Anna's Guide To Motherhood
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Hi. Hi, Madka. Hi. This is what technically would have been our season finale of my podcast, but it just got renewed.

So there is no season finale. We continue next week. Thanks. I'm so proud of you. Thanks, mom. I'm proud of you. I always have been proud of you. Just my little superstar. Oh, well, we're going to get into all of that because I think that you're my little superstar. And before we get started, we have to do a couple of things because welcome everybody to Anna's Guide podcast. I'm so happy that you're here.

Today we're welcoming a very special guest, my mother, which you know from social media, you know her from the internet. We refer to her as Madka, which is mother in Polish. Yes.

Is it like a spicy version of mother? It's like a strict one. Like an assertive. Yes. Yeah. But like a, you know, mean business mother. Okay. You can count on her. You can, you know, rely on her. It's like the top notch mother. Okay. Not like, you know. This is our top notch mother. Okay. So that's why we call her Matka. And she's on the podcast.

Are you nervous? I'm so nervous, but I'm so excited. Thank you for having me, by the way. This feels like my first official guest for some reason, because I feel like everybody else is like, little Michael's been on it, and Danielle's been on it, and Josh has been on it, but for such random reasons. I don't know why this one feels like an interview. Because it's Matka. Because it's Matka, because it means business. But the great news is that you're here.

I'm lucky to have you as my mom and to have you as my guest. Thank you. And...

We're going to start with one of the little games that I play on my podcast. Have you listened to my podcast? Yeah, quite a bit. Oh, a little bit. Okay. So the first thing that, you know, the game that we do at the beginning. No. Okay. It's called Rosebud Thorn. Okay. Where you tell me about your rose of the day, which is like your great thing, your bud, which is something that you're looking forward to. Like it hasn't happened yet, but it's like a bud, like a flower bud. And then a thorn is like what you get poked on. What's like the bummer of the day. Oh, okay. So...

We'll both go, but you get to go first because you're the guest. So the... You can start with either the best or the worst. The best is that I'm going to be packing my suitcases because I'm going to come with you to Paris. Okay, so that's like the best part of your day. Best part. I looked forward to it all day long. I was so excited. And last night, I have to confess, I maybe chose like 100 outfits and I supposed to bring only 50.

This is how I know we're related. Yeah. Because you should see, I did like a fit check today where I had like, I swear I put eight outfits in and I have like 14 different combinations. We're there for two days. Oh, the same. So I'm like, oh, I may be making changes of clothing three times a day. That's what I was thinking. I think we should just do it for the, do it for the plot, for the content. Okay, great. Love that. What's your bud of the day? What's something that you're looking forward to that hasn't happened yet? Something that I'm looking forward to it is,

I am so excited about your soup. You made a soup yesterday. Because you don't cook often for me. So I'm like, I don't cook often at all. You take me out all the time. You are great in taking me out and having fun with me. But like, this is going to be like first time that you made me a dinner and you brought it home. So I'm like totally losing right now.

Yeah, I made Italian penicillin soup last night and drove it from LA to where my parents live, which was about a two-hour drive earlier today. And thankfully, the soup survived. I wrapped it like...

every which way in saran wrap to keep it all put together to get it here. But I love that. You made it. Well, I'm super excited. I want to warm it up and have a nice bowl of soup with you and just visit. And I'm looking forward to like hearing what's going on, how excited you are about your trip. So that's my favorite. Okay, love. And do you have a thorn? Yes. Okay. I wore my new shoes and I got two scrapes on both of my feet. Wait, wait.

The Sambas. Yeah. No, not the new Sambas. Only because I thought, okay, I should have wore them with some really cute socks. Yes. But I decided on this really thin socks and that's what I did. I thought I need a better socks.

Yeah. How did the socks relate to scratching? To thin. So that's why they rub my back of my feet. Oh. Yeah. Not that you got scrapes on the shoes. You got scrapes on your feet from the shoes. Yes. Okay. Okay. That makes me feel less bad. Yeah.

Because I was worried that you bumped your new shoes. And like, you know, like when you buy a fresh white pair of shoes and then you suddenly get like a scuff on them the first day. That's what I thought you were saying happened. Like you're walking around like the boys side or something and you like greased both sides of your shoes. Don't worry. I made sure everybody stayed three feet away from me. No one crushed the toe. You're like, yep.

they're my these don't touch them yep hi oliver and i made sure i told everybody that i have a matching pair with anna oh love also if you're watching the video portion of this podcast you will catch a small dog that's gonna wander in and out of the episode because he gets a little jealous when we're recording and talking to each other and not talking to him so if you see this this is oliver this is our family dog i don't know if you could see you could see his tail in all the shots um

Um, but he will be sitting with us for a majority of the episode probably. Um,

Dang, I'm sorry that you hurt your feet. That's always a bummer. But they're going to be fine. They're going to be fine. We'll bandage them up. Yeah, I already put the bandage on it, feeling better. But I was a little bummed that this happened because I know we're going to be walking around Paris and visiting. We love always seating. And you love taking me places. So I have to be in full fit, ready to walk. We're fast walkers. We're a fast walking family. So I'm super excited about that.

