If you're like us, you love discovering habits and systems that make life better.
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From fitness routines to mental resilience, navigating personal goals to tackling burnout, we all need a little help being human.
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Hello. We're here for more Happier, a podcast where we get happier.
Join us for some weekend listening.
It's a conversation with a bit of a looser vibe.
Hey, Elizabeth. Hi, Gretch. Today, we'll talk about a show that we're both watching and some of the challenges of having dogs.
But first, something making us happier.
Elizabeth, what is something that is making you happier?
Well, Gretch, first of all, I have to say thank you to so many listeners who wrote to tell me about this and it is making me happier which is that there is a new Barbie from Mattel who has type 1 diabetes.
Wow okay that's great.
Yeah so she comes with a continuous glucose monitor which you know I wear.
Yeah. So it's a little monitor attached to your body hers is heart -shaped which which I get a kick out of.
And she has an insulin pump around her waist or at her waist, which many people with type one diabetes have. And then also her outfit is blue polka dots, which I didn't know is kind of a symbol of type one.
Oh, so it makes me so happy to see a type one Barbie.
Well, type one used to be called juvenile diabetes because it is a kind of diabetes that can be diagnosed in children.
And so this is really nice if you think of, well, you know, it's a toy.
So this would be really nice if you were a child who had type one diabetes and you would see the monitor and the pump and the polka dots.
Yes, I think it would be a great thing for a kid with type one.
And I will say I went to order one for myself to that point.
Even I, as an adult woman, thought, oh, I really want my own type one Barbie.
And they were sold out everywhere.
Is that right? Yes.
Isn't that interesting?
Yeah. So I love that.
And then while I was looking, I saw there are also Barbies in wheelchairs.
I knew that. I've seen those.
So I love this representation.
It's great. And it also really just touched me that our listeners wanted to make sure I saw this because I don't think I would have seen it if people hadn't alerted me.
Barbie is not normally on my radar.
So it was really nice.
I hadn't heard about it it either.
So I have two questions for you, Elizabeth.
First is, I think people would be curious when you say it's attached to your body, explain how that works because I think that makes it sound maybe a little bit more intimidating than it is in practice.
I remember before you got it, it seemed like a really big deal and then you were glad that you did it.
Yeah. So for the continuous glucose monitor, it's like a sensor that comes attached to sort sort of a shot.
It's very small, like an inch by inch maybe, or less.
And I can just put it up against, mine goes on my arm.
I can put it up against my arm and push the button and it's attached.
And then it has a little adhesive around it to keep it attached.
But I can, you know, wear it in the shower, swimming, et cetera.
And it's pretty unobtrusive.
And some people wear them on their stomach, which is even less visible, obviously, because it would be covered with a shirt and I used to do that.
Yeah. So yeah, it's really not a big deal.
The one I have now is a Dexcom and it lasts for like 10 days.
And then a pump is a little bit more of a thing.
It's bigger, but again, still not obtrusive.
Well, and this is just so great, I think for parents too, because it is a lot of monitoring.
It's a lot to deal with with a kid.
And now these tools are just so much more advanced even than when you got it, but you were diagnosed at like a 27.
So you were are kind of unusual.
No, 34. Oh, 34. I've always been telling people it's 27.
Oh, it's 34. Oh, right.
Of course. That's right.
That's right. Okay.
And what's great now, Gretchen, is that for my glucose monitor, I just have it on my phone.
So I don't even need a separate receiver.
I just literally have it on my phone and my doctor can log in and see all my numbers.
So it's extremely convenient.
Oh, that's great. Okay.
Now, my second question is, what were you going to do with the Barbie?
Just put it in my office.
I just felt like I should have it.
Keep it in the box, but just have it there.
Yeah, I can do that.
That's fun. You know, it just is something, it was so surprising that it existed that I just felt like, okay, I should have this.
Now, I will say I don't need it, but it just, I thought, oh, that'd be fun to have. But I was happy to see that it would sell out.
That made me happy.
Good team spirit, type one.
So, anyway, so type one Barbie, who knew?
Yes. All right, Gretchen, what's making you happier?
Okay, so one of the things that was on my 25 for 25 list is I want to work outside my office.
