Side Note...

Melissa sits down with Robin Norwood, author of the bestseller Women Who Love Too Much . They talk about how the two of them met, which Melissa calls "divine intervention." Robin shares how the book came to her, how her publisher doubted it, and why it still sells around the world 40 years later. They also cover love addiction and what its withdrawal feels like. Robin explains why surrender and a...

Most people who say they hate lavender in food have simply eaten the wrong lavender. Joseph Downs, "the Lavender Man," explains why culinary lavender can taste like soap and how to get it right. Joseph grew up on a farm in Quincy, Washington, played professional basketball in Australia for 23 years, and came home to start growing lavender. Now in his 15th year, he runs Lavender Boutique, with more...

A lost cat in a Wyoming blizzard. A devastating cancer diagnosis. A father she hadn’t fully reconnected with. Melissa’s final Season 1 story ties these moments together in a way that may change how you think about coincidence, faith, and the hidden meaning in your own timeline. When Dink, her mom’s orange cat, vanished after being dumped 60 miles into the mountains, everyone assumed the story was...

Melissa answers your questions about how she wrote and self-published her memoir, Cowboy Dad . She shares how she found her editor, why she avoided vanity publishing, and how a chance meeting with Guy Kawasaki led her to publish through Amazon KDP, plus a surprise announcement about what’s next for Cowboy Dad. Resources mentioned: Narrative Therapy, Affect & the Body – Re-Authoring Teaching Di...

In episode 10 of Side Note, Melissa explores self-advocacy; why it’s so hard for most people (especially women) and how she developed it through her upbringing as a child of an alcoholic, her natural intuition, and formal mediation and negotiation training at Pepperdine Law School. She shares how those skills culminated in an eight-year class action lawsuit against Pepperdine University after bein...

Almost 40, working three jobs, and 100 rejection letters deep, Melissa shares how the fear of regret pushed her to self-publish Cowboy Dad, reinvent her career, and finally face her drinking. Plus: The porch swing test, a packed book signing at Chaucer's, and the glass of wine that changed everything. Brought to you by June Bloom Lavender :   This podcast is brought to you by June Bloom Lavender,...

Grief can break you open, or it can become your fiercest teacher. Melissa shares the decade that changed everything, tracing how loss, trauma, addiction, and recovery collided in her 30s and forced her to confront what she could no longer outrun. Resources mentioned: Five stages of grief - Wikipedia Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: Assessing the Evidence - PMC PTSD | Adult Children of...

After losing her job post 9/11, Melissa takes another leap, grad school,. From founding a Women's Resource Center to bankruptcy, a repossessed car, and a serendipitous Miata, this episode is about firsts, fresh starts, and reframing weaknesses into strengths. Brought to you by June Bloom Lavender :   Resources Mentioned: Azusa Pacific University | #1 Christian University in California (1) What Hap...

Leap of faith to California, working with a cult, working for 2 authors, writing and self-publishing my first book, 9/11, Santa Barbara living and rent, Girls Inc The Oprah Winfrey Show - Wikipedia Montecito, California - Wikipedia The Daily Grind – Santa Barbara Coffee Shop – Santa Barbara Coffee Shop Jeannine’s Restaurant and Bakery – Jeannine's Bakery Santa Barbara News-Press craigslist: santa...

Peeing in a Folgers can. Purple irises outside a trailer home window. Chocolate for dinner. The smell of Apple Jolly Ranchers on the morning commute. And $100,000 in student loan debt. Melissa, lavender farmer, ranch kid, and the first in her family to graduate high school asks whether college was worth it. Raised by a cowboy and a waitress in a one-stoplight Colorado town, she navigates FAFSA wit...

Melissa continues her esthetician story: reviewing spas on Italy’s Amalfi Coast, teaching skin physiology in Santa Barbara, and leading spa-writing retreats in Ecuador. Then came bullying, a layoff, and a skin cancer diagnosis and the unexpected gift that followed: writing Cowboy Dad. Don’t kill the messenger. Resources mentioned in this episode: Le Sirenuse - Hotel in Positano - Amalfi Coast, Ita...

What if losing your job led to the best decision of your life? Melissa Broughton shares how a spontaneous trip to Italy, a leap into aesthetician training, and a fearless mindset turned an unexpected detour into a global spa career. It’s a story about reinvention, risk, and the surprising power of saying yes to the unknown. Resources mentioned in this episode: Everything Santa Barbara, www.santaba...

Why I don't grow lavender in Texas:  California (climate and soil) spoiled me, I don't have the skills to farm lavender in Texas, Every good woman has a back-up plan, more lavender is not better,  and Flower and Mexican Food tangents (wait for it...at the end in Q and A) Resources mentioned: The Unlikely Lavender Queen , A memoir written by Jeannie Ralston, the original owner of Hill Country Laven...

Having a love affair with California and breaking up, Secret trips to Texas, Talking like a Californian, Elephants in the room, Hallmark movies, Group therapy in my store, Pondering References mentioned or notable for this episode: Cowboy Dad The Garden Shoppe in Lompoc An Elephant in the Living Room: a book for children and adult children of alcoholics, ExploreJCTX Lights Spectacular Johnson City...

How I "Became" a Lavender Farmer No, this is not a gardening tutorial. A rambling tale involving unexpected connections, a few wrong turns, chance encounters, unlikely opportunities, and the strange chain of events that led me to a lavender field. Along the way we discuss the migration from "you guys" "ya'll" God, grit, hard work, meth, marijuana, lavender, the difference between luck and providen...