Take the Elevator
This podcast is purely about elevating people through individual life stories and experiences in the Elevator. In the Elevator, what's key is maybe changing your perspective; having self-actualization; embracing your purpose; and acting on it as we grow from one another. There is a whole different point of view when you look up to elevate.
Take the Elevator
335th Floor: Our Adventure to a New Sanctuary
Picture this: chaos in the living room, boxes everywhere, and the dogs are on an impromptu adventure. That's just a snapshot of our journey as we made the big leap to a new home and studio. After some time away, we're back and eager to share the whirlwind of experiences and emotions that come with such a significant life change. From the thrill of purchasing our first adjustable desk to the unexpected challenges, like sleeping on the couch until our new mattress arrived, our move has been a rollercoaster. Even our dogs, Penny and Tallulah, added their own flair with a couple of escape attempts! But amidst the chaos, we've learned the vital role of teamwork and communication, not just with each other but with you, our cherished listeners.
Our new environment has sparked a sense of novelty and inspiration, and we’re finding joy in decorating and connecting with our welcoming neighbors. This episode is all about embracing change, sharing our gratitude, and trusting our instincts as we navigate life's unpredictable turns. We’re excited about future projects, and we hope our story inspires you to find peace amidst your own chaos. So, whether you're settling into a new space or contemplating a big change, join us as we reflect on the power of community and the art of starting anew.
Hey, it's Jen the Builder and Corey, and I don't even know where to begin. Welcome back, welcome back. Welcome back to you, corey. Welcome back to you, jane, yeah, yeah, it's been a wild ride the last month or so, yeah it has been and what a wild ride and wild story it is to tell. It really is.
Speaker 2:So first, I just want to thank everyone who's reached out to us to see if we were okay yeah, um, I had a couple people reach out to me and say what's going on and I haven't gotten any notifications. Are you guys coming back? What's the deal? So you know, um, thank you guys for checking on us and thank you also for uh being yeah.
Speaker 1:So we're going to give you an update as to what's been going on. But I have to say this is new for me and we're in a new place, literally a new setting, so everything about this feels like a novelty.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:We are now. Our studio is part of the music studio and, I'm sorry, I forget what you call your music studio.
Speaker 2:It's called a music studio.
Speaker 1:Oh, we don't name it because I know my office I call Elevate Right, and so back in our old place, which we're going to talk more about, you had a vocal booth.
Speaker 2:That was called the Hive, yeah, but I never technically named the studio because it was just Genco.
Speaker 1:Right, okay, so we're in the corporate headquarters of Genco right now. Yeah, you can put it that way, and it feels legit, but I have to tell you, um, everything about this room is so fun. I am staring at monkeys or stuffed monkeys animals that our daughter created for the band, yeah, and then I've got the big og ruffles that's staying right there in that corner, so it feels very inspiring and it's a little distracting.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it is just a bit. And just to add to that, being in a new place, being in a new space, really challenges everything about what you're used to doing. So it's going to take a little bit for us to really settle in, and you might not even know it, but we're just really excited about all the things that's in front of us right now.
Speaker 1:Literally, yeah, literally. So, without going into too much detail, we had been talking about making some big moves and we've always honored that right, corey, whenever something comes up in conversation or in thought at least, I'm very aware that, okay, this is happening for a reason. Yeah, it's not something on accident, but it just happened so quickly.
Speaker 2:It did, and when we realized that we were going to be making some changes, making some moves. Jen and I are the kind of people that, once we know what we have to do, we're not going to procrastinate, we're not going to waste any time.
Speaker 2:It's about that. Go, go, go, get it done, because we hate being in limbo, both of us. We can't stand being in that in-between space, not knowing what's next. So we typically take the bull by the horns and control to the best of our abilities anyway, not really allowing things to happen to us, but making things happen.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and that's exactly what happened. We kind of knew where it was going. The opportunity presented itself, we went ahead and said let's do it, and I think that's the important part for me in this is the let's piece. It's never something that we do on our own, and I find it to be encouraging and strengthening to do it alongside you, absolutely.
