Kristin Gulitz-Nurse to Hapa Homecooking

The local instragram legend herself, @hapahomecooking, Kristin Gulitz!

From nurse, a mom of 2 and just fascintating to talk to. Take a listen and follow Kristin and get to know just how COOL  she is....

https://www.facebook.com/hapahomecooking/

https://www.instagram.com/hapahomecooking/

https://www.hapahomecooking.com/

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Barbara Light, the main street maps for the Bay Run Five. All right. These are the voices. These are their stories. Voices of Annapolis. Dive in. All right. Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for coming back to Voices of Annapolis. This is Kelly Bell with the Bell House Catering.

SPEAKER_02 0:17

And Gretcha Morin with Glen Air Square.

SPEAKER_01 0:19

And I still have no voice, Kelly. Still have no voice. I know. Yesterday was tough for you, so it's going to be another quiet one for you.

SPEAKER_02 0:25

Did we talk yesterday about the Google Doctor's recommendations that I don't talk?

SPEAKER_01 0:30

Yes, it did.

SPEAKER_02 0:30

So I went on a field trip this morning and I had a blast and talked the entire time, which is probably why I feel like you know poo now. But I was over at the Fairmont Hotel in DC and um Current Solutions br uh Brendan Jackson from Curr Solutions Equipment Manuf uh equipment uh supplier, retailer, um, that we're gonna actually interview later this month, took me over there for a field trip to the Fairmont, and I got to go into their pastry kitchen, which is the kitchen is making me jealous. Oh my gosh. And Lindsay, their pastry chef, was so adorable. She she gave me some gingerbread to roll roll through the because I was going over to to check out the doe, their dough sheeter. It's a dream. It's absolutely and it's and it's so lovely because it's on wheels and it folds up, so it's mobile. So in you know, our kitchen when we finally have it, I'll be able to pull it out, set it up when you need it, put it away when we don't need it. Um, it's quite delightful and it was well worth the trip. And I'm sorry you missed it because it was so much. All it would do is make me jealous. I would be coveting it. I got crumb brulee for breakfast. And she sent me home with a with a Fairmont chocolate bar. So it was it was well worth the DC drive.

SPEAKER_01 1:44

Ooh, yeah, no, a dough sheeter would be so heavenly. Rolling out high dough is a pain in the butt.

SPEAKER_02 1:50

Still, I asked Lindsay what piece of equipment she would never give up. And first thing she said was, She has this chocolate machine. Oh, yeah. Temper temper. A chocolate temper. She said that's number one. And then number two, she was like, make sure you have a blast chiller. Blast chiller, she said she in the firma, as big as their kitchens are, they don't have blast chillers, and she's like, I really miss my blast chiller.

SPEAKER_01 2:17

Yeah, I will say when we're doing anything um sugar confectionery, the freezer is my is my best friend because you can't it if not, it takes everything takes twice as long. Yep, that's exactly what she said. I don't have the patience for it. So, and chocolate is just one of those things that I can't in the summertime, I can't mess with. I can't do macrons in the in the in the summertime it's too hot.

SPEAKER_02 2:37

It's too hot. And she has she can do it. They don't, I was surprised they don't have a temper room either. Um she can do her molds and then put them in the blast chiller and they're ready in 30 minutes.

SPEAKER_01 2:48

Yeah, no, it's it's the blast chillers, they're expansive, they're pricey. We can dream. I know we can. It one day, one day. One day, one day. Uh speaking of cooking, we have uh a uh guest today who kind of went from nurse to like social media, local social media celebrity in the area, um, and kind of based it around like cooking and then did some other things and sort of is kind of I can't wait to meet her. This is your friend, so please introduce her to me. Kristen, yay! From Hoppe Hung Cooking! Hello, yes, hi Kristen.

SPEAKER_00 3:25

How are you? I'm great, I'm so happy to be here.

SPEAKER_01 3:27

Yeah, we're like social media friends. Like it's you know, you start following people, and then it's like, oh my god, that was great. What did you how where'd you get that? Or you know, kind of back and forth, sort of like with basil, garlic rosemary. Um I love following your friend, you're real, you're you're like, I think you're bestie because she's always in your videos. Uh her her name is but her kids are so stinking cute. Ruth. Yes, Ruth. Yes, Inspire Family. Yes, Inspired Families. Yep, yep. So cute. Um, and so we I needed to have you on because I just love your little story. I just love based on what I've noticed on social media, and it's amazing how you know you know, you you have 10,000 followers and you just hit 10,000.

SPEAKER_00 4:08

Yes, last week hit 10k, which is a huge kind of ceiling. It kind of puts you into the next category online when you're you know looking at working with different partners and things. So I had been at 9,000 for two years.

SPEAKER_01 4:22

Yeah, it's just it's the the Instagram thing. I'll go from like Instagram doesn't grow as fast as Facebook. Um, I have more Facebook files. I mean, I'm still guys, I'm still like 2,000. Like that's feeling it's not great. Um, but uh it's hard. The Instagram is really hard to get followers because they will climb on and then they drop off.

SPEAKER_00 4:41

So were you at like 999.99 for like for like I was between 9,500 and 9800 for the longest time. And um just in the past month or so, I really put my foot down and said, okay, I'm going to grind it out. I'm gonna be super consistent, I'm gonna post a ton, create a lot of content, lose a little bit of sleep, but it paid off because now I'm feeling like some traction and I have some really fun projects, so it's just nice to see us get over that hum.

SPEAKER_01 5:12

Yeah, and we're gonna come back to that because I definitely want to touch on the intensity of what it takes to actually post on social media, and because Gretchen is not a social media person at all. Um, I'm trying she does she is a Canva queen. I can't, I I can't figure out Canva. It I want to throw my computer and my phone every time I go to use it. I don't know why I can't get this program to work for me. Um, so I do make her do the social media post because she she can work very well.

SPEAKER_02 5:40

But I do everything behind the scenes. I use Medic Business Suite and aggregates to put push things out because for my own personal health, I refuse to be a social media follower. Um, which you know doesn't help uh, you know, when you're trying to to leverage social media for your business, but um yeah, it's it's it's an interesting balance.

SPEAKER_01 6:03

But this is why I love Kristen and the people that like, you know, you guys, the the whole like community in the area that are like the social media people, you're so positive. Everything about you is positive. So it's like it's really lovely. What I don't like is when you know you get social media and it's like they're pushing all that stuff on social media, which I just found out that you have you can follow just your followers or you can follow like all the things. I just literally found that out.

SPEAKER_02 6:27

I'm like I think even if you're following your followers, that you still get you still get ads.

SPEAKER_01 6:30

Oh bummer, so you get ads. Well, anywho, so talk to us, Kristen, because you you didn't you weren't always the 10,000 social media Instagram queen that you are today.

SPEAKER_00 6:42

Uh you are you're a nurse. Yeah, I am still working as a nurse. Yep. I've been a nurse for 13 years, so I'm kind of a a bit of a seasoned nurse, if you will. Um, but yeah, it it's so different because I have my nursing brain, which is very analytical, and like quote unquote my day job, and then I have my online creative side of me. And so it's great that I can, you know, really exercise both sides of my brain and fill my cup that way.

