Hi, welcome to the podcast.
Hello.
Thanks for coming on.
So you are the CliffNotes gal, and I know many people know of you as a
CliffNotes gal, but kind of to get started, who are you and how did you get
into summarizing these long stories?
I remember the first, well, and I can talk about it later, but the
first time I saw you, it was just like, this is saving me so much time.
You cover all these amazing, stories into a quick little summary.
So I know that wasn't
so
long way
Yeah.
Showing my age here, but it's happened during COVID, I did the typical, like I
needed a break from being bored in the house, which when I say that I think
of that song off the top of my head.
I'm bored in the house and I'm bored in the house.
Yeah.
I would take 20 minutes every day as my lunch break.
I would go learn a new dance and I would do it and I would record it.
And one of the days I decided I didn't wanna learn a new dance, I was
just gonna scroll and find stories.
And I don't remember what the story was about, but there was this long drawn
out story that I watched for probably, I think I watched probably 10 videos.
'cause that's back when like videos had to be shorter on TikTok.
And by the time I got to the end, I was like, I just wasted 15 minutes
of my lunch break when this person could have said it in a minute.
Mm-hmm.
And I was so annoyed.
so I stitched one of the parts and just said.
This is what the story was about here's the whole story in less than a minute.
And I spoke really, really fast.
and it blew up.
I mean, blew up millions of views when all of my videos were
just like me doing dance trends.
'cause I am a dancer as well.
I did ballet, I did Point and Lyrical for 14 years.
I do hip hop now and love to dance.
But yeah, it blew up.
And then I didn't know what to have as my name at that point.
It was called something else, Southern something, I think.
And I was like, y'all, what do I call myself?
And I still have the screenshot during COVID of someone saying,
well, you're doing the cliff notes.
And since you're like Southern Gal something.
You should just be the CliffNotes gal. And I have yet to repost that clip and I need
to, 'cause I have the screenshot telling that person, like, thank you so much.
so I became the CliffNotes gal and so showing my age, some people don't
know what CliffNotes are, really teenagers today, they see her and
they have no idea who the Cliff notes or what the Cliff notes is.
so for anybody watching this, back in the day when I was in high school, in college,
if there was a book that you had to read and you had a test coming up on it, you
wanted to get the shorter version of it so you didn't have to read the 500 pages.
So there was this yellow and black book that existed for every book
out there called Cliff's Notes.
' cause his name was Cliff I think.
And it was Cliff's Notes.
And that shortened the story.
And so you were able to read the Cliff's Notes to get the shorter version of the
book and then go take the test on it.
Oh my.
So I do the shorter versions of TikTok stories.
So I just learned something from you because I remember cliff notes.
Yeah, it's Cliffs.
Cliff's Notes.
Okay.
But I remember as a website in high
school.
Oh was it?
Yeah.
Oh my gosh.
Actual show.
I don't, that
even shows my age even more.
I was like, I don't remember an actual book, but maybe I'm like, I don't
know if thinking of the wrong thing.
' cause I do remember people using Cliff's notes for books in high school.
Yeah.
And I'm sure I did.
I don't really remember.
I just remember hearing about Cliffs Notes and, yeah.
That's wild.
But I was talking about it to someone recently, how like, I
remember doing book reports and like middle school and high school and
having to actually pull out like.
All the encyclopedias and reference it.
And I'm like, kids these days they can just Google or whatever they, gosh.
Using, using ai.
It's like all their stuff and I'm like, are they even learning?
I don't even know.
what?
And there, there was something else that came out after Cliff's Notes.
I think it was called SparkNotes.
SparkNotes, yes.
Yes.
That's SparkNotes came out after.
But back when Cliff's Notes existed for me, it was a physical book
that you went to the bookstore.
It was yellow and black and you went and bought it and it was a paperback
Wild.
Yeah.
Golly.
I feel old.
No, honestly, like it probably was around for me.
I just don't really remember.
I remember SparkNotes now that you say that, but
Well, if you remember SparkNotes then you definitely weren't around for the
paperback version of Cliff's Notes.
Because I never used SparkNotes because that was way after I graduated college.
Oh my gosh.
That's so funny.
Yeah.
That's so funny.
'cause people are probably like that younger generation.
They're like, oh, cliff notes That's so clever.
She came up with, well it's funny 'cause one of my skits that I did, so I will come
up with character names from movies that I grew up watching or like shows I watch.
'cause it helps me remember like, oh, the mom's so and so dad so and so
because I call them by the wrong name.
People would call me on, they'd be like, no, the sister was
Ashley, not Anna, or whatever.
And so one day I did, characters from Ferris Bueller's Day Off.
I just like, it was a movie I grew up watching all the time.
And so I just grabbed Ferris and Sloan and I ended up changing the names later 'cause
it was like I turned into a book and I was like, I don't want the same names.
Anyway, so I made a video talking about how like, yeah, these names
came from this movie and all these people were like, what's that movie?
And I was like.
How old are you?
This is like a staple in my house growing up.
Yes.
So it was just kind of funny.
I was like, oh, I just assumed everyone knew that movie, but
yeah.
Wrong on me.
Yeah.
I grew up with like, I loved the Breakfast Club.
I loved Dirty Dancing, but they think Dirty Dancing is that
rough remake that came out that
I've not even seen that one.
I refuse to
Don't waste your Time.
Some that are remake, I'm just like, no, no, thank you.
If they ever, I don't think they could remake Breakfast Club.
That's another classic.
Love that.
Yeah.
I gave the second dirty dancing about 20 minutes of my time and I said, I'm good.
Really?
Yeah.
It was rough.
Okay, so back to your, channel and everything like, so it kind of started,
you said like unexpectedly, like, did you ever think you would become a viral
creator that has this big platform or.
I had no intentions of that.
And I'll be honest with you, I still don't feel like I am.
I'm in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and so Louisiana is a small state.
it's funny when I'm in parades, like I ride in the St. Patrick's Day
parade every year, and it never fails.
Every time I'm on a float, like people are screaming from the street, like the
Cliff Notes gal to throw beads to them.
and so many people say this and it pisses me off when they say it because like when
they say, I'm just an everyday person, I really am and I try to be my page.
