We Didn't Just Meet It We Exceeded

Sun on our faces, sand in our shoes, and a whole new standard for what family time can feel like. We just came back from a resort-and-ruins whirlwind and a cruise that forced us to unplug, and we’re talking about how travel rewired our kids’ expectations, our work rhythms, and our own sense of what a rich life looks like. From a first sip of bitter espresso to a virgin daiquiri on the beach, little moments sparked big conversations about taste, boundaries, and the kind of care we want our kids to expect from the world.

Mexico gave us more than tan lines. A day in a Mayan community and at Chichen Itza hit like a reset button, reminding us why we leave home: to be changed. Then came the cruise—the kind of old-school hospitality that makes you feel remembered—plus a near disaster when we almost drove to the wrong port. With no service at sea, we actually had to be present, and it felt like a gift. We came home, cracked a champagne bottle tied to a very specific goal, and celebrated beating our event target in the shortest month of the year. Ritualizing wins turned momentum into a habit.

All of that flowed into a bigger theme: this is the year of flow. Last year was discovery and surrender; this year we integrate. We’re choosing to put away the laptop when the family bucket needs filling, to trust that abundance expands when we stop gripping, and to let plans we made months ago finally land—like a Vegas trip lined up with a birthday and a JLo residency we’ve dreamed about since we were kids. We talk manifestation without fluff, the power of intentional planning, and why standards aren’t snobbery when they’re rooted in curiosity, care, and self-belief.

Press play for travel stories, honest laughs, and practical takeaways you can use to build a life that celebrates as it grows—one goal bottle, one memory, one flow-state decision at a time. If this resonates, subscribe, share with a friend who needs a nudge to plan their next memory, and leave a review to help more listeners find us.

Transcript

Barb 0:15

Episode 126.

Lyssa 0:20

Look at us. Brown. We're so brown. I want everyone. I'm going to post this video just so that way everyone can see how brown we are. Vacation sun was everything. It was the first day was more like vacation sunburn. Um but after that, it was just freaking fantastic, man. It was, it wasn't as hot as I wanted it to be. I'm going to be honest. But it was hot enough. Yeah. It was hotter than here. It was not Rochester. There was no snow on the ground. I touched sand and ocean water, and it was beautiful. I had a great time.

Resort Reality And Missing Margaritas

Barb 0:58

All right. Before we get into it, yes. What is in your cup? A margarita, baby. A seared and sacrum, margarita. Oh, yes. Um, salute for surviving two weeks apart. Two weeks apart. 270. And I love you. I love you. Mm-mm-mm. Oh shit. That's good. That's a good mark. So speaking of good marks, um, Mexico did not have good marks. Obviously, when you go to a resort, right, they're not giving you patron. They're not giving you the best of the best top shelf liquor. Yeah. And I'm not gonna pay extra for that because I don't really drink that much. Like I'm not gonna, it's not worth it to me, which is cool. Um, but it is always sad to go to a resort and not have like the bangin' margarita. Um, so grateful.

Lyssa 1:57

Um, mine was very much a family vacation. Um, and Darnell doesn't drink, so anytime I'm like, I don't want to drink alone, that just feels weird and a little sad. So um, so yeah, this was a a margless vacation, which I think I'm gonna say I didn't hate. Yeah, but you know, if I had a marg or two on the boat, I don't think I would have been that mad. Yeah. Um but saying it's all like extra and shit. So I was just like, no, I'm not gonna pay for that.

Barb 2:29

Your kid actually tried a margarita. I wanted the day. So Jeff ordered it.

Lyssa 2:34

You know, he wanted to make it so he drank some too, and he actually liked it, which I was like, well, I'm glad we tried again because we talked about that the last when he tried the first time and it was not good, and I was so sad, I was like, damn, I was never gonna give it another shape.

Kids, First Sips, And Standards

Barb 2:48

I and I tried it and I was like, this is okay. This is not a margarino. Um, but I could see how I would think that because I'm bougie now and he's a beginner novice. He's cute and he likes the lemon aid that they give him.

Lyssa 3:04

The lemon lime Kool-Aid.

Barb 3:05

Um, but yeah, so she was like, Oh, can I try? Can I try? And I'm like, what the hell? One step, right? Yeah, come on. It's not like you're gonna be like, this is delicious, and I'm gonna get into the rest of it. No, she took one step and damn nearly passed out.

