Leisa: 00:01

Hey, besties. My name's Leisa.

Tamara: 00:03

And my name's Tamara, and we're BFFs.

Leisa: 00:06

Tamara and I met when we were

Leisa: 00:07

about 12 years old growing up in good old Fairbanks, Alaska.

Tamara: 00:11

And we've been best friends forever since.

Leisa: 00:13

That's right. And that's why we've decided to have some fun, friendly conversations with the bestest of best friends.

Tamara: 00:18

We'll talk about how we became best friends, our experiences together, and have other best friends on the show to share how they met. Who knows? You never

Leisa: 00:27

know when you'll meet your next BFF.

Tamara: 00:30

Now let's get into it, how I met my BFF.

Leisa: 00:35

Welcome to another episode of how I met my BFF. Hi, Tamara.

Tamara: 00:39

Hey, Leisa. How's it going?

Leisa: 00:41

It is good. I'm feeling very accomplished because I'm down to, I think, like, three boxes left in the garage of all those, like, old memories and things that I'm going through. And I have a couple things to report. One, I I have found receipts that, yes, indeed, our friendship is legit and genuine, and it did really happen in seventh grade. Because I have our yearbooks from seventh grade to twelfth grade, and in each one, you did say that we were best friends forever.

Leisa: 01:12

So it's true. If anyone was wondering, I have the evidence. The other thing that I found is is no evidence of us doing anything illegal. So that's good. I don't know if we would have made it this now.

Leisa: 01:30

Like, if we were teenagers now, I I don't know. With all the social media and the access to photos and phones and videos, I mean, thank goodness that was not available because yeah. I know that there were people hiding things behind their back in some of those photos, but there's no evidence.

Tamara: 01:50

I I I have some photos of evidence. So I know.

Leisa: 01:55

They're locked in a if you could find them. Where could you find them? Yeah. Oh, well, I'm excited that we have some guests on our show today. We have Denise and Talya.

Leisa: 02:08

Welcome to the show.

Talya Norman: 02:10

Thank you. Happy to be here.

Leisa: 02:12

I did. So and you're both in San Antonio, right, but not in the same house, not the

Talya Norman: 02:18

same location. So,

Leisa: 02:20

Denise, why don't you kick us off and tell us how you met Talya?

Denise Willis: 02:25

Okay. Well, I was getting out of a really crappy relationship. I'm sure we've all been there. Anyway, I ended up Unfortunately. Yes.

Denise Willis: 02:35

I know. Finding a coach. Her name was Martha. And Martha, actually introduced well, she didn't introduce me. She told me Talia was having a workshop, and it sounded very fascinating.

Denise Willis: 02:47

So I went to the workshop, and I met Talia. She was doing some breath work, and I still she doesn't remember this, but she'd come over to me. She goes, boy, are you blocked? But, anyway, that's how I met her, and I was like, well, I need to find out how to get unblocked. Anyway, so I started working with her with breath work and stuff like that, and that twenty nine years ago.

Talya Norman: 03:11

Wow.

Leisa: 03:12

Wow. Twenty nine years. I I'm so impressed because breath work is now more popular, but twenty nine years ago, no.

Talya Norman: 03:21

Yeah.

Denise Willis: 03:21

She's always ahead of the game here.

Leisa: 03:25

Yeah. She's so smart. Talia, what's your version of the story, how you met Denise?

Talya Norman: 03:29

Well, I don't remember quite all of that. But what I remember most is when Denise did come to my house for a healing session, and I believe we had finished some hypnosis. And we went out to the back patio, and I had a big picnic table with plastic with big paper, and finger paints. And I'll never in my life forget seeing Denise just delve into the finger paints and colors and everything. And in that moment, I knew she was open, strong, and committed to heal what was inside.

Talya Norman: 04:10

You know? Wow. So that's the thing I remember most is her passion for just I remember getting into. Yes. Yes.

Talya Norman: 04:20

I remember that vividly. Remember

Leisa: 04:23

Have you finger painted since that one day?

