Let’s TalkAbout It:Aggressive animals, hotel showers, and are humans talking less?!

Pull up a chair and join us for the kind of conversation you’d have over brunch with your best friends. We’re chatting about a little bit of everything—random topics, funny stories, and plenty of laughs along the way. Come hang with us, Let’s talk about it!

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:08

Hi Heather. Hi Gina. How are you? I'm great. How are you? I'm great as well. I like your black top. It's very cute. It's giving Michael Jackson vibes. It's like that sleeve style. I don't know why. It reminds me of the like jackets he would wear that like the little shoulder pieces, if you will. I feel like he's got a real resurgence going on right now. Do I need Yeah. My daughter just went to a Michael Jackson themed birthday party, which I thought was the cutest thing in the world. Wait, like the whole theme of the party, younger. Like she just had her like a night in France birthday party, and then she's got another friend whose birthday is like within a week of hers. And the theme was Michael Jackson, and I thought it was the cutest thing. And my daughter-in-loved like a theme dress. Yeah. Like we went to see Spider-Man. She's like, Oh, I wish I had something Spider-Man to wear. Like she would show up in like a onesie if she could. And I was like, Are you theme dressing for Michael Jackson? Like, if we really don't have anything. So she wore like a red t-shirt. She thought about it though.

SPEAKER_02 1:05

She tried. And I love that. I love that. Yeah. My nephew would have loved that. Have you have you seen Luca do the moonwalk?

SPEAKER_01 1:12

Um, I feel like I have. And I've definitely talked to his parents about the Michael Jackson.

SPEAKER_02 1:16

Wait, I have like a pretty good video I can show you like. For like our family vacation. Which I was listening to Bad Bunny, and I don't know why Mike uh Ryan made him like moonwalk to Bad Bunny. I mean, whenever you can just bust out the moonwalk. But he's got the family. Love it.

SPEAKER_01 1:33

We're gonna request it next time I see him.

SPEAKER_02 1:34

The ability to like coordinate, like it wasn't Michael Jackson music, but he like totally, and I was like, Moonwalk into Bad Bunny. I was like, I dig it. Michael Jackson would dig that. He would.

SPEAKER_01 1:48

Um I mean, without a doubt, we can definitely I love his music, so I will I will support my kids listening to Michael Jackson all day long. Same. It's crossing generations. He's still good, he's still great. He is a complicated individual, won't go into it, but I feel like the music you can't deny. Oh no. Oh, and the music was so much better back then. That's sound old. It is, it was. It just was. No argument. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 2:12

Nope.

SPEAKER_01 2:12

So, oh, I forgot we were recording.

SPEAKER_02 2:15

Did you really?

SPEAKER_01 2:16

I honestly did. Dangerous, but that's how natural we are over here in Life Out Loud.

SPEAKER_02 2:22

Yeah, because we are doing a real uh brunch tour. What's on your mind today? What's on your mind today? Yeah. Yeah, I guess.

SPEAKER_01 2:29

Do you have something top of mind you want to start us out with?

SPEAKER_02 2:32

Uh I was I do have something on top of mind. It's like super random, but I was just driving in the car the other day thinking, and you would know. Do kids still are kids still using rubber cement? Is rubber cement a still a thing?

SPEAKER_01 2:45

Uh wow, I don't feel like it is. Like they're not even using pencils. First, my first instinct when you said that is you know how like scent memories are so powerful. We used to love the smell of rubber cement because I feel like you felt like you could get high with it. It's so maybe that's why kids aren't using it. No, I'm saying it was so intense that even as a little kid you thought, I don't think this is good for me. Right. Well, I just used to immediately comes back. Cover my hand. Yeah, and then peel it off. I don't feel like I've been in amongst the schools now for a good long time. I can't think of the last time I saw it in the flesh. Like, I cannot think of a time I've seen rubber cement in a classroom. Me neither. Wonder why we had such a what replaced it? What was the floor? We always had glue sticks and Elmer's and stuff. So, like, what was the need for rubber cement that's no longer now? And rubber cement works so much better than I'm gonna do. I do love rubber cells. Sorry, Elmers. I'm gonna go buy anything just like the smell of it.

SPEAKER_02 3:40

Maybe Elmer's made rubber cement now that I'm apologizing.

SPEAKER_01 3:43

Sure. I don't know. I just wonder why the need for it dissipated over time. I don't know. Or maybe people were huffing it and they were like, we gotta get this off the market. I feel like I need to buy some for just nostalgia. Just rubber. Could you imagine you just unscrew it and like you know it's gonna stop? Your childhood is gonna come back to you in like a flash. Yeah. No, that's a great observation. I'd like to know. I don't know. I feel like I'm unequipped to answer that, but I do feel like it probably was very toxic. And they were probably like, we gotta get that off the market. We're all alright so far.

SPEAKER_00 4:14

There's a lot going on, right? We can't really point to what's causing it. That's what parry amount causes so bad. We were all Hoffman's rubber smell.

SPEAKER_01 4:22

Yeah, I feel like that smell is so nostalgic. Yeah. And you would be so excited when it was like a project or an art day, and you're like, do we need the rubber cement? Yeah, I don't know. What made you think of it? Random. Random. Okay, you didn't just like see it somewhere or something.

SPEAKER_02 4:37

No, I was randomly, I think I was just thinking about like school supplies and what I had to get in there.

SPEAKER_01 4:42

Definitely at that time. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 4:43

And it's so different now because mine are both in high school. Like they don't really like mine.

SPEAKER_01 4:47

Do they even want like they barely need anything? Everything's on computer.

SPEAKER_02 4:53

Yeah, if you have a ma uh an art class, they require a specific kind of like notebook. Like it's so minimal compared to what it used to be.

SPEAKER_01 5:00

It's not like the whole haul that you used to do.

SPEAKER_02 5:03

Like I found myself ticking through what it used to look like. And then randomly I was like, what about rubber cement?