Raising Worldly Kids Through Travel

Lyssa 3:20

Oh my god, that tastes like medicine. I honestly think, you know, I think that's a good thing. Yeah. If you let them try it early enough, they actually won't like it. And then it can delay them actually drinking. So I don't think that's a terrible thing at all. It's kind of funny. Your son had a similar experience. Um, Darnell went and got like a very basic um like latte, um, like no sugar, no nothing. It was just like straight latte. So it was nothing but espresso, and there was no sweetener or anything in it. And he was just like, I want to try it, I want to try it. And I was just like, okay, go ahead, try it. It's like basically just straight espresso um in almond milk. And uh yeah, he he took one sip and he was like, that was the most disgusting thing I've ever tasted in my life. I thought this for that real though. And I was like, good, I don't want you to pick up a coffee habit. So tell me that you don't like it. Good. Don't keep keep not liking it. Right. You know, I'm not gonna be mad at that. That's hilarious. These kids, they have high S standards. That's what this vacation told me. 100%. Like, wow, do you have a standard for life? And like, go you.

Barb 4:28

I'm proud of us. They are, they are rich kids. And sometimes I'm like, I don't even know how you are a rich kid because I'm not rich. We're not rich, but like you is acting real rich. Real rich, if you know what I mean.

Mexico Deep Dive And Chichen Itza

Lyssa 4:41

Oh yeah, oh yeah. It's just the it was the standard. It was the okay, well, let's do this, and now we're gonna do this, and now we're gonna do this. And he was just jumping around and touching everything, and like, I just want to go to this store and that store, and then we can go here and we can go there. And I was just like, you're not wrong. And like, can't we just sit? Like, can't we just lay? Can't we just relax, you know? And he was just not about that on this vacation, and it's because there was just so much to do, so much to see, and he just wanted to be like in it and he wanted to be immersed. And um I loved it. It was it was super cute, but it definitely was like I had that moment where I sat back and I was just like, now if I try to go to Chuck E. Cheese after this, you know, like are you going to be blown away? I'm gonna say no. I think I just raised your standard by doing this whole trip to Miami and then this cruise to the Bahamas. And, you know, that hospitality on cruises are like next level hospitality. So to feel waited on and to feel wined and dined and to have these people remember your name, right? Like, I know that that imprinted on him like so hard that I'm like, fuck, what is this next one gonna be? Because like we can't just like go do anything like little anymore. I feel like he's gonna be like, um, where's the wait staff? Yeah you know, where where's the dinner? We're supposed to go to dinner every night at five o'clock and have a four-course meal and all this stuff. Um, but I did. I I had that moment where I was just like, our kids are bougie. I saw all the pictures that she was posting where her little drinks on the beach and like all, and I was just like, okay, ma'am. Okay, ma'am, which are a little slushy.

Barb 6:21

Strawberry daiquiri, uh virgin, obviously, but those were she those were the hit, this resort. Right. And like she's been to multiple now. And I just we are giving them a life that we never had. Yeah. I didn't leave the country until I was 30 something. What we were 32. Yeah. It was like for your birthday one year. And I was blown away, right? We were blown away. We were like, holy shit, we've been missing out this whole time. And now we are passing that on. We are letting them, not letting them, we are curating experiences where they can enjoy that too. And that's gonna change their lives because there was so much to see. There was so much for him to intake and learn and ingest that that love of travel, right? It's it's gonna be there. I don't ever want you to fear wandering through this world because you're so it's supposed to live. Yeah, this is the world we live in, and I just don't want you in this one little location, this one little town. I want you to go out and like see, experience, and be a part of the larger world. Yeah.

Lyssa 7:36

And we're doing that for them in a real bougie, obviously. Again, like we said, high standards. But like you said, what that is exactly what we're doing. We are planting that seed for them. We are showing them that the world is much greater than Rochester. And that was just not something that we had as kids. And it wasn't really something that I I was even like piecing together as we were doing this, you know. It was just in that moment where I was like, he is in love with this vacation. Like, he is loving every moment of all the things that there are to do. And I was like, this love is just it's going to expand and it's gonna keep growing, and it's it's planting a seed in him that I know he's now gonna have this standard for life. And I'm never gonna apologize for raising my son with standards. That's that's not something to be apologetic about, it's not something to feel bad about. And I'm I'm really grateful that we get to give them this life because it's gonna be a really great life, and they're gonna be really cool adults, and they're gonna want for big things in their life, and you should want that. You should want for more, you should want to go big, you should dream big, you should believe that you can have anything that you want to have. And I'm planting that seed for you right now, you know, at nine and fourteen, and I think that's really cool. I'm excited to see how how it grows and and evolves with them. Um, and I'm also really glad to be done with our family vacation.