The library near my apartment, the New York Society Library, I love, love, love to work there.
At our lake house, we have a porch that has a table where I can sit.
And everything that I love, love, love to do.
One of my favorite things is to work outside on a porch. And my very favorite way to work outside on a porch is to have it raining, but be on a deep porch so that you can work outside in the rain.
For some reason, I just find this completely magical.
But here's the thing, and I've talked about this so many times, is now I have three monitors at my desk in my office.
And the way that I work, this is hugely helpful.
Some people, and I thought this before I got three monitors, were like, oh, it'll just distract you.
But in fact, for me, it's like I'll have a notes document and then my actual working draft, and then I can be looking up things on the Internet.
Or I can have my calendar up and my emails up so I can be going back and forth.
I just find that it's incredibly helpful.
to the point where just using my laptop makes me feel cramped in my mind.
And so I was never wanting to work outside my office.
And I really didn't like working when I traveled because I just felt like my mind was boxed in.
So I had this external monitor, but it was really, really finicky.
And so I would always be like, oh, gosh, OK, fine.
And then it just stopped working altogether.
But now I have a new external monitor that is by ViewSonic, if anybody wants this.
And it's very easy.
The other one was really hard to attach this one.
I just like attach it.
And now I have started working outside my office.
I have gone to the library not as many times as I would want to, but I have gone more and I have worked outside by the lake in the rain, which I love.
That's awesome. But it's a good example of a couple of things.
One is you can love to do something and yet forget to do it.
Yeah, I love doing this.
Why don't I do it? I don't know.
I forget to do it or I or it's just how a little bit of inconvenience can have a a completely disproportionate consequence on our actions or making something even slightly more convenient because it's just the little bit of packing up that I have to do to go out to be not working at my desk really puts me off.
Even though it takes like five minutes, I act like it takes 35 minutes.
I have to like save all my documents.
Then I have to run this program that syncs my laptop to my desktop because it's really important that my documents are always completely up to date.
That is my worst nightmare is that they would go out of sync and I would be working looking on them both simultaneously.
So I have to do that.
And then I have to stick it in my backpack.
How long does this take?
I should time it, you know, this thing, like time it.
So you really know instead of thinking, Oh, it takes 10, 15 minutes.
And it probably takes 90 seconds.
So Gretch, here's my question.
When you work outside at the lake, are there bugs?
There really aren't bugs, which is miraculous, at least so far.
I wonder as weather conditions change over the months, but so far so good.
That is amazing. Yeah, you need to do that.
That is so great. Sitting outside with your external monitor working away.
It's very romantic.
There's nothing more romantic than an external monitor.
What's more picturesque than that?
For some people, it's true.
It's true. Well, it's making me happy.
All right, Gretchen.
Coming up, we're going to talk about quality screen time.
But first, this break.
Gretch, being a TV writer, I know so many people who travel for work for weeks, sometimes months at a time when they're shooting on location.
I have a lot of great memories from being in Vancouver for weeks on end shooting a pilot.
I love being in Vancouver.
It's so gorgeous, very different from LA, really fun.
But when TV people are away, their houses and apartments just sit there in LA with and nobody using them.
Well, this year, as we are all trying to work smarter and not harder, I know people who are hosting their space on Airbnb while they're out of town.
Otherwise, the place is just sitting there empty.
It honestly feels like a no -brainer way to get a little more spending cash.
I mean, who does not want a little extra income these days?
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How those ahead stay ahead.
Okay, Alyssa, you've been bringing up some quality screen time.
What are you watching?
Okay, Gretchen, so I just finished Lena Dunham's new show called Too Much. It is on Netflix.
Jamie and I have started that, but we haven't finished the season yet.
So just for anybody who doesn't remember, Lena Dunham created the show Girls on HBO, which is one of my all time favorite shows.
I am a Girls fan. And now Lena Dunham, who's, you know, a lightning rod figure.
Some people love her.
Some people do not.
I happen and to love her, is living in London.
She moved there years ago and she met a musician and got married.
And this show is loosely based, very loosely, I'm sure, on her experience.
It's really good. But it's the main character too.
That actor is so great.