SPEAKER_01 5:08

I know my kids want well. I don't know if this is like still a thing. Well, I feel they still have them, they're not the same name brand, but like you remember like a trap or keeper? Yeah. I feel like that's what they want for middle school because they're changing classes and they can keep like multiple folders in there. And I'm like, I wonder if trap or keeper is like still a thing, like a brand. But I don't know. I just got them some Target ones, but I like the whole zipper grinder. Oh, they want a zippered one. Yeah, like it's like a case. Yeah. And I feel like I remember having good memories of being like, I want a trapper key. I know I'm gonna be so organized, and then everything was like a hot mess within a week. I know, I used to get so excited. Yeah, I did love all that. Yeah. Um, I have a really random public service announcement I would like to address. I know you just went on vacation and so did I. We took a short trip, but like I need to talk to directly to whoever is installing glass in these modern showers because we stayed at a really nice hotel in Chicago. I mean, like, really nice, like what we can do. It's a nice hotel, and it's I think renovated recently, at least our room. And the glass to the shower is so small. This just happened with our kids in Miami, and we we had to yell at the kids. We're like, the shower glass is really small. Yeah, you have to be very careful about where you stand, or you are gonna spray the whole bathroom. There's nothing you can do about it. There's nowhere to put your body in this little situation. So, beautiful big shower. Beautiful big shower. Walk-in, shower. I'm gonna paint a picture for you because I don't understand who's doing what for why. Beautiful shower. Walk in, shower, all tiled, lovely. Shower head coming out of the wall. Right in front of the shower head, picture a piece of glass that's maybe 12 to 8 inches, 18 inches wide. And that is your shower door. That's all that's protecting your bathroom from getting shower spray. But unless you turn the shower head down completely and try to stand directly underneath it, which means like you're rubbing up against the wall. Gross. There's no way to not be spraying like the sh the glass does not cover the spray. I have a uh recurring thing now. This is not like a fluke. I had an episode in Miami. Everywhere I go that's renovated, this is what we're choosing to do now.

SPEAKER_02 7:27

It's poor planning. I have an alternative thought for you. It's not the glass maker's fault or the person installing the glass, it's the it's the layout of the entire shower because there are showers technically where you don't even need a door, yeah. They're trying to do too much, they're trying to make it look so aesthetically pleasing with the glass and this and that. But then if the shower hail is too short, you can't fit a body in there. If it's too long, it's shooting out. So the whole thing is such a design flaw here.

SPEAKER_01 7:53

Because I mean, you know me, I overthink everything. I thought about every way that I could stand in the shower because it was a kind of a small bathroom, too. And so I feel like then you are literally spraying the floor that you have to stand on. And it is, I think they're going for an aesthetic thing, but they did not think through the implications, and I just feel like Did you see the reel yet of the guy walking through hotel rooms as if he were a historian?

SPEAKER_02 8:19

Like, you know, when we go into like a southern plantation, okay, and they'll explain, like in this, they used to cook here. He's doing that with modern hotel rooms, but saying, like, and the bathroom no, uh, better example, the air conditioner, every room is provided an air conditioner. However, no matter what you do, it does not change the temperature of the room. We are unsure of the reason why they did this in the past. Right. Okay. And then he like moves on to the next thing with the follow-up.

SPEAKER_01 8:49

Calls out all the things that are wrong and I tell him like I'm not an engineer or an architect. I'm not anything qualified. I'm for floppy. I'm a school teacher from Michigan. When I walked in and saw what we were dealing with, immediately I was like, you gotta come look at this. Right. And I could have done better. Yeah. I personally give me like a piece of paper, I would have sketched out a better design for you. I know.

SPEAKER_02 9:10

Or what about when the faucet is put in and it's either so close that you can't put your hands underneath or so far out of the way.

SPEAKER_01 9:20

This is what beefs me. Like, your average Joe, if you're renovating your house and you want to put in some stupid shower situation, and you're like, oh, I really picked the wrong shower, had poor, you know, b bad choice, I'll deal with it. Yeah. These are people who make tons of money designing the optimal experience so that people want to come stay at your hotel. Yeah. And you couldn't figure out. I was like, four inches, maybe six, and this would have been a different experience. Like you couldn't have given me four more inches of glass. Yeah. They're like, they'll figure it out. I'm real annoyed about it. I'm like, who do I write a letter to you?

unknown 9:53

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 9:54

I just like, I feel like it's almost like so silly that it's like uh we're going so hard for the aesthetic that it's absolutely the practicality of is absolutely zero.

SPEAKER_02 10:05

They're not gonna spend the money and add the extra six inches of glass.

SPEAKER_01 10:08

They're gonna throw a curtain up. That curtain touches me. Right. I thought can you imagine being like a maid or whatever, the like a hotel cleaning staff? Can you imagine? Every stupid shower or bathroom floor is probably drenched. Everybody's using all their extra clean towels to just stop up what looks like a flood zone now. Yeah. And like probably double their work. Yeah, it's creating extra issues. I just wanna, I just need to talk to somebody in the hotel industry. Write a letter. Or the bathroom design architecture. Good luck. It's just so stupid. Customer service everywhere is I know. Don't get me started. I won't talk about it. I didn't complain about it because I didn't think they were gonna come replace my glass, but I have thoughts. Yeah, they probably won't. No, customer service is definitely not not what it used to be.

SPEAKER_02 10:52

No, it's not. And neither are flies. I would like to know.

SPEAKER_01 10:56

Flies?

SPEAKER_02 10:57

Another thing I thought about. Okay. Do you feel like flies have more hotspah nowadays? These flies have balls.

SPEAKER_01 11:05

I feel like we've talked about this before, actually.

SPEAKER_02 11:07

It is so Wait, did we talk about this?

SPEAKER_01 11:10

I don't know, but there's maybe it was bees.

SPEAKER_02 11:13

Now flies. And they they don't care. Like you'll be eating before it was like, oh, a fly. Now it's like in your sandwich. It's in your sandwich, it's in your mouth, one one in my eye.

SPEAKER_01 11:24

Like um, yeah. They're getting desperate out here. Yes. I don't know what would attribute to flies being more aggressive.

SPEAKER_02 11:31

I feel like all animals are. Squirrels aren't as scared of me as they used to be.

