Enneagram Series Jayla Rae Enneagram Series Jayla Rae

Trusting My Gut as an Enneagram Type 4

New goal in life!

From now on I am going to work on listening to my gut and activating my gut center. Which is gonna be hard because I am very much a heart-centered person. My heart is the one that makes most of the decisions in my life. But my gut is where I’m supposed to be the most confident, the most daring, the most courageous. I want to be more of all of that! So does that mean I’m going against my Enneagram type? Not exactly. 

The Enneagram has taught me a lot about balance. I’ve learned to respect the traits of other types, even if I’m not that Type. For example, I can respect a Type 1’s organizational skills, believe that they are a bit too rigid (if you ask me), and acknowledge that I need some of that organization in my life, too. That kind of respect is what we’re working on today. I don’t usually listen to my gut, but it doesn’t hurt to try it out, like a Type 1 does.

In this very personal episode, I’ll be sharing some updates on my life, my new goals, and how I’ll be listening to my gut and not just my heart. And also why listening to my gut apparently means barreling down the side of a mountain in Slovenia at top speed on skis? Gut people are very adventurous people and I guess I’m one of them now...

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The Heart of a Milspouse Podcast is hosted by Jayla Rae Ardelean, Milspouse Mentor, Speaker, and Writer.

Grab your ♥️free♥️ resources here:jaylarae.com⁠

Let's chat!@mil.spouse⁠

Check out Jayla Rae’s free Enneagram guide on goal-setting here! ⁠jaylarae.com/enneagram-guide⁠

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Post-production for this episode was provided by ⁠⁠CCST⁠⁠, a podcast production company. 

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Jayla Rae Jayla Rae

Shine Through the Struggle with Candus Griffin and Mary Monrose

If you haven’t noticed, we don’t hold anything back on this podcast! I’ll talk about the hard feelings of moving around the globe, the ups and downs of deployment, and the silver linings of every situation. Which is why I wanted to invite not one, but two, very authentic speakers to the podcast. 


This week we’re talking to Candus Griffin and Mary Monroe, the masterminds behind the Shine Sis podcast. These ladies do not shy away from the rough realities of life, including how hard it is to maintain a flourishing career as a milspouse. But, the silver lining is, it can be done. You just have to put in a little more work than usual. 


Candus Griffin is a Navy brat turned Air Force spouse. She works in TV and hosts/produces the Shine Sis podcast with her best friend Mary. 


Mary Monrose is a mother of three, a Navy Spouse, a Paralegal, and a passionate advocate.


Check out this week's episode to hear all about Candus and Mary’s advocacy for modern milspouses.  

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Candus Griffin

Candus was raised in Newport News, Va. She’s a Navy brat turned Air Force spouse who met my husband while attending the University of North Carolina. She is currently stationed at MacDill AFB, FL with her husband and two children. She has worked in TV for years. She also hosts and produces the Shine Sis podcast with her best friend Mary Monrose.


Mary Monrose

Mary is a mother of 3, a Navy Spouse, a Paralegal, and a passionate advocate. She enjoys spending time with her husband and kids, going on adventures, karaoke, and being a true Cowboys fan.


Find Mary and Candus in all the places: 


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The Heart of a Milspouse Podcast is hosted by Jayla Rae Ardelean, Milspouse Mentor, Speaker, and Writer.

Grab your ♥️free♥️ resources here: jaylarae.com

Let's chat! @mil.spouse

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Enneagram Series Jayla Rae Enneagram Series Jayla Rae

Decoding Enneagram Typing With Kellie Artis

Enneagram typing can be tricky for people in the military lifestyle. The frequent relocation, changes to plans, and being separated from your spouse can make you look like an Enneagram type you may not recognize. But that’s also not a bad thing, funnily enough. It’s a learning tool in and of itself! 

This is why me and my guest, Kellie Artis, love the enneagram framework! You always have a core type, which never changes, but as we move through life’s stressors, our strategies change, earning which traits and characteristics you take on during troubling times can be incredibly useful for you, and your relationships. Using the enneagram system as a way to foster better communication with our communities is what Kellie and I aim for!

Kellie Artis is a communications professional who specializes in producing authentic and engaging content for veteran and military spouse audiences. As the Communications Director at Virtual Veterans Communities, she's working to improve educational experiences for military-connected students through digital community building and virtual event production. Her work as an advocate for veteran and active-duty families at MILLIE continues to help alleviate the stress of frequent relocations on military families.

In this episode, we’ll be diving into enneagram typing and how it can help milspouses and service members better communicate their needs. 

