The EngagED Midwife
The EngagED Midwife
Our Favorite Things: Gifts, Gear, and Self-care We Swear By
The ACNM hallways are still buzzing in our heads, our voices are scratchy from a thousand hugs, and we’re curled up with a year’s worth of holy-grail favorites to share. This is our practical, joyful guide to small upgrades that make real days better. If you’re looking for thoughtful gifts, travel allies, or daily comforts that punch above their weight, this roundup is our best-of—the things we buy again, gift often, and swear by. If something here makes your day easier or your night softer, share this episode, leave a review, and tell us your favorite under-the-radar find so we can try it next.
Welcome to the Engage Mid Life Podcast. This is Missy. And this is Kara. We're together. Together again.
SPEAKER_00:Yay. We're recording from the ACNM annual meeting.
SPEAKER_01:Yes, it is. Um, we are losing our voices. Let's just be super clear. Um, this is why we kind of sound a little scratchy and you know.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. It's also post-celebration party, post-talking to so many people, posts poster presentations and podium presentations. This is fun. And seeing so many podcast fans. And it's been so great and getting so many hugs and so many pictures. You have been going absolutely wild on our socials, and it's been so fun. We love it. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:The best thing ever about this meeting is meeting all these people that we haven't ever met face to face.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, we talk to so many people on the phone and on Zoom, and we see them on Zoom. Like that's so fun, but there's nothing like feeling like a real hug. Something hits different when you can actually like hug somebody. Exactly. It's been really funny because there's been multiple times, and I think you've probably had the same experience. But I've been walking down the hall talking to somebody, and I hear someone say, Is that Kara? I hear Kara's voice. So fun.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. I actually said to somebody today, I was like, Do you need to hear me speak so that you actually know it's me? Um, and and I've had I had another person say, like, I've never physically met you, but like I hear you all the time in my head. I know.
SPEAKER_00:So I was like, is that good? It is a good thing. It's a compliment. So I love it. It's it's been fabulous. And you know, there's nothing like going to annual meeting to really fill up your midwifery cup. And I'm so glad we got to all come back together this year. And I'm really excited that we're gonna come together next year in Kansas City. The life of a midwife. It's gonna be so fun.
SPEAKER_01:I love it. Speaking of so fun, guess what we're gonna do today?
SPEAKER_00:Well, I know, but let's tell the guests. I mean, like our I mean, our listeners, what's gonna be today's podcast episode. We're gonna talk about what our favorite things are. We think of this as our like Christmas episode every so often, and we share some of our very favorite things. Now we say that in that they're some of our favorite things that we use every day that we buy for ourselves, but we also think that if we love them, they'd make good gifts for other people.
SPEAKER_01:Also, some of the things on the list this year are things we've bought for each other.
SPEAKER_00:Well, you do buy me some of the nicest gifts I ever receive. The most thoughtful and the most perfectly Kara gifts.
SPEAKER_01:Also, if I buy something for myself that I love, I also give it to you.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, absolutely. You guys should know that um right now we're sitting in bed together, and um my hair is perfectly cutely curled and in braids, and my makeup is done, and that's because I got to spend the afternoon with Missy, and I'm the most girly and the most dulled up when I'm around you, and you also give the absolute best gifts. So I love it.
SPEAKER_01:I take a lot of pride in my gift giving. And yeah, I actually get just as much enjoyment out of giving people gifts as they get out of giving them, like getting them. And so for me, it's so important to give like really good, meaningful gifts. And if you talk to my sisters and they listen to the podcast, we do a favorite things gift box every year where all through the year we like think about what our favorite things were for the year and we give them to each other. And that's also super fun. It's like Oprah, like it's not you get a car, you get a car, you get a car. Yeah, but it is you get a box full of the stuff I love.
SPEAKER_00:You get my favorite chapstick, you get my favorite skincare. Yeah, absolutely.
SPEAKER_01:We're gonna go there. Yeah. Actually, we're gonna go there first. Okay. The first thing we're gonna talk about with our favorite things is all of our favorite this year for the last like uh you know year, year and a half, skincare things. Okay. So you go first, and then I will add on.
SPEAKER_00:You're gonna, you guys are gonna think this is absolutely insane. The first thing that I'm gonna start with, but uh Missy sent me a little care package when I had my um encounter with a scalpel on my face. I, if if everyone remembers, I had a two major Mo's surgeries for some skin cancer, and it was quite impressive. If you email me and want to see my scars, I'm happy to send you the progression over time because it was really incredible. But in that care package were two things. I'm gonna talk about one of them, and Missy's gonna talk about the other. But my very favorite thing that I think has like been life-changing, and people talk about it that see me is the silicone scar tape. And you can readily find it on Amazon. If you type in silicone scar tape, there's all kinds of varieties. The one that I really loved came in these little, it was a big roll, but they were small, perforated little sheets. And then I could even trim them smaller. And you wear them, you work your way up to wearing them as much as you can every day for as long as you can. They were perfectly colored to my skin. I don't know how you did you buy a different like skin color. I can't remember if they come in different colors or not.
SPEAKER_01:I bought them in the palest shade available.
SPEAKER_00:That must have been it, but it was amazing. And if you guys could see me at one year later, after my Moe's surgery, I have people all the time say that they can't even tell that I had. I mean, and let's just say it was a major flap on my forehead. Um, and the silicone scar tape is incredible. I have had friends that have had surgery. I've had so many people text me and say, tell me what that was that you use. 100% absolutely recommend it.
SPEAKER_01:I cannot take all the credit for that. Actually, a very talented plastic surgeon who worked on one of my sons a few years ago told me about it because he was going to be really self-conscious about a scar that he was gonna have. And he was like, You should do this. And we did it with Brooks, and it worked really well. And so I've been really just recommending it to all the people. But Kara's package that I sent her for her Moe surgery was also included all things Korean skincare. Yes. I'm addicted. Yes. So if you hear us talking about snail mucin, it is snail mucus. Okay, so the brand that we like is Kozair, uh-huh, and you can get it on Amazon. Actually, they sell it at Target now, and we like both the serum that you put on first, and then you wait for about 10 or 15 seconds, and then you add the moisturizer over top of it. And they have a couple of different kinds of moisturizer. We like just the generic one, although I did switch this year to the one with hyaluronic acid in it. And I did get a compliment from somebody who said I didn't look my age, and I'm like, okay, okay with that. Yeah. Now, to go with that once a week or once every couple of weeks, self-care is so important to me. I love a good mask. And so to go along with this Korean skincare idea is I like a glass mask, and there are lots of options on Amazon. I don't think you have to spend a lot of money. Now, some people who are in skincare would tell you that you need to buy the expensive ones. I have bought the inexpensive ones. Um, and I just bought a zombie mask. And they call it a zombie mask because when you put it on, as it dries, it makes your skin look like it's it makes your face look like it's sloughing off, but it's just the mask and how it works. Yeah. But I will tell you, it leaves my skin looking super happy. I sleep in it, I put it on um before I go to bed, and I sleep in it, and then I wake up and I take it off. And I love the dewy feeling that I have when I take it off. It makes my skin like look so nice and hydrated. I love it. I'm actually getting ready to take a 17-hour flight. And I'm wondering if my husband will divorce me if I put on a zombie mask on the flight. I don't think he will.
