(want the transcripts? scroll to the bottom of the page)
Join Christina, from My Lovely Muse, and me as we talk about how we hold onto the memories that made us feel good in a life that is not always easy. And how recreating those experiences in our adult life and can bring so much joy. We also talk about how this dreamy Pisces listens to her body, rests when she needs to and reads! So many books!!
She also shares her business journey from selling on Etsy in her spare time to creating a business selling sustainable housewares and teaching others how to make beeswax wraps and sew things for themselves!
She’s inspired me to take more naps and not make ALL the things.
My name is Christina and I am the owner and sewist behind My Lovely Muse. I am a mom, wife, and lifelong teacher and learner who loves Star Wars, Real Simple magazine, and canning homegrown food. I’m on a mission to save the planet from fast fashion and other needless waste by teaching DIY eco-workshops and handcrafting quirky, convenient eco-conscious housewares to help prevent the unintentional contribution of waste to our landfills.
Take a listen!
Hey! Do you know of someone who would make a great guest on the show? (maybe you?)
Email me tina@kinshiphandwork.com
Here at Black Squirrel Flowers we believe strongly in NOT using pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, or any of the nasty things. We LOVE welcoming bees, butterflies, birds, and other creatures into the garden. We also believe in supporting our plants through healthy soil using Minimal Till methods and natural fertilizers.
If you would like to receive fresh, local, seasonal cut flowers you have come to the right place!
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1. Subscribe via the online shop and receive the flowers of your choosing delivered to your door every Monday or Thursday for the entire growing season! Our bouquets are available to purchase one month at a time so you can choose one, two, or all five months.
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Christina Threloff – interview
Tina: Oh friends, do. I have a lovely conversation for you to hear today. I just spent the last bit of time talking with Christina from My Lovely Muse.
From a difficult childhood, she brought lovely memories of canning with her family and how she recreates that in her life right now. And how we do that as people, right? That our lives are complicated, that they’re not always beautiful, they’re not always sweet, but we tend to really gravitate towards the things that brought us joy and happiness.
And so we talk about that in her life. We talk about how she’s now a sustainable housewares maker and sells ’em online. We also talk about how she really, really takes care of herself in a way that, I’ll tell you, I’m pretty impressed by in a way that I need to do a little better at and so I think I was supposed to talk to her today. She takes naps. She reads books. She balances the making with things that also rest her body, and she listens to what her body needs.
This interview was recorded back in January, and it is now May of 2023. And I had the pleasure of just spending a week with Christina. At the spring sewing retreat that I have on Mackinac island. And I’ll tell you. She’s this sparkling joy filled human. And I’m excited for you to get to know her a little bit.
Look her up on her website, mylovelymuse.com, and go ahead, get your cup of tea, your steaming cup of coffee, maybe some chocolate, and settle into this podcast and let us know what you think? Let’s get started.
You are listening to the in kinship podcast, a podcast for makers, makers who crave a vibrant joy filled. Beautiful life on their own terms. Thanks for listening. I’m your host, Tina VanDenburg.
Before we begin a word from our sponsor. Today’s episode is sponsored by Black Squirrel Flowers.
Black Squirrel Flowers is located in Cheboygan, Michigan.
It’s a family owned and operated small farm in beautiful Northern Michigan where they grow and sell seasonal cut flowers. Locally at the Cheboygan farmer’s market and also as a flower subscription.
At Black Squirrel Flowers, they have a passion for growing things and flowers are by far their favorite. They start thousands of flowers from seed each season and transplant them out into the garden.
Flowers always have a way of bringing a smile to a person’s face and joy to their heart. Check out their website. Black squirrel flowers.com. You can find out more about the farm store and about flowers subscriptions.
Tina: Christina, it’s great to have you here. It’s great to be here. Will you start us off by sharing a little bit about your making story?
Specifically, who did you learn to make from? And what is it that you make? And what did that look like? Especially when you were little, like, give us a little bit of your background as a maker. Sure.
Christina: I am going to try to keep this nice in a, in a wonderful nutshell because I could go off on a rant here, I’m afraid. I am a seamstress, a sewist. sewer, whatever. I use a sewing machine. I use my hands. That’s what I do. Among other things, because I think as makers, we’re kind of like the Jack and Jill of all trades kind of people.