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Kellie Artis is a communications professional who specializes in producing authentic and engaging content for veteran and military spouse audiences. As the Communications Director at Virtual Veterans Communities, she's working to improve educational experiences for military-connected students through digital community building and virtual event production. Her work as an advocate for veteran and active-duty families at MILLIE continues to help alleviate the stress of frequent relocations on military families.

Never without a passion project or side hustle, Kellie also freelances as a remote live stream producer, video editor, and content strategist. She's also pursuing a Narrative Enneagram Teacher Certification through The Narrative Enneagram, with plans to use this powerful self-discovery tool to help the military spouse community. Her volunteer experience includes nonprofit board service with the Military Family Advisory Network and Sweet Tea Shakespeare.

A native of South Carolina, Kellie earned a bachelor's degree in communications from the College of Charleston. She's currently living in Fayetteville, NC with her active-duty husband - stationed at Fort Bragg - and two children.


Find Kellie in all the places: 


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The Heart of a Milspouse Podcast is hosted by Jayla Rae Ardelean, Milspouse Mentor, Speaker, and Writer.

Grab your ♥️free♥️ resources here: jaylarae.com

Let's chat! @mil.spouse

Check out Jayla Rae’s Free Enneagram goal-setting guide here! jaylarae.com/enneagram-guide

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Late Career Mil Series Jayla Rae Late Career Mil Series Jayla Rae

Managing A Whole New Life as a Late Career Milspouse

Life comes at you fast, but that’s ok! Creative Director and Business Owner Morgan Specht is ready for anything. When she first met her husband, they were both employees at their local Costco. Fast forward a few years later and they became new business owners, her husband re-enlists after 10 years, and she has to restructure her business to work from anywhere. How did she do it all?!

Morgan Specht is the creative director, brand strategist, and founder of Specht & Co. creative studio. Professionally, she loves helping clients connect with their ideal audience and grow their businesses through personalized, strategic branding and web design. 

While she’s usually a planner, the milspouse life can mean picking up and shipping out with very little notice. In this week’s episode, we speak to Morgan about how she manages a whole new life as a working milspouse who owns her own business and how she makes it all work from anywhere. 

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Morgan is the creative director, brand strategist, and founder of Specht & Co. creative studio. Professionally, she loves helping clients connect with their ideal audience and grow their businesses through personalized, strategic branding and web design. When she's not elbows deep in her latest branding project, Morgan loves spending time outdoors with her dogs and taking road trips with her husband.


Morgan’s Free Brand Vision Planner: https://view.flodesk.com/pages/61d23e4aa247a7a541995808

Find Morgan in all the places: 

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The Heart of a Milspouse Podcast is hosted by Jayla Rae Ardelean, Milspouse Mentor, Speaker, and Writer.

Grab your ♥️free♥️ resources here: jaylarae.com

Let's chat! @mil.spouse

Check out Jayla Rae’s Free Enneagram here! jaylarae.com/enneagram-guide

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Male Milspouse Series Jayla Rae Male Milspouse Series Jayla Rae

How He’s Creating Milspouse Communities with Mathew Shanks

Have you ever felt lonely and wanted to call your milspouse friends, but put down the phone because you were afraid they’d be too busy to talk?

You want to keep in touch with your friends all around the world but you just don’t know how.

This is exactly the problem our guest Mathew Shanks is solving for us today.  

Mathew hopped on a call (or three 😅) with me to talk about how he created communities halfway around the world when he had none. 

Matthew Shanks is a military spouse, dad, and entrepreneur focusing on ways to help people connect more meaningfully. He’s the founder of the Kovii app, an app that lets you know which friends would like to talk to you, anytime you’re in the mood to connect. 

While he’d never made an app before, he knew that he, especially as a male Milspouse, needed friends. He needed a community that would understand a milspouses sometimes chaotic life. This is why he made an easy way for military spouses to chat and connect from wherever they are. 

If you liked this episode and you’d like to hear more, please take a moment to leave a sparkly review and subscribe to The Heart of a Milspouse Podcast. Subscriptions and positive reviews make a huge difference for podcasters and would help us immensely. Thanks! 

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Matthew Shanks is a military spouse, dad, and entrepreneur focusing on ways to help people connect more meaningfully. He’s the founder of the Kovii app, a video chat app that lets you know which of your friends would like to talk to you, anytime you’re in the mood to connect but aren’t sure which friend to call. He’s also the founder of the Military Social Network, which helps people develop friendships through the MilSocial app, and various events, programs, and Facebook groups.