Two Weeks Apart And Missing Each Other

Barb 9:05

Girl, let's talk about it. Girl. So I left first. Yeah. I left um about six, five or six days before you left. Um, and it was great, right? The trip down to Mexico, the flights, we're all excited. It's beautiful. The sun is shining, the waves are waving, you know. Paint the picture, the birds are cook on. And it was great. We the resort was huge, right? There's so much to explore, so much to see, so much food to eat. You know. Um, by day four, the resort definitely wore off. And it was like, how much longer do we have here? Why'd we book this so long? We don't, we're not going home yet. No. Um, but day five for me was very exciting. We had our excursion day where we got to tour a Mayan community. We went to Chichenitsa, and that was cool, right? Immersing them in a different culture, in a different learning. We explored old ruins and pyramids, and that like it still gives me gooseies. Yeah, I think I am forever changed. I'm always gonna talk about it. I'm that person now, and that's okay because I paid a lot of money to be that person. So I'm gonna be that fucking person. I had to save for a lot of time and I paid a lot of money to become this. Yeah. And that was fun because it gave us right a day away from the resort. And then the next day we came back to another day. And I'm like, no, no, we gotta, I can't look at you anymore. I need a break. I need to be in the most loving, I love you. I'm so happy that we did this. Yeah, you're still here in this little hotel room with me.

Cruise Chaos Averted And Unplugging

Lyssa 10:57

Okay, okay. It was just so long for us to be apart. So while you are living your best life and getting cultured and brown in Mexico, I was still up here getting things ready for us to leave, doing our taxes and answering emails and and just kind of getting things all um all together. And it was just like this moment where I was like, we've been apart for so long. And at that point it was probably like 12 hours. Um but I was just like, oh my God, like this is just going on forever. And then it really just started as something that I thought was funny to post. Like, how many hours have we been apart? You know, so I started with like eight, and then I was like 12, and like all these like little numbers. And as I kept doing it though, it made me think about when is the last time we've been apart this long? And it was literally a decade. It has been a decade since we have gone 12 days without seeing each other. Um and that was it was rough, but it was like a little twist for me because you know, you left first, so like I'm just home. I'm chilling, I'm working, I'm missing you, I'm making all these posts or whatever. And I had to leave the day before you came back home. So we were just two ships passing in the night. And I did, like, it was that switch of like when I got on the plane and I knew that you were home, like you landed and I'm gone. And that's like that for me was the switch where I was like, I'm sad. Like I'm I'm the saddest. And like I can't be sad because I'm starting my vacation. I'm supposed to be so happy. And instead, I'm like, but she's at home now. She's where I've been for the last seven days, and like she wasn't there and now she's there. Like, why am I leaving? Um, so it was like a little bit of a rough start because I was like, damn, I miss her. Like I just started my vacation missing you so hard. Um, but the vacation was great. We we went to Miami. Um, that's where we were leaving out of, and we were there for about three days before we had to actually get on the boat. Um, fun story. Literally, the morning that we had to get on the boat, um, I found out that we were actually gonna go to the wrong port. Yeah. No. It could it could have been so bad. We could have missed the boat. Um, but luckily I noticed it just in time. Thank you, Universe. Um, and we ended up getting to the right port and getting there in time and doing all the things. But can you imagine if you had to like wave the boat goodbye on land because it sailed away?

SPEAKER_02 13:33

That would be devastating.