SPEAKER_01 11:34

I mean, I hate to say it, but I do feel like that's the only thing that does make sense to me is we're encroaching on everybody's territory. So like I guess we just gotta live with these humans now. Like, yeah. And that they're just getting more comfortable around us.

SPEAKER_02 11:46

They are.

SPEAKER_01 11:47

I was listening to them, I guess.

SPEAKER_02 11:48

On my podcast, or not my podcast, on a podcast I was listening to this morning. Who would tell us more about that? Let me tell you about my podcast. I have another podcast. Yeah, no. Uh on a podcast I was listening to this morning. I was listening to one of the girls who was on Love Island that I really like, and I follow her story still because she's still with the guy she met there. Okay. It's just like a very cute story. Yeah. And she loves, loves, loves animals and has like almost like a full farm at her house. But she has like every animal and she has turkeys, and her turkeys like they like crawl on her lap and she like snuggles. Oh, they're like domesticated turkeys. So I'm like, so it's everything, it's the squirrels, it's the turkeys, and she loves that.

SPEAKER_01 12:28

She has a unique trait, I think, for her turkeys. But I do kind of love when people have weird pets like that, like raccoons. I love it for them. I can well, yeah. Yeah. But we did have to rescue, we have rescued a baby bunny from our e-grass window last night, and I forgot how much I love a bunny. My aunt used to have pet bunnies, and like I thought I wanted a pet bunny for a while, settled on a cava-poo. But I feel like Chris was holding it and it was itty bitty, and I was like, our neighbors had pet bunnies, but they're just poop all over. We were Googling, like, what do we do to save a like because our baby was just like, go grab it and throw it in the grass. And I was like, it its mom might not recognize its smell, guys. Like I was trying so hard to like save this baby bunny. But um, would you do anything? I feel like Chris just put gloves on. Yeah. And then he got it out of the e-grass window and walked it outside to where we know that there's like bunny nests under the trees. Oh, it must have been really little to come to. It was it did not come to heaven. I was like freaking out. And I was like, You're gonna get out of a heart attack. But like he's like, What do you what do you want me to do? I was like, protect that bunny at all costs. The thought that that bunny would have come to some harm and become. My god's bunny culture is big is too much for me to think.

SPEAKER_00 13:39

Like, I could not conceive of harming this bunny.

SPEAKER_01 13:42

But uh, why was I talking about that? Oh, so I feel like if the flies are more aggressive, that's just like, yeah, we earned it. We're all up in their space. They have nowhere to be without us. It's like wild to see.

SPEAKER_02 13:52

I'm like, I on my walk, sometimes I'm maybe it's your particular flies. If I'm not dodging kids on e-bikes or neighbors on golf carts who are just like constantly like sharing space with me on the sidewalk. I'm not wait, golf cart on a sidewalk? All the time.

SPEAKER_01 14:08

All the time. I don't see that. I see them in our neighborhood on the streets, which is you know. And I didn't think they were allowed on sidewalks. I wouldn't think that they would be, but what do I know about the municipal?

SPEAKER_02 14:18

This guy didn't look me in the eye, but whatever.

SPEAKER_01 14:20

Uh people really interesting choice to be in a golf cart. On a sidewalk.

SPEAKER_02 14:24

Sidewalk. Agree. Okay. Uh then I'm dodging squirrels, flies, grasshoppers. Really aggressive animals.

SPEAKER_01 14:30

You're like the anti uh witch princesses, it where all the Cinderella and all the birds like come to her. The birds are like No, it feels like they are.

SPEAKER_02 14:40

Like Cruella Devil coming through. Seriously, Gianni went on one with me the other day, and I at the end of the walk, I'm like, do you see every single bug? Like I was getting grasshoppers in the middle.

SPEAKER_01 14:51

It's like a really good visual. But are you wearing like scented lotions or things that would draw animals to you? Because I feel like a fly or a bee is gonna be attracted to anything that's like floral or fruity smelling, so I feel like you're you're bringing it on yourself.

SPEAKER_02 15:05

No, I learned that lesson with the noceums in Florida when I lathered myself in coconut lotion and sat outside in the 90-degree humid weather. You're just like calm and gabby. Next to a swimming. Seriously, this is the worst mistake in my life. Oh well, you learned you learned the hard way. Yes, I did.

SPEAKER_01 15:22

Okay, now I don't feel like I've noticed any aggressive fly behavior. I mean, they are the bane of my existence. And we have one of those like rackets to electrocute them. So do we. But I don't feel like I've noticed them being particularly aggressive. I will say this is really specific too. When we have when we grill and we eat outside or whatever, which we I don't do because of the bugs a lot. I feel like I have this whole life in my head, I'm gonna live with my grill and my patio and my pool, and then I'm all just like everybody just go inside. I know the mosquitoes are getting me. But I feel like anytime I have something strongly like uh garlic or something, they're real bad. That's I'm just throwing it out there as like a possible. Put garlic in my eggs. So that's it. I'm saying, like, I've like specifically been out there with like garlic dip. Yeah. Or like uh like a fresh, like a chicken breast or something that I know I hammered with like garlic, and they will be like right to the plate. Flies. Flies. So keeps away vampires welcomes flies.

SPEAKER_00 16:22

I think they're like, I smelled that a mile away. I knew there would be food right here.

SPEAKER_01 16:27

I do feel like the stronger smelling the food is, they're more like aggressive because it's like that makes sense. Make sense. They know right where to go. Yeah. Fouled their noses, little jerks. I could get behind that. I don't know.

SPEAKER_00 16:38

I have patterns of fly behavior.

SPEAKER_02 16:40

I feel like garlic probably seeps out of my horse.

SPEAKER_00 16:43

I wasn't gonna say anything. Yeah, because I feel like I mean I don't smell like garlic. They can smell it.

SPEAKER_02 16:48

Yeah, that they they're smelling garlic. Yeah, I knew. When we were first married, Ryan, like so uh lovingly was like so unlovingly. So you don't like I don't eat garlic in my eggs, and I was like, why? Yeah, garlic is like the universal spirit. Yeah, don't eat the eggs. I like garlic and my eggs.