Denise Willis: 04:25

No. But I want to.

Leisa: 04:27

Yeah.

Talya Norman: 04:27

It was Good.

Leisa: 04:28

There you go. Oh, cool. So, Denise, tell me, how did it start to turn into a best friendship? Because then that's a different you know, your Yeah. Relationship starts to evolve into something else.

Denise Willis: 04:42

Well, once again, the coach, Martha, she was instrumental. Thalia started going to her as well or had already met her. We started doing lunches together, and we just started getting to know each other more. And I did some lady lunches at my house and had the girls over. Girls, we were all older, but whatever.

Denise Willis: 05:01

I call us girls. And that we just started developing, and we lived close. When I finally got out of that really bad relationship, I bought a house fairly close to Talia. So it was, like, five minutes to her house. So I'd doodle over there and visit with her and vice versa, and that's just how it started.

Leisa: 05:18

Wow. Talia, what what do you wanna add to that story in terms of how you started to evolve into a best friendship?

Talya Norman: 05:26

Yeah. Well, I have to say Martha played a big role in it. She was an amazing coach. She's passed on now, but we both really loved, admired, and admired her for sure and still think of her, which is great. I'd have to say the glue that's kinda held us together is kindness, faith, and and just a willingness to accept one another for each other, which has been good.

Leisa: 06:00

Yeah. That's a huge thing. Right? Because Yes. A friendship is optional.

Leisa: 06:06

Not that our other relationships are not also optional, but sometimes they are a little bit more tethered family or or by by marriage. And so that's that's a really beautiful thing, the willingness to accept someone else. What was, like, one of the funnest memories you have of of your friendship, Talia?

Talya Norman: 06:28

Oh, I would say going to the coast. You know? Going we just came back from the coast actually last weekend. And we go down to Port A and with another friend, and it's just total relaxation. And just walking the beach, it's just I'd have to say those are really special moments for sure.

Leisa: 06:54

Well, beautiful. What about you, Denise?

Denise Willis: 06:57

Same thing. Just total acceptance of each other.

Talya Norman: 07:00

And, of course, when

Denise Willis: 07:01

we women, all of us women, I'm sure you girls too, we do so much for our husbands and for other people. And finally, when we get to have some time to ourselves, it's fabulous. No schedule. Just total relaxation, just sitting on the back porch, looking at the pool and the beach and talking. It's just I don't know.

Denise Willis: 07:20

There's just and I I call them my soul sisters. I saw that somewhere in your stuff somewhere, but I've always called Talia and my and our other friend, Kelly, my soul sisters. We will speak at a very deep spiritual, and we share a lot with each other. So it's just loving kindness.

Leisa: 07:40

Natalie. But now Yeah. Oh, Talia, do you still practice hypnotherapy and healing and breath work?

Talya Norman: 07:49

Yes. I do. Yes. And art therapy. Oh, art therapy seems to be such a easy key to help people release things from the past that are hidden.

Talya Norman: 08:02

Yeah. That's I like it all.

Leisa: 08:06

Do you have do you see people only in person, or do you see people virtually as well?

Talya Norman: 08:11

Well, for the last two years, I've held, like, I call them sacred retreats down in Isla Mujeres, which is an island off of Cancun about seven miles. And it's been transformative, not only for them, but for me as well.

Leisa: 08:30

Wow. Where would people find what website would people find about out about these retreats?

Talya Norman: 08:36

I have hurricanesofhealingholisticretreat.com.

Leisa: 08:44

Hurricanesofhealingholisticretreat.com

Talya Norman: 08:50

and also just hurricanesofhealing.com.

Denise Willis: 08:54

Okay. Cool.

Leisa: 08:56

Very cool. And then, Denise, are you also in the coaching space, or do you have your own business?

Denise Willis: 09:03

Yes. I'm just I'm new to coaching. A little bit maybe did my first launch this year. Talia that's another thing with Talia. She and I both love personal development.

Denise Willis: 09:15

We just wanna grow

Talya Norman: 09:16

Mhmm.