Family Memories And Transportation Vacation

Lyssa 13:36

I sat there, I looked at it, I looked at our boarding pass like four times and I was like, no, that's a different port. Like, I I made all these plans. I even booked like a we had a car, so I booked a garage for the car that was next to the other port and like all the stuff. There's so there was port Miami and then there's Port Fort Lauderdale that are literally like right next to each other. And I don't know, everything that we've been doing was in Miami. I'm doing all the stuff in Miami. I booked the Airbnb in Miami, we flew into Miami, so like in my head, I'm going to Miami. Um, so I did all of the things for us to do Port Miami, and it was literally us getting ready, packing our stuff. We're about to head out and leave for this port. And I just looked at, I happened to look at the boarding pass one more time and I saw that it said port Fort Lauderdale, and I was like, hmm. I I've been doing everything to port Miami. What, like, what's going on? So like I immediately called my dad because he lives in Miami. And uh, and I was like, are there two ports? Like, I was like, I just looked at my boarding pass again and I was like, and it says Port Fort Lauderdale, not Port Miami. Like, is that the same? Like blah, blah, blah. And he was like, Yeah, no, those are two completely separate ports. Like, you need to figure out which one. So I had to go to this whole thing. Um, and yeah, that was that was a fun start to the to the vacation. Um, but we did. We got there. Um, we got on, you know, on the boat, and there was just so much excitement. I think we were on the boat for maybe like 14 minutes before Oliver was in the pool. It took 14 minutes, and that was only because I made it take 14 minutes. I was like, can we just like walk around? I want to see stuff. We have to get towels, you know, like change. We gotta do all the things first. Um, but it really was not, it was not long until we till we got in there. Um and then, yeah, and then we're in the middle of the sea. So like I couldn't really like talk to you. Um, I had like a few messages like back and forth in the morning, but for the most part, you know, cellular at sea is not really a thing. Reliable source. It's not a reliable source. Uh, there was no towers or anything in there. Um, so you know, we were good in in Miami for the few days. Um, and then onto the boat. And it was nice. Like it, it truly was uh an unplugging, you know, because again, our phones didn't work. We had we couldn't do anything. So it was just this real like family moment. Um, and I felt like it was really fitting as we just kind of wrapped up our cohabitation and now we're like officially living together um and doing the whole family thing. It was just like a really nice way to cement that in, to like integrate it and uh and celebrate and like do all these things as like this cutie little family. Yeah. Um, so I did, I loved it, and then we had to get off the boat like super early. Um, so we did that for three days, and then we had to get off the boat super early, so then I had like a full day in Miami, and then that's when I like felt it again. I was like, but she's home. So like I could go home now, but there was no way in hell I was gonna be on a boat for three days and then immediately get on a plane. Good for you. Um, and so you know, we chilled in Miami for one more night and then we came, we came back. Um, and that was it was really cool. I actually deemed the vacation a transportation vacation um because we just took so many modes of transportation. Like we took a plane and then we had to hunt the car, and we were just cruising around Miami in our car, and then we got on a boat, and then we had to take a train to get to the certain uh thing. So it was just like we took all these different modes of like transportation, and we just we traveled around Miami, we traveled around the Bahamas, we, you know, got to do the little private island that they have in the Bahamas too, and I don't know. We it was just a lot of fun, like we just really had like a quintessential like family vacation. Um, and I feel like we kind of just cemented that in for ourselves. Um, and so like I love that. I I love having that memory. I love that we created that memory together. It was very intentional. Um, and you know, I wrote about it in my journal. And you know, it was it was great, and then I got to see you again after 278 hours apart, and I was whole again.

Barb 17:43

I see it. I've never been so excited to go to the airport in my life. Um, it was it was a long time. It was a long time. We, you know, just said it we haven't spent that much time apart in a long time. Yeah. And it needed to be done, right? We had to pour into separate cups. Yep. And now in one week's time, yeah, we get to pour into our cups because like I know that we spent all day together yesterday. Yeah. We had a start time of nine o'clock. We didn't leave each other's side until like it was 11, 10:30, 11. And I fucking miss you still. I still miss you. Um, but we get to jump on a plane and go on our own adventure with different modes of transportation and have an experience, have a curated moment, have a celebration for so many things together. Yeah. And and I can't wait.

unknown 18:52

Yeah.