SPEAKER_01 7:13

It takes a lot of effort because there is a difference between analytical and creative, and the fact that you can be able to do both is fascinating to me because you know I have the creative and I have more of a I'm a very linear thinker, scientific thinker, like a cause and effect sort of situation. But when it comes to the I just don't have the momentum to like I I don't want to be in front of look at me, I cannot be on photos. I cannot. I look like I'm a hot mess. This is how I am all the time.

SPEAKER_00 7:39

But that's what people like. They they want to get a glimpse into your daily life. Do they? They do, they do. Like I was just in your kitchen seeing your team work, and I want to hang out in your kitchen and shoot content with you. Like, I just think it's so cool. Show me the ways, Kristen. Honestly, let's go after the podcast. Let's get in the kitchen. I have some time. All right, great. Yeah, people want to see your life kind of unedited and unfiltered because there's so much polished content out there that to just be yourself is enough. And people don't realize that and they get so nervous about putting themselves out there. But there is an audience and there's a community for everybody.

SPEAKER_02 8:14

No, that's very nice to say. So talk a little bit about um it's Hapa Home Cooking Cooking. So talk about like what what was the content you started with and how have you branched out?

SPEAKER_00 8:25

So I will tell you the origin story of Hapa Home Cooking. I don't know that I've told the full origin story. Yeah, it it's it's been a minute. So, all right, I'm gonna take you back to um the spring of or winter of 2018. 2018. 2018. I had just gotten married. Uh I went on my very first ski trip in Vermont, and on the second day of skiing, on the first run, I crashed and tore my ACL. Oh yes, it was just terrible. So I was a newlywed living in Baltimore City, working up at Johns Hopkins, and it was like my whole life just got turned upside down because I worked at a really, really high uh intensity uh ICU job, and then everything just came to a halt. I was on crutches, I was um uh looking at a surgery and all of this. So what happened was um while I was out of work and I ended up being out of work for six months. Oh my god, I had a really long rehab process, um, I started just kind of putting my videos on my social media, my personal Instagram, just showing people what I was cooking because I really had nothing else going on besides rehabbing my knee and just kind of being at home. And then I was like, huh, people seem to really like what I'm doing. They're asking me for the recipes or asking me for kitchen tips or how to use certain ingredients, and my wheels got turning. And I thought maybe I could just like try this as a side hustle. And I feel like this was kind of around the time when people were like getting into creator mindset, getting into food influencers online, and then it took me an entire like year and a half to actually get the guts to launch it because even though I'm an extroverted person, it's so outside my comfort zone to just be on the internet and put yourself out there because it's forever, it's forever. Anybody can criticize you, anyone can say things on the internet, and so you have to be prepared that you're putting yourself out there, and whatever comes will come. Um, granted, I'm able to keep a really positive community. Um, but the fear was there, and so I did a little branding shoot. I had this whole plan of how I was gonna launch myself, and then on my 30th birthday, I decided to launch Oppa Home Cooking, and I was like, okay, this is gonna be a food blog, and that was my initial intention, and then through the last where are we now, like almost seven years, so six and a half, seven years. It has turned into just following me through all these seasons in life, and I have grown this community, and people have found me during the different seasons, and they've just become invested in our family and our story. Um, and it's just become a wonderful creative outlet for me, and I have met the best people through it, both in Annapolis and then like through the interwebs, met amazing, amazing people.

SPEAKER_01 11:13

I hopped on or I found you during your first child during the it during the uh in vitro process. That was wild. Like to watch, like not I had trouble getting pregnant with both of my children. Um, but it was not but I ended up I was ended up being gonna have like a natural pregnancy, but to watch what you went through was insane. Like it was like she's like, here's my drugs, and it's like a full kitchen cabinet of everything.

SPEAKER_00 11:45

Here's my entire bruised abdomen, here's all the early blood draws, all of the appointments. And I didn't initially think I was gonna share about our infertility journey and trying to conceive because there's just so much unknown through the process, and I think the biggest misconception about IVF that people don't realize is that nothing in it is guaranteed. So you are putting tens of thousands of dollars, your body through all the stress, your work-life balance, you know, having to make all these appointments, and you could walk away without a baby a hundred percent. And it wasn't until after I want to say my second or third miscarriage that I opened up about what we were going through because I felt this need to help people that were going through it as well, have somebody that they could relate to, that they could bounce, you know, their experience off of if I could support them. And coming from a position of being a nurse, I felt like I was able to share about it in a way that made it a lot less daunting for people and less scary. Just it's it's awful time if you're going through it. Um, so to find your people is just really powerful. Um, and so people followed us through. I had a total of five miscarriages, and Henry was um my sixth pregnancy. Um, so everyone was with me through the lows and then the ultimate high of having a pregnancy stick around. Um, and then I ended up getting uh gestational diabetes and preoclampsia.

SPEAKER_02 13:15

So goodness.

SPEAKER_00 13:16

The whole community followed us through those challenges, and you know, it's not always sunshine and rainbows, but I keep a very positive um perspective about what I was going through, and I think as a nurse, you know, I'm able to cope with a lot of that. Um, but then a whole other group of people found me that also had those experiences, that also had NICU babies because Henry came 10 weeks early.

SPEAKER_01 13:38

So tiny, so tiny.

SPEAKER_00 13:41

At his smallest, he was two and a half pounds.

SPEAKER_01 13:43

So tiny. It would that was it was heartbreaking to watch, I will tell you. But again, like you're you you didn't, it wasn't doom and gloom. No, that's not how you presented it, and it it was everything was a blessing, and it was super sweet. Like, I'm gonna like tear up because I'm like, oh my god, it was just it was just very, very sweet. And I'm and I don't think you had too much issues with your youngest.

SPEAKER_00 14:04

No, we um we still had to have a lot of medical intervention to get pregnant, but we kind of found that secret recipe. Um, I ended up having to not just use Shady Grove for infertility care, but um reproductive immunology because they found that my immune system was attacking pregnancies. So I had to go on this whole immunosuppressant protocol to be able to stay pregnant, and so once we found that out, which that could be an entire podcast in its own because it's such a small sub-specialty, not covered by insurance, so very, very inaccessible. Um, there's only a handful of providers in the country who practice it. Um, but it was the the reason why we have our family today. So with Henry, he came at 30 weeks, and then with Gemma, um, we were able to make it to 37 weeks. So we really, really had a a really successful second um uh pregnancy for my second child.

SPEAKER_01 14:59

Well, I know your Asian meatballs I've made them, they're delicious. Yeah, I think you were making them like I think everybody was asking you, you kept making them for a while. I was like, is she sick of these meatballs? Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 15:09

Oh, yeah, no. In every like postpartum meal I was making for my friends or you know, major, you know, went through a surgery or had a loss or anything, people would always want these meatballs. They were published in um the Mother Load magazine. Um, they were shared a bunch online and stuff. So yeah, the meatballs that have definitely been uh the recipe that keeps coming back because it's just a fan favorite.

