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
389th Floor: Love, Halftime, And A New Direction
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Ever wonder what keeps a show alive after hundreds of recordings? We pull back the curtain on our near-500 journey, the “eavesdrop” energy listeners love, and the quiet rituals that make us want to press record again.
Valentine’s Day is sweet, but the real magic is in what happens the other 364 days. We share the practice that’s sustained us for twenty years: unveil yourself slowly. Let your partner discover new layers at a human pace. Pair that with everyday love habits—short notes, unhurried dinners, tiny traditions—and you stop needing a holiday to feel cherished.
Our biggest shift is one we’ve delayed for too long: making our faith explicit. Taking the Elevator has always meant looking up, elevating, praying, and moving with hope. We share why this perspective will now shape our mic time as much as it shapes our off-mic life. Along the way, we celebrate momentum for The Fuzzy Furry Forest—new events, school interest, and a parade appearance—because stories for kids are one of the surest ways we know to lift a community.
If you’re here for relationship wisdom, culture talk, or a little soul in your feed, you’ll feel at home. Press play, share this with someone who needs a nudge to love well all year, and leave a quick review to help others find the show.
Every day Hall of Day Everyday Hall of Day Hey it's Jen the Builder and Cory And we're here once again for the almost 500th time.
SPEAKER_01:Man, that's what I'm really excited about, Jen. I'm hoping that we get to 500 and we can just have the biggest celebration. That's a milestone, you know.
SPEAKER_00:Huge one. Corey, someone asked me the other day, I'm gonna ask you.
SPEAKER_01:Sure.
SPEAKER_00:What keeps you going on this podcast?
SPEAKER_01:Um a couple things, actually. Uh you and I. This is like a it's like a uh a bonding time. It's it's bringing us together time. We get to talk and not about us, not about our relationship, not about the job, not about the books. You know, we can talk about anything we want to, like the thing we're gonna talk about today. And and yes, it's fun to have random conversations with a partner that you really care about, but it's not necessarily just about that partner or just about that relationship. So yeah, that's what keeps me going.
SPEAKER_00:Love that. What keeps me going? Yes, Jim. What keeps you going? It's the love of doing it, and because we've been doing it for so long, it feels strange to think of not having it. Right. Um, and it's I I don't want to say it's therapeutic and take away from what therapy can really do for you, but for us, I will say it it's a space to bond even closer and just record the kind of things that we talk about and hopefully pass it on to the many generations after us.
SPEAKER_01:I could see how it would be therapeutic, though, how it could therapise you. And and I say that because I remember when we first started, I used to go back and listen to each episode just to uh kind of critique and kind of be the outsider looking in. And to be honest with you, we really didn't keep track of how many people were listening in the very beginning because we knew there weren't that many people listening for a long time. Uh, over the years, though, what's happened for me in listening to or not listening is when I do get a chance to listen, I still hear the spark. I still hear what people will say is the magic, the the specialness about the show. I still hear it. So uh I enjoy when I get a chance to listen.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, and I think hands down, what people have said is that uh they feel like they're listening in on a conversation that you and I are having, and you kinda are. They're eavesdropping. Yeah, okay, so I have to ask, and I'm not trying to make this messy. Let's talk about what happened over the weekend. Super Bowl Sunday. Okay, what game? Halftime. What do you want to talk about here?
SPEAKER_01:Okay, so we'll we'll jump into that. So I'm a little bit mixed because I'm not a huge football person, meaning I don't watch a lot of football. Like that was the first football game I've watched, and I only watched the second half um the whole year. Uh so I'm looking at these these young kids playing football first to me.
SPEAKER_00:Super young.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, man. Looking at that first and foremost, going, my goodness, they look like high schoolers, but I guess some of them are. Uh, part two of that is that um the game is not as exciting as it used to be for me. Like I remember watching football and just being very entertained, and I just found myself scrolling on the phone, looking for other things to do, that type of deal. Um, I didn't know who Bad Bunny was. I heard the name multiple times, but had no clue who he was. Wasn't that impressed? And I think a lot of that have has to do with him not speaking or singing in English. I don't even know if he speaks English or not. Um, no shade on him because he didn't invite himself to the Super Bowl.