Back To Work And Goals Hit Early

Lyssa 18:52

And I think that's what it was. It was just like this whole time where I was like, I was able to really like, I don't want to say like compartmentalize, but it was again, it's that intentionality. I was able to know that like I am here in this moment with these people because I'm building this core memory, like I'm filling this particular bucket in this moment, and that's okay because I am going to go and do these other things and have these other moments, and you know, knowing that we were going to have time together, knowing that I'm doing all of this, and mixed in is a girls' trip. Mixed in is a moment for just me and you, and that time will come. Like we have these times and places for all the things because we want to be all the things, we are all the things, and it's possible if you plan it out, you know. So we did. We we filled our family bucket, we gave the time and attention that that it deserves, and we're filled up, and now we get to go have a girl's trip. And like, and I love that. And then after our girls' trip, we get to go and have like a family trip. Like, we just get to check all the boxes, and I made all the boxes, so I get to be in all the boxes, I get to enjoy all the boxes, and that's my favorite part, honestly, is that I in fact gets enjoy every single box that I planned because what a flex that is. It is, it really is. Um, but yeah, I want to circle back to what's coming up next, baby, because we are we're home and we're together again. Life is good. We were together all day yesterday because work is crazy. We have what is it, five events in four days? One, two, three, four, five. Yeah. So five events in four days, knocking that shit out. Then we got like two days of meetings that we squeezed in, and then we get to hop on a plane. And we get to go to Vegas.

Champagne Rituals And Exceeding Targets

Barb 20:45

So, first part of the story is our crazy weekend, right? February has been a quiet month in the beginning. It's just the nature of where we live, celebrations. It's cold, it's dark, it's gloomy, no one wants to have fun. It's fine. Um, but this weekend turned out to be the weekend of all the celebrating here in Rochester. For real. And we uh accomplished a goal we sure did that we set for ourselves in the beginning of the year. So as we were planning for the year and getting ready, we we have goals. How can we reach our dreams if we don't have goals? Um and what was really exciting about this goal was that Kelsey, our blog writer, actually gifted us these champagne bottles. And she was very intentional with telling us like you every b each bottle gets its own goal. And when you reach that goal, you get to open this bottle and celebrate, right? 2026 is the year of more celebrations because of course I know I can reach any goal. I have shown that already. What I haven't shown is that I can celebrate each goal that I get. And this bottle, this intention that was that she gifted to us was that a celebration moment. Um, so our goal was to reach or to host three parties at Slate where it had a full decor package along with the space. And how many did we reach this second month of the year? Four. Four. Four of them. So we exceeded our goal in the shortest month of the year. We exceeded. And in the shortest, and I didn't put that together until Erica shared it with us. I was like, wait a minute, it is the shortest month of the year. I'm missing out on four, three to four days of a potential party. And I still met and exceeded the goal. And now it is the weekend that we get to do the goal, right? It is here and we're starting off with a wedding, and then it's got just we have a whole slew of things that we're celebrating in the space. And I'm so excited. I'm so excited because I spent the last two weeks away from you, and now we're back doing what we love to do, what we what sets us on fire. Yeah. And I get to know that we crushed a fucking goal, and I get to know that we opened that bottle of champagne and we had ourselves a night. Yeah, we did. And we have all of this celebration poured into this weekend because of this weekend. We have celebrated already.

Lyssa 23:33

Yeah.

Vegas Bound And Birthday Magic

Barb 23:34

And now the lit, like icing, the final icing on the cake is that we get to jump on a plane and go to Vegas for five days and have ourselves an amazing time. I get to celebrate my 37th year of life because that is what prompted this. Um and on the day of my birth, I get to, I'm gonna start crying. Okay, don't I get to watch someone on stage that I've watched since I was little, yeah, that I have looked up to because she comes from a similar background because she has been a role model of what I could be. Yeah.

