Empowered Ease
Welcome to Empowered Ease, hosted by Jenn Ohlinger—a holistic coach, founder of The Moonflower Collective, and critical care nurse dedicated to revolutionizing women's health. Join us each week as we delve into the transformative stories of healers, health practitioners, and everyday women like you, challenging the patriarchal framework through empowerment and holistic healing. Through engaging storytelling, our podcast highlights each woman's unique journey toward embracing their feminine gifts, trusting their body, and prioritizing their mind, body, and soul. Discover how by empowering ourselves, we can pave the way for stronger relationships and a more balanced world.
Empowered Ease
Ladle of Ferns, Creating Community for Chronic Illness Sufferers
Hi!! I would love to hear from you!
Imagine waking up each morning never knowing how much energy you'll have for the day. Will you have enough "spoons" to shower, prepare a meal, and pay your bills—or will you need to choose just one? This is daily reality for millions living with chronic illness who fall between support system cracks.
My guests this week, Andie Malone and Cady Menk, social workers who transformed personal struggle into community solution through their non-profit, Ladle of Ferns. After losing a friend to suicide, they looked at each other and asked the haunting question: "Who's next?" Their answer became a lifeline for those with invisible illnesses who don't qualify for traditional assistance yet can't afford private support.
Through four groundbreaking programs, they're reshaping what support looks like. Their online community creates 24/7 connection where members share "peaks and valleys" weekly. Monthly meetups combine peer support with practical education. Their resource navigation helps clients create manageable action plans and complete overwhelming paperwork. Perhaps most innovative is their body doubling program, where simply having another person present—virtually or in-person—helps participants accomplish tasks that would otherwise remain undone.
What makes Ladle of Ferns extraordinary isn't just what they offer, but how they offer it. Every service is completely free and tailored to individual needs. Need someone to sit with you while making a difficult phone call? They'll do it. Just need links to resources? They've got you. This flexibility comes from lived experience—both founders identify as "spoonies" themselves, understanding firsthand how chronic illness transforms simple tasks into monumental challenges.
Visit ladleofferns.org to learn how you can join their community, volunteer, or donate to help those who wake up each day not knowing how many spoons they'll have, but knowing they don't have to face it alone.
Ladle of Ferns is a 501(c)3 Nonprofit organization that provides personalized support to adults living with chronic physical and/or mental illnesses. Ladle of Ferns was dreamt up after Co-Creators Andie Melone and Cady Menk spent countless hours discussing the lack of support for themselves, their friends, and even their fellow social workers. They realized that many people struggle to access traditional support services for two main reasons: they do not make enough to pay for services out of pocket AND they do not qualify for traditional low to no-cost services. To put it simply, they belong to the economic middle. If you would like some support, or simply want to get involved, check out the links below:
To check-out the website: https://www.ladleofferns.org/
For information on our events: https://www.ladleofferns.org/events
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Hello and welcome to Empowered Ease. My guests plural today are Andy Malone and Katie Mink. They are co-creators of the non-for-profit Ladle of Ferns. Welcome, I'm so happy to have you two on. Hi, hello, we're so excited to be here, yay, okay. So, ladle of Ferns, tell us a little bit about your non-for-profit before we get started, just so that we have a little understanding.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you want me to take that one.
Speaker 3:Yeah, start us off.
Speaker 2:Okay, so Ladle of Ferns, we provide support to adults that are living with chronic and physical and mental illnesses. We have a couple of different programs which I'm sure we'll get into later, but our main goal is to kind of build community for people and kind of create those connections.
Speaker 1:I love it, so needed these days. I know you guys had mentioned before that you guys kind of work with the people that like fall between the cracks of like meeting, require, yeah, the requirements for certain support and also still having issues that they need support with. Yeah, I love that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that was a big group that we kind of identified, even just among, like, our friends, our colleagues, was this kind of middle ground where people were falling outside of the parameters of support, yeah, and not having the resources to like pay for things out of pocket.
Speaker 3:Right, right, when you don't qualify for the grants or the funding from like government or other nonprofits, Um, but you also can't afford to pay someone outright to help you with you know, chores or anything like that.
Speaker 2:Um, so and that's us Yep.