okay well easy what is your uh torn and what is your rose and what is your bud um let's see okay my rose is that i got to see my first cut of the short film that i acted in my first acting moment yeah i'll show it to you after this you and i get to sit and like it's kind of scary though so i have two buds no okay yeah you're looking forward to a movie well i'm like kind of nervous though because it's like i'm a murderer oh

I'd kill someone. That's so not you. No, and it's so not me that, like, I've watched it already and it, like, feels weird because it doesn't look like me. Oh, I can't wait to see it. You know, and, like, that's, like, kind of a weird, like, phenomenon of, like, the acting space. I always feel like I see myself in the characters that I play or, like, what I've auditioned for. And in this one, I saw myself in her personality a little bit, but not in her, like, antics. Oh, wow. And so, like, seeing myself...

be that person I was like what so um so not you so not me um so that was one moment my bud I think is going to Paris I think that's gonna be like the best part

And going to a wedding in Michigan after. So I feel like I always get excited. I love love. I love going to a wedding. Do you have to dress already? No, I think we have to shop for it in Paris. Oh, that's going to be so much fun. You and I have to go shopping in Paris together for our dress. Trouble. I do have a couple dresses, but I always worry like, is there a rule about how scandalous you're allowed to wear a dress at a wedding? You know, I expect the best from you knowing your, you know, coverage. Oliver, yes?

See, I like, there's a couple, like there's this dress that I own that I'm really excited about that has like cutouts on the hips. Is that too Scandi? No, no, no.

You would think that's acceptable for a wedding? Nice. You know, it's... You will know... Matka's spicy. It's not about just being spicy. It's some things cross the line and they're not elegant. Sometimes you can have dress that has cutouts, but it's so elegant and nicely done. I think it's just perfectly fine.

okay to wear it okay so maybe i'll send you pictures tonight of my two dress options because i also have the one that like what has a cutout in the circle in the middle do you know the one that i just showed you that i got from colt gaia yeah that is like the black heart shape with the circle i kind of want to wear that one too so so beautiful it's a black tie wedding so i feel like a black but josh is wearing a blue suit a navy blue suit with a black all that i have to say to this is

You have incredible body. Enjoy it now because it doesn't last forever. What are you talking about? No, no, no. I'm just saying like there's a time that you're not going to feel like wearing this kind of dress. Now is the time. That's fair. Enjoy yourself and wear a beautiful dress. Okay, fine. I'll wear a beautiful dress, but also we're going to go shopping anyway. I love that. And then my thorn...

I'm going to get you a dress that had to talk coverage with a hoodie. Great. What is my thought that I have to drive back home tonight? I think that's always such a bummer. Yeah. I think that's the only thing, you know, living a little bit apart that we have to drive back and forth.

to see each other I think that's like the one tough thing is like sometimes that drive can be an hour and sometimes that drive can be two and a half hours like today it was two and a half and it was just like and bumper to bumper traffic yeah exactly because if it's two and a half hours through beautiful trees and you know fall and pumpkin I mean I took the PCH today so like I kind of had a good drive like I had a pretty decent like up the coast but still it was like a lot of traffic a lot of accidents but anyway that's all

Well, I can't wait to see that movie. Now I can't think of anything else. About the movie? Yes. I always thought that you would maybe be an actress one day in your life. Oh, that was my dream. Was it really? What was your dream when you were a kid? What was your dream? Oh, when I was very little, um,

back in kindergarten, a teacher asked, you know, what do you want to be when you grow up? And some kids stood up, raised their hand, and they want to be a doctor. They want to be a nurse and mailman, all this, all that. And I had my hand up high and I jumped out of my chair. I want to be a mother. Spoiler alert.

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I always thought that's like the most important job. It is the most important job. I love that. So when I was little, I wanted to be a mother. When I was a teenager, you're going to laugh at this. I'm ready. I can't wait. I don't know about this. I wanted to be Madonna. That also doesn't shock me at all. I thought I have it going on. I want to do that. I could not sing at all.

So I know who I got it from. Oh, stop. Your voice is incredible. My mom is the only reason I think I can sing is because my mom asks me to religiously. She gave me false confidence that it's like this. I love your singing. I love how you play piano. I know you need to share this with others. It is incredible. You move me when you sing. Oh, yeah. I love it. That might be your job to say that. No, it's not. No, it's not.

That's so cute. Okay, well, I think it's kind of crazy. Where did you go to kindergarten? Do you want to share where, like, any of this? This is my, that's my soft way of asking, like, mother, where are you from? Tell me about your life. How did you get here? So, I was born in Poland, and later on, I moved to Germany, and from Germany, I immigrated here to the United States. Okay. I love. I love that. What did you come here for? I...

