Seize the Yay

What a whirlwind few weeks it's been - I can't believe it's already April and I don't know about you guys but I'm counting down until the Easter break to catch up with myself again. It's been SO delightful to work with real life people in the flesh and travel around again - of course I've gotten overexcited as usual and episodes have been dropping all over the shop between Survivor, #yaysofourlives and the regular schedule BUT I hope it's been keeping things fresh and you on your toes. I couldn't be more excited to be back to our regular programming this week with a guest with whom many of us have fallen in love from afar. I didn't intend it this way but it's funny how things work out - we recorded this the day after his birthday and a few days before mine AND we're releasing it now during World Autism Awareness Month kicking off with United Nations-sanctioned World Autism Awareness Day just days ago on April 2. Yep, I'm SO thrilled to have Netflix's Love on the Spectrum star, Michael Theo joining us this week. You might remember Ang and I recommended this brilliant show in a #yaysofourlives episode - it's a wholesome and uplifting docuseries following seven young neurodiverse adults as they explore the wild world of dating. Michael in particular captured hearts all over the world with his passion for finding his person and constant zingers making his way even onto the Ellen Show and drawing guests on his own podcast Mr A+ like stars from his favourite TV show (and mine, Brooklyn 99). Having only been told about his autism diagnosis at 13 years old, Michael sees his neurodiversity as a gift not a burden and in listening today, I hope you see why... FOLLOW MICHAEL HERE + Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah + Join our Facebook community here + Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!

Lovely yayborhood, you might have seen that we have quite a few friends on the latest season of Survivor (a few of whom you've already heard from on the show) and we thought for those of you who find some yay in watching the show it'd be the perfect opportunity to dish up some behind the scenes dirt for you. So, quick heads up for anyone who isn't a big fan, there'll be a few bonus episodes during this Blood vs Water season that assume you know the show and rule of the game well (but we'll still be recording our regular content so no worries if you want to skip past). For those who do listen, the episodes are right up to date so spoiler alert if you haven't watched right up until Monday 22nd March. SO thrilled to have my love Samantha Gash join us for a SUPER juicy chat about all things strategy, sacrifice and survival! FOLLOW SAMANTHA HERE

My goodness it's been a big few weeks and my brain is a little scattered trying to catch up (which you might hear in the episode - I fumbled my way through this one a bit). But we're back with our regular programming and I'm delighted to have the beautiful Anna Robards here just days after the launch of her very first business. You might know Anna from Australia's first ever season of The Bachelor which screened, get this - TEN YEARS AGO THIS YEAR - or SAS Australia which is screening right now. Having never had a proper boyfriend, Anna was originally signed up for Batchie by a friend but left with her now husband and baby daddy, Tim Robards, who was our FIFTH GUEST ever on the show and they've both come so far in the past decade. Anna is, however, so much more than a TV star starting out a successful criminal lawyer, a chapter of her career that she only just closed officially last year. Despite shooting to fame in the very early days of social media, you'll hear what a strong and balanced head Anna has on her shoulders meaning much of her real life over the past decade has stayed private. You'll get to know her a little better here and the pathyay that led her into launching INTU WELLNESS debuting with a Sleep & Skin Renewal - a new super powder and the perfect nightcap to target those over-stimulated multi-taskers who want to wake up reenergised and with hydrated, youthful-looking skin. I hope you enjoy as much as I did! FOLLOW ANNA HERE CHECK OUT INTU WELLNESS HERE + Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah + Join our Facebook community here + Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!

We recorded this one a few weeks ago, then I didn't have signal in South Australia unexpectedly so I couldn't upload this episode until now. Neither of us really remember what we talked about (plus so much more has happened in the past two weeks), but hope it brings you some yay anyway! + Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah + Join our Facebook community here + Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!

If you follow me on social media as well as listening along, you might have noticed one Steve Gela (aka Steve Gelagotis) popping up more and more recently. I literally met this beautiful human only a few weeks ago through our mutual friend Khanh - a now regular on the show - but he's just one of those people whose warmth and genuineness wraps you up in a big hug of safety and calmness, so that you want to be around him as much as possible... WHICH makes him the EXACT person I'd want by my side in an emergency, so luckily for Melbourne at least, Steve's pathyay led him into paramedicine and you all KNOW how long I've wanted to get a paramedic on the show. In fact, you might have even seen him already on Nine's series Paramedics cruising around town just saving lives left right and centre and keeping cool as a cucumber in the process. As always, a dive into the chapters before paramedicine reveals Steve's pathway started elsewhere reminding us that it sometimes takes a little while to find your jam. I also loved being able to explore the nuts and bolts of a job we all know of but often know little about in terms of the day to day. Steve is also a passionate dog mum, lover of the dancefloor which we've shared more than a few times already and my new BFF who I can't rave about enough - I hope you love him as much as I do! FOLLOW STEVE HERE + Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah + Join our Facebook community here + Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!