Speaker 1:I love it because I feel like that's a gap that's getting wider and wider in a lot of areas of healthcare. There's just so little effort, attention, resources put into preventative medication or medications, preventative education, and then there that gap of people just keeps getting bigger and bigger. That needs help, but there's less and less support. So you guys are, unless you have a lot of money and you're ready to pay for those people. So yeah, Exactly.
Speaker 1:Yeah, okay, so tell me a little bit about the two of you. What do you guys do Like? Who are you? How did this come about?
Speaker 3:like who are you? How did this come about? Well, um, andy and I met in the school of social work at umzal, working on our bachelor's degrees. Um, and I don't know, do you have a minor?
Speaker 2:I should probably know.
Speaker 3:No, I do not have a minor, okay, um I have my master's degree or my bachelor's degree, uh in social work, with a minor in psychology, and andy has her bachelor's degree in um social work, but she went on to yeah, I have my master's in social work as well. She does yep um and I think, did you get that certificate? She's supposed to have a certificate in non-profit, but that's a I took all of the classes.
Speaker 2:So I have the knowledge. There was just some administrative issues on the part of that, certain certificate programs like leadership. So the actual physical certificate is not in my hands, but I do have knowledge.
Speaker 1:Got it up here All in good time, right, exactly.
Speaker 3:Yeah, right, uh, we became friends, and I'll skip over some years there, but, uh, eventually we started living together and just there were so many things happening and the lack of support that we felt amongst ourselves, amongst our friends, amongst our colleagues. It just became suffocating and we were like who? Who is here to help with this? Are there any resources? What do we do? And eventually it dawned on us that it didn't exist and if we wanted it to happen, we, we were the ones. Yeah, we had to do it.
Speaker 1:Um, so that's kind of how we came about. And, yeah, I think what kind of things were you noticing, um, in your peers, specifically like that, were the struggles, like what kind of what kind of things were you seeing?
Speaker 2:I think I would liken it to just kind of this drowning feeling, um, just being super overwhelmed, not having any type of support for like day-to-day tasks. Cause that's another thing that we kind of found. Just, you know, both of us identify as as spoonies, um, in the chronic illness community, and your time is not the same as everyone else's time. Um, your energy is not the same as everyone else's energy. You can wake up one day and feel totally different than you did the day before, where you were super productive. You know you wake up the next day and you have no energy for anything. Your pain is super high, Um, so we we found that a lot of people were just feeling really overwhelmed by their day-to-day tasks and typically this, this narrative in society is like well, that's easy, Like why are you struggling to do your laundry, why are you struggling to keep your house clean, why do you need help with that?
Speaker 2:And it's just that is the reality for a lot of our friends and our colleagues and just people that we knew. That's kind of. Mostly what we're seeing was just this overwhelming, like I have so many things to do and I don't have any support.
Speaker 1:Like the invisible chronic illnesses community where, like you don't look like you would struggle, but really like it's almost like a, it's almost like a detriment that you look so normal because people take that for granted, the energy levels and things like that you have. So you're finding a lot of people which that's a growing, growing population chronic illnesses. Yeah, exactly so I was just trying to like think how did you guys identify this niche of people?
Speaker 2:Yeah, because it's so great. Yeah, it kind of started with us, I mean, like we are part of that community, we're part of that group you advocate. They were really like an exemplar in the field. I would say, yeah, we looked up to them, yeah, yeah, we lost them to suicide in the fall of 2022. And that was really kind of the kicker, you know, like we looked at each other and we were like who's next, Like who's?
Speaker 3:who's?
Speaker 2:next.
Speaker 3:Um, yeah, that was kind of a. We were sitting on the couch upstairs and we tell the story frequently, but it was a huge moment for us to just sit there and look at each other and say it could be you, it could be me, yeah, so, like this organization is for us, yeah, yeah, it's for people like us, because we get it and a lot of people don't, and so finding other people who get it is life-changing. It's life-changing for me.
Speaker 1:Yeah, to be in a community of people who understand the struggle. I've been to a few of your their meetings, so not that I have a lot of knowledge, but I've, I've seen, I've seen it.
Speaker 1:It's awesome, and I have, uh, you know, worked with some of the people in your group one-on-one, and they all talk about how magical it is to be to have a community, because a lot of people don't I I I liken it to nursing, like I don't have a medical family members, so when I have struggles at work, there's not anyone in my immediate circle that understands in a way that feels validating to me and I feel like this is one of those issues.
