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Makeal Flammini and Julie Olson live on opposite sides of Milwaukee and the two women don't know each other in real life, but they have something extremely significant in common: they are both Milwaukee moms rocking my world with their hilarious social media posts.
Flammini has released (so far) six super-short videos on Instagram that are close crops of her "character," an animated, lovably unhinged woman with the lipstick skills of someone without arms. She provides 30-second "motivational" suggestions that are completely absurd and yet somehow make complete sense. I mean, maxi pads really could double as facemasks.
Although this character is fictional, Flammini says she is inspired by a variety of realities.
"I 'work' for a 5 and a 2-year-old on the East Side, so these videos help me deal with the undercurrent of insanity many of us are experiencing right now. They help me cope in the moment," she says. "I'm also inspired by my news feeds, possibly my late grandmother, a refrigerator magnet I had that said 'slap on a little lipstick you’ll be fine' and all the moms out there. I love the moms. All the happiness to the moms."
I find these daily doses from a cosmetically-challenged "crazy" lady help me process my own feelings of anxiousness and isolation while, literally, LOL-ing. Watch 'em here:
View this post on InstagramIs that a bird? #shadowpuppets #organicmom #stayhome #quarentine #laserhairremoval
Meanwhile, mom-of-three Julie Olson is keeping it sane through her Playmobil posts. Although her kids are a few years past their Playmobil phase, Olson continues to find inspiration in the plastic world of teeny tininess.
"I started thinking about them as moments in parenthood, or marriage or as a working mom. All the struggles and joys and secrets we carry as wives, mothers, friends are pretty universal," says Olson. "I love inappropriate humor and finding the laughter in just about everything."
I don't know about you, but that statement makes me want to jump to my feet and clap until my arms fall off. But then I wouldn't be able to hug ya'll when this sh*t is over.
Enjoy these posts from Julie Olson:
Molly Snyder started writing and publishing her work at the age 10, when her community newspaper printed her poem, "The Unicorn.” Since then, she's expanded beyond the subject of mythical creatures and written in many different mediums but, nearest and dearest to her heart, thousands of articles for OnMilwaukee.
Molly is a regular contributor to FOX6 News and numerous radio stations as well as the co-host of "Dandelions: A Podcast For Women.” She's received five Milwaukee Press Club Awards, served as the Pfister Narrator and is the Wisconsin State Fair’s Celebrity Cream Puff Eating Champion of 2019.