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Find Mathew in all the places:

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Resources Mentioned: 

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The Heart of a Milspouse Podcast is hosted by Jayla Rae Ardelean, Milspouse Mentor, Speaker, and Writer.

Grab your ♥️free♥️ resources here:⁠ jaylarae.com⁠

Let's chat!⁠ @mil.spouse

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Late Career Mil Series Jayla Rae Late Career Mil Series Jayla Rae

Making Milspouse Life Work for Her with Brittany Zimmerman

Welcome back to another installment of the Late Career Milspouse series! This week I have the pleasure of speaking with the amazing interior designer and business owner, Brittany Zimmerman! 

Brittany is the owner of Bleu Bee Designs - a boutique residential interior decorating company. Bleu Bee Designs offers in-person and virtual design services across the United States, making it perfect for the ever-changing Milspouse life! 

Brittany is a half-glass-full kind of person as you will hear on this week’s episode. And while she never planned on marrying a military man, she has made it her mission to make it all work and support the man she loves. And she does make it work! This Enneagram 6 fostered a community everywhere she goes and has even been able to attract clients in the midst of every move. 

Listen to Brittany’s episode to hear how she maintains her sunshiny disposition as a Milspouse. 

If you liked this episode and you’d like to hear more, please take a moment to leave a sparkly review and subscribe to The Heart of a Milspouse Podcast. Subscriptions and positive reviews make a huge difference for podcasters and it would help us out immensely. Thanks! 

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Bleu Bee Designs is a boutique residential interior decorating run by Brittany Zimmerman. Bleu Bee Designs offers in-person and virtual design services across the United States. Bleu Bee Designs also runs an online retail storefront “Curated by Brittany”, which sells new, vintage, and antique home décor and furnishings.

Find Brittany in all the places: 


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The Heart of a Milspouse Podcast is hosted by Jayla Rae Ardelean, Milspouse Mentor, Speaker, and Writer.

Grab your ♥️free♥️ resources here: jaylarae.com

Let's chat! @mil.spouse



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Male Milspouse Series Jayla Rae Male Milspouse Series Jayla Rae

The Perspective of a Male Milspouse with Chris Molina

This week we are switching it up and speaking to male milspouse and Marine Corps veteran, Chris Molina! Chris is a girl dad and a leadership coach who finds himself navigating the female-dominated milspouse space. Chris and I discuss his experience as a milspouse, why he loves being a girl dad to his daughter, and his passion for understanding code-switching in every environment. 

As a man in the female-dominated milspouse world, Chris feels the sense of isolation that many milspouses can relate to due to relocation, overseas assignments, and separation from friends and family. Chris shares a few tips on how to manage his feelings of isolation on his own and how he manages it with his wife as a couple. 

In this episode, we mention Chris’s upcoming film Code-Switching. You can follow the Code Switching Instagram for updates and premiere dates. 

If you liked this episode and you’d like to hear more, please take a moment to leave a (nice, hopefully) review and subscribe to The Heart of a Milspouse Podcast. Subscriptions and positive reviews make a huge difference for podcasters and it would help us out immensely. Thanks! 

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Chris Molina is a two-time award-winning speaker, and an Amazon Best-Selling Author of his book I’m in a Leadership Role, Now What? The Student Edition, a Podcaster on the Professional by Choice Podcast and the How’d You Meet Podcast, a United States Marine Corps Veteran (serving 7 years on Active Duty), and a Purdue University Alum.

More than anything, Chris is a Father (#GirlDad), a Husband, a Son, a Brother, and an East Chicago, Indiana native.

Find Chris in all the places: 

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The Heart of a Milspouse Podcast is hosted by Jayla Rae Ardelean, Milspouse Mentor, Speaker, and Writer.

Grab your ♥️free♥️ resources here: jaylarae.com

Let's chat! @mil.spouse

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Enneagram Series Jayla Rae Enneagram Series Jayla Rae

Live Enneagram Typing Session With Manda Lynn McVey

💁🏻‍♀️ Welcome to an episode that is the first of its kind!

Join a brave milspouse (and friend of mine), Manda Lynn McVey during a live Enneagram Typing Session!

Together we addressed:

  1. How can two Enneagram types feel like a fit?

  2. What’s the difference between leading with your gut and following your heart?

Through a series of questions and vulnerable shares, we were able to:

  1. Narrow down to her Enneagram type (huzzah!)

  2. Make meaning of her lifelong attunement to her gut center, and how it has informed her decisions, reactions, etc.

It was SO GOOD (swear I’m not biased!).

I guided Manda Lynn in bringing what was subconscious to the surface, and you get to be a fly on the wall!

