The Controller Of Your Own Narrative: Exiting Life as a Nominated TV Host and Pivoting to Lifestyle Blogger with Karen Bertelsen
Episode Details
Transcript
In this conversation, Andrea and Karen discuss various themes surrounding media influence, ageism, and the representation of women in the media. They share personal experiences related to their careers in television and blogging, highlighting society's expectations of self-presentation and authenticity.
The discussion also touches on societal beauty standards, the impact of aging on career opportunities, and the ethical considerations in celebrity culture. In this engaging conversation, Andrea and Karen explore various themes surrounding body image, the impact of social media on women over 45, the challenges and authenticity in blogging, and memorable career moments. They share personal anecdotes that highlight the awkwardness of societal expectations, the importance of self-acceptance, and the persistent pursuit of one's passions despite challenges.
Connect with Karen:
Resources:
Blog Post: Frozen Yogurt Tampons
Brooke Shields’s Nonconsensual Vaginal Rejuvenation Article
Connect with The F*CK You 50s
Speaker 0
When people write beauty articles with headlines like, I'm in my thirties, and I already feel age out of makeup. Sorry. How is this beneficial to women? Newsflash, it's not. Or this gem, a common mistake for women over fifty is to not wear any makeup at all. Okay. Bully. How does that help? Again, another newsflash, it doesn't. One thing we can agree on is that the positive conversations about mature women and beauty is not only long overdue, but the perception that media and society has created is ageist, condescending, misogynistic, and downright bullying. As a woman who is fifty three and a beauty expert, to sum it up, this shit drives me bonkers. The how to wear makeup over forty articles get into one of my Andrew Clare rants faster than you can go within part your hair on the side because not everyone suits a middle part. There is a biological age and a skin age, and the number isn't always mirrored. I have worked on faces whose biological age is in their twenties, but their skin age looks like they're in their forties. Some of this is skin care practice, health, lifestyle, and of course, genetics. If you're seeking out how to look your best at any age, you want radiant, glowing, lit from within skin. This is across the board of biological age and skin age. Whether you are able to wear glitter, that's a quote quote unquote able, whether you are able to wear glitter, silver tones, super super glossy lips, powder foundation, etcetera, etcetera, has absolutely nothing to do with if you're under forty. If you desire to wear glitter or a silver highlight or whatever these condescending articles tell you what you're doing wrong, just do it. Makeup is art. It's an expression of how you feel or what you like. Yes. Beauty has rules, but we all know rules are made to be broken. Makeup doesn't know how old you are, only you do. I find it such a weird place to be at my age because basically you hit thirty eight and the media starts slagging you on what you're doing wrong. Then you hit sixty five and all of a sudden you're cute and you're brave wearing that glitter as a mature woman. If something feels good to you, do it. Life is too short. Wear the glitter with your side part or wear no makeup at all. This is why I was inspired to do the fuck you fifties. Buckle up, ladies. We're in for a ride. Speaker 1
Welcome to the fuck you fifties, the podcast for women who refuse to tolerate the bullshit anymore. Speaker 0
This is real talk, real stories, and a long overdue reality check. I'm your host, Andrea Clare, and this podcast is the filter free voice you've been waiting for with a dose of f bombs, the fuck you fifties, unfiltered, unapologetic, and undeniably needed. My guest today is Karen Bertelsen, who you may recognize from various TV shows as seen on CFMT, Much More Music, HGTV, the w network, Splice, and more. Karen decided to be the controller of her own narrative and pivoted from TV hosting to a wildly successful lifestyle blog, the art of doing stuff. Join us as we discuss Brooke Shields' surprise, husband stitched during a labiaplasty. What the fuck? And women in the media, how they still need to make a declaration when they stop wearing makeup. Hello, Alicia Keys and Pamela Anderson. All this and more groundbreaking conversations on the fuck you fifties. I'm Andrea Clare. Let's get Speaker 2
started. Speaker 1
KB. I can't hear you. That's probably for the best. Speaker 2
Is it working now? Yeah. Okay. I had touched a tiny little mute button on the bottom. Speaker 1
Look at you look so scholarly with all those books in the background. Speaker 2
Okay. So I'm good, and I have a lot of books because I'm super smart. Speaker 1
Yes. Great. I have no books because I'm not so super smart. So I Speaker 2
don't know. Really kind of dumb. Speaker 1
It's true. It's true. Thank you so much for doing this. I so appreciate it. Speaker 2
So is this the first one? Speaker 1
No. The second one. Second one's a charm. Speaker 2
Okay. Who well, how did the first one go? Speaker 1
Really well, I think. It's just interesting. And I guess too is, like like, having a media background myself as as well as you and and Linda. Right? So Linda had been doing, TV hosting for HBO in Asia, and she was getting solid gray. And I was coloring her hair every, like, two, three weeks because she had to have it colored for camera. And then she decided that she didn't wanna color it anymore. And HBO basically said, like, that's totally up to you. Like, if you wanna stop coloring your hair, that's fine. You will not be on camera anymore. Yeah. So she continued to color her hair until she moved, back home to Texas. And so we had a whole conversation about that. And, and it and it's interesting too, you know, because I feel like, sure, we have our experiences being in the media, but that still kind of kind of, like, falls over into the general public. Right? Because how we are influenced, how Speaker 2