SPEAKER_01 17:07

I would eat garlic and my eggs too. Right? I don't know if I feel like it every time, but I feel like there's definitely room for garlic. Yeah, I could eat garlic with almost everything. Me too. I feel like garlic is every recipe you start with like salt, pepper, garlic, and maybe onion pepper or I mean onion powder or depends on what's going on fresh too, but I feel like garlic goes in everything. Yeah, agreed. Or fresh garlic, depending on your mood. In my world. Alright, I would like to turn this around with what has been working for me this summer because the flies were really ruining your life. Are you a fresco drinker? Love fresco. Have you gotten a fresco Slurpee all summer? Yes. That has been making me. Speaking of rubber cement, I don't drink Slurpees regularly because I'm not like 12, right? Yeah. But my kids are always like, come on, it's a Friday on their way home for their sports practices. Can we go get a Slurpee or something? And I'm like, ugh, I guess whatever. Now I'm like, did you guys want to go get a Slurpee? Right? Why did it take them so long to make a fresco Slurpee? And why is it taking them so long to make it? It's like my favorite pool side drink right now. Coke Zero Slurpee. Where's that at? Oh my gosh, I feel like the options, the options are endless. Make something good. Right. But the fresco was like very delightful and welcome as a summer drink. I love it. I wonder if they can't make a Coke Zero Slurpee because of the S. Something about even the fresco one, because you know, I had to like dig into it. They said something like there's still gonna be some natural sugar in there because with with all the like diet, whatever, fake sweeteners, they can't get that like slurpee texture. And I'm like, alright, I'll spot you like 20 calories of sugar or something. But I feel like it does limit them in what they can make into a like an acceptable slurpee. Makes sense. Like you can freeze anything, it's not gonna come out, right?

SPEAKER_02 18:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 18:45

Have you ever tried to like make your own slurpee at home or something or make your own frozen something and you're like, oh, this is not good.

SPEAKER_02 18:50

Only in those like you tried the uh I get them for the kids all the time from Target. Uh-huh. And they're like squeeze pouches, but they're basically like a little slurpee, but they're all like good ingredients, and you can get them in strawberry lemonade or lemonade. Maybe. Um, I'll look them up while we're talking. Um they almost look like a pouch on or something. Um, but they're really good. My kids have been like living for them.

SPEAKER_01 19:14

I've been living on one fresco Slurpee a week all summer. It's like my favorite thing. Even like the kids were at a birthday party, and Chris was like, What do you want to do? Float in the pool? And I was like, Yeah, but we gotta go with a Slurpee first.

SPEAKER_02 19:25

No, I've I've only I've only tried it once, but it's very good.

SPEAKER_01 19:28

It does taste just like fresco.

SPEAKER_02 19:30

Okay, what's it called? It's called Scoot. Scoot. It's frozen, it's a frozen lemonade slushy.

unknown 19:35

That's cute.

SPEAKER_01 19:35

It looks like a little capri sun, right?

SPEAKER_02 19:37

And it's frozen lemonade slushy. And they come in as far as what's available in our area. Uh strawberry lemonade or regular lemonade. Super good. And you just keep them in the freezer.

SPEAKER_01 19:48

No, my kids would love those. They do have those little slushy cups that like you pour something in it, it's supposed to make it slushy. That was a whole thing for a while. That's like something that fades in and out. If you have it, try it with Coke Zero. See what it is. That's a good idea. I should try it. I don't use their stupid slushy cups. I'm always like, who cleaned this list? I'll have to do like a deep clean on it.

SPEAKER_02 20:07

Oh my gosh, the other night I was laying in bed and still like I feel like such a jerk, but I just I just want Ryan to get my water right.

SPEAKER_01 20:15

And I you know what's so funny is I just re-watched our Petty Grievances one. I was like in my basement working out, and I had on the um I was the very first one we recorded video is that like Petty Grievances about our husband, and I was talking about like the cap, and Chris came down and he was standing behind me, and he was like chuckling, laughing. I'm like, it's not funny. Like, why is it right? Not figure out which way a water bottle should be screwed on.

SPEAKER_02 20:41

It's not even that it's like I've I've went past that because he's left-handed, so I'm like, whatever, he struggles, but this is a forever struggle. But like every time I'm like, I it's not a simple, it's not like a uh, it's such a simple ask. Uh-huh. I have just water, ice, two true orange packets. Oh, the recipe for your water single time. So I was like, hey, would you mind delightful? It's so good. I'm like, hey, would you mind terribly filling up my water? And he was like, sure. So he goes. Not only does he bring it back in Gianni's tumbler, the his Detroit Pistons thing, that I was like, he washed that himself. Oh my god. It's a three-step straw process. Right? Like sometimes I'll taste it and I'll be like, you didn't put ice. He's like, well, I didn't think you wanted ice. I'm like, every single time, water, ice, left uh orange.

SPEAKER_01 21:29

So then he brought it back to the back. It's already like filed in the bank.

SPEAKER_02 21:38

It's not it's not hard. Water, ice, two packets of true orange. The other night he brings me water, ice, and I was like, no orange. And he was like, You want it at night? I was like, I want it every time I take it. Trying so hard not to sound like a brat. But you made me think of it because I was like, not only did we bring it in a cup that our sun washed, that I'm not totally sure. I'm comfortable drinking comfortable.

SPEAKER_01 22:02

There's no orange to kill the bacteria. He just immediately tastes like a little bit of dish. So lip gloss. Or chapstick.

SPEAKER_02 22:11

Appreciated Gianni doing the dishes. Aww. The wonderful kid. But I was like, I just want my cup.

SPEAKER_01 22:16

Too many things. Too many things went wrong here. So many things went wrong. No, we were just he was laughing with me along to the episode. That's good. Yeah. This is like a calendar year ago, and probably still has not changed the way he puts my water bottle top on.

SPEAKER_02 22:30

This is funny to you.

SPEAKER_01 22:32

I was like, I'm glad we're all chuckling about this.