Speaker 2:And me. I'm just going to say this me being in my fifties, I am now 52 years old. I'm not ashamed of that. I am very proud to say that I'm 52. And the reason why is because as a child, you know, growing up in the gang culture, the gang phenomena. I was never a part of gangs. I didn't know much about the inner workings of gangs, never claimed that, but I did grow up around that, and it was constantly told to the teenagers that your route is jail, grave or just being in trouble and so, like doomsday, yeah, it was doomsday for real.
Speaker 2:And so when I think, man, I made it to 52, I'm pretty happy, I'm pretty proud, but I bring up my I bring up my age because, um, when you move, even though you hire someone to help you, it's a lot of work. I mean, I busted my tail making this move and and I know jen did too, and she was like she said, she partnered with me very smoothly, very, um, even flow, and and we got it done, man, and we are here. We're happy. Uh, it's a gorgeous, amazing space. Uh, we were lacking for nothing, so don't feel like you know, oh, man, they had to move. What happened? No, it's a good thing. We are on all fronts. On all fronts, yeah, we just have a load of positivity around us, and we're going to give you some details. Not all of them, but some of them.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so there are so many things that I think we want to share with you, as we've been on this journey. So we went from I don't know close to 3,500 square feet into a home that's 2,800 square feet, and, aside from being challenged with the age thing and moving ourselves physically for the most part, I mean we had movers for one day and that was wonderful, and it was also wonderful in the pocket, my goodness. Yeah, you know, that was the first time I'd ever experienced that because, cory, anytime we moved before, we did it on our own, with friends, family this one was different yeah, and so a lot of broken furniture, a lot of holes in the wall.
Speaker 1:Yes, so these were professionals, and it was so obvious that they were. The thing is is time is of the essence, so they get paid by the hour. Yeah, and I mean they worked every minute of the hour, but you're like man, it's four hours in and I don't even think we're halfway through the house, and so dollars are just adding up and adding up, just rolling on, and Jen is saying to me um, do you think they can wrap up in 30 minutes?
Speaker 1:I'm like there ain't no way we're going into the next hour and we went there and, um, you know we had to do it, so we're grateful for that. And while we were experiencing so, time right and I have to tell you gory and I've shared this with you, I'm going to share with everybody as we were packing up, I just looked around at our home and I thought why do I have this amount of things? And you go through everything and then you start to look at it like how much was this? What was I thinking? What's the value in this? And where else could I have spent my money besides on these things, because when I say things, I mean it was a lot of items that were just really sitting there.
Speaker 1:I found so many things that were still in its original packaging. Oh, wow, and I don't want to say I felt guilty. I just was sickened by oh, my gosh, no, I really was by the habit that I had formed in shopping and feeling a need to have all these things around me. That was my journey and I just had a purge. I was so glad to let things go. It brought joy to the people I was able to give it to and I made a conscious decision. I'm making this move and I need to make some change.
Speaker 2:Yeah, totally I didn't quite feel that way.
Speaker 1:I know you brought everything over.
Speaker 2:I was like I need that, that has that serves a purpose and I'm going to enjoy it. Where, where we're going, I know exactly where I'm going to put it and I know how much it was and why. But no, I did have some of the same feelings that Jen had with some of the things, because when you're a musician, you tend to get too many of one thing. It's inevitable because you're going to lose something. I mean, you have too many picks, too many strings. Of course you got too many instruments, but you at the time you need them. They give different sounds and then you don't understand why you needed that sound. But then you hear the song back and you're like, oh yeah, that's right. So, um, there are those things. So, just, I enjoyed going through the stuff that we uh acquired along the way I love that.
Speaker 1:Uh, the part I enjoyed was really being able to put things in piles like these are must-haves yeah, clearly seeing that, gotta keep it. Yeah, and these are things that are nice, tabs not necessary, and these things are just absolutely no value in my life.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah so one of the things I really appreciated were my books and just spending time and seeing them all again and remembering what they were for and what they're about and just what my takeaways were as I went through those books. You know that kind of way, Right? And then I thought, man, in this part of my life I get to be a co-author with you and yeah, one day, if not already, our books are gracing someone's shelves or toy bins because they're kids' books, you know what I mean.
Speaker 2:Well, while we're talking about that, let's go there, because we had a moment of middle of the move towards the middle end, but we had to go read somewhere, which was a ton of fun. But it was that moment of we're in transition and we're about to go out and pretend like everything is a-okay. And it was it was.
