In which we chat with the delightful Joni Hilton, the world's Youtube mom!
In which we chat with the delightful Joni Hilton, the world's Youtube mom!
[inaudible]
Speaker 2:Hi, you found moms meet world and wherever you are in the world, we want you to feel welcome. And, uh, and we want you to have fun if you'd like to, with us and hang out with us today, we have a very special guest Joni Hilton, and she'll be talking to us, um, about things that correspond with our theme here on mom's meat world. And that is to strengthen home and family in whatever capacity we can do that in. So let's get started. Hi Joni.
Speaker 3:Hi, Mary. How are you doing good.
Speaker 2:So glad that you could join us. Me too. What a treat. So if it's okay, I'm going to introduce you and make you feel a little embarrassed or uncomfortable for just like a minute.
Speaker 3:And then you can go. It's just going to feel like a little stick.
Speaker 2:We'll just get out of the way. Okay. Um, Joanie is just an amazingly talented person who's really used for talents. Not only is she the mother of four children, right? Four grandchildren and a loving wife to husband of what? 30 years? Something for 34 years. Yeah. Okay. Awesome. To the Bob, to Bob Hilton, who is, um, I dunno how old you are listening to this or where you are in the world, but if you remember, let's make a deal, remember sometimes we'd hear that voice that would go, um, they'd say, tell about the prizes. Well, you've wanted a man, a radar range or whatever. You can do that, which is so fun. And I know that he's great. Funny, and you love him very much. Don't you just, and she's an author and she's written, how many books have you written Joni
Speaker 3:Like 25. When I had to take off my gloves and shoes to count, I stopped, but I think it's 20.
Speaker 2:Then, you know, you, maybe you're reaching a place where he can, it,
Speaker 3:None of them are math textbooks, not surprisingly, but they are funny.
Speaker 2:I didn't even know who, you know, at first, I didn't know who you were when I was quite young, I went to a, um, uh, an invitation to a sister-in-law's house and she had a book on her coffee table that was written by you. And she brought it to me and she said,
Speaker 3:Tucker, read this book.
Speaker 2:Not knowing that I would end up becoming such good friends with you, but I should say, it's still good, Mary, you've got so funny. And then later I went to a bookstore and I saw another title. It was how to like how to make, how to, what is it? The one where you make food ahead for the week cook once.
Speaker 3:Yeah, the once a week cooking. Once can't remember the names of my own books, the once a week cookbook, I think it's called the once a week cookbook where you go once a week for the whole week. Yeah. And I bought it. I was, Oh
Speaker 2:Yeah. Oh yeah. I bought a number of part. Yeah. And then I read golden, not that long ago and great books. So she's got series, she's got funny books and she's got books and she's won many, many, many cooking competitions. Dear readers. She's also a playwright. You've written at least one play. Right. Tony you've written plays five, five plays
Speaker 3:Well and a musical. Okay. Yeah.
Speaker 2:And she tackled the concept. This is a hard, a hard concept to put into a play in a humorous way. But she did it with cancer. Right. That was a funny play. Yeah.
Speaker 3:Yeah. Well, okay. Okay. My BA my Bob, my husband did get the funniest cancer you can get, which is prostate cancer and things kept happening that would just crack us both up. And I started making notes and we were driving along one time and I said, that's it. I'm going to write a musical comedy about your cancer. The music's phenomenal. I got him. I got Jerry Williams to do the music. He's been the arranger and penis for the Donnie and ratio in Vegas for years and years and years. But he has tons of credits. He's he's. He goes to Prague and conducts. I mean, he's a real musician who I can't rave enough. Anyway. He wrote all the music to all my lyrics. And it is hilarious. That is so cool. I answered it. Well, here's the thing, my, my go-to, um, way of coping. My coping mechanism of choice is humor. And so when he got prostate cancer jokes, jokes, jokes. When I got breast cancer, jokes, jokes, jokes, his prostate cancer is back more jokes, jokes. It isn't that I'm not taking it seriously. It's that I'm taking power away from it. When you can laugh at something, you diminish its power. And so that's kinda how I cope.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. 100000000% agree. Umer has always been my go-to thing too. I just it's like, it's like a, now that releases the pressure.