Speaker 1:It's like you can talk to people about it but unless they're in that situation, how can you really understand? And it doesn't feel as relieved, like as releasing, when you're talking to someone who doesn't actually get it. Yeah, so powerful. It's so powerful to have a community like that to be able to go to. So you guys are doing beautiful, beautiful things.
Speaker 2:Thank you.
Speaker 1:So tell me a little bit about how this experience has been for you, because you guys are relatively new. I think you started what a year ago, a little over a year ago. Is that where we're at here?
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, we just celebrated our first birthday in January. Yeah, yeah, we're, yeah, we're little babies.
Speaker 1:I think our birthdays are probably really close to each other, so yeah, oh yeah, oh my gosh, I didn't Wow.
Speaker 3:We get to grow together. I know, I know that's so fun.
Speaker 2:I'm like we need to figure out how to celebrate together.
Speaker 1:I love it.
Speaker 2:I love it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yep, the wheels are turning.
Speaker 3:I think it's been a lot of learning here. We've had to be very flexible, which is not, I mean, we just are very flexible people, yeah, just naturally.
Speaker 3:I think, Kind of catching those. Oh, I just noticed this could be really helpful, or if we switch this kind of program, more people might be able to attend or or relate, or it's just been a lot of growing. It's been very, very cool to find people and I think I was a bit surprised by how many people do understand. Yeah, I was expecting to have to fight for it and to have to say, no, this is so important because X, y, z and there's just been so many people where you'll give them like your little elevator speech and they're like, oh my gosh, that's so awesome, I know so, and so who could really use that? And it's like oh my gosh, so it's just so great.
Speaker 2:Yeah. Yeah, it's been a very long time and a very short time, if that makes sense Like it's gone by so fast, but it also feels like it's been so slow just with like learning new things and you know, with everything there's there's challenges, right, and I think it's like I deal with a lot of the backside stuff. So, like our website, you know things that I have like never done before in my life and it's it's so rewarding to tackle that and like figure it out and then just be like I can do anything. Right, I taught myself all of this in a year?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean it's definitely frustrating. Like don't get me wrong. Before you get to that moment you're kind of like pulling your hair out, um, but it's, it's so worth it and just seeing how we're impacting people makes everything worth it. Like dealing with the IRS and like you know fun stuff. It makes it so worth it when you are ending a session with a client and they're like thank you so much. I wouldn't have gotten nearly half of this stuff done if we hadn't had this time together. Like it just it's so impactful.
Speaker 1:I love how you say that Cause, like you know, connecting to something meaningful, like purpose or you know, like something you get excited about that energizes you, that like connects with your values, is energizing. You guys came from this like overwhelmed, burnt out position. You connected to something so powerful and you're doing so much good and it does bring you energy and light and all that, yeah. So I want to know how you guys work with people. I know I've been to your. You guys have monthly meetups and you were talking about sessions and I know you guys do some body doubling, which you've got to tell us about. So what are the ways in which you support people struggling with chronic illnesses? What are the ways?
Speaker 2:in which you support people struggling with chronic illnesses. Yeah, so we have like four main programs right now. I would say the first one is an online community support group. So it's a private group on Facebook. Right now we're exploring some other options for that, to take it even a little bit more private, like maybe a forum on our website or something, but right now it's operating on Facebook and that's a space for people to kind of ask for help, share any advice they might have, you know, so, like, if they found something helpful, they can share it in there to be like hey, don't know if anybody else is struggling with X, y, z, but this worked for me.
Speaker 2:I want to put it out there. So you have the resource. We also do check-ins every week for people which we call peaks and valleys, so people can kind of come in there and share like, hey, what was awesome from this last week and then what was really challenging, and that can be event space, or it can be like does anybody have solutions, suggestions? Like is anybody else feeling like this out there? Is it just me? So that's, I feel like that's very validating for people to have that space which is just kind of up 24 seven, you know.