SPEAKER_01 15:30

Yeah, it's a great one. It's a great one. Um, so do you have any questions so far?

SPEAKER_02 15:35

I'm just fascinated by this story, Kristen. I didn't know any of your story, and I I hear you talk about like the difficulties, um, the impossibility of of your son Henry, and I think to myself, I almost is it wrong to say I wish it was that hard for a lot of us? Not that we should go through tragedy, but that we should have to work really hard before we have these babies.

SPEAKER_01 15:57

I it's almost kind of like you want people to wait tables before they go out into the world because I mean like just to kind of exactly.

SPEAKER_02 16:04

I mean, it to your point, like knowing that you're you're spending all of that money, you're putting all of that effort, you're risking your career, your it the emotional toll on your family, like you obviously wanted a family. I obviously wanted a family, and I think somehow I I'm probably being very crass in my way of of saying this, but um I think sometimes we forget what blessings our children are. We forget that they're gifts. And we had um Judge Janina, her her episode just released, and I just was listening to that, Kristen, and her her saying she always treated her children as the gift that they were. Um and I and I think that that's that's something that we forget in the throes of like you know, terrible twos and and teenagers gone awry, that like they are these gifts. My my last is heading off to college, and and I I'm like, see ya, come on. All my all of my parent friends are are you know crying because their children are leaving, and I'm like, see ya, I love you, honey. But I'm happy that he's ready to fly. I'm not at all sad, but uh it makes me wistful when I think about the younger to the younger.

SPEAKER_01 17:12

Yeah, you got a while before they're out of here. You got a minute. No, I'm I'm I'm I want them to go to their next chapter. It was hard, trust me. When I drop Fletcher off, like as soon as we were driving away and I drive past his car, tears. I'm sitting in the restaurant after we left, and I'm and I'm like, I just need a glass of wine. This lady's like, what is happening? Um, but I would never show, I don't think I showed him that because I'm just like, I love you, you're gonna be great, you're gonna have fun, stay strong, you know, you're not coming home for another three months. Like, you gotta stay at school. Um, but yeah, I I mean I don't do you think it's do you think it's harder, or do you think I'm trying to think of how to answer this question or how to ask this question? Do you find because I know um you you have friends there, you all you all grew up with the kids. Obviously, some people had uh children a little easier than in your story. Do you find that um I'm trying to think of how to ask this question? I might have to just move on.

SPEAKER_02 18:09

Do you do you do you have a sense of fragility with your children? Because it was such stupid. There you go. That's what yeah.

SPEAKER_00 18:16

Absolutely, yeah. I still have five embryos that we're paying monthly rent on to keep frozen because I am not ready to let go of them. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 18:26

Even through all of that, even through all of the the struggle.

SPEAKER_00 18:29

Yep. And you know, I'm 36, my husband's in his mid-40s, and um it's it's just we worked so hard to get these two kids, and I feel so lucky that we have um both Henry and Gemma. And I'll say Gemma out of the six that were left when we um had her around, she's the only girl. So she was our only chance to have a girl after Henry, and um it just puts things into perspective. Like we definitely have hard days parenting. There, uh she's almost two and he's four, so they have a lot of emotions. We're in the midst of it, but I absolutely think that getting to this point and going through all those struggles shaped my outlook on being a mom and just puts it all into perspective about what's a big deal and what's not, and I think it makes me a lot more of a patient mom, and you know, I mothers carry such a heavy load already, but it makes it a little easier because I have that perspective, I think. Um, and it's so interesting because I've had friends who have gotten pregnant the first month that they've tried, and then they go on to try to have a second child and end up needing uh reproductive assistance, or it takes a lot longer. You know, I've had every iteration in my circle of people and their path to becoming a mom, and I'll just say that it's you never know what it's gonna be. And now that people are having kids later in life, you know, putting their careers first or having to wait till they're financially feel ready to take on having a kid because I'll tell you, our daycare is equal to our mortgage.

SPEAKER_01 20:08

I mean, it's been 15 years.

SPEAKER_00 20:10

It is insane.

SPEAKER_02 20:12

It's it's ridiculous.

SPEAKER_01 20:13

Like like it was rid I remember when when our kids were little, if it was under two, no, wait. If it was two, no, because my I don't know what it was before two, because I had I had my mother-in-law. Uh $250 from like two to five or something like that a week. No, more than double that. Shut your face for one kid, shut your face. What?

SPEAKER_00 20:34

Yep, yeah, no, affordable child care uh is just what is completely uh inaccessible in our region.

SPEAKER_01 20:41

Why is it so much?

SPEAKER_00 20:42

I mean, yeah, and you're on wait lists and you just have to take what they offer you. Um yeah, we had all of our summer activity and field trip fees on this week's bill.

SPEAKER_01 20:53

And and they charge you for activities and field trips. Holy moly. I think Fletcher, because by the time we got Fletcher and he was like at five going to school, so it was like 150 bucks. Like, you know, I mean it was before and after care, so it's like whatever.

SPEAKER_00 21:06

No, I think your before and after care once they go to grade school at where we are is three three fifty a week. For could be just a couple hours a day.

SPEAKER_02 21:14

Oh my god, parents, I am so sorry. This makes me feel so much better about having a nanny because my nanny wasn't wasn't that much more expensive.

SPEAKER_01 21:22

Yeah, oh my god.

SPEAKER_02 21:23

Yeah, that that's that's about along the lines of what I paid for a nanny.

SPEAKER_01 21:26

That is wild. Okay, I am I family incredibly unaffordable.

SPEAKER_02 21:31

That is super unaffordable. I don't there's no way now you know why the first thing I I want to do when we get the the kitchen. Is to talk to the kids to talk to the church about childcare. Yeah that is I'm flabbergasted.

SPEAKER_01 21:44

I I think this is probably this that's wild. I I'm I I I I'm speechless. That is way too much money.

SPEAKER_02 21:53

And you know, when when they talk about an affordability crisis, everybody wants to talk about how gas prices just One up. I'm like, you've missed the mark for a really long time if you think gas price is just literally the last straw that's breaking the camel's back. Right. Families can't afford rent. I wouldn't afford it. I wouldn't have been able to. I don't think I would have been able to rent. And then the conversation we had yet yesterday with the the realtors about how do young people buy a house. Oh my gosh. You have no between the debt that you pay for college and then you're starting a family, there's no plan that that right now with the the way things cost right now that that you can afford it.

SPEAKER_00 22:36

It's not the avocado toast and the and the latte.

SPEAKER_01 22:41

Although still, still I'm like, what the hell?

unknown 22:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 22:44

Like it's but wow, okay. Alright, that needs to change. There needs to be something that happens with that, because that doesn't seem because I'm trying to think. I'm like, we had probably five or six, they had this house, it was great, they had a thing. Um, they had like four to five people, I think, working there. There was probably like 40 kids, you know, six to eight people per kid. And I'm thinking, okay, well that and they gave them a snack every day, you know, and they had classes. This was like even like a preschool kind of thing.