I try and stay like me to the core.
So I will tell stories.
In my pajamas.
I will tell stories with rough ass hairdos.
I don't wear makeup hardly ever.
I don't really wear makeup much anyway.
The only thing that you'll normally see on me is earrings and a
necklace because I love jewelry.
but I try and stay as real as because there are so many people that I
used to follow and I'm so happy for them that their pages have grown.
Like that's awesome for them.
But I have slowly watched them change.
Mm-hmm.
And I don't want to become that.
I want to still be the person when I did my first Cliff notes.
And I hope that my viewers still see that by comments.
It sounds like they still do.
I try and stay respectful with the stories that I do.
but at the same time, it's weird having a platform because.
I do wanna make sure that every so often a video that I do, I
feel like I'm making a difference.
it's a little draining to continue constantly doing things
that are just stupid ass drama.
or things that are really, really, really intense and can affect people.
Mm-hmm.
It can be extremely draining because some of these stories take a long time,
and I should have brought it with me.
I have a notebook, that it is thick as hell and it's my second notebook
because I take so many notes watching these stories, and then I refer to
the notes when I'm retelling them and try to memorize as much as I can.
Every so often I'll have to use a teleprompter to remind me of
notes that I need to discuss while I'm telling the story.
But, It's just weird.
I'm still a normal person.
I hope people see me that way.
'cause I don't ever wanna come across as fake as hell out there.
Yeah.
No, I totally understand what you're saying though, because like you do see
some accounts that automatically change to like, let me show off what I own.
Let me show you this.
and I know you're just saying like, I hate when people say that, but like,
there's been this couple times where I've been out in my town and someone
will be like, I love your videos like And they feel like almost like celebrity.
they'll be like, oh, can I get a pic?
Like, I love your videos.
I'm your biggest fan.
I'm like, I'm swear to God.
Yeah.
I'm very normal.
I have a toddler running around half the time, half the time
I'm wearing pajamas at home.
Like I am very.
Weird mother.
Just, I don't know, I'm just me.
That's awesome though.
Like, stay that way.
so, my husband and I, every year we go to a small town in Louisiana.
It's called Minden, Louisiana.
When I tell you it is the epitome of a hallmark town.
So it is the type of town to where it's, the downtown is two main streets,
but you've got like the cute little coffee shop where they, roast their
own beans and you've got a couple of restaurants and you've got a couple
of shops, but it's like mm-hmm.
True Hallmark Town.
Well, we were down there for Christmas and I went into one of the clothing
shops, which is like a, thrift shop.
It's called Purvey.
It's owned by a woman named Sarah, who is from Menen, I believe, born, raised.
And her mission is to, take like dilapidated, homes and buildings
and bring them back to like life.
And she's done an amazing job.
And so we went down there, we stayed in one of her cottages
that was absolutely gorgeous.
It inspired my background.
The room that we stayed in at her cottage had this beautiful floral background,
so that's the reason why I got this.
but anyway, we went to Purvey.
We were shopping in there and I was looking at the record, collection that
they had, and this woman tapped me and she was like, are you the Cliff Notes gal?
And I was like, I am.
And so we chatted for a few minutes.
And then she went to go leave and she was like, it's so nice to meet you.
I was like, it's awesome to meet you too.
Like, I hope y'all have a Merry Christmas.
And then her husband is like, well wait, babe, don't you
wanna get a picture with her?
And she was like, no, no, no.
I don't wanna ask her for that.
I don't wanna ask her.
It's like, no, we can take a picture.
So I could tell like she wanted to, but so I'm so glad that her husband
said something because I tell people the people will leave stuff in
the comments like, oh my gosh, I saw you at such and such in town.
And I'm like, y'all come say hello.
don't come attack me, but like, come say hello we're from the south.
Like I am so happy to say hello.
And I mean, I've had people that, like, we've been out to dinner at a restaurant
and they have been so absolutely polite.
It was another young couple that came up to us while I was at the
table and they were super polite.
I think that there is a polite way to address people and
there is a non-police way.
just be polite and I'm super happy to like say hello and chat
and take pictures or whatever.
Yeah, yeah.
It's fun.
Yeah, no, definitely.
I feel like that's the beauty of social media and storytelling is the
connection that you can make and I've met so many amazing people and just
like through doing this podcast, 'cause like I was just saying, I'm like, most
of the time I'm with my husband and my daughter and we just do our own thing.
I work from home.
So it's like, this is a great way to like meet other people.
'cause like, I don't, go to regular office and all that stuff.
but I love that, it's cool the connections you can make of people,
all over and obviously you're making an impact because people are, feel
like they know you in some way to be able to like go up and say hello.
So.
That's awesome.
I appreciate it.
okay, so it kind of started off where you were like, these videos are taking
so long, so I'm gonna make them shorter.
Right.
So how do you now select which videos to do and how do you know
they're gonna be worth your while?
Or do you watch some and you're like, I don't even know if it's worth it, or
do you get tagged in a lot of videos?
Like how do you select those?
So I am super, super thankful to the followers because I wouldn't find any
of these stories if it weren't for them.
My entire FYP on TikTok is animals and sourdough bread.
that's about it.
That's about it.
And so I'm typically not scrolling and seeing, I don't see any of this
stuff on my FYP, so I wake up in the mornings, kind of like what my routine
is, I'll wake up in the mornings and I'll scroll in the mornings
before I start, my actual real job.
And I'll see how many tags I've got.
Majority of the mornings, it's about anywhere from a hundred to 200 tags.
Most mornings if I wake up and there's only a short few, I can typically scroll
through and watch a few seconds of the tags to figure out which video I wanna do.
If there's a lot of them.
I actually wait until that.
And I'll have to scroll the hundreds of tags.
Mm-hmm.
If there is a certain video that I find I'm being tagged in more, that's
normally the one that I will settle on.
and then I just put in my headphones and I sit in bed and I write
notes for however long it takes me to get through all the parts.
I will do it in one night, so then it's fresh.
I will then type out the notes that I want to talk about and then every day I film or
record outside after I finish my day job.
