Not Your Cup of Tea

Why is this episode one of my favorites to date? lol. This week we keep it light and silly with a game of Would You Rather. Play along and see if you can guess what I'd rather do before I say it, and share with me which ones you strongly agree and disagree with! And remember to keep an eye out on Instagram to submit dream stories for the upcoming dream episode, or feel free to email them to me as well! You can follow the podcast on Instagram @notyourcupoftea.podcast for BTS, listener submissions, updates and announcements, and more! To submit long-form stories, questions, concerns, or suggestions, please email the podcast at: [email protected]

*Please be aware that this episode contains sensitive content relating to sexual violence, sexual assault, rape, violence towards women, domestic abuse, and references to blood* It's Women's History Month! In today's episode, we talk about all things womens rights. I give y'all the rundown on some bad bitch women of history that impacted my personal rights and access to things like writing, driving, and mental health treatment. Then, I cover the facts on when women were granted certain rights and freedoms throughout history, which you'll find isn't as distant as we often think it is. Lastly, I give an overview of just a few of the injustices and lack of rights women around the world still face today. This last piece of the podcast contains some sensitive content, so please listen with caution <3 And be sure to keep an eye out on Instagram for prompts for next week's dream episode! Sources referenced for this episode: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/24/world/middleeast/saudi-driving-ban-anniversary.html https://www.runvermont.org/blog/womens-history-month/ https://scoop.upworthy.com/10-women-whose-achievements-ignored-history-celebrated-more https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/intimatepartnerviolence/index.html https://data.unicef.org/topic/child-protection/female-genital-mutilation/#:~:text=Around%20the%20world%2C%20over%20230,are%20in%20the%20Middle%20East. https://www.unwomen.org/en/news/in-focus/commission-on-the-status-of-women-2012/facts-and-figures https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/no-one-studied-menstrual-product-absorbency-realistically-until-now/ You can follow the podcast on Instagram @notyourcupoftea.podcast for BTS, listener submissions, updates and announcements, and more! To submit long-form stories, questions, concerns, or suggestions, please email the podcast at: [email protected]

This episode was a labor of love, y'all... For the first episode in a series I'm calling 'Spotlight Sessions', I sat down and interviewed my grandpa, Duane Gull, about his life story. Our interview lasted all day and by the time I left his house, I had accumulated over 8 hours of recording time. Sadly, when I got around to editing it all a while later, I realized I had recorded our interview on a damaged storage disk and discovered that nearly 4 hours of our interview was missing. While severely disappointed by this, I had plenty of material left to put an episode together, which is what made up todays episode. I hope to have Duane return to the podcast in the future, so we can enjoy more of his storytelling and wisdom. You can follow the podcast on Instagram @notyourcupoftea.podcast for BTS, listener submissions, updates and announcements, and more! To submit long-form stories, questions, concerns, or suggestions, please email the podcast at: [email protected]

Hello!! Thanks for tuning in! This week I fill you in on what I did for Valentine's Day and how that effected the delay in episode delivery last week (whoopsies). There may or may not be a random tangent involving nature documentaries involved at some point. I can't be sure, I hardly ever remember what I said on the episode once I finish recording... But the topic for todays episode is worst first dates, and y'all delivered so fast on stories for this prompt when I posted it on Instagram. They are so so good. That being said, I am so so sorry you had to endure these experiences in order to provide us with a great story, lol. Hope you enjoy! And Happy Belated Valentine's Day! You can follow the podcast on Instagram @notyourcupoftea.podcast for BTS, listener submissions, updates and announcements, and more! To submit long-form stories, questions, concerns, or suggestions, please email the podcast at: [email protected]

The chaos of trying to find a set release day is still alive and well. Thanks for sticking with me! In today's episode I catch you guys up on last weeks missing episode and tease the upcoming "Spotlight Sessions," as well as telling you about my trip to Ensenada, Mexico. Then we get into one of the Valentine's Day topics for this month: dating apps and ridiculous bios/profiles. It's a rollercoaster... so make sure to put on your seatbelt, and keep your arms and legs in the ride at all times. And finally, did you catch how many yawns were yawned in this episode? Sources Used In This Episode: https://www.womenshealthmag.com/relationships/g38736242/best-dating-app/ You can follow the podcast on Instagram @notyourcupoftea.podcast for BTS, listener submissions, updates and announcements, and more! To submit long-form stories, questions, concerns, or suggestions, please email the podcast at: [email protected]