SPEAKER_02 22:34

Um, speaking of, I should have said this right after you were talking about it, but speaking of hotels and what they're doing wrong, can we talk about, and I'm sure we already have, but let's just shut down all the hotels. Why are there even hotels? They're gross. It's a gross idea. It's a it's a completely disgusting thing. We need we're gonna have to push back on this. We need better protocol. Like, why I don't want to sleep on a mattress that a stranger slept on, and there's no like What are the options? Just don't go.

SPEAKER_01 23:05

Because if you're gonna tell me Airbnb is preferable, no, I have issues with that works. I feel like depending on your experience, there's no like oversight there. Like, if you're just like, I just trusted you to wash your own towels before I came in here. I was gonna say it's more work because I do everything. Yeah. And like, I'm like, you didn't clean that vent. Like, uh, I just I have so many issues. I can look past a lot of. Well, I you have to, we had an episode about this too. You have to just you have to operate with delusion. But I do think like the only thing that could change.

SPEAKER_02 23:41

But when it was COVID, yeah, the protocol that they had when you had to travel during COVID, that like they would have signs, and this room has been disinfected. Still disinfected my own. Throw that.

SPEAKER_01 23:54

That was the same. They could throw that sign on or there.

SPEAKER_02 23:56

To me, it's like that should have always been and should continue to be some of the protocol we had during COVID, honestly. Like, even like with if you're preparing food in the kitchen, you should have a mask on. You should have a hairnet on. Like, there are protocols that I feel like I'm not saying, like, whatever. I know it's debatable whether or not it prevents diseases and people have different. It prevents a sneeze, you know what I'm saying? So, like, I just feel like there's certain stuff that like when I go to a hotel, I shouldn't have to wonder if the comforter was clean.

SPEAKER_01 24:25

Or you just assume it wasn't, and you get rid of that comforter immediately.

SPEAKER_02 24:29

Or isn't there some kind of spray after every single which I do, but after every single person comes in the room. Yeah. Spray the whole room. Bed bugs shouldn't even be a thing. Come go in there and do something.

SPEAKER_01 24:41

Make the mattresses, put there's gotta be some more protocol. No, it it does always gross me out to think about how the only thing between me and I'll say pillow because it's my face, the mattress of again, delusion. Also, you just accept some level of like, I can't think about this right now. But like me and that pillow, the only thing that has been changed out is like a thin sheet of cotton that's done nothing for like germs, dust, microorganisms. But this is why you just go like, uh gotta do it. But why can't there be a better protocol? I think we would pay astronomically for that, and nobody would be able to take any trips. Like, what would that be? I don't know, some kind of like uh pillow casing that's antimicrobial, and then they have to have a million of those to change them out. Like, I don't know. Or have the pillow itself. Or BYOP, like, which is another option. I could just be bringing my own pillow everywhere, you know.

SPEAKER_02 25:42

BYO PC. I bring my own pillowcase and then leave them. Like when we went to Mexico, just churn through pillowcases.

SPEAKER_01 25:50

Yeah, okay.

SPEAKER_02 25:50

Well, they were my mom's like old ones that she gave us. Sorry, mom. One of them was like from Michael's budget. They were like air move 30 years ago, right? But like I just keep a stash, or who cares? I'll go to Walmart and back to the stuff. Yeah, that's true. Pack them in my luggage, they take up no space. Yeah, and then I don't want to bring them back because then I'm bringing the germs back, so I just leave them in the hotel. You're welcome. I mean Mexico has a blue Paisley and I put it over theirs so that I'm like on double layer protection.

SPEAKER_01 26:20

I think that that's the most you can really do at this point because you can't not go anywhere. People do bring travel sheets. That's a lot. It's just so gross.

SPEAKER_02 26:28

Like, none of it like stop thinking about it. You can't not think about it.

SPEAKER_01 26:33

You have to trade in some of that for I'm gonna have an amazing experience in Mexico. Like, will you wipe your face with a towel at a at a hotel? No, I don't use the towels usually for my face. I'm saying I bring those dry face face cloth things that I talked about, like disposals, disposables, and then uh usually I put it like my hair in a towel, I use a body towel. Yeah, but I will inspect the towel. And if it looks like even off, like in color, I will use another towel. You can't think about it that hard. No, I just I just want to do that. I would never go anywhere. There's just gotta be better. And there's people who live like that, and it's sad. There's just gotta be a better protocol. There's probably. I just think that they would say, like, yeah, no, we can't do that much. It's gonna cost like an astronom astronomical amount of money to make all those changes, and then nobody will be able to travel. It feels like it already is astronomical. That's what I'm saying. Can you imagine if like hotel prices tripled or something? I would just be home. But they already went up, and it's not like they changed anything. I know. And I hate that they they during COVID, part of the opposite extreme was like, we are not sending housekeeping in here. Oh, see, I love that. But no change in pricing. Yeah. Do what do you mean? So, like, you just deal with all your own dirty crap and make your bed and stuff. It's not as if we were like, and for that reason, we will be taking off 10%. Or it was just like, no, we don't do house coving. No. And some places haven't come back from that. It was like a way that they could knock down that level of service where it's like, oh no, we do it every second or third day or whatever. And you're like, for what purpose? Because we were good on the COVID stuff. They were like mad at me. I was like, I don't know, no necessity. Like, I love eager housekeeping. Like you get in here. No, pick up all these wet towels from your shower that doesn't work properly. Stuff in my underwear. You imagine if I had to pick up all my own flood zone towels. I'd be furious. Um okay. I have a kind of heavy one. Oh. Are you in the mood for it? Sure. Uh, I just was listening to a podcast interview. I mean, it's not that heavy, and I think we're doing our part. There was a podcast interview I was listening to. It was so interesting because this guy wrote a whole book about the research that uh humans are talking less. And I was like, oh, that tricks. We're all like on our devices and stuff, but like over a 10 or 15 year span or something, like 30% less words in a day. So if you imagine yourself with like a pedometer, right? You wear your Fitbit and you see how many like steps or whatever.

SPEAKER_00 28:53

You say Fitbit? Fitbit. I didn't have so easy.