SPEAKER_00:I don't think he will.
SPEAKER_01:He will definitely make fun of me. Sure, but you know, what are husbands for? I know that's true. Okay. Um, I have another one, and Kira has actually been commenting it on it all week that was since we've been together. Is I would get out of the shower and she'd be like, You smell so good. Oh my gosh, it smells amazing. So I am truly addicted to tree hut body butters, and they come in like six different scents. And I will tell you, the biggest variety that I have found of them is at Target. Okay. I have really been shying away with from Target this year because of policies and things that they have that they have done. But Target is the place to get the most variety of them. But I've actually seen them at Walmart. I saw some at Walgreens the other day, and Bob was like, you can get some of them on Amazon. But the one that I love, I'm holding it in my hand right now, is a Tropic Glow. And it's the firming whipped Shea Body Butter. And I will tell you, I go through about four or five of these in 12 months, but I just use it when I get out of the shower every day, and um, it makes my skin feel really nice and soft and supple, and it smells like you're on the beach.
SPEAKER_00:Is this what gave you the glittery glow, or is that something else?
SPEAKER_01:That is something different. Okay. So I'm gonna have to post the link to that one. So, no, the glittery glow is called just glow body luminizer. I'm reading the bottle, and it's from a company called Foreira, P-H-O-E-R-E. And I will post this, and it is like a little serum bottle. And I put it on, and then I use a little like buffing brush. Okay. And then I buff it across like my collarbones and my shoulders. But it does give me a nice little glittery sparkle.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, Missy held her arm out tonight and she's like, oh my gosh, I got out here with any without any jewelry on. And I'm like, oh, but your skin is glowing. It's just such a pretty fine little kind of glow, glitter. Um, I love it.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, and honestly, it's got a little tint in it, but I think it would look good on anybody's like skin tone. Um, I will give a little shout out to my friend Jill because she said to me one day we were going out to dinner, and she goes, Before you ask, I'll send you the link of the stuff that's making my skin so pretty. And I was like, that is hysterical. She knows me way too well because I was like, she knew I was gonna like ask for her to send me that. So she did, and it was amazing.
SPEAKER_00:That's awesome. So we talked about what makes your skin pretty and what makes you smell so good. And so I want to mention one thing. It is not something that's like super sissy and exciting, but I love the Lume creams, the um deodorant, it's all over body deodorant. I remember when it first came out and it was some of the funniest commercials because it was basically that you can put it everywhere: pits, privates, feet, wherever you want. I really, really like it. If you tried it years ago and you were like, ooh, that kind of smells a little bit like BV, I don't want to smear that on my body. Um, it did get better over time, but now their formulations are so much better. They have uh varieties, all kinds of different scents. They have spray and they have creams and they have wipes and they have all kinds of different things. I buy it from their website. Um, but you can also, I have seen it at Walmart before. So um, it's pretty widespread. I also they have bar soap, and I love their bar soap. Um, it takes me back to my childhood, I guess, to think of a bar of soap, but I do really love having that in my bathtub or a shower. Um, and it's just really good. Really, really good.
SPEAKER_01:I love it. That is our skincare section. Yes. What do we want to talk about next? Um, should we go to travel? Yeah, we do a lot of traveling.
SPEAKER_00:You do a lot more than I do. Um, and you know, have quite the frequent traveler miles. But it really has been in the last few years, like professionally, I travel a lot. And then, you know, my husband and I have been trying to travel a bit more and even getting away without the kids. So, um, and as I've aged, I have found that having some really high quality items and comforts from home or things that help you with your sleep, that is probably also an aging thing. That I need as much help as possible to get good sleep. Having things to travel is really, really helpful. Yeah. What's first on your list? Well, my newest fave, and the thing that has been life-changing for me, especially now that I travel a bit for my job, is a travel pillow. And it is from Cushion Lab, and it rolls up and has a case that is stays rolled up almost kind of like a sleeping bag. Um, and it can fit. I could fit it in my carry-on. Um, it takes up a fair amount of room and it is kind of heavy because it's made of memory foam, but it has been life-changing for my sleep as I travel.
SPEAKER_01:Well, I was just thinking on the lines of like sleep and rest is another thing that I have recently, I've really been trying hard to find something for the plane when I need a nap.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:And I used to have this Brookstone pillow that Brookstone doesn't make anymore. And I'm I was upset about it because I think I left it on a plane at somewhere in all of my travels.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:So I actually Googled like what are the best travel pillows? And I just bought a Wander Plus travel pillow, and it looks a little like a C spine collar. That's what I was just gonna say as you pulled up the picture. It looks like a C-spine collar, but it is a memory foam neck pillow, and I use it in a variety of ways. Sometimes I wrap it around my neck and just like fall asleep because it's gonna keep my neck upright because that's what a C collar does. Yes. But also sometimes I can like just tuck it under my shoulder and it gives me like a nice place to lay my head. Yeah, it also rolls up kind of like a sleeping bag into like a smaller, um, you know, a more easily, easily travel uh travel-oriented like piece of right gear. Yeah, but it also comes in a lot of colors. Mine is pink and I actually adore it. Again, Amazon, um, like 40 bucks, which seems a little like high for something to travel with, but also once you reach a certain age.
SPEAKER_00:I was gonna say, don't laugh then when you look up my pillow, and I think it was like 100 or 125 dollars for a pillow to travel. I got you. Yeah. Um, okay, so the other thing I also know that Missy loves, just like I do. I think my uh daughter introduced me when she was a teenager. I have to sleep with a squishmallow. I now have a squishmallow at home in my bed. I have a squishmallow on the couch that I cuddle with. There's squishmallows all over my house. And I always take Fifi the fox with me. I want to say she's like a 14-inch size. I feel like that's the kind that's like perfectly huggable. You can get a smaller one. I also just think squishmallows are the absolute freaking cutest things ever. And they now make sheet sets and pillowcases and all kinds of things, and they are so freaking soft. I love me a squishmallow. I highly recommend them. I think they also make great gifts. My husband laughed at me when I got him a cheeseburger for Valentine's Day, and his name is Carl. And he now also joins us in bed, and he laughed and he laughed, and he thought I was silly, and he loves Carl.