we present ourselves. Yeah. Everything that we do is formed by marketing and media. Speaker 1
Yeah. Speaker 2
Like, everything. The glasses we wear, the like, everything. I often wonder what I would be like if I were just sort of, like, lived in a cabin in the woods. No influence. No. Like, you wouldn't care if you had a wrinkle. You wouldn't, like Yeah. You would care about other things like eating and disease and finding antibiotics. Yeah. You don't have to worry about being wrinkled. Yeah. Yeah. Speaker 1
So true. Take. And and, you know, most of my career has been behind the scenes, of course, right, as a hair and makeup artist. I remember when we were doing the TV show, and it was kind of and I I don't know if I've ever shared this with you, but it was near, like, the first couple episodes that we shot, and I got called into the editing suite. And they said, we just wanna show you something. So if you can just come so we can show you. And I'm like, sure. So I go, and there is producer and two men that are working in the editing suite. And they have a freeze frame of me. I was, like, bent over mixing up, like, a coloring bowl. Then they had a freeze frame, and it's kind of like like a three quarter shot. So I think we kinda saw it down on my knees maybe or something. And they start circling my stomach, and they're like, so we just wanted to show you this and, yeah, so if you just wanna take care of that. And I was so pissed off. No. Right? I know. It's crazy. I should have accepted that feedback. Right? But I said to them I said, are you kidding me? I said, I've had two children, and we're on a makeover show that's supposed to be empowering women, And you're having me bent over with the camera angle going up and asking me to and I was like, no. And I think I just kinda stormed out. That was the end of that conversation. Speaker 2
And I'm I'm gonna talk about that a little bit later. That that sort of you're not in charge of yourself. Like, you're just not if you're a host. And even if you're presenting yourself as you were on that show Yeah. As yourself. They want you to be whatever you they want you to be, and that you was obviously somebody with, yeah, flaws. Oh my god. Speaker 1
So many flaws. Well and and this kind of also kinda leads me into, like, one of the things I wanted to kinda talk to you about. I mean, I mean, there's so many different, you know, questions I have and just wanna hear your opinion and feedback and whatever. But, coming from someone who had lots of, like, media background where you're hosting and you're you know, you did, like, much more music, and and then you kinda segwayed from that into your lifestyle blog, which is fantastic. And having that career pivot, there's a lot of women once we get past a certain age or maybe not even maybe not even as an age thing, but, you know, I think a lot of us kind of think about having career pivot. So how did you pivot from from being on TV to basically being the controller of your own narrative? Speaker 2
The controller of your own narrative, which is true. And that's like, I have gum, I should probably Speaker 1
get rid of it. No. It's classy on TV. Perfect. Speaker 2
This all this this all is part of why I left television. Because I can do things like spit my gum across the room. What was the question? Why did I change careers? Yeah. Speaker 1
So you can spit gum out. Speaker 2
So I can spit gum out. I I mean, honestly, the really reason that I was inspired to change careers was because nobody wanted to hire me anymore. So I thought, let's think about changing careers because I I've aged out of television, really. And the other thing is that I wanted to leave because on television, if you're a host and you're presenting yourself as yourself, you're not really presenting yourself as yourself. Meaning, the producer, the executive producer, the director sort of forms how you appear and act on screen, and I wanted to have control over how I appeared Yeah. And acted as myself. So, actually, the only place that I was allowed to do that, the only place I was allowed to be completely myself was the very first job I had, which was on CFMT, now known as Omni Television in Toronto. And I would talk in between the television shows, and one of those shows that I would talk in between was the Jerry Springer show. That would make a whole good blog post in itself, that whole time in my life. That was the only station that let me be who I am. And then from there on in, like, from that to wherever much more music, and I've been on, you know, w network, HDTV. All of them tried to change who I was, and I was worse on camera as a result of it. CFMT just let me do. They did not edit me. They they trusted me to know what the boundaries were and just told me to go. And it was the most successful and I think the best I've ever been on television. So the shows just seem to kept they kept getting a little bit worse or not even worse, just not what I wanted to do. So when it was getting harder to find a job because I wasn't thirty five, I was probably, oh my god, like, thirty eight. I I, yeah, I decided to take all the skills that I had and the things that I really like to do, which was writing and just being myself and use all those skills in another way. And that way, of course, was a blog. Speaker 1