SPEAKER_00:Somebody No thing actually, Jay-Z produces the halftime shift.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, so he invited him, so you know, yeah. Can't can't be mad at Bad Bunny. It's great promotion, they don't get paid for it. So I'm sure he does.
SPEAKER_00:Really?
SPEAKER_01:Oh no, you don't get paid for it because that's for sure. That's for sure, for sure. That's like a 100% because it's such a huge platform. You got eight to ten million people watching you at one time, and if if any of the eight to ten million people like it, they're gonna stream your stuff, buy your stuff. If you got merch, it's gonna go through the roof.
SPEAKER_00:So and look at us, it introduced us to Bad Bunny.
SPEAKER_01:It did, and and I I like the beats. Like if the music was in the background, I might, you know, dance a little, but if I'm paying attention to what's going on, I really wouldn't be that interested because it's just not something that's uh catching my attention in that manner. What about you, Jen?
SPEAKER_00:So I have another perspective. First of all, I thought the game was super boring and there was no excitement in it. Uh, what I do love is that they paid homage to Filipino veterans. So gotta love the Seahawks for that. That you know, brownie points for that one. I'm gonna say this about the halftime show. I thought what a production from definitely having the bamboo shoots there, all that greenery and the camera work. Like there was a lot of work put into that. I loved how they gave us a glimpse of life in Puerto Rico. So just the way they honored their culture, and there was like a marriage there, you saw old people, young people, like it was just all sorts of different parts of their culture. And then, of course, I loved at the end where he called out all the Latin America countries and and then he called out America and Canada, um, that kind of way. I wish, to goodness gracious, I understood those words. Um, they didn't have captions for English. I was really bummed out about that.
SPEAKER_01:See, you're you're really tapping in. You might want to call Jay-Z and tell him, hey, bro, we need some closed captions, some words across the screen so we can know what's happening. And again, and but let me just show you the kind of relationship we have. I already knew you were gonna say those things. That's why I left them just for you, because I knew you really appreciated all the culture that was brought in. And I did too. Anytime uh an artist or a performer brings in their culture so that you can see, you know, where they come from, more than happy to see that kind of stuff, but not my cup of tea, but would definitely support because it's entertainment.
SPEAKER_00:And then I was even so concerned about how are people in the actual stadium seeing this because of how it was set up. But I guess you know, they've got the big screens, and there was a moment where he was on performing on top of all of that.
SPEAKER_01:Well, there was a fair share of complaints, and then there was, you know, it was very mixed in the in the uh comments. So okay.
SPEAKER_00:See, I haven't looked at anything, I haven't read anything. This is just purely my my opinion.
SPEAKER_01:Right. No, I gave him my opinion, but I wanted to hear what people were saying, and I thought a lot of them had made great points uh on both sides of the spectrum. And and the one thing that everyone said that you said was the culture and the the uh cinematography and all that good stuff. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, I'm really curious. And then I asked someone who spoke span who speaks Spanish, sorry, let me find my words. Um, they said that half the time they couldn't understand because he's kind of mumbling Spanish. And even for Spanish-speaking people, it was hard to understand. Really? Yeah, that's what I was told. So um he could have been singing out God knows what, and I wouldn't have known anything. Anyhow, very interesting. Yeah, so that was part of our weekend. But I know, Corey, you have something in mind for today that I am totally oblivious to.
SPEAKER_01:Yes. It starts with love is a very splendor thing. Where do you think I'm going? It's a mini a splendor thing.
SPEAKER_00:Well, that's for Moulin Rouge.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:So where are we going?
SPEAKER_01:We're going to the place called Valentine's. And we know that's coming up, and and everyone, mostly everyone, loves love, right?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. And when you talk about I'm gonna say the majority of us love love.