SPEAKER_01:And you also knew I had a squishmallow at home. Yes. And then sent me one for my my vacation house and sent me one for my Nashville house. So squishmallows, if you don't know, you can find them on Amazon. 16 inches, the biggest one. Um, they go all the way down to eight inches and they run somewhere between like 15 and$25. Um, and they all have their own personalities.
SPEAKER_00:They have the cutest ones too. They have sets of them for the holidays at Costco. And I also see squishmallows all the time at Walgreens.
SPEAKER_01:So I see them at Kroger too, like which is a grocery store at home.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. So you can find them all over the place. They're so fun. I think they're a fun gift because they're not something you would always buy for yourself. No, but they make a fun gift.
SPEAKER_01:I bought Brooks a sushi one for Christmas last year, and he loves it. He thinks it's hysterical. Yeah. Okay, so to round out the travel things, because I again am getting older and I don't see well. And I do have a very thoughtful husband. So shout out, Bob. We do think you're super thoughtful when it comes to gifts. I was complaining in a hotel room that there wasn't a magnifying mirror. So I could put makeup on without glasses or contacts. And so he bought me a travel mirror. There are all kinds of different lighted travel mirrors that you can find, and there's lots of options on Amazon. Um, anywhere from you can buy them super inexpensive for about$10 all the way up to about$50. The one I have has a um USB C rechargeable, and it has two lights. It's like bright white, like light, and then it has a softer light feature. Um, and it also came with a little magnifier. So it's normal magnification in the mirror, and then it came with a smaller like attachment so that I can magnify like 20 times.
SPEAKER_00:It was so perfect today as I was watching you use it um in the hotel room because uh both of us may have some vision issues. And without your glasses on, like sometimes in the hotel, your mirror's too far away from like depending on the counter and that sort of thing. It's nice to just have a mirror that you can like pop on a desktop. I think you used it like sitting on the floor, you could have it in bed with you. I mean, there's so many different ways, but it was perfect. It was a little perfect size, but with that light, it made it really, really nice.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, and it's thin, so it slides right in my bag. It's it's not bulky. Kind of like a Kindle. Yeah, it's actually the same size as a Kindle and it folds in on itself, which is so great. Yeah. Um, so you know, if you're out traveling and those are things like comfort items that would be super like fantastic for anybody in your life who travels a lot or who desires comfort. Um, I think I want to talk a little bit about some clothing things that we adore. Okay. So I will say my parents last year, shout out to Paul and Diane, bought me because I told them I wanted it, right? That's why they bought it. Yeah. An Oro heated vest. Oh. And the Oro vest, an Oro O-R-O makes a ton of clothing things. But I wanted specifically a sleeveless vest that's zipped up the front. Because when I'm working, I don't necessarily want something that is like full arm or like I don't want a sweatshirt. I wanted something that I could zip on and zip off and take off and on easily. Yes. It has a battery pack in it. When you work night shift as a midwife, as a healthcare provider, or you're a chronically cold person, because I know a lot of people who are like this, right? Yeah. This heated vest has three settings. Um, and I can on a 13-hour shift, I usually can make it through the whole shift. It won't be on the whole time, but I will turn it on and turn it off as I need it. It's got a really easy, like right at the um left breast, it's got like a little button and you can push it. Um, and it's like I said, it's USB C charged. So I take it home at night, actually in the morning when I get off, and I plug it in and I set my vest um someplace specific. And then I just throw the charging pack back in my vest. Um, but I will give you a tip. They have an open box section on their website. And so you can buy an open box version for half price. These are expensive, they're about$140 full price. My mom and dad bought me an open box one because I told them to$75. Um, I use it every day at work.
SPEAKER_00:Um, I love that for you. I love that for you. Um, don't put that on the list to gift me. No, I will not. I know better. Yes. If they had one that had air conditioning, that might be something that would be good.
SPEAKER_01:I know it's crazy because being perimenopausal, menopausal, and a member of the We Do Not Care Club.
SPEAKER_00:Yes.
SPEAKER_01:I do not have hot flashes. That is not one of my symptoms of perimenopause slash menopause.
SPEAKER_00:Let's put in a little asterisk and say yet, but maybe you won't ever have them. That would be fabulous for you.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, I have a lot of other things. Yes. That's just not it.
SPEAKER_00:Okay, so you turned me on to something that I just bought, my first set of, and I'm in love. But Quince. Quince is a, they have all kinds of things. I think they have home items, but it's a lot of clothes. And you get them at a really nice, reasonable price for really high quality items. And they have cashmere. And they have cashmere lounge sets, is what how kind of I think of it, but they are certainly definitely can wear them out of the house. I was running errands and went to dinner and all kinds of stuff in my little set of joggers and uh short sleeve t-shirt sweater. Love it. You mentioned that you're wanting to wear yours on your big 13-hour flight that's coming up. I think it's fabulous.
SPEAKER_01:I found these because Dr. Blyle is at one of my um generalist physicians, and she was like, Missy, this zip-up hoodie is it's cashmere. She's like, it's quince. So sometimes you can get it for 50 bucks, and you can't buy cashmere for$50.
SPEAKER_00:Um, totally worth it. Some of these different things that we're gonna mention to you, you're gonna want to take a look at our website and because I am gonna post links for you that have coupon codes. And um the quince is one of them. I love it. Take advantage of that.
SPEAKER_01:I think I talked about this next thing last year. I love fun socks. Um, and I love things, I love socks that say snarky things. And so my sock company that has the best socks with the most snark is groovy things. Fun. You can get them on Amazon. If there is a sock shop anywhere near you, they likely have groovy things. We found a lot of them at this little place when we were in New Orleans, but I've been seeing them more and more. And um, if you don't have an affinity for cuss words, that's fine. They have snarky things that don't have cuss words on them. Yeah, I have an affinity for things that you know have four little words on them.