Manifesting JLo And First-Night Energy

Lyssa 24:23

And I can't what? Yeah, yeah. No, there it was something again. We we did it so far in advance, you know, like we just had it planned, we knew what we wanted, and the attention was just always there. And it is so amazing to me the way the universe just serves. Like it just serves. If you can surrender, the universe will serve you. And we knew about this concert, right? So you we obviously follow JLo. Duh. Um, so we follow her. We knew that the residency was in Vegas, and you had noticed that she was beginning her residency again on your birthday, right? So what a sign. What a sign. On the sixth, it was her first album. Now she's gonna go here. She's gonna go to Vegas to start her residency on the sixth. And guess what? The love of my life was born on the sixth. Okay, so like these are not coincidences. Um, so we did know that this was happening, and we immediately were like, oh my God, like we have to do this. It feels like the right time. If not now, then when? When will we see her? Exactly. So this was just like hands down, we gotta do it. And then there was a roller coaster because then we had all these events and these things were kind of coming in, and we were like, fuck, maybe we can't do this. Like, we're not gonna be able to go away for your birthday. Like, this weekend is gonna be jam-packed, all this stuff. And so we like moved it. We were gonna go like the next week, and we were like, it's okay. It doesn't have to be on your birthday, blah, blah, blah. You know, like we were just talking ourselves up and trying to be okay with the fact that we were gonna go on the 14th. That was not the name of her first album. No, it was it was my birthday, you know? That's not your birthday. Like, this is not working out, but we were just trying so hard to just be grateful, grateful that we were gonna go anyways. And we did, we poured into that gratitude, and the universe served. Everything that was going to happen that weekend, which was multiple things, it was kind of crazy. They all dissolved. They all just went away on their own. And it opened the weekend back up. And we were just like, no, this is meant to be, right? This would not have happened this way if this was not meant to be this way. And we did. We booked it like in August. It was like July or August. Like we've been sitting on this for months, baby, like months, and it's happening. We are finally one week away from seeing someone that we have watched behind a screen since we were children. And like you said, someone that we've just we have admired. I I can understand where you came from. I'm gonna flex. She has my name and my birthday. I'm connected to you. We are the same. That is Titi J Lo. She has always been Titi J Lo. That's true. We have episodes talking about it. And now I am going to go watch you in person. I'm gonna be able to see you with my own two eyes and not behind. There's no screen in between us. I'm gonna see you. I'm gonna watch you do what you do, something that I've admired you doing your entire career. And now I get to like experience that. I get to feel that energy, right? Like we've been tapping into ourselves and our energies, and I know that the energy inside of that fucking concert is just gonna be next level. I'm gonna cry. Let's just say it. Let's just say it now. I'm gonna cry. I think I am too. And I'm I'm a little bit mad about it. I'm alive because I get mad when I see people do that. I'm like, sh chill. Like they still shit in a toilet, you know? Like, chill out. And I'm gonna cry. Just putting it out there. Put my business out there. Because I don't know, man. I I might die. And going into those feelings again, we are big manifestors. We're we just we want the universe to serve. And I've been saying it from the beginning: there's gonna be something at this show. It's the first show. You're starting it back up again. The first night, there's going to be something. I'm manifesting a guest star, but I'm not picky. Well, except what do you think this top? Whatever it is that you want to do. I heard there's a new song, which means I'm gonna see, I'm gonna see you perform a new song that you have not performed. I'm gonna be the first one to see you perform this song. Holy shit, I didn't even think about that. Locked in it. I'm gonna be one of the first people to see you perform that song. And like, I can't wait. And if that's it, then that's cool. But if there's a guest star, I'm not gonna be mad. Not gonna be mad at Black. I'm not gonna be mad at all.

Year In Review: From Discovery To Flow

Barb 29:00

So I went back and I listened to my birthday episode last year. Juicy. Um, this is 37, or I'm sorry, this is 36. Yeah. And it's the love of her album. Yes. Um and it, I, my intention, my word, it was discovery. This was the year of discovery for me. Um, and while did 36 lead to a discovery, yeah. I I I look back now, right? We're very reflective with birthdays and anniversaries and these these milestone moments where you can take a pause to look back at everything you've done and maybe set something else for the future. Um, so I was doing that. And I, when we started the podcast, we we've been doing this right now. It's documented and we're able to go back and listen. And the journey that we have been on is so beautiful, right? From vulnerability to discovery to growth to shedding to all the things that we sit here and we share with the whole wide world. Um it's it's an amazing journey. I have an amazing life. I I wouldn't change it for anything because I love where I am now. Um so this year, this intention, 37, I have written in my journal. So I've already claimed it. This is the year of flow. I learned myself. I learned this new version last year. I learned new things. I mean, I continue to learn new things. Yeah. Um, but we, you know, we've had many episodes of cannonballing into new situations. Every time we do that, I learn something new about myself. I learned that I like Reiki. I learned that I like this. And now I can integrate those into this person right now that wasn't the person before, but it is now. And 37 has already shown right this. If you just flow, yeah, the universe will provide. The universe will give us and holy shit, it has given.

Lyssa 31:20

Yeah.

Barb 31:21

And it's only February, it's not even done being February. We're currently still in it. And flowing and just knowing that all of these vacations that we lined up for ourselves, all of these intentional moments to stop and celebrate, that's all part of the flow. I cannot flow completely if I do not pause to take a break.

SPEAKER_02 31:45

Yeah.

