The Update You've Been Waiting For

I'm BACK! And I'm here to talk about what's been going on and share some major updates from my life. 

First off, I leave for Norway this week, and I share some of the challenges with last-minute flight changes. *She's anxious girly LOL* 

I also open up about my divorce, emphasizing the journey of self-love and choosing personal happiness. This Norway trip marks a significant chapter in my healing and self-discovery process. Life is magical.

 Join me as I share my experiences and insights on resilience, community, and the courage to forge a new path forward. Community is key when navigating a tough in-between. I'm happy you're here for mine. 

Connect with me:
https://in-between.co
@in.betweenpod on Instagram
@elizabethcheney_ on Instagram
@theinbetweenpodcast on TikTok
The In-Between Podcast on YouTube

Transcript

0:06

Hey, hey, hey, welcome back to another episode of the in between. I'm your host Elizabeth Cheney and it's been a few weeks since we last talked. Um, as you all know, if you have listened to the few episodes I've put out this year, there's been some stuff going on behind the scenes. Uh, unfortunately not very cool behind the scenes stuff for the podcast, but behind the scenes stuff for my personal life. And I wanted to take This week, as I told myself, I was ready. I was gonna put out an episode no matter how short or how long it was. Because I leave for Norway today. Yes, this is not the normal day that this episode comes out. Obviously, it's a Sunday, not a Wednesday. But when we get through with this episode, you will know what's been going on and then you'll go, Sweetie, we get it. Oh, hugs. Oh my goodness, but before we get into the news, the update you've been waiting for, because obviously we gotta catch up real quick and then we'll talk about the real catch up. But yeah, I leave for Norway today. Very excited. I'm sure I packed way too much. It's so hard packing winter clothes and 50 pounds in your suitcase. That may sound dramatic, but I also have to look cute, so, you know. What is a girl supposed to do? But, the real kicker is when my girlfriend and I actually had to book these flights in December, we booked through one of those third party sites. And, I realized, you know, a couple days ago, I haven't gotten any kind of email from that third party booking or the airline, which was Scandinavian Airlines, um, saying, Hey, it's time to check in, hey, get ready for your flight, anything like that. Okay, okay, no big deal, no big deal. Well, yesterday I was, you know, going a mile a minute, packing, doing this, doing that, doing this, doing that. And I was like getting all my passport together, putting out some itineraries, making sure all my tours and things like are in my, my digital wallet on my phone. And I see this alert when I log into the third party, uh, site that we booked the flights through. Your itinerary has been changed. And I'm like, what? Now this is me logging in to the website. This is not an email, this is not a notification, a text, nothing. This is me logging in, just trying to figure out why can't I check in, what's going on. So I'm looking at the times, and they're the same flight times that we booked. So I'm like, what? What? I don't understand. So I go to Scandinavian Airlines in their website, download their app, trying to set it up that way. And then it says check in in two days. Scratch his head. Um, okay. Realize they just changed our flight to Monday. So we'd get there Tuesday versus getting there Monday. And I didn't know, I didn't know. I didn't know until I logged in to the site. So of course, what do you think happened? Panic, anxiety. I was like, Oh my gosh, this is like 1130 midnight. You know what I mean? I realize calling the customer service isn't going to get me anywhere because. All these people are probably asleep because it's six hours ahead of us and or I hope they work on the weekends. I don't know. I don't know. So I am calling my friend who is on a date and I'm like trying to like figure out and not have a full blown panic attack. Just a minor one. And I look at the flights that they offer that we can rebook and they're all going out like 10 30 11 o'clock tonight. So we wouldn't get to Norway until like 9 10 p. m. tomorrow. Which, fine, whatever. I mean, if worse comes to worse, you can pivot, but, you know, Monday was going to be one of our days to really explore Bergen and like, you know, not have any tours, not have any, uh, assigned agenda. You know what I mean? I'm laughing because, I mean, I was freaking out last night, but now I'm like, you know, breezy, beautiful cover girl. Because it's all worked out. And this is another reminder, Elizabeth, that when things seem like they're not working out, they always end up working out. Working out. Wait, that sounded so weird. When things don't work out, they always end up. Okay, wow. Alright, well, I basically just reset the same thing. So you get the point. You get the point. Great reminder to just go with the flow. I mean, I definitely had to get shit done. It's