SPEAKER_00:Do some of your favorite words start with F? Some of them. Yes. Yeah, okay. So I'm gonna mention something else that might be considered an undergarment. Actually, it is an undergarment, and it is Nick's underwear. And um, I think that people, I'm I'm so jealous that period underwear and urinary incontinence underwear didn't exist when I was a teenager. Like it could have been life-changing for me to not be so worried about having an accident or somebody seeing a stain on your clothes. But I I'm not having periods. I think everyone on this podcast knows that. Everyone in the world can potentially now know that. But what I love about the Knicks underwear is I don't have to worry if I sneeze and tinkle a little bit, or even just being so hot all the time. All of my other Perrymen Apausal friends also love these underwear. They have boy shorts, they have boxers, they have rompers, they have bikinis, they have songs, which seems really weird to me for period underwear, but they exist. Anyway, they've got all kinds of different things, and you can use your uh healthcare savings account for that. Wild. I know, I love it. So it's one of my favorite things. I don't know if anybody would love getting them as a gift, but buy them for yourself. It's a great gift to put under the tree from Santa to you.
SPEAKER_01:Yes, okay, all right. So shall we move to jewelry? Sure, let's do jewelry and then we'll do bags. Yes. Okay.
SPEAKER_00:We have bought each other some fun stuff. Yeah, again, um, get you a friend that buys you things you would never buy for yourself. All right, well, I'll start.
SPEAKER_01:Okay, because I actually got this tip from somebody else. So free people makes a bag, it's called the quilted carry all bag. It comes in a ton of colors from free people. Now I'm gonna give you a secret. The free people bag is$75. You can buy it at Dicks or on the Free People website, there's all kinds of places. Amazon has a beautiful dupe. Okay, the dupe is$25, and it also comes in like 15 colors, and it's I can hold up my actual free people bag against the dupe, and you would never know the difference.
SPEAKER_00:Literally, you sent me one. I don't know, was it like two months ago? And I took it to Tucson with me and was on campus in August as the semester was starting, and I literally saw about 10 college girls with them while I was on campus. I felt pretty good about myself. I'm keeping you young. Yeah, that's it. That's it. So my one of my other favorite bags that you gifted me, and we actually have matching ones. It's so fun. Um is a diaper bag. And it's a Dagmade Dover. It is a diaper bag. But they do have a version that is not a diaper bag, it's just a backpack. Yeah. Um, and I, you know, I might have to find one of those for myself in the future because I love having um accessories that match each other as well. Like I feel so fancy. It's like when your brawn panties match. I know that sounds so silly, but this bag is amazing. It feels like it's like neoprene and it is kind of a daintier backpack. It's it's definitely big enough. It has my laptop in it, my iPad, some notebooks. I can carry my charging cords and all of those different things. It's most often my carry-on that I take on airplanes with me.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, and it's just the materials just stretchy enough that if you put too many things in it, it's still gonna close.
SPEAKER_00:And it fits really easily under the seat in front of you, standing up, which is also important to me. I know that sounds silly. Um, uh, I think the bigger version might be a little bit better with fitting like your Stanley in the in the sides where the cup holders are, but you can fit a good size water bottle in those as well. I will give you a tip about this though.
SPEAKER_01:I bought one in a lighter color and I did not love it as much as I love the black one. So I would tell you if you're gonna buy a bag that's made of this material, I would buy it in black, navy, in one of the darker colors. My rose gold one showed a lot of water spots, and I didn't love that. And it's hard to wash in the washing machine. You could probably spot clean it. But ours are black, and I do love them.
SPEAKER_00:I saw someone the other day, um, it was another midwife here at the conference that had one of the bigger size, and hers was almost kind of a caramel brown, and it was really pretty. I think it might do well because dirt wouldn't look as noticeable as like a rose gold would, but it was really, really great. You want to talk about your work bag? My work bag, I think you gave it to me last year for my birthday. It was probably like a birthday fan. 50th birthday. Yeah, and it is a Kate Spade work bag, and it is the most beautiful. Um, I guess I would call it camel, um, kind of a medium brownish color leather. And it what I love about this work bag is that it stands up. Like you don't have to worry about it falling over. I can fit my laptop. I can fit all of the things that I just mentioned. It's just really professional looking. And when I don't want to have a backpack, it is what I feel like. Oh, I look like someone that can walk into a business meeting. I take it when I go on my accreditation site visits because it's just so professional. And I found to go with it, I got on Amazon and looked for like camel leather um travel cases. And I have one that I roll up my travel cord, my charging cords in, and I have one that holds like medicine and like chapstick and that kind of thing. And it just makes me feel really put together. But it's a Kate Spade bag, and we all know those are pretty nice bags.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, we'll have to put a link to my favorite Kate Spade bags. Okay. This really like dovetails so nicely into talking about jewelry. Do you want to talk about your Kate Spade necklace?
SPEAKER_00:Okay, so you did have a Kate Spade theme last year for me, and I loved it. Um, but she sent me the coolest Kate Spade like paper clip necklace, and it's a gold color, and then it has my initial for C. It's been really fun the last few days because Missy's been wearing a matching one um with her last name initial on it. But I love how classy it looks, and I get comments on it all the time. Um, but it's a really, really cute, just can go with everything kind of necklace.
SPEAKER_01:We are living out our best sex in the city without our full name being on our necklace, just our initials.
SPEAKER_00:Oh, I didn't know that was a thing.
SPEAKER_01:Oh, the Carrie necklace. Carrie always wore a necklace with her name and cursive on it. Oh, okay. So people used to see my Missy necklace, okay. Uh Missy, and I was like, I'm living my best Carrie Bradshaw life.
SPEAKER_00:I will tell you because I love a matching set, I love That necklace so much that I looked on Amazon for a gold paper clip bracelet, found something really inexpensive, but I love wearing that set because again, I feel really put together with it.
SPEAKER_01:So I want to talk a little bit about something that I actually posted on social media today, which is we are, and I'm sure you know this from listening to us, Swifties. And so the friendship bracelet craze has not been lost on us. And so there are a couple of places that we like to get bracelets. One of them is the Little Words Project. I love it. You can order the Little Words Project on Amazon or on their website. I actually went to a Little Words shop in Minneapolis. So if you live in a big metropolitan area, um, look and see if there's a little words project near you. There's some in Washington, there's one in Minneapolis. Did you say there was Nashville? Nashville, Boston. Go there and make bracelets. It's so fun to go and like customize your things. I actually even made bracelets for my boys this year. Yeah. And then I made us delivered ones. So it's fun. Um, my friend Lydia, who I work with, we both have ones that say in my midwife era.
SPEAKER_00:I was gonna say they feel like really classy friendship bracelets.
SPEAKER_01:They are. They're not inexpensive, they run somewhere between$21 and$30. Yeah, it's really nice. Um, the other one I'm gonna put a little shout out for is a little company on Etsy called Speak Now Jewelry. They do very feminist themed bracelets. Our favorite ones say fuck the patriarchy. It's two bracelets, right?