I came from a long line of specifically women who preserved foods and baked. So, my making story doesn’t necessarily start with the craft that I’m practicing right now. I watched my mom and my grandparents canning all summer long, and I carried that on because that’s what I knew. So, I… I always ate home cooked meals and I didn’t even know you could buy boxed potatoes until I was in college.
I was totally spoiled in that way, but in such a wonderful way. We had gardens and we preserved from the gardens. That was just something that sticks in my head. As I got older and started working more with my hands and more craft things, I learned more about what my grandma and my mom’s side did and she was into so many, um, fiber arts, sewing.
Knitting, cross stitching, things like that. And she passed when I was in college. So before I had started any real craft hobby. I like to think that I’m channeling her when I’m practicing my craft now.
Tina: So I’m wondering, I did not grow up with a family that canned or gardened, right?
My dad was a hunter and um, we definitely ate whole foods, like we didn’t eat margarine, that kind of thing , but neither of my parents, uh, preserved food. So I’ve always had this idyllic vision of what that would have looked like to be around your mom and your ancestors. Canning. So I’m wondering just out of curiosity, was that a frantic experience? Was that a, this is a chore to get done? Or was it this joyous Little House on the Prairie experience that I imagined in my head it was?
Christina: I’m bursting right now. For me, it was totally Little House on the Prairie, which is interesting because my childhood experience was not wonderful.
There was a lot of Abuse and such in the house. So there was that piece, but anything. Any memory around gardening and canning in my head is so beautiful. My mom would go out in the garden and we would pick all of the whatever, green beans, vegetables, and she would be working out in the garden also. I have this specific memory of her working in the garden in her bathing suit.
I’m not sure why it was, but she was. She was just like I don’t know. It’s just a memory in my head. And it was so lovely. And even canning she, it was just like. This is what we have to do. It’s just like, I wasn’t necessarily involved so much, but I watched it happen and it didn’t feel chaotic. It was just, we didn’t have air conditioning in our house either.
So it was always late summer, super hot, canning with tomatoes. And if you have ever canned tomatoes, it’s a, uh, tedious process. Yes. Yeah.
And it was, but it was just a beautiful thing. And we always had something fresh to grab in the winter time that we, that would remind us of our summer memories or summer canning.
Tina: I have to say, I got shivers when you just told me that because isn’t that just the truth of life. But. The hard is often blended with beautiful moments, right?
And it doesn’t surprise me in the least that you would gravitate towards what were really beautiful memories for you as an adult, wanting to recreate more of that, not only because it’s a value of yours, but also because, which I’m sure we’re going to find out later that it is, but also just because, we sort of try to recreate that beauty that we experienced as a child. Thank you for sharing that. I love hearing that. I have this habit that I can’t seem to break, which was a childhood memory of mine. It’s not quite as healthy, but when we Would go with my dad, he always said we’re going crazy because we would go for a drive right and be like, Dad, where are we going?
He’s like, we’re going crazy. And we would go driving around and do tracks and just, I don’t know if you’re living in a city that might not really, you might not understand that. Well, maybe you will, but we lived out in the country so we would go to the farm market and we pick up strawberries and. and cherries and things like that.
And we would also get usually a pop and we would get maybe some chocolate because we all had a sweet tooth. And we’d go driving around in this big old van that had no windows in the back and there was no seats in the back. So whoever had to sit in the back, I had one brother had to sit in a folding lawn chair and we would go driving around the two tracks for a couple of hours on a Saturday morning.
And it was like, My favorite memory. And so whenever I’m going to start an adventure, I always want to go to the gas station because we also stop at the gas station and get snack food for the adventure. Like things I don’t normally even eat, right? Like bag of Doritos and some candy, like the two for a dollar candy bags that they used to sell on the ship.
The rack and some pop right like that for me is the start of an adventure and it’s that memory is so ingrained in me that it’s, um, it brings me glee every time and so it’s hard for me to pass a gas station when I’m about to be adventuring. So, I think we definitely bring those memories into our modern life, because they just were such joyful things in a life that is often a mixed bag.