I mean, the blog is fantastic. Well, I had one of my favorite blog posts ever, and I always reference it. And when I talk to people and and tell them about your blog, it's always like the yogurt, filled tampons. Speaker 2
Yeah. Frozen yogurt tampons. And that was it's funny because that was one of the first things I did. Like, that was in within the first couple of months of having a blog. I thought, like, I don't I can do whatever I want now. So, yeah, let's try and put a frozen popsicle up in my vagina and tape it video it. Yes. And it was the thing is it actually worked. Yeah. Well, people want it like talk about things that people are actually interested in. Aren't you interested in how to get rid of a yeast infection if you can? Speaker 1
Absolutely. For sure. Speaker 2
Along with, of course, powerful drugs. Speaker 1
And a comedic factor as well, for sure. So what what, what year was that that you had kind of decided to leave, and start your blog? Speaker 2
Should've looked that up beforehand, shouldn't have I? Speaker 1
I'm sorry. I apologize Speaker 2
for what I your fault that I actually thought. Fourteen years ago, I I think this will be my fourteenth or fifteenth anniversary. I got, in March, and I got into blogging. Yeah. What it was I didn't know what a blog was. Like, I really didn't know. I had been writing blog entries for HGTV and W Network for the shows that I hosted because they liked how I write it and write it. Amazing. They'd be used to painting me to talk. Speaker 1
I write in good. Oh, that's funny. Speaker 2
I wrote quite well for their Yes. For their blogs. So, yeah, I did that. And so I realized that I'd actually did like it and, did it myself. So it would have been whatever fourteen years ago was. Speaker 1
So the network sent aside you had a face for writing. Speaker 2
Andrea, that's very rude of you. Speaker 1
But funny. Right? Speaker 2
Funny. You said Speaker 1
that's okay. I remember when I was doing So Chic with Steven and Chris, and, and then I was I was doing, we're going to do a woman's makeup, and she was, like, like, really, like, stiff like this. And I started kinda relaxing her shoulders, like, I'm, like, massaging her. And then I said, relax. It's not a pap smear. Speaker 2
And the other people laughed, Speaker 1
and then they yelled cat, and then I was told that I'm not allowed to make the jokes. Speaker 2
Oh my yeah. I could see that. Speaker 1
That's, like, bloody funny. Anyway, how do you feel because obviously that's all about, like, ageism and everything too, how we end up aging out of our our careers in the media or, you know, even again as as a hair and makeup artist even though I'm not really on camera. But I've been told to, not by a lot of people, but by a few people that I should downplay my age and not tell people how old I am, because people won't wanna hire me because I'll kinda seem out of date or out of touch. I mean, still to this day, like, it's kind of it's kind of fucked up. Like, that's kinda, like, part of my inspiration behind, this podcast, the fuck you fifties, because I'm just like, come on. Like, I feel like we should be proud of our age, and we don't necessarily need to broadcast it. Of course not. But, like, there's this huge movement right now with women kind of over forty five. Do you feel that ageism, is kind of changing? Do you feel like we're getting better? Or what do you have any thought process on that? Speaker 2
I do. I don't really think we're getting better. I I I feel like, yeah, there's all this, like, this big deal about, women over forty in the media now or celebrating women over forty or fifty, but it's only women who could pass for under forty. I still think there's so much focus on, yeah, you can be fifty as long as you still kinda look forty. Speaker 1
Right. It it's it's interesting. I was on a shoot, on Friday, and as we're kind of, like, wrapping up, I had said something to somebody about, oh, oh, it said, oh, my sixteen year old camera was in in context at the time, but I was like, oh, my sixteen year old speaks Mandarin. And everybody was like, sorry. Did you just say sixteen year old? And I'm like, yeah. Like, I feel like I look old enough to have a sixteen year old. Right? But they're all kind of shocked. How is it that you have a sixteen year old? And I was like, okay. You guys are just being super nice to me. Like, I have a thirty year old and a twenty eight year old as well. And they were like, you have a thirty year old as well? And I'm like, yeah. They're like, how how old are you? And I'm like, I'm fifty three. I always find it so funny because then people are like, I can't believe that you're in your fifties. And I'm like, I, like, I always kinda reference, like, the Golden Girls. The character that was, Blanche. I just posted recently on my Instagram account how she is fifty three, and I'm currently fifty three. And it's funny when you see it together. Although it's funny. I look at it, and I'm like, okay. Well, if I cut my hair, I kinda feel like I look, you know, whatever. I can't run away from the jowls right there fucking there. Speaker 2
Oh, I I every night, I think, I'm gonna get some tape. Like, you were you know you know Speaker 1
how they have the face tape? Yes. I put on face tape once for actually, just for, like, being at home because that's what one does. And I had such a migraine. It was actually it was for New Year's, not this past year, but the year before. And the girl I was like, guys, I don't know if I can do New Year's. Like, my my head is hurting so much. And the girls are like, mom, like, what's going on? And I'm like, well, I tried this face tape, and I'm wondering if it's that. They're like, oh my god. Speaker 2
I still took off the Speaker 1
face tape. So I took off the face tape. Headache immediately went away. I'm like, so beauty is painful. Speaker 2