Speaker 3:Yeah, people have really shared that. They appreciate that time. And there's been a couple of people who will come into our meetings and will say like, oh, i's been a couple of people who will come into our meetings and we'll say like, oh, I've been thinking about my peaks and valleys all week, yeah, and I want to share them now. And they're just so excited to talk about it, which is not something I anticipated, but it's so awesome, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:Like we have some people who really look forward to that. So our next program is our, our community meetups, um, which we do in person once a month and we're typically at like a local library, because we love libraries, we think they're a wonderful resource and we want to expose more people to them. So we usually host at local libraries. Yeah, and typically at meetups we kind of they're chunked out into two parts, so we have the peaks and valleys part, you know, where everybody is in a group setting and they can talk about what's been going well, what's not going well, and then we try to have like an educational component or some type of activity. So in March, I think, we're doing bingo cards like 2025 bingo cards for their goals, and they're using what you presented at our February meetup to kind of shape those goals and figure out what they want to put on their cards.
Speaker 1:And I want to workshop for them about goal setting.
Speaker 3:Yeah it was awesome.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it was so good because it's like you know we were thinking about it and it's like goal setting, I feel like, is a is a contentious area for people, because goals are great but you know how do you do it without it leading to this overwhelm and burnout because you're like having too many or like overshooting it a little bit, like putting too much pressure on yourself. So it's like how do you kind of step that back and really set goals that you can accomplish and build that momentum with? So that was wonderful. Thank you for providing that. Thank you.
Speaker 1:But it's great that you guys support each other in that role too, because when you have monthly place to go back and check in on that that you've all worked on together, you know it's a place to shift to, to find support, to like problem solve, like it's like. It's just a great idea. I love it.
Speaker 2:Thank you. Our last two programs we offer resource navigation for people. Those are pretty much done virtually, so people can schedule like a 50 minute session with Katie or I and we kind of talk about what they're needing the most support with, what kind of resources would be beneficial, and then we help them come up with a plan. So sometimes kind of prioritizing what you need can be very hard and it can be a blockage where you just kind of shut down. So we help people create that plan. And then I think the coolest thing about this program is our flexibility, cause we really focus on meeting people where they're at. So sometimes we'll get people who are like, hey, if you just send me the application, if you just send me the link to the information, I've got it from there. Um, and we're like, okay, cool.
Speaker 2:But then other times we have people who are like I really need somebody to be present with me while I make this phone call for an appointment. I really need somebody to sit with me and help me fill out this application. And we can do both me and help me fill out this application, and we can do both. And we can also meet people in between. So we really try to let our clients drive what that program looks like for them and we take it on a very like individual basis.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I would say that's so powerful, that's such a like, a helpful thing. And I also want to mention, before we get too further into this, I I work with women specifically, but your group is for men, women, anything like you guys I will say like from being to their meetings. You guys do an amazing job at creating a very like safe and open environment where people feel free to like express themselves openly. Thank you.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:I mean it, though it's very like. I love how different groups of people are so comfortable when they come. Even I've brought people to the group who immediately opened up when they were there. So it's just a testament to the two of you and the people that come to your meetings. So thank you.
Speaker 2:I'm not going to cry about it, but I might, I might cry about it.
Speaker 3:We experienced. Well, I think you experienced it too in Casework, specifically when you're giving people resources, it's often like a sheet of paper and like call these places, and here's this, and that's so overwhelming. And you like go back the next week and you're like okay, like who did you reach out to? You know, did you, did you find the resources that you needed, that you needed? And it's oftentimes they'll say like no, I didn't have a chance there, I don't know where to start, I don't know, um, and it doesn't really exist a space where you're sitting with them while they're exploring these resources and getting the help that they need.
Speaker 1:Um, so can you give some examples of some of the resources that people may not know is available, because I feel like that's part of it too is like I know. I worked with one of somebody who's in your group recently who didn't know about some I think it was um like government, um resources that were available to her that she wasn't aware she qualified for until she spoke with you too, and I imagine there's non-government resources as well. So can you give us just some examples that people might not be thinking of, that they may qualify for?
Speaker 2:or that may be available to them. Where to start. There's so many. That's the fun thing about being social workers is because your brain kind of turns into this Rolodex. Yeah, I was like you guys probably have organizations, but people like me.
Speaker 1:I don't know what's out there, honestly, like I know the things I've connected with personally, but you know a lot of people are just unaware of support that's even available.
Speaker 2:That's the big piece is connecting, yeah yeah, yeah, um, I think one of the things that recently kind of stood out to me was learning about a program that arc has where they do applications together like in person for like disability applications and stuff, cool, um, I think they call them like walk people through filling it out.
