Bobby Bones Show Best Bits of the Week with MorganMorgan and Amy answer listener submitted questions! Shoutouts to start then Amy answers questions about Haitian traditions for the holidays, Christmas memories, and tips for balancing a career and kids. They also talk about their cats and best places in Nashville for business lunches and dinner.
Best Bits of the Week with Morgan Listener Q and a Mary. Almost Christmas. Everybody, Welcome to the Best Bits. Thanks for tuning in on your holiday break. I assume most of you guys are Amy is joining me this weekend. Make sure you go check out part one, but Amy's still here with me for part three. Amy, how are you hi?
Good? And right before we did part three, I just ran up and down some stairs in the parking garage to get something for lunchbox and I'm out of breath. I was like, Okay, I might need to work on my cardio for a second.
Yeah. I also feel like when you're rush though, too, you just get out of breath a lot quicker and your body's moving very fast.
Yeah. No, there's a lot of factors involved. I definitely feel like I'm like, Okay, I know I'm taking care of myself and I'm in good shape, but whatever just happened, Like I'm oh, maybe it's just time for a break.
Yeah. Yeah, it's definitely time for a break, which we are going to have, but first we have to answer some questions. Okay, We're It was some shout outs, though, love you both so much. I look up to you all. This is from Live in DC.
Thanks Live.
I love Amy's new hair. Just a shout out from Kristin.
Oh thank you. I'm trying to get used to it. It's not like that much different. But I did have hair extensions even in my short hair, which is weird sometimes for people to be like, wait, why with the short because I had them when they were long, and then when I cut my hair, I just cut them, and so I had really short hair extensions, which did make it fuller. But anyway, I didn't realize how much blonde was in some of the extensions. And this is not a big deal at all, but it's just one of those things where she took them out and then I didn't get my hair colored or anything. I'm like, oh, okay, now I have short hair, and it's just really brown.
Isn't it your natural hair color?
Pretty much? I mean, there's still some highlights in here, but not like the pops of blonde that I think kind of wake you up or me up.
I didn't realize that you were naturally like that brunette.
Oh yeah, it's dark.
I mean I see like your eyebrows. I guess your sister iste, isn't.
She Yeah, she's almost like dark dark dark brown to black. And my mom was same way. My dad was the had the lighter hair. So have you always died your hair blonde?
This is audit tangent.
No, I've done really dark brown to black before all over. I mean that's been in my ful gosh, twenty years ago or so. When I first joined the show a long time ago, it was like really really dark.
I think I've only known you up until like recently, when you were kind of doing more than natural or the ombre. Most of the time, I think I've known you. You had blonde hair.
Yeah, well my own bray look right now, is gray hair coming through on the top. They're gonna be sober fox maybe maybe, but it is very freeing. I don't know if any of you have had extensions. The first time I ever got them put in was after my mom died. My hair started falling out like I had long, thick hair, and I think that's the most stress that I had felt. I don't know. It was just a very stressful time with her death, and then my eating sort of came back like all the same time, so I think my body was freaking out a little bit and it's healthier now. But I got so used to the extensions it was hard to get rid of them. But now that they're out, it is so freeing, like I take a brush through my hair. So that's why I say, if anybody's ever had them, you know what I'm talking about, Where you can just take a brush through your entire scalp and not worry about anything getting caught tugging on there. It feels very freeing.
Oh good, Okay, Well, thanks Kristin. That's a sweet shout out.
No, that was probably an unexpect That was a shout out, not a question, So that's okay. I rambled.
No, we were talking about hair. No questions. Just want to say I love your podcast and the show. Sadie from Ohio. Thanks Sadie, amazing. Okay, getting into questions now, Any Haitian traditions you incorporate into your holidays Merry Christmas from Gin.
No traditions that the kids remember and want to bring in. I don't know if there are any. We do it throughout the year. Just a couple of weeks ago, we went to our Haitian spot here in Nashville and picked up food to go, and we go home and we have Haiti Night, our Haitian night, and you know, we try to just talk about Haiti as much as possible, talk about their families. I think it would be natural for me if it's Mother's Day, Father's Day, not as much Father's Day, because they really don't ever talk about their dads. They just talk about their moms. And I know who their moms are. I do not know who their dads are, but I would say Christmas family time, it may bring up thoughts for them. So we just try to talk about it all the time so that it's not difficult if it comes up during more sensitive times.
Because they were so young, like when they were in Haiti, do they have any Christmas traditions that they were not doing.