I normally do it around like six or seven o'clock while the sun is
still up and I give myself two takes.
That is it, it again comes back to me like I try to be as real as possible.
So when IF up in a video, I talk over myself a lot and I mess up words.
I don't go back and rerecord 'cause I ain't got time for that.
Yeah.
I love that you do.
I'm a mom as well, so if IF up on it, you're gonna see me f up on it.
Yes.
I need to get better at that.
I love that you do that because like, I don't know if it's like from working in
social media marketing, I'm like, I'm always like overthinking how I sound.
Plus people are so like critical in comments sometimes that I'm like,
oh, did I pronounce that word wrong?
Or whatever.
But like, I think people love to see real like that.
I was talking to someone recently and I'm like, people don't like
the over performance anymore.
They're so turned off by it.
They want real people with real content
perfection.
These is so fake.
It is so fake.
again, I don't need to have perfect hair.
some videos.
If you go and scroll back on my videos, you will see I didn't even brush my hair.
Literally didn't brush my hair.
I threw it in a ponytail because the notes were like fresh in my brain
and I was like, I'm just gonna go hurry up and record it right now.
perfection doesn't happen.
That's the thing.
Mm-hmm.
So I would highly encourage you, you don't need to fix it if you
messed up on the word, so be it.
If you like trampled over your words and messed up on 'em, still use it.
I mean, I'd rather see someone being more real than having to cut something
out because it wasn't perfect.
Then you rerecorded it and you put it back in there.
But then I can tell it's a cut because you went to the next part.
Right.
yeah, there's too many people trying too hard.
And the thing is, is the viewers can tell they're not stupid.
Yeah.
They can tell.
Oh yeah.
Yeah.
I think too, it's like that, I feel like it was like pre TikTok, that like
Instagram of like the perfect photos.
Oh gosh.
Crisp and clean and editing them.
And then people just realized like, most of us don't have time for that shit.
Like, no,
no,
we're busy, we're wanting to work, we're taking care of kids,
dogs, whatever, whatever it is.
And it's like, we don't have time to like, make everything crisp and
clean and it's more relatable too.
I feel like, when I see someone that's just like jumped on their bed and they're
like, Hey, and they just start talking.
I'm like, I'm so much more intrigued.
I'm like, we're friends hanging out.
Like talk to me like we're on FaceTime.
Mm-hmm.
And I'm gonna be more intrigued listening to your video than if you
just sat there to just be a robot.
Mm-hmm.
And I find that like, some people are like that with.
Brand deals, which I mean, shit.
Oh, I don't know if I can cuss on your podcast.
Sorry.
Oh, you're fine.
Yeah.
Oh, okay.
Uh, I'm like, get the bag.
definitely get the bag, but at the same time, don't get the bag for something
that you wouldn't actually use.
there are a lot of creators out there, and especially I find with
like facial products or even like shampoos or conditioners or something,
if you're gonna review a product, I need you to truly, truly use it.
Like really, really, really use it.
Don't tell me you used it for two weeks and then it's the most amazing thing that
you used when for whatever product that is, you know damn well it would take a
good like three to six months of you using that product to see it like in action.
Yes, because too, I find that when people are so inauthentic, then it makes people
that are authentic, like harder to.
Come across.
makes sense.
I
totally understand what you're saying.
Yes,
because I've had people I remember.
I like, I'm very selective and I remember, this brand that I actually
used in my own wedding, birdie Gray.
obviously not sponsor, I use 'em in my own wedding.
I've worn 'em for many bridesmaids dresses.
And I was stoked when they like, actually wanted to work with me.
'cause I was like, I've used this, I've worn their dresses
like three or four times now.
And there were comments like, oh my gosh, another ad.
And I'm like, no.
Like legitimately I love them.
And meanwhile, I say no to like, someone asked about like a dog product.
I don't even have a dog, why would I do that?
Or like, I've never heard of this brand before.
Why am I gonna say yes to that?
and I think it makes people then untrustworthy because they're
like, oh, well I saw this girl talk about this product.
I know she doesn't use.
So it's,
yeah.
Yeah.
my people receive emails all the time for brands and they'll forward
them to me, and I'm like, why?
Why do they feel like the Cliff Notes gal would be good to promote a treadmill?
what did you get from my page that talks Fitness?
Nothing like, yes.
Nothing at all.
And then I had one the other day for like a weight loss app, and I
was like, when have I ever spoken?
Like, you don't know my page clearly.
You don't know my page.
You saw the number of followers and you thought, Hey, let's
see if she'll do something.
Yeah.
Not gonna work.
That was like, I remember I used to watch Bachelorette years ago.
I haven't watched in many, many years, but I remember as soon as The
Bachelorette or whatever would get off.
Their season, they'd do like the waist trimmer and this, and I'm
like, I know you did not wear a waist trimmer before getting on at this.
I just know you didn't.
Yeah.
And they'd talk about the tummy teas and all this.
Oh, I always drink my tummy tea.
And I'm like, did you really?
And it was just so inauthentic because they immediately got off the show and they
have all these deals for these things.
And I'm like, these are all about weight loss and working out and all this.
And I'm just like, I, I don't buy it.
Yeah.
I'm like, and I love, I love that like, they have these
opportunities to make money.
I really do.
Because I mean, at the end the day, them doing what they're doing, it's a job.
they are out there to make some money.
But I think that there's a line that you have to choose if you wanna cross.
And a lot of people do cross it.
I'm not one of those, people consistently ask me about face stuff.
And I have told them I have used the same products.
I've never switched since No, I think it was around COVID.
fetish is all I use and it was started by someone, her name's Jenna.
She was a, DJ on a really, really popular show called Kid Crowd.
I don't know if you've ever heard of Kid Crowd in the Morning.
It's a syndicated radio show.
It was when radio shows were extremely, extremely popular, like the morning shows.
And I would listen every single day.
And I started listening to that show when I was probably like 10 years old.
Well, she realized that there was a miss in, I guess facial world, makeup
industry, whatever you wanna say.
Not makeup, but, rosacea and like, all of that stuff was happening.
Redness in the skin and acne, all of that.