**Episode TW** Suicidal ideations, trauma

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➡️ BOOK YOUR OWN ENNEAGRAM TYPING SESSION AT JAYLARAE.COM/TYPE

➡️ OR COME HANG OUT ON MY EMAIL LIST BY SNAGGING A GIFT FOR YOUR ENNEAGRAM TYPE AT JAYLARAE.COM/ENNEAGRAM-GUIDE

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Meet Manda Lynn ❤️

Manda Lynn is Armed Forces Insurance 2022 Fort Polk Spouse of the Year, Founder & COO of Healitary Spouse, LLC, a Spouse Master Resilience Trainer, Holistic Wellness Practitioner, Behaviour Change Specialist, Fitness Nutrition Educator, and Yoga & Meditation instructor with a background in both the medical and culinary industries with over 3,000 volunteer hours under her belt leading military spouses to reconnect with their intuition in order to achieve overall wellness and resilience through a variety of modalities.

A native of Colorado, Manda lived a rather nomadic lifestyle prior to becoming a military spouse making her an extremely resourceful person she finds joy from sharing resources with fellow military spouses, creating art, and reading pretty much anything you can consider to be a book.

Learn about Manda Lynn's services on Sofia Health: https://sofiahealth.com/shop/manda-lynn-mcvey/

Send Manda Lynn a DM on Instagram to say hi!

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The Heart of a Milspouse Podcast is hosted by Jayla Rae Ardelean, Late Career Milspouse Mentor, Speaker, and Writer.

Grab your ♥️free♥️ enneagram resource here: jaylarae.com/enneagram-guide

Learn more: jaylarae.com

Let's chat! I love DM's @mil.spouse

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Jayla Rae Jayla Rae

The Retirement Conversation Between Me + My Service Member

🤓 Welcome to a new type of episode on this podcast. Join me for an impromptu, introspective conversation between me and my service member about potentially retiring from the military in the next few years.

We're in that limbo period where no decision has been made, but this conversation has come up more frequently in the past 6 months. 

If you're where we are now, we want to hear from you! Let us know what resonated with you: I love DMs! @mil.spouse

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The background music is Hostiles: the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack by Max Richter

All music rights belong to Max Richter, I do not own this song.

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The Heart of a Milspouse Podcast is hosted by Jayla Rae Ardelean, Late Career Milspouse Mentor.

Grab your ✨free✨ enneagram resource here: jaylarae.com/enneagram-guide

Learn more: jaylarae.com

Let's chat about this episode - I love DMs! @mil.spouse

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Late Career Mil Series Jayla Rae Late Career Mil Series Jayla Rae

Alleviating Food Insecurity as a Late Career Milspouse With Monica Basset

If you're catching this episode in real time, vote for me for the AFI Military Spouse of the Year® here (and thank you! ♥️):

https://msoy.afi.org/profiles/2023-jayla-rae-ardelean

...Everyone get ready for a dose of inspiration on what Late Career Milspouses are capable of! 

2022 AFI Army Spouse of the Year®, Monica Basset entered military life in her 30's, and has never stopped building community wherever they've been stationed since! As an advocate for fighting military food insecurity, her passion is truly infectious. This conversation will educate you and inspire you all in one!

Topics we cover:

👉🏻How to fill the gaps you notice in your own military base community

👉🏻What it's like to have a predetermined identity before entering military life, and how to shift

👉🏻Her amazing advice on how to strengthen your military marriage when shit gets rough

👉🏻Why we've seen an increase in discussing the military food insecurity issue, and how we can get LOUDER!

👉🏻Monica's inspiring permission slip to fellow Late Career Milspouses

This is Episode #8 of The Heart of a Milspouse Podcast series highlighting Late Career Milspouse/Milso stories + their experiences ♥️

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Meet 2022 AFI Army Spouse of the Year®, Monica Basset!

Monica is a military spouse and advocate for the underprivileged in the military community. Through her personal experience with food insecurity as a child and by connecting with military families facing these same struggles, she has made it her mission to ease the burden of food insecurity and shine a light on undernourishment of families. She built Stronghold to respectfully supply resources to families, provide actionable solutions, and educate others on the crisis of food insecurity in the military. Monica was named the Armed Forces Insurance Army Spouse of the Year for 2022 because of her commitment to alleviating food insecurity.