So then now I think we’ve got you, you’re in college, right? So we’re in that timeframe. So tell us what you’re making journey from then. So in college I started knitting and I spent a lot of time just knitting scarves and whatever else I could figure out.
Christina: How to make never really using a pattern, just doing it. College was also like a very chaotic time because it was that transition from childhood home to my own independence. So a lot. I was figuring myself out then still, but shortly after that transition, I had met my now husband and his mom introduced me to sewing and I had never sewn as a kid.
I know that my mom has my grandma’s sewing machine that she used, but my mom never sewed. And I just wasn’t taught that. So my mother in law taught me how to quilt. And Listening to your first podcast, I’m like, I did one quilt and I will never do another one! So I totally get that.
But quilting was where I started. I don’t call the first piece a quilt. It was a table runner. It was a quilted table runner, but it wasn’t a quilt as in a blanket, which I later did. But she, um, that year for Christmas she gifted me a sewing machine that was her sister’s who had passed.
It was her sewing machine and she had it all tuned up for me. And that was my very first sewing machine. Oh. It’s a wonderful thing. I, like, you know, you find something, you learn something, and it just, like, everything clicks. And then she gifted me that sewing machine, and I’m like, oh man, I have so many plans.
Tina: Yeah, I totally get that. Like that keeps you up at night. And my little boy, he’s a maker too. And sometimes he just sits there and I can see him thinking over his plans when he’s supposed to be sleeping. And I can’t even be upset with him. Cause I’m like, I totally get it, buddy. Like your brain is like, Oh, I’m going to do this, this and this.
And then that, Oh, Oh. And then I’m going to make this. And then I bet I can make that too. And like, you’re flying all over. And I completely get that.
Christina: It’s so exciting, especially in the beginning. I got the sewing machine. I set it up at our house and I had a designated room for crafts. So that was really special.
We lived in a two bedroom condo and we had an extra bedroom. And so that was the craft room. Very nice. And so the first thing I made was a wallet.
And I can’t believe I did that. I don’t even, like, I don’t even think I followed a pattern for that wallet. I think I just did it and it was really wonderful. And then I made a matching purse, which was also wonderful. There were a lot of pieces missing, like, to build, now that I understand instruction of things.
However, for first, like, for just getting a sewing machine and doing a project, I am thinking back on that. I’m very impressed with myself. So I started doing rice bags and I think I opened an Etsy.
This was like 10 years ago. I opened an Etsy selling rice bags and then that just carried on for a little bit because I started teaching right around the time I started sewing, so I had a full time job at that time, so that we have this, um, just hobby sewing working during the day going on until my son, my second child was born,
I had my daughter, then I was pregnant with my son and I was finishing my fifth year of teaching and I decided to resign from teaching for a lot of reasons, mainly I couldn’t afford to work and have two kids in daycare. And then I knew that I couldn’t just be at home.
So I researched how to start a legal business. And that’s when My Lovely Muse was born in, I think, March 2016 was when I Figured out the name and turned in my information for an LLC.
Tina: Very nice. So you started an Etsy shop before, while you were still working as a teacher, and then you began your own business.
Did you always have a dream of being a business owner or doing something creative as a job? Or did you just kind of flow into those two things?
Christina: Did not. I saw myself as being a teacher my entire life. I never saw myself doing something creative for an income. So this was just my intuition. I was listening to my needs, but I was just going with the flow.
Tina: Yeah, some of my best choices in life have been when I’m just following that gut feeling and not overthinking it too much, right? Kind of makes me think about your first project that you mentioned that you just jumped in and made a wallet without knowing what you’re doing really.
And had you known all the things that you were going to do wrong, quote unquote, you Probably wouldn’t have learned as much and you wouldn’t have dove into it you would have found a pattern and done it the proper way and all of those things, but there’s so much value and just following what you’re wanting to do and seeing where it takes you and I think that that’s It’s a really beautiful way to start.
So how has My Lovely Muse since? 2016 and now how has it evolved and changed in that time frame?
Christina: I started making clothing And I was cranking out leggings. That’s what I started with. It was January, 2017 when I officially opened and made my first sale.
So leggings and other clothing, and then, that November or October, I met a group of people locally that were trying to gather a group of sustainable makers, like with the earth in mind kind of thing. And so I started thinking, Hey, I live my life in a very earth conscious way. We cloth diaper. We do all of these things.