Denise Willis: 09:16

The best we can be. And she turned me on to somebody that helped me write my book, the book called loving yourself. And after I wrote the book, oh my gosh, I thought I'd had everything healed, but more stuff healed. But then I decided I wanted to be a coach, and I had always admired Martha so much. She was such a wise woman that once I wrote the book, it said, I'm coaching.

Denise Willis: 09:37

I'm gonna coach women that are coming out of bad relationships or wanna be the best version of themselves. Yes, I'm I'm coaching as well. And what's your website? It's Denise Ann Willis. It's just d e n I s e a n n w I l l I s dot com.

Leisa: 09:56

Denise with a c?

Denise Willis: 09:58

No. S d e

Leisa: 09:59

s I n. Okay. So, yeah, that's good. So Denise Ann Willis. Ann with no e.

Leisa: 10:05

Right?

Denise Willis: 10:05

Correct. Correct. Correct.

Leisa: 10:08

Oh, that's so cool. Wow. That's neat that you finally, you know, decided to dive into that too.

Denise Willis: 10:14

I'm 73, and it's the first time in my life I feel I have a purpose.

Leisa: 10:18

Oh, wow. That's beautiful.

Denise Willis: 10:21

It's a passion. I'm just I'm on fire for it. Good for you. Thank you.

Leisa: 10:27

Yeah. We we oh, go ahead, Tamara.

Tamara: 10:29

Lisa and I, you know, definitely dove into the spiritual part of life. Her dad was a hypnotist. So kind of from the time we were young younger, then it's been a part of our lives. How do what do you two do together for spiritual for growing spiritually together?

Denise Willis: 10:57

Well, I know in the past, we we read a course of miracles and a course of love. I think there was another book that came out.

Talya Norman: 11:07

When we Also did

Denise Willis: 11:09

Go ahead.

Talya Norman: 11:10

I was just gonna say Mulberry Hill Gang. We take a lot of different courses. Raymond Aaron, he's a New York Times bestseller and also both of our publisher. He teaches a spiritual course, which was life changing for me.

Leisa: 11:27

Wow. I've never heard of that. Okay.

Denise Willis: 11:29

Yeah. That's so cool.

Leisa: 11:29

We're always learning new things on our podcast. Yeah. Like, just you think you've seen all the different things. Yeah. That's so cool.

Leisa: 11:37

I love it.

Denise Willis: 11:37

Can I say one other thing? And I know you girls know this. The best thing about Gal Pals is we share.

Talya Norman: 11:43

Yes.

Denise Willis: 11:43

We share our knowledge. We share our hurts, our feelings, whatever. But guys, you get around the guys, and they're like, my husband. And I'm like, what do y'all talk about? Guns or barbecue.

Denise Willis: 11:55

They don't talk about feelings.

Leisa: 11:58

Yeah. They're a little shyer about that sort of thing sometimes. Yeah. Any other things that you wanna share with each other about how important your friendship is to one another? Yeah.

Leisa: 12:12

Talia, you wanna

Talya Norman: 12:13

Yeah. You know, I think we both walked through a lot of pain. I lost a 13 year old to cancer, and it just changes you. And the thing that we both are in total agreement with is helping others shortcut what took so long to heal. For myself, it took I was at three years in depression after that.

Talya Norman: 12:39

So I I know what it takes now to get out of it. Mhmm.

Leisa: 12:45

What was your 13 year old's name?

Talya Norman: 12:48

Reed, r e e d. Reed. I'm so sorry.

Leisa: 12:55

How about you, Denise? Is there anything you wanna share?

Denise Willis: 12:57

Oh, same thing. Definitely want a shortcut. I my last relationship okay. I'm gonna tell them. I've been married seven seven.

Denise Willis: 13:08

Seven times? Seven times. But my my honey right now, we've been married twelve years. But prior to that, I was with the narcissist, and that's what kinda broke me. I felt broken and could not work for three years.

Denise Willis: 13:22

I was just totally no confidence. No ugh. I was just I didn't even know who I was. So I spent those three years learning who I was because I didn't know. From childhood, I was raised to be a people pleaser, so I was kind of a magnet for men that could control me.

