Small Scale Life Podcast

Old Man Winter has struck back at us meddling kids in the north country with a vengeance. All across the Upper Midwest of the United States, temperatures have dropped below zero, and the wind chills are approaching -50 degrees Fahrenheit. The extreme cold is life threatening, especially to those caught outside unprepared. In this article, I will discuss How to Prepare for the Polar Vortex. While i...

Today's topic is one near and dear to my heart because I have struggled with it over and over and over again. One of our Health and Fitness Renew You Kickstart participants asked the Small Scale Life Facebook Community how to overcome self-sabotage. I have to confess, I have blown up my "dieting" efforts time and time again due to self-sabotage. After all, I have started and failed with 14 differe...

What a week it's been! Julie and I have been so excited to bring you the Renew You Kickstart, and now that we are rolling down the tracks with the basics, it is time to talk about Leveling Up and Next Steps on this journey. Julie & I discuss tips and ways to continue to improve as you get stronger physically & mentally. For more information on this topic, please go to the article titled Le...

Hey, Lifers! Do you want to know a little secret Tom and I have figured out that is absolutely KEY to setting us up for success to meet our health and fitness goals??? Actually, beyond the 24 Hour Plan and sticking to the basics of drinking enough water, getting enough sleep and doing some kind of daily intentional movement, this is THE most important thing you can do. Yup, you guessed it (really...

It's Day 3 of the Renew You Kickstart , and today's topic is Basic Nutrition. Michael Bell returns to walk us through this topic, and he gives some great advice for folks starting on their journey with the Renew You Kickstart . As Julie and I have been saying over and over in previous podcasts and articles: this is about starting where you are. Some of us have been medicating ourselves with cheese...

It's Day 2 of the Renew You Kickstart, and today's topic is Basic Movement. As Julie and I have been saying over and over: this is about starting where you are. Some of us live in cube farms and are keyboard warriors; we are not ready for triathalons marathons or lifting heavy weights. To help discuss this topic, I brought in my friend Michael Bell to discuss Basic Movement. Michael is a husband,...

In this episode, Julie and Tom are here to provide you with realistic and doable steps to kickstart your year and set you up to finally achieve your health and fitness goals this year. And it all starts with the 24 Hour Plan. The plan is a one-page document that allows you to plan out: What you are going to eat How you will exercise 3 mediation/prayers 3 things you are grateful for 3 things you wa...

Welcome to 2019! It's time to Renew You! In this 122nd Episode of the Small Scale Life Podcast, Julie and I discuss the holidays (including my birthday), the rebranding of Small Scale Life, rebuilding the website and the Renew You Kickstart . Topics Discussed Julie and I discussed the following topics during this podcast: Holiday Update Rebranding and the Website Upgrade Renew You Kickstart More I...

In this 121st episode of the Small Scale Life Podcast, Julie and I are announcing the Renew You in 2019 Kickstart! This is a FREE 7-day event that will provide tools, tips and a community that will help get us improving our mindset, nutrition and movement in 2019. Julie and I want want you, the Small Scale Life Community and others, to join us in starting 2019 off on the right foot. With this Kick...

In this 120th Episode of the Small Scale Life Podcast, I am had a great conversation with my friend Michael Bell about changes at Dallas Half Acre Farms. Michael has been very busy since our last interview, and we will discuss how he is changing his business from a CSA model (weekly box of a variety of products) to growing salanova salad empires in Dallas, Texas. As we discussed recently with Drew...

This is the 119th Episode of the Small Scale Life Podcast, and in this podcast, we are going to talk with Drew Sample about how he is pivoting business strategies at his urban farm Capital City Greens, the Sample Hour Podcast and his other interests/opportunities. Whether it’s your dreams, your business, your football team or your Army, you need to be ready to change and adapt as the “battlefield”...

Happy Thanksgiving, Lifers! I hope you have a great Thanksgiving planned. If you have been to Small Scale Life this week, you know Julie and I have been busy trying to get recipes posted up on the website to help you with your Thanksgiving preparations. Check out the blog at smallscalelife.com for the following recipes: A super quick/super good cheesy au gratin potatoes recipe , How to cook a turk...