It's incredibly painful. Speaker 1
Incredibly. I mean, it's all kind of, like, around the kind of the same thing, but I guess, how do you feel about, representation of women in media and especially as we age? And it kind of this kind of brings up to me, like, in my mind, like, that allure, headline that I sent you. Speaker 2
Oh, right. Speaker 1
Oh my god. It made me so angry. And when I posted about it, I and most people kind of agreed with me, not that people do not need to agree with me. I'm like having conversation with people that don't agree. But the old lady energy flexes well toned muscles at the Golden Globes. And it's like, old lady energy? What the hell? Speaker 2
Yeah. Speaker 1
It's so ridiculous. And then I found out that the writer of that was seventy four years old. And I thought, I don't feel like that necessarily makes it okay. Speaker 2
Yeah. Old Lady Energy, flexed its well toned muscles at the I mean, there's so many things offensive about that. Speaker 1
Well, I mean, it's interesting because she wrote a kind of a a rebuttal to all the uproar on Allure. Right? She wrote Yeah. Saying she meant it as big dick energy. But it's funny because I even think, like, old lady energy versus big dick energy. Also, they're not even on the same plane. Like, they don't mean the Speaker 2
same thing. Speaker 1
Yeah. I mean, maybe you have to be like big pussy energy or something, you know? Speaker 2
It's a false equivalent. Women in the media still have to make a declaration when they decide to stop wearing makeup. So I don't think that we've come that far. Two women have declared they're gonna go makeup free, and it made the it made makes the news. Alicia Keys and Pamela Anderson. It makes the news when women don't wear makeup. Speaker 1
You know, it's so funny because I obviously knew that they had done this, but it didn't it didn't really sink in with me, I think, that it was such an announcement. But you're right. You're a hundred percent right. How fucking ridiculous is that? No words, really. I I see a lot of things that are targeted to, like, beauty and and, like, our age category. Right? Like like, how to do makeup for mature women. Like, that drives me crazy because I feel like that is a concept from, like, the fifties and sixties. It's kind of kept going, but it it doesn't really make sense anymore. Speaker 2
So but but you're at at an advantage because you're a makeup artist. So and hair artist. Like, you know that that's true. But people of, again, the stupid generation of us that have been raised by women who may have different opinions on this sort of sort of thing. Like, I don't know. I was always told, like, once you get older, yeah, you can't have long hair. You just can't have long hair. My sister once this is sort of apropos of nothing. When my sister when my sister first got married, and she got married very young, she got married when she was eighteen. My mother, it's my mother's advice to her was, when your husband comes home from work, make sure you're wearing lipstick because he will be going to the bank during the day for whatever reason to put his money away. And the the tellers at the bank are always very well put together and they're wearing lipstick. So you wanna look as good as a bank teller. Speaker 1
Wow. The Speaker 2
craziest thing is my sister is addicted to lipstick now. She will go nowhere without she could put lipstick on if she if her hand were cut off at the wrist. She could still worm that nub into the proper, like to put on lipstick. Speaker 1
You know, I I don't even know why my mind goes here, but I think of the latest thing with Brooke Shields. Do you hear about this where she went in for she went in for, like, a, like, a was it a labiaplasty? I don't know if that I'm pronouncing it or if that's the the right terminology. But it just was in the news, and the doctor that was performing the surgery gave her a little you know, they used to refer to it as a husband stitch after you had babies. They would just, like, stitch Speaker 2
you into the top. Speaker 1
Yeah. And so he apparently took it upon himself to tighten her up without her permission. And and now she's talking about all of that experience. What fucking doctor is so egotistical that he's like, I'm gonna do Brooke Shields' husband a little favor and tighten her right up. Like, what the fuck is that about? Wow. Speaker 2
Yeah. I no. I had not I had not heard that. Like, so if she went in for a boob job, the doctor would think, like, oh, maybe he would like them bigger. So let's let's just put on some bigger ones. So when when you think about it, I guess it it so it would have been her decision. So she had to decide, excuse me, that, yeah, I'm gonna come out and tell everybody about my vaginal operation. Because she could have just been quite like, would you have made that decision? Let's say the doctor did the same thing to you, and you were as famous as Brooke Shields. Would you have gone public? Speaker 1