Speaker 1:It was just as if we had it together right right, well, we had so much still going on, physically, mentally emotionally?
Speaker 2:yeah, I was. I was literally drained. Like I said, even though you hire people to help you, there's a lot of physical work going on and the emotional strain from having to be at work and knowing I got to do all this other stuff. But the read was so amazing to me and I hope it was the same for you, jen. But just interacting with the children I watched you interact with the children. You gave the kids an opportunity to participate with us and I had never done that.
Speaker 2:I had never physically allowed the kids to come up and engage in the reading and that was just an amazing moment kids to come up and engage in the reading, and that was just an amazing moment. We were able to showcase two new songs that we wrote for the children's record, and that was a blast, and they danced, and so, yeah, man, it was just incredible and I can't wait for the next one, and there's going to be a bunch of them, and I'll be sure to put it out there. And then there's the band. That was very strange because I literally had to push pause on the band for almost two months my guitarist and lead singer. He was in the process of moving as well, and so we hadn't performed and to this day, haven't performed for at least two months. And now we're about to do multiple shows and just jump in head first that's awesome.
Speaker 1:It's almost like not almost it is like we made this move and it just opened channels for everything that seemed like there was a blockage. You know what I mean? Yeah, and so that's my way of knowing that this was the right move and it needed to happen for us to be ready for what was to come. So I want to go back to the kids thing, sure, because that, for me, was a glimmer. So in the middle of all this move by the way, friends, we did not take any days off from work for this move no, I have a new um senior leader and it was just important for me to be present there, you know, as he's acclimating and he's needing information. So that was there, corey, your bank and your pTO, for good things coming up.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:So it didn't make sense for us to take time off. So it gave me a perspective. When I'm working with clients or people and they say life is busy right now, it's overwhelming. That gave me the perspective for me. That that's what this was for me, and just to extend grace and compassion to other people, but especially to ourselves, as we're trying to figure it out, and I don't know couples, friends, people in relationships, friendships, ships when life is busy, that way it can. One conversation, one wrong turn can blow up because the stress level is so high.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. All I can say is absolutely, because I mean, you know, we experienced some things in the transition that were really great and we experienced some things that were almost ticking time bombs at times, just waiting to go off, and we could both feel the tension. But the cool thing about having open communication and being in tune with one another we know there's something there, we just don't know what and we just pick the moment to address it. We don't just let it spew out. And we've all seen these couples in the car yelling at the top of their lungs at each other or at the store, and it's just a argument brewing and waiting to happen. Thank goodness for a wise wife. Thank goodness for a wise wife, thank goodness for a emotionally intelligent partner that knows, hey, this ain't the right time. When it is, oh, you're going to get it. No, I'm playing, but just knowing when the right time is. So, yeah, I'm very grateful for that. Did you want to touch on the hurdle of actually getting settled in the house? Which one?
Speaker 1:Oh, ok. So for me and I don't know if we're talking about the same thing so when you move in in a hurry, first I want to say why this is such a contradiction to what I just said. We moved in such a way because we were kind of going room by room. Where we were so intentional about placement, we had the time to talk about what we wanted to see, where we were going to put everything Right, right. So that was a different experience.
Speaker 1:But while we were in this, of course we have to get certain utilities right, turned on, put in our name, take care of changing mailing addresses and letting people know about this change, and so one of the things that we did was hey, we're moving into a new home, what are some things that we've really wanted to buy, that we'd like to put in this home? So, for example, I already have a desk, but man, oh man, did I want one of those desks that had the cool little buttons that you preset and it rises and it goes down. You know that way you can sit and you can stand while you're working. So I went in and bought one, and so we bought some new appliances. That always feels good, right, and one of the things we thought was let's buy a new mattress. Is this the one you're talking about?
Speaker 2:that one, and then we'll get to the okay yeah.
Speaker 1:So while waiting for the mattress, we opted to not bring our old stuff over. We said let's just wait, because then we're gonna have to get rid of it anyways. So we slept on the couch oh, my goodness, for I don't know. Four, four nights, five nights it was more like three it just felt so long.