SPEAKER_00:It's a little stack. Again, really nicely made, very like not um, they don't look like five-year-olds made them.
SPEAKER_01:No. And she also made my one that says resist. Yes, I love them. When I bought them the first time, she tucked in a little feminist note about like, we use the money that we raise for this to send donations to women's causes. And so when she did that, I then bought a second set and sent them to Kara. So now we have matching Speak Now Jewelry. Actually, her, I was looking at her website tonight, and my review is there with a picture of me wearing my bracelets. That's awesome. They're my favorite bracelets to wear. They're comfy, they look super classy, and they have a good message.
SPEAKER_00:Now you have to tell them about the bracelet you just gave me, and I love it. Love it, love it, love it. It's my birthday gift this year.
SPEAKER_01:Okay, so you all have heard Dr. Teresa Ash on our podcast. She is one of my friends back home in Cincinnati and she is a pharmacist. So she found this company called V Coterie, Coterie, C-O-T-E-R-I-E. And they, I think, generally make pharmacy-themed um gifts. And but they make like a lot of different specialties. But um, I had a bracelet and I bought one for Kara and it's a chill pill bracelet. It literally has a little like capsule on it, and it says chill. It says chill, and then it's got little Pave um Solarovsky crystals. Yeah. Mine is actually on a friendship bracelet. Kara's actually on a gold chain. It's so cute and it's so perfect. I think with my Kate Spain stuff. Yeah, and it comes in a little bottle that looks like a pill container, which is like so perfect for just everything. I love a good theme. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:And if you're gonna do it, I want you to go for it. We need them to, you know, make an ovary or a uterus, but I saw on their heart, I saw kidneys, I saw orthodontic little braces. They were so cute. They had something for ultrasound. My ultrasound bracelet says gel yeah, gel yeah. So so cute, so thoughtful. Um, earrings, necklaces, bracelets, charms, all kinds of different things.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. So if you're looking for a little cheeky gift, I think that's a great one. Especially, like I said, I love a good theme. Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00:What's next? Well, let's do some things for the home. Does that sound okay? Yes. So I have gotten something as a gift, and I fell so in love with it that I had to go, like now I have gifted them to other people. But it is one of those candle warmers that has a light. So it's like a little lamp and it has this like fluorescent light. And the my very favorite one I got as a gift, actually, as I uh left my previous place of employment, one of my coworkers gave it to me. And it has various settings of like how hot or how bright it gets. And then all of the ones that I've seen and have, which are so fabulous. I now have one on the main floor of the house and in my office, but they have timers and you can set them for two or four or eight hours. And so you don't leave a candle burning. I also love that there's not a flame and smoke, but you get the beautiful smell of whatever candle you want to have in the house. And it just is really nice, like also ambient light. I I really just love it. I think it's so thoughtful. And I like that it's not the smoke. It's cozy. It is cozy. I've but I've been burning it all summer. So it's not cozy. Well, I mean, it but it does it it's comforting. Okay.
SPEAKER_01:Okay, so um, those of you who don't know, I'm gonna spill a dirty little secret of Keras. She is not a morning person. That is true. I was like, what are you gonna come up with here?
SPEAKER_00:I don't I always say like I'm not not a morning per I'm not a morning I I'm not a morning person.
SPEAKER_01:No, and neither am I, and that's okay. Yeah, the reason I have to be up in the morning is one of my kids starts school at 7 a.m. I can get up, I can do work, I can be productive, but I would rather sleep in. I mean, I can get up and do all those things, just don't speak to me. So what's what's your hack?
SPEAKER_00:What is my hack? Oh, okay. So yes, my hack is that I'm trying to be on my phone less and I'm trying to wake up in a better mood. And so I bought myself a hatch alarm clock. Have you heard of these? No. So you it has an app, you tell it like what time you want to go to bed, and you tell it like how long you want it to help you transition, and then you tell it what time you want to wake up, and it can do all kinds of different things. It can do like ambient sounds, it can do um podcasts, it can do stories, it can do, you know, if you want the rain or you want the waves, whatever you want, it will come on and start transitioning you so that you're not using your phone to try to fall asleep and not scrolling TikTok, because you do know I love TikTok. And so when it mine goes, mine starts going off because I I've told it I want to go to bed around 10:15, 10:30. So at 9:45, and it will pop up on my phone as well to say, like, Pat, just telling you it's about time for bed. And um, it's just been really good. It also does play sound throughout the night. Um, it's kind of funny because my husband, um, he doesn't like the light that it shows, but he does really like the sound. But that's the other thing is that it will create light. It will wake you up gently as well. So it will wake you up more gently with like the light coming on with it and with the sound increasing or whatever it is that you have it set up for your preferences, but it's supposed to have easier transitions.
SPEAKER_01:I love that. My there's no easy transition for me in the morning. Yeah. It's like getting launched out of the bed like a cartoon character and into my morning, and I hate that.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, I also recommend having a really fantastic son that knows perfectly how to make you the perfect cup of coffee, and he brings it to me bedside every morning.
SPEAKER_01:Okay. I second the having a child who'll make it for you. I don't get the I don't get them to bring it to me because my husband is still asleep, like two at least two hours after I get out of bed. Yeah. So, um, but they will make it. Okay, other things for the home. Shout out to my sister who bought me the effing birds calendar. That's so fun. So it's E F F I N, it's inexpensive, it's a cute gift, but you really have to like cuss words because every day for 365 days, it is a cuss word. That's hysterical. But you can also follow the effin birds um at effing birds on Instagram. And so you will get a lot of the bird snark. Um, some days I just need the birds to tell me what's gonna happen that day. That's so funny. Um, and uh, I need a good insult. And even if it's just something that I keep to myself, it feels like it's a gift to myself.