That's why we don't have any that we have to carry. The main thing for them is the food. They love the food, so I try to make sure just you're around to have that. Or if we're having a family meal around the table for the holidays, like I would imagine next week we'll be at my sister's, I could see us doing some fried plantains or making some rice and beans to go along with the Christmas meal, because that's what they would enjoy with certain spices and seasonings that they love.
I was wondering what those recipes would be, because I'm not sure what Haitian food is specifically like to them.
Yeah, there's a specific set of spices that they're used to. But even the ones that I have bought here in America that are the same thing come from a Haitian cookbook that I have from our Haitian friend Mark that lives here. He made a little cookbook. And we do have Haitian friends too that will all have cook because they know exactly what they're doing. But picking it up at the Haitian restaurant is also really good. But anyway, I'll make it with seasonings that I buy here. And my daughter is still She's like, this is just not the same. The spices they have to come from Haiti.
I do wonder because we, I mean, we americanize everything, So I do wonder if we americanize those spices a little bit so they don't taste quite the same.
I don't.
I don't know.
I think it's just in her I think it could be in her mind, but I respect the fact that also sometimes it's just that Haitian touch yeah, and maybe you.
Add a little bit of this and a little bit of that.
And you don't necessarily tell anybody. Yeah, so then it's like, oh, okay, this is why it tastes so good. But yeah, I try to do it year round. But there's no specific traditions.
Okay, that's fun. I love you're gonna shout out the Haitian restaurant just in cases, I'll try and.
Look it up on my phone because I don't, I will, okay, keep talking and then I'll pull it up. But it's from one of those ghost kitchens. Oh right around the corner. Nice, so it's not too far from here. And you go and you enter stuff in on a screen and there's all different types of.
Food ordered from ghost kitchens on like uber Eats. I didn't realize there was also like ghost minus.
Oh no, you can show up a lot of people picking up or working for Uber eats or door Dash, but if you just want to go there, you can enter it in on the screen and there's a bunch of lockers and you get a locker code and it's like, you know, you get locker five and it gives you a thing. You put your phone up to it and the locker opens and whila, there's all this Haitian food sitting there. You don't ever see a human that's wild. But if you want Italian, if you want like there, if you want name it Chinese, Jeff, like, there's so many options there, or even like a burger, I'll tell you where it is, OK, but let me look up the restaurant we're going to go.
To, Stephanie. She wants to know how you really feel about Lunchbox's Christmas gift that he gave you for our annual Christmas.
The eye candy.
Yeah.
Uh, it's on brand, like it tracks. It's funny, it's Lunchbox, so I get it. And his wife was literally with him when he picked it out, And.
That does make it not so creepy yet, you know, because she probably picked it out and just handed it to him.
You know, I can laugh at things like it's not I think some people might really not like that at all, but I I'm not married anymore. I know that Ben did not like that kind of stuff when we were married. I think Lunchbox did that probably fifteen sixteen years ago or so. He gave me like candy underwear, and I think it was my first like it was my anniversary or maybe my first Christmas after being married a year, and Lunchbox like gifted me all kinds of edible things and he's like, you know, you got to keep this bark alive. It's I don't know, he's funny like that. Ben did not think it was funny though, because I was still very new to the show and very new to understanding Lunchbox, and same with Ben. And he was out of the country a lot, so he didn't really listen to the show and he didn't understand. And we were in our twenties, so think of Lunchbox now multiply that by twenty oh.
I can't imagine he was completely unhinged totally. And because he was, he also wasn't married Ben.
Right, he was staying out all night. You can only imagine. We were on a pop station, so things were.
A little less family friendly.
Yes, exactly.
Okay. Favorite Christmas memory from your childhood Ashley in Arizona.
Okay, I'll answer that, and real quick. It's Chez Lama Haitian cuisine. Oh nice, and it's Midtown Foods is the ghost Kitchen situation? Okay?
Yeah, people love National recommendations, and I'm sure there's people that want Haitian recommendations, so.
Well, yeah maybe or any other yeah type of food because they have it all. Okay, so uh was the question again?
Favorite Christmas memory from childhood.
If anybody ever questions if I have ADHD it's hilarious. Probably the year I got a microphone from my grandma. We were in Birmingham, Alabama. All my cousins were over. Everyone got something musical, like do you know somebody got drums? Somebody got this. So my sister and my three cousins we formed a band and my microphone was yellow and had a stand and we performed Cocomo by the Beach Boys.
Could you still sing Cocomo right?
Like a Ruba Jamaica? Ooh, I wanna take it to Bermuda Bahama Come, I'm Freddy, Mama, key Largo, montego baby Ladle we go down to cocame Okay.
