Filled Up Cup Ashley Cau

On this episode I am joined by Lane Igoudin. In his candid and poignant memoir, A Family, Maybe Two Dads, Two Babies and the Court  Cases that Brought Us Together,  Lane details his and his husband Jonathan’s fraught path through the Los Angeles County’s foster-to-adopt process. A Family, Maybe offers an unprecedented look into the adoption process as it affects the lives of everyone involved, from the children taken into the system, to the suffering birth parents, to the couples hoping desperately to start a family of their own.
In the fall of 2005, after years of preparation, planning, and waiting for a chance to raise a family, Jon and Lane were given the opportunity to foster an infant named Marianna. Lane and Jon fell in love with the child and decided they would give her the best life they could. Marianna’s mother, a teenager in foster care herself, had voluntarily placed her in foster care before going AWOL. With her birth mother absent and father unknown, Marianna seemed to be on the fast-track to becoming adoptable.
The couple could not have predicted the return of the child’s mother, still in foster care, and the news that she was expecting a second child. With the second child also came the sudden appearance of the baby’s birth father, a man 10 years older than the mother, which would complicate the kids’ cases and begin to pull Lane and Jon’s family apart.
A Family, Maybe documents the ensuing spiral, rife with legal challenges, emotional blows, and no less important, political strife. In the early 2000s, with gay marriage and adoption still illegal in most U.S. states, Lane and Jon’s family would join the first wave of out LGBTQ+ families fighting for respect and equality. A Family, Maybe is a story of hope and heartbreak; of relatable first-time parenting highs and lows, but also with the pressure of knowing the family you’ve built could be ripped from you at any moment.

Lane Igoudin
Lane Igoudin (@laneigoudin) • Instagram photos and videos

Ashley ~ Filled Up Cup podcast (@filledupcup_) • Instagram photos and videos
Filled Up Cup - Unconventional Self Care for Modern Women

On this episode, I am joined by Lindsay Sealey. She is an educator, consultant, mentor, facilitator, speaker, and difference maker. She is a girl advocate, girl champion, and girlhood enthusiast. She is a social activist and intentional about promoting local and global social change and pursuing her Ph D in Mind-Body Medicine.

We discuss her newest book: Wild About You. Wild About You is designed to help you explore what it means to truly love yourself, as you are today. Loving yourself may be a new concept and a new practice for you. Yet, loving yourself is essential for your health and happiness, for your relationships, and for all you can offer this world! The Wild About You e-book explores the very question, “Are you wild, crazy, and deeply in love with yourself?”, understanding why we fall out of love with who we are really, how to be wild about you (awareness, acceptance, self-trust, and prioritizing self-care and self-compassion), and how to access the love you need inside of you. The e-book is filled with ideas and inspiration, quotations, journal prompts, and colourful images!
Lindsay has generously made this free for listeners until the end of April:
Wild About You e-book - Lindsay Sealey
Bold New Girls ™ (@boldnewgirls) • Instagram photos and videos

Filled Up Cup - Unconventional Self Care for Modern Women
Ashley ~ Filled Up Cup podcast (@filledupcup_) • Instagram photos and videos

On this episode, I am joined by Cheryl Sutherland. Cheryl is a Mindfulness Speaker and Founder of PleaseNotes, a for-purpose company of affirmation-filled products that inspire women to step into their power by building confidence, clarity, and creativity.

Cheryl has been able to work with different companies to spread the message of mindset growth and human potential. Some include Wonder Women Tech, WeWork, Quicken Loans, Freshbooks, CPA Canada, the Durham District School Board, and more.

As a women's empowerment expert, author, and entrepreneur, Cheryl Sutherland and PleaseNotes have been featured in InStyle, Huffington Post, Forbes, Fast Company, American Express OPEN Forum, Thrive Global, Brit + CO, Travel Noire, Good Morning LA, BlogTO and on podcasts such as The Creative Empire, I Love Success, No Philter with Phil Pallen, and more.

Cheryl has generously given us a coupon code to use:
https://pleasenotes.com/discount/FilledUp

PleaseNotes - Affirmation-Filled Goods - Best Guided Journals 2023
Cheryl S. | Affirmation Goods (@pleasenotesgoods) • Instagram photos and videos
Cheryl Sutherland
PleaseNotes Goods (PleaseNotesGoods) | Official Pinterest account

Ashley (@filledupcup_) • Instagram photos and videos
Filled Up Cup - Unconventional Self Care for Modern Women

On this episode, I am joined by Carrie Valentin. We discuss her experience with finding out that her young daughter had a form of cancer, called Wilms, that spread from her kidney to her lungs. Thankfully, Sybil is currently in remission. We discuss the trauma that cancer caused in both her life and the ripple effect it had on her family. We discuss her decision to divorce her husband and how they made a conscious effort for it to end up being a positive for their family. We also talk about Carrie's drinking and how she wouldn't label it alcoholism but that it did become a coping mechanism for her during the hard times. She is currently working on sobriety and working through both the trauma of thinking that she was going to lose her daughter as well as trauma carried forward from childhood. 

Carrie Anne Valentin (@carrie_be.wellness) • Instagram photos and videos
Donate: Small acts solve big challenges (bcchildrens.ca)

We also mention Christiana Cioffi in this episode. To check out more about her dating application or to order her book: 
Book | An Unapologetic Spinster

Ashley (@filledupcup_) • Instagram photos and videos
Filled Up Cup - Unconventional Self Care for Modern Women

On this episode, I am joined by Hayley Williams of Williams Wellness. In addition to being a business owner, she is a nutritional practitioner, holistic culinary chef and dance teacher. For the last decade, she has taken her health into her own hands and been on a journey of self-discovery and healing. In her teens, taking hormonal birth control led to hormonal imbalances, cystic acne and mental health issues. She saw countless doctors, dermatologists, naturopaths and aestheticians. She felt like many were quick to sell her something to cure a symptom but was not finding help getting to the root of the problem. She graduated from the Canadian School of Natural Nutrition. Her passion has become helping women solve the root of their problems and feel knowledgeable in their own health journeys.

Hayley Williams, RHN // HOLISTIC ACNE & HORMONE SPECIALIST (@williams.wellness) • Instagram photos and videosAbout | Williams Wellness (hayleywilliamswellness.com)

Ashley (@filledupcup_) • Instagram photos and videos
Filled Up Cup - Unconventional Self Care for Modern Women

On this episode, I am joined by Jasmine Ivanna Espy. We discuss her experience with having hidradenitis suppurativa. It can be a condition that feels lonely and at times has felt embarrassing. She has prioritized helping others not feel the same and bringing awareness to this condition.

 Hidradenitis suppurativa or HS is s painful, long-term skin condition that causes skin abscesses and scarring on the skin.

She founded the Association of Hidradenitis Suppurativa and Inflammatory Diseases. They want to empower people living with HS to better understand their disease state and take courageous action toward receiving treatment, engaging with the community, and improving their overall quality of life. Every year they host an annual summit. This year it will be held June 6-8th, 2024 in Detroit, Michigan. It will be 3 days filled with sessions, demonstrations, workshops, and community engagement opportunities.

I RECLAIM__ HIDRADENITIS SUPPURATIVA SUMMIT — The AHSID
2023 Hidradenitis Suppurativa Basics Booklet (adobe.com)
Jasmine “IVANNA” (@whoisivanna) • Instagram photos and videos
AHSID (@theahsid) • Instagram photos and videos

Ashley (@filledupcup_) • Instagram photos and videos
Filled Up Cup - Unconventional Self Care for Modern Women