SPEAKER_01 28:59

But I couldn't think of a word. Apple watch. I think the Fitbits are so out of the way. Are they sure? Wow. They're still they're still out there. Yeah, probably. Whatever. A tracker. Okay. And you tracked the words that you spoke in a day. Like on average, it's like 30% less. And doesn't that feel crazy? Do you think you do? I don't think I do. No, I don't think I personally do. Okay, I was gonna say, I don't think that's awesome. I'm like, uh like uh an average, you know, big picture. I believe I actually think that they said there was not a significant difference between men and women. But the whole premise of his book was not about that, it was about how that is we're social creatures. Yeah, and it is so important. And even the interaction that you it was very interesting. I think I'm gonna get the book actually. I'm usually just like, yeah, it sounds interesting. Yeah, uh, it's about how we're social creatures and even the interactions you don't think you want to have, like those casual small talk, like uh you sit by somebody on a plane or you're in the grocery line. That stuff is so important that um people's like outcomes as far as like when you they did a study, like, don't do those things, do those things. People reported being happier after they had more of those, like sure, even if they were self-reporting as like introverted, or like, oh no, that's my nightmare to have like small talk and stuff. It was like, no, this is how we're created to like have these social interactions with people, and we're really doing ourselves a disservice with all the like yeah, I have my headphones in or don't talk to me. Like, it's not some scientist telling you like you should do this, it's like self-reported. Like, I was happier.

SPEAKER_02 30:32

No, I have a great example when I did that. I have a great example just at yoga. There was a girl, and we've been in class together now for you know, close, I think close to two years. And we always say hi, and you know, yada yada yada. And so we were in the weight room picking up our weights, and she paid me a nice compliment, and I was being self-deprecating. And I said, Thank you very much, you know, I appreciate it. And I said, I spent so long living in my body and not feeling uncomfortable, and I'm kind of kicking myself that I like spent those that many years. And she looked me in the eye, and again, I only just know her from like a casual interaction, and she said, No, you were building something else. You don't kick yourself for that. Your kids needed you in that time. Now is your time, you were building something else. There's nothing to be, and I was like, that it changed my whole thing.

SPEAKER_01 31:29

Like a very minimal reaction. This is you guys didn't have coffee and like make a new friendship, or you know, that's so important. Very small, and it was kind of sad because he was saying we're going in such a direction that like people are asking for, I actually think they're trying it out in like I don't remember, New York City, Boston, something silent cars in like the public transit and stuff because people want like, no, I want like I want my headphones in, I don't want to be bothered or whatever. And he was saying, like, what people need is the exact exact opposite. And actually, they used to exist to some extent, they were like bar carts where you would ride home from like public transit. Have you ever been on one of those? No, but it was like it was social hour, it wasn't about I'm sure the alcohol didn't hurt. No, I'm thinking of the alcohol. I was thinking about it. No, but I mean it was that, but it was people after work, like chatting at a table, like high-top tables with other people, and like I was like, I can't even fathom that. I was like, no, everybody gets on a plane and is like, I hope they don't talk to me, or you get on like a bus or something. I mean, we don't do truck public transit around here, but I feel like the worst case scenario is you're like, oh, I got a talker next to me. But like he was saying, like, that's literally you're making yourselves more unhappy. I'm just here to tell you that's not what the research says.

SPEAKER_02 32:40

And we are now so becoming so conditioned to it. Ryan and I just went out to eat um let this past weekend, and we went to a new restaurant, which means remind me to tell you about awesome experience, super great vibes. It was uh RH. You want to shout him out for our locals? RH rooftop in Birmingham. Okay, very good. Uh-huh. Um, but like the way we were seated, so he had made the reservation for four. Okay. Just at like, because it was automatically like in his like open table app or whatever. And but it was just meant to be for us too. Okay. So when we got there, he was parking. I walked in and they're like, Oh, table for four. And I said, Oh, actually, it's just for two. I didn't realize he did that. I'm like, you know, so feel free to do whatever you need. And they're like, Oh, yeah, that's great. I didn't realize the table was like connected. Oh, yeah. And so, like, we sat there and I put my purse down because I was like, they're not gonna put anybody else here, right? Like, based on how the table was, they totally did. And then the whole time we were like talking, but I was like, I feel like I need to like include them like for them to be so close and not be a part of like then it was just her. No one else ever came. I was sitting there thinking, this poor girl. She gets just a non-random person. Props to her, like, for taking herself out to such a nice restaurant, a nice piece of sandwich.

SPEAKER_01 33:53

Wasn't it like a she didn't wasn't expecting another person? No.

SPEAKER_02 33:56

Oh, I feel for her. For a while I thought there was, yeah, but then like, no, she was very comfortable with it. But like that made it even more because I was like, no, it's just you.

SPEAKER_01 34:04

If it was like another couple or whatever, they get their conversation going, you got yours. No, I felt like she was like listening to us shit, while yeah, she probably was.

SPEAKER_02 34:11

I was like, Do you want to give me some advertising situation?

SPEAKER_01 34:13

Like, oh my god. Can you imagine if she was just like, I just have to say this before I go. Seriously. If it were me, I probably would because I'm awkward. I'd be like, sorry to intrude having dinner with you guys. Right. Um, no, I just I feel like when you said, Do you think you do? No, 100%. No, I talk so much. Anybody in my family or circle. And clearly we're talkers, and that's what this whole thing is. But um, it is a little scary to think that that's something that's diminishing so 30% is nothing to like sneeze at. That's scary percentages. Not like, oh, 7% less words. I'd be like, eh, well, let me know when it's bigger. Well, like 30% over a I think it was like a 15 or 20 year study or something.

SPEAKER_02 34:52

Well, think about it. If you're even including like communication in like the workplace, spoken words, I think is what it was.

SPEAKER_01 34:58

So anytime you're texting, that's what I'm saying. None of that counts.

SPEAKER_02 35:01

Yeah, it's spoken like verbally using words. Back in the day when we didn't have all these different, like, you know, avenues or whatever, like, yeah, now we are probably talking less.