SPEAKER_00 23:14

What are you paying for? That's a very good question. No, my kids are are learning, they are well cared for. Um but it's in it's just the options are so limited in our area.

SPEAKER_01 23:29

Wow.

SPEAKER_00 23:30

And it's and it's completely pricing women out of the workforce.

SPEAKER_01 23:33

That's 100%, but you can't be but you can also have to have that because you can't, I mean you can't survive off a single income anymore.

SPEAKER_00 23:41

Yeah, it was absolute crisis.

SPEAKER_02 23:44

Okay, so maybe that's it. I'm just gonna give you the the the bougie hack. You can actually get an pair for free. You just gotta give her a place to live and get her into the country. I wouldn't have that either. Yeah, but I mean it's a good this is the different, but this is why the economy and the things we worry about policy-wise, don't affect the top 1% because the top 1% don't have our problems. They don't have health care problems, they don't care about the price of health insurance because they have their own concierge health care, they have their own, they have their own au pairs, they have their own transportation. Like the people who control our government right now, and now I'm getting all political on you, are basically have no interest in policy for people that are us, that that are raising families every day, struggling with things that and here am I and here I am, and I'm like, and I'm flipping out.

SPEAKER_01 24:38

This is about I'm about as flabbergasted as it was when I found out that one shade, one shade to put in my house was eight hundred and ten dollars. One shade. You mean like a shade, like a shade though? Yes, like a Roman shade. One one Roman shade is gonna cost me $810.

SPEAKER_00 24:56

Yeah, I started teaching myself how to do things around the house because it's so expensive to have any services on site.

SPEAKER_01 25:04

Even go on to Home Depot too with the with those shades. I'm like, even that starts at like $360. I'm like, it's a shade.

SPEAKER_02 25:13

Go on to Wayfair. Wayfair's got the prices.

SPEAKER_01 25:15

I have, I have, I've I that's basically where I'm buying my whole room because I can't afford anything else. Um God, I'm wow.

SPEAKER_02 25:22

We are not we are not sponsors, by the way. Wayfair is not a sponsor of this podcast.

SPEAKER_01 25:26

That's right.

SPEAKER_02 25:26

Although if Wayfair would like to, no, I'm just kidding. So I'm interested, Kristen, and what is your like what how do you see this? You're you're kind of big in this social media, uh, you know, home cooking community. So, like, as the kids get older and you want more flexibility, do you love nursing and you think you'll continue to try to juggle both? Or do you have like what's the dream end game here? Is it is it to continue to kind of juggle both, or do you think one day you'd love to be able to just do the no?

SPEAKER_00 26:03

I think I'll always be a nurse. It's it's a huge part of my identity uh in helping people, and um, I have a great work-life balance situation right now. I work three days a week. Um, I changed to an outpatient surgical practice uh from the hospital. Um, and it's great hours. I don't work the weekends anymore. I worked nights for five and a half years.

SPEAKER_02 26:28

Oh that wasn't me. That wasn't me. That felt like me, it wasn't me. So you're the nurse, like when I go in to get my colonoscopy, you're the nurse who's gonna wake me up and get me back on my feet and send me out the door, those day procedures.

SPEAKER_00 26:41

So actually, the the role that I'm in now, I used to work in procedural care at the hospital, and that I would do prep and recovery for for procedures that were usually in and out. But now I'm working um for a group of surgeons, and so I'm in their office, but most of what I do is actually on the phone and on the computer. So I'm triaging patients that are calling in, I'm going over all their prep instructions, making sure they have everything they need to be successful, following their medication, getting their fabs. Um, and then I'm dealing a lot, unfortunately, with insurance companies. Oh god. So prior authorizations, denials, um, FM that would be out too.

SPEAKER_02 27:22

I'm so I also had an ACL replacement, and I'm so grateful for the nurses that handled the logistics because I had no idea what to do.

SPEAKER_00 27:31

Yeah, we joke at the office that I take on all the tasks that nobody else wants to do because I'm just a very tenacious person and I have a really I don't know if you know Enneagram types, but I'm an Enneagram one, which is kind of the type A very strong sense of right and wrong and justice and whatnot. And so if I see something that I can help a patient with um that they may not have the resources or the knowledge to navigate, I will go to the ends of the earth to make sure they have what they need because I just love fighting for the patient and coordinating their care and setting them up for success. Now, I will say you can bring a horse to water and you can give them all the tools, and sometimes patients don't do what's in their best interest, though that's just human nature. But I love being in that role and getting to use my brain in that way outside of the home. So I don't think I'll ever give up nursing. I really do um get a lot out of it, even though there are frustrations, especially with the current state of health insurance and social programs and and everything. I see a lot of um really challenging situations uh because I work with a patient population that um doesn't have the largest access to resources and services and things, but it makes it all worthwhile when I when I can, you know, help them help themselves.

SPEAKER_02 28:51

I think we should have you back on a podcast just to talk. We need to get somebody from that world and and have Kristen back just to talk about because I think what happens is we all understand that that is a difficult process and we're all frustrated with it, but none of us really know the inner workings of it and how to be better patients and how to get what we need and how proactive do we need to how how far in front of this thing do I have to do the path.

SPEAKER_01 29:15

How strapped these people are, right? The nurses and the and the people doing this.

SPEAKER_02 29:18

Like my mom works in the healthcare system, and it's like having had these kinds of bottlenecks. Somebody launches the playbook, right? So I think there's a I think there's an opportunity there to take someone as knowledgeable as you are, Kristen, and pair you up with maybe somebody from the insurance industry and and just have the conversation like like about how does a person approach medical care in a way that they're gonna come correct, as correct as they can and try to alleviate because a lot of it is the patient's, we just we just don't know. We don't know what we're supposed to do. Um, insurance is ridiculous to try to try to navigate. But um, so I'm again I'm picturing you down the road here, and you're a celebrity online and you're still nursing and you're raising these babies, and your husband has to be a saint to just like he supports you in all this?

SPEAKER_00 30:10

He does, yeah. He even said to me over breakfast this morning because we dropped off the kids and we went to the breakfast shop in Saverna Park. Um, and he said to me, he says, So what happens now that you hit 10,000 followers? And I was like, nothing. I just keep grinding, I keep sharing, I I just keep moving forward to the next project and things. He's like, Oh, okay. And um it's so funny because my husband doesn't even have an Instagram, he is an introvert. No, he doesn't. I started cross-posting to Facebook, so he sees a little bit of that, but it's actually hilarious because we have um employees of his, because he owns his own business, that follow me. And um even like his barber follows me on Instagram, and his and my husband, who's an introvert, will be getting his hair cut, and the barber will go, Oh, your dinner looked really good last night. And my husband's like, What is happening? Or a family comes up to us at the YMCA and they're like, Hey, we follow you on Instagram. So it took my husband a little while to kind of just do the same, just to not be uncomfortable by that. And you know, even my dad, um, I got a message that somebody spotted him in Sam's club, and I told him, and he goes, Oh, I'm gonna have to watch how I am in public. And I was like, You are lovely.