Yeah. So it stars Megan Stalter, who is also in Hacks.
I want to mention Hacks is on HBO.
HBO. It's about a stand -up comedian who's sort of a Joan Rivers type, let's say.
And she is a standout on Hacks, which I guess everyone is a standout on Hacks.
It's so fantastic. Yeah.
So she stars in too much, and she is just wonderful.
And I should mention, by the way, Gretchen, that the show actually is co -created by Lena Dunham and her husband, which is interesting.
That's interesting.
Well, and also people don't know the character that Megan Stalter plays in in Hacks, she's the loudmouth, incompetent assistant to the agent who then has her own arc.
But she's just this hilarious, you're always happy when she appears in a scene because she is just very, very funny and kind of over the top in Hacks and very, very good in Too Much as well.
She's great. Yes, I definitely think that the cast really makes this show.
There's a lot of of it is about the romance between the main character and the guy she meets in London who's played by Will Sharp and he's great too.
I really love the parts where she's out just in London, like at work or at a dinner party or at a wedding, just because it's really fun to see that fish out of water.
But the romance is nice too.
Yeah. Somebody said to me that it was like Emily and Paris, only darker.
I think that's a good description.
Well, here's a question for you you, though, Alyssa, just in your Hollywood brain, you say that the cast is great.
How do you judge that?
What are examples of good casting and bad casting?
Because I always think, I say that, but usually I just mean that I like a character and feel like the actor is believable.
I don't exactly know how a professional would judge that.
Well, I mean, I think it's all very subjective, of course.
But a great cast are people who just really stand out and who you really just want to to go back to.
For instance, I saw Lena Dunham recently talking about casting Adam Driver in Girls.
Adam Driver played her love interest in Girls.
And she was saying when he walked in the room, it just changed the whole energy of the room.
And I think Megan Stalter probably has that characteristic as well.
And then, of course, Adam Driver went on to star in Star Wars, You know, one of the biggest franchises in history.
So, I think there's just people who, what we call it, they pop.
We say they pop and it just means that when they're on screen, you just can't look away.
And they could have a small part and if they do, they might just like totally take the scene.
Or they could be the star of the show and just shine and that's why they're the star of a show.
show it's funny because there's this guy david borianis yeah who starred in buffy as angel and he is just a born tv star i mean any show he's on ends up having many seasons because people just love watching him on tv so it's i don't know it's interesting but don't you think a lot of that is the writing that like yeah they did a great job but they also have a great part are people so so good that they could have a boring part and make it really, really good.
Because, I mean, like, a lot of times people have great lines.
For sure. The things come together and that's like the lightning in the bottle that can happen on an amazing television show.
But it is also true, and I, you know, have enough humility as a writer to say this, that a great actor or let's say just an actor that people want to watch can absolutely elevate so -so material.
Oh, interesting. One hundred percent.
And a boring actor, and I don't want to name anyone, can mute great material.
So both are incredibly important.
But some people just, you know, they just shine.
Well, it's funny. I don't even know what I mean by this exactly, but sometimes people look anachronistic.
And you're like, what are you talking about?
But, like, I remember in Game of Thrones, every once in a while a character would come and I'm like, you just have a modern face.
You just don't look like you belong in that world.
I mean, I remember even the Night King, the way he moved.
I'm like, you don't move like the Night King.
You move like a guy.
Interesting. Interesting.
And there were some people whose faces just didn't fit in the show.
They're like, well, how can a person look anachronistic?
We're all alive right now together.
Why is somebody believable to me in that world and other people are not?
Well, it could be the quality of their wig.
Oh, really? Their wig could have been off and that made you think they looked off.
Interesting. Like I picked up that something was wrong.
Yeah. Well, I can't because, you know, I love a great quotation.
I cannot resist adding this quotation that's haunted me ever since I read Lena Dunham's memoir, Not That Kind of Girl, because she was writing about a period when she was younger, when she was working as a sales clerk at a fancy children's clothing store in New York City.
and she was working with two of her friends and it was like super, super fun.
And she writes about why she stopped doing that.
She wrote, but ambition is a funny thing.
It creeps in when you least expect it and keeps you moving, even when you think you want to stay put.