SPEAKER_00:I also feel like sometimes those are like those inside jokes to yourself that you just kind of giggle.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. Yeah. Some of them I have kept because they are quite humorous. And then my sisters who know I have the calendar, they'll text and they'll be like, What did today say? Like, is it gonna say something prolific about what's gonna happen during your day, right? Um, Kara and I were actually just laughing about what it said on July 1st, and I can't share it, but it was just kind of like a funny inside joke about what the calendar said.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, so fun. So I also love some snark. I think you gave me something that makes me also think something similar because I have it right on my desk, but it is a little bag of um sweary affirmations, and we do love a little curse word every so often. Well placed. Well placed, well placed, thoughtful in context. Makes you just kind of smile a little bit to yourself when you see it. That's it. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Okay, so I am all about hydration. Kara laughs because I am always telling her, have you had any water? Well, you have also bought me one of these, and I am not so great. Yeah, you're not great. So I will still stand by my, I know there's a lot of different water bottles out there. Um, a lot of my nurses are moving to Owala, which Awala Koala, right? That is a it is a good option. And I think if I didn't have as many of these other ones, I might go awala. But I really like a Stanley bottle. And I don't just now love the 40 ounce quencher, which is what you have. Okay. With the handle. Yeah. Because I think sometimes the handle is a pain in the ass. Yeah. So Bob Steck, leave it to Bob Steck to I said to him, when I travel, the handle's a pain in the ass. And he was like, oh, okay, let me get you a different one. And so this is the 36 ounce. Um, and it is a travel mug. It's got a screw lid on it, and then it pops open and closed, but it seals. And so I can actually put this guy in my bag and it's not gonna spill. That's great. It's got a latch for the top, plus a little thing that I can carry it by. And so this is kind of big. I mean, some people are like, I don't want something this big, but it comes in like a 20 or a 24 ounce as well. Um, I will post this size when we post our um our resources, but this is not what I use to travel because my one with the handle is great for work, not so great when I travel.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, I just thought of something that I didn't have on my list, but I'm now adding it because you know I can do that. Um, is a frostbuddy. And I don't know if you've seen these, but it's basically it looks kind of like a Stanley cup, but um, you can put any size of uh to go cup in it, McDonald's, Starbucks, whatever. I'm a huge Dutch Bros fan and I pretty much have a daily diet uh cook, large diet cook for McDonald's, but it doesn't get your hand cold, but it can also keep things warm. So it's really fantastic. I love having that because I don't want to hold a cold drink and I don't want to burn my fingers with a hot drink. Um, hint, I don't have that. Oh, okay.
unknown:Okay.
SPEAKER_00:I think they can also, if I'm uh not misunderstanding, I think they may perfectly hold like Hogan Daws or Ben and Jerry's.
SPEAKER_01:So I will also put it in a little like side for my 40 ounce quencher, Stanley, that I know holds a pint of Ben and Jerry's. So you can just hold the handle and eat the ice cream right out of the of the situation. That's amazing.
SPEAKER_00:Okay, so my next thing for the home, I am a huge fan. I have gifted this to several people. Um, my brother-in-law, my father-in-law, my child, myself is Project Repat quilts. And so they are t-shirt quilts. You pick what size, it tells you how many shirts. Um, it could be a front and a back. That would count as two, or you can do just the fronts. And you they tell they send you instructions. You cut the shirt apart and send them just the part that you want in the quilt. And it is the most lovely professional-looking t-shirt quilt you've ever seen. My most favorite one, I used a ton of midwifery shirts and it's in my office, and it's a midwife quilt. Um, I made one for my daughter of all of her high school t-shirts. I've made them for my husband. If you guys remember, he's a swim coach. Um, and he's been a coach for 27 years now. Um, I've made them of his boys and girls swim teams, and we had so many shirts I have. I think they're like king size blankets, and they're just so comfy to like cuddle up on the couch or to have in the like man cave or whatever. I love these. And you can oftentimes look online and find discount codes. I'm gonna post a discount code for you guys, but fabulous gift. You can buy it as a gift and it'll send you a gift card, and then the person just has instructions of how to mail it in and get it back. It's fabulous.
SPEAKER_01:I would like to do this with a bunch of midwifery shirts and then donate it for the pack rally. I've thought of that, but I can't get rid of mine. I know we're gonna need to collect some shirts from some people who have some.
SPEAKER_00:Oh, that would be fun if I didn't like if they weren't like we say um.
SPEAKER_01:So yeah, I love it. I love it. I'm gonna add this thing to home because I didn't talk about it with jewelry. It's a very much a self-care thing. Um, I got an aura ring this year. And I will say um you can use your flexible spending account. Also, if you have an American Express or you know, you have credit cards that have different things on it. American Express, I know, gave me$50 off an aura. Wow. Um, also using your flex spending is so nice. But I like this aura. It tells me like it can sense if I'm getting sick. Like I'll get a message from my aura ring that says, like, it seems like you're a little off. So pay attention to that. Or when like when I was really sick a few months ago and not feeling like myself, it really was like, I've I see major changes in your health, and you probably need to restore. Interesting. Um, it tracks my sleep. I don't have periods because you know, I don't have a uterus, but I do know some people who are still menstruating and that they say it does a great job of pack tracking their, you know, periods and their symptoms. Yeah. Um, it does a lot of things. And honestly, for a wearable, because I'm trying to get away from my watch. I feel very distracted by my watch sometimes. So I'm trying to get away from my Apple Watch. I love it, trying to not wear it all the time.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:My ring, I don't really pay attention to, and it does all of the things that I need it to do, including track my workouts, all of that. Okay. Without a lot of interaction.
SPEAKER_00:Awesome. So it's, but you're not getting your text messages and that kind of stuff. So it's not vibrating and bothering you.
SPEAKER_01:It is not um distracting me from the things that are important. Okay. And it all still collects all that data. That's awesome. It also integrates with your health app on your phone. Um, so I think uh if you're gonna do something for your health or you want to do something, the only disadvantage to this is you have to size it. So you can order a sizing kit from them, you can buy the sizing kit at Target. This, if you buy it at Target, they give you a$10 gift card so that you can get the money back for the sizing kit when you buy your ring. Gotcha. So also I have lost some weight and mine is a little big. So I have switched fingers. But I also do love that it comes in silver, gold, rose gold. It comes in like a shiny black, a matte black, lots of different things. Now it's funny. I bought a black one because I wear so many different colors of jewelry that I didn't want it to be silver gold or rose gold because I didn't want it to like mat not match what I wear all the time. But um, I think it's just a great self-care idea.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, like you've got yours right now on your middle finger, but I see a lot of people wear it on their index finger. Does it have a preference? It doesn't matter. Okay.
SPEAKER_01:Um, you can wear it on whatever finger as long as it fits. And so sometimes I will wear mine on my index finger, just depending. I will tell you though, midwife friends, I take it off and put it on my other hand when I work because right now it's on my right hand, which is my dominant hand, and I have it on my middle finger. It doesn't feel great when I check patients. It feels fine to them, but for me, it like pushes itself into the webbing of my fingers, and I don't love that. So on nights when I'm at work, I switch it to my other hand. Because it is a relatively thick ring. Yes, yeah, it's thicker than a men's wedding ring, I think.