Website: www.strongholdfoodpantry.com

Keep up with Stronghold Food Pantry + Monica on Facebook:

facebook.com/monicabassett2022afiarmyspouseoftheyear/ 

facebook.com/StrongholdCommunityFoodPantry/ 

Instagram: 

instagram.com/_simplymonica_ 

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The Heart of a Milspouse Podcast is hosted by Jayla Rae Ardelean, Milspouse Mentor, Speaker, and Writer.

Grab your ♥️free♥️ resources here: jaylarae.com

Let's chat! @mil.spouse

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Late Career Mil Series Jayla Rae Late Career Mil Series Jayla Rae

Single Mom in Construction Turned Late Career Milspouse With Tonia Rivers

Talking with Tonia felt like an inspiring pep talk on vulnerability, how to make career pivots, and relationship woes I didn't even know I needed! Please enjoy her spirit ♥️

Topics we cover:

👉🏻Where Tonia was at with her relationship history as a single mom when meeting her service member

👉🏻What it's like to be a black female mother in the construction industry, and how she pivoted to keep her career

👉🏻Her experience with seasoned spouses 

👉🏻Tonia's beautiful permission slip to fellow Late Career Milspouses


This is Episode #7 of The Heart of a Milspouse Podcast series highlighting Late Career Milspouse/Milso stories + their experiences ♥️

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Meet Tonia Rivers!

Tonia Rivers is the Owner and President of WLS Construction Consultants LLC and Founder of the nonprofit Mothers In Construction. She has a Bachelor of Architecture from Howard University and has 17 years of experience in the construction industry. 

Tonia has been a critical team member in the management of over $1Billion in construction projects as both a senior project manager for large-scale general contractors in the Washington, DC area and as a key stakeholder of a Department of Defense federal agency managing MILCON projects across the Midwest region of the United States. Tonia's experiences span across several market sectors to include historic preservation and restoration, high-end commercial, marine construction, residential, institutional, federal, healthcare, and K-12 education. 

She has also been instrumental in the development of young professionals who have utilized the skills learned to take on leadership roles at various organizations. Tonia 's ability to forge positive relationships with design professionals and subcontractor communities has led to the execution of successful projects across the nation.

Catch Tonia's The Mothers in Construction Podcast: https://anchor.fm/mothers-in-construction

Website: www.mothersincon.org

Instagram: instagram.com/mothersinconstruction

instagram.com/wls_construction_consultants

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The Heart of a Milspouse Podcast is hosted by Jayla Rae Ardelean, Milspouse Mentor, Speaker, and Writer.

Grab your ♥️free♥️ resources here: jaylarae.com

Let's chat! @mil.spouse

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Deployment Series Jayla Rae Deployment Series Jayla Rae

The Reintegration Episode: 4 Strategies to Improve Your Relationship

Welcome back to the deployment series (where The Heart of a Milspouse Podcast began in 2021 ❤️)!

Our reintegration period isn't exactly over yet, but in this episode you'll hear how it started, and where are marriage is now

Though we had to huddle together to successfully PCS overseas and take on my step kids on full time in summer 2022, we had a huge obstacle to overcome: 

We had just been apart for 11 months while he was deployed, and were struggling to work together. We went through a rough patch, and I'm giving you a behind the scenes look into why! (Hint: military life is ridiculous sometimes.)

In this episode, I give you 4 strategies to improve your relationship that worked for us, and why hiring support was so necessary.

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In this episode I mention Military Marriage Coach, Dr. Lindsay Cavanagh. 

Check out her work here: https://lindsaycavanagh.com/

Hear Lindsay as a guest on The Heart of a Milspouse Pod

https://anchor.fm/heartofamilspouse/episodes/How-Being-a-Late-Career-Milspouse-Affects-Your-Marriage-e1j13kc

Hear me on Lindsay's podcast, Married to Military™

https://marriedtomilitary.libsyn.com/ep-79-embracing-your-full-military-spouse-identity-with-jayla-rae-ardelean

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The Heart of a Milspouse Podcast is hosted by Jayla Rae Ardelean, Late Career Milspouse Mentor.

Grab your ✨free✨ deployment resource here: jaylarae.com/deploymentkit

Learn more: jaylarae.com

Let's chat! I love DMs! @mil.spouse

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Late Career Mil Series Jayla Rae Late Career Mil Series Jayla Rae

Getting Resourceful as a Late Career Milspouse

Get ready to discuss how and why Late Career Milspouses are nowhere near the default messaging for milspouses, and why we should care about this!

The future of this category of milspouses is in our hands, and my guest today shares her infinite wisdom on how to get resourceful.