And she realized there there wasn't anything with CB, D in it.
And so I had always had really bad rosacea on my face, and I liked the radio show, so
I was like, you know what, let me try it.
And so she was kind of doing both things, kicking off the company
and then doing the radio show.
And so I bought just the lotion and I was like, let me see what this girl,
when I tell you within like a week I was not having any on my face anymore.
It just took a week.
And so from there, every single time this woman comes out with something
new, I buy it right off the bat.
So I've done a video before, like if I show off my entire fetish
skin line, it's everything.
It's lotions and soaps and serums and, Everything.
So again, like anyone reaching out to me to promote makeup or facial stuff,
I'm like, no, because I know what works and I'm an actual customer and can show
proof of the thousands of dollars I've probably spent with them over the years.
and again, if you're gonna tell me a lotion works, you are gonna say, you got
it from the TikTok shop two weeks ago.
that's bullshit.
That's, you can't tell me it works in two weeks.
Yes.
Oh my gosh, that's so funny.
yeah, I was saying too, like with working and, marketing too, I think I can like
read between the lines with little people.
my husband gets pulled into marketing things sometimes.
He'll be like, oh, well it's half off.
And I'm like, what was the price last week?
You know, I'm like, I can see that kind of stuff.
it's kind of funny to notice that.
if you're able to with this growth, stay like true to you and like.
Share these stories.
I feel like it is obviously making an impact and feel liking.
'cause like I said, the first time I came across your page I was like,
oh, this is saving me so much time because like, I don't have time to
sit and watch these like, long things.
but then if you like miss out on some of the drama, you're like, that's
what everybody's talking about.
So what's going on in the TikTok world?
Yeah.
Is there anything going on right now that's popping into your head?
I'm trying to think if there's like a current TikTok drama
that's, oh gosh.
Um,
spot.
I just was
like, the most recent video that I did, I think was about a girl who went and tried
on a dress at a boutique for a prom dress.
but she actually only came out with her story time because another person
posted a video recording because they overheard what was going on
in the dressing room next to them.
And so, oh, they pressed record recording the conversation in
the dressing room next to them.
And it was allegedly, it was the owner of the store, kind of
like belittling a 17-year-old girl who was trying on a dress.
It was a couture dress, and the owner was telling her, you are too big for it.
I don't want you chew to put it on and ruin my dress.
And so that recording came out and that was out for quite a few days.
And I guess the girl finally was like, well, I guess I need
to say like, Hey, this was me.
And now a ton of stuff has come about with this owner.
There was an, I just saw, I was tagged in another story time before
you and I got on this podcast.
I'm tagged in another story time about the same store.
And this is another girl.
This is a woman telling a story.
Now I think she said she was 35.
She had the exact same type of issue at that store and dealt with the owner.
So I haven't watched her video the full way through, but, I
get a wide variety of tags from.
Stories like that to break up drama to really, really intense
things that are triggering.
and I've, told people plenty of times and I appreciate the tags, but there
are stories that I just will not shorten ones that I feel like are extremely
traumatic to the person telling the story.
There was one I was tagged in recently about a woman who was pregnant
and I think like her husband tried to like her, and his girlfriend
was trying to help on a live her.
And I was like, whoa,
gosh.
I wanted to be like, why are you even tagging me in this?
And so I responded to the tag and I was like, this is extremely traumatic
for the person who posted this.
I will not be doing this story.
and I let people know that like, if it is really truly traumatic story for
someone, please don't tag me in it because I'm not taking that story from them.
They're probably using this story time as a way of healing for themselves.
Yeah.
Like I'm not taking that, I also will not do, and typically don't
do stories that deal with sa.
because I'm a survivor myself and I'm a childhood SA survivor, so I had
some traumatic things happen to me when I was 12 and 13 years old, but of
course it's still like very much real.
And it's affects me.
And so anytime there is a story that deals with SA or physical
abuse, domestic violence, I typically will not do those either.
so yeah.
Yeah.
I try and focus on the ones that are more lighthearted and
sometimes I get tagged on stories.
People want me to shorten their own stories 'cause they're like, look.
I've got five videos out here.
It's not being pushed out.
I really wanna get my story out, but I'm not good at telling a story.
And they actually ask me to do CliffNotes for their stories.
Wow.
And so when that happens, I try and do that, and then I try and stay respectful.
TikTok has this thing called duets and stitches.
Mm-hmm.
If their duets or stitches are on, I'm under the assumption that they're okay
with this video being shared or being talked about, or whatever the case.
And so those are stories.
If I'm tagged in them and I'm interested in doing it, if their duets
or stitches are on, I will normally, I will consider doing that story.
If they are off, then I will comment on the person who tagged me, and I will
tell them that I'm not doing it because their duets and stitches are off.
So I make sure I have a pinned video on my page that says like, I will only
do ones with duets and stitches on.
because there are a lot of pages out there that are gossip pages.
They could give two shits about if your duets and stitches are on.
when you put a video out there, it's out there.
Yeah.
Uh,
it's wild how quickly things travel to, or how quickly things might go viral.
I'll notice something.
I'm trying to think of what I've seen.
I mean, the different accounts I follow where maybe someone
was really rude at a store.
Mm-hmm.
And before you know what that person's face is everywhere that
Karen or whatever you wanna call him, and I'm like, oh my gosh.
the same day you'll see 'em on five accounts and I'm like, they take
their video down, but I'm like, Ooh, you put out into the abyss.
It's everywhere now.
So it's wild how something will get picked up and it's just like, that was the thing.
I mean, it just got on the right person's FYP or whatever, and they
just shared it or someone saw it and they're like, I need to talk about this.
'cause that's, the power of social media I guess.
It really is.
And I mean, these apps are global, so it might not kick off in the us.
Like I have followers that tag me from other countries and it's crazy
because sometimes there's a really extremely viral video in Canada and
all of the tags are from Canadians.
Wow.
Canada.
And so when I do this, when I'll do whatever story.
then it comes back and people are commenting the US like,
this hasn't been on my FYP.
I'm like, well, because it's in Canada, but it's still a good story.
