Lighten Up with Melanie Dale

Latest Episodes:

Lighten Up #73: Bronwyn Lea May 08, 2018

Show notes

Today I'm talking with Bronwyn Lea, blogger, lawyer, immigrant, and mom. She loves puns, and we get punny, and then she tells the harrowing tale of how she accidentally bought a minivan on eBay. She shares how we need to lighten up about our homes needing to look perfect before people come over, and practicing "radical and generous hospitality" with homemade ice cream. Bronwyn talks about living as a South African immigrant in the U.S. and gives us the gift of glimpsing immigration through her eyes as an immigrant to the U.S. So pull up a chair, grab a cup of tea or coffee, listen in, and lighten up.

Favorite quote from the show:

"Oh honey, you got your brains from me. That's why I don't have them any more." - Bronwyn's mom

Links from the show:

Read Bronwyn's awesome blog
Find Bronwyn on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram
The Betta Mom
What You Don't Know About Immigration
The Lighten Up Guidelines for Laughing at Life

Lighten Up #72: Anna Quinlan May 01, 2018

Show notes

If you like laughing hysterically, you guys are in for a treat today. My friend Anna Quinlan, a freelance writer and copywriter, is on the show and she tells the most epic tale of falling off a treadmill at the gym. I couldn't breathe I was laughing so hard, and then we bonded over our mutual hatred of crafts. We chat about freelance writing, how she adopted one of her boys out of foster care, and sporty sporty fitness. Anna shares about competing in races, training for an Ironman, and how people like me who are not so much with the exercise can challenge ourselves. Whether your thighs are so strong you can crack walnuts between them or you're more like me and can't remember the last time you were on a treadmill, listen in and lighten up!

Favorite quote from the show: "If you're at the table, you're family."

Also: "Step away from the glue gun."

Links from the show:

The Lighten Up Guidelines for Laughing at Life
Find Anna on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook
Coffee+Crumbs
The Sitting Shirt: It's a Thing
SNL workout pants video

Lighten Up #71: Personal Growth Crossover with Sarah Bragg Apr 24, 2018

Show notes

It's the monthly crossover episode with Sarah Bragg of Surviving Sarah, and this month, we're chatting about personal growth. I mean, in between just keeping all my plates spinning I hope I'm growing as a person, at least a little, right? A lot of what contributes to my personal growth are the books I read, the things I listen to, and the products I love. So Sarah and I start out with the books we're reading, and I have a bit of a diatribe about the importance of reading fiction, then we talk about what we're learning right now, and we wrap up with products we're loving. (Between the two of us, we spend an exorbitant amount of time on coffee.) Whether you're totally growing as a person or are already perfect and need no help whatsoever, listen in and lighten up!

Links from the show:

Lighten Up #70: Beth Bruno Apr 17, 2018

Show notes

Today I'm talking with Beth Bruno, the founder and director of a nonprofit aimed at preventing domestic minor sex trafficking and the author of a new book for moms and daughters. We chat about her time as a missionary in the Middle East, and she offers some wise advice for people interested in missions. We talk about how she's lightening up in her regular routine, then we have a really NOT light, but super important conversation about her work preventing sex trafficking and how we can help keep kids safe in our own communities. Then we talk about her new book, A Voice Becoming: A Yearlong Mother-Daughter Journey into Passionate, Purposed Living. No matter where you live or whether you have daughters or not, this conversation is really helpful and really important so listen in and lighten up.

Links from the show:

Check out Beth's book, A Voice Becoming
Beth's husband's book, Man Maker Project
Find Beth on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook
Beth's site
Beth's anti-trafficking organization, A Face to Reframe
The Very Worst Missionary
Barbie Unveils 17 New Dolls Based on Inspiring Women

Lighten Up #69: Karla Akins Apr 10, 2018

Show notes

Today I'm talking with Karla Akins, author of A Pair of Miracles: A Story of Autism, Faith, and Determined Parenting. Do you ever wish you could talk with someone who's raised kids and lived to tell the tale? Karla is that someone. She's a homeschool, foster, and adoptive mom, and she's currently a special ed teacher in the public schools. She's raised twin boys and shares how a weener dog helped her boys learn to talk and gives advice for advocating for your kids in school, from her perspective both as the mom of kids with special needs and a special ed teacher. For those of you with kids on the autism spectrum who are looking for a parent just a little further down the journey to offer hope and encouragement, Karla's twins are 23 years old now and she shares her story here, so listen in, and lighten up.