I know, I know. She’s late. But what else is new? Maybe I'll embrace it and not have a set day of the week for release and you'll just get to be surprised when it's Tuesday one week and Friday the next. Lol, I'm kidding... sort of. I finally give to you this week’s episode, and it’s a tad bit chaotic. I polled topics from you guys for a game of “Don’t Get Me Started.” It was meant to be a game of ranting angrily about a random topic, however, I expanded the range of emotional rantings to an angry OR happy rant. But it really just devolved into indifferent rants for the most part. You’ll see what I mean. In the process, I reveal some (probably) poor character traits of mine that I hope I’m not alone in lol. Somewhere around minute 19:20 you’ll notice that I go from talking about the ‘Barbie’ movie to grocery stores with absolutely no segue. This is because my recording device/storage disk malfunctioned and stopped recording when I was talking about ‘Barbie,’ and didn’t start recording again until I was already into a “rant” about grocery store self-checkouts. I apologize for the jump. Unfortunately, it’s not the only time this happens in the episode, but I tried to edit it as smoothly as I could in the other instances, so hopefully it’s not too distracting. And I’ve figured out what the problem was, so it won’t happen again in the future! Thanks for your understanding and I hope you enjoy the episode! You can follow the podcast on Instagram @notyourcupoftea.podcast for BTS, listener submissions, updates and announcements, and more! To submit long-form stories, questions, concerns, or suggestions, please email the podcast at: [email protected]

Happy MLK Jr. Day! In todays episode, I talk about about my upcoming cruise and the nerves I'm experiencing about going on a cruise for the first time. I do a little personal digging and realize it's probably a result of my interest in the Titanic as a kid... Then we get into the topic for todays episode -- Glimmers. I thought they were made up (and technically they are, but I mean, everything is technically made up), but it turns out they're emotional experiences we have that affect our nervous system. I thought they were pretty cool and I hope you think so too! Or at the very least, learn something you didn't know before. Articles used in todays episode: https://www.newportinstitute.com/resources/mental-health/what-are-glimmers/#:~:text=Glimmers%20are%20those%20tiny%2C%20seemingly,the%20rain%20outside%20your%20window. You can follow the podcast on Instagram @notyourcupoftea.podcast for BTS, listener submissions, updates and announcements, and more! To submit long-form stories, questions, concerns, or suggestions, please email the podcast at: [email protected]

With our foot in the door to the New Year, I thought it could be fun to play a little game I like to call "If I Won the Lottery" as a silly take on money manifestation and abundance. The scenario posed is that you've just won $500 million (tax free) from the lottery: 1) What are the first few things you're spending the money on?, 2) What are some of the most outrageous things you're going to purchase just because you can?, and 3) With so much money, who are you choosing to help? I tell you my lottery dreams and I read listener submissions. It's a fun one! You can follow the podcast on Instagram @notyourcupoftea.podcast for BTS, listener submissions, updates and announcements, and more! To submit long-form stories, questions, concerns, or suggestions, please email the podcast at: [email protected]

Happy New Year everyone! I hope you had a safe and festive (or relaxing and quiet) holiday! In todays episode we ring in 2024 by ditching resolutions and instead having a wish list (kind of like the wish list we'd send Santa for Christmas as kids). I share my wish list from last year and review what I did from my 2023 list, and I share my wish list for 2024, which include some ambitious goals for the podcast. Then I read your guys' "resolutions" and things your excited for in 2024, like more time reading, focusing on your health, and travel:) You can follow the podcast on Instagram @notyourcupoftea.podcast for BTS, listener submissions, updates and announcements, and more! To submit long-form stories, questions, concerns, or suggestions, please email the podcast at: [email protected].

Today we cover our favorite things. Think Julie Andrews in The Sound of Music. First, our favorite things in general--foods, products, music, feelings and experiences, etc. Then we talk about our favorite things from 2023, like "the summer of Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, and Barbie," and other more personally significant moments. This was the last episode for 2023! I hope you guys have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! You can follow the podcast on Instagram @notyourcupoftea.podcast for BTS, listener submissions, updates and announcements, and more! To submit long-form stories, questions, concerns, or suggestions, please email the podcast at: [email protected]

Episodes will now be releasing Monday! Today I cover some random thoughts I had over the last week, which involved Wayfair, men and their lack of social awareness, and ghost-y things. Then we get into "My Therapist Once Told Me... And I Still Think About It" tweets that I liked and thought could be beneficial going into this week with Christmas. You can follow the podcast on Instagram @notyourcupoftea.podcast for BTS, listener submissions, updates and announcements, and more! To submit long-form stories, questions, concerns, or suggestions, please email the podcast at: [email protected]

It's becoming a theme that I rambled on for a little bit at the being of each episode, and this one is no exception. I talk about fog and tell a story as it relates to my experience with driving. I get a little sappy and vulnerable and talk about my grandma, and how amazing she was at giving thoughtful, well-prepared Christmas gifts. Then, I juxtapose the amazing-ness of my grandma's gifts to the times we have received the worst and weirdest gifts from well-intentioned people who sometimes miss the mark. You can follow the podcast on Instagram @notyourcupoftea.podcast for BTS, listener submissions, updates and announcements, and more! To submit long-form stories, questions, concerns, or suggestions, please email the podcast at: [email protected]