Speaker 3:Exactly. It helps you cope.
Speaker 2:It helps you cope with almost anything. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. It's true. Okay. And now in, Wellston starting in, I want to say 2013, when did, when did you start your YouTube channel?
Speaker 3:Oh, I have no idea. I don't remember dates, dates or monetary amounts. I have no idea what we paid for our house. I have no idea what year we moved here,
Speaker 2:But those aren't the important things. Years ago, we started the, um, sort of America's world's YouTube mom thing. And I think it was 2013. Maybe it was 2013. Check out YouTube videos. You get a chance. I am just blown away at the consistency for one thing that the, the number of videos you've done, but also the categories. And so let's back up here before we go into these categories about how it started. So tell us the story of why you decided to do this.
Speaker 3:Oh, okay. Well, years ago I hosted a TV talk show in LA, a daily show. And I don't know, we live in Northern California, but my son was home. One of my three sons was here and he said, mom, none of my friends know how to do anything. They don't know how to make a bed. They don't know how to cook an egg. They don't know how to sweep with a broom. They can't iron. He said, you should make, you should make videos for people, millennials, you know, people in my generation who don't know how to do this, their moms didn't teach them or their moms didn't teach those moms. And I thought I could do that. So I started and nobody said, here's how to do a YouTube channel post every couple of weeks or every month. Nobody said this to me. So I thought I had to post every single day. So, so I would take like eight or 10 and then start posting them. And then a week and a half later I'd tape a much more. And it turned out I had all these ideas. I never knew I had that much to say, but it isn't just domestic skills. It's advice. It's all kinds of how to keep your trunk from hitting the thing you're hauling or your trunk lid. It's all kinds of life hacks. How to DIY something. Um, just tons it's I'm basically opening my head. We're out.
Speaker 2:Yeah. And it's yeah. It's such a gift. I remember a friend of mine was taking her son to college. I remember telling me this story and they were driving down to college and she pulled over suddenly on the side of the road and she stopped and she said, Oh my gosh, I need to tell you how to balance a checkbook. That's one of the things in the 18 years, but I never taught you to do this. And I remember laughing at the story, but also thinking that's really like a great, um, microcosm of what happens to us moms. We want to teach everything and we don't all know everything at all. And then we also forget what all these life skills that our kids need. So you're really helping fill in the gaps. So I can't recommend it highly enough guys. Cause there's,
Speaker 3:I just have to interrupt and say it isn't, it turns out it isn't just for these young kids, because most of the responses I get are people our age or even older who say, I never knew that, you know what a cool that's cool. Thanks for filling that blank in for me. So, so it's really for everyone. And they, I keep them really, really short because I don't think many people want to go to a YouTube that's 11 minutes long or, you know, I think they want to get the info and move on. And that's one thing I do when I do my videos.
Speaker 2:Yeah. And you are a hundred percent right about adults learning too, because I have learned so much, I have had a problem just to give you one example of many of, of tangled jewelry. And even though I bought, if somebody gave me a really nice jewelry box, it wasn't handling that very well. So your idea of those office supply things where everybody gets its own little space. I mean, just little things like that. The, um, the camping hacks where you do the light, you know, put a glow stick inside.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. I'm glad you liked those. Most of them are just things that you think that's obvious. Why haven't we always been doing it like that. Yeah.
Speaker 2:And then you go, okay, I'll do that. The laundry tips, the whole thing with the Oxyclean, but then you blend it with the hydrogen peroxide and all that. So many things that I had never, ever heard of, which is fantastic. I'm going to run through this list of things that you, that I have just in front of me, you've got so listeners, here's some categories you can check out, um, personal care. That was interesting. The marshmallows in between the toes
Speaker 3:Before that was so cute, but then don't eat them or I guess you're desperate and you're starving.
