44-4-44, Ode to a Fan, and More

44-4-44 | as of my birthday, we are all 4's!

Ode to a Fan | I bought a small, nondescript fan, and I carry it around the house to keep me cool. I love it. 

The Fordams

• Picnics
• A different schedule, but totally rolling with it
• Superheroes are still a hit!
• We listened to Madonna’s True Blue album

Susan's Birthday

• Auntie Em got me some shrubs. We had ice cream sundaes. 
• So many books! Great Harvest and Peets gift cards to keep my perfect mornings going
• Music! A speaker and my music on my phone offline. Fantastic. Thanks, Frank
• Virginia Picnic Basket Company wares
• Zoom dinner celebration with Kathleen. We "shared" Bluemont's Ascent

Susan & Zach 

• Reston Camp in Box activities are fun. We made s'mores and two science experiments. We also tried the flag art.
  
• Art with Zach = a challenge. I keep trying! I drew a tiger and ladybug. The tiger looked like a reindeer somehow. Below is a narwhol.
  
• Spanish!
• Visits to the farm
• Taking care of Zach's pets on ABC Mouse. He has 20!
• We enjoyed watching Mike and Mary's fireworks
  
• Kitty cousins, Russian nesting doll, family (paternal) baby shoe bronzed door stop (Yup), pillow forts, tennis, and stories at Auntie Em's
• Playing fire fighters. The tape measure is a rope to lower down the cliff. 

Frank & Zach

• Water play: homegrown with our own inflatable pool and at the Reston pools
• Western Maryland Rail Trail excursion and a milkshake!
• Lots of biking (the Bear Chase path), and more and more pool visits
• Visits with Grandad
  

Zach of Note

• Buying stuff on Amazon. Yes, that's right, he's bought shows and books and put a ton of toys in the cart! We have figured out the parental controls
• Visits to Gamma and Daddy Bob's
  

• Trying to remember to connect emotionally and that behavior may be normal and not acceptable. 
• He's been pretty great about my wounds and understanding that he has to be gentle. He's also said, "We don't love you," and acted as if he was glad that I couldn't go to the pool. :( This behavior may be normal but it is not acceptable. 

Zach's Words & Songs

• Every second spent hugging is a special second. :)
• Zach says “X - FedEx”
• Books: Quest, Journey, and Return - all hits; Snipp, Snapp, Snurr; The Buddy files
• The Black Panther book on ABC Mouse has GREAT music
• the song, Space Unicorn
• 80's rock hits (esp and ongoing - Eye of the Tiger)

Sleep Update
We got into "telling scary stories" somehow and that was a bit of a setback. Worried about scary dreams. I'm trying to promote sleep. My mantra: sleep is magical

What's Zach Whining About? What is Susan whining about? 

• Taking showers and putting on sunscreen (Z)
• Getting all the pieces of dinner on the table, spilling water out of a vase (S)

Good Food

• Cookies: from Whisked, salted chocolate chip, pretzel, and salted oatmeal 
• Shortbread cookies from Charlottesville. Sam and Julia sent them, and I shared with Auntie Em. She liked so much that she bought more, and there are so many delicious varieties!
  
• Brownies from the Greystone Bakery
• Mushroom burger and fermented carrots (I know, but really!)
• Tasty tapas pestos, tapenade, pimento cheese, buttered bread, salad, beet and fennel culture, other cultures, guacamole, roasted eggplant/carrot/fennel dip
• Huevos rancheros with Cortida cultures
• Zucchini hash
• Cherries for eating and in shrubs
  
• Smoked salmon ceviche
• Summer checca pasta with tomatoes, pink Himalayan salt, zucchini, corn, mozzarella, garlic scapes, roasted garlic, and Parmesan cheese. 
• We love to get frozen juices at the farmer's market

Visits by phone or Zoom with

• Daily breakfast calls with Gamma and Daddy Bob 
• Daily walking meetings with Amanda are so satisfying. We discussed The Glass Hotel one day, and it was super-helpful to process that book out loud.
• Two visits to Gamma and Daddy Bob's
• Show & Share with Amanda
• Kathleen
• Mary Kay
• Katie & Suji - my first dinner outside at their house and walk with Katie
• Mary Kay, Kathleen, and Kate happy hour on Zoom
• Greer

Fun and Not So Fun Stuff (Personal and Professional)

• Always, walks :) | I'm almost halfway through my "hike" of the Camino de Santiago in Spain - 40% complete!
• Onboarding of new folks, TY Chris B and Lauren, kickoff of Beta group going through product training
• Summit & AMP - some really terrific presenters and immediately applicable takeaways
• Launched unconscious bias content, empathy and compassion work with the support team, Table Group content with sales leadership
• Black Lives Matter = My 21-day challenge (https://www.eddiemoorejr.com/21daychallenge) continues and I'm pushing into days 30+
• Podcasts galore: Unlocking Us; Latino USA; That Relationship Show; Life Kit esp on talking to kids about death (It happens “because…” Heart stops, breath leaves body, spirit is not there. They never come back.); Throughline; more from Nikole Hannah-Jones; finding Dr. Emily Nagoski and her podcast, the Feminist Survival Project 2020; 3 in 30 podcast, esp with Dr. Katie Penry; The Happiness Lab; The Joyful Soul Project
• The Next Question - still working my way through Season 1
• Started watching Homeland and was obsessed for a few days. Then I started having disturbing, weird dreams, and I've stopped watching
• Movies: watched two dance movies on Netflix! Battle and Let's Dance. In Battle, there's a scene where they dance to "Poison," by BellBivDeVoe in its entirety. Awesome.
  
• Reading Stamped, I'm Still Here, Walking to the End of the Earth (about The Camino de Santiago), Untamed, Burnout - especially loving Burnout
• Flowers from Meaghan :)
• Walks with Frank
• Focused Instagram feed
• Spanish. Because the Happiness Lab and the idea of WOOP - Wish, Outcome, Obstacle, and Plan, I started daily Spanish learning on Duolingo. Zach and I do it together. :) 
• Mood Meter and using it to connect! Very impactful and using it definitely helped me successfully complete a stress cycle. Shared with Emily, Mary Kay, and Katie. Thanks for listening. 
• Emily's surgery. Expectations? Just toss them out the window. Strong and brave. Stronger and braver! Silver lining for me? Connecting with family and friends: Laura Friend, Virginia, Lauren Bloom, and Tiffany. When Emily had to go in for a second surgery, we connected late at night and early in the morning. :) Mary from 78 Acres gave flowers. :)
• Uncle Jim

Happiness is based on happening, whether things are going right. Joy is about alignment with your purpose. Something that gives you a sense of meaning. Joy is much bigger and more important. (As defined by Dr. Emily Nagoski)