Why doesn’t my business have the same values right now? Because I was using polyester and synthetic fabric. I was only 10 months into my business, but I started transitioning to natural and organic fibers. I still have so much of my other fabric left over. Oh, that transition period has like.
Never ended, but I started switching over to organic materials and then I added in reusable snack and sandwich bags. A friend of mine had me make some and I had already made a bunch for ourselves for at home. But she asked if I could add that to my business. So I did. And that was like the gateway product because after that came, uh, cloth napkins, which are my favorite.
I have them everywhere all the time. And then I thought, this is feeling good, this is what I need, the clothing part didn’t bring me joy in the business, but it brings me joy to have those skills as an individual because I know how to do it for myself. Myself, but I don’t want to do it for other people.
So that transition with the input from a friend who suggested the reusable bags was a really lovely pivot. And so then I started thinking, Hey, what else do I really want out of this? What do I love to do and how do I add it to my business? And that’s where the teaching came in. Because I never thought I would not be teaching.
Right. There’s a lot about teaching in the public school system that I did not enjoy, but teaching in general brought me tremendous joy. So I added, the beeswax wrap class. And then some kombucha homebrew. I’ve been. Brewing kombucha for as long as I’ve been sewing and then sewing lessons, I decided to do that.
That was a challenging one to add on because as a self taught seamstress. Sewist, I wasn’t sure if I had the skills to teach someone else, but then I thought I made sewing sustainable for me and the way that I learned it, like if I’m laid back and I don’t have the jargon that a fashion school or whatever would have, that might make sustainable for someone else.
Tina: Absolutely.
We all resonate so differently with different teachers. Like some people love a more strict, precise kind of a teacher that feels like the right path for them. And other people have had their hands slapped with rulers in school often enough when they were learning how to teach.
Or learning how to sew rather that they need somebody who’s just going to help them understand that they can do this. They can, they can accomplish what they want to accomplish. They just needed to do one step after the other. And I think that, um, if you are successful at doing something and you have a joy for teaching you being anyone, then.
You absolutely have what you need to show other people how to do that.
Christina: That is so true. You do not need a piece of paper that says you have to do this in order to teach someone else how to do your craft.
Tina: Exactly.
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Tina: Do you make other things now? So like, here’s what I’ve found in my own business.
So I teach sewing classes online and in person and at retreats and things like that. And I found that when I’m teaching a lot, I don’t do a whole lot of sewing for myself. I don’t do a whole lot of making for myself and I have to really make that process have more priority in my life or it won’t happen.
So I’m wondering, has that happened for you? Especially when you are also doing production sewing for a business and are there other things that you are gravitating towards, because there’s something about that beginner knowledge, right? That beginner, um, that beginner phase. When you start a new craft or to learn a new skill, like I’m just, I’ve just given myself an embroidery project for the year and I’m very excited about it and I know how to embroider but it’s not I don’t know it like I know sewing like I know sewing deep in my bones, right?
But embroidery is a little bit more new for me So I’m like, oh I have this exciting little project I’m gonna work on So I’m wondering it’s like a two fold question there for you I’m wondering if you still make time to do your own personal sewing And, or do you make other things or do you have something new that you’re beginning?
Christina: I’m sad to answer this one. I really don’t make time for my own sewing. I, there’s certain things production wise for my business that I always have on hand when I need, when I need to do some repetitive sewing, some calming, um, Kind of stuff. I have that on hand so that I can go and relax, but it’s still business.
I have pretty much. Stopped sewing clothing for myself. I found other places that I like to purchase my clothing from. And I also have a uniform. I had a friend that referred to it as like a cartoon closet. So I have my leggings. . And then when I find a dress that I love, I just buy it in all the colors and there it in my closet.
or like I have in my closet, like three of the same black t shirt from the same company, because I love wearing all black. So that’s just like what I have now. But there are other things. That I have filled my time with that don’t have to do with making because I think that sometimes my brain needs a break from that.
Sure. And I don’t realize that because I’m just like, I feel like I have to be on all the time. My brain has to be on all the time, but I have gotten into reading more. So I spend a lot of time reading. Nice. So that has brought me joy.