Lovely yayborhood, you might have seen that we have quite a few friends on the latest season of Survivor (a few of whom you've already heard from on the show) and we thought for those of you who find some yay in watching the show it'd be the perfect opportunity to dish up some behind the scenes dirt for you. So, quick heads up for anyone who isn't a big fan, there'll be a few bonus episodes during this Blood vs Water season that assume you know the show and rule of the game well (but we'll still be recording our regular content so no worries if you want to skip past). For those who do listen, the episodes are right up to date so spoiler alert if you haven't watched right up until Sunday 27th Feb when the two tribes finally merged. SO thrilled to have my love Khanh Ong join us for this episode, but also SO bummed that it's because his Blood vs Water journey has come to a blindsided end... DONATE TO KHANH'S RICE AND BEANS CHALLENGE FOR MINUS18YOUTH

I have been busting to share this week's episode with you guys and if you've run into me at all since I met Gabe and Adam last December, I have probably already talked your ear off about them. I was lucky enough to meet this lovely couple during my very quick trip to LA as we were on the same shoot together and had a lovely whirlwind few days as a trio. You can probably tell that meeting new people and hearing all about their lives is one of my very favourite things and these two are so fascinating both separately and together, but our time as a trio was short. So, you and me both are hearing all the finer details for the first time and after this chat, I loved them even more. With Gabe being born without limbs and adopted from Sao Paolo Brazil to Utah and both Gabe and Adam growing up in the Mormon faith which came into conflict with their sexuality, these two bring such unique and interesting perspectives to this chat on finding yourself and your yay. Then the story of the finding each OTHER is a beautiful one, with their wedding taking place just before we met launching Gabe into global Tiktok fame and consequently a whole new career. I'll let them tell you the rest themselves - they are wise beyond their young years with such beautiful messages about self-acceptance, embracing your uniqueness and building a strong relationship. I hope you are as inspired and delighted by them as I am. FOLLOW GABE ON TIKTOK HERE + Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah + Join our Facebook community here + Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!

Lovely yayborhood, you might have seen that we have quite a few friends on the latest season of Survivor (a few of whom you've already heard from on the show) and we thought for those of you who find some yay in watching the show it'd be the perfect opportunity to dish up some behind the scenes dirt for you. So, quick heads up for anyone who isn't a big fan, there'll be a few bonus episodes during this Blood vs Water season that assume you know the show and rule of the game well (but we'll still be recording our regular content so no worries if you want to skip past). For those who do listen, the episodes are right up to date so spoiler alert if you haven't watched right up until episode 9. SO thrilled to have the wonderful Amy Ong join us for this episode, give her a follow here. AMY'S JEWELLERY LABEL, VANAOC

Somehow, between the 385725938 episodes we've done together, it seems Ang and I have never properly explained how we met!! So, we thought that'd make the perfect #yaysofourlives episode for Valentine's Day in honour of ALL the different kinds of love we can celebrate on Feb 14, including the love between friends. We eventually make it to a few other random yayborhood watch good news stories plus a voice memo from one of our lovely listeners about the Gardiner Brothers story from a few weeks ago (which we LOVE, keep those coming!) Happy Valentines Day, everyone! + Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah + Join our Facebook community here + Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!

It's been such a fun few weeks easing back in with a few doses of #yaysofourlives for you, but we're finally back with our first full interview guest for the year and I couldn't think of a more perfect guest than Briony Benjamin. I read Briony's book, Life is Tough, But So Are You, when it came out in August last year and again just before this interview and both times, for different reasons, it was exactly what I needed to find my yay again and I hope this chat is the same for some of you too - it's like she looked into the future and covered off every topic that's relevant to the world right now. Her pathyay to her dream job as Executive Producer at Mamamia.com.au epitomises everything we love to talk about here taking twists and turns through drama teaching in London to a commerce degree then a second degree in film and TV after that. But it was finding out she had cancer all through her body while working in that role that really messed up her vision board. I don't feel I can do justice to her journey without reading the full book out here, but I trust that by the end of this you'll read it yourself as well as watching her short video 'You Only Get One Life' that went viral, touching millions including myself. Everything Briony shares about how to wade your way through tough times is painfully relevant to the pandemic and I feel so lucky to be able to share it with the yayborhood at a time where we all probably need a little reminder that, in Briony's words, you can't polish a turd but you can roll it in glitter. WATCH BRIONY'S VIDEO HERE + Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah + Join our Facebook community here + Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!

