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A lot of times the goal is out there, and then the next goal is out there, and then there's another goal behind that, and as we're going through and pushing through, we never stop and celebrate each milestone that we have reached. You showed up, you did what you said you were going to do, no matter what roadline's got in your way, you got it done. That is worth celebrating. I am your host, Yolanda Holiday, and I thank you for joining me. If this is your first time here, welcome. This is the podcast for us, by us, black women, over 40, everyday lived experiences. And if you have been here before, welcome back. I so appreciate your support. This is a celebration episode. Before we pour, I want to shout out black women. This past week I've spoken to so many women that I organically met, via TikTok or other social media streams, and we had discussions about them joining me on the podcast. The energy, just the love that was shared, it is amazing. I love us, and I love when we can get together and we can chat it up, we can share, we can fellowship. It was great conversation. And when I think back over the conversations, not one felt like I was speaking to that sister for the first time. It felt like we had years of history between us. So I know when they come and join me for an episode, it is going to be a great conversation. Today, keeping in tune with our theme of celebration, I got the big hair going. I never wear my hair big, but big hair don't care. Picked it out, got it standing up high, and it is doing the thing. And I think I kind of like it. So with that, we're gonna we're gonna just go ahead and name this episode Big Things Happening. We never determine the theme until after the episode because it all is genuine, unrehearsed conversation, but I'm gonna put it out there early this time. Big things happening. We're gonna pop our collar, we're gonna celebrate, we're gonna do all the things this episode. I so appreciate you taking this journey with me, and I am just excited to share it with you. And because we're celebrating, we're gonna keep it with the celebratory wine. Stuyvesant champagne is our pairing of the week. So let's get into it. We can't have a celebration without something good in our glass. So today we're popping champagne, and yes, I mean actual champagne. Our pairing is Bee Stuyvesant Champagne, a black woman-owned champagne founded by Marbina Robinson, and I love that we're celebrating with a bottle created by a black woman. Bee Stuyvesant is produced in the champagne region of France, which means we can officially call this champagne and not just sparkling wine. This is the kind of bottle you pull out when there's something worth celebrating, and today there absolutely is. So whether you're pairing Bee Stivescent with me or you've got your own favorite bottle of bubbly, pour yourself a glass. Because sometimes we spend so much time working toward the next thing that we forget to stop and acknowledge what we've already done. So today we're stopping, we're celebrating, and we're raising a glass. Cheers, sis. And if you're not aware, later today at 7 p.m., we will host a virtual open house. So the celebration will continue, and I hope that you can join me. You can find the link on our website, www.curated living by yh.com, and go to the events tab. It is going to be a celebration, and I would like for you to be there. So consider this your personal invitation. I have been heads down and just focused. And today I am looking up and I am celebrating. When I, I've shared the story, but when I was going through my season of stillness, my season of what is wrong with me, why do I feel different? What is going on? And I coming out of that, I realized that I'm not the only one who goes through that. I don't know what's next for me season. I don't know why I've sealed this way season. I am not the only one that goes through that. And I believe that as a community, we can go through it together and lighten the load. We are there for everyone else, but now it's tough that we show up for ourselves. So I formed Curated Living by YH. And the overall theme of curated living is and has always been community. We had our official launch in April. We did a launch event in May. It was a virtual event. It was amazing. We talked about all of the things. It was a great time. And then I had some things that I scheduled. In survivors mode, I would have tried to do all the things at the same time. So one thing I'm celebrating is growth. Growth to allow myself grace. Grace that I don't have to do everything all at once. And it's still going to get done and get done with less stress. So we had our launch event in May. June 2nd was the goal date for releasing the first episode of the podcast. And June 2nd was the actual release date of the podcast. Cheers to that. Then the next phase was the actual community, how we all come together in one app and share. The release date for that was September 1st, and baby, we made it because it is officially released today. So that is what the open house is about to explain all about it. I'm going to give you a little bit of background on some of the features just in case you can't make it to the open house. It's an app, or you can visit it on your desktop. It is a private community for black women 40 and over. It is our safe space. It is where we can come and talk about all of the things that are affecting our day-to-day. I hear all the time racism doesn't exist. There is not a bias in the work environment. We have lived it and we know that to be BS. I was looking this morning on TikTok because yes, I love TikTok. There have been a large amount of posts about this Texas Roadhouse issue that's going on, and they've been MAGA posts because they hashtag MAGA in these posts. And they were saying things such as Dine and Dash is lowered now, or they need to boycott boy restaurant so we can have peace. Those people hiding behind those ghost accounts are the same people we encounter every day in our work life, in our social life, when we're out shopping, when we're registering our kids for school, those are the same people hiding behind those candles. They might not be as vocal about it, but the decisions they make and the way they affect our day-to-day is clear. This is our safe space. This, again, is for black women over 40 to come together and support each other, to motivate each other, to celebrate each other. Inside of the space, there is what we call the living room. And the living room is where we have our daily conversation. You can ask whatever it is that's on your mind. You can share