I thought that was a great description of ambition.
I love that. That stuck with me too.
We talked about that.
Yeah, an interesting detail about that store, Gretchen, You know, it's owned by Jemima Kirk's mother.
And Jemima Kirk was one of Lena Dunham's best friends from high school.
And she played Jessa, one of the main characters on Girls.
Lena Dunham's ambition kept many people moving.
It seemed like that's pretty interesting.
Yes, exactly right.
Oh, that's interesting.
Yeah, I'm excited to watch the rest of this season.
I'm really enjoying it.
And so is Jamie. You know, we like to watch TV shows together.
Yes. So, yeah, that's Lena Dunham's Too Much on Netflix.
And the whole season is out.
so you can watch it now all right gretchen what is our spotlight on a tool this week okay summer is well underway and if you want a simple way to bring more intention and fun to the season before it slips away i have made a free design your summer worksheet to help you plan you can fill it out with what you want to read watch learn celebrate whatever you want to do you can get your free copy at happiercast .com summer guide it's never too late to really make sure that we make the most of what is left of the summer.
It's going so fast. Oh, yeah.
All right, Gretch, coming up, there is something I've been meaning to ask you, but first, this break.
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They also offer Intuit Academy, a free and self -paced training program through which you can advance your tax and bookkeeping career.
So if you're looking to design your future with a flexible and supportive tax career, visit Intuit .com slash expert to learn more or apply.
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Okay Gretchen we're back and I have been meaning to ask you how is Barnaby doing?
I feel like Barnaby has been through a lot this summer for anyone who doesn't know Barnaby is your dog your older dog your tappy your puppy and then you have Barnaby who I think is 10 right?
Yeah he's 10. First of all he's had this puppy come into his life where where he's sort of like, oh gosh.
He's kind to her, but I would say he's not enthusiastic.
But what really happened, unfortunately, is that he hurt his leg and he needed something called, a kind of surgery called TPLO, which stands for tibial plateau leveling osteotomy, which is super common, apparently, in dogs.
I call it the torn piece of leg operation because that's what makes the most sense to me.
But it's kind of like ACL surgery for people.
But apparently it's less about sudden injury the way we would think of somebody tearing their ACL and more just gives out kind of like a strand of yarn getting frayed.
And so, you know, he had to have a surgery.
He has to have a cone, which he really doesn't like.
He has to take medicine.
Fortunately, now he's taking less medicine.
At first, he was taking many, many pills.
Now he's down to just a few.
He does not like taking pills.
He loves to like walk around outside.
outside. He's very socially like seeing other dogs.
And he has done a very limited exercise while the leg is healing.
Unfortunately, the medicine helps him to stay calm.
And he's good at napping if he's just like hanging around the apartment.
But, you know, it's hard. It's hard to be a dog.
It's hard to I'm sure the cone is just it looks incredibly uncomfortable.
And, you know, I feel bad for him.
Poor little guy. I know you wish you could just make them them understand, hey, if you wouldn't lick this, you wouldn't have to have this cone on.
Don't you see? Just listen to me and everything will be so much better.
But unfortunately, they just don't do that.
No. And the thing with medicine, he really doesn't want to take the medicine.
Thank you. So many listeners sent good suggestions about how to give medicine to a dog.
So we're kind of working our way through those suggestions.
He's very cunning. But you can't say to a dog, like, I know the pill doesn't taste good, but it'll make your leg feel better.
Or I'm sorry that you're in this scary place that you don't want to be, but in the end, this is going to like take away your pain.
He was very calm, like during the whole thing.
You know, some dogs shake, I remember Paddywack.
Oh my God. Our dog growing up, she would shake.
The minute you got her in the car, she had like six cents about whether she was going someplace good or going someplace bad.
She was new. Yes. You just wish you could say, oh, you'll feel better.
And just, it's just a couple weeks.
But then again, I guess maybe to them, it's every day is just a new day.
So they're not thinking, oh my gosh, I've got five more weeks of this.
But of course, we feel incredibly fortunate that we were able to give the surgery to Barnaby because he was really, he wasn't whining or whimpering or anything, but he was definitely just not using the leg at all.