Like
Yeah, I had Lucette who's on my podcast and she in Australia.
And as soon as I had her, then I started getting some more like
videos from Australia on my feed.
But it's like, until then I was like, not, and now I'm like, oh, now
I'm kind of in here a little bit.
' cause it kind of sees me like commenting on her stuff.
I don't know what it is.
but yeah, it's like, you don't necessarily think about that.
But that's, one of the reasons too, like, I don't put my
child on social media at all.
'cause I'm like, I don't ever want someone to take her face or,
especially, she's so little and I'm like, she can't consent to it.
And just people don't think when they put their kids on social media,
how quickly someone can grab that.
Like, they might be like, oh, this is such a cute moment, post it.
Someone can take that and be like, this is weird that this happened.
Or look at this in the background.
And then their, kid is everywhere then.
My kid is not in my videos.
And if he is, it is completely his decision and I do not
allow his face to be seen.
So if you ever see him in a video, he is so far in the background
that his face is a blur, but he's back there in the background doing
something funny that he has decided to come up with, or he's in a mask.
So yeah, his face has never been on my social media.
It never will.
Even when he is not a minor, it still won't be, but anytime he is in
one, it is because he wants to be.
And he has asked me to be, and he just likes being a little
silly goofball in the background.
And my husband has done a couple with him as well.
Like I remember I did one, I think it was a few months ago, and I was
in the backyard of course, telling the story like I normally am.
And they're both in the background sword fighting, I think.
And so my son had a sword, but my husband, I think was using like a broom.
And then he fake stabbed him and my son like fell to the ground and then
stayed dead the rest of the video.
And, and so commenters are just like, did anyone see the sword fight back there?
Like,
well, I love that because actually I think one of my first videos I saw you,
he was in the background with the mask because I was like, what's happening here?
And then looking at the comments and everyone's like, what's going on?
but that's like the same with get ready with me videos when
people are telling a story.
People love watching and listening and I feel like there's some kind of like
correspondence with like, I don't know, maybe some kind of fancy word for like
a study of like, people love being able to see and listen at the same time.
And so if there's something going on, I feel like it, grabs their attention too.
So I don't have a DD or A DHD, but I have hundreds and hundreds and
hundreds of comments from people saying that them either seeing.
Gurkin catching the ball or seeing my son in the background playing
that it helps them focus more.
They all say they have a d, d brain.
And being able to see Gurkin catching a ball while listening
to me actually helps them.
And it's one of the reasons why they can't listen to the story times is
because it's someone just looking at a camera telling the story for 30 minutes.
So when they can get like a small recap of it and there's also something
going on in the background, they're able to absorb the information better.
I love that, that makes so much sense.
I'm not diagnosed, but I'm pretty sure I've got one, one of those.
My,
I would never be able to watch a dog catching a ball and focus
on a story because I would just wanna keep watching the dog.
I can't understand that, but
oh, I'm like, if there's two things going on, I'll like then
go back and be like, wait, what did she do with her makeup there?
What would she, with her eyes there?
Or, I'll kind of go back, but yeah, I think that's probably why I started
doing skits because I'm like, I need to tell these stories in like an
interesting different kind of storytelling way, but yeah, stories nonetheless.
Okay, so I know before we get to our main story, I know you said
you have a wedding related story that happened at your own wedding.
So do you wanna talk
Oh, yes.
this year I will be married 19 years to my husband.
Awesome.
he and I got married, yeah.
A long time ago, but, so I'm a diabetic and, we got married at the worst
time ever in the state of Louisiana.
We got married in the summertime in June with an outdoor wedding.
I don't recommend to anybody to do that.
I ate well before the wedding to manage my sugar levels, so that was great.
But while we were up there saying our vows, we were holding hands and I looked
down at our hands and realized that our four hands turned into like 20, and
I was seeing quadruple of everything.
And so I looked up as our pastor was talking, like marrying us literally.
And I looked up at him and I went, I think I'm about to pass out.
And then That was all that I remembered.
So I know what happens because it's on video.
but I did, so I pass out and, I remember my maid of honor who is still my absolute
best friend today, in the video, it shows her telling my husband, you need
to pick her up and walk off with her.
Like, she's passed out.
' cause he was just frozen, because like he caught me, like I just, I fell and
he caught me and is just holding me.
And so my friend Lauren's like, you need to go with her.
Like, get her out of here.
And so it's all on video.
He carries me out and I think brings me to the bridal suite
where we were getting married.
and they woke me up somehow, but my sugar level had dropped
Really, really, really low.
That mixed with like the heat and being nervous and all of that.
So they got me some food and, all of that.
And then, everything else was a blur that night.
I do not remember my first dance with my husband.
I definitely don't remember saying my vows.
I do remember signing the actual marriage certificate itself, but I joke with my
husband, I'm like, babe, we're gonna have to renew our vows like at 20 years because
I don't remember saying them to you.
And so I would, I would like to remember saying my vows to you, but yeah.
So yeah, we
hold you over.
Yeah.
I had the typical like, pass out at your wedding story.
Oh my gosh.
That's one I have not heard.
I love that you guys have it on video and you're like, well,
let's watch our video this year.
And it's on VHS.
So now I actually, I don't even own a tape player, so I wouldn't, I need to do that
little thing where you can have it sent in and turned into like a DVD or something.
Yeah,
yeah, yeah.
Kids watch it.
oh my gosh, that's wild.
so even after your blood sugar went up, then you were still just kind of
like in a daze the rest of the day.
Oh yeah.
Yeah.
And anyone who's a diabetic would understand, like, you're just
so, it's like it's brain fog.
And so I know I danced, I just don't remember it.
oh my gosh.
And I remember sitting down and eating some food at like our table for the
wedding party, but, oh, and I do, I remember this as well when we left.
So we had a limo bring us to New Orleans because we were gonna fly out the next
day to go to Mexico for our honeymoon.
I had a, pulsating migraine because again, a diabetic will understand,
like when you go extremely low and you have to get your sugar levels
back up, you just don't feel good.
it takes a while for you to be able to just feel good.