Speaker 1:It was miserable. Guys like I. I couldn't get comfortable. It wasn't firm and then it was hot. And you know, when you're in the middle of the moves, especially on the weekends, you're like going back to back hour by hour, just moving things. And we, both homes, have two stories, so you can imagine. And you're just nasty and it's hot. Well, guess what else I forgot to do and this is TMI, but I don't care. This is really what happened. We were so busy with everything I didn't pack a couple of outfits and towels and stuff to get cleaned up in the middle of this move. So I had no idea what to do. At this point we went ahead and figured man, we're tired, we got to go to sleep, so we did. So we're on this couch. I couldn't get comfortable. I just felt nasty with the moving and the dust all around us. That was hard for me. I thought I felt like we were roughing it, like like it might as well have been camping outside, so nothing.
Speaker 2:I have a slightly different take on that. I I did feel the pain of having to move that long. I'm a physical person, I do a lot of moving, I do a lot of getting around, and so it's different when Jen's not very high active in her job title I am, so it wasn't that bad for me. I'm not saying that I know I'm minimizing her uh issues any. Um, it's just that my mindset was just a little bit different. Um, but we made it and it was great and she was a trooper and I I championed her on along the way. My my thing was getting our babies settled.
Speaker 1:Oh, our doggies.
Speaker 2:Yeah, our babies were and I call them our babies because we don't have little ones anymore and so Penny and Tallulah were quite stressed out.
Speaker 1:Yeah, they knew big changes were happening.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and they were excited watching us move around and they didn't know where we were going or where the stuff was going. And then, when we finally brought them over, we've only had two escapes since we've been here and that was very challenging. We were out to breakfast one morning and we got that call from a neighbor saying your dog is running down the street. So we panicked and packed up the breakfast from the restaurant, come home to see the oldest trotting down the street hunting for the scent of her owners.
Speaker 1:But she didn't go far from the house, which I'm so glad. They're so smart when they've done their little houdini moments, they stay right in the front yeah which you know I'm glad. So that's been quite an adjustment. You know they don't have as much yard and grass and stuff in the backyard. A lot of it is cemented so we've had to set special places up for them and just watching them acclimate has been a little heartbreaking. Um, penny is is getting used to it. Talula is really clinging and hanging on to our son yeah and that's okay.
Speaker 1:Like this is what happens in moments of change. So thanks for bringing that forward, because it just reminds us of the different levels that people have to adapting.
Speaker 2:People and our animals. Yeah, creatures are struggling just as much as a person might in a stressful situation. But, guys, you know we've spent a lot of time telling you about our changes and things we're going through, but we felt like that was necessary because if you're asking where we are and what we're doing and we don't give you any kind of answers, it's really not fair to you listening to this podcast and tuning in and hoping to hear something that's going on or what the next big thing is. We felt like this is something we have to do for the people listening and for the people that are going to listen. If they notice that the time stamps are, you know, weeks or months or a month apart, what would happen? Why'd they stop? You know recording. Well, that's what's going on. Life was lifing.
Speaker 1:Yeah, exactly, and I think it's important that for people who are listening that might be influencers or just constantly on the go I think it's important to take that time that you need for yourself to be able to get through it. But I also think communication is key. I think that was a miss and I'll take ownership on this. That could have been an easy post on all our social media and just saying you know, going through a transition, we're projected to be back at this time and hope all is well and keep elevating you know that kind of way, but that didn't happen as well. And keep elevating, you know that kind of way, but that didn't happen. I didn't even think to do that because time was just so filled with making these big decisions and so it was energy sucking to have to think about okay, if we do this, then this, what's the benefit? What if we don't? Can we wait? You know, should we wait? And how is this going to impact Penny Tallulah, all these things in our lives? I mean, it's just so important to.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you're just playing the cards that you think you need to play at the moment.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's a good way to put it.
Speaker 2:And we were honestly planning on recording two weeks ago. Last week it just kept being prolonged. And so I said you know what we ago last week? It just kept being prolonged and so I said you know what? We're close enough to being settled and and yes, we're not the kind of movers that live out of boxes we have to have things up and functional oh yeah, that is a must yeah.
Speaker 2:So once, once, we felt like you know what, we're settled enough and we got everything out of the boxes. Everything looks to be functional, the one thing that's not functional, which which I purposefully waited to last, because I need to have a clear train of thought when I'm setting up the studio for the music part of it. But I wanted to set up the podcast so we can get this over with and really enjoy this moment again.