He just kept it lifted all the time.
So clearly it was really bothering him.
So how long will this recovery recovery take so it's two weeks with the cone and when he can only go for five minute walks two to three times a day so that's very limited it looks like everything's coming along fine so then the cone will come off so that'll be big oh another thing he can't do is he's not allowed to jump on furniture oh that's yeah so we have to like keep all these doors closed and we had to work out this whole system so that to put him in a place where he couldn't jump on the furniture and then of course he does anyway behind our backs if we slip up even for a second that's It's
been hard. I mean, because, you know, some people are like they don't let the dogs dump up on their furniture.
But I'm like, what is a dog for?
Yeah, they're just living their lives alongside us on our furniture.
So after two weeks, then he'll be able to go for a little bit longer walks.
But I think he still can't run or jump or play with other dogs.
And then it sort of gradually tapers down.
I'm not 100 percent sure when we can stop giving him the medication.
That might be a while.
It hurts. Yeah. So it's helping him manage that and also helping him to to stay calm.
So he stays off the legs.
So by eight weeks, assuming that everything's going well and it looks like, I mean, just from my amateur eyes, like it's healing well.
And they said he should be using it.
And at first he wasn't really using it, but now he's definitely putting it down and putting his weight on it.
So that's good. Well, Gretchen, I have to say having two corgis, they're notorious for, I think, having some kind of hip surgery when they get older.
So I'm definitely watching this and seeing possible surgeries in my future for these dogs.
So I will learn from you.
Yeah, the cone is just, they said there were three risks.
One was they would lick the incision and it would get infected.
Two was that they would get too much exercise and wouldn't take the implant or whatever.
And the three was that they didn't take their medication.
And so the thing about the cone is it completely takes care of that that first concern, but you just feel bad for them.
You do. Yeah. Well, I hope Barnaby's better soon.
Yes. He'll be so much happier when he can use his leg.
That's true. That's true.
All right, Gretchen, finally, what is our quotation this week?
This comes from the diary of Eugene Delacroix.
He writes, A man does not work only for the sake of producing, but to set a value on his time.
We feel more satisfied with ourselves and with our day if we have stirred up our minds and made a good start or have finished a piece of work.
Mm, I know you feel that way.
I know you feel that way.
True. So Elizabeth, are you feeling happier?
Yes, I am feeling happier.
Thank you to Chuck.
And if you haven't subscribed to Lemonada Premium yet, now is the perfect time because guess what?
You can listen completely ad -free.
You just tap that subscribe button on Apple Podcasts or you can go to LemonadaPremium .com to subscribe on any other app.
That's LemonadaPremium .com.
Bye, Gretch. Bye, Elizabeth.
The best time to start a happiness project is 20 years ago.
The second best time is now.
Oh, Gretch, I forgot to say when we were talking about Too Much that Lena Dunham herself is on the show as the main character Jessica's sister.
Yes. And I love seeing her back on the screen.
I love her role and Andrew Randles, who was also on Girls and who I absolutely adore, plays her husband.
So that's really fun.
Well, I like all of the whole family of the main character.
They're all very, very funny.
Yes. Rita Wilson plays their mother and she's fantastic.
Oh, is that Rita Wilson?
Yes. Who's married to Tom Hanks?
Yes. I did not know that.
Okay. I've got to read the credits more.
I always look up to cast when I'm watching because I'm not great with faces.
So I always look up so I know who's playing what.
Interesting. From the Onward Project.
If you're like us, you love discovering habits and systems that make life better.
That's why we're excited to share this opportunity.
It's perfect for anyone trying to design a career that works for them, not against them.
Intuit, the maker of TurboTax and QuickBooks, is expanding its world -class network of tax and bookkeeping experts.
As an Intuit expert, you get to work virtually, select your hours, and be part of a mission -driven culture focused on helping customers prosper.
Plus, you're supported by a team of experienced tax professionals who are there to help you succeed.
They also offer Intuit Academy, a free and self -paced training program through which you can advance your tax and bookkeeping career.
So if you're looking to design your future with a flexible and supportive tax career, visit intuit .com slash expert to learn more or apply.
That's I -N -T -U -I -T dot com slash expert.