I would like you all to know that "Probably 'Cause of the Patriarchy to be Honest with You" was a strong contended for this episodes title, lol. However, I think the title I settled on better summarizes some of my feelings for todays topics. Thank you to everyone for your patience and support as it took a few extra days to get this episode out!... *Health* amiright?... Todays episode was such a fun one and probably one of my favorites to date. The first half of the episode I get into five things I'm currently obsessed with, and then the second half we cover some conversations around pop culture events at the moment--mainly my thoughts on Matt Rife, Taylor Swift, and the new Disney villian. You can follow the podcast on Instagram @notyourcupoftea.podcast for BTS, listener submissions, updates and announcements, and more! To submit long-form stories, questions, concerns, or suggestions, please email the podcast at: [email protected]

Thanksgiving (and soon-to-follow Christmas) can be an emotionally taxing time for a lot of people as the stresses of travelling, cooking, and being around so much family can quickly become overwhelming. So, with this in mind, I read twenty-five stories about family thanksgivings that went a little hay-wire. Hopefully, it puts into perspective that maybe--just maybe-- your family isn't as crazy as it seems... Or, at the very least, these stories remind you that you're not suffering through this holiday alone, and gives you a few chuckles along the way. And thanks for bearing with me through this episode, as like I mention, I wasn't feeling my best. Happy Thanksgiving everyone! (And as a reminder, I hope to do a similar episode like this one next month, but as it relates to Christmas! So if you have a wild, funny, or downright ridiculous family story from Christmas-time that you'd feel comfortable sharing and have read on the podcast, you can email it to: [email protected]) You can follow the podcast on Instagram @notyourcupoftea.podcast for BTS, listener submissions, updates and announcements, and more! To submit long-form stories, questions, concerns, or suggestions, please email the podcast at: [email protected]

My long-time friend, Jordynn, joined me today for a conversation that starts with the question: "Why are men afraid of women?" However, it takes several twist and turns, and really ends up being a conversation about how fear impacts men and women differently and their accompanying responses to it. Around forty-five minutes into the episode, we get interrupted by something that led to this episodes title. It's one hell of a listen, and I'm so glad you get to be a part of it! You can follow the podcast on Instagram @notyourcupoftea.podcast for BTS, listener submissions, updates and announcements, and more! To submit long-form stories, questions, concerns, or suggestions, please email the podcast at: [email protected]

Things get reeeal vulnerable reeeal fast in todays episode. I talk about my recent struggles with doing the podcast, and then I get into a handful of topics about some important things that over time have been deemed as taboo, impolite, or “too personal” to talk about conversationally. This is a sneak peek for what I have planned to come for future episodes. Let me know in the reviews what topic from today you feel like is easier or more difficult for you to talk about. I’d like to hear your thoughts! You can follow the podcast on Instagram @notyourcupoftea.podcast for BTS, listener submissions, updates and announcements, and more! To submit long-form stories, questions, concerns, or suggestions, please email the podcast at: [email protected]

Halloween is my favorite holiday, so we couldn't leave October without a "spook-tacular" send-off! This week we get into a little history on how Halloween became what we know it as today, I go over my top five favorite Halloween movies, tv shows, & music, and then we end the episode with a handful of ghost tales. Don't forget to check out the podcast on Instagram to see photos related to this episode, and Happy Halloween, and Feliz Día de Los Muertos! You can follow the podcast on Instagram @notyourcupoftea.podcast for BTS, listener submissions, updates and announcements, and more! To submit long-form stories, questions, concerns, or suggestions, please email the podcast at: [email protected]

This episode I start off by talking about Spooky Season (!) and then we get into the "boring" facts listeners submitted. Only, they weren't actually that boring. Leave it to me to find something interesting or meaningful in the most mundane things. Give it a listen and let me know in the comments if you agree with my takes, or if you think these facts are indeed boring as hell. To submit your spooky stories for next weeks episode, please email [email protected] You can follow the podcast on Instagram @notyourcupoftea.podcast for BTS, listener submissions, updates and announcements, and more!

It's here! The first episode of Not Your Cup of Tea! I'm so exciting to be sharing this with you! I start the episode off by introducing myself a little bit, going off on a tangent or two, and then spilling the tea on the inception, creation, and expectations for the podcast. I hope you stick around! You can follow the podcast on Instagram @notyourcupoftea.podcast for BTS, listener submissions, updates and announcements, and more!

Hey there! If you're anything like me, you like your conversations with a healthy balance of depth and silliness. I'm your host Kelsie West! Join me every Wednesday as we cover a range of thought-provoking, laugh-inducing topics as we spill the tea *wink wink* about the human experience. Follow the pod on Instagram @notyourcupoftea.podcast to catch behind-the-scenes and answer questions for a chance to have your answer featured on the podcast!