SPEAKER_01 31:23

Like you're totally your parents are so lovely. Which which actually brings me to uh I wanted to ask the question, how why Hapa home cooking?

SPEAKER_00 31:32

Sure, yeah. So I wanted something that had good, you know, mouthfeel, right? Like when you say it, Hapa home cooking. I felt like it was uh it sounded light, it sounded positive, you know, when you have the A's and everything. But Hapa, when you look back at historically, um, it's a word that is originating from Hawaii. And um it came about, it describes a group of people who are mixed between Asian and Caucasian um uh heritage or ethnic background. And a lot of this came about um with the Korean War, where you had a lot of soldiers going over to Asia and starting families uh or a lot of people in Hawaii and the mix of um Hawaiian and Asian backgrounds with American Caucasian backgrounds. And at one point it was not the best term, but it has really been reinvented and people are using it as a way to easily describe common background and potentially common experience where you are seeing other people that may have grown up not really fitting into that box of being fully Asian and definitely don't look white, uh, even though they're half and half or you know, three-quarter, one quarter, whatever their mix is. And so it's just created this broad term. Um, and we have a lot of friends in the area that are mixed Asian and white families and things, and so we call ourselves the Hoppahomies. And um, growing up in Southern California, it was a term that was used pretty common and it was in a positive way. Um, but going back a little bit to my connection to Hawaii, uh, my great-grandfather actually immigrated to the Kingdom of Hawaii in 1901, and he worked um on sugarcane plantations uh in 1901 and then went on to uh come to the continental United States, why he wasn't even a state at that time, but came to the US and worked as a miner, and so it just really had the most humble beginnings. Um, and he had a mail order bride from Korea. No, yes, really, yes.

SPEAKER_01 33:39

How do you mail order a bride in Korea in like the 1900s?

SPEAKER_00 33:42

It takes takes so long because they have to, they have to they bring the pictures over and yeah, and this woman came over on a boat from Korea to San Francisco, if you can imagine that journey. No, because I'm thinking, I'm like, how was the catfishing back then? Like no big honestly, my fa my great-grandfather, I say, is the original catfish because he sent his friend's photo, and when she got off the boat, she was pissed. Oh but she didn't have any choice, she didn't have the fare to go back. Yeah, and so she ended up marrying my great-grandfather, and they settled in Montana and were farmers in Montana, Korean farmers in Montana in the 1920s.

SPEAKER_01 34:21

Okay, uh, I I don't know if Montana would have been my book here.

SPEAKER_00 34:24

Yeah, there is there literally is it's a crazy vision story.

SPEAKER_01 34:28

You need you could totally go wild with that. I think like totally fictionalize that.

SPEAKER_02 34:33

I feel like it, I feel like there's a there, I mean it wouldn't even have to be a fiction story, but there is definitely a good story in there.

SPEAKER_01 34:38

That is wild, and and it even still catfishing was a thing back then.

SPEAKER_00 34:42

Yeah, it took seven months, but it's still he probably didn't remember the photo he sent.

SPEAKER_01 34:48

Right, right. Oh my gosh, that's so fun. Okay, I get it. Okay, so you but you but you so they moved to Montana. Yes, they have babies, yes. Then your your your p which one?

SPEAKER_00 35:00

Mom, dad? Uh so that's my dad's side. Your dad's side, yeah. So my grandfather was born in Montana in the 1920s, uh-huh. Um, and eventually the farm failed. Um, it was very hard living back then.

SPEAKER_01 35:12

Yeah, it's Montana. Have you ever been? Uh-huh. It can get real cold. Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_00 35:17

And it's real vast. But go ahead. Okay, go ahead. So they decided to relocate to California because there was more opportunity there and also more Asian community there. Yeah. Um, because there was so much racism um that they experienced in Montana in the 1920s. Yeah. Trying to be Korean farmers. And um, so they packed everybody up, moved to Southern California, and that's where my family has basically laid its roots. Um, my grandfather, uh, I'm trying to make sure I get this right. He joined the army towards the end of the Korean War. So 1950s. He was okay, go ahead.

SPEAKER_01 35:55

I was gonna say, how how how do you because he's Korean, right? He's Korean American. So he's Korean, how do you how how does one level with themselves? Like, okay, I'm Korean with the Americans. Yeah. I'm gonna fight the Koreans.

SPEAKER_02 36:14

Like, how does that how do you in many wars the Japanese as well? There were many Asian Asian Americans that fought on the side of the US. They they feel that's the thing. Obviously, Korea is is you know, there's there's a lot Yeah, but it was basically a civil war, right?

SPEAKER_00 36:29

So it was it was the people that wanted to be democratic versus the communist part of it. So he was um set up to be a translator, but his Korean was not like formally educated because his dad was a farmer and a minor, and you previously a minor didn't have a lot of education. So my grandfather was sent to the language school in Monterey to improve his Korean, and then he was um deployed to Korea to be a translator. Um, so he almost became, in a way, more Korean than his siblings or his parents, or I shouldn't say his mom, but he got formal education in the Korean language and went over to Korea. And while he was in Korea, he was set up with a matchmaker with my um uh grandmother and sh her family, it could be an entirely other podcast. Her family escaped North Korea through a smuggler across the border, literally at night through rivers with a newborn baby and nearly got shot and then ended up in a refugee camp in um in Pusan, South Korea, and so went from being a wealthy family in North Korea to living in a refugee camp.

SPEAKER_01 37:46

Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_00 37:47

And so she had a very harrowing tale um of her and her siblings escaping North Korea.

SPEAKER_01 37:54

You have a couple books, you have a follow-up there, ma'am.

SPEAKER_00 37:56

Yeah, no, we got a sequel. It's absolutely insane, and I'm so glad that we know a lot about our history.

SPEAKER_01 38:03

Yeah. So, okay, so then your dad, then you're okay, so then my grandparents are put together with a matchmaker.

SPEAKER_00 38:12

Yep. They get married.

SPEAKER_01 38:14

Um Is that a thing with Korean families, like matchmakers? Is that like a in like in the Indian style thing? And yeah, you know that is it like an Indian style.

SPEAKER_00 38:22

I don't think it's as strong as the the culture is, um, but I think it's more so like there's an auntie who knows people and sets up a meeting. Um, and this is a crazy story, but crazy rich Asians, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 38:35

Okay, yeah, now I know, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 38:36

All right, now I'm thinking, yeah, go ahead. But their initial meeting, they were supposed to get coffee in this building, and there were two coffee shops, and they didn't know that. And so one was on the first floor and one was on an upper floor, and so they almost didn't meet, and as they were both leaving, because obviously no cell phones, they ran into each other as they were both leaving the building thinking that they got stood up, and they turned around and went back in and had coffee together. It was that one moment in time the butterfly, the butterfly.