Speaker 1:Yes, oh my god I had an ex that was um on met like medicare, medicaid. All paperwork, the government paperwork is so overwhelming I have no idea how people go to that office that are elderly and have health problems and continue to receive funding for how complicated that process is.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, so that was something cause we were at another event and we had connected with someone from St Louis arc and they had told us about the paperwork parties. I hope I'm. I hope that is the correct program. I'll have to follow up on that, but I'm pretty sure, that's cool, though.
Speaker 1:There is a program out there that helps you fill out your paperwork, which, honestly, is like a lot of people. That's one of those things you just avoid.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, I mean, how could you not like, especially like you were saying, the government applications and stuff are always so dense, like it's just so, and sometimes the language is not very accessible.
Speaker 3:So that's something that just comes to the top of my head. I think there's also like financial resources, like if you're needing help with paying for, like your electric bill, if you're needing help paying for your rent, if you're needing help, um yeah, paying for a lot of different bills. There are resources for that that are I think they're government funded what comes?
Speaker 3:to mind is like lie, heap, yeah, um, and that is also paperwork written, as most resources are yep, where you're like, have to get it in by a specific time and if you don't cross this t or dot this I, it's rejected.
Speaker 1:Yeah um that's a huge service, huge and then okay, so you guys have one more resource that's yours. That I'm interrupting, so tell us about that one.
Speaker 2:So I saved this one for last. Um, it's our body doubling program, so we have kind of three different avenues for that. Um, we meet in person once a month for an in-person kind of group session. Uh, we usually go to like a local cafe or somewhere, um, and we usually go. I think it's like noon to two is when we're usually there. So if people want to come and like grab a drink or grab some lunch and you know, just kind of work on stuff together, um, but that's also not an obligation, just if people are interested in that, like you do not have to buy food or drink while you're there. Like you can just come and work. That's just something that's available to you if you want it. Kind of a lunch date and getting work done at the same time. And then we also have a virtual group session once a month where we're just kind of online all working on our own stuff, just cameras on doing what you need to do.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I've done laundry.
Speaker 2:Yeah, those sessions. Yeah, I've done laundry. Yeah, those sessions. Yeah, there's like no, no boundaries for what you can work on with body doubling. Um, the other Avenue is something that we just started last month, I think, um, which is allowing people to schedule one-on-one sessions for virtual body doubling, so it's a 50 minute session. Um, believe it or not, the time goes very fast when you're like you're able to get so much done and it feels like such a short amount of time simply because somebody else is present with you. So, kind of like what Katie was saying, you can schedule those just because you need somebody to be present while you're doing your laundry or cleaning your kitchen or working on homework or paying bills, whatever that thing is, that is such a struggle
Speaker 2:every week. Yeah, whatever it is, you can work on that. And we're just kind of here with you. And usually for the one-on-one sessions we kind of start with like a okay, what are we working on? And then maybe like halfway point, we'll kind of check in and be like how's it going? Are you hitting any blocks? Like what's going on, let's talk about it. Um, and even just to have like a five minute break, yeah, just take, take a little minute away from it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, have a little chit chat. Sometimes that can like re-energize you too to get your stuff done. So body doubling is is kind of new For me. It was very surprising. It was not something that we kind of originally planned on, but it just evolved. You know, like we we threw one in and people were like, oh my God, this is great. Where has this been all my life? So then we were like, oh okay, and then we threw in another one and then we started scheduling and it's just blown up and it's wonderful.
Speaker 1:Yeah yeah, I can't tell you how many of my clients I have told about you guys and also like just how the idea of that has sparked so much in people, even who don't want to come. They're like oh, my daughter and I can do this together. One of my clients they schedule a date, they do their like one does their laundry, the other one, whatever she's avoiding. It's like that is such a great thing, Cause I know a few unicorns that can self-motivate, like um but not very many of them.
Speaker 1:Honestly, I'm so jealous of them because I there's certain work I avoid so much and if I can like get on the phone and call my mom and do my dishes and like catch up and not think it's I plow through them, and if that's just a tiny little example, but there's so much like that and everybody's got something like that, so it's, I love it, I can, I can understand why it's blowing up yeah.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, it's been really cool to see yeah.
Speaker 2:That's awesome.
Speaker 1:I love that so much. Okay, so earlier you made a reference and I meant to ask you about it and I forgot you guys. You said that you guys are both spoons, so I would love you to explain that reference and then also explain your name.