I probably would have. I mean, I guess it's kinda hard to say unless you're in that position, but I feel like I would have. I mean, I've I've posted on my on my Instagram. Like, I went I went to get my armpits waxed, and the woman waxing my armpits told me I had weird nipples. I had I was wearing a bra that was kinda sheer, and she was like, oh, your your, your nipples are so weird. Like, they're so so different. And then she's like, oh, can I see? And she reached in and grabbed my bra, and I was like, no. You can't see. And and I was just like it was so weird. And Sage and Zoe were on the outside of the door. We're at this nail salon down the street from our place. It was just after we moved here. The girls are like, mom, are you okay? And I'm like, I'm fine. And I'm also thinking never coming here ever again. Came home and immediately was, like, posting about it on my Instagram. Like, what the fuck? But then I also so this is how fucked up it is, when people say things to you. Right? So then I go I come home, and I immediately go into my bathroom, and I take off my top. And I'm standing there, and I'm staring at my nipples. And I'm like, are they weird? Like, I don't know. Like and it's funny. I mean, not to share all kinds of random information about myself, but my nipples are literally the color of my freckles. Right? So I don't know. Maybe that is weird. I don't know. Right? Like, They've been my nipples my entire life. Also, the areola. Just in case you're wondering, if you're wondering if there's a separation of color, it's all the same color. Speaker 2
I wasn't. Thanks for irritation. Speaker 1
But, oh, Jeff wasn't home. Jeff, Jeff, I think, was still in Singapore at the time, but then I I'm on the phone with him, and I was like, oh, just, just, question. Are my are my nipples are they do they look weird to you? Are they, like, a weird color? Or, like, are they, like, are anything about them weird? He's like, what are you talking about? Speaker 2
Oh, god. I so badly wanna see your nipples now. K. Speaker 1
I'm all for the ratings. Speaker 2
Yeah. That's, yeah. That's the first time I heard that nipple story. Yeah. Speaker 1
Well I Speaker 2
knew I had no idea. I'm sorry that that happened to you. Speaker 1
It's it's weird. Like, I have this weird magnet of people saying things to me. Like, I I was in Costco, you know, like the that were you, like, the fashion capital of the world, Costco. And I was I was trying on I think it was like, it was like a like a like a winter vest or something. Right? Like, one of those kinda down filled, like, zipper things. And I was putting it on and I was like and there's no mirrors there, but I was trying to get, like, a feel of it, whatever. And this woman comes over to me, and, and she says, oh, excuse me. Like, what size are you trying on? And I thought she was thinking for herself. Right? And I said I said, oh, it's a medium. And she's like, you might wanna consider a large. And I stood there, and I'm like, what the fuck just happened? Speaker 2
Yeah. Well well, how did she seem, though? Did she, like I don't know. Now I'm trying to defend the woman. Like, was she trying to actually be helpful, or is it only offensive because it has, like, the because she said larger. What if she had said you should do get a small? Would it still have bothered you? Speaker 1
Not as much. Speaker 2
But sometimes people are just trying to be helpful, you know, and other times they're being, like, offensive and not sometimes they realize it, sometimes they don't. Speaker 1
Yeah. Yeah. I I don't disagree with that. Like, it's interesting, like, living in Asia for and I've told you stories, you know, but living in in Asia, like, it's like like, people say that we don't have a filter, which I don't necessarily believe, but, like, you wanna live in a place where there's no filter. Like, go to go to Singapore. Like, the amount of times that I was like like, how how are you okay with all of your ugly spots? Like, did did you not wanna take care of them? And I'm like, they're freckles. I'm like, no. Like, they're ugly spots. And I'm like, okay. I mean, I'm happy that I like my freckles. You know? Like, could you imagine if I didn't? I'd be like, you know? Anyway Speaker 2
ugly spots. Lightly spots. Yeah. It's like a Speaker 1
therapy session. Release. Release. Thanks, Karen. Oh. I'm here for you. So aside from my stories, Speaker 2
what what role what role Speaker 1
do you like, I mean, we're so active on social media, right, or at least I am, what role do you feel that social media plays in, shaping the public perceptions of women over forty five? Speaker 2
I'm trying to look for something good in social media, and I can't. This is the problem. Speaker 1
For me, like, when I'm looking at people and and their posts and things, like, I I feel like a lot of the downward spiral in humanity is in the comments. Speaker 2
Yes. That's exactly what I was gonna say, but it's unrealistic. So I didn't I think social media, especially people who are who have content that doesn't conform to, you know, the standard media norms. I really wish that they would just monitor the comments and get rid of the negative comments. Everybody says, oh, well, you have to, you know, you have to let people say their opinion, but that's not what comments are anymore. Comments are just just, like, fucking cage matches. It's ridiculous. Yeah. And so no. I don't if someone's, like, really being an ass, I don't think that allowing them to comment and perpetuating that and then igniting the fire helps. I think if we see a picture of somebody who we think is unusual in whatever way, and you just have the positive comments, that can have a huge effect on the social perception. Speaker 1
Absolutely. I I also just kinda think of, I think it's a combination of, like, what my grandmother used to say as well as, in the Aristocats Disney movie that, I think Marie got told by her mother, if you can't say something nice, you say nothing at all. Anyway, so what's, what's what's up with you? Any anything new and exciting going on? Speaker 2