SPEAKER_01:Talk about falling in love, talking about being in love, the butterflies in your stomachs, yes, all those wonderful things. So, everyone listening, just do me a favor, real quick. Uh, and a lot of you may be driving, so I don't don't take this chance, but just go into the the depths of your mind and remember that love of your life. Because your love of your life may be the person you're with, or it may be you may be single now and you may have let that love of your life go, or maybe that love of your life is moved on and transitioned into the next life. And so I'm just really wanting you to connect with that feeling of that wondrous moment of being in love and passionate about it. Jane, tell me about how I am your first, most incredible, wonderful. You notice how I set that up, right?
SPEAKER_02:Right.
SPEAKER_01:My first, what? My first and wonderful and only love ever in your life.
SPEAKER_00:That's so good. Thank you. But I am gonna let people in a little something, and I'm gonna try to keep it G. So if you ever see me, Corey, you will know that I am goo goo gaga over this guy.
SPEAKER_01:And a little bit of giggy.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, all of that. And just before we recorded, Corey had to adjust my mic.
SPEAKER_02:Oh my god.
SPEAKER_00:So he's standing in front of me and you know leaned over because the mic's behind me to the side. And I was like, ooh, don't tempt me with a good time. And what it Corey said something like, knock it off. I'm trying to work here.
SPEAKER_01:Knock it off, woman, I'm working here.
SPEAKER_00:Yes. So what was the question again? Just tell people about you.
SPEAKER_01:No, don't tell them about me. Just what what you have experienced in your 20 years of yes.
SPEAKER_00:So the reason why I'm crazy over Corey after that many years is Corey, you were not who you are today. You showed glimpses. So you've always been very sweet, soft-spoken. I didn't know you were funny. I didn't know that you loved to decorate, that you were way into clothes. I didn't know how patient you were. You know what I mean? So you have been, and I've told you this many times, you've been the gift that keeps on giving. Like I literally to this day learn new parts to Corey. Um, and I'm j I'm smitten. And that's what I have to say about that.
SPEAKER_01:Amazing. So, guys, if you've learned anything for for the three men that are listening, we need more men.
SPEAKER_00:Forward this podcast to a man.
SPEAKER_01:To a man that you think would really enjoy and get something from this. But for the three men listening, no, I'm playing. There's probably a lot more. But if you're listening and you happen to be a man, the the secret to my success is just not unveiling every piece of me all at one time. And and the thing, the reason why I did that, and I didn't do it like this over the course of the 20 years on purpose, but the reason why I didn't just come open the book and say, oh, look at everything that I can do, is because I wanted her to get to know me in in increments.
SPEAKER_00:In chunks.
SPEAKER_01:In chunks of cool yummy chunks. Oh, here we go. Here we go. Uh in increments and in portions that she could uh take in and that way digest. Yeah, and in that way, um it's more palatable, especially the good parts. Like there are there are definitely some things about me that I know I drive Jen crazy, and I'm I'm very clear and aware of most of those things. But um on the good stuff, you want to just take your time, and especially for a woman, because a woman likes to think and fantasize and go into her thoughts about the man that she's with. And what better way than to unveil something new about yourself that's very good and palatable? So that's my secret.
SPEAKER_00:I love that. That's a great not a secret anymore, is it?
SPEAKER_01:Nope, I've uh revealed it to the world and it's forever on the world wide web.
SPEAKER_00:I love it. What about you and me?
SPEAKER_01:So with Jin, Jin is a lot of incredible. She's a whole lot of wow. And when when you have an individual, um, and I say individual because there's levels of gin that is just all female, and then there's levels of gin that has an intelligence level that um I wouldn't put with just female. I just she becomes a person at that moment that I look at and really admire. Um, and and that's something that I hadn't had in the past where someone really sparked my interest intellectually, um, and then spiritually, she goes places that I would never go, I would never think of going. Um yes, I'm going deep because I really want this, I want you to hear the impact that she's had in my life, you know. Uh I love her her her brain. She's so smart, she's so intelligent, and she's complete with that. And I'm always enamored by female musicians, and Jen has that characteristic as well. So she she's playing the piano, she's very articulate when it comes to what she really needs to say and how she gets it across, and not necessarily just to me, but in public speaking or in professional world, all that stuff is just a big turn-on for me. So um we we start there, and then you get into the physicality and it's what I like.