Speaker 2:Lots and lots on holiday ideas. Um, I'm going to come back to that one. Laundry tips, travel tips, clothing care, decorating, housekeeping, hints, fun tips, cooking gardening. And one of my very favorites life skills. So we'll talk about that too, but under holiday ideas, I'm just curious. I love holidays. Or do you have a favorite, like a few favorite holiday things you've done?
Speaker 3:Oh my gosh. We could talk for eight hours. We can take a road trip to the Yukon. I would blabber the bowl. I love holidays. Let me think if I have a favorite holiday tip, there's so many, um, I think the best one, and I've not done a video on this is make it more about the people than the trappings. Interesting. Don't worry so much that the presence all match under the tree. And if your, your face isn't super, super elegant, it doesn't matter. It's about the people and make it all about the people.
Speaker 2:I absolutely love that perfectionism can just ruin everything. Can it,
Speaker 3:I am an imperfection, NIST, proud imperfection. My husband, you know, it's funny, you said how I won. I've won all these cooking contests and I have, but my husband watches me cook and he says, you need a cooking show called, Oh, it'll be fine because I am, my daughter is the other, when she cooks, Oh my gosh, she takes the rasp when she's making lemon bars. And she just like, you're petting a cat. She carefully. Cause she only wants just the yellow part of the Rhine. I mean, and I'm just like, because you know, you have children and you don't have time to do that when you're chasing kids around the house.
Speaker 2:Yes. Yeah. All in so many videos you do incorporate, um, holiday or other things that, that really helps children feel important and give them something to do. For example, your ice cream one, you can make ice cream in a bag, which I didn't know until recently. And you can put the, you know, zip Ziploc and then put the salt in the bigger Ziploc bag. But I just thought it's just so kind of the way you thought of children, like let's hand them these little bags, let's let them do the squishing and the so that they can feel important and then they're contributing and they're making it. You also did that with the puppet theater that you do frequently. Oh yeah. Yeah. Tell us about that.
Speaker 3:Okay. Well I hope, I hope, I don't know if all of your, your viewers and listeners, um, had a TV like this, but most of us have the great big chunky TV that was about 20 inches, deep, big 2d that's before it was the flat screens that sat in this huge unit in our living rooms or family rooms. And they all die at some point. And so my eldest son came and got the inside guts of it. Cause he wanted to make a death rate out of the lens that said, don't wait. I don't even want to tell that story. And then I, and then my husband said, well, now we need to throw this thing out somehow. And I said, are you kidding? Look at it. It's some puppet theater because you now have a hole and inside, or even some legends, they can sit on like built-in little seats already. So all you have to do is take attention rod and put in a curtain and the public theater. And then I made some puppets and I bought some puppets and the neighbors who I have hijacked as my grandchildren who live across the street, they come over and they have a blast, even the older ones. And guess what? Nobody has their cell phone out. It's so magical. And everyone loves to get behind there and put a little puppet on their hand and use a different voice. And all of a sudden, some, there was a, another girl down the street that joined us and she's really shy. And she began talking in another voice and just kind of like came out of her shell because you have anonymity to a degree with that little puppet, you know? Oh, it was, it's a blast. It's so easy to do.
Speaker 2:That's cute. That would bring them into that. They can use the puppet instead. But yeah, I love that attention to children. That's just beautiful. Um, you also have a whole nother category called life skills. So lots of really good information there. And I've learned a lot from you about it. Um, I just was thinking this morning too, not my circus, not my monkeys and being careful about drama. Um, you have things like how to get along with people. And these are things that, you know, a lot of people know, but there are people that really don't, and that helps them so much. I mean, I'm guessing some of this may have been back your days when you were hosting a radio program that was also on relationships. Right. Right. Some of these topics have been have come up again. Yeah,
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah. And I get a lot of good feedback. You would think people wouldn't say anything. They'd be like, yeah, I already know that. But a whole lot of people have written in and said, I'm going to try this. Or I never heard of that. Yeah. I love that.