There you know what? The way that blogging is, it's just a constant chase, a constant little changes all the time nonstop. So I don't yeah. I don't have time to make any kind of big changes because I'm spending my days in life just trying to keep up with the ever changing world of the Internet and social media and blogging. Things change monthly. Like, it we're in we're in a big change specifically right now. I'm just trying to keep it keep it together, basically. Just keep it together. No. I've been asked to write write a book books, and I just don't I don't have time. And right now, even though I would love a a a hardcover book on just as, you know, like a vanity project to have have on the coffee table, really, I would make more money. And at this stage of my life, that's now sort of my goal, quickly make make some money so I can eventually retire. Yeah. I'm losing a lot of my scruples as I age. Speaker 1
No. Speaker 2
So I just yeah. I'm I'm just no time for ego projects like books and whatever. Just Yeah. Stick with the blog. Speaker 1
Is there any and is there any kind of, like like, trend that's happening with with blogging? Or I mean, your formula, which is great, and it's always engaging and entertaining. But does there, like, you know, with magazines, for example, they'll have, like, the trends that are for the season, whatever. Do you find that that happens as well with blogging, or do you ignore that, or how does that affect you? Speaker 2
Yeah. It it does, but I don't follow them. I I have stopped really looking at Pinterest. I've stopped looking at social media because it is too easy to be influenced, and I don't wanna be a part of what like, I don't wanna get sidetracked. You know, same thing like with the book. I just I just wanna do what I do. I think I think I entertain people. I think I'm a good teacher. And that's always my goal is to entertain and to teach people, especially women, that it ain't that hard. I have no training in anything. I'm just wildly curious, then they can do it too. There is nothing I find sadder than when a woman sends me a message or an email and says, I can't wait to get my husband to try this. Like, whatever project it was. No. You can do it. But I guess not not everyone wants to. So I just wanna keep doing that. So I don't really follow the trends of of what other blogs are doing. But in terms of the way the pages look, and that changes constantly, whether you're writing your information for Google or for actual readers, that changes constantly. Like, Google prefers a specific type of post readers who are there to actually read, not just quickly get information, like, not just quickly, oh, what's the recipe? They don't like those posts. So Speaker 1
Yeah. Yeah. Speaker 2
And yet I have to please both. So that's kinda that's just sort of my job every day, every year is to find a balance between those two things while teaching and entertaining. Speaker 1
And do you do you have, do you have, like, a kind of, I guess, a favorite topic that you kind of go for? Kind of what inspires you to kind of come up with the next idea? Speaker 2
It's all seasonal. And a lot of I've found out I usually now take off the first couple of weeks of January, two or three weeks. Last year, it was to organize my house. But really, the reason that I'm not the sole reason, but one of the reasons I do it is because to have that kind of time off is the only time I have to become creative. Because I work so many days and so many hours that all of the creative things that I like to do, I I don't have time. So but normally, I do it's seasonal. You know? Like, obviously, I love gardening and growing vegetables. So during the summer months, that's, you know, mainly the topic is is growing vegetables, growing flowers, and then just little tips that are gonna help people throughout the day. And then winter, I'm big on, the Christmas pledge. That's a lot of my focus at Christmas is on this Christmas pledge, where I teach people or force them to get all of their Christmas crap done in November. And then everything else is, you know, just whatever I think whatever I need help with or whatever I'm doing at the moment, that's what ends up on the blog. Speaker 1
What if your friend just throwing it out there. Speaker 2
I don't have friends. Speaker 1
You don't have friends. What What if you had an acquaintance that you kind of knew that had, say, like, a countertop that needed, maybe a wet saw to cut it? Would you like to do that? Speaker 2
You can cut sorry. I'm thinking my Speaker 1
my laundry room renovations right now. Sorry. I'm making it about me. Speaker 2
You can handle a wet saw. In fact, you can even DIY a wet saw. All you need is somebody to stand there with a hose while you use, you know, whatever saw you have. Speaker 1
Right. Okay. I don't think an emery board would work. Speaker 2
I'll be there for a while. Speaker 1
I was having a look at your blog recently, you know, trying to be a good friend to, like, you know, catch up, whatever. Trying. You know, I fail a little bit. But I saw you posted about, owls in your backyard recently. Speaker 2
Owls. Yes. Did you see them? Did you see pictures of the owls? I've got pictures and videos and okay. So what what happened is last year, I put up no. The year before, I put up an owl house, in a tree because when I was in my backyard in the summer, I could hear screech owls. For those who don't know, but can't imagine. But a screech owl actually sounds like a horse. I know it. You'll hear it like, if you're sitting outside quietly in the summer, listen for something like this. Speaker 1
Karen, there's no end to your talent. I didn't know that you did that. You do voices? What the hell? Speaker 2