Tina: I think it’s really wise to listen to your body and especially if you’ve got a job that requires a lot of making, right, a lot of creating with your own two hands and probably some of the creative processes there, but also like the repetitive sewing, like you said, the more calming sewing.
I think it’s really wise to listen to yourself and say, I don’t have to fall into the thinking that I need a personal practice as well, that I can instead really listen to my body and know what it needs and it needs to have downtime from that brain, because it’s, Making things, it’s a lot of brain activity, it’s a lot of problem solving, it’s a lot of figuring things out.
I think that it’s really wise to step back and say, For one, you don’t have to make all the things. It does not have to be that way.
And for two, um, just honoring what you need.
Christina: When you say, we don’t have to make everything, that is such a struggle, because I’m just like, I’m not going to buy bread from the store when I can make it for my own sourdough start at home. Or I’m not going to like, I don’t know, for the longest time it was buy a new pair of leggings because I know how to make it myself at home.
It’s just like, it’s black or white in my head, and so often, just last week I had a friend that was like, I have this mix, this nice mix for banana bread that has all the ingredients that you would approve of, and you just buy it in the store and add your wet ingredients and cook it and you’re done.
And I’m just like. My brain wouldn’t even let me go there.
You’re like, no, you can’t do that. Right. Yeah. So I think that’s a really relatable thing
Tina: to give yourself permission. So this last fall I had a autoimmune thing going on. And so I often cook from scratch as well. And. For a while, I couldn’t have my little boy at my house. My husband and I, my ex husband and I are divorced, and I couldn’t take care of him with this thing I had going on.
But when I did get him back, it took a little bit of doing, but I let myself, like, buy the frozen pizzas and buy frozen french fries and just get canned soup. Because I’m like, I can’t do all those things right now, and it’s totally fine. And even if I didn’t have that going on, if there’s just a time in your life where you’re like, I don’t have the energy or the desire to do that. It’s okay to choose something that brings a little ease into your life and not have to make all the things.
It doesn’t make you less of a maker. It doesn’t make you less of a human. It doesn’t make you less, um, capable or powerful or all of those things. I think that part of this journey is learning what brings us joy and continuing to do what brings us joy. And sometimes that means you got to work through like, I don’t really feel like doing this today, but like you got to weigh that against, do I just need a break today or do I need a little inspiration or a little bit of a jump on it. Right. Like knowing yourself, I think is really wise.
Christina: Okay. Can we shout that from a mountaintop now? Because I think so many people need to hear that.
Tina: Yeah, it’s, it’s good. I definitely can fall into the ” well, if I can make it, then I should, right? I should just do it myself. I should just make all these things myself”. And, man, those shoulds, they’re a dangerous, slippery slope that we don’t really need in our lives.
Christina: This, this has my brain thinking about my, um, perfect world where… We all have the things that we do really well, and then we just barter and trade so that we can have everything that we want, all the homemade goodness, all of the everything. We’re just bartering. Yeah. With other people that have other, um, talents that we don’t.
Tina: That would be beautiful. That would be especially if you can sort of, because I don’t know if this happens for you, but it comes down to, um, I want what I want on my body in my life, right? Like I have certain values and I want to be able to honor those things. And so often, sometimes you can’t find. All of those values in a product that you’re trying to buy.
And so, I think that drives my making a lot of times, where, especially with clothing, let’s say, as an example, I’m pretty picky about how things fit me, right? So, Even when I buy from another maker on Etsy, which I, I like to do, it’s just that it wasn’t made for my body. It was made as a production piece. And so I still have those fit issues.
Like I just purchased this really beautiful, knit yoga, tunic dress thing, that’s got this crisscross back. That’s really pretty, but it’s to get the size right for my hips and my bust. It meant that the shoulder straps are way too long. So it ends up being like very risque and somewhat uncomfortable.
And I’m like, you know, so now I need to alter it to fit my body correctly. And there’s a part of me that’s just like, Oh, just make it myself because I have a very exacting desire for my fit to be spot on. Right. And I think that the more that you sew clothing, the more you don’t compromise on fit or you don’t compromise on whatever that value you have it. And so then I can get caught up in like, I’ll just make it myself because I’m not going to be able to find exactly what I want. Um, that definitely drives my making a lot in all sorts of ways, whether that was, I used to make kombucha as well.