not like I was just like, oh, okay, whatever. No, I had to research, I had to look into the different flights. So, I find a flight that leaves today at five. Which was actually two hours before our original time, but it has one extra layover. Versus Copenhagen, we're now laying over in Paris, which I really want to go to Paris so bad. It's on my, my, my vision board, and um, this is not the Paris trip that I was hoping for, but you know what? Maybe I'll be able to get a little coffee, a little, a little treat, a little baked good on the streets of Paris, if you know what I mean. And then we'll just go to Paris some other time this year. That would be great. Maybe this year, maybe next year. I don't know. I don't know. The world's my oyster. The world is my oyster. Maybe. I don't know. With the way the current government is doing things, I am freaking out about the future of this country. But that is all I'm going to say about that. Oh my god, I'm very, very, I have lots of nervous energy about that. Um, but anyways, moving on. So. Paris layover, okay. Well, then I noticed the second layover is in Oslo, which is Norway's capital and the layover is only 55 minutes. Eee! Now mind you, every other flight option to book without getting there, you know, super late Tuesday, gets us there super late Monday. This was the only flight option that got us there an hour after our original arrival time on Monday. Ah, okay. So, I'm researching, researching, I'm posting in this like Norway travel group I'm in on Facebook. And I don't know what to do. Thankfully, I guess some people are awake. They comment and they're like, Hey, with the EU and something or another, I don't know. I know Norway is not part of the EU, but it's like this region that's, um. Kind of included with this. I don't know if it's a rule a law. I have no idea. I'm just a girl I'm just a girl trying to get on a freaking trip. Okay. Oh my gosh So they're like hey if with the EU and everything once you go through Paris with your first layover You go through customs your passport check all that stuff You don't have to do that again necessarily when you get to Oslo You'll just have to do your passport check which is very simple. That's not the same as going through customs And they were, and they said something about, I don't know if it's Scandinavian Airlines or just airlines in Europe in general, but there's like some kind of rule they have to get you, like the connections they offer have to get you there, like there shouldn't be any reason for concern. And maybe that's crap, I don't know, maybe that's a lie, I don't know, I don't know where I read that. Again, everything from last night blended in because it was like two hours of pure stress. But again, your girl figured it out because she is incredible, and I will say it again, I will always bet on me, even if I have a panic attack beforehand. So, I said, you know what, screw it, I'm going to trust this, plus there's got to be a bajillion flights that go from Oslo to Bergen, if, you know, worst case scenario, we miss it. I don't want to think about my luggage, I figured I'd get it when I get there, but, uh, it's all going to work out, it's all going to work out. So, all that to say, the trip is still on, I cannot wait, and it's going to be amazing. And I have very cute clothes, which is not the most important part of it, but it is a great part of it. Man, it's been so long since I've been on the podcast. I am just being silly. You know what I mean? We are just geeking. Also, I think this is kind of that, you know, vacation energy. And then also, like I said, last night was very scary and stressful. I mean, dramatic. It wasn't that scary, but I was kind of like, oh man, I mean, I would have figured something out. Heck, maybe we could have changed our flights and stayed in Paris tonight and then gone to Norway. I don't know. I don't know. Probably not. Probably would have cost a lot of money. Anyways, she's going to Norway. What else has happened since we last talked? There was the Grammys. Oh, the Grammys. I don't know if you watched the Grammys. I know that was like a few weeks back, but they were so good. Can I get a amen? The Grammys are back. Amen. The Grammys are back. Uh, you know, my girl Chopper Roan killed it. And then also Lady Gaga is back. Heck yeah. Into that. And then Charli XCX and her full blown party at the end. It will forever be brat summer for me. Anyways, I digress. There was also the Super Bowl. I'm sure you all heard of it, saw it. We all know the famous look to the camera and smile from Kendrick Lamar. C'est Drake. Great moment in, uh, televised history for C'est Moi. Um, but more importantly on his performance, it was such a beautiful production of art. Um, it's so much more than just the music. I'm not gonna go into it and unpack it, because I don't have that much time, uh, but there are college courses about Kendrick Lamar and his writing. Um, apparently he won a, not apparently, he did, like this is legitimate, he won a Pulitzer Prize for rap. And I'm like, wow, that's pretty impressive. So, the