing here (which is a brave thing for Mary!). Lexy is brave when it comes to bugs, but she will scream. Anyway, beware of snakes, enjoy the music, and please, DON’T BE A ‘JIM.’   Please get in touch! Send us an email at thebettyspod...

Yeehaw! Mary and Lexy recorded this episode from their iPhone, in a hotel room in Austin, Texas . We were very tired after attending a Coaching Summit with Brendon Burchard , and we were a little loopy. So there’s a lot of laughing, ums, mouth sounds and likes, because of minimal editing. #sorrynotsorry   We share a couple of our adventures, such as the underwhelming bats . Lexy talks about wantin...

Hello, Bettys and Jacks! Even though Alexis doesn’t know Tears for Fears , she and Mary can have a light and fluffy discussion about music, reptiles, and road trip adventures. Listen to our Glacier Road Trip playlist here , and beware of Rawlins, Wyoming . Also, were you aware of the toad plague in Arizona during monsoon season? Weird. Get a (disturbing) taste of it by watching the scene from Magn...

Hello, Bettys and Jacks! We are fighting with technology today, but luckily the audio decided to cooperate. I probably shouldn’t point that out, but we’re very glad that we sound good! It is back-to-school season, so Mary and Alexis are kinda fighting with everything. Mary definitely went a bit overboard with the school supplies this year. Since Salt Lake Singers has started back up, Mary will tak...

Happy Friday, friends! Lexy tells us a story that starts with cornbread and ends with snickerdoodles. Is it magic? Maybe! You’ll have to listen to find out, but we’re pretty sure it has more to do with our friends–angels on earth–being in-tune with their higher power to answer such a specific need so kindly and anonymously. Don’t dismiss the tender mercies and little miracles in your life.    Plea...

Greetings, Bettys and Jacks! Alexis starts us off today with a story about her closing performance of Seussical (Mic drop! Literally!). It wasn’t a “major wedgie,” but it was definitely a Circus McGerkus . Even though Lexy is the comic relief, the fact that she kept her cool, enlisted her friends to help, and finished the show tells you a lot about the kind of person she is.    Mary started resear...

Hello, Bettys and Jacks. Mary and Alexis are back, and (as usual) we’re struggling getting into our back-to-school routines. So if you haven’t left any of your kids at home alone, and you can keep track of your stories while you’re trying to tell them, we think you’re doing pretty well. We’re kinda functioning brain-dead, so thanks for continuing to listen!   Lexy has heard this question a lot lat...

Hello, friends. We’re back to recording new podcast episodes after all the craziness of the end of summer, so Mary and Alexis are trying to remember how to talk to each other without talking over each other. Thanks for your patience! Lexy’s children are extremely photogenic, and Mary kinda resurrected her photography side-hustle to do a family photo shoot recently, at Photopia Studios in Cottonwoo...

Happy Friday, friends! In the last episode, Alexis mentioned that her phone was still in a bag of rice . . . so here’s the story behind that! Make sure you watch the sky (and keep track of your inflatables, your kids, and your phone) when you are at Bear Lake ! Apparently something about the lake beckons skinny dipping, so also keep track of your swimsuit. “Be careful with those things!”    Please...

Hello, Bettys and Jacks! We told you we’d be talking about Barbie eventually, and here we are! We’ve had some technology issues (“ always and forever . . .”), including Lexy’s phone ending up in rice, but we are here. *whew!* Mary took Benji and her nieces Phoebe and Sabrina on a road trip to the Real World (i.e., through the midwestern United States), and ended up seeing the movie in Madison, Wis...

Hello, Bettys and Jacks. Mary and Alexis continue their discussion about manuals (you might want to go back to Episode 15 and Episode 75 of The Bettys Podcast) by talking about another ‘leading man’ . . . Jesus . The Old Testament was literally a manual on how to worship, and when Jesus of Nazareth showed up, He did not look the way the elders expected Him to. He did things differently, and He ruf...