SPEAKER_00:So yeah, absolutely. So this is not jewelry, but I find that it's somewhat related. I came across it, um, but it's called the ahead app. And as someone with a smidgen of anxiety, um, but also that has had some like difficult work life and that sort of thing over the last year or so. I came across this, and the ahead app helps you do some kind of cognitive behavioral therapy. It's got a lot of goal setting, it helps you identify like what are the things that you want to work on. And one of mine was like separating from my job and how I was feeling about that, but then also on my anxiety, and it has multiple different goals that you can work on at different times. It gives you little kudos when you come back day after day. I did spend some money on this, and you guys know I don't like spending money on apps, but this one seemed really awesome. And after the free trial, I did purchase it. I feel like it's just like something that is helping me take care of myself, and it helps me take the time and the mindfulness to like really focus on my mental health, and I have found that it's been really helpful. Oh that, yeah.
SPEAKER_01:I'm always an app fan, you know this. I do, yes. Um, I was just thinking when you were saying that, do I have any favorite apps from this year? And honestly, I'm into like a routine of like my old faves. Yeah, right. What are some of your old faves? I mean, you and I had an incident last year where I couldn't find you. Um, and I was really nervous.
SPEAKER_00:It I took it, I took a really hard nap. Well, I was fine, but it was it did make you very, very anxious. Tell them who all I called. And how many times I called you? I was it like five missed calls. I missed you. I called you five times. And you texted me multiple times. And and you called my husband. And um, who all did you call? I called Julia. Oh, my daughter, yeah. And I had no idea where you were. Yeah, I and so as we were telling this story to someone, they said, I can't believe you guys don't have each other on Life 360. Yeah, and so now we do, we do, which I will say, she you do track me periodically. I do, because I get a phone call as soon as I get in the car. And I'm like, I know you're driving, so you have to talk to me.
SPEAKER_01:I'm such an asshole. But okay, so I wasn't gonna life 360 because I feel like it's a little invasive. However, when Kira and I live in different time zones, yes, we work different schedules. I mean, I work nights, she works days. Yeah, we are traveling between the East Coast and the West Coast, and it's sometimes just like trying to connect can be difficult.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, I will even say like I know that when you're home in Cincinnati, you want to be with your family. So if I like sometimes I'll just check to see if you're in Nashville or Cincinnati because I can't always keep it straight, even though you literally tell me your schedule all the time. I clearly it's me. I'm the problem is me. But anyway, all of that to say, I know that when you're at home in Cincinnati, your time is very special with your family. And so I try not to bother you when you're at home in Cincinnati.
SPEAKER_01:Just like I try not to bother you when I know you're on vacation with your family. Yes. Unless it's really important.
SPEAKER_00:Yes. Um, but uh but the Life 360 allows us to do that. And I have my family. Um, I can make sure that my daughter made it back to college. I don't track her to see like if she's out partying. I don't want to know. But when she leaves home and she's headed back, you know, on a long drive, I will make sure she made it home safely.
SPEAKER_01:Well, and now it's more important because I have another kid driving. Yeah. And he drives a long way to school.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. And it the really funny thing is, is I'll get a text from Missy that's like, Welcome home, because it'll let you know that I landed in Kansas City if I've been traveling or whatever. It's really funny. I'll be like, how was your flight? Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Um, also, our life for 60 circle is called Besties. And I was just showing you earlier that it showed that besties were both in the same place today, and it made my heart really so happy. It's really fun. So fun. Um, what else goes along with when we were talking? Oh, apps. We were talking about apps. So I'll just like throw in, let's throw in some entertainment kinds of things because um you and I have been enjoying some um Taylor Swift.
SPEAKER_00:Oh gosh, I love that girl. I mean, I love her. I love her coffee. Travis, I love love. I love love, I love love.
SPEAKER_01:Uh, so we're big on the vinyl this this year.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, it's really interesting. My daughter and my son both have requested uh actual record players in the last few years, and they love going to vintage music places and getting old vinyl, which cracks me up. But um, they have also made me fall in love with Taylor on vinyl and chapel roan.
SPEAKER_01:Bob Stack, I bought the vinyl of the new um Taylor Swift album, and he actually opened it up and put it on the record player and blasted it for me the other day.
SPEAKER_00:There's just something about it. Um, similarly, my daughter had me, uh she wanted the single of the giver from Chapel Roan, and we bought every version that they had. Like there were four different there was the construction worker and the lawyer and the plumber. And yeah, did I buy them all? I certainly did. But they also make such cute art in her room, and we bought these little like um acrylic shelves that can like uh be attached to the wall. And I have to say, I think vinyl is such cute art. Yeah, I don't know, I just love it.
SPEAKER_01:So I will say that Bob said, How many versions of the Taylor Swift album did you buy? And I said, I just bought the original, like I stayed very like true to myself. But she just released did you see an acoustic version? Yes, and I also just saw that Target has the pink version, and I'm like, damn it, pink is my signature color. Don't buy it for yourself. Okay, I won't do it. Um, so the other entertainment thing, and this comes from me who like travels all the time, is I think everybody who knows me, I am a voracious reader. I listen to books, and I also I don't discriminate. I listen to a lot of books, but I also read paper books. I love my Kindle. There's all the things, right?
SPEAKER_00:You really do read as well as listen.
SPEAKER_01:Yes. And so I do have some favorite books from this year. I'm gonna just shout out a couple of them. One of them is The Resistance of Witches. If you're into historical fiction, it is witches and world war two. And I'm like, oh, it was so good. I could not put it down. Um, I had for sure some of my favorite reactions to a book this year was that one. The other one, which is also a little um, you know, fairy fae realm kind of book, was the courting of Bristol Keats. And what's crazy about it is is that I read it, I actually read the physical book. I could not put it down. I literally was like jamming through it, and the sequel does not come out until November 11th. And I'm dying because I want to read it. Yeah. But with that, with my two big book things, comes, I think Audible credits are a great gift. Yeah. Um, I could my I get Bob and I get 24 Audible credits a year. I could use them all in two months, but I am very specific about what I buy on Audible. And it's generally anything I can't get from the public library, right? And I do not have Kindle Unlimited, but I have a lot of friends who have Kindle Unlimited and they use that um a lot too. So I think those are two great options. If you know somebody like me who in 2024, I read 151 books. Oh my gosh. My goal this year was 150. I'm a little off. I I'm not quite at 100 yet, and we're already in October, so I'm not sure that I'm gonna get through 50 more by the end of the year. But for somebody like me who reads a ton of actual books, um, I just I've been buying books for my friend Glenna's daughter, Gage. And I just am like, she's like buying books for her is so expensive. And I'm like, I know. And she's like, she'll never read from a Kindle. And I'm like, she might eventually read from a Kindle.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, I thought I would never listen. And um, I'm such a fan of podcasts and true crime stories that I ended up getting audible. And I feel like it's a treat to myself. Like I love Missy, if you know Missy, will listen at a speed that is not intelligible to any other human. I'm pretty sure there's a frequency that she hits of how fast it's reading to her that no one else could tolerate. I can max out at about a 1.5. A 1.25 is perfect for me. I don't even want to know. But anyway, it's like two, 2.15. I would not be able to understand. That would be a foreign language to me.