I love kombucha. My little boy loves kombucha, but there was a point where it actually made my belly feel, um, not very good, which is interesting because it’s. Made as a probiotic, right? It’s made to like, be great for digestion. But I think that too much of a good thing is never a good thing, right?
is all about like listening to what your body has to say. My body was telling me that for whatever reason, the acidity of it was too much for me. So I have to take breaks from it for a while. And then I can come back to it, but I got to take breaks, which is, is it? Even though I know this, even though I know this deeply inside of myself, that we’re all individual, unique people.
I’m like, but kombucha is supposed to be so good for you. Why does it make my belly hurt? That’s not fair. It’s not right. There’s something wrong with me. And it’s like, no, or it’s just the way it is. But for whatever reason, it’s kicking my internal biome off and I need to listen to that. I’m not sure how I got up into that, but I am wondering if you can talk to us about a practice that you have or a practice that you wish you had more often, or.
Again, something you’re doing regularly that brings you joy and helps to fill your cup up.
Christina: So thing that fills my cup up is, so we’re talking now in January. And January is part of my hibernation period. So the things that fill me up in January are different than the things that fill me up in the summertime. So there’s that point to be said. Right now in the cooler months. I spend time napping.
That’s very important. I think everybody should find time to nap. So I’m listening to my body, but I’m also spending a lot of time reading. I started reading, doing book challenges last year. I did a couple and then this year I started, like, I am going gung ho on these book challenges. I’ve read eight books in the last 12 days, and…
Wow! I know! It’s amazing! But the cool thing is, I’m reading across genres, so I’m not just sticking to one. There’s not one specifically that I am drawn to. I just… I pick up books from all across different genres and that fills me up because I’m learning about perspectives. And that is a really wonderful thing that fills me up tremendously.
Tina: I think that’s interesting that during this hibernation period, right, which is often what we think of, especially here in northern Michigan, where it’s cold and you’re kind of hunkered in and definitely the seasons bring a different need, all of them, a different biological response. Um, I think it’s lovely.
Like all of that reading, cause you know, the more you read, the more you gain a perspective about the world that is bigger than yourself. It’s kind of like traveling, you know, you get this opportunity to get into somebody else’s perspective of what the world looks like, even if it’s fiction, probably, especially if it’s fiction, because.
You can often explore different concepts in fiction that teach you more about life than sometimes something that’s nonfiction, because it just allows you to really dive into what the author is saying or what the author believes a different character would, would believe. And it just expands your brain in this whole different way.
So I think it’s intriguing that while you’re hibernating, you’re sort of like a mama bear, right? Who’s pregnant with her little cubs. There’s all those gestation going on. gestating all of this information that you’re have opened your mind to and bringing it in. I think that’s really cool. What would you do in the summer?
Christina: That’s exactly what I’m doing. Yeah. I’m yes. Yeah. You painted the perfect pic. In the summertime, I also read, I think I read the most last summer compared to the cooler months. But last year was the year that I read the most in my entire life. So I had just gotten back into reading.
So, last year could look different than this year. But in the summertime I still read a lot. I was averaging like 15 books a month. And, I also, I know it’s so weird to say this, but I also like to, I love canning. The gardening part seems more, I enjoy it. I need my hands in the dirt that fills me up. However, the gardening part is.
Like the teensiest bit more like a job, but the canning part, I’m such a practical person that when I’m canning, it’s like, I’m making this specifically for winter. Like this is my winter stash. Right. So. That fills me up.
Tina: What does a day in your life look like? I know we’re all wondering, like, how do you read 15 books in a month?
Like, that sounds delightful. Like, how does that happen? Are you a speed reader? I have an aunt who is, so she can just whip through books like no one’s business.
Christina: I am not a speed reader. So every day looks different because I do different things. I substitute teach and I’m a crossing guard at my kid’s school.
I have little things that, that I fit into my day. Yeah. Um, . Sometimes I’ll go to a coffee shop by myself or with a friend. That often happens in the wintertime. Mm-hmm. . But I listen to audiobooks while I sew and while I clean and cook. Yeah. So that’s part of it. Sometimes I’ll play some classical music and read an actual book in my reading room.