Speaker 3:Oh yeah, wow, I get so excited about it. Yeah, okay. Well, spoonies comes from the spoon theory. I don't recall off the top of my head who started it. I feel like her name is like Jane or like Janice or like I don't know. Yeah, that's fine. Anyway, there was someone who came up with the idea of the spoon theory, which correlates to the energy that you have. So when you are a quote, unquote normal person, I guess we'll we'll use that reference for now. Um, you have infinite spoons, which are your energy. So, uh, you're, you're always able to find a spoon. There's always excess, you know. You can get your dishes done, you can take a shower and you can, um, go to the grocery store. You have all the spoons in the world. But when you're a chronically ill person, you wake up with a different number of spoons every day. So one day you could have like 25 spoons.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:That's fantastic. But another day you wake up and you have five or none or none, and a shower costs two spoons spoons. Feeding yourself breakfast costs a spoon. You brush your hair, that's another spoon, yeah. And then you're out and you're like, oh my gosh, but I have to, I have to get my work done, I have to pay this bill, I have to do my taxes, which costs at least 15 spoons at minimum. Yeah, yeah, exactly, um, so that's kind of the idea of the spoon theory. Yeah, did I miss anything your name?
Speaker 2:explain your name. We didn't get there yet, okay. So we tried for a long time to like figure out a name right, and we wanted it to be kind of spoon centered, because the spoon theory was really like anchoring us at that time, um, and since we were doing community work, we were like, well, what's bigger than a spoon? A ladle, right? Um, so imagine, a ladle is a community version of a spoon. And then ferns actually came from honoring our undergrad classmate who had passed away. So beautiful, yeah, yep yeah, that's beautiful.
Speaker 1:I love that. Got a big ladle of ferns. Yep, oh, that's a powerful name. I love it.
Speaker 2:I love it so funny because a lot of times when like, especially when we're at events that are like really loud, you know, and we're talking to people, they'll be like what, what is your name? Because it's so like I don't know. Yeah, it's just different than like anything you hear in the non-profit sector.
Speaker 2:I feel like, yeah, um but if you're a visual person at all, you're like ladle of fur yeah, yeah, and we're like, yeah, we know, we know, but yeah, it's we, we love it and we feel like it is very powerful because of the meaning behind it, you know, yeah.
Speaker 1:I love it. I think it's amazing. Um, okay, so do you guys have any plans coming up, any future plans or anything um events coming up that we should look for?
Speaker 2:oh, yes, oh, I should have looked at the kind of I was like I'm gonna have to pull up my calendar one moment for our march events we have a uh community meetup every month.
Speaker 3:Um, we'll grab that date for you in a second. The body doubling sessions, um, I don't know if there's anything new. We've got some things brewing in the background. We do.
Speaker 2:Yeah, um, I will say one thing that we're at least for me, um I'm excited for possible partnerships, um, in the future, and we were just talking last night and Katie mentioned how, like, body doubling, even for caseworkers not necessarily just their clients, but even for caseworkers could be really helpful. Um, and if people did not know, all of our services are free, so the ones that we've talked about, they're completely free. So we're excited to maybe have some more partnerships with other organizations or even just people who work at other agencies and stuff and try to provide a resource on that level as well.
Speaker 1:Do you guys do all of the sessions yourselves, or do your members also volunteer their time to do body doubling as well? How does that work?
Speaker 3:Um, but we're always open if there are board members who want to do that as well. And we also encourage if there's members of the community that like kind of pair off and, um, like I know there's a couple of people that come to our meetups that do that together. Yes, it's kind of separately. Um, that's encouraged, but mainly it's me and Andy Yep it's encouraged, but mainly it's me and Andy.
Speaker 2:Yep. So what are some upcoming events that we can look forward to? Yeah, so in April, um, on Saturday April 12th, we are having our in-person community meetup from three to five. On Sunday April 13th, we are having our in-person body doubling from noon to two, and then Tuesday April 22nd, we are having our virtual body doubling from seven to 9. Ooh, yes.
Speaker 3:For more details, definitely go to the events tab on our website.
Speaker 1:Yeah, Tell us your website?
Speaker 2:I don't think you've told us yet. Yeah, so our website is just ladleaffernsorg Beautiful, yep, yeah, tell us your website?