lyricism and the storytelling, um, and then the display, like the whole production of the Super Bowl was pretty incredible. So. Definitely enjoyed that. couldn't really care about the game itself, but I love the halftime show. Then let's see, last week was the SAG awards. Nothing really much to report there other than Timothy Chalamet's, uh, acceptance speech. Not sure if you heard that or saw that on the internet. Um, you know, I was listening to one of my favorite podcasts, Giggly Squad, and they were saying like, he gives Gen Z energy, even though he's not a Gen Z. That speech was, you know, one part. I love it. I love the, you know, empowerment of yourself, and you're like, I want to be one of the greats, I'm going to be the greats, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. It was a little cringe cause he was just like, I'm not going to thank anybody other than myself. But hey, like, he crushed it, you know what I mean? so, that's all the pop culture buzz I can think of, So now let's talk about what's been going on in my life, um, what's been going on the past few weeks, past few months really, really since I bought the house, And this is a very big in between, and it's an in between that's going to evolve. and what I mean by that is, my perspective on it, my, my thoughts on it, my, I mean it's very much an active real thing. But I am divorcing Stan. And some of you may have already picked up on that, kind of figured it out. Big shout out to the few people that have been with me through this for the past, however many months it's been, I think about, I told him in November that I wanted to separate. So it's been about four ish months since I told him, um, but my friends that have been the few that have been walking with me and being there for me during this whole time, this journey, I. I can't thank you enough. You guys are my rocks. And I can tell you right now, going through something like this, you need your community. You need yourself for sure. You have to have you. I mean, that's kind of what enabled me to make this decision was choosing me and loving myself. Choosing my own happiness. Choosing what's best for me. So you have to have that sense of self, doesn't make it any easier, doesn't mean you don't go through all the motions and is this the right decision, am I, am I crazy, like I am literally changing the timeline of my life. It's like you are looking at yourself objectively in third person and you see one foot on this new timeline and the other foot's just barely still in the old one and it's like splitting yourself apart. I don't know. It's just, it's. It is crazy. I'm not going to go into why this is happening right now. I'm not going to go into how it's been I can tell you this right now. It's been horrible. It's been shitty They always say you people who tend to leave relationships grieve and mourn them long before they actually leave There's some truth to that but It's been difficult and I don't want to go again, I'm not going to go into too much detail because it's still fresh, uh, but I will say after all these months, he finally moved out last week. That's part of why it's taken me so long to come back because basically ever since the new year when I thought things were going to start moving in the right direction of getting separated, Life had a funny way of saying, uh uh, you need to go through a few more challenges, dear. A few more trials and tribulations. So, the one thing I will say in all of this, everything that I expected, I thought, Oh, I will be at this place in this journey at this time. He will be out by this date. We will be blah blah blah blah blah. I can tell you, that has all not happened. It has definitely gone past what I expected, but The reason I'm saying and giving all this information today is because he moved out. And we are finally moving forward into the next chapter, into the new era. And this trip to Norway couldn't have come at a better time, and yes, um, this trip was planned as I'd already told him I was separating and I wanted a divorce, so this was kind of like my spiritual healing trip. It's going to be my spiritual healing trip. I love that one of my best friends is going to come with me. Um, it's, we're going to have a blast. We're going to go chase the Northern Lights and maybe even go and take an Arctic plunge, although I'm very nervous about that because I have this theory, not theory, but this, um, This thought in my head that it's going to be so cold, like so cold that my body is going to go into shock, and then I'm just going to die. Like, shock, can't swim, can't breathe, and then I sink like the Titanic. So, tell me you have anxiety without telling me you have anxiety. These are the thoughts you have. But it's going to be great. I mean traveling in general is always a beautiful experience. I feel like you always gain something culturally, personally, whatever the case, but this is going to be even more special and I feel like Norway is kind of a majestic place. Um, and I have wanted to see the Northern Lights for a while as you all