First and foremost I wanted to learn English so I thought if I come here and emerge myself in the culture and be with Americans that English is gonna be perfect and so that was my like a goal I was a pretty good in languages, but not very very good So I thought this is gonna help me really be good in speaking English and

um but then i the language of love happened oh no i met your father oh no yes so um yeah i met your dad and that was such a fun fun fun evening i don't know if you know how i met your dad i know how you met my dad but you can tell the story if you'd like to tell everybody else how you met my dad oh this is such a cute story so um i was already in bed and one of my girlfriends did um

We kind of were really good friends and hang together and we took care of each other. She called me late at night and asked me for a ride. She was in a bar drinking and she needed me to pick her up. So

I told her, no problem. I'm going to go in my pajamas in the car and go pick her up. And she needs to come up to the parking lot because I didn't want to get dressed up and go and find her. And remember those days there was no cell phones. So everything was just regular phone. You made a plan and you stick with it. So I was picking her up in a parking lot and, um,

In my pyjama, bunny slippers, short pixie haircut. The cutest haircut. Yes. Thank you. I went to pick her up and I'm sitting and waiting and waiting and waiting. She's coming out of the bar and she's pulling this guy to my car and I'm thinking to myself, oh no, I don't even have a bra on. Oh no. Yes. Yes.

Yeah. What are we going to do? What am I going to do? No makeup, no bra in my vagina. I'm thinking I'm going to, I'm so mad that she's doing this. And she pulled this guy to my car and she said, Oh, you have to meet him. He's so nice. So I stick my hand out the window, say hello. You're like, hi, how's it going? Nice to know you. Yep. Drive away hoping I never see this person ever again because I was so embarrassed that, you know, I wasn't, um,

Just to the nines. Yes, exactly. As I should be in the middle of the night. In the middle of the night at 3 a.m. when you're picking up somebody from the bar. Yes. So went home. A few days later, went back out with my girlfriends. This time I was all dressed, cute outfit, cute skirt, nice makeup. Her in right places and girls. Oh, sorry. Oh, not the girls. Yeah.

Walk into the bar and there he is and he recognized me with who would have thought yeah came right over and we start talking and I did most of the talking I thought to myself I got this I got this I had it's in the bag. Yep. You're like, I know I have like a cute little accent. He's gonna think I'm like exotic out of this world. He's never met a girl like me. Exactly. Yeah. So I thought I got this.

visiting with him amazing we became really good friends and we would go skiing together fell in love got married six months after we were married we had our first little fight and um when i first time met him something really appealed to me he was a great listener and when we had our first fight um i love when men stop talking no i'm kidding

She goes, I just love when they let me be myself and do my own thing. Tell me. So I'm crying and I said to your dad, why can you be the same way? Like the first night we met, you listened to every word I said. And he looked at me and he said, woman, I didn't understand one word you said. And I was in shock because I realized, you know,

He was just there for the looks. No, he wasn't. No, just kidding. Not for the brain. Yes. All men canceled for forever. Starting with my father. I have a lot of work to do to, you know, figure out how I'm going to communicate with this man. But, you know, 32 years later, we're still married. We have incredible three kids. You are our middle one. The middle kid. Yeah.

And I don't know if I ever told you this, and I always felt you were my baby because when Delfina was born, your sister, everybody wanted Delfina and everybody was hands on and wanted to visit with her and play with her. And when you were born, I was like, nope, I'm not sharing. She is mine. Only for you. She is all mine. I love that. And I baby you and...

So many times at night I would get up to see you at night and take care of you and change you. And I would sit for hours and just look at you. And you would look at me and play. And there were hours just you and me at night. I was deep down the favorite. Yes. Yeah, yeah. Sorry. She said yes.

I have three favorites. Yeah. You are really special. Every mother's answer. But it's kind of funny because the first baby you have to share. Delfina was like first. Also like the first. Like my dad has five siblings and no one else had kids. So like at the time, at least. Exactly. Middle of the night, especially you and me.

slumber parties every night and you are up every single night just to say hi to me and visit with me. It was just so much fun. So I've been sleepless since day one. Yeah. Awesome. Pretty much. Good. Was it tough? I think like the first thing I think of too, I mean, like, I love your love story with that. I think it's so cute because it's just like,

organic like people don't meet like that as much anymore you know like it's so much like there's apps there's social media like even the way that i met brew was like we had known of each other through the internet first yeah um you didn't have that kind of like accessibility when you first moved here was that like scary

like you didn't know anybody when you moved to the us you know i now when i think about it i'm like oh my gosh but then it was just so normal so natural you just enjoy your life and many times you know i'm from europe so i travel quite a bit you travel through europe i traveled to united states that was my second trip to united states so you know um and

It was, you know, I trusted that everything is going to be okay. And, you know, I, you meet people and you have a good feeling about it. And I surrounded myself with good friends. And through those friends, I met nice people. And little bit by little bit, I had a great group of people that I was, I felt safe with it. Yeah. That you like kind of created your own sense of community when you were here. And I think,

I don't know. Also, maybe because hearing that Daddy was in the Navy, so I had respect for him for that because he's serving his country. So to me, that was really important and kind of nice. I thought he was a

incredible man. Like a respectable guy to be able to meet in public. It doesn't feel as scary when it's like someone who you know you can kind of trust right off the bat. That, you know, there must be something, you know, special about this guy. Respectable about this man. Well, I think another question I have for you is, do you know why I wanted to have you on the podcast at all? No. Tell me. I mean, do you have any guesses? Do you want to try guessing first? Because I'm Madka. Okay. Also valid. That's also fair. You want to advise on...