SPEAKER_01 39:07

Yeah, oh wow. Oh, so okay, so then dad's born because grandparents, you know, had babies. Yes. Then and then and then what is there a is there a fun story? Tell me there's a fun story with your mom and dad. Oh yeah, okay.

SPEAKER_00 39:21

It's a great story. So my dad and his brothers grew up on the U.S. Army base in Seoul. My grandfather ended up working actually for the United Nations, um, but was based uh on the Army base, and um so they grew up in Seoul and then came over to the States um for college and um you know to come here after being at like their grade school over there. And my dad was a little bit of like a hippie-dippy guy, not the most direction in life. I can see that about your dad. He's very he's so he's so chill.

SPEAKER_01 39:53

He's not it's so chill, like just I don't he didn't do much talking or anything, but like he's in the videos, and you just tell he's just there's a sense about him. It's it's his aura is very soft.

SPEAKER_00 40:02

Like it's like yeah. He's a lot of fun. And so he was working at a travel store in Santa Monica, California. A travel store? Yeah, like you would go buy maps and like backpacking equipment.

SPEAKER_01 40:14

Okay, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 40:15

Yeah, back in the day, would get advice about you know the local youth hostel next door. Um, and my mom, who is from Australia, she was um traveling and she was staying at the youth hostel right next door. And so that's how they met, and um, she ended up staying. So out of all of she's one of six kids, and she's the only one that lives outside of Australia.

SPEAKER_02 40:38

Oh, really? Oh wow. What part of Australia does your mom's family?

SPEAKER_00 40:44

So they're from Young, New South Wales, um, which is a really small country town. It's the cherry capital of Australia.

SPEAKER_02 40:50

That's the the um the western side, right?

SPEAKER_00 40:54

Uh no, eastern side. So about uh four hours, four and a half hours inland from uh Sydney.

SPEAKER_02 41:01

Okay, so it's inland, that's why.

SPEAKER_00 41:03

Yeah, it's in the country.

SPEAKER_02 41:04

We have friends who live in Mornington, which is in the southern part, but when you have friends in Australia, you just you never leave the coast. It's it and it's hard even to get over to the western side because everybody wants to be on that sort of east to south side.

SPEAKER_01 41:17

Have you ever been to uh Australia? Yeah, isn't awesome. Have you ever been um several times? Several times, yeah. I don't know if I could do the plane flight.

SPEAKER_02 41:24

It's it's hard. You can. You can you can do it though. I can ants in my pants. You know what? All the movies in the theater are on the plane. Oh, oh, oh, even so you just binge watch like everything that's in the theater. Oh, okay. Yeah, okay.

SPEAKER_00 41:36

Or you take a couple Benadryl and a glass of wine and just have a nice nap.

SPEAKER_01 41:39

That's probably where more of what would happen. Yeah. Okay, so mom and dad have babies. Uh you you come to a you come back, they come to America because you said he was in Seoul. That your dad was in Seoul, they come here. Oh no, that's the travel thing. Okay, I'm keeping up.

SPEAKER_00 41:52

Yeah, so my parents were all in Southern California and Santa Monica, California. Okay, so then how do you get here? So I grew up my sister and I grew up in Southern California um in Hermosa Beach, and then uh she and I actually both came to the East Coast for college. So my sister went to NYU and then I went to Northeastern University in Boston. You guys are smart. Well, it's a lot harder to get into nowadays than it was like you know, 15, 20 years ago.

SPEAKER_02 42:18

My friends have said if I had to actually apply for my college today, I wouldn't get in.

SPEAKER_00 42:22

No, it's impossible. And the cost is just you talk about unaffordability, it's insane. But um, luckily my parents were able to send us um to university, and that's where I studied nursing. Um, and then my first job out of college, I got my job at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, and I thought, oh, I'm just gonna work there for two years and go back to California and work at like UCLA. No, I met my husband, I stayed. Is he a native American? No, he's from New York, but he moved to Baltimore to start his business. He's a chiropractor.

SPEAKER_02 42:53

And and he and do you all live in Baltimore now?

SPEAKER_00 42:55

No, we live just outside of Annapolis here. Oh, okay. Yeah, so we set ended up settling. He works all over. Okay. He is all over, he's got multiple locations, so he's always on the road. Okay. Yeah, he he is such a hard worker. It's unbelievable. People ask me how I manage to get everything done in the 24 hours a day. He is next level hard worker. Yeah, it's insane.

SPEAKER_02 43:18

That's and you're and your nursing is still at Hopkins?

SPEAKER_00 43:22

No, I ended up uh coming down to Annapolis. So I was at the hospital here in Annapolis and but before it was Luminous and through that transition, and then now I work still on that campus. Um, but I work for another uh I guess what is it called? Health system. Yeah. Yeah. So um the surgery practice that I'm with is under a different different group.

SPEAKER_01 43:45

Different umbrella. Yeah. Well that's fascinating. Conglomerate. I did I had no idea.

SPEAKER_02 43:50

It has a lot going on. Now, are your parents close by to help you?

SPEAKER_00 43:55

Not all the time. So they s they still spend most of their time in California, but um Um, just before Gemma was born. So coming up on two years, they purchased a condo here in Annapolis. And so they are splitting their time. And the hope is that as the years go on, they'll transition to spending more time in Maryland. Um, their home in California uh is like three flights of stairs and everything. So mobility will end up being the major push because the condo here has an elevator. My sister's still in New York, so it makes sense. Yeah, yeah, just to be able to jump on the train and go up to she lives in Brooklyn and lives a fabulous life.

SPEAKER_01 44:32

I just adore New York City in Brooklyn and all that. I just adore it. It's like ugh, I love it.

SPEAKER_00 44:37

Yeah, my sister's the cool, the cool child, and I'm kind of like the type A. The marm. The school mom.

SPEAKER_01 44:43

Exactly. That's okay. That's okay. We have to be different. Yeah. My sister actually is uh she goes to Brooklyn a lot for um for work. She she's uh VP of sales or something for district winery. Oh and they have a place up in Brooklyn. I wonder if your sister's ever been there. I don't know what it's called in Brooklyn, though. Okay, maybe it's DC Winery in Brooklyn. I don't know. Yeah, send it to me. Who knows? Who knows? Yeah, apparently it's supposed to be lovely. I had no idea that this is the direction of this podcast will go. We've hardly talked about food.

SPEAKER_02 45:11

No, but that's such a fascinating story. I can see why your podcast or why your your social does so well. If you're just sort of people get a little insight into what a fascinating family you have.

SPEAKER_01 45:23

So I definitely want to move into the amount of work because again, I've tried, I have, I've I really have tried. I think my I think I just get bored with it. Um, your like your Mayday post was, and I think you had a couple of them. It wasn't even like I think you had a coup, because I know like every time I open it up, I'm like, oh, there she is, and and you know, and you watch it, you have so you had a couple videos, and it's not just like reels, I guess is what they call them for the youngsters um or for the old people out there. Um, and it was just a fun video. You know how to put this stuff together, like you have the abil I I don't I don't have that, nor do I have the the I'm like but what tools do you use? Yeah, what tools do you use?