know I've talked about it for like what over a year. So I think, all right, let's go. Let's go heal from the Aurora Borealis. Let the universe put its blessings on me, please, because your girl is ready for her period of abundance. The past six months have been hell. Like, hell, hell, hell, and then a little bit more hell. But in that hell, there's hope. I won't lie. There's hope. There's resilience. There's strength. There's community. There's beauty in the pain. You know, I'm a deep girly. Okay. So, you know, I've been journaling. I've been introspecting like God, my part time job. See, I do my job, you know, nine to five, been dealing with all this. So in my free time, other than podcasting, I've been introspecting, because it's kind of the only thing that's been grounding me. So yeah, but. Yeah, the past however many months he's been here, so it's been very difficult navigating this separation and trying to figure out what is the move, what are the next steps, and also like being at peace with your decision and moving forward and be as respectful as you can and, and being the bigger person as much as you can, lots of misunderstanding, but you know, you just keep pushing forward. You keep putting one foot from the other. And there were definitely times when I didn't know how I was going to get through it. How was I gonna make this next step? How was I gonna put myself forward? How was I gonna navigate all this stress while also not completely losing myself in the process? And I'll tell you. You tell yourself you deserve it. You tell yourself you have to do this. You tell yourself this is what's best for you because you have to choose you. Your happiness is the most important thing. You cannot sacrifice or suppress yourself, especially for someone else. Because that will, that will come back to bite you, no matter how much in denial you are, how much you choose to ignore it, no, no, no, no, no. The truth will always come forward. That is definitely, definitely some, some truth, some wisdom that I've learned. I'm okay, um, you know, I'm a badass, I'm strong, I'm also, I'm also okay and comfortable being vulnerable and sitting in my feels and being in my feelings. And I can tell you it was hard when he moved out, God, this is, this is finally here, I've been waiting for this for so many months, oh my gosh, so many weeks, we're finally at this moment, ah, I can't believe this is happening. And then the fact that that was like this past Sunday and then I had less than a week to get ready for Norway and then work was crazy, it has been projects upon projects and then being gone for a week, it's like, ugh, in the middle of all these projects, on top of all my personal life drama, so that's why I said, you know what, I need to be at peace. And that means the podcast has to take a beat. And here we are. I can tell you this though, the past few days, every day I get better and better. I feel more me, I feel more excited for what's to come. And my friend Maggie was over last night, or not last night, the night before last, and she told me, this is like your renaissance. You are getting to rediscover you. And, you know, one thing that I kept at the forefront of my mind in the beginning of this whole journey was, I, I, I found self love. I fell in love with me. I chose me and that journey. And I feel like that's why I'm able to do this. And that's what kind of makes me a little different than the rest is once this is all said and done. And we are very much in the process. I do feel like the worst is behind me because it's been freaking hard getting to this point. Emotionally, all the ways, all the ways. once this is all over, I'm not going to be lost in thinking, Okay, now who am I? I know who I am, and that's exciting. it's exciting to meet me, but fully me. You know what I mean? and I, I'm, I don't know, I can already feel the magic. I don't know, I'm just very, very excited. So when I get back from Norway, I am gonna move into this house, because yes, the house is now mine. I've refinanced it, it's all in my name. This house is mine. So when I get back from Norway, I am gonna be moving in, like, making it more my own, hanging my art, getting rugs, getting things to make it feel less empty. I'm going to full send into the speaking because, you know, I've been working on that content, so I can't wait to start pushing that out. I can't wait to dive right back into the podcast. And then there's improv. I'm also thinking about doing stand up comedy. Not sure how that's going to go, but I keep thinking about it and I'm intimidated by it. So that tells me that it's worth looking into. Because if I'm intimidated and insecure, like I wouldn't be good, it's cause I have self doubt. So, alright, let's go explore that. Not saying I'm gonna be the next Heather McMahon, or Jerry Seinfeld, but maybe I'm the next Elizabeth Cheney. Which isn't as funny saying that since there is a Liz Cheney, politician, but whatever, you get my point, you get my point. But the, the final words, the closing of this whole message that I want to give you, I will