And that’s what I’ll do for a little bit. My attention span isn’t wonderful, so I can’t sit and read a book for a long time, but listening while, like, the multitasking works really well for me. Yeah, I can see that. And then drive, while I’m driving in the summertime, I do a lot of markets in Saugatuck, so that’s like 45 minutes or so away from me, and I’ll listen then too.
Tina: What a good idea to fit this thing that like brings you such joy into the times of your life where you are doing something else anyway, and I think that it’s different. So like, we definitely have all heard the idea that our brains actually work best if we do one thing and one thing only, at a time.
We’re most productive, we’re most, um, Creative are most efficient doing that, even though it feels like, especially, uh, well, I was going to say as women, but maybe that isn’t true. Maybe that’s a stereotype that I need to not reinforce, but we definitely get like. some kind of a value or kick out of being a great multitasker.
I can do all the things at one time. But I think that listening to a book while you’re doing something sort of, um, mindless, if you will, helps to make that more of a meditative space because you’re working on something that you’ve got the muscle memory for, your brain doesn’t need to be engaged in it.
And you’re listening to a book at the same time. What a good way to put that into your life. Yes.
I wonder if you might share what you wish the world knew, or what you wish people in the world knew, deep in their hearts, that you think maybe they don’t always know.
Christina: I could get philosophical here too, and maybe, maybe you believe this, maybe you don’t, but we’re just like, This human, we’re just this person, and then we’re in this city, that’s in this state, that’s in this country, that’s in this world, that’s in this solar system, that’s in this galaxy, that’s in this universe.
And, like, we get so caught up, and I’m preaching to myself here, about the littlest things that our brains just choose to obsess over. And really, in the grand scheme of things, we’re just this speck, not to minimize what we’re capable of doing in our world that exists in this endless universe, but just bringing it all back that we’re just here and there’s this universe that is so much bigger.
And our time here is just so short when you think of how long the universe has been in existence. I just think about that sometimes and it’s just, that’s when my brain, my brain likes to like travel and do its weird thing. That’s. That’s the thing. The second piece to that is that our body, a lot of times we get caught up in body image and what our physical self looks like.
Our body is just a container for our soul. And Our soul is what we need to focus and fine tune on and make sure our container stays healthy. But when it all comes down to us, this body, it’s just a container that helps us live in this world.
Thank you.
Thank you for this lovely conversation.
I love hearing your story and I love hearing about the things that you do to take care of yourself. From an outsider looking in, it seems like you’re doing a really bang up job of that.
Tina: I love it. Especially as someone who doesn’t honor that part of myself sometimes, like I have that fiery aries energy. So like hearing you talk about it is like, I’m a horrible napper. I don’t always listen to the quieting down and do not doing right. I mean, I had to this last fall, but I’ve been working on that. So you were put into my life to, to talk to you right now.
Christina: Well, it probably would explain a lot if I tell you that I am a dreamy Pisces.
Tina: It would.
Where might our listeners find you online, if they want to look into the products , that you produce and also the classes that you teach, where might they find you?
So my
Christina: website is mylovelymuse. com. And then Facebook and Instagram at my lovely muse. It’s where you can find me.
Tina: Christina, thank you for spending time with us and for sharing your wisdom.
And I, um, I hope you have the most lovely day and I hope you read a whole book today. That’s what I hope. I mean, you’re going to teach today, so read a book and then teach and like, sounds like the perfect day.
Christina: Take a nap, read a book, teach.
Tina: Perfect.
That’s it for our show today. Thank you so much for listening. Did you know that I also send out a reminder email when the podcast goes live and on the weeks that I don’t do the podcast. I send out a newsletter full of links of things that I’m loving. Thoughts that I have about life in general. And news about what’s coming up.
You can get onto that email list. By going to kinshiphandwork.com.
Thanks again for being here. I really appreciate you. I hope you have the most beautiful day.
Today’s episode is sponsored by black squirrel flowers. You can find beautiful and I mean, gorgeous flower bouquets for your special event. For a flower subscription for your favorite? Oh, I don’t know, mom. I’m telling you as a mom, I would love a flower, a subscription. Um, And I’m just using mom as an interchangeable, as a human. I would love a flowers subscription.
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