SPEAKER_03 35:11

Yeah, that's crazy.

SPEAKER_01 35:12

It's just kind of weird because you would never think about you think of all these like technology, how it impacts our life. I mean, I think we all have like a lot of concerns or complaints about like young people and technology, but then I was like, that's across the board too, so it's affecting everybody. I feel like it's just something to be aware of.

SPEAKER_02 35:27

Well, and what's an even weirder thought? Maybe look for little opportunities. Like, I should I should talk to somebody. That's funny that you're saying that at a time where I I'm wishing everybody would just shut off. Like, I know. So we're talking less, but I feel like I know more people's opinions than that.

SPEAKER_01 35:42

Well, because it's all technology. Yes, and that's not how we're about like built together. That's something to chew on. I mean, I just it made me kind of sad to be honest, because I think we all know that talking face to face or even hearing a voice over the phone is so much more like relationship building than any form of communication, like that's digital or whatever. So I don't know, it made me a little sad. But also, it did interest me. I might read the book and I will come back to you.

SPEAKER_02 36:10

Well if it's life-changing. Yeah, report back, and I'll counter your we're doing less of this with I'm seeing uh more slides. There was a girl slide actual slides. Oh, I was like slide decks, like a PowerPoint? No. There was a girl, I saw a video, she was in Barcelona going to a Sephora, and did you see this? No, no, no, no. The Sephora in Barcelona to get into the store, you have to slide down a slide. But it's an enclosed slide, and I'm like, that's my worst nightmare because it's a claustrophobic nightmare. I don't wanna, yeah, I'm claustrophobic. Also, I'm a grown woman. What am I doing, right? But I can't pass by a Sephora, you gotta go by. I would pass that one. I don't think I could.

SPEAKER_01 36:50

It's I'd have to give it back to the sedated fire hazard. Sedated the back push down the slide on a potato sack. Enclosed, like a water park slide. Why? To get a Sephora. What's happening there? There's gotta be what is going on. There's more slides popping up. I thought you meant like recreational. I do feel like I see like a lot of Instagram videos where people are like in Costa Rica or something, and they're like, oh, we're gonna do this giant slide through the jungle, and I'm like, nightmare. Nobody's checking those slides. No, no, no, no, no, no. No, thank you. Yeah, same. Oh, when you said slides, I was like slide decks, no presentations lately. No, actual slides. That would be a really I had no idea that they're more popular. That would that would be Also, it would 100% stop me from going into something. Maybe the husbands are building them. Like slides. That doesn't make sense for Sephora though.

SPEAKER_02 37:37

Tell me our our numbers are crashing. Like what? All the teeny boppers would be sliding on the slide.

SPEAKER_01 37:44

Like what grown adult wants to slide into the side. I mean, I just a little like levity and fun in my life, but I don't need to go down slides. No, no, it's a nightmare. I'm gonna Google that when we leave. Yeah. This is how old I am. I would like to tell you about we talked about our Fig Newton. Like, are we uh are those have those gone away? Are they only for old people? We just recently talked about birding because when we go on walks. Oh I saw Crane. So excited about Crane the Heron. Yes. And then I've also had a resurgence and realizing that Worthers originals exist and they're like my new favorite thing. Okay. Okay, I would like to propose to you that sometimes when you're like at the movies or you're somewhere and you want something sweet, and everybody's eating like gummy candy, and I would be like, Oh, I'll eat so many gummy fish in this movie. If I have like a couple Withers in my pocket, like an old man, I love it for myself. Caramel, delicious, sweet, maybe 25 calories. I don't even know. Do love a worthers.

SPEAKER_00 38:44

I love hard candy again.

SPEAKER_02 38:46

I couldn't do it over gummy. Oh, I'd be like, but I could do Bob's, the Bob's puffy mints that Aria sneaks me from the bathroom washer. She's always like, I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 38:54

There's mints that are like they melt in your mouth. I could do those over gummy. I was saying, I don't love mint stuff. For me, mint tastes like I brushed my teeth. It's not dessert to me. Yeah. But like a caramel candy. And the reason I'm saying this is because I was like, Why are you there? I'm really in a new faithful life. Like I carry worders. So I was at church camp this summer. Gotta keep an eye on that. With you? No, listen to this. Listen to how cool I am. And I was sitting next to my sister-in-law who is 10 years my senior. And then I was sitting with another adorable girl who is maybe five to ten years older than me. And I like kind of like under my breath whispered to my sister-in-law, I'm like, you want like a butterscotch man? Like, I have butterscotches. And she's like, I have cinnamon candies. And then I kid you not, the other girl turned around and she was like, I have like uh cappuccino flavored candies. And we all like traded candies. Nobody gave me any candies. I'm sorry, you were sitting with us. But I felt so validated. Was I late? Listen, you just get to a stage of your life where you just want a little hard candy in your purse. And it made me feel so sane. And honestly, her coffee candies were delicious. And I was like, I should have now I should find coffee candies.

SPEAKER_02 40:01

I would probably do a coffee one.

SPEAKER_01 40:03

Whole person thing. Yes. But like I love it. And worthers are delicious. Tic-tacks. I would do tic-tac. Oh man, get out of the mint world. What are you doing? That's they have fruit tic-tacs. It tastes like you're doing something you're supposed to do. You're eating a mint to make your breath fresh for somebody else. No. Eat a caramel. This is for you. The fruit. Oh, fruity tic-tacks. I can eat that whole thing. I don't think I like those. No? We have different candy preferences. I do. I mean, I like a worker. I just feel like it feels like uh it's more indulgent, like you're eating chocolate or something. Yeah. But I I'm not gonna listen, any hard candy. This is the era I'm in. Uh, okay, I feel that. I'm not even embarrassed about it because there's younger people walking around out there with hard candy. Cool young people with tattoos, and they have hard candies in their purse too. Alright. I'd rather have a tattoo, probably.

SPEAKER_03 40:52

No, I you can do both.

SPEAKER_01 40:53

This is the thing. You can do both.

SPEAKER_02 40:54

You can be cool enough for a tattoo and carry around cinnamon mints. I do like a um a Werthers, but I probably I would like the coffee one.