share more throughout the next few months as I navigate this, and, and not so much in the details of what went down, but just how do you choose you? how do you handle the emotional toll this takes? How do you build your life back together once it falls apart? I've said this before, but choosing yourself is incredibly hard, especially if you're a giver, like me. But I'm here to show you that it is possible. And you will make it out on the other side. I promise. And as I'm finally stepping out into the light, coming out of the tunnel, I am finally at the light. It's not even that I see the light at the end of the tunnel. I'm not quite out of the tunnel, because I actually have to, you know, we have to finish the paperwork and all that, but I am here. I can start to feel the heat from the sunshine. And I can say no matter how many times I broke, I felt crazy, I, I was overwhelmed, I didn't know how I was going to make it through, I can tell you it's worth it now being at this place and I have a feeling that as time continues on, as the weeks carry on, the months carry on, the year go by, the years go by. I'm gonna realize that feeling more and more and more and recognize This is what I had to do People grow apart Such as life And that's just the way it is we all have our own trauma Whether it's really really painful trauma dark trauma, or it's just everyone has their shit. Everyone's got something and I'm proud of me for sorting through mine and choosing me in the end. And I think there's beauty in that. So, thank you for staying with me, even though I have not been the best podcast host in my normal scheduling. I appreciate you all standing by me and holding on. And anytime I'd make a cryptic post, Oh, I'm going to talk more coming soon. Oh, is this, is this what's going on? I appreciate it. Um, and I'm excited. I still believe in my dreams. I still am ready to go take over the world. And I want to say something. I've mentioned this before, but obviously I've had to take some intermittent pauses on the podcast, uh, unplanned the past few months. And me, two years ago, would have been like, Oh my gosh, I'm gonna fail, I'm never gonna reach my goals and my dreams because, well, I'm not, I'm not doing a podcast every week. Look at that growth. I went, oof, I got major life shit going on. I gotta focus on this. The podcast is gonna be okay because, man, that's my baby. That's my dream. That's my goal. That's my ambition. All of that is not gonna go away. My ambition, my drive, my motivation. Hell no, that's what makes me, me. So, I'm gonna continue being a superpower and hopefully spreading that light and love to everyone who listens and anyone that I can, you know, get my, my blessings on. My light, my magic on. but. Thank you so much for joining me. Uh, I can't wait for next week, obviously, because of Norway, duh, but I'm really excited because me and Ashley and I are going to do a podcast episode in Norway. I bought these travel mics. I feel so up to speed, y'all. I feel so cool. Look at me. I am cool, calm, collected. She's a producer, the director, the talent, everything. I figured out how to do this remote recording with very minimum equipment, but it's still going to be top notch sound and quality. So, well, knock on wood. I haven't done it yet. So we're gonna, we're hoping, we're planning. That's the expectation. But after all the research and testing I've done, this should work out quite well. So, you will have an on site. Recording in Norway. How exciting is that? Um, but, make sure you're following me on Instagram so you can keep up with all the things in Norway. And then, when I get back, pshh, it is gonna be flying by the seat of our pants, but this time, in the best way. So, I hope you have a great week. I hope you choose you. And if you're going through it, my heart goes out to you. Just know that you can get through it. Baby steps. Sometimes we take two steps forward to take four steps back in our hard thing, but don't give up because I can promise you eventually those four steps back stop and you just continue to walk forward until you're in the light. And that's beautiful. Thank you so much. Uh, if you are not doing so already, you can follow me on Instagram at in dot between pod or my personal Elizabeth Cheney underscore, uh, definitely follow there for the Norway updates. And then you can follow me on YouTube at the in between podcasts as well as tick tock. This episode is not being filmed because, well, I have so much crap going on. I didn't have time to set up the whole thing, but at least you get to hear my beautiful voice. Okay. Well, without further ado. I'm gonna go drink some champagne and get ready for this flight and, you know, the little glimmer of Paris that I get to see. Maybe I'll do some Google flight trackers and try to find some cheap flights to Paris later this year because I don't know why I really want to go. I mean, that's how the Norway trip happened, so let's see, let's see. Anyways, I appreciate you, I love you. And I'll see you next time on an all new InBetween. I'm Elizabeth. Bye!