I'm very curious to see how that sentence ends uh-huh actually I forgot English no stop okay advice on what what do you think no I thought maybe you want to advise on something okay no I want it because you're such a little you're so smart and you're so like inspirational thank you

Because I think that you're cool. I love that. Hi. Sorry. Did I startle you? When you're used to hearing a certain type of commercial, something like this can, well, take you by surprise. That's kind of how it is with the Lexus RX, a vehicle that has continued to defy expectations for over 25 years. From the first luxury vehicle of its kind, to the first hybrid luxury vehicle, to the only plug-in hybrid worthy of the RX name. We understand you want more than the everyday SUV. And isn't being understood an amazing feeling?

Experience amazing at your Lexus dealer. Thank you so much. I don't think I'm cool. I think you're cool. Why don't you think you're cool? I never even think about that. This is so weird. I don't think if I'm cool or not cool. I just go through every day. You're just you. I'm just me. Sometimes when I catch myself,

I do live in a moment. Yeah. I get happy in the moment. I get excited about soup. I get sad in a moment. Like I live in a moment, you know, I don't, and I try not to be hard on myself. Yeah. I think that like thinking you're cool and things like that comes from like the consideration of other people's judgment. Do you think you, do you have like, have you heard of like what imposter syndrome is?

Do you know what that is or no? Like when you walk in a room and you're nervous. Do you think you have that at all or no? None at all. Okay. Would you consider yourself an extrovert or an introvert?

Do you know what that is? Yes. Okay. So I love, I love being by myself doing things, but I also really like being with people. Yeah. So I'm, you know, there are times that I'm... A little bit of both. Yeah, a little bit of both. That I'm okay to be by myself and I love quilting. So then I'm like, yeah, I love hiking. Yeah.

but also love being with people and doing things with... And like sharing those things with people. And that's why I think I do quilting. Yeah. And that's why, you know, kind of started as a hobby for me and end up sharing with others and it turned into a business. But, you know, but it's... Yeah. Yeah. Just love being with others, but also I'm okay being by myself. I like that like...

Okay, I think the reason even all of us kids or myself particularly have this skill of multitasking. I never feel like I only liked one thing. I always feel like I liked a little bit of everything. I liked school, and so I wanted to be a teacher, but I also liked working on cars with Dad, so I wanted to be an engineer. But then I also liked arts and crafts, and I liked video making, and none of my passions ever overlapped. I think I got it from you, because you also multitasked. Motherhood and...

being like a full-time business owner was that difficult um yes there are challenges to everything but when um I started it and the MOA I had on my plate it felt easier sometimes be and also

I think because I was really into a schedule. I think having a schedule and having kids that have a schedule allows you to do so much more. The minute you don't put a schedule, then you're like, oh, I do this later. Oh, I can do this. And then you don't do things. When you have to do stuff and you have a schedule. You're like, I have to get this done. I have no choice but to finish it. Because I only have 20 minutes. I want to get the most out of this time. You know, I think many times we find ourselves

thinking about it, but not going for it. Yeah. And I honestly never thought about it. I never made a big deal out of it. Yeah. When there was a task, I just went and did it and did it and did it and did it. And they build it up on it. I never, uh,

There were moments that I looked at like, oh, I have house, I have kids, I have to make a dinner. I looked at one task at a time, went for it, did it and then moved to the next one because that way I didn't get overwhelmed. Yeah. Yeah.

I don't know if I got that quality from you. I feel like I get a little bit lazy. No, no, no. I've been with you. You are not. Not at all. I think you put me into shame. You are one of the hardest working people I've ever met. Yes, you are. And I have to tell you, I think the difference maybe between us is that I didn't have a backup plan.

If I didn't do it or something didn't happen or if you didn't succeed, there was nobody coming to rescue me or, you know, I didn't have family here, my family, like my mom and dad to count on. I had daddy's family, grandma and grandpa to count on. But, you know, so I think I was very independent from very, very young age and I counted on myself and I knew that if I don't do this,

it's not happening so i want to do it for myself and you kids i'm sorry i feel like you had to be alone on that though um no i made little people like you and uh dovina and michael and then i wasn't alone no okay yeah easy and i have daddy yeah yeah but it makes you strong if you yeah if you um believe you can do it you go for it and makes you very strong do you think you still would have succeeded in what you did if you did have

more of like a built-in like community like in your family being here like i think about what i do for work and like if the day comes where i ever have kids like yeah i have no doubt that you'll be through the whole process oh my gosh that makes the thing that makes um that would have i don't know do you think that that would have not i'm not gonna say hinder your success because i think either way like everyone has a i kind of have the belief that everybody has like a trajectory and so like you're gonna achieve it either now or later whether you want to or not but i um