SPEAKER_01 41:03

I have to hide them from my kids.

SPEAKER_02 41:04

I feel like I used to carry the coffee ones in middle school. Oh, that's really weird. Yeah. We were carrying hard candy around in middle school. All the girls with the turtle. Coffee flavor. With the turtle backpacks, had the lip smackers and the co and the Werthers like.

SPEAKER_01 41:16

The coffee candy is screaming like old Sicilian to me. No, they all have the coffee packs. If you had like now and later or something, taffy in your pocket. Yeah. Okay. I I just I'm unashamed that I'm in my old lady candy burning era. I support you. It's bringing me a lot of joy right now.

SPEAKER_02 41:35

Uh, I have discovered something that has brought me a lot of excitement in my life, and I'm gonna test it out and I'm gonna let you know, but I have high hopes. Okay. I not only have ordered a crepe maker.

SPEAKER_01 41:48

Oh, it's so funny you said that. Did you order one? No, I almost got one for the birthday party. The France, the night imperial. Yes, because it's all over my Instagram because I was searching for French things. Okay, mine just randomly. I got really targeted like the crepe maker.

SPEAKER_02 42:00

We were searching for crepe makers. I was like, why is this on my feed? I need this. Because we eat so many crepes in Mexico. I do love crepes. Oh my gosh. And they had like savory ones, they had sweet ones. Yeah. So I was like, I'm gonna just be busting out crepes. I haven't made them since it arrived, but oh, it didn't come yet. It did. Okay. I just haven't made them since it's arrived.

SPEAKER_01 42:18

But the one thing that I'm very excited about for clarification, you got the one where you like dip it in the batter and then it just drops off like a dream and it's a perfect crepe.

SPEAKER_02 42:27

So it looks like a tennis racket.

SPEAKER_01 42:29

Yes. Like it's just like this, but like. And honestly, making a crepe crepe from scratch is a nightmare. Yes. Okay, continue.

SPEAKER_02 42:35

We want to make sure we were thinking about the same thing. Yep. Okay, go. So I'm excited about that. But I got a tortilla press.

SPEAKER_01 42:42

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 42:42

Not for tortillas. Okay. For chicken cutlets.

SPEAKER_01 42:46

Oh, I just saw that too. See. Wow, I really do think our uh our algorithms are like listening to us right now. It's upstairs in my kitchen. I am so excited about it. Do you?

SPEAKER_02 42:57

A super heavy one.

SPEAKER_01 42:58

I have spent I bought it for tortillas and it has you it's been used zero times for tortillas.

SPEAKER_02 43:03

I make chicken cutlets weekly. Yeah. I have spent so much of my life pounding chicken cutlets to get them to the perfect thinness. I'm really curious to hear about the outcome of both of those ventures. You put a uh man, I'm like banging this table a lot today. You put a Ziploc bag down to kind of protect the grass. You want stuff squeezing out of it.

SPEAKER_01 43:23

And I mean, they're just making it seem like it's just like. I know. I'm very curious to see if that's actually how it goes. Because I mine's in my basement, that's how little I use it. And I just saw it and I was like, oh, that would be worth like hauling it upstairs and keeping it in my kitchen for. Yeah. But I don't know. I feel like it could be like the magic of TikTok where it's just like actually just mangling your chicken breast too. Or maybe there's like a trick to it.

SPEAKER_02 43:44

Well, and did you see the one um trick from the one uh she's a she is Sicilian, funny enough. Rita. She like cooks a ton of showed me. Okay. I don't like follower, but I feel like you've showed me some of her recipes. I made several of her recipes, and we like love all of them. But she had like a trick where instead, because like you know, when you make chicken cutlets, I'm either buying the chicken scalapini already done for me but still pounding it, or I'm buying breasts and like cutting them in third. Yeah, so you're sharpening your knife, you're gonna be sketchy, and then you still gotta really pound those more than the scallopini. But um, she takes the chicken breast and cuts it lengthwise, like a like almost like your own tender. Yeah, so it's very small. Okay, and then you put it in your tortilla press, and you actually can get more out, like you can get more cutlets out of a breast cutting it that way. Alright, skinny, long and skinny, long and skinny, but you press it or pound it. She didn't even do that, she made it so easy that when she was putting it in the layers, like breading them, she was just pressing it down really firm. Yeah, which is still labor-intensive. I feel like my mom used to do that. Yeah, like she would literally press it when she was like bread crumbing it.

SPEAKER_01 44:52

Yeah, then you would just like do it with the press. So I'm very invested in the outcome of both of those because I they almost had me with the crepe maker. Yeah. And then I was like, I'll do a crepe bar. And because again, we just had a little Francy birthday party. But then I was like, oh, it sounds like a nice. You're still making a ton of those. And it's like on demand, it's like making pancakes for a crowd. You're like, hold on, I'll have three ready in a minute. I was like, that don't feel like that's party conducive. Yeah. But I'm not gonna lie, it was definitely like but if they just fall off the crepe maker, I could be busting them out.

SPEAKER_02 45:21

That's why I bought my warming tray because I lost my warming drawer in my oven, so I bought like a big glass warming tray specifically for pancakes. Like pancakes and stuff.

SPEAKER_01 45:30

Yeah, yeah, because there's just no way to crank them out. Yeah, and then everybody gets a hot pancake. Yeah. All right, I'm very invested.

SPEAKER_02 45:37

Let me know. That's all I got. I didn't mean to get that in the weeds about chicken collets, but I'm really excited.

SPEAKER_00 45:43

I actually feel like that was pretty short for us.

SPEAKER_01 45:45

Yeah, I feel like jammy egg went a lot longer. I mean, we can really get in the weeds on some of this. Still talk about jammy eggs any day. Jammy eggs. Um, yeah, okay. Well, thanks for chatting it up again.

SPEAKER_02 45:57

Yeah. Thanks for stopping by and listening to our uh ramblings.

unknown 46:02

And yeah.

SPEAKER_01 46:03

We'll see you later. All right, bye everyone.