This is Episode #6 of The Heart of a Milspouse Podcast series highlighting Late Career Milspouse/Milso stories + their experiences ♥️

Topics we cover:

👉🏻How Manda Lynn was backed into a professional corner, and where she took it from there

👉🏻What it's like to meet your future spouse at 12 years old, but spend nearly lifetimes apart

👉🏻Playing catch up as a Late Career Milspouse

👉🏻One important question to ask yourself in conversation with other milspouses

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Meet Manda Lynn McVey!

Manda Lynn is Armed Forces Insurance 2022 Fort Polk Spouse of the Year, Founder & COO of Healitary Spouse, LLC, a Spouse Master Resilience Trainer, Holistic Wellness Practitioner, Behaviour Change Specialist, Fitness Nutrition Educator, and Yoga & Meditation instructor with a background in both the medical and culinary industries with over 3,000 volunteer hours under her belt leading military spouses to reconnect with their intuition in order to achieve overall wellness and resilience through a variety of modalities.

A native of Colorado, Manda lived a rather nomadic lifestyle prior to becoming a military spouse making her an extremely resourceful person she finds joy from sharing resources with fellow military spouses, creating art, and reading pretty much anything you can consider to be a book.

Armed Forces Insurance 2022 Spouse of the Year: https://msoy.afi.org/about

Learn about Manda Lynn's services on Sofia Health: https://sofiahealth.com/shop/manda-lynn-mcvey/

For more information on the Disaster Preparedness kits for Fort Polk, send Manda Lynn a DM on Instagram

Get Acronyms and Abbreviations sheet from Manda Lynn!

https://www.canva.com/design/DAFN9lnyZhs/d3M7rSXQeIOjakgmQMClag/view?utm_content=DAFN9lnyZhs&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link&utm_source=homepage_design_menu

Email a suggestion to thehealitaryspouse@gmail.com

Manda Lynn would like you to know that Military OneSource now has an app!

Check it out here: https://www.militaryonesource.mil/confidential-help/interactive-tools-services/my-military-onesource-app/

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The Heart of a Milspouse Podcast is hosted by Jayla Rae Ardelean, Milspouse Mentor, Speaker, and Writer.

Grab your ♥️free♥️ resources here: jaylarae.com

Let's chat! @mil.spouse

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Late Career Mil Series Jayla Rae Late Career Mil Series Jayla Rae

How a Late Career Milspouse Turns Into a Mental Health Advocate

Ever wonder how or why mental health advocates for military families get their start? Maybe you too see this in your future as a milspouse? Join me and Jenny Lynne Stroup of the award-winning Holding Down the Fort Podcast for a debrief on what it's like to assimilate into military culture (after spending much of your life on the outside), and how seeking mental health resources for yourself is the best way to see cracks in the system.

Warning: this conversation just might inspire you to take on the identifier "milspouse" with much more ease 😉

This episode is only marked "explicit" because I drop one F-Bomb. Oops.

This is Episode #5 of The Heart of a Milspouse Podcast series highlighting Late Career Milspouse/Milso stories + experiences ❤️

In this episode we mention:

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Jenny Lynne Stroup is writer, blogger, podcaster, mental health advocate, Milspouse, MOPS-alum, and recovering human being.

She joins the Holding Down the Fort Podcast as a seasoned military spouse who spends her time at each duty station fostering community. She believes that being vulnerable and sharing her story empowers others to do the same.

As a freelance writer, Jenny Lynne uses stories to bridge the gap between the civilian and military communities. She is passionate about narrowing that gap and sees her role as a military spouse as an opportunity to reach both communities.

Jenny Lynne has a background in marketing and education. Jenny Lynne received her Bachelor’s degree in Marketing Management from Virginia Tech and her Master’s degree in Elementary Education from Old Dominion University.

Prior to advocating for military families' mental health as the Outreach Coordinator for the Steven A. Cohen Military Family Clinic at Veterans Village San Diego, Jenny Lynne taught elementary school and spent her time working with several military organizations and spouse groups. She was a keynote speaker for United Through Reading at both the Storybook Ball and the Tribute to Military Families events.

Jenny Lynne also worked for the USO of Metropolitan New York as a special event coordinator. During her time with the USO she worked to provide comfort and care for the wounded warriors participating the US Army Warrior Trials.

Originally from Virginia, Jenny Lynne takes her affection for her double name, her love of Southern cuisine, and her appreciation of Southern hospitality wherever the Navy sends her.

Learn more: www.jennylynnestroup.com

Find her on social:

Instagram.com/jgsalias

Facebook.com/jennylynnestroup

Twitter.com/Jenny_Lynne_S

Linkedin.com/in/jenny-lynne-stroup

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The Heart of a Milspouse Podcast is hosted by Jayla Rae Ardelean, Late Career Milspouse Mentor.