And I had this horrible, horrible migraine and so we had the limo get off
the interstate and pull into this like shady ass gas station and pulls up.
there were not a lot of lights on at this gas station.
My husband gets out in his tucks and goes in and buys like one of
the gas station packs of Excedrin Migraine for me, and then comes back
into the limo and gives it to me.
And I slept the whole way to New Orleans in the limo.
and then by the time we got to the hotel, I felt better, but yeah, I literally
slept the whole way to New Orleans, which is about like a 50 minute drive.
Oh my gosh.
So how was your honeymoon?
like, did you feel
better?
It was good.
I remember that.
Oh, good.
Okay.
Well, there you go.
It was good.
It was fun.
Yeah.
It was the typical, like all inclusive.
Like we couldn't afford a lot back then.
Like we were in very, very different, different lives back then, but we did
what we could and had so much fun.
Yeah.
I love that.
I love the all inclusive route.
That just makes it easier too, for planning and budget.
We did that too.
It was
so easy.
Yeah.
I tell everyone, I'm like, I wish we would've just eloped the amount of
money that my mom who raised me as a single mom, that she had to spend.
And we tried.
We stayed under budget, like extremely under budget, but I still, I was
like, to this day, I think back, I'm like, I wish I would've just told her.
Don't even worry about it.
Aw.
I feel like as the older I get too, people like looking back, like your circle kind
of gets smaller and you're also just like, maybe I just like, it'd be easier.
' cause the people too that spend all this money on these big parties, I feel
like a lot of times it's because like families wanna be a part of it or, and
then a lot of these stories as you might see in this one, but like, then it just
creates drama in a lot of these, families.
I always say my husband and I got married in our early thirties, but we'd been
together since like our early twenties.
And I was like, if we'd gotten married in our twenties, I think it'd been such a
way, like we would've had way less money.
But I feel like we would've tried to have a bigger party.
Yeah.
And invite more people.
So I feel like we were able to like, okay, these are more
important people to us, but older
and wiser.
But I feel like if, again, if it was like 10 more years later, I
think it would've been even smaller.
I think you just kinda like realize like, okay, who's been
around a little bit longer and
That's right.
Plus there's been some amazing elopement stories I've heard where they go to
like Paris or they go to, you know, somewhere cool and they, you spend
the same amount or That's right.
Way less for a week trip or whatever.
Then have some have like a little party in your backyard when you
get back and that's your reception.
Yeah, exactly.
lots of options.
Yeah.
All right, Let's get into this week's, story submission.
So these are stories that are sent to me from followers and I've not read it.
So let's get into it.
Feel free to stop me at any time and we'll react.
Okay, here we go.
My sister is a narcissist and honestly, my mother might be too.
To surprise me, my fiance messaged my mother to ask for my ring
size and for my dad's blessing.
My mother went out and bought a ring herself and told him that my father
was happy for him to move forward.
Like a business exchange?
No, we don't want your input.
We'll just buy the ring.
Oh, no.
Okay.
Yikes.
Two weeks later, we flew to Luxembourg to visit my parents at their holiday home.
On the second day, my fiancé asked my mom for the ring, so she knew
he planned to propose that day.
We told her we were going to the waterfall and would be back later.
I had no idea what was coming.
The moment he proposed, my mother suddenly showed up with her
friends and my father all cheering.
The quiet romantic moment my fiancé had planned was completely gone.
That evening he told me to get ready for dinner, but before we
could leave, my mother stopped us.
She had already set up a surprise engagement party with
her friends and champagne.
Come on, mom.
why would you not even think to like talk to the fiancé
because mom only cares about the way that she looks to her friends.
Oh my gosh.
She's like calling her friends like, just wait.
We're gonna have the best party.
a full blown argument broke out.
But we ended up canceling our dinner plans and attending the party.
So now it's like, not even for you, it's for your mom.
Right.
After the guests left, we started talking about wedding locations.
When I mentioned Hawaii, another fight erupted.
They said they could never afford it.
The night ended badly, and the next day we barely spoke.
After two days of silence, we decided to travel with them to Belgium, where I
grew up, to share the news with friends.
My brother and sister were happy at first, but within two weeks my sister
started trying to seduce my fiance.
What is this family?
Okay, what?
Okay, what's up with the family now?
Now I'm like,
this is very odd.
This is what, this is a
real story.
I tell you.
Sometimes I read these stories and I'm like, this cannot be real.
Like,
oh my gosh,
some are just outrageous.
But then I'll post a story or like I'll share, you know, story time.
If people are like, this happened to me, this exact thing happened to me, and
I'm like, I don't think they're as, I think they're more common than we think.
It's wild.
telling him that she was the better option.
We ended up staying for a month.
I'd be out of there a month still after that, a
month.
Do they not work?
I know they're doing all this traveling, but then the mom was
mad that they wanted Hawaii.
Not enough money
for Hawaii.
Yeah.
Oh my gosh.
Not enough.
Because it wasn't a place she selected as a wife, right?
Yes.
Right.
We ended up staying for a month because my mother promised to pay
for the wedding dress and booked appointments at bridal shops.
I said, I didn't wanna bring my sister, but I was manipulated into
it with the whole family as family.
Guilt trip.
Yikes.
at the first shop, the saleswoman told me my body wasn't made for fitted dresses.
My gosh.
After trying on 10 dresses, I hated and hearing nonstop comments from my sister
and mother about how I looked fat.
Why I would not be including well either of
them.
That's just toxic.
You don't even, they shouldn't even be in the wedding.
No.
Or
at the wedding.
This is definitely a story where, I mean, I don't know what happens, but,
or it'd be like, let's just elope.
Right.
where does your family wanna go?
Let's,
I would hope that the husband is saying like, look babe, let's just
go do this thing with just us.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
The second someone starts making you feel bad, especially when it's
supposed to be like your day trying on dresses, feeling beautiful.
I'd be like, I'm done with this.
I'll go with a friend or go by myself later,
a hundred percent.
they were saying, or I showed too much skin or looked bad.
I finally said I wanted to leave at the second shop.
I found my dress within minutes and started crying.
My father seemed completely unbothered and asked how I planned to pay for it.