SPEAKER_00 46:04

Yeah, I've used different editing um apps over the years. Um, and nowadays I edit mostly in uh an app that's through Instagram called Edits. I have seen that, yes. Yeah, and they they you know there are better ones out there that cost money, but I would say that the edits app is pretty user-friendly. Um, I'm happy to walk anybody through it if they ever have questions about how to do it and whatnot. Um, but it's just been trial and error, it's just playing around, and I'll be honest, sometimes I have lows where I've done a whole video and then something goes wrong and I lose it. And that happens sometimes, but you just play with it, you think about what kind of content resonates with you that you like seeing. And at the end of the day, I always try to make my videos shorter because left to my own devices, my videos would be like two, three minutes long, and nobody's sitting around to watch that. And so I have to see what performs well with the algorithm, what's keeping people's attention, and just honing and tweaking. And for me, I share things that I like. You know, this is kind of memorializing my family growing up and everything. So I won't post something just because I think it's gonna do well on social media, but I definitely will cater my editing style or my format to what else I see being successful on the platform because the algorithm, if if the algorithm isn't liking you, then no one's gonna see your stuff, which sucks.

SPEAKER_01 47:31

It it does because I think I get they're like uh your screenshots are better than your your videos. I'm like, yeah, I know my videos suck. Okay. I'm like, I can't do it.

SPEAKER_02 47:41

So what what um what are you using? Like, are you uh like an SEO whiz? What are you what are you using to figure out like what the algorithm like is?

SPEAKER_00 47:51

No, I think that's basically I think I'm doing it the hard way. I don't think that I'm working smarter because I don't have this uh knowledge and background, so I definitely feel like I could make my life easier. And I do think that AI video editing apps in a year or two are gonna be so helpful. I've I'm seeing how they're starting to come out and and whatnot. I haven't used any of them because I'm a little afraid with like the data and you know the back end of that. Um, but I don't have anybody working on my SEO. I've I've used web developers for my website in the past to help me get off the ground a little bit. My website is not updated because we're going through life with a two and four year olds. Um but honestly, I'm grinding. I'm I'm engaging with my audience on Instagram. I'm searching for other people that are in similar seasons of life. Um I have my little mom group locally. Um, I don't want to say mom talk because there's such a negative connotation, but we do have fun getting together and shooting silly content and shooting content for each other. Um, and you know, we using the collaborator.

SPEAKER_02 48:58

And let me just say really quickly any circle of mothers that are supporting one another is there should never be a single negative anything. Absolutely. There should be nothing but like wind in your sails, girl.

SPEAKER_00 49:12

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 49:13

Women for look, I I had my children in the south in the Bible Belt, and I was a working mother, and that was a send, you know. And I remember thinking, if only we could be more compassionate towards one another, these stay-at-home moms and these working moms. Any place where mothers are together supporting one another and having fun raising kids. Oh, yeah, everybody else sit down and shut up.

SPEAKER_01 49:35

Although I'm pretty sure her May Day one was more along the lines, we're not with the children today. That's fine too.

SPEAKER_00 49:41

This is we have a great mix of getting our kids together and sharing that load of you know, letting them be kids and not worrying if they one kid is having a tantrum or one kid isn't wanting to share, one kid just is not a teacher planter. Yeah. And we can show up no makeup in our sweats, like with a bag of bagels and some coffee and go to somebody's house. And then we can also celebrate when our kids are all in school or daycare, and we're gonna go and do something for ourselves and leaning into finding that little bit of time to do something that you enjoy that has nothing to do with your kids. Um, and that's kind of a new season that I'm starting to try to prioritize a little bit of time for um because Gemma is now almost two and is able to go to her day program and everything. Um, but it's a very supportive community. I I would not I would not waste my time with putting energy into a friendship that doesn't make me feel good in return. I just won't do it.

SPEAKER_02 50:51

Um I have far too many girlfriends who they struggle with letting their kids go because that is all they knew. They left root relationships behind or they didn't take time to nurture them. They didn't give themselves the self-care along the way. And you know, they're kind of mad at everybody around them, but at the end of the day, it's our job to prioritize healthy adult relationships for us, remember who we were before we had husbands and kids, and be the that brings them. We we are our best selves even once the kids grow up and leave, even once you know we go through different seasons with our spouses. So best investment.

SPEAKER_01 51:25

It's also a good uh for your kids. It looks good for your kids. Oh, you know what I mean? It's a model, good model. Why am I what is wrong with me today? Yeah, it's the Kelly's sake. It's because you're making me do more talking today. So I I'm I'm losing my words.

SPEAKER_00 51:40

And I think our little group of friends, and you know, kind of call ourselves the Hoppa homies because our kids are all are of a mixed Asian and white background, um, as kind of the core of the group. Um everybody has a different family dynamic. We have we have physician moms with stay-at-home dads, we've got physician dads with stay-at-home moms, we have people that are both full-time out of the house working in healthcare or policy. Um, myself, I'm working, I'm working multiple jobs in my mind, but part-time nursing and you are. And so we have all these different arrangements, yet we all kind of see how we want to raise our kids and provide experiences for them and come together in that way. Uh, so it's very, very interesting, and I'm just so happy I met these women. And honestly, our core little hoppa homies, I met them all through Instagram. Yeah, every single one of them I met through social media.

SPEAKER_01 52:34

Yeah, I think that's I I I love it because it's like I I and Ruth was one of them. Was Ruth one of them? Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 52:41

I met Ruth when she was going through a cycle of IVF. The first time I met her in real life was dropping off smoothie and snack on her porch during COVID after she had had an egg retrieval and just saying hi from the porch. And just being like, I'm rooting for you, I'm here, I'll drop you off food, whatever you need. Hope you have like good outcome of the round and stuff. And we met because we were both going through IVF at the same time, and then kind of by chance, our first were born I think 11 days apart, and then our second were born two months apart. Yeah. Wow. Yeah, and so we're literally walking the same season.

SPEAKER_02 53:16

Yeah, that's fantastic. That's your new bestie here. Yeah, yeah. I love that.

SPEAKER_00 53:20

Yeah, I'll have to send you. You have to follow inspire family life.

SPEAKER_01 53:23

Yeah, she's she I I do, she's great. I loved because I think that's how I started following her. Was I think when you popped up, and then I started following her. Because I think I think Basil was also Yeah, I think that's yeah, they know each other too. Yeah, so I think it was all like that whole little crew there, and I was just like, oh my gosh, it was really great. I was like, you guys are awesome. So Kristen, I know that you I could talk to you for a long time because now I now I really want to dig into that the the family history. I need to know more. Like, because I don't know. Yeah, we didn't even go get some my Australian side. I know, I know. So many more conferences, so many more. Um you too, huh? I no, I swallowed something. Oh no, I think I swallowed something. Pardon me, guys.