Welcome back to another dose of #yaysofourlives. We touched on Lunar New Year last week just before Ang went off to celebrate with her family, but today we're joined by the incredible Francesca Hung to dive a little deeper into the celebrations and her experience of growing up Asian in Australia, which I think will be fascinating given we share that experience but from completely different backgrounds and perspectives. From a shy young girl growing up on the Northern Beaches to our first Miss Universe Australia of Asian descent and now E! Australia host, Francesca is an absolute delight to chat with and I hope you enjoy this one as much as I did! + Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah + Join our Facebook community here + Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!

Lovely yayborhood, you might have seen that we have quite a few friends on the latest season of Survivor (a few of whom you've already heard from on the show) and we thought for those of you who find some yay in watching the show it'd be the perfect opportunity to dish up some behind the scenes dirt for you. So, quick heads up for anyone who isn't a big fan, there'll be a few bonus episodes during this Blood vs Water season that assume you know the show and rule of the game well (but we'll still be recording our regular content so no worries if you want to skip past). For those who do listen, the episodes are right up to date so spoiler alert if you haven't watched episodes 1-3 yet. Also a little content warning that these are a probably a little looser than our normal episodes so you might catch some saucier content or a few more profanities than usual - all in the name of the drama. Some bombshells are dropped, some secrets are shared, and A LOT of yay was had in the process - hope you enjoy!

Another chaotic dose of #yaysofourlives with our resident co-host Ang who brings out the crazy in me and hopefully a few laughs in you. I came across the perfect #quoteoftheyay for the times we're living in from the incredible Helen Keller - A bend in the road is not the end of the road, unless you fail to make the turn. We're all facing huge disruptions to the path we thought we were on, but never forget you have the power to pivot and reach your destination in another way. Don't forget to DM or email us any good news stories you see for yayborhood watch or any requests and feedback on our idea for a historical YesterYAY series! + Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah + Join our Facebook community here + Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!

Lovely yayborhood, welcome to the first episode of 2022! We took a much longer break than anticipated as the brain took her sweet time replenishing after a crazy year, so thank you very much for your patience and hope you too had a chance for some down time. If you're nonetheless having a bit of a hard time kickstarting the year, you are absolutely not alone - hopefully you find some reassurance in Ang and I still being unable to find our marbles. Things have not exactly gone back to normal, so you can't expect yourself to either hence our first #quoteoftheyay for the year - you have exactly enough energy for one day at a time and taking it day by day is all you need to do right now. To keep you smiling in the meantime, we also had a backlog of good news stories to share in our ongoing protest against the negativity of the news cycle from unfathomable kindness by strangers to real time sign language translation. If you're ever losing faith in humanity and look hard enough, there are reminders everywhere of the pure good in people. And something a little different for recommen-yay-tions to start the year - we want to hear YOURS for what you'd like in 2022 and also share a new segment idea to see what you think. As always, please DM or email me smile@spoonfulofsarah.com with your thoughts and feedback. LOVE YOU ALL! + Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah + Join our Facebook community here + Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!

I can't believe we've reached our last guest interview for the year! My gosh, we've had some touch and go moments in 2021 - in and out of lockdown (and therefore in and out of motivation) with rapidly changing schedules and everything in between, but we made it and I'm so proud of the yay we've created in our third year together. I can't say enough how grateful I am for the yayborhood, you've absolutely kept me sane this year and given me so many reasons to smile with our healthcare worker care packs, Q&A episodes and just your lovely messages each week. I'll be taking a proper break over the festive season but as usual re-releasing some favourites in case you missed any, and will be back early next year (with Ang of course) to bring you bigger and better yay next year. For today, I couldn't think of a more perfect guest (or should I say guests) to finish off the year on a high than the two amazing humans you're about to hear from. And this episode is all the more special because, despite amassing an enormous community with whom they share so much of their lives on social media, this is the first time EVER that they've shared their story on a podcast and I'm still pinching myself that they said yes. Of course, I'm talking about the Real Dads of Melbourne aka Jarrad and Michael Duggan-Tierney who give the beloved sitcom Modern Family a good run for its money sharing ...