Speaker 2:Do you have any favorite ones that you've done on relationships?
Speaker 3:Oh gosh. There's so many. Well, one is, is about, uh, not being angry. That anger is a choice. Yes. Um, and it's, it's bad for your health to be angry. It really is. You know, and, and it's, it's futile. The angrier, you are, the less likely things are to change. Especially another person think about it. Someone comes up to you, angry. You, you are not going to go, Oh, let me do whatever you think I should do. Right. For most people, you kind of react like, Hey, Hey, what are you? You know, we get defensive anger, anger is angry. Stupid dare I say,
Speaker 2:I agree. And my background is in psychology and biology and I, and there's a theory out there or a kind of a way of thinking that you've got to feel that anger. You've got to really feel it. And you've got to really, you know, somehow use that. But actually I heard a very deep spiritual leader say one time, you actually don't have to accept the anchor. I mean, the first couple as my daughter in high school said, mom, the first few minutes of feeling anger are legit. After that, it's just an act to get people to, to manipulate people. I thought that's like that. It's kind of brilliant. So when those feelings of anger come, we can kind of take those. I mean, you're a woman of faith and we're gonna talk about the stupid. You can go to the Lord and ask to maybe remove that from me. Like not necessarily be walked over or have people manipulate you, but say what you need to say with kindness and firmness.
Speaker 3:Don't lose control. There's there's no, exactly. And I have to tell you in my experience, that's the only way it works. You can't just sit and go, okay. I'm not going to be angry anymore. We need God's help. It's a big, it's a big ask to say, help me not be angry anymore. I mean, look at the world, look at people. It's easy to just be angry all the time, even if only little. And so when you're asking to have that removed, that's huge. So you kind of can't do it by yourself. You need help and God is the best helper for that, but you can do it. I know people who've done that. Who've been very angry and now not at all.
Speaker 2:I've how people say, um, in a political context, well, you've got to push back. You've got to, you've got to stand up for what's right. We've got to jump on that bandwagon. But really, if God is all powerful and we're trying to do what Jesus did and be kind, then I think the Lord will bless that. Right. And some people will say, sorry to go into a little bit of faith discussion, but, um, I've had people say, well, what about in the temple? You know, he threw over the tables. He was angry, but we were dealing with a temple. And so I used to tell my, um, young women, we, we both have taught young women in our lives. I'd say, if someone's going after your temple, you throw over some tables. Like that's your personal space because the body is a temple. We know that spiritually. Yeah. So if someone's trying to attack your personal temple date situation, that's going awry you. Yeah. You can get angry and get out of there. But in general, I think the Lord took the high road. You know, he took that, that peaceful road and the Lord will bless us for that as we stand firm and kind, but, but yeah, but not angry.
Speaker 3:Yes. And I think it's good to speak up and be strong and be courageous, but you can still be kind, you don't have to hate people to be forthright. Exactly. Yeah. A hundred percent. Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 2:How has your faith influenced your maybe desire to do some of the things that you've done or some of your, um, messages on YouTube? W w tell me a little bit about your faith.