Now that, of course, is specifically a screech owl. Were you to encounter a horned owl or a barn owl or a bat, they would all be very different. That was the screech owl. So I heard that in the summer. I put, I put an owl box up. I did everything as right as I could. I have a I have an entire post on how to properly install an owl box, what direction it should be, everything so that you can get an owl. Because if you hear them in your neighborhood, you have them. So I put the owl box up in September. By February, I happened to be letting the dog out and looked up, and, oh my god, there was an owl in the owl box. There was I've never been more shocked by anything. I wouldn't have been more shocked if it came out of my vagina. It was astonishing. Like, oh my god. It's really an owl. Anyhow, so then that owl, I named him, snacks because he was tiny, and everybody likes snacks. So he which I thought think is a he. I have no idea. It might be a she. Got a mate. They had an owl. I only saw one, but they had an owlette, and they live in my backyard about five feet from my kitchen window. So every morning, I come down to get my coffee, and then I just look up from my kitchen window, and I see my owl. They leave at about well, whenever dusk is. That's that's when they they fly, look for food, and then they come back sometime around early morning. Every day I have an owl out there. Yeah. Speaker 1
So so will because I don't know anything about owls. Will they what is that their that their house now? Like, they live there? Or just Speaker 2
Yeah. Yeah. That's that's that's the so owls have a couple of properties around their neighborhoods, but then only one is is their, primary property. And mine is the the primary property where where it stays all night or or it stays, all day. Wow. That's so cool. The and the owl has has adjusted amazingly. My sister said, like, oh, you better move your because I have, you know, chopping blocks and wood splitters. And you better move that away from the owl so as not to disturb it. But I thought, well, no, because it's my backyard. So anyhow, no. The the I have a wood splitter that I use that is directly under the owl box. And it doesn't he doesn't even ruffle a feather. Nothing. He doesn't care. So we're all used to each other. Speaker 1
That's amazing. I need to come by and visit. I know I always say that. Vanessa is so far away. Speaker 2
I know. You're so far. You're so far. But I just ordered a camera for my owl box, a special camera that I'm going to hook up directly to my router. So it's an IP camera, which means I can live stream. That's cool. But the only problem is the owl box is, like, ten feet in the air. The owl is in the owl box all the time other than, say, from eight PM until four AM. Yeah. So I'm gonna put the if I get it if I can manage to do it, I'll I'll get, I'll get really good live shot in the owl box. So if there's babies being born or whatever. That's so cool. Speaker 1
Okay. I, I am sorry. Now I'm losing my voice. Let me take a sip of my bathtub. I have one more question for you, and I feel like this is also one of them. But can you describe any memorable moment, or is there any, maybe more than one, from your careers? I put a plural in there. Anything that really stands out for for you? Speaker 2
I've had a really interesting life. Like, I can't and there's there really isn't one thing that stands out. There are just so many things. But the one person that I always reference that I interviewed that for some reason I enjoyed and didn't think I would was Donny Osmond. Speaker 1
Oh. Speaker 2
I don't care about Donny Osmond. I have no opinions on Donny Osmond, but Donny Osmond is such a professional. He made me feel like he had never had anyone ask him any of these questions before that he had been asked hundreds of millions of times. Because when you do, like, like, a press tour, you're only you could only cover certain things. Like, there's only so many ways you can ask, how'd you come up with the idea to do this? Anyhow, he was just charming and very warm and nice, and I really liked Donny Osmond, and that surprised me. Speaker 1
It's so interesting that you mentioned him too, because I used to have a crush on him when I was a little kid. Weird. And, used to watch the Donny Marie Show. Yeah. And, just recently, because I was even wondering I think I actually Googled him because recently I was like, I wonder what he's up to, like, random. And, yeah, he still he seems to still be touring. And I honestly didn't even know he was still around. Speaker 2
Isn't that bad? Yep. See, but that's and there you go. That's what makes him a professional. When I when it's funny because when you interview people, it's very often the case that people who have or on their second career of the same career, like, John Travolta or Donny Osmond or whoever. People who have just stuck in with the industry for a long time are so much more gracious and have so much less ego than the the one hit wonders. It's it's amazing. Speaker 1
Absolutely. I remember working with probably shouldn't mention the name, but I think they're a Canadian band. They had a one hit wonder, and I had been working on a night shoot. This is years ago. And, I that was a busy time for me too. Like, I think we were doing the TV show at the time, and I was probably doing Canadian Idol. And I had a night shoot, then I had this shoot within the day with this band. And there was only one one female in the band, and she wasn't really a big makeup person, but I don't tend to be makeup heavy when I'm doing my work. And she came in, looked I had one look at my at my makeup and was like, oh, no. No. She's, like, looking for a man. I'm not no. I'm not sitting down. I am not doing that. And and it was for a cover of a music magazine. And I went over to her, and I was like, look. I just got off a night shoot. I'm really tired. I'm not heavy handed. You just got off an airplane. Why don't we make this less painful for both both of us? I'll do very minimum, and you can have a look in the mirror. And if I you want me to take it off after? No problem. Then it was like she's my best friend. Right? But it was, like, painful. And and, honestly, I don't think they're around anymore. You still hear their song, coming Speaker 2