SPEAKER_01:But if it's British or some weird accent, I have to slow it down to like 1.75.
SPEAKER_00:Okay, but I will say I love Audible. You also turned me on to a book series. Turned me on to a book series um that is Brynn Weaver. Butcher and Blackbird. Yes. And there's a series she just released a new one, but it it's just it's just nice, easy listening. I do I listen mostly when I travel. That one's spicy. It is spicy.
SPEAKER_01:If you want spicy, do the Butcher and Blackbird trilogy.
SPEAKER_00:It's she said, Oh, you'll love it because you love true crime and it's got a little spice to it. I'm like, okay, it's dark. It's dark, but it is good. I mean, yeah.
SPEAKER_01:That was my favorite trilogy this year.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, it's been really good. I do also love Audible.
SPEAKER_01:Okay, so we have a couple final, like miscellaneous items.
SPEAKER_00:We we clearly like a lot of things. We've been going on and on.
SPEAKER_01:Right, but I mean, this is our whole year of things we've collected. Yes, true. So we love I love badge reels because I'm still working impatient and I need something to put my badge on. And so I have bought some snarky, funny, very labor and delivery specific badge reels. The comp the one I like on Etsy is from Crazy Southern Storm, is the is the company. And it says, ask me what my favorite position is. Ask me about my favorite position. So funny. But also I have one that says diamonds and epidurals are a girl's best friend.
SPEAKER_00:I don't need a badge anymore, really. But you got me one of the funniest badge reels years ago. I don't know if it was from the same company, but I'm pretty sure it was from Etsy. Um, and what does it say? It says, uh, okay, because if you know me, I say it so many times. And now that I have this badge reel that you've called it out, like I find that I say it all the time. And it could be uh okay, or it could be uh okay. There's so many versions of it.
SPEAKER_01:The inflection depends on how you meant it. Yeah, because it could be super obnoxious, like, oh, okay, like whatever. Yeah, or it could be like, oh, okay, like you're into whatever somebody is saying.
SPEAKER_00:A lot of times it's uh okay. That's that's the blow off one. Or the I'm not sure I agree with you, but I'm gonna say okay.
SPEAKER_01:People who don't know you don't know that. Well, now they do. Now they do. That's like when somebody says bless your heart and you're not southern, and you're like, Oh, they just told you to fuck off. I know enough to know that one.
SPEAKER_00:All right. Okay, so another one that is one of my very favorite things, even to the point that I have it on subscription service now, um, which is a lot for me. Um, you actually gifted me one uh the very first time. And I think, I don't know, we were traveling together, and you're like, Hey, resident gave me one of these, you should try it because you know how much. Much I love a marshmallow and it is built puff bars. The puff bars, man. Oh my gosh, they are protein bars. And I want to say they have like, is it like 24 grams of protein or something in each one? It's a lot. And if you guys, Missy has tried every protein bar imaginable. I have tried a few. And when I say I've tried a few, I've taken a bite of quite a few. But these built puff bars are like a freaking candy bar. And my very favorite is because the puff part is my favorite, is because they are marshmallow. They have salted caramel. They have cookies and cream. They have mint chocolate chip. They have peanut butter, strawberry, banana. Which Kara's not going to say because she doesn't like coconut. Is one of their most popular. And it's the one that you gifted me, but I liked it enough that I went home and was like, I've got to buy some of these. And um, you can get them on TikTok shop. You can get them at Costco. I find them all over the place. Amazon, Meyer, Walmart, everybody has them now. Yeah, but they are worth every penny. And I really do think of them as my afternoon treat to myself.
SPEAKER_01:We also could do a whole podcast episode just on our favorite snacks. We could. So stay tuned. Stay tuned. This, so the theme of this is I buy Kara a lot of things that she inherently then loves.
SPEAKER_00:Yes. And then I give them to other people as well. And it goes on our favorite things list.
SPEAKER_01:Exactly. But we build this list all year long. If you have some favorite things, please email us. Um remember that we will post links on our delivered examprep.com website. So you'll be able to have some links to some things. Kara's got some discount codes for you.
SPEAKER_00:I will say the other thing is that because we're releasing this around the holiday time, is that if you have midwife friends, preceptors, teachers, students in your lives, whatever it is, we are going to have some t-shirts for sale on our website after the annual meeting. And we our workbook, I think, is also a great gift. Um, all of those different things help us to be able to provide scholarships to students.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. It's um, it really is like our heart work.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Um, and being able to like interact with students and provide them with resources that they need. So um if the labor positions shirt is going to be coming out, we still have some um labor hormone shirts that we'll be selling um until they're gone. Once the labor hormone shirts are gone, they're gone.
SPEAKER_00:And if you guys know Missy and you know me, we don't like to sell things that we don't like. And so we are a bit of t-shirt snobs. They are some of the most comfortable t-shirts I have.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, they're bella shirts, they're tri-blend, they don't shrink, they're soft, they don't feel bad on your skin.
SPEAKER_00:And they look incredible with a pair of scrub pants.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. If you're on our social, you'll see all my nurses sporting them, um, which is really, really fun. We forgot to mention what our absolute favorite thing right now this year is.
SPEAKER_00:Oh, I know what I would say.
SPEAKER_01:I think I know what I would say too. And it's the same. Should we count to three? Sure. One, two, three. Um, when you talk to two menopausal slash perimenopausal women, um, we are digging some hormone therapy, so don't judge us.
SPEAKER_00:Oh, I don't think anybody would judge us. I mean, it's a quality of life issue at this point.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. I my physician who prescribed mine was like, Well, how are you feeling? And I said, Well, after two weeks, my brain fog is totally lifted.
SPEAKER_00:I would not say that I am pre-menopausal care again. But things are much more pleasant in my house. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:I was in a brain fog place where it felt like there was just a curtain down over everything.
SPEAKER_00:I'm just getting so much better sleep. And if I don't sleep, I'm not pleasant to be around. We talked about that. We did. So a little estradiol is not a bad thing.
SPEAKER_01:Nope, it's not. Well, thanks for joining us for the Engaged Midwife podcast. We can't wait to talk to you again. Take care.