Move it Mama - The Sparkle Pod

All things mum life - feeling flat for no rhyme or reason, piles of washing that never end, new jobs, kids sport, marriage, health is wealth, alcohol and more. We came to the mic in a bit of a mood this Monday morning and end with one of us a little more on the up and the other a little less so. We'll now take a moment to zoom out and remind ourselves that underneath the chaos, the overwhelm, and the Monday moods, there’s a lot to be grateful for. A couch full of folded washing means full lives, the busy weekends mean people we love, and even on the flat days, there are still some magical micro moments if we look carefully. This is your gentle nudge that it’s okay to feel both stretched and thankful - and that appreciating your life doesn’t mean it has to feel easy all the time.

This week - as per - we’re diving into all sorts of stuff - community, the app, mental health, family and chaos, weekends of sport, and talking about the things that keep us grounded - particularly Leece and her commitment to doing things that help keep her well and feeling good. At first we chat quite a bit about the Move it Mama app, the connection some of us have been missing since the Spread the Sparkle Facebook days, and why that sense of community matters to us so much. We also get into the importance of moving your body, protecting your mental health, and carving out time for the habits that help you feel good - even when life is FULL and HARD. We know it's hard to do but we need to make a commitment to ourselves. Lots on the waffle agenda today and great to be together to dissect life's current ebbs and flows!

Welcome to the very first episode of Sparkle Pod Book Club - a cosy new corner of the podcast where books, banter, and plenty of tangents collide. In this pilot episode, we kick things off with a relaxed chat all about our reading lives - what we're currently reading, how and when we fit reading into busy life, questioning unspoken reading etiquette, our recent favourite books, and what’s on the wish list for future reads. We're all over the shop today spitting out a LOT of info and a fair few books. In future episodes, we'll take to a little more structure for our book chats (if you know us at all, you're wise to believe STRUCTURE might not happen). Thanks for listening!

Below is a list of the books we discussed today -
Hobbsy - Liz Nugent, Strange Sally Diamond (she's in the middle of it - she gives a decent synopsis without spoilers)
Leece - TL Swan, The Miles High series (finishing the fifth book of the series - no spoilers)
Jess - all books she had been recommended by Hobbs! Current read: Everyone Here is Lying by Shari Lapena, and recent reads: The Vanishing Place by Zoe Rankin, Broken Country by Claire Leslie Hall and What Have You Done, also by Shari Lapena
Up next: The Names, by Florence Knapp.

This is not a formal book club - it’s light-hearted, honest, a little bit chaotic, and full of the kind of conversation that feels like chatting books with friends over coffee. Whether you're a die-hard reader, a casual page-turner, or just here for a LOL, take this as your invite to join the club.

BACKTOSCHOOOOOLLLLL! Hello! It feels like FOREVER. As we point out at the start of the episode, we currently have 20% off our annual plan to the app - just use the code BACKTOSCHOOL at checkout on the web app (app.moveitmama.co.nz). Now that aside, welcome back to the sparkly pod. We're so happy to be here - relishing in our own company with our microphones waffling over A WIDE VARIETY of quality rubbish!

We dissect the last few weeks - school holidays, Leece's family weekend away and everything that encompassed, the constant manage of phones and screen time, lunch boxes upon lunch boxes and botox upon botox!!! For real though we talk a lot about wrinkles and the stupid stuff we're being influenced to do - like sip out of our water bottles without sucking the straw too hard lol lol.

It's good to be back. Thanks for your support and patience as we took a break and a day! X

Hello! Coming to you LIVE and proper from the wardrobe seeking some privacy on this Easter Monday afternoon. A heads up that as Leece wasn't in the office today she is without a mic - we figured we're good enough to go. We recap the last few days and what lies ahead - the typical big topics sat at the forefront of our minds, such as naming a place if we were to 'found it' - Thomas 'Hanmer' doesn't roll of the tongue like it should. We briefly bypass the political state of the world, as well as the meaning of Easter - don't worry, we don't hang around there long lol. Though we would make mention that despite our differences we can STILL BE FRIENDS can't we. The world is a tough place for many at the moment, and Leece finishes with some thoughts off the back of a podcast with Mel Robbins - we'll link it below. It sounds to be highly worth listening to. Thanks for having us in yer earholes. X

Here's the podcast on Spotify -
https://open.spotify.com/episode/21mWHpZiy6ViHeQGlSryfm?si=xR99ROJESIem5wTSbUetUg