Speaker 3:I love it so much. It totally, it totally guides everything I do. It really does. I post a lot on social media, but I only post pretty much in two categories. One is funny stuff or inspiring stuff. And cause I feel like we need to go through life with humor, but we also need that spiritual side. And most of my writing, you know, the weekly column I do for Meridian, that's spiritual, but my weekly humor blog is funny. So that's kind of, my that's kind of who I am. You could just sort of divide me into those two parts and I try to blend them when I can in my writing. But, um, I don't know. My faith just absolutely. When I, when I do these things that I do, a lot of things I make no money on. Right. But it's fulfilling because I feel like I'm maybe helping someone. And, and to me that just goes right back to what Jesus taught that we need to take care of one another and love one another and realize we're brothers and sisters. And I even do that when I'm shopping. I try very much to look at everyone and say, and try and see them as a little tiny kid. What was that angry man? Like when he was four and I try to look for things that are true to that person that are part of their core and praise those things and bring out those things, because that's who they really are. They're not this scarred, damaged person that has happened over years on this planet with people dumping on them. That's not who they really are. And I try to talk to someone as they really are and find out who that is, because I think everybody's remarkable. They just don't know it. That should be a bumper sticker everywhere because they don't know it. I think sometimes choices
Speaker 2:Are made that they might not have otherwise made. Right. So, yeah. So how beautiful is that? And that's also in some of your relationship videos, you talk about seeing people differently and seeing them with great love and yeah, I appreciate that. Joanie, were you always super faithful or did you go, you know, did you start out like even as a little child, did you feel drawn to spiritual things or
Speaker 3:Yes I did as a child, but in my teens, I went through a period of questioning. Sure. I wondered is this really what I've what's right. And I had to find out for myself. So a lot of study, a lot of research, a lot of praying and fasting and struggling years worth. So there, I had that little period of time, but, um, even as a little kid, I felt very close to Jesus. And when I would pray, I wouldn't dare pee.
Speaker 2:How do you tease her? I shouldn't, he might be there.
Speaker 3:Yeah. And I don't want to get caught peaking.
Speaker 2:You are so cute. I remember coming a little four year old, Oregon difference. I can tell you this and all the people who are listening to this, I guess I feel down. Sometimes my parents would be like out to dinner or something and I was scared and I miss them. I was lonely. And I remember kneeling down like a little three or four. And I, I would say my little prayer and then I'd say, don't do it. Which meant don't I could feel like angels were happy to step through the veil and comfort me. And I was so little, I guess I was close enough to the veil, but that would seem normal for them. But I would say, no, I'll be too scared. I'll be too scared, please. Don't when I open my eyes, don't be, I felt like they wanted pop over and just say, it'll be all right. You know, but I know we're like no petals getting older now anyway, but I also love that you, in some ways that you had a question, Carrie, because I think it gives you compassion for people who may also be struggling and asking questions. And you know, there's no judgment there because you know what that's like, you've been in that role,
Speaker 3:Right? Yeah.
Speaker 2:Um, there's both Joni and I are Christian and we're Latter-day saints. Um, and so we share that, but we also share, I think, um, you know, that, that phrase and Anna Green Gables, a kindred spirit experience. And when we first kind of got to know each other, didn't you feel it too? That little? Oh yes. Oh yes. Yeah. Oh yeah. You're my kind of peep. Yeah. Your mom, I'm so grateful that we, um, that we had that, that moment where we kind of recognize that in each other. And they also say to have a good friendship that you need to go through something hard together. And I think we can check that box because recently, um, I, and it's all my fault. I completely messed up some things in a techno technological way that would have been helpful to us. And you were so forgiving. So we've, we checked that off opposition. I love your bookshelf behind you. And I remember when videos on how to make a bookshelf and I think it was that exact bookshelf pop. Right. So, yeah. So maybe we have time for a few more, tell us how to make a bookshelf. What did you do?
Speaker 3:Well, okay. Let's see. Look back here. You mix in OSHA, Dar mixing art objects or pictures or things besides books. And you have as much white space as you can, because that's what our eye is drawn to. Even. Uh, my BA was in journalism and the one of the first things they taught us is the human eye to seeks white space. So that's why, that's why when you read a newspaper, anyone can even find one anymore. Um, every paragraph is like one sentence or maybe two, but not more because a whole lot of gray space will send them away. They want lots of white indentation places. We're just that way. And even when we're looking at a painting, we look, the white things will catch our eye. So in a, in a bookcase have a lot of space, if you can, and it can direct the eye too. But anyway, you just put in and pictures and favorite little objects or something you collect or whatever. And then one thing I really like to do that's my own little idea is I should, I should use one for an example. Well, I'll just tell you when you have a book and you have one of those metal bookends under the cover, so that when you're looking at the bookcase, you don't see this metal U shaped, you just see the book itself and it still holds the book up, but it's
Speaker 2:By the back cover or the front cover, depending on which, which side. Yeah, that's really, and I absolutely love the concept of space. I think there's an Asian, um, sort of feeling that space is sacred. And so they'll sometimes have an empty shelf just to, to honor that respect.