But I think if you have support, no matter which kind of support it is, if it's, you know, just a friend that supports you or a parent or, you know, this neighbor that he or there brings you once a week a meal and say hello to you. And, you know, sometimes we're looking for this. Oh, and this person going to do all this for me. I don't think the world is made with there is an.

not often that somebody comes in and like completely helps you can fix all of your issues. But if you are surrounded yourself or if you look for those little bits and pieces, little drops of help, and it could be that neighbor that picked up your mail and put it on your doorstep or could be this person that opened the door for you. I do think you had that a lot of like as a kid, like I remember like some of your like built in friends. Exactly. Exactly.

So, Miss Martha, Mr. George and like, you know, like people who would like watch us after school or something. If something got delayed or there was an appointment. But it's even sometimes and this is why I want to make the point that it's how important it is that we support others. And that way, hopefully the world gets to be a better place and we get some support. And I'm not talking a big thing. I'm thinking, you know.

letting that person go first in a bus and guess what because of that this person wasn't let late for the interview and now they got a job yeah look at that's a support yeah you know like we already have tough lives so why not help each other just tiny bit yeah you know and i think that

I was lucky. I live in a small city, Marshall. You guys will live there. And there were a lot of nice, kind people. And everybody was supporting each other. And this idea of, you know, it takes a village. Yeah. It truly did in some incredible, wonderful way. Was there a reason you guys chose? Because you had, like, I feel like by the time we were born and, like, growing up, you guys had kind of, we had gone back and forth a little bit between Pennsylvania and Michigan. But even prior to that, I mean, you and...

a kind of crazy fact is my mom and dad met out here in california actually in northern california and before that you obviously like lived in germany and lived in poland like what was that like growing up there was there anything like growing up in poland and growing in germany that you knew when you came to the states that you would have wanted to raise kids here versus there or no was it really just based off of like dad and citizenship and like you know um what made sense at the time for you know your partner there is um

I often thought of that. And when you have children, when you make a family, no matter where you are in the world, this the the packet that you create for your family, I'm going to call it the little nest. It is extraordinary.

extremely important and my nest would have been exact the same if I have you guys in Poland if I had you in Germany if I have you in another country someplace in on an island someplace yeah because it is a notice how we spend time with each other we play we had neighbors we we

I mean, we lived on 10 acres of land in the middle of nowhere. That was still like, it still was our like built in little community, our own like little group. Yeah. But it's so, so important. And I think no matter where we would have end up,

I would have been the same mother to you. I would have been the same, you know. But that's what I mean. It's like, do you think the location changes that? Like, I always think about Michael getting to do high school in California versus, like, me or Delfina, who, like, when we were in Michigan, we did our, like, high school and college in Michigan. Do you think that changed Michael's trajectory? I think a little bit. But you also think he ended up exactly where he would have been. But, you know, anywhere in the world, you could have pluses and minuses. So, yeah.

you find the best way for your children and you to be able to survive support. Daddy works so hard. I work so hard to make sure that we have, you know, day-to-day nice life and able to give you things that we were not able to get. But the most important that we give you the time and the love is

And it was important for that, that I would be home with you and take care of you. And there was no question for me that that's what I wanted to do. Yeah. Not everybody can do it. And that's okay because, you know, you have to do to pay your daily bills. Yeah. Yeah. But I think, uh,

you find yourself no matter if you would be not suddenly on an island you find yourself creating your little pocket your little family your little you know if you are with the right person i would have loved your dad if we would been on a moon yeah the same way then i love him here on earth and yeah i'm not gonna cry no you're kidding i was just saying i was like okay that's very beautiful i feel like i was not really sure what i was thinking this episode was going to be but now the more that we're talking about it's kind of like anna's guide to motherhood

which is like actually Madka's guide to motherhood. It's like asking you all the questions about it. But like, I mean, they're all like thoughts and questions. I think like, I think about, obviously I have the best mom on the planet. So it's hard to compete with like thinking about that and having to be a mother on my own one day and whatnot. But like, I think it's like a big, a big question for even my generation is like raising kids right now is scary. Raising kids right now is expensive. It's like, obviously such a different dynamic. I just saw like this stat that was like,

our parents making 80,000 is equivalent to us making 262,000 a year yeah like that's how much like inflation is so like having a kid means like you have to be minimum making like a quarter million a year to have the same lifestyle as what our parents had so like there's so many elements of like raising us that I think about and especially when I was like raising a kid in LA if you were to go back and like do you think you would raise a kid in LA do you

Do you think I should raise my kids in LA? You can raise your kids anywhere. It goes back to that, like making your pocket. Making your pocket and goes back into the household. And again, in the house, parents and children communicating and talking about it. And, you know, you have the most beautiful eyes. Oh my God.