Grab your ✨free✨ resources here: jaylarae.com

Let's chat! @mil.spouse

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Deployment Series Jayla Rae Deployment Series Jayla Rae

Deployment Recap (One Year Anniversary of The Heart of a Milspouse Podcast)

Welcome to the Deployment Recap episode! ❤️

I began this podcast as a way to record my experience of a 12-month-long deployment, and along the way it turned into so much more!

In this episode you will hear clips from chosen episodes from the Deployment Series, including a reintegration update at the end.

Thank you for listening to the podcast for one whole year - we're celebrating its first anniversary together! 🎉

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Consider supporting the podcast by buying me a ☕️ here: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/jaylarae

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Catch the full episodes below:

➡️ T-Minus 3 Days Until Deployment

➡️ Deployment: 1 Week Down

➡️ Deployment: 1 Month Down

➡️ Promotion During Deployment

✨TOP EPISODE✨ How to Approach Traumatic Events During Deployment

➡️ How to Set Homecoming Expectations

➡️ How to Cope With Isolation During Deployment

➡️ Why I Abandoned a Weekly Deployment Countdown

➡️ How to Approach Deployment When Your Love Language is Quality Time

➡️ 3 Days to Deployment Homecoming


Includes an UPDATE ➡️ ➡️ 5 Weeks Into Reintegration!

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The Heart of a Milspouse Podcast is hosted by Jayla Rae Ardelean, Late Career Milspouse Mentor.

Grab your ✨free✨ deployment resource here: jaylarae.com/deploymentkit

Learn more: jaylarae.com

Let's chat! @mil.spouse

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Deployment Series Jayla Rae Deployment Series Jayla Rae

3 Days to Deployment Homecoming

I captured all of the feelings and worries leading up to homecoming in this episode! It's been a wild ride preparing for him to come home after 11 months of being gone. But what's consuming my headspace may not be what you expect.

Support the podcast here: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/jaylarae

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The Heart of a Milspouse Podcast is hosted by Jayla Rae Ardelean, Late Career Milspouse Mentor.

Grab your ✨free✨ deployment resource here: jaylarae.com/deploymentkit

Learn more: jaylarae.com

Let's chat! @mil.spouse

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Late Career Mil Series Jayla Rae Late Career Mil Series Jayla Rae

How Being a Late Career Milspouse Affects Your Identity

Get ready for the truth about what it means to have a strong identity before joining the military lifestyle! In this episode I talk with Jessica Wright, as she vulnerably shares her point of view with us. Becoming a Late Career Milspouse is like this:

  • Don't know how or where you need to catch up? Yep.

  • Hearing archaic advice from spouses who've been doing this for a long time? Yep.

  • Feeling like your identity prior to becoming a milspouse is painful to change or even let go of? Absolutely.

This is Episode #4 of The Heart of a Milspouse Podcast series highlighting Late Career Milspouse/Milso stories + experiences ❤️

Topics we cover:

  • How Jessica met her service member (same as me!)

  • Some advantages + disadvantages of having a strong identity prior to joining the military lifestyle

  • How Top Gun shapes the way we knew of the military (we had this convo before the new movie release)

  • The crap other spouses have said to her while experiencing tough deployment circumstances

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Jessica lives in the Seattle area with her Navy spouse and dachshund, Hershey. She's an Enneagram 2 and enjoys cooking, baking, crafting, and drinking coffee.

Jessica is obsessed with degrees and programs that have the word “transformation” in them because she believes in seeking continual growth and learning how to embrace change. It's been said that she takes no shit but does no harm. She's on a mission to help people believe that they can make a big difference in the world once they learn how to reframe their challenges and show up in their life in a way that makes them excited.

She truly believes she’s the funniest person she knows and always wants to be around other changemakers, but can often be found narrating the thoughts inside every dog’s head that she sees.

Find her on social:

@jwrightlife Wright Life Coaching https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessicarwright/

Website URL:

www.jessicawright.online

Snag her FREE 12 Journal Prompts for Changemakers:

https://bit.ly/3KMYNrj

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Know of another Late Career Milspouse who'd be great for this series? Send them here -> jaylarae.com/guest

The Heart of a Milspouse Podcast is hosted by Jayla Rae Ardelean, Late Career Milspouse Mentor.