And I didn't know, No, I didn't know the song.
So the faster them, We'll take it slow, that's where we wanna go.
Did you guys all tell your grandma collectively that you wanted to form a band or what was this music instrument?
Situation. Maybe it was her idea. She was like, Oh, maybe I'll just get them all something and then they can play. That'll give them something to do.
Yeah, and probably get your guys to bond to. That was probably something. Oh that's super sweet. How old were you roughly roughly seven maybe and you still remember that?
Oh yeah, core memory?
Then I feel like it's the core memories you remember. Yeah.
I don't remember much from my childhood, which that's a whole nother thing, but yes, I remember.
That, Okay, core memory. Shout out Grandma. Kaylie would like to know what kind of cat is Maggie Ballanese. How is Maggie doing.
She's doing great, except for she did throw up yesterday. I don't know why, but she seemed okay. It was just one time, and then.
Cats always throw up its hair balls. She was fine.
So Cara threw up the other day too, But I know why. She ate a bunch of coffee.
So she ate a bunch of coffee like coffee.
Yes, someone had given me a gift here at work, and it was a bag of coffee and I had it on the counter because i'd unpacked the box. And I left the room for a little bit, and then I find the coffee. She didn't need the whole bag or anything. I think she figured out pretty quickly this is not good.
Didn't that taste it?
At least it came out, Yeah, came out. But Maggie's good. A Balinese is a long haired Siamese.
She's cross eyed. How much is Maggie way?
Oh, I don't know, probably more than she should.
Let's just say that. The reason I asked this is Hazel, my cat is so small, and I try everything. She eats three times eight, like all day she has food, and she's seven pounds.
But I think her fur is less.
Yeah, she's not long haired. She's short haired.
So even Kara, for example, she's a labberdoodle, and so when she is shaved down, she looks like a skinny little rat dog. But when her coat is grown out, even just an inch or inch and a half, she looks like the fluffiest, biggest dog you've ever seen. So I think for Maggie, since she's long haired, she looks fluffier and bigger than she is.
Have you ever given Maggie bath?
Yes, yes I have. I don't know that she likes it, but yes I have, especially when we were first learning how to use the little robot, she did not like that thing. And I see people rave about the little robots, so I was very excited to get it, and it did not work for our family. I had to sell it because she can figure it out. So now I just use a regular litter box and we are happy as a clam. But that thing, she was ending up with stuff all over her, and so I would want to bathe her.
Yeah, people you want to.
Cause a little controversy on Instagram or whatever social media platform you choose, people do not understand or like if you bathe the cat. I mean some people get it and they're fine, but that will get some attention. And people are just like what cats clean themselves? And I'm like, yes to a certain extent, but cats.
Also are They're still animals and they'll still get dirty, and they still have moments. Hazel's been baits, I haven't. I had them tod that one time and it was like a scene from a movie. I was in my shower and she was up on the walls and I was like, this is not going well. The Bobby had gifted me like a two or three Christmas exchanges ago, like this mobile pet spa and randomly like they'll always come like once a month to bathe Remmy because Remy needs a good little blowout. But every so often, like, can you guys bathe Hazel? And they will, and Hazel, I guess, just sits calmly in the bathroom them and they just like and she They're like, she's literally the most well behaved cat ever, Like that was not my experience. This is rude.
Yeah, well, they do make little sacks you can put them in that help them feel like safe and contain while you're making like a mesh sack. And then also I have used a groomer before, only twice in the entire time that we've had her, which has been several years now, but her hair got really madded in the back. With long hair, you do have to brush a lot, and with the oil build up it if you don't brush often, which we're not always the best at, it'll build up into these little knots. And there's nothing I could do. And I felt bad because I'm pretty sure that's painful on her. Yeah, I've used a groomer and I mean there's nothing like it. She looks beautiful when they get done with her, and I'm like, well, but I am not paying to have my cat bait. Sorry, yeah, like a lot. I will every once in a while.
I would say every once in a while. That Hazel's like once a year maybe if she really needs it or something. It's more just like on a random occasion. Remy, on the other hand, needs one more Quite often.
I feel like, Remy so small, you just throw in the sink. Oh.
I bathe her a lot, too, but it's like she needs a good blowout because she won't let me blow dry her hair and her fur needs to be pulled off of her body, especially when I'm about to like shave her down, and so I always have them blow her out and then I do the her actual grooming. Oh wow, Okay, it's a whole process skill set there.
I didn't know you had.