SPEAKER_00:That's sweet, honey. I thank you for that. I appreciate it.
SPEAKER_01:Absolutely.
SPEAKER_00:So I don't know that I have a secret. Um I think with you, it's just been easy to open up through time. I don't think I was like that in the very beginning. I had a lot of walls up. Um and I'm just gonna be real, just pretending to be things, or and what I mean by that is not really fully giving myself to you or letting you know every part of me, right? So um it's been easier through the years, and I love what you brought up about spiritual or spiritual conversations, and we don't have that much here on the podcast. And I loved a conversation, actually, it's my most favorite moment over the weekend. And I just said, hey, Corey, and we go deep in spiritual conversation and our relationship with Christ and and what we're reading in the Bible, and just all the good that He's He's done for us and the challenges and how we deal with that. And that's such a big part of us. And we talked about why are we not doing this on Take the Elevator? Because that truly is our muse, that truly is what named Take the Elevator. We want to elevate people, we want them to shift, and we say, look up and let's elevate. To Corey and I, that's always meant look up, know that he's in control, talk to him, pray to him, he's got you kind of thing. Um, and we've just never shared that, right? Um, so forthright. And so I just love that we're gonna be 100% us as we have been in a relationship, and we're just gonna open the doors up to everything that we do.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, and it's funny because as you develop, as you mature, as you evolve in whatever space that you're operating in, you have these revelations, you have these moments of understanding that everything I've been doing might not be on point and the way I really want it to be. So I'm going to alter, I'm going to change, and we are definitely proponents of change. We're opportunist when it comes to change. And so we we identified that, we took it in, we understood it, and now we're we're going to be implementing these parts of the change that we need to change. And I'm I'm I'm being methodical about it and saying it purposefully because I really want to drive the point home that it's nothing wrong with not getting it in the beginning, as long as you get it.
SPEAKER_00:Right. I appreciate that you're saying that. It's not important that you get it in the beginning. The point is, is get it.
SPEAKER_01:Get it.
SPEAKER_00:And without going into it, because I'm very aware of the time. If you have not read in the book of Judges about Gideon, you've got to. Gideon got it. And I'm just gonna say, I was like, oh, he's weak, he's lacking in faith, and why is he doing this? And why is he questioning and asking for all these signs? And it was so clear, Corey. It's back to what you said. Even if it's weak faith, it's better than no faith. Yeah, right?
SPEAKER_01:That's incredible.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Incredible. So I'm gonna slowly shift this back into the love, and the reason why is because this is a time of year where people typically go and break the bank. You know, they go out and they spend a whole lot of money, and then they ask us they they they ask themselves, why did I do that? And and I I don't oppose anyone spending time doing something special for your loved one on that day. But please, please, please take this note if you take nothing else. Learn to do that all year long because you then you don't feel guilty into having to spend a whole lot of money. I I do appreciate the person, especially when the man goes out and he he spends, you know, some good money on his woman. But I appreciate that even more uh hearing those stories when when it's all year long.
SPEAKER_00:For sure. For sure. It should be all year round. By the way, I want to share some ideas with you. Speaking of love, loving love, um, we had a first time somewhere, and that was at is it called seasons 52 52 seasons. One of those. It's either 52 seasons or seasons 52 in Victoria Gardens. And it's uh the claim to fame, and I forget what they call these type of restaurants, but it was back in in the 20s when they'd sneak in alcohol and things like that. It was like undercover, and so it's really cool how they've even built it. You can't Really tell it's a restaurant until someone tells you that's a restaurant, right? And then you go in and it's just such a beautiful ambiance. I love the decor and the style, but um, the claim to fame is that their plates are under 595 calories, so real easy to figure out like how many calories am I eating right now, and it's good, great food, great food, and our server was Vicente. Uh, I hope y'all get Vicente. I hope we asked him, Are they all as good as you are? And he's like, they're better. Of course, he'd say that. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:But we totally recommend ask for Vicente.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, like I want to sit where he's at.