Speaker 3:I didn't know that you're teaching me again. You teach me all the time. I love the things you write. We should reverse this. I should just sit and rave about Mary, your writings and, Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh. You're amazing.
Speaker 2:Well, so are you, and I'm still glad we're friends. Okay. One more thing. We have time for one more thing, your dad, your dad was a professor. And I can tell that you've got some of those, those abilities, that ability that he had to teach clearly. And with a I'm guessing he probably had a sense of fun and just was able to with that. Um, and then he was also a master gardener, wasn't he? Yeah. He really wants some really good gardening tips and videos. And when I watched your videos, I can see almost like an extra shot of joy in there. When you talk about gardening things, and maybe that's also because it connects back to your dad who you adored. Right? So one of the videos I loved was your, um, you're sitting in your backyard and you talked about how it's great. You know, there's so much green and gardens, but you love to have something unexpected. And what is that unexpected thing that was in your backyard that I just loved. Do you remember
Speaker 3:The bunch? Is it my fairy garden? Oh my gosh. Those are
Speaker 2:What I'm thinking about is the color of your deck.
Speaker 3:Oh, because I have lots of surprises in the garden, but yes, the color of my deck would shock most people. I love color though. I wish you could come and see my house. It's pops of lots of color. In fact, you know what? This will tell you everything about how I am about my house and color is look up on, uh, a search engine, McKenzie, child, grandfather clock. Huh? I think you'll even see it on, on my, you know what, it's on my YouTube mom. It's one of those when you type my name in with YouTube, put grandfather clock and you'll see what I did like for grandfather clock. But the deck in my backyard is bright. Turquoise. It looks from a distance. It looks kind of like a swimming pool. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:Correct. Yeah. And I'll let the McKenzie child who is an artist, right? Isn't she an artist?
Speaker 3:Um, it's a company. Yes. It's art, but it's, it's a company that makes things I love. It's a lot of black and white check and a lot of whimsical, Alison Wonderland looking stuff, uh, everything from furniture here, I'm doing an ad for furniture and everything for the home. Everything you can imagine. It's pretty, it's pretty wild. Yeah. Tell me about the fairy gardens. I'd love to hear about, Oh, I have one fairy garden and this is so funny. I have, it's not big. It's just a big, I mean, it's around pot, but it's not like a humongous thing. And I have little fairy stuff in there and a little house you can take the roof off, you know, and the little girl across the street, who is my granddaughter, um, comes and checks it to see what the fairies have left behind this time. So I have, she has little toys in there, sometimes a little seashell and one time I made this teensy little book, so, so tiny. And I glue just the binding and it had a couple of pages and she said, Oh, he left a book and she picked it up and she's an early reader. And she goes, she was reading it. And she goes, how come the writing is so sloppy? Should've said try harder. And I said, yeah. And I said, I don't know. So that's a fun. I like, I like childlike things, whimsical fun.
Speaker 2:I love it too. We've gone. Probably a lot of that would normally go, but we'll, we we'll talk again for sure. And we'll, and I'll see that fairy garden one day. I know you've tried to come up a couple of times and I've been traveling, but now with COVID, you know, we're, we're all home. And then eventually we'll be able to in, and we'll meet each other. There's
Speaker 3:A YouTube garden. There's a youth boy on the fairy garden. I'll check it out. In fact, you know what I feel like I'm sending bits of my house and myself all out into the cloud and no one will ever come and see me because they've got me. Oh, I already got enough pieces of you heard enough of you. It's in three dimension, herbal tea on your deck. Wouldn't that be fun would be all right, my friend. Thank you. Thank you so much, Mary. I've loved this. I love talking with you and we will see you the next time listeners online.
Speaker 1:[inaudible].