Do you feel stressed out? Does it seem that there is too much noise and information out there? How do you sort through what is important and what is not? In today’s fast paced world, there are incredible demands on our most precious resources: our time, our energy and our money. How do you prioritize your time commitments and focus on what is real and what is important? In this episode, Julie and...

Do you feel stressed out? Does it seem that there is too much noise and information out there? How do you sort through what is important and what is not? In today’s fast paced world, there are incredible demands on our most precious resources: our time, our energy and our money. As we go through life, we seem to collect more and more stuff. We have closets, basements, garages and storage lockers f...

Happy Halloween 2018! There is nothing like Halloween: the cool weather, the decorations, the pumpkins, the costumes and all the fun associated with this holiday. We have had a lot of fun on Halloween over the years, especially when the boys were younger and when we participated in some haunted houses in Illinois. For the 115th episode of the Small Scale Life Podcast, I am going to talk about some...

Welcome to Fall 2018 where the snow flies and water freezes before the leaves drop! Such is life here in the north country this year. Last week was a tough week: I was physically and mentally exhausted. Adding to the exhaustion was disappointment after my plans to head to Hogtoberfest 2018 fell apart on Tuesday. I needed a change or pace and a change of environment. In this podcast, I talk about m...

Fall is here! October is here! Where did the time go? While I love this time of year, it is time to say goodbye to my plants and old, tired garden beds. Like summer hitting early before Memorial Day this year, winter seems to be bearing down on Minnesota and Wisconsin (some areas of Minnesota got a snow already)! In this podcast, I am going to talk about how the First Frost was the End of My 2018...

Have you ever had a Hell Week where everything just was a disaster? You are under pressure with deadlines looming and little time to regroup and attack the next project or issue. How did you handle it? Last week was my own version of Hell Week. I can summarize last week with one simple word: Exhausting Last week, a lot happened at work and in the basement that took me away from Small Scale Life. I...

Midweek Motivation is a weekly episode featuring the wisdom and stories of host Tommy Cakes. In this episode, Tommy discusses Going Full Throttle on life, projects and major efforts.  It is up to you: if you want to have success, you have to go full throttle! Who is Tommy Cakes? Live on the Small Scale Life Podcast, it is Midweek Motivation featuring Tommy Cakes. Hey, how are you?  I am...

As I have stated on several occasions on the Small Scale Life Podcast, there are a whole universe of other platforms, media and social media out there for us.  Occasionally when you speak to the vast universe, it speaks back to you!  In this case, that part of the universe was Terrance Layhew from The Intellectual Agrarian. In January, Terrance interviewed Scott Hebert, and somehow he fo...

This is a [late] podcast and post about Minnesota Traditions on Labor Day 2018. These traditions include the Exodus to Lake County and the Minnesota State Fair. I had the opportunity to spend four days at the State Fair in a booth, so I had a different experience than many who went as spectators. I will also talk about my Weekend 3 Things and give you an update on Operation Outreach as well. Stay...

As we roll into September, I have to ask: how is your garden doing? It has been a while since our last tour of the Small Scale Life Garden, so I figured it was time to post a Late August Garden Update and discuss my Fall Planting strategy. With cooler temperatures this week, it is a constant reminder that winter is coming, and I need to get my rear end moving to take advantage of the remaining gar...

This week, Greg Burns, my friend Jay and I finish Homesteading for Beginners by discussing the Definition of Homesteading.  This is the last part of a 2-1/2 hour conversation that focused on the start of our own individual homesteading journeys.  This is a philosophical discussion about the definition of homesteading, how to build experiences and how to cultivate people while building co...

This truly is a verbal potpourri episode, so grab a cocktail or your coffee, settle in and enjoy the ride.  This is a comfy little podcast full of stories and tales.  The point of this podcast is to stay grounded using the Weekend Three Things threads, have some adventures on the weekend and of course learn, do and grow! In this episode of the Small Scale Life Podcast, I am discussing th...

As I drove through southern Minnesota this week, I saw a lot of great farms and homesteads on my journey.  Some of these folks lived on Century Farms (100-year old family farms) while others were just starting to homestead. My friend Jay and I can relate to those new homesteaders: we both purchased properties in 2018.  We want to create new homesteads on our respective properties, a...