It's not it's not a professional. Like anybody who would ever ask me to be like, can you groom my? I'm like, no, I'm not. I just I can be content with what Remy looks like when I do it, you know what I mean, Versus if somebody else, I'm like, I'm not a professional. I definitely don't have the skill set to like make her look like she would from a groomer. Right, It's just for her to survive, you know, and it looks good. Okay, we're gonna take a quick break. We'll be right back. Everybody's always asking for Nashville recommendation, so I can share these of mine first and it can make you think. But we had a woman want to know best places in Nashville for a business lunch and dinner. So maybe think of some places you've been for the two that I would come up with for lunch. Postina, which is a new spot in twelve South. They have these amazing different boards from Cheeseboard, Duhummas Board, and they do a fun little happy hour with those boards and wine and stuff, and it's a cool vibe. I feel like it's such a cool spot for a work lunch while also being a little bit fun. And then dinner. I'd say sixty Vines because sixty Vines is elegant, but it's upscale American and it's also friendly.
Do you feel like for a business meeting though it's a little crowded and loud. I don't know what type of business meeting we're having here, so I'm just trying to say, like, I'm.
Having a business meeting and a thing. You need a vibe.
I get it. Oh, I'm with you.
It is a vibe.
I love going there, but I'm thinking, like it's just so crap because there's so much happening and it's right off Broadway. It's definitely fun. I'm just trying to think and.
Maybe I have different ideas for business dinners. So that's why I want us both to share.
Oh I know, well, maybe by the time it's dinner time, they're just really trying to hang out and get along. But I feel like every time I'm there, so I'm like, what'd you say? What? See?
That's also good for too. That's why she's Blanco, because Blanco for me is even loud. So it's funny that you say sixty vines because they're like, oh, that one's formally okay.
Yeah, maybe you need to figure out if Audrey is open for lunch. Have you been there yet in East Nashville.
No, but I have heard good things about it.
It's an amazing My goodness, it's amazing. I don't know that I would say it's a lunch place. And then it also depends on what you're trying to spend because more taking people out. Yes, it's a little nice. It's more of like a date night spot, so scratch that. But Henrietta Red is also so good and cozy. But I don't know that I have good like take a bunch of people. How do you know? I was just thinking Barcelona is so good, But I don't know that that's a good Barcelona being.
A spot that could be good for lunch because that does get wild and a little bit louder at night, but they have good lunch. Okay, so maybe lunch spot Barcelona.
Sorry, I don't know that I made that helpful. We eat out of Chipotle.
Chipotle is also a good spot for lunch.
Yeah, but you couldn't get that anywhere, so she went to Nashville spots. So maybe as we continue talking, I might think of something else.
Okay. We have Melissa in California who would like the best tip for balancing a career in kiddos. She is always feeling guilty.
Oh, the best tip is there is no balance. Really, I've learned that from multiple people that have talked about it. The most famous one for sure would be Shonda Rhimes, the TV creator producer, director, all the things. She said it best, and I'm paraphrasing here, but you know, if she's out doing something for Grey's Anatomy, she's inevitably missing something for her children. And if she's with her children, then she's missing someone's last scene in a show that she's been working on forever. So there's give and take, And I don't think you need to feel guilty. You just need to say, in order for me to do this part of my life and pursue this part of my dream, I am going to have to miss out on other parts of my dream. So your kids are important to you, and your job is important to you, and there really is no balance to that. There's just decisions that you have to make, and then you have to surrender and release that guilt because it's doing you no favors carrying it around. Now, if you're in a position where you are literally having to choose work all of the time and you're missing everything with your kids, then okay, there's room for some guilt, maybe reflection on how can we remedy this. But if you're doing the best you can to make a hard to make a choice, and it's going to be hard. Then that's where it's at, and you got to surrender the guilt.
Oh that's really good advice. Also, I didn't know that about Shonda. That's cool.
Yeah, she did a commencement speech a while back. I think it was maybe even the college she went to, but you can look it up on YouTube. Watch the entire thing. It's brilliant. She did a great job. She's a wonderful speaker, and it really resonated with me. And since then, I've heard a lot of other people say a similar message and something that they've adopted for their own life. But I think that that's what we have to do. Like, you can't carry that type of guilt. You just have to know like you're doing the best that you can and you're living out multiple dreams. Like if you've wanted to be a good mom and you're getting to do that, that's amazing. If you've wanted to pursue this career and you're getting to do that, that's also amazing. You just got to make hard decisions sometimes, but release the guilt. Like I've missed stuff before and I'm like, uh, but then I try to be in the moment. I don't want to miss out on where I am in that present moment because I'm carrying around this guilt. But it's okay to be sad and grieve that I can't be there. And then there's times where I've said no to work for family, not even just my kids. I know that there was a time that I missed iHeart Festival in Vegas, which is very rare. I think I've been to that every single time except for one year. My dad was really sick and he was in Nashville and I was his primary caregiver and I just thought, oh, I think it was like the day before, I was like, there's no way I can leave. And being with my dad was clearly the right decision. I knew it. It was hard to call Jen, our boss, and say, hey, I know everything's already booked and y'all have me scheduled for interviews and I but I can't. And I backed out. And that was a hard decision but also the right decision. And again it's it's not balance, it's just making hard.