Speaker 1:It was one of the first things you set up in the studio, absolutely If not the first.
Speaker 2:It one of the first things you set up in the studio. Absolutely, if not the first, it was definitely the first, because, I mean again, this is where we communicate to the people that you know are listening to us. Uh, as far as producing music, I have other means to produce, and so that was a necessity, but it's becoming a necessity because I have an announcement drum roll please. We're gonna be doing an audiobook and it's a gonna be a blast and I can't wait to share that with you. As a matter of fact, we're going to play um two of the new songs that we have put together on the podcast next week.
Speaker 1:So you guys can get a treat and hearing one once a week oh, okay, we'll do one next week and one the week after that and that's been fun too, yeah, so that's been going on as well. So we um just really hope that this month, you know, as we're in the fall season and I'm a big believer on seasons, like changes happen, um, and I and I've heard that making big changes during the fall season is actually the way to go and I'm not saying it's only tied to that moment, um, but just with the way things are lined up, this, this is a season where that makes sense and this has made sense for us.
Speaker 1:You know, um, um, I'm gonna share some pictures of the way we decorate, because a lot of people don't know that about us, cory, unless they've been in our space right that decorating is one of our favorite things to do, so it's very therapeutic, although again right, contradicting what I'm saying here it's stressful, but yet at the same time it's therapeutic because when it's done it's like wow, and it's a space in which both of us are represented and what we like to do is clearly in um and obvious in the space that we're in, right right. So people come here and they say you just moved in. Why does it look like you've been here already for like years?
Speaker 1:we don't know any other way that's just the way we are we just don't know another way.
Speaker 2:And guys, uh, I just wanted to put this out there as a service announcement, if you happen to hear a dog barking in the background yes, that is our new friend. It's a new friend and a co-star that's, uh, probably going to join us for a couple of times, but we're working that situation out and, no, that's not our dog yeah, it's a way bigger dog.
Speaker 1:Yeah, oh, and can I just say, speaking of our, our dogs, we love this neighborhood.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:So where we come from which is not far away at all, actually it's quite close is we had the golf course in our backyard. We had a neighbor on the left, neighbor on the right, and to the front of us was a golf course as well.
Speaker 1:So there wasn't any real interaction with neighbors no we come here even though we're still on the golf course, but we've got neighbors behind us, to the side of us, to the front of us, and they're all so friendly and just so warm and inviting and and they're the, so we don't know know them and we don't claim to know-know them, but what we do know is that they care about what's going on with your animals they care about.
Speaker 2:Oh, you left your sprinklers on or your garage door up, so we got. We finally have neighbors like real neighbors to deal with, opposed to golf balls smacking up against the house.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so we get a backyard and can't wait to put that together. That's the next project. But what are we saying here? As you go through change and you have to make these adjustments, and sometimes it's something that you know should happen you weren't quite ready to do it, but here it is, in your face. I say be confident in the fact that your intuition has told you this is going to happen, and I hope that you have a support system that is like ride or die, like you're going to do this, I'm here for it, let's go Right.
Speaker 1:And you just dive deep into what that changes and see those glimmers despite the stresses and know that the stress will calm. And so we are at the point where it's starting to calm.
Speaker 2:I think, corey, we're what probably 95 ish percent done 95, 7, 8 and, as jen said, every raging sea will come.
Speaker 1:So just rest assured it's not going to be bad always yeah and give yourself the the time, the patience to just adjust and feel your way through it. Control yourself and we've got some phone calls and texts to respond to, obviously. But, corey, is there anything else you want to say besides the fact that we missed you all?
Speaker 2:We genuinely missed being here, Can you tell we're just rambling on and we hope you don't mind.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I can't even find my words Right, and normally we don't cut each other off, but I feel like it's my turn. Let me talk. I want to get on the mic.
Speaker 2:I need to say something.
Speaker 1:It's like yeah, you only get 30 seconds, You're way over 30 seconds. Anyhow, we Next week maybe we'll sneak in another episode this week, Not sure, but hopefully this lands for someone and yeah, and we'll talk to you soon. Yeah. You know, as I take the elevator we say look up and let's elevate. I miss this song too.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I miss singing this song. Sing it then Every day Elevate, every day Dirty.