whatever it is that you want to celebrate. You can ask for prayers, encouragement, motivation, whatever it is, that is our space. That is our safe space in the living room. In addition to the living room, there's a podcast lounge where we continue the conversation after the recording. If you have something to say, if something touched you, come on into the podcast lounge and let's talk about it. Let's continue the conversation because it truly shouldn't stop here. I cannot explain the overwhelming joy I feel when someone says to me, I was having a rough day, and your podcast made me realize that one, I'm not in this alone, and two, this is just the season. That is such a great feeling. The last time I heard that was just a couple of days ago. That is not just temporary. That's something that we can carry forward. So let's continue the conversations. In addition, we have our curated guides. These are expert resources that have been vetted. Everything from hormones, wellness, finance, life transitions, it's all out there and it's been vetted. It's your resource that's something you don't have to do the research or maybe you missed something in your research. It's just an added tool. And these resource guys are just tools. They are there for you. Investing, you don't feel comfortable asking the questions. There's some investment guys to get you started. You don't know what to ask your doctor when you go and you want to tell her that. You just don't feel like yourself. You have brain fog and you don't know why. Questions to consider to ask when you go to your equipment. Those guys are there as resources. And then we have our circles. The circles are not going to apply to everyone. There is a circle for grief. You're not experiencing grief. I don't recommend you join that circle. But there may be a time in life when you might need it. There is a servable for empty nesting. So many of us, myself included, have poured everything into our children that when they finally do leave the nest, we're lost. We thought we wanted. We thought we wanted it. We were counting down the days, and then when the house got quiet, we didn't know what to do with ourselves. This is a support group for that. Find out what others have done. Someone may be doing some amazing things to keep themselves busy and rediscovering themselves. They may share their journey and it may motivate you, it may inspire you. There is a circle out there for you. Just find your circle, join your circle, and make yourself at home. The community is not to feel like a burden. The community is not to feel like an added task. You find what you want and you take away from that. There's monthly events, there's going to be twice-a-year retreats, there's going to be an annual conference, there's going to be expert-led conversations. Don't try to come to all of them and overwhelm yourself. Pick the ones that benefit you in this season because that's what it's about. How do you elevate you and get through this season of life? Find what works for you and do it. Let us come together and motivate you. There is room for you on the couch, so come join us. That is what we're celebrating. Not only the vision of it, but the potential of it. This is not just about me because just me cannot be a community. It's all of us. The platform is there. It's for us to apply and use as it best fits our lifestyle. There is someone out there that shares your story that will be motivated by you the same way you will be motivated by someone. I personally wanted to reflect on celebrating along the journey. A lot of times the goal is out there, and then the next goal is out there. And then there's another goal behind that. And as we're going through and pushing through, we never stop and celebrate each milestone that we have reached. That will easily cause burnout. You deserve it. Being humble is overrated. You need to clap for yourself, shout for yourself. You need to do those things because you showed up, you did what you said you were going to do, no matter what roadline's got in your way, you got it done. That is worth celebrating. No, you're not finished, but you're on your way to being finished. And in this journey, you should be celebrating yourself every step of the way. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that. I did not always do that. Something that I have just recently started doing. It comes out of my ceiling of healing. And I realized I don't have to be humble. I did that. Yes, I did that. I'm so excited about this community. I'm so proud of myself. I am doing things I've never done before. I've never recorded a podcast nor edited a podcast. I've never created an app. But you know what? It was my goal, my vision. I wrote it down, I set the plan, I gave myself a timeline, and I got it done. I am celebrating that. I'm going to continue the celebration tonight at the virtual open house, and I'm hoping that you will join me. I appreciate you because without you, there will be none of this. This ecosystem requires community. This ecosystem requires support. The same way that I show up, you show up. When you DM me, leave me a comment, download an episode, like an episode, like an Instagram post. That is your way of supporting. And I appreciate it. This was a special episode. I thank you for joining me. Our website, www.curated living by yh.com, is where you can go to find out more information about the circle. Our podcast website, www.winewisdomwhatnow.com, is where you can go to look at previous episodes, find out what's happening with the podcast and sign up for the news thing. Yes, you would like to send an email. If you would like to be a guest, if you have a question, anything, you just want to talk to me, send me an email at questions at winewisdomwhatnow.com. I personally respond to each message received. It's not AI, it's not virtual assistant, it is me. So you will actually be in conversation with me. I love conversing with all of you. So send me a message. Let's let's chat it up. If you have a business that you want to present to the community, I have opportunities. On the page, you will find a tab that says advertise with us. Go ahead, fill out the form so I can send you over a media kit. And there's opportunities for you to advertise either with the podcast or advertise in the community or both. As always, I appreciate you. I appreciate you from the bottom of my heart. I thank you. If no one has told you you are amazing and doing amazing dates, I want you to go forth and have the best week ever. We release an episode every Tuesday, 6 a.m. So I look forward to seeing you next week. Have a great week, and I'm going to do it.