SPEAKER_02 54:10

Kelly's coming back to us.

SPEAKER_01 54:12

I probably will not edit this out, so just so you know. So okay, so Kristen, again, we can keep you on for hours, guys. Go follow at um Hapa Um Coking. Uh follow Kristen, follow her friends. They're great, they're fun to watch. The the there it's super, it's it's uplifting, it's fun. It's not even the hard times are still educational and not gloom and doom. It's just it's very possible, even though that daycare bill is gloom and doom. Good gosh. Okay, so we like to wrap things up with a lightning round. Would you like to explain? I've done enough talking.

SPEAKER_02 54:50

Are you familiar with the lightning round? No. So it's super easy. I'm gonna ask a question, you're gonna answer back. Really short sentence, if at all, a couple of words. Um, no explanation necessary. And then Kelly's gonna ask the next one. You got you ready? Okay. Okay. So, um, what is the one ingredient you refuse to run out of?

SPEAKER_00 55:11

Sesame oil.

SPEAKER_01 55:12

Oh, yes, I do love that stuff.

SPEAKER_02 55:14

Totally.

SPEAKER_01 55:14

Uh, if you could only keep one gadget, would it be the air fryer or the cast iron skillet? Oh come on.

SPEAKER_00 55:21

Oh gosh, I hate the maintenance of cast iron. So uh can I see my rice cooker?

SPEAKER_01 55:27

Yes, you can. Yeah. Okay, so I used to have a rice cooker. Uh-huh. Um, and then like a long time ago, my parents used one. I used one, and then I stopped. I don't even know why we got rid of it. It probably broke or something. And now I hate rice. And I'm like, and you bring rice again, and I always think I'm like, I need to give me a rice cool.

SPEAKER_00 55:41

Okay, I don't keep I don't keep an air fryer on my counter at all. So I would say my toaster oven is my workhorse when I'm not at my stover oven.

SPEAKER_01 55:48

Okay, toaster oven. Okay, well, I gotcha. See, uh yeah, all right, I gotcha.

SPEAKER_02 55:51

All right. So, Kristen, your strawberry substitute. Since you're allergic, what's your go-to red fruit for dessert?

SPEAKER_00 55:57

Cherries. I'm from the cherry capital of Australia. Oh, there you go. That's right, she said that.

SPEAKER_01 56:01

Yeah, where were we paying attention? Okay, um, what's the 15-minute meal that saves your life on a busy Tuesday? My ground turkey lettuce cups.

SPEAKER_00 56:09

So yeah, those look good. I literally was just thinking about I need to make them again and repost it.

SPEAKER_02 56:14

Yeah, those look good. Uh Australian must-have, vegemite, yes or no?

SPEAKER_00 56:19

Absolutely, yes. Really? Yes. What does it taste like? I'm afraid. It's super salty. Oh, I should have brought some. I have it. Um, it's very savory. Um, you use a very small amount of it. Do you like salt? Yeah, I like salt. Yeah, you use a very small amount of it. Um, you get some great toast. It's gotta be well-toasted toast. Like can't be like soggy bread or anything. Butter, a little bit of vegemite on there, and it with scrambled eggs, a sharp cheddar on top of all that. Oh yeah. Like a veggie breakfast sandwich, arugula. Oh, it's just really and where do you get vegemite? I just mean. Oh, you can get it anywhere now, like on Amazon and stuff. Um, like uh World Market will carry. Um, yeah, it used to be something that we would have to bring back in our suitcase, but nowadays you can you can find it online. And that's uh, and and what is it made of? It's made of um like the byproducts of beer making. So yeast, it's made into like a spread. I know it's weird. It has a lot of B vitamins in it. Okay, okay, I'm coming back. I'm coming back to Blaze Catering. We you were gonna make the bread. I'm gonna bring the veggie mite, and we're gonna film you trying veggie mite. Okay, I got it. I love it, I love it.

SPEAKER_02 57:30

That'll be one of our favorite.

SPEAKER_01 57:31

I did we I did have to make fairy bread for uh for a job once.

unknown 57:36

What's fairy bread?

SPEAKER_01 57:37

It's Australian where you take white bread and butter and sprinkles.

SPEAKER_03 57:44

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 57:44

Like the not the they have to be the non-parels, though, not like not sprinkles, and then you just and you eat it. It's just like a sugar sandwich. It's just yeah. Them Australians are culinary experimentors.

SPEAKER_02 57:58

Alright, you got the last one.

SPEAKER_01 57:59

Okay, okay. Uh, Mayday flowers or Navy football tailgate. Mayday flowers all day.

SPEAKER_00 58:04

Yeah. You're you cannot go to Mayday in Annapolis and not leave feeling absolutely wonderful. It is beautiful. It is so beautiful. It is just the perfect day to take in small town Annapolis. I swear we live in a hallmark town, and just to see the work and the pride that all these florists and the small businesses that are displaying put into the work, you cannot walk away without a huge smile on your face.

SPEAKER_02 58:33

When is May Day? May May 1st. Oh, we missed it. Yeah, last week. I'm sure there's probably you can look at my videos on Instagram and be late. There you go. And it's these girls are gonna get me on social media, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 58:44

Yes. Well, uh, Kristen, you are an absolute delight. I'm looking forward to the Vegemite. I rhymed. We're doing it.

SPEAKER_00 58:51

Uh any last words for uh your followers, your 10,000 followers. No, I mean, I will just say that my content just ebbs and flows with my season of life. So sometimes I can't put as much time and effort into it, and my community is so wonderful that they stick around, and other times I'm churning and burning and have the most amazing projects, but there's always something around the corner. Um I've had such great experiences with it. So I can't.

SPEAKER_02 59:19

I mentioned you've got a couple of new projects coming up. Did you want to talk about this?

SPEAKER_00 59:23

Oh, okay. I uh yes, I do have some new projects. We have a business opening in Annapolis that I'll be promoting the opening of, but um still finalizing the details. So guys, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 59:35

Because you need one more job.

SPEAKER_00 59:36

Yeah, you know what you're saying? And the nice thing about doing this and just being a one-woman show is I can take on or say no or not right now to any project out there.

SPEAKER_01 59:46

Facts. Yeah, yeah. So what I want you to do, um, Kristen, before, you know, because this is it's gonna be a minute. This probably be June. Okay. I think that this comes out when this launches. Get if if is your business is the business thing gonna be open by then? I think the content will be up by then. Perfect. So when you're when you're ready, go ahead and send us anything if any and really honestly, uh any links or anything that you have that you want to add to this that you can share, um, that would be wonderful, and we'll put it in the show notes and then kind of like pass it on to the to our 176 followers.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:18

Sounds good. Hey, we're we're we're growing. That's right. We've had a thousand downloads, we're gonna go.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:22

We did, yeah, we actually we're over 1200 now, so okay, ladies and gentlemen, thank you so much for tuning in to Voices of Annapolis, where every voice tells our story. Keep the conversation going, Uptown. Woohoo!