Surrender, Phoenix Energy, And Abundance

Barb 31:45

Like my intention for this year was, or to pause to spend with family and maybe no, we got to put that laptop away. I know you really like working, right? Because when you love what you do, it's not work. That part. And you have to put it away because this bucket needs attention, and maybe you need to go away. And Jeff and I had after Mexico our own little getaway together to fill into that cup. Yeah. The the flow. I'm no longer gonna fight it. Yeah, this is my ideal life. I have reached the promised land, if you will, knowing that so much more to learn. Yeah. And I've I've done it. I have changed myself. I have arrived to a place of self-love on the inside and an understanding that I know where I'm going, right? With every meditation, with every visualization that we do, with every every time I go into the future and I see this woman that I'm going to be, this wise old lady with the crazy hair and the flowy clothes, I can see what I'm going to become. So now I can just flow to her because I don't have to question what she is or who she is and what she likes. I know because in some universe, I am her already. So I'm just gonna I'm gonna flow. I love that. I'm gonna flow for 37. That's very beautiful.

Intentional Buckets And What Comes Next

Lyssa 33:22

I can't wait to flow with you. That's gonna be awesome. I I do. I think that is the year, and there's a few more months until I listen to mine and and we kind of do this all over again. But I see that as well, right? This this last episode about our goddess gathering and leaning into that. And I've been, you know, I've been seeing more things and getting, I saw this reading. Um, and I think that this, you know, year of the fire horse is is gonna be big. Everything is telling me and the universe is telling me that I am a phoenix, and I did. I burned my life down, and this is the year that I rise back, and I'm really excited for that. I don't want to fight that. I think that we try to control it, and I remember my word last year was surrender, and I can feel that. I can feel how I have surrendered and allowed the universe to bring me exactly what I need when I need it, and not fight that, not not fight the flow. So I love it. I can't, I genuinely can't wait to see what unfolds for us this year. It's crazy because, like you said, we are in February, like we we are less than two full months into 2026, and holy fucking shit. Holy shit, our lives are just on such a rise, and I'm I'm not gonna be scared of the fall. I'm not gonna be scared for anything to be taken away. I think that's like a big thing, right? When you have more to lose, and I think that's definitely where we're at. Like, I just feel like I have so much I'm so abundant in this moment, and that can sometimes bring on the anxiety of like the more you have, the more you have to lose. Um but like you said, all these meditations and visualizations and looking into my future, I am only more and more abundant. So like I don't have to worry about losing anything. If something were to lose, like then that means I was never meant for me to have. So I'm just gonna continue to flow right along my side of my girl because we have built a really amazing life, a really amazing business, a really amazing podcast. And I'm I'm excited to just keep pouring into these buckets, keep pouring into who Barlisa is and how Barlisa wants to serve this world and allow the world to just serve us back because it's a great life.

Barb 36:02

I love that. So the next time we get on these mics, yeah, we are going to be different. I think every time we get on the mics, we're different. Every time we experience something, right? Yeah, it's classic, Barley. Um, but more so I'm hoping that we can record in Vegas. Yeah. But if not, we'll see. But either way, going to Vegas is going to change us. Yeah. Seeing Duty J Lo on stage, I don't care what hater has to say. No. It's gonna change us. Yeah. Um being together for five days is going to change us because those times are so infrequent. And I don't count work because work is work and fun is fun, and they're different. And yes, work can be fun, but it's just different. It's different. And we we're gonna be different, right? By that point, we would be checking off three other boxes that we intentionally curated for ourselves, and Vegas is the fourth. Yeah, and it's gonna be a wild ride because it's Vegas. How can it not be? Um, so I'm excited. Yeah, I am just excited to be there. It's an honor. I am honored that I got to pay for that ticket to watch that woman on stage. And I I'm excited to live it. Yeah, and I'm excited to process it. And I'm just excited. We excited. I don't know. That's all I got. Selena said it all.

Gratitude, Change, And Sign-Off CTA

Lyssa 37:48

I think that this is the perfect place to love and leave, our friends. Um, because I agree, and I don't think we could say it any better than that. So this is the part where you guys are gonna do all the things. You're gonna like and follow and subscribe. You can follow us on Instagram and YouTube at Mark's and Mindset Podcast. And if you're local to the ROC and you want to party with us at Homemade Events ROC. Until next time. Bye.

Barb 38:14

Let's go listen to JLo music. I want to listen.