Speaker 1:I don't think you've told us yet, yeah, so our website is just ladleaffernsorg Beautiful, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:And if you RSVP to the events, that's the best way to stay up to date. So like, if, for some reason, a date needs to change or a location needs to change which hasn't happened yet but could if you're RSVP'd, you'll get automatic notifications of any changes that happen. So that's the best way to kind of stay up to date and informed.
Speaker 1:So I hear you guys are looking for partnerships. Are you looking for donations as well? Are you looking for people to donate time? What kind of partnerships are you looking for? Just in case anyone's listening, and what if people, let's say, want to get involved but maybe don't want your services but are like this is great, how can they get involved to support you guys?
Speaker 2:Yeah. So I would say number one sharing our information is always appreciated, especially since we are so new, like we are still definitely getting the word out about the services. So definitely sharing our information. And then we are 100 donation based um and funded right now. Yeah, so we I think we still have a couple years to go before we can really start getting like grants, um, so we're always taking donations are wonderful.
Speaker 3:It it seriously makes a huge difference.
Speaker 2:Yes, yeah, yeah, those donations are really like the only way that we're able to stay up and running, and at no cost.
Speaker 1:So would someone just reach out to you or could they find you on the website if they wanted to make a donation, or yes?
Speaker 2:Yes, there are. Both options are wonderful. They can definitely reach out to us directly, but there is a donate option on the website.
Speaker 3:Love that yeah, it's a big, huge give button.
Speaker 1:I love it. So if people are listening and they're like, oh my gosh, I need this in my life, what, what should they do?
Speaker 2:Yeah, um. So once again, our website. It has all of the programs on there and it has um scheduling options for you. So if you wanted to schedule one-on-one sessions, um, you can do that online. You can also always like reach out to us if you have more questions, you know. So, like, if you get to the scheduling part and you're like, oh, I don't really know, or you want to talk about some stuff, you can reach out to us, um there is like a, a reach out part on our website as well.
Speaker 3:I would say definitely go to our facebook page. Yes, ladle of ferns community group. Yes, is the uh private page. It's a group. And then we have a ladle of ferns group on facebook. Um, and we're pretty good about like keeping everyone up to date and just interacting and stuff and everything that's on the website is also shared there. Yes, so if you're like I need some more like human kind of connection, um, definitely go there as well, yeah, yeah, we're on Facebook and Instagram.
Speaker 2:Love that Love that. Maybe, maybe TikTok in the future. One of our board members is really pushing for that and we are scared Um. You know what?
Speaker 1:I'll be honest, I started TikTok just because it is so easy to edit videos on there. You can make a 10 minute video and edit them so much easier than anywhere else, and you could just keep your account private and use those videos other places, which I did not. But the video is just superb for free.
Speaker 2:So that's good to know. Maybe we'll mess around with it on private first.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's what I did, and I don't post all my videos. I post some of them in my group and I've even used some of them for my educational platform. Yeah, putting the captions on without having to pay for it is huge, and TikTok does that. Just a little FYI out there for you business people who want a free video on editing?
Speaker 2:It'll also add music too so it's like it's a superb way to make videos for free okay, wow, okay, I'm feeling a little better about it.
Speaker 3:Scary it's still scary to put ourselves on, you can keep it private and just share your video with that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, baby steps yeah, baby steps.
Speaker 1:Oh, my gosh, so I love that, okay, um, I ask everyone this, so I want to hear from both of you what is your go-to self-care when things are just like overwhelming, like the thing that you're like. This is the go-to when I'm in over my head and I need to reset myself you want to go first or you don't want me to go first.
Speaker 2:I can go. I could. Unless you want to go first, I don't care. Welcome to how all of our meetings go.
Speaker 1:I love it. You guys are like best friends, right? Best friends, roommates, business owners together, which is such a skill that you're able to get along through all of that.
Speaker 2:It's yeah, I know, I think you know it's funny. This is off off topic from how we where. What are our go tos when we're like overwhelmed and burnt out? But that was one of the first things that we prioritized when we decided to go into this as co-creators is we were like if at any point this starts to get in the way of our friendship, it's done Like. If we can't figure out how to solve it, yeah, it's done Like. If we can't figure out how to solve it, it's done.
Speaker 3:Yeah, that was very early conversation is. I value your friendship more than anything If things go south. We're not doing this anymore.