I'm getting sidetracked. I wonder who I got them from. Your blue sweater. They're completely, they're so blue right now. I feel bad because I'm looking at my camera. I think my lighting is better than your lighting. That's what's wrong with my eyes. The lighting. No, shut up. That's not at all. That's not right.

But we're talking about just talking, communicating and making choices for yourself. It's okay to say no sometimes to things, you know, like, you know, how you feel when you drink and saying no to alcohol. It's, you know, I don't know what tangent we just went on, but I don't know. I agree. Yeah. I mean, I think so too. I just always wonder like the whole like relationship.

I think that you like live so many lifestyles and you live so many, I think about that too, where I think even as a family, we've lived so many lifetimes. It feels like at times, like we've gone through so many different eras. Like we had like living in Michigan, we had, you know, the, your business growing for the first time. Like I remember that in like early high school, like dad coming home to work and that being like a part of my childhood was like having both my parents at home. Um,

I would love to have you back on the podcast at some point to talk more about like your business and more of that. But right now I'm really loving talking to you about your life and motherhood and your goals and dreams and aspirations. What do you want to be when you grow up? Talking about our lifetimes, if you could design your next era of your life, what would it look like? You know, when you said this,

It totally I had a pictures front of me, you know, like me the teenager, you know Pretending and trying to figure out who I want to be like I was making fun of it I want to be Madonna but then you know finally being a young woman and getting dressed and this and that in you like in that kind of air then being a mother and

You know, no longer. I did not care about dresses and high heels. All that I want is snag all my children like you change the chemistry in you changes to do those things. And then wanting to have something of my own, you know, even that my husband took care of me and we had a beautiful life. I wanted to do something.

and build a low business and the business grew. And I wasn't even looking at the money. It was just the satisfaction of having

something that I can... Almost like another baby. Yeah. Almost, yeah. Because you have to take care of it. And then, you know, you guys graduating, going, you know, on your own, it's a completely different life because I'm like, now I can really put some time into the business and make it grow even more and wait for the next stage in my life. So you're asking me what I want to do? What would be the next one? The next one? There is...

No pressure. Oh God. I already, gosh, I don't know. I even asked this question because I literally just saw it in your eyes with going, no pressure. Grandmother. That's what she's going to say. I don't even need, she, no, you need, okay. No. So yes, but there was, uh, one, she's praying on birth controls downfall right now. No, I'm, uh, there's one thing that I would love to do. Uh,

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just pull up our canvases and I have bunch of them and I'm waiting for that moment that I could just paint, paint, paint, paint. What would you paint? I have all these visions in my head. Let me tell you about this. I'm ready. I read my mom my first script that I'm working on right now and

Not my first, but like the one that I'm most excited to be writing. We are like 25 minutes into the movie and my mom is mad because there's no ending. And obviously there's no ending. I haven't invented it yet. But so what would you be painting? Now it's your turn. What's this going to be? What I would be painting is I have a vision of a blue sky and a white airplane.

Oh. But the sky would be in the shapes of quilting shapes. Like in the sky, it's like a blue, but in some way, they're shapes. Like triangles and squares. Triangles, squares, diamonds, and different shapes. So it's like a quilted of the sky. Quilt,

If anybody rips off this idea, I will find you and I'll drag you on the internet. Do not steal my mother's ideas. Just have fun with it. Yeah. I was ready to go to war over this idea remaining your intellectual property and I will. Okay. Tell me more. So that's kind of, you know, that's what in my head. I don't know why I keep thinking about painting all different beautiful things. Okay. So what's stopping you? The business is very busy. Yeah.

Right now. A blessing and a curse. Exactly. So that is the thing. When you think you are a business owner, the business own you. Do you consider us workaholics as a family? I don't think so. I think we're extremely driven and we just don't like to wait. So we do it ourselves. Okay. Yeah.

So I think that that is what we are. And I never thought I work. Every time I do something, it is so much freaking fun that I don't even feel that I work.

I when I make a quilt I don't feel I'm working you know and even when I'm writing pun there's some stuff that I could do without it in a business but uh like the stuff that I do design fabrics or quilt or make a new project design new project all of that doesn't feel like work at all I could get up there's morning that I get up I have it in my head I start dreaming

It wakes me up and I have to get up and start doing it because I really want to get it out of me and make that next incredible quilt. So painting, making a few more quilts that are beyond and above, and then patiently waiting for that final job of snuggling a little one and spending endless minutes and hours and playing and

And I think that's why I pay attention to what I eat and exercise and stuff because I want to be in the best possible shape because I'm planning to be like...

The babcha on the go? The babcha on the go. Yeah. Yeah. That when my grandkids ask me, I'm jumping to do stuff and wanting to, you know, hike and canoe and this and that and play. And I'm not afraid to do anything. Go down the slide. Okay. Yeah.

I have one last question for you before we wrap up this episode. And then we can kind of wrap it up however we want to. But this is a question because I feel like you tapped into something that is interesting that I think I often get asked through my own comment section since I don't even have the answer for it.