I was confused and that's when my mother said, they don't
have the 690 euro after all.
So they get her excited, say they're gonna pay for the dress she finds when they're
like, oh, we don't have the money for it.
And I wonder, wow.
In 690, I mean, I'm trying to think of like the calculation, but.
That doesn't seem very expensive for a dress, 690 Euros,
because I think it's like,
I don't know what the conversion rate is right now.
I feel like it was pretty close, like when I was just in, I was
in Spain a couple years ago and
yeah, I mean, it seems like the price of like an average.
I mean, I think my golly, my wedding dress back then was like
$400, $500, something like that.
But man, this is just toxic.
Yeah.
Wild.
she says, I ran outta the shop crying and went to the cafe
where my fiance was waiting.
I told him everything without hesitation.
He marched into the store, bought the dress without seeing it,
booked us a hotel and said we'd figure out everything ourselves.
Love
it.
Yay.
Good husband.
Good man,
good husband.
Two days later, we returned to my parents' house and my mother exploded.
She was angry that we bought the dress without telling her.
and said it was unfair because they never had a big wedding.
So she's now kept trying to control it because they didn't have the
wedding they wanted or something.
she also claimed my father never gave his blessing.
My father agreed with her and said he could never trust anyone
with his beloved daughter.
A massive fight broke out and we ended up flying home.
Once we were home, everyone there was happy for us, but my heart was breaking
because my own family didn't accept us.
In January, my mom finally called and said she needed the wedding date
and location so she could book time off or they wouldn't come at all.
My father is still refusing, wait, so this is happening right now?
She said, my father,
I was about to say like, this is now.
Because sometimes people will like send a story and then they'll be
like, oh, that was 20 years ago.
We're happily married.
Yeah.
So I wasn't sure.
But yeah, it says my father is still refusing to walk me down the aisle.
if we have a wedding weekend, that's the short version of part one.
I'll write a part two when you're ready.
Wait, I wanna know if the wedding happened yet.
I know.
I need to find out.
And where are they located?
Are they like in the us?
I'm wondering if they're in the US and then they traveled.
They traveled to Belgium where they bought the dress.
Damn.
If old girl is like anywhere near me, within driving distance, she
needs to invite me to the wedding and I will be there in a heartbeat.
And I'll make sure her reception is a blast.
Yes.
Oh my gosh.
That'd be so fun.
We're like, we're coming here wedding.
Yes.
Yeah.
I wanna know if it happened.
Yeah.
You need the part two.
Yes.
I know.
I wasn't expecting it for it to end like that.
I feel like, I like the way this is going, in the way that her
boundaries have been really good.
Like her boundaries are firm.
Her fiance's backing her up.
'cause I feel like in a lot of these stories, we don't hear about the fiance
or how he's like supporting his wife, whether it's a mother-in-law or not.
and so I feel like it's really good that she has him.
And so I'm hoping like they stick firm on their boundaries and are
either like, and the mom's calling like, okay, when's the date?
This is their chance to be like,
no,
you know, we're not gonna give you the date
No.
And do our own thing.
No, this sounds like as much as it sucks mom and dad, it doesn't
seem like it's beneficial to have them in your adult life right now.
Mm-hmm.
it does not seem like there is anything positive that is
coming from that relationship.
And if there is not, and this is for friendships too, like
if it's not positive and.
Bringing you joy, then why have it?
Mm-hmm.
That's why people write off their parents sometimes.
Yeah.
And anyone that's like family is family or blood is thicker than water.
No,
I think they're using that as like a manipulative tactic because mm-hmm.
Obviously they could tell that she's like, this isn't right, this
isn't how family should treat me.
And so they're gonna try to manipulate you.
And that's why people stay in like toxic family relationships for so long
because they're like, well, it is family.
Okay.
but no one deserves to be treated that way.
Especially like when she's so happy and,
yeah.
I mean, it would be different if they're like, look, we don't want you getting
married because this man is horrible for you and does like horrible things,
but it's not sound like that's the case, or at least we haven't heard that.
I am so glad that he stepped up and did something though.
Because you hear stories.
Yeah.
Like all the time.
But normally it's the.
Spouse's parent acts a certain way towards the bride.
Mm-hmm.
And the spouse never stands up for his bride.
Yes.
so this is even more impressive that he's standing up for her against
his own in-laws or future in-laws.
Yes.
No, that's such a good point.
'cause I would say like 75% of the stories I get where it's like a bride
and her mother-in-law, there's no mention of the fiance in the story.
Agree.
So, like, when I like act 'em out as skits, I kind of just
will like, put him in there.
And sometimes, but when I actually read the story, I'm like, guys, I
don't know where he's at in this.
it's no mention like, mother-in-laws will corner the bride and they'll
all these things will happen.
and so my advice to those brides is always, he needs to be the one to Yeah.
To talk to the mom and address her.
Yeah.
so yeah, the fact that he's like creating a blockade to her own family,
I think is really showing a healthy like boundary that they're setting.
Um,
I
agree.
Yeah.
what advice would you give her at this point, about mom calling?
Well, I don't, I feel like I have to be limited on the advice to provide because
I don't know the rest of the story.
Yeah.
If it were me, which it's hard and would take a lot of courage if that
was my parents acting that way, they wouldn't be going to the wedding.
yeah, I don't need that at my wedding at all.
And I say this because a family member of mine who her spouse's family was
not super accepting of her, because she was not able to have children.
Mm-hmm.
And his family wanted him to have children of his own.
And she already had two children from a prior marriage.
They treated her like absolute crap.
And at their wedding.
The best man was the groom's brother, and he was supposed to do the whole
I think catch the garter or help take the garter off or whatever it is,
like the groom takes the garter off.
I don't know if that's a southern thing, but the best man is there and then
there's like a dance with the best man.
Well, when the announcement came on for the DJ saying like, Hey, bride and best
man, and then groom and maid of honor come out to the dance floor, best man
stood her up, didn't go on the dance floor to dance with her, and then they left.
why do you want people like that at your wedding?
Now granted she didn't know this was gonna happen at their wedding.
Like if she would've known that, she would've said I don't want them coming.