Hello, Bettys and Jacks. Mary and Alexis are talking a little about movies today. No, we’re not discussing Barbie yet (We will! We promise!!!). There’s some discussion about horror movies (check out the short horror-comedy Finley on YouTube, and Insidious , directed by Mary’s boyfriend Patrick Wilson , if you’re really brave). But we do reference the Mission: Impossible series , and the newest ins...

Hello, Bettys and Jacks. It’s time for another Betty Byte: a little taste of something helpful. And this short episode packs a pretty good punch.   Lexy continues her list of ways to set healthy boundaries, reading from this Instagram post by Dr. Atina Manvelian . Here are all of the steps (and some of Mary's and Lexy’s commentary) for setting healthy boundaries with difficult people: Be mindful o...

Greetings, friends. On this episode of the Bettys Podcast, Mary and Alexis spend a few minutes talking about kids and their underdeveloped taste buds. We also talk a little about chickens and pigs, but this episode is actually about boundaries: how to create them and when we might need them.    Lexy discusses the memoir “ The Glass Castle ” by Jeannette Walls . Lexy read this quote from the book:...

A little warning today, Bettys and Jacks–Mary is in a MOOD. . . enough for a lil’ swear warning. We hope you’re not too offended. Mary talks about friendship, and how she and Allen are spouses, but aren’t very good friends.    Mary talks a little about her mother-in-law, who lived with her for several years. While they have a good relationship, there was a price. Mary had some unhealthy patterns a...

Good morning, Bettys and Jacks! A quick PSA: please don’t light fireworks under your sensitive areas. (This may or may not be among the things we don’t imagine having to explain to our children). We are having a weird summer holiday season; why do we have to be so responsible?!   Mary talks a little about her mother-in-law, who lived with her for several years. While they have a good relationship,...

Howdy ho, Bettys and Jacks! Are we a little bit country? Not really, but this Luke Combs cover of the Tracy Chapman classic is SO GOOD. Mary grew up in Southern Utah, where her family tried (unsuccessfully) to fit in by getting into Country music, but this checkout girl will always love her Casey Kasem Top 40 .   Lexy talks about how to objectively see your problems instead of getting lost in them...

Good morning, Bettys and Jacks! After a little bit of talk about our “Hot Dog Summer,” today Alexis and Mary are talking about “Monkey Chatter,” or that constant (often negative) narration in your brain.  Lexy had to do a lot of quiet thinking, watching and observing to survive her childhood, and would often find herself having to think through every possible worst-case scenario before she could g...

Hello, there! We’re trying out a new format for our Betty Bytes, so thanks for bearing with us!  Today Alexis and Mary are talking about one of Mary’s favorite fictional characters: Dr. Eleanor Arroway from the 1997 film Contact (available for rent/purchase on Amazon here ). While listening for extraterrestrial life, Ellie hears a transmission originating from Vega, a star about 25 light years fro...

Welcome back, friends! Today Alexis and Mary are talking about CHARACTER. There’s a lot of definitions (which we go through a little bit . . . thank you, Oxford Learners Dictionaries for this information! We also talk a little about overexposure and underexposure in photography. Here’s a good article explaining this concept.   Mary recently finished watching “ Better Call Saul ” (a prequel to “ Br...

Hey, friends! Today’s Betty Byte contains some more incredible quotes from the one and only  Teddy Roosevelt . We’re into the full swing of summer around here, so we are basically living in our cars, trying to teach kids responsibilities, and fighting with those chaotic schedules.    One of Mary and Lexy’s favorite quotes is this: “Believe you can, and you’re halfway there” (explore more of his qu...

Hello, Bettys and Jacks. Today we’re talking about Teddy . . . Roosevelt, that is. After a mild swear warning (Mama Ximena is a little spicy today!), and a discussion about how the only free thing in life is your mother’s love.   After some fun facts with Lex (“Half the facts, all of the laughter!”) about the life of President Roosevelt, with some minor fact-checking by Mary (thanks, Wikipedia! ),...