Denise Willis: 13:37

So that's one of my passions. As with Talia, we wanna shortcut this for other people because there's a lot of women coming out of and now I understand not just toxic relationships, but toxic workplaces. And they're crushed. A lot of them, they have no self esteem, etcetera. So, anyway, both of us are on the same and I have to say our energy, though, frequency or whatever you want, vibration, that we both vibrate about the same.

Denise Willis: 14:02

We we try to go. We try to get higher consciousness, and we try to be creatures of love. But I think it's just because our spirit wants to help other people.

Leisa: 14:11

That's beautiful. Yeah. Wow. Well, we can relate to some we haven't been married seven times, but Be glad. Let's see.

Leisa: 14:20

I guess

Tamara: 14:21

I'm working on it.

Leisa: 14:21

Together four times between two. Wow. Yeah. It's so many things we can learn in life. Right?

Talya Norman: 14:33

Yes.

Leisa: 14:34

Yeah. So what that tells me about you, Denise, is that you're an optimist. Right?

Talya Norman: 14:37

Yes. Absolutely. And she's filled with kindness. She really is. She's a giver.

Talya Norman: 14:44

No question.

Leisa: 14:45

Beautiful. Yeah. I

Tamara: 14:48

to wrap it up, I wonder if you after this and you guys go and meet up, what would you do for fun together?

Talya Norman: 15:02

Well We're actually gonna meet up after this. We're actually gonna meet up. And what

Tamara: 15:07

are you gonna do?

Talya Norman: 15:09

Sit. Perhaps Denise have a glass of wine. We'll just sit and talk and Visit? Just yeah. Visit.

Talya Norman: 15:17

You know? But, again, what we love is is getting out going to where there's water.

Leisa: 15:22

Yeah.

Talya Norman: 15:23

Just getting away. Yeah.

Leisa: 15:25

Beautiful. Well, I'm so glad that our world's intertwined and that Yes. Your world's intertwined so many years ago. And, you know, thank you to Martha, coach Martha.

Talya Norman: 15:38

Yes. Yay.

Leisa: 15:39

Watching over watching over all of us and All of us. Bringing amazing women together and going out also thinking of Reed and thinking of Savannah, Tamara's daughter too, and just any other loved ones that we've lost along the way. Yeah. Tamara, did you wanna say anything else?

Tamara: 16:02

Well, I just yeah. It reminds me, you know, what I understand what you're saying. I lost my daughter as well, and it's been I just thank God I had Lisa because, you know, it's just been hard. And she it's been ten years now, but, you know, she's definitely seen me through some rough patches. And so I completely understand.

Tamara: 16:28

It's amazing. And that I can work with it. Like, if you guys have a way to help people get through grief, that's nice ability to have. So I look forward to your guys' work together.

Talya Norman: 16:44

Thank you. Thank you.

Denise Willis: 16:46

Beautiful. Alright,

Leisa: 16:49

besties. We'll see you on the next episode.

Talya Norman: 16:51

Hey. Such a treat. No mistakes in the people we meet and the places we go. So I wanna thank you.

Denise Willis: 16:58

Thank you.

Leisa: 16:58

I hope you enjoyed it.

Denise Willis: 16:59

Bless you, ladies.

Tamara: 17:01

Yeah. Thank you.

Leisa: 17:05

Hey, bestie. Thanks for listening. If you like this episode, be sure to hit that subscribe button to get notified of new episodes and check out cool bestie gift ideas at howimetmybff.com.

Tamara: 17:15

That's right. And also leave us a review. Those reviews help us out a lot and are one of the best ways to support us.

Leisa: 17:22

Yes. And if you have a fun story about how you met your b f f, send us an email at info@howImetmybff.com. We would love to hear about it.

Tamara: 17:30

Definitely. And, hey, maybe we'll have you on our next episode.

Leisa: 17:35

That would be awesome. Until next time.

Tamara: 17:37

Love you, BFFs.