But you work in a creative space similar to me and it's not something that I really had to navigate before. I think I used to feel closer to the way that you felt like when I lived at home during COVID and stuff. Like making videos, I feel like I jumped out of bed with new ideas. And sometimes lately, I feel like the sense of burnout, you know, like I feel like the sense of like,

sometimes I just don't even have a thought in my brain and then it's hard to be creative when like you have nothing that's making you feel really like inspired or excited or sometimes like you don't know why you don't feel so excited to jump out of bed and make up these ideas yeah do you ever feel that like I feel like I mean I'm just gonna say it's like my mom's been doing her business for like 20 years 20 years you've been creative and successful in it for 20 years like how do you not get worn out from like oh I I

I don't know. I am so thankful that the ideas keep coming and keep going.

I am just like the only thing that I have a problem with it that not all of them come to life. That to me is so defeating where I can make something that I have it in my brain and I get frustrated with it that I couldn't release this creative process and get it out there. So that kind of, you know, it's a little bit of a bummer, but yeah,

I also take care of myself. Not always I have creative ideas. So when they are coming,

I keep writing them down and I save them for myself so that way when I don't have any I go look at my drawing and I'm like oh I'm back I'm so inspired I can do it but and also there are days that I on purpose I keep refilling myself it is so important and I don't know if I keep telling you this it's like drinking water

Just like you take a glass of water every day, you should every day look at a beautiful book, go for a walk, do this, do that. Just take a moment. And I promise you, you asked me just now, like, why don't you just stop and do paint? I'm going to. Yeah. Why am I not doing it? Yeah.

It's, you know, I think it's being a little bit afraid. This is going to come out because it's going to be something different than I ever done it. Yeah. So being just tiny bit afraid doesn't going to come out the way I imagine. So that's maybe I'm finding excuses. No more excuses. Yeah. I'm quitting my job. Okay. That's not really how that works. No, no, no. I'm just kidding. No, I'm going to find more time to, to start doing the things that I, um,

you know, like have it in my mind. My last little extension of this, just because I think like it's my generational question is, do you think that social media has an effect on people in my generation being too comparative and that being a halter? Like when you, when I see somebody else doing something well, I think that it's like hindering mine or something. Or like, do you think just spending time on social media is removing me from the ability to find creativity in everyday life? I just, I think it's the time. Yeah. It's, it's the time because, uh, and yeah,

you find yourself getting too much inspiration, idea, you know, like, and I go through the same thing. I have an Instagram. I go through the same thing that sometimes I want to sit down and do something. And instead of me being creative, yeah. And guess what? I'm like, stop this.

and I put my phone away and I jump into sewing and it brings me so much joy to make something, you know? So I think it's training yourself and getting yourself to be more creative and be aware of it. Yeah. You know, I think that's part of it. What do you think? About that? Yeah.

I love to hear this. And by the way, and I, every time I ask you a question, we were talking on the way home today. I learned so much from you. Where did you get all of this? You. But I don't know those answers. I ask you and you have this answer. I spent a lot of time alone. No, I don't know. I think like, I think a part of me really wishes that I studied more psychology. Yeah.

I actually think I really enjoy, like, trying to understand why my brain works the way that it does. But at times I think that, like, hinders me. I think, like, what I really struggle with is I become over-analytical of the decisions that I'm making. And, like, I think the moment that I started focusing on, like, for me it was an interesting thing where my career came, like, when you started your business, like, you always liked quilting, but I don't know. I think you saw a...

Correct me if I'm wrong, too. I think you saw like a hole in an industry and you filled it with something like a combination of your creativity and also your business sense. And like that's how you that's how your business came to be. I think that you saw like room for growth like you in my in my opinion. I didn't know what e-commerce was until you were doing it.

You know, like you saw a hole in the ability to spread the like purchasing and buying and selling. And how do you share an idea without giving other people the idea and the credit for the idea that's been made? Yeah. Okay. Um, which you can check out lingerie quilts if you want to see what my mom does. Um, um, but also, uh,

I was going to say that I think like for, for me, at least my hole that I had wasn't something in an industry. It was in myself. So by filling it like with making my videos and then that becoming my career, it changed the pressure of me having to like, I wasn't curing myself, like curing the part of my brain that didn't feel understood or seen or like noticed. Um,

with making videos and then when that becomes what makes you money or like the only way that you really like find success I mean I've had success in so many other elements that there's of course of course in tomorrow I could send out my resume for engineering and I don't doubt that I could get a job in engineering I could send out my resume for film and television production and I don't doubt I could get a job in that but like I have backups but of course my life right now is the focus of like

Filming TV, making my videos on social media, getting into the acting space, writing my scripts. And for a while, that was my creative outlet. And now that is like my financial burden as well, you know? And it's, sorry if this is getting confusing, but it's this difficult thing of I made the videos to self-express myself. And if people don't like what I make, then I feel like they don't like me. Who would not like you?