SPEAKER_01:Right.
SPEAKER_00:For sure. Um, and then I'm gonna put this little plug in too, because right now Corey and I are in a very conscious state of being as far as our health and what we're taking in. They have these little dessert cups and they're little, and you you think they're more that costs more than what it does, but it's four dollars, and you have a little bite of a guilty pleasure, and the thing is there's no guilt in it because it's so little.
SPEAKER_01:Right. So you you might get two bites out of two bites each if you share it. I mean, if you get one for yourself, you might get three and a half, four bites, but we shared one, and it was the pecan pie, and it had some kind of ice cream in it, but my goodness did it hit the spot, and it wasn't too sweet. And if you know me, you know I don't eat sugar very often, but uh I was with my sweet lady, so I had a little bit of a sweet tooth.
SPEAKER_00:Hey. Hey, so I'm really excited about all the stuff that's coming over to the Inland Empire. So if you don't have plans, and I know that we said celebrate every day throughout the year, but if you have plans specifically on February 14th, and you don't have any reservations or anything, and you want something new, that's what we say do.
SPEAKER_01:That's what we say or she say indeed.
SPEAKER_00:So, some exciting news for the fuzzy furry forest.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Um, we are going to have a video up soon. We got to unbag BJ Woodpecker.
SPEAKER_01:Indeed.
SPEAKER_00:And if you would like to get the book, please contact us.
SPEAKER_01:Yes, reach out to us or reach out to us. Uh, it's not on Amazon as of yet, but we're working on that. Uh that's uh on purpose. So just know that there's no problems, no issues. We're just trying to do something different. It will be on Amazon and Ingram Spark, so we will be available in all the same uh platforms that the other books are, uh, and possibly even some more. Another really good piece of information is that I'm going to represent the Fuzzy Furry Forest, Fuzzy Furry Forest in a parade in Fontana on the 28th, which is the Black History Parade that takes place. Well, yes, yes, you are definitely going to be with me representing. Um but I was saying I because I was reached out to and yes, that's correct. Um, and then we're looking to do a lot of events this year, guys. So we're gonna keep you posted on all the events that we're gonna be doing. We're we're just trying to secure a Barnes and Noble Read, we're trying to secure the Orange County Book Fair. We're just trying to really work hard to get uh the books and the material out there. We got some offers to do uh some curriculum in the Philippines, which is amazing.
SPEAKER_00:So exciting. Just thinking about our books with my people.
SPEAKER_01:Yes, and then we got some offers to have our book in other school districts. Oh, Rialto is already starting to pull for uh Kelly Kenga.
SPEAKER_00:So yeah, yeah, it's an old book. Well, that's because they haven't seen BJ Woodpecker yet, right?
SPEAKER_01:Right.
SPEAKER_00:But I feel I mean, you guys really have to get this book, it's so good. So many people have given us great feedback on it and want to give you our website. It's fuzzyfurryforest.com.
SPEAKER_01:That's what it is.
SPEAKER_00:Yes, and that's where you can reach out to us. Let us know if you want them. If you have our personal um info, then reach us, reach out to us there too. Yeah, yeah. And um I don't know if you all know, but I think you do just know that Corey and I are singing together again.
SPEAKER_01:Yes, we are.
SPEAKER_00:And I am just so thankful and praising God because every time we sing, my voice is getting stronger. Um, I'm hitting higher ranges, and so it's just been a surreal moment to be able to sing with Corey once again because I thought that was a wash.
SPEAKER_01:So just those days are not over just yet.
SPEAKER_00:Yes. So exciting. Anyways, we hope y'all have a good day and enjoy the love that you've got, whether it be with a partner, family, friends, the fact that you were loved is so important.
SPEAKER_01:And if nobody else does, I want to tell you firsthand we love you. Yes, we do.
SPEAKER_00:And you know us that take the elevator. We say, look up and let's elevate every day.
SPEAKER_02:Elevate every day, elevate every day, elevate.