Speaker 2:Yeah, if we can't figure out how to do it then yeah.
Speaker 1:I love that, and your ability to be upfront and honest with each other has got to be like high level as well, too, and also to get your feelings clear and roll with it because you love each other, cause those are like hard things that have to happen when you engage in all these ways. Ladies, yeah.
Speaker 3:That's so true. Exactly that's so true? Oh yeah, we basically anyway.
Speaker 2:Yeah. So back back to you know what we do when we're feeling burnt out and overwhelmed? Um, I kind of have. I have two options, and it depends on where I'm identifying my overwhelm and burnout coming from. So if I'm feeling overwhelmed and burnt out based on things that are not necessarily in my control, for example, like a lot of things that are happening with the government right now, I will read books or play a game. I kind of escape into fantasy for a little while to get my mind off of it, until I'm ready to process you know, are you a gamer or are you like a?
Speaker 2:okay, well, both I do. I do video games and like board games with friends and stuff, um, but if it's things that are overwhelming me and making me feel burnt out that are in my realm of control, I do the hard things first. That was something I learned in undergrad from a TA, um, when we were talking about self-care and it's. It's very easy to kind of do the whole like cool, take a bath, but your problems are still there, you know, um so, and that you've given them more time to fester.
Speaker 2:Yes, yeah. So that that was something that just really kind of resonated with me of like, doing the hard thing is also a form of self-care, and that really just kind of was like oh, you know what, you're so right, and oftentimes when I do the hard thing, I've got momentum after that, cause I'm like, oh, I did it, I can keep going that off your plate, yeah, yeah. So it really just depends on, like, where I'm identifying the overwhelm coming from.
Speaker 1:I love that. That's great advice and great boundaries with yourself, which is also hard and a lot, a lot of women struggle with. A lot of people struggle with holding boundaries with themselves. I really don't think to women. I'm sorry if that offends you. Yeah, no, you're not totally fair.
Speaker 3:I would say that I, when I'm starting to feel overwhelmed and needs some self-care, um, I ask for help. It's taken me years to finally ask for help and I'm to the point now where, um, I'm comfortable in doing that and I'll come home and talk to Andy and be like listen, everything is just so much. I, um, you've seen my room, you know how terrible it is. I need to do laundry, the bathroom's not clean, I need to do all these things. I have to do my taxes, like, I'll kind of externally process that and decide okay, I'm going to do X, y, z, even if no one's helping me, just saying it out loud and honestly doing the hard things, yeah, um, and I like to kind of cushion my hard thing with a soft thing, yeah, a little straight, yeah. So I reward yourself.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I will.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 3:I'm going to put a little laundry in, and while that's in the washer, I'm going to clean the bathroom and then I'm going to switch to the dryer and then, when I do that, I'm going to take a shower, which is also very hard to do sometimes, um, and after that, guess what I get to do? I get to eat my little ice cream and my fresh jammies and my bed and read my book and kind of feel accomplished and relaxed, and that's how I kind of, yeah, tackle it beautiful, beautiful.
Speaker 1:Well, I'm so happy you guys came on my show today. I love that you guys are presenting yet another way to find community, because I think in our world today there's a lot of like good right, but one of the things I think gets lost, especially for people that don't identify as religious, is community. Community is hard to find if you're not a religious person who is practicing that religion like weekendly, which is like how I remember community growing up. As an adult who doesn't practice religion weekly or at all, it's really hard for me to find a community that stays consistent. So it's so powerful to have communities like this, especially where people can come and share such like intense, real struggles. So thank you, ladies, so much for providing this. Thank you, and I hope we have you on again, maybe next year, and update all your growth then. And, yeah, thank you so much.
Speaker 2:That'd be so fun.
Speaker 1:Anything else you guys want to add before we go?
Speaker 3:I don't think so. I think I guess, if you're listening, just take care of yourself and that's what I was going to say. Yeah.
Speaker 2:We were both on the same wavelength. Just some parting words of like you're doing okay, Like don't beat yourself up. Yeah, You're worthy of taking time for yourself and rest is productive.
Speaker 1:Yes, and if you're struggling, reach out to these ladies. They do a wonderful job, creating a safe space and community to be able to share.
Speaker 2:So, thank you. Yeah, we would love to have you. Yeah, we've got your back. Yeah, I love that.