on the radio. Like, they're stealing sunshine somewhere. Speaker 1
Yeah. Any any advice? Do you have any advice for, women, you know, that are thinking of changing careers? Or, you know? Speaker 2
I mean, my only advice is just do it. Find what you're good at. I see. So all tip the cliches are true. Find where you're good at. Do it. What do you like to do? Try and find a way to make money around that. The most for me, the most important factor in anything that I've done or had any success at is I'm not necessarily the best. I'm not the best at all, but I'm persistent. And the people who make it are the people who are persistent. It's not the people who are the most talented most of the time. Like, it took me, to get my first job on television with CFMT. I was I volunteered at my local television station for free for probably five years, the last three of which I was sending out tapes. And I didn't I have a stack like this. I have a stack of rejection letters letters from the first three years of working. Wow. But I just kept sending tapes out. I just kept doing it. Then CFMT finally hired me. So I got to, I'm not sure where they are, but I I tied all those rejection letters up with a little satin bow and put them in a box. Speaker 1
Oh my god. I love it. Just to keep you humble. Speaker 2
Just to get there's see it. There's there's, like, CNN and and always swinging for the trees, man. Oh, Oprah. Like, I'd never done any television. Nothing. Like, I was volunteering at my local cable fourteen. I'm gonna see if Oprah wants to hire me. She should hire me. Speaker 1
Yeah. That's amazing. That is amazing. Speaker 2
Confidence and persistence. Yeah. Speaker 1
There you go. I remember when, because I I remember seeing you on CFMT, like, before we met, and then going in for the audition for the w network. And I don't I don't think I had a heads up that you're gonna be there, but I remember walking in the door and seeing you and was just like, oh my god. She's so funny. I wanna work with her. Speaker 2
See? And that's because it was CFMT. They let me do whatever I want. And also I was it was what well, did you watch the Netflix documentary on Jerry Springer? I'm sure you didn't. Why? Speaker 1
I watched the first episode yesterday, and I honestly found it, like, so cringey and made me feel sick, and it was just kind of sad to watch. I don't think I'll watch anymore. Speaker 2
That was my life for because I was in the middle of the Jerry Springer show. So in Ontario, if you saw how famous Jerry Springer was in that, like, first part of that, you're reminded of how huge he was. I was exactly as famous as Jerry Springer with no like, I made twenty eight thousand dollars a year. I had no people were following me into the bath. Like, it was it was nuts. Speaker 1
I I watched the Martha Stewart documentary recently, And, honestly, she reminded me so much of you, or you reminded me so much of her. And, you know, you're almost at jail time because of that great heist, attempt in Dundas. Speaker 2
I can't believe you're talking about that. I did. I'm not a I'm not a convicted felon. I'm a I'm sneaky, and I steal chocolate, apparently. I went into a store. Yeah. Everybody has done that where you go into a store, you pick something up, you're waiting for someone else getting an ice cream or something, and then you leave the store with that with that thing. So funny. I Speaker 1
Yeah. Just so that our listeners can hear the story. I just I just love it. It's just just so funny. So I was visiting Karen. We're in this, like, chocolate shop right in Dundas, Ontario. Cute little chocolate chocolate shop, and we're, like, chatting away. And then we're all the way back to we walked walked there, walked back to Karen's place, get in, and Karen had still had in her hand this fucking bag of chocolate. And she's like, oh my god. Speaker 2
Oh, gosh. So funny. And then I almost went back the next day to bring it back, but then that felt even weirder. Speaker 1
The great heist. Dundas on Speaker 2
the road. Yeah. I just ate the chocolate. Speaker 1
Heck, you know, deserved. Well, thank you so much, Karen. I really appreciate it. I feel like this was so much fun. Speaker 2
It was fun. If you ever wanna talk about menopause, symptoms, you give me a call. Oh, great. I got my hair done yesterday, as you can see. Speaker 1
It looks so lovely. Speaker 2
Relatively okay. And yeah, we, I told her all the different menopause things because she's younger than I am and is in, she's thinking she might be in perimenopause, which when I was in perimenopause was not a term. Right. I never heard, it might have been a term but I'd certainly never heard of it. Speaker 1
I haven't heard of it until like more recently too, to be honest. So I I don't I don't know. Speaker 2
But we should look and see if it actually exists. Like is it like, you know, does it just seem to appear out of nowhere? And is there is though all of us should know what that oh, she's in perimenopause. Speaker 1
Also, who the fuck is Peri? Also that. Speaker 2
Oh. I Speaker 1
also like, you know, I always it always bugs me. Like, why is it everything that has to pertain to women of, like, some sort of, like, medical why does the word men have to be in there? Like, we need to change that. Speaker 2
That's a whole other another show. Speaker 0
Thanks for tuning in to the fuck you fifties. If you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to follow and rate the podcast. And we'd love to connect with you on Instagram, so be sure to follow us at the fuck you fifties. The fuck you fifties is hosted by Andrea Clare and edited and produced by Bespoke Productions Hub. See you next time. 