Always coming in with the wisdom on things.
Oh it's from other people.
No, that was really good. Okay, speaking of wisdom, we have a last piece here, so we have Laura who would really like to get a four Things tope for her fourth kid, but she had gotten one for all of her kids before that. Unfortunately, she lost her kid three days after he was born. As she put he grew his wings. So she still wants to get one to commemorate that fourth kids. So she's trying to figure out what she should put on the fourth like the tote the words, so we can brainstorm here together for her, maybe some ideas, some words that she can put on that.
Yeah, I think that if you look at what the other totes are for the kids, I don't know if their names are on it, so a name would be one spot if that is the case. If not, what words bring you comfort when you think of him and his situation. I don't really honestly know what would be comforting about that at all, because it's one of the most difficult things ever. I do try to look in at the the gain, and I don't know what you have gained as a mom going through something so terrible. There's strength, there's tenacity, there's perseverance, there's so many emotions.
But I think it could be another word because there's so much love there for them. That's like a hopeful word.
Maybe, yeah, I think this is a really I know this is a hard testical question. I guess I could, but I saw it some more time on and come up with something meaningful. But I would just maybe dream up to what you thought he might be like, and if there's a word that could describe that, like if you just sometimes you just know, like I don't know what number of child it is, is a fourth yeah, so fourth child, the youngest. We're normally a little bit. I see Amy and I can both speak to that, and so you may know some of his personality traits just based on the fact that he is your fourth child. And if there's a verse or scripture. I don't know if faith is a part of your life, but I guess just if something has brought you comfort, a quote or a verse pulling from that, but I know a full quote is not going to fit because there's a character limit for each thing. But like my mom's joy, like when she was going through cancer, joy was her motto, but it came from Niamiah eight ten, the joy of the Lord is my strength. So for example, on my mom's so we might put Niamiah eight ten and that was some of that. So if there is a verse or a poem or a quote or a book or anything like that that brought you comfort, you can incorporate that somehow with one of the more powerful words or the title or the passage.
Yeah, these are really good. I know this was a hard one, but I saw it come through and I was like, I feel like we have to help her with this one, just because or even hard to think of right now.
You know the name, and then yes, there's other things to describe him, but just brother because he's the brother to the other siblings mm hm.
And maybe a middle name because I imagine he had a first and a middle name, so maybe both of his names if you just feel like nothing is going to suffice his names in scripture, and maybe a you know, love, I'm trying to think of other words for love, because I love you.
Like you can even write things out does it can be an action. So that's another thing about the four things totes is it could be one word or it can be an action of we miss you, we love you, You're precious, you are loved, and you know, yeah you can kind.
Of Okay, Well, I didn't want to end on that, But that's where we are. Is there any We're gonna We're gonna try and go to a different direction, just to end on something. Did you have any other suggestions for Nashville dinner lunch as we were talking, but I know we did.
There's just you know what my brain is just it's like the last few places that I've eaten, literally or Chipotle, Audrey Henrietta Read and Barcelona, so like, those are the things that come to my mind. I'm like, where else have I gone? Or what do I like? What's that place we went to for lunch that was so good? We went to a business in Sadies, Mediterranean, right next to Barcelona, and it's in edge Hill and it is That's a cute little place.
Yeah, that's a good one for a lunch or dinner. They do both.
Yeah, Okay, there we go.
We got we ended on one. Okay, Well, Merry Christmas, like early Christmas, Happy holidays everybody, Amy, thanks for joining.
Thank you.
Tell the people where they can.
Find you all that good stuff at radio Amy, that's the easiest place. I feel like sometimes I rattle off like tons of stuff, but if you just go there, there's links and all the things but podcast is Four Things with Amy Brown and Yeah, I hope y'all have the Christmas that you need to have.
Very good Merry Christmas everybody.
Bye.
That's the best bits of the week with Morgan. Thanks for listening. Be sure to check out the other two parts this weekend. Go follow the show on all social.
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