Grab your ✨free✨ resources here: jaylarae.com

Let's chat! @mil.spouse

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Late Career Mil Series Jayla Rae Late Career Mil Series Jayla Rae

Experiencing Barriers as a Veteran + Late Career Milspouse

Are you ever curious to hear a female veteran's perspective after leaving the military? Join me and Jeanette for a no-holds-barred conversation on what it means to be a black woman inside and outside what she describes as the most "toxic" relationship she's ever had.

This is Episode #3 of The Heart of a Milspouse Podcast series highlighting Late Career Milspouse/Milso stories + experiences ❤️

Questions we cover:

  • How and where Jeanette met her service member (it's scandalous!)

  • Challenges from the point of view of veteran + Late Career Milspouse - there are more barriers versus benefits than you'd think!

  • How Jeanette sees the term "Late Career Milspouse" shaping our unique experiences

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Jeanette Peterson is a US Air Force Iraqi Freedom veteran. She served 11 years, and met her husband, Austin and have been married for 7 years. They have two kids, Annalise (4), and Eleanor (2). After an abrupt exit from the military, moving across the country, and becoming a mother all within 6 months, she struggled with what her purpose was. Jeanette loves to coach and mentor women during a 'label' transition and learn to trust their intuition. She also coaches entrepreneur CEO women to trust their guidance and do what's right for them. She's a CISSP Cybersecurity Engineer working as a contractor for Veteran's Affairs.

Find her on social:

@jeanette.peterson

@petersonandbelle

Website URL:

https://petersonandbelle.com/

Listen to her podcast, Unapologetically Unstoppable:

https://open.spotify.com/show/6KbriMUsXFQZ94M16XtcjE?si=678f63edce994edd

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The Heart of a Milspouse Podcast is hosted by Jayla Rae Ardelean, Late Career Milspouse Mentor.

Grab your ✨free✨ resources here: jaylarae.com

Let's chat! @mil.spouse

This episode is marked as "explicit" to account for language.

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Late Career Mil Series Jayla Rae Late Career Mil Series Jayla Rae

Shedding Biases as a Late Career Milso

Join me for an open + honest conversation with Samantha about what it means to shed our biases about the military, after having begun relationships with service members later in our lives. We bond over our challenged relationships with the military through the lens of punk rock, being millennials, and share our complicated thoughts about the Iraq War and the War in Afghanistan.

As a Late Career Milso and nomadic copywriter, Samantha's story about entering military life is one you don't want to miss! This is Episode #2 of The Heart of a Milspouse Podcast series highlighting Late Career Milspouse/Milso stories + experiences ❤️

Questions we cover:

  • How did you meet your service member?

  • How has your nomadic lifestyle impacted your relationship?

  • What were your perceptions of the military before you met him, and what biases are you working to let go of?

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Samantha Burmeister is on a mission to provide high-converting copy to service-based businesses so they can sell more, and therefore drive a greater impact in their industry.

Find her on social:

@nomad.copy

@thefunnelweek

Website URL:

www.nomadcopyagency.com

Snag her FREE copy audit:

https://www.nomadcopyagency.com/audit-opt-in

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The Heart of a Milspouse Podcast is hosted by Jayla Rae Ardelean, Late Career Milspouse Mentor.

Grab your ✨free✨ resources here: jaylarae.com

Let's chat! @mil.spouse

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Late Career Mil Series Jayla Rae Late Career Mil Series Jayla Rae

How Being a Late Career Milspouse Affects Your Marriage

Join me for a fun + candid conversation with Lindsay! As Late Career Milspouses, hear us bond over how we have pivoted our careers AND marriages countless times!

This is Episode #1 of a brand new series highlighting Late Career Milspouse stories + experiences ❤️.

Questions we cover:

  • Intro to how you and your husband met, and where you were at in life when y'all met

  • What are some particular challenges you've experienced as a Late Career Milspouse?

  • When we use this term "Late Career Milspouse", how do you see this helping other milspouses who may fall into this category?

  • How many career pivots have you had to make as someone with advanced degrees?

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Dr. Lindsay Cavanagh is a psychologist, Military Marriage Coach, and military spouse. She is passionate about helping military spouses improve their marriage so they have the marriage they truly desire and feel good in daily. She is the host of the Married to Military podcast and was named 2022 Armed Forces Insurance Naval Air Station North Island Military Spouse of the Year.

Find her on social:

@marriedtomilitary

Married to Military Facebook Group

Learn more:

www.lindsaycavanagh.com

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The Heart of a Milspouse Podcast is hosted by Jayla Rae Ardelean, Late Career Milspouse Mentor.

Grab your ✨free✨ resources here: jaylarae.com

Let's chat! @mil.spouse

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