But that's what you lead yourself to happen.
You have someone toxic like that.
If you break down and tell them, Hey, here's the date they're going
to try and find a way to make that wedding about themselves.
Because they've not proven otherwise.
So don't even have them there.
That's my advice.
They don't need to be there.
They haven't proven that they're worthy enough to be there.
Totally.
I think it's like we wanna continually give chances, especially for family
or people we've known for a long time.
But like the way she started out, the story was saying like,
my mom's a narcissist and I'm pretty sure my sister is too.
Or whatever order it was.
you have that gut feeling like, mm-hmm ooh, someone's gonna wreck my day.
And you don't wanna go into your wedding day.
You wanna be go into your wedding day and be like, oh, my favorite people are here.
I'm so excited.
I'm a princess, or whatever.
You know, your vibe is, but like, you know, that gut feeling just in general
of like, if you're going somewhere where maybe you don't get along with someone,
or there's drama that like feeling where like something's gonna happen
and you don't want that on that day.
So I completely agree with you.
It's like you need to be firm with your boundaries now and.
Maybe it's a time to elope and take a fun trip with your fiance.
That's right.
Don't them hanging money over your head.
People that use weddings and the attendees as like a business transaction.
Oh, well they know my dad because they worked with him 20 years
ago, so I need to invite them.
No, you don't.
If they're not in your life right now, do they know your date of birth?
Right.
If they don't know your birthday, they don't need to be there.
Mm-hmm.
Yes.
Oh my gosh, yes.
I feel so lucky that I didn't have parents come in and be
like, here, here's my coworkers.
I wanna invited to the wedding.
Like they, I was like, you tell me your close friends that you wanted to come
to the wedding, that's totally fine.
but I hear stories where it's literally like.
Someone they met as a baby and Right.
They're like, haven't seen 'em in the last 25 years.
And their mom's like, here invite Susan from 20 years ago.
And they're like, I have no relationship with them.
Mm-hmm.
And then they'll get mad because they're like, well, why wouldn't
you let me invite my friends?
But, yeah.
Well, and then the threat comes out, oh, well I'm paying for the wedding, so.
Mm-hmm.
You need to invite them.
I'm paying for it.
Yeah.
Thanks for the threat.
And that's where I'm confused with these people too.
'cause it's like, oh, they say we can't afford Hawaii.
So are they assuming that they're supposed to pay for it?
But now they're saying they can't pay for the dress, so they're,
they sound like they're just gonna try to hold money over your head.
Yeah.
I'm wanna hear
part two.
Yeah.
I'm gonna reach out to her and see if we can get a part two.
All right.
I always like to end these with some confessions that
people send me on Instagram.
So let's read these.
These are, what's a decision you regret not speaking up about?
this person says, my in-laws were inviting people behind our backs to our wedding.
They didn't say anything.
that's hard.
I had a etiquette expert on here a while back and I asked her like,
what you do in that situation?
And she's like, it's hard when someone's already invited 'cause
you don't know, like, what they were told and like how to contact them.
And so that like adds a whole new layer of like complication.
'cause it's like if you just show up on the wedding day,
right?
I mean, again, weddings can happen in a totally different way now, but I'm
used to like, you send the card in the mail, they RSVP and send it back.
And that's how you check off how many people are gonna be in attendance
because you have to provide those numbers and you get charged per head.
I don't know if that's still the same case, but like, yeah.
If people being invited behind the scenes and they're not included in
that headcount, don't you pay more?
Per head if they're not in the original numbers.
yeah, probably.
They'll probably see it.
There's more people there and, yeah, I mean that's pretty much all the same.
Like sometimes it's more digital now, but other than that they're
still counting it the same way.
And that tells me that there's someone that hasn't hosted an event
before or been part of it to know like you can't have extra people.
Yeah.
this says inviting some people I wanted and went with a smaller venue instead.
I'm talking about garter.
The whole garter thing.
I didn't want it at all, but I kept getting told it was tradition.
Uhhuh.
Yeah.
I didn't do it at my wedding.
I was like,
shit, that person must be from the south.
I mean, they most what I feel like they do 'em out here, but
like most weddings I've been to in recent times, I haven't seen it.
but I feel like it's like maybe more, more religious weddings.
I don't know.
Where are you at?
I'm in Wisconsin.
Okay.
Do y'all do money dances as well?
'cause we do money dances.
I've been to a couple weddings, but it's not like very common.
Okay, alright.
Yeah.
We do two different types of money dance, either, you have like a little sash as
the bride and the money is put into the sash or you carry around a boot and Oh.
Money gets put into a boot.
Okay.
Yeah.
yeah, I know there's so many like, interesting traditions.
I think the one time I saw the wedding dance was like maybe
going on 10 years ago now.
Okay.
So yeah, it's been a while.
Hmm.
Okay.
all right, I'll do two more.
letting my dad bring his girlfriend who was his mistress because
I feared he wouldn't come.
He left early anyway.
Oh, that's one of those gut things, right?
Like you want it to work 'cause you want your dad there, but.
But was your, mom is still married to him, so he,
that's where I'm like, I don't Yeah.
Isn't a mistress.
You're still married and your mistress is like, who you're
cheating on your wife with, right?
Yeah.
Unless she meet.
Well, yeah.
I'm guessing it could be like they're now divorced, but
that's the one he cheated on.
Which either way that's awkward if your mom's there.
Yeah.
That's weird.
I would be like, don't come.
Yeah.
Not telling my brother to end his relationship earlier, love his
ex, but they were not compatible.
Okay.
Because that's not wedding related, but that's, that's just a regret.
People are just confessing to me.
All right.
Well awesome.
Well thank you so much for coming on.
That was,
yes, thank
you.
Glad story.
Can you tell everyone where they can find your content, follow you for more,
cliff notes and learn more about you?
Anything fun you're working on?
Yeah, so you can find me on, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, which I
don't post a lot on there, but all of them, the handle is the CliffNotes
gal. And, I just ask followers, keep bringing me the stories, tag me in
anything that you need shortened, and I'll shorten 'em up for y'all.
Awesome.
Well, thanks so much.
Thank you.