Who wouldn't like you? I don't know. That's what I'm navigating in therapy. You are the nicest person ever. That's what I go to once a week. No, it's like a difficult thing though where I think like there's an element where like I think for me at least where I feel burnout is the sense of like it's me on the internet. Yeah. Because I think so if they don't like the piece of my heart that I'm showing then like they don't like me.

But it's maybe also misunderstanding, you know, because when you say, when we say something on the Internet, it's not that personal connection and you can misunderstand one word for a different word and it's the exact same word. You think the reason people don't like music is because they misunderstand me? Yeah.

They misunderstand you. You are the sweetest, the kindest. I know you. Thanks, mom. I know you for a long time. So I know that there is impossible not to like you. And we talk about this many times. You can't compare yourself to other people. When people are trying to bring you down, you just swim faster. Exactly. You just don't want to waste your time. Why spend your life trying to drown other people when you could just swim faster? Exactly. I'm so glad you remember.

And, you know, I have to do that too. There are days that I feel, you know, some feelings and I'm like, do I'm going to put my energy to confront this person, explain it to them, convince them. That's not our job. I'm going to swim. I'm going to backstroke. I'm going to go for, I'm going to do this. I'm going to splash in my own little, you know,

Water and keep going and keep going and keep going like a little ducky, you know, a ducky. Yeah, you chose duck over fish. Oh, no. I like duck better than fish. Yeah, because you really don't. I just was I just was expecting you to say fish because I was thinking of finding Nemo.

Dory I know you love Dory yes I love movies that's another thing I'm gonna love about being grandma I'm gonna get to see all of the also you're gonna get to see like someone else experience movies for the first time yes but I'm obsessed yeah

like it makes me want to write kids movies for the kids that I have you know what I mean like I would love to be like I make their animated movies that they watch and then it's like he he mom did that but first you have to finish uh the script because I'm waiting for the remaining parts of it I can't stand it this isn't even fair no it's good yes no like I'm not even trying to like blow smoke up my own ass I'm like yeah I popped off with that

so good i can't wait i'm like please i almost honestly guys i'm a comedian let's be so for real right now i don't think i've ever been funnier than when i'm loopy on a flight and writing a script and somehow i think i'm hilarious it's so good so good i almost called you early in the morning like did you have another idea my mom also also pitched multiple times what she thinks the ending should be

I want you to tell me what your idea was because I want to, in my brain, finish the story. And I'm so excited. Well, I'm so happy that you were here. And I'm so excited that you came for my podcast. I love you so much. I love you too, sweetheart. Thanks for being on my podcast. Thank you for having me. Of course. I'm so proud of you. Thanks. So, so proud of you. Well, we did it. That's a wrap, guys, on Anna's Guide with Madka. What would you name this episode if you had to name it? Anna's Guide to blank. What's...

Fill in the blank. Anna's guide to next step in life. Oh.

Yeah, because they ask me, what is the next thing? Okay. And, you know, like, you have your next thing. I had my next thing. And I'm going to walk away from it. And I hope everybody else is going to be like, what am I going to do next? I want you guys to all think about that this week. That's your homework. I want you to walk away from this episode thinking, what's my next thing in life? What's your next era going to be? And how are you going to live it? How are you going to plan it? Even if you don't know what you're doing, what's the first step you're going to take towards your next era? Yeah. Yeah.

I'm doing it. Even if it's a tiny little step, but I have to. We might need to have a part two of this while we're in Paris together in a week. I love that. If we pick up where we left off. I would love that. We can talk more about business. Okay. That's Anna's guide to business. Okay. Just like, you know, how did I start my business? Exactly. Entrepreneurial. Yeah. Yeah.

Especially you and me together because you are incredible businesswoman. Yes, you are. Not me. Yeah, you have all the advices and so many times I call you and Dolphina are just my number one. Secretly, I like kind of want to go back to school to get an MBA just to like say that I also have an MBA. You just know. You just know exactly what to do. So thank you for that. Thank you. I love you. I love you too, sweetheart. Well, guys, that's a wrap on me and Madka on today's episode. I'm so happy that you're here.

you can say i'm so happy that you're here i'm so happy you are here um if you guys want to follow along you can find this podcast and all my other episodes everywhere that you get your podcasts you can follow at the anna guide on instagram or at an exitar which is my personal account um

And then you can also watch these videos if you want the video version on YouTube so you can see us in person. It's like you're sitting in my parents' living room with us. I didn't even mention that. The final moment of this episode I'm going to say is I hope this living room looks familiar because this is actually where I started my social media channel from. Was living here with my mom and dad during COVID. So maybe the next time that we come in and we record together, we go to all my favorite spots that I started recording because I would love to ask your opinion. I didn't even get to ask your opinion either about what it's like having a daughter.

who's on the internet all the time. So there's a few more questions that we have for Madhika. I doubt this is her last time that she'll be on my podcast, but we're so lucky to get her for today. And I love you guys a lot. And I can't wait to see you next time. Have a great day.