Links from the show:

Find Karla on Facebook and Twitter
Check out Karla's book, A Pair of Miracles: A Story of Autism, Faith, and Determined Parenting
Karla's website

Lighten Up #68: Wynter Pitts Apr 03, 2018

Show notes

Hey, anybody else find parenting hard? Ugh, I basically use this podcast to hang out with parents who are way better than I am, and this week I'm talking with Wynter Pitts, girl mom extraordinaire. I want to show up at Wynter's house every week for a pep talk and some wisdom. Wynter and I talk about her book, She Is Yours: Trusting God as You Raise the Girl He Gave You, her devotionals for tween girls, and how she developed her magazine For Girls Like You. Also, did you guys know that her daugther, Alena, has a book series out, too, and she's the youngest African American female to be published by a major publisher? Amazing. So come get to know Wynter Pitts with me, listen in, and lighten up!

Links from the show:

Check out Wynter's books!

Check out Wynter's daughter Alena's book series!

Find Wynter on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter

SheIsYours.net

ForGirlsLikeYou.com

Lighten Up #67: Marriage Crossover with Sarah Bragg Mar 27, 2018

Show notes

It's time for our monthly crossover with Sarah Bragg, where we take a topic and talk about how to lighten up about it over here and how to survive it over on her podcast, Surviving Sarah. This month we're tackling marriage, and oh my gosh, on today's Lighten Up episode we're lightening up about sex in marriage. Sarah and I start off sharing our engagement stories - spoiler alert, Sarah robbed the cradle and mine's poop-related. We talk about when you can start farting in front of each other, and then obviously, farting is a perfect segue to sex...in some alternate reality. We have some real talk about sex, when sex is hard, lowering our expectations, planning it during those busy parenting years, how infertility destroyed my sex life, intimacy versus efficiency, and how your marriage doesn't have to look like anybody else's. Let's talk about sex baby...so listen in and lighten up!

Links from the show:

Surviving Sarah Podcast – check out the other half of our conversation!
Sarah Bragg on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter
Your Marriage Doesn't Have to Look Like Anybody Else's

Lighten Up #66: Shaunti Feldhahn Mar 20, 2018

Show notes

Alex and I got married almost 18 years ago and one of the first books I was given was a cute, little stripey book that contained a window into the minds of men. On today's episode, social researcher and best-selling author Shaunti Feldhahn joins me and tells the story of how she ended up writing her bestselling book, For Women Only. Then she shares how she thinks we need to lighten up and we talk about her new devotional, Find Rest, and what her research uncovered about the primary causes of stress for women. She talks about the eight essential elements of rest, the definition of true rest, self care and soul care, and then I get her to tell us her not-guilty-at-all beach read pleasure. Feeling tired and stressed? Listen in and lighten up.

Links from the show:

Check out Shaunti's new devotional, Find Rest
Shaunti's site
For Women Only
Find Shaunti on Instagram
Twilight

Lighten Up #65: Lighten Up about Gardening Mar 13, 2018

Show notes

Spring has sprung, or at least it should spring sometime in the next month or two depending on where you live, and today I've brought back my friend Kari Sowers to teach us how to lighten up about gardening. I do not do that thing, but Kari explains everything a beginner needs to know for starting a garden and overcoming our fear of killing plants. And I share my story of vermiculture worm genocide. Oh, also, Kari helps me understand sexually impotent neutered GMO seeds, I talk about plant sex, and in this one half hour episode I somehow managed to say "gonads" twice. So there's something in here for everyone. Whether you have a green thumb or thumb your nose at the outdoors like I do, listen in and lighten up!

Links from the Show:

Kari Sowers is an Intellectual Property attorney turned non-profit justice worker turned stay at home mom to three fantastic daughters. She lives in the Ozark Mountains of Missouri and strongly believes that each person is created to be creative. Her gardening past includes snapping beans with her grandma, roof top gardening in downtown Los Angeles, directing a community garden in Portland, Oregon and now backyard "micro-farming" in the Show-Me State. Hang out with Kari online @KariSowers on Instagram and Twitter.

Lighten Up #64: Kate Motaung Mar 06, 2018

Show notes

Today I'm talking with Kate Motaung about how she moved to South Africa and fell in love...with South Africa and her husband. She shares her story of living in South Africa, raising kids cross culturally, being in an interracial relationship in post-apartheid South Africa, and finding laughter in the midst of her mom's cancer. Then we talk about her writer's group Five Minute Friday and her new memoir, A Place to Land. You are going to love Kate and her fascinating story, so listen in and lighten up!

Download Episode

Links from the show:

Eichermade (use coupon code Lightenup for 10% off)
Check out Kate's new book, A Place to Land
You can buy a signed copy HERE
Find Kate on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook
Festival of Faith & Writing
Born a Crime by Trevor Noah
Five Minute Friday
Refine Services

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Lighten Up with Melanie Dale

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected