Do We Love ... Downloads

548 downloads in 18 weeks might not sound flashy, but to us it’s proof that real people are pressing play and sticking around. We start by celebrating the win, then immediately run into the reality of showing up when life is loud and my voice literally isn’t. From cancelled travel plans to forced quiet, we talk about choosing health, protecting your energy, and letting “rest” count as progress.

Then we get into the oddly relatable habit of asking questions when you already know the answer. Are we looking for confirmation, permission, or just hoping someone will tell us what we want to hear? That theme rolls right into podcast social media management, including the time Zia blocked the wrong person and why we now have a strict division of labor for Instagram comments. If you’ve ever tried to grow a podcast online without losing your mind, you’ll get practical (and funny) takeaways about roles, tone, and restraint.

Of course, we can’t leave without our five-minute loves that never stay five minutes: soda freestyle picks, a fantasy condiment machine, planning vs winging it, and a full Easter candy debate featuring Peeps, Cadbury eggs, and the classic chocolate bunny question. We also share what’s coming next for Autism Awareness Month, including a guest who’s close to our hearts and has stories you won’t want to miss.

Subscribe so you don’t miss next week, share this with a friend who loves a good hot take, and leave a review if our chaos makes your day a little better.

Notice there is a Jersey Devil but not a Jersey Angel

Transcript

Celebrating 500 Plus Downloads

Heather 0:24

Good morning. 18.

Zia 0:27

18. Amazes me every time we say these things.

Heather 0:30

It really does. My voice is coming back a little bit. I've been on silent mode all week. I cry. I know. We had to do our meeting via text this week. It was hard. Yeah. But today's episode is called Do We Love Downloads. Downloads.

Zia 0:52

Why do we love downloads? See? Oh man, we hit over 500 downloads. I think you said this morning were 548.

Heather 1:01

548 downloads. Over 18 episodes. Yep. It was 18 weeks. Amazing. Amazing. I'm so excited. I'm so grateful to every person who's listened.

Zia 1:16

Yep. Just proves that you like us a little bit. You'll want to know what we're doing. Want to know what we're doing, you nosy peoples. No. We love that for you.

Losing Your Voice And Slowing Down

Heather 1:28

We love it. I'm stuck with my throat lost engers today. My minivose. I got the mic up close so that yeah. I can we don't have to yell about it.

Zia 1:40

Yeah. Yeah. No, not supposed to laugh. Nope. Oh, that's so hard when we talk.

Heather 1:46

Really is. I am sad. I know. You're supposed to be in New York right now.

Zia 1:54

I was too.

Heather 1:55

I know. But health is more important. Absolutely.

Zia 2:00

Gotta feel better.

Heather 2:02

Exactly. So this weekend, I was coming out to New York for our little friend Izzy. Um she has one of her after-school programs that she goes to as a fun thing that they do with the middle schoolers, and they teach them meal prep. So they start with a meal, they start from planning it, setting the table all the way through cleanup. Yeah. And she did in sixth grade, seventh grade, and she's in eighth grader this year. So this is technically the last year she can do it. And this year they were doing breakfast for dinner. And unfortunately, due to circumstances out of everyone's control, ended up canceling it last week. So the silver lining in it is that I'm not there because if I was there, I wouldn't be restraining my voice. I would be talking and chatting. Absolutely. Visiting so the pro of it is that I get to stay home and rest my voice for the podcast this morning and then go back to not talking this afternoon. Yeah. Yeah. Her grandma and grandma, you, Eliza, Allie.

Zia 3:16

And we have the list goes on and on. And we were planning something for that little special after school.

Heather 3:23

So we're gonna have to work something else next time I come out between you and me. It's up to Gram about working out a different arrangement. And grandma's on board for whatever we want to do.

Cancelled New York Trip And Silver Linings

Zia 3:36

Okay, good.

Heather 3:37

So we can work something out when I come out next time. Okay. Yeah, I know. It's okay.

Zia 3:45

It's okay.

Heather 3:46

Yeah.

Zia 3:47

I'd rather you feel better.

Heather 3:49

I was gonna say that. My our our health is way more important. And we've been trying to do that.

Zia 3:54

Yeah, we've been trying to do that like all along, is you know, like yesterday I was very proud of myself too. We were at work and someone said, Um, I I they had a play at school and I forgot my shirt. And um, the girls were like, Oh, go home get your shirt, just go home get your shirt. And I'm like, No, I'm not rushing around, I'm not rushing around for a shirt. I'll wear it on Monday or whatever, but I'm not rushing around because I forgot a shirt. Um it's just so I was very proud that I restrained myself to be like, no, I don't have to have it. Just because you, I mean, I always do that just because you have it doesn't mean I need it. Um lack of planning isn't my emergency, and you did it to yourself.

Heather 4:39

My lack of planning wasn't my own emergency.

Zia 4:41

No, so I'm like not gonna do it. I'm sitting here in the shirt I chose, and actually, the reason I chose that shirt was because I have a couple fourth graders that are like, Missy, it's not that we don't like you in the color black. We're not saying that you don't look lovely in black, but we do suggest you wear a little bit more color. Still making you wear color a couple weeks ago. A whole week, so yeah, was it two weeks? I'm trying, I'm trying, and I wore a lavender shirt yesterday that I had gotten in Las Vegas, and they were all like, Oh my god, oh my god, you're doing it! Yeah, yeah, lavender. I wore lavender, yep, yep, not purple, my lavender, yep. You like the purples, I like the light, light, light lavenders. Yeah, no, I'm shocked, yes, yeah, and um, so I you know, and it's funny because I do have a couple colored shirts that I have worn. Um, I guess they just don't remember um, you know, that I wear it because I wear the black jacket hoodie.

Heather 5:49

I still wear it today because yeah, you're in and out of the building, you're running around, yeah. So you could wear a lot of stuff, but you have to hoodly.

Zia 5:59

Yep, yeah. Nobody knows what I have underneath my hoodie. I'm like a weird, like uh, I don't know, not Spider-Man. I can't be Spider-Man. I don't know. Who wears a hood? I don't know. Who wears a hood? I don't know. But yeah. Oh Superman, yeah. Then I gotta take my my jacket off. I'll stick with that one. I love Superman. That's good. I'll take Superman. I need the sun, I need the sun, yeah. Perfect, good, love it.

Refusing To Rush For Small Things

Heather 6:35

So yes, that's just another topic we were talking about. It does.

Zia 6:41

Uh, do you ever have asked to you, or do you ask a question to anyone around you that you already know the answer to, or ask a question to someone that you may say, I'm hoping for a different answer, or you expect a different answer?

Heather 7:01

Um, well, I mean, I can go superficial and say when I went to the doctor this week for my voice again, yeah, I knew they were gonna tell me to stop talking. Right. But it did ask the question, so does this mean I shouldn't talk again? Right. Bushing and hoping that the answer was oh, be your chatty self. Yeah. Um, but no, for real. Um I know when I'm talking to children, the aunties either know the answer I'm looking for or know the concept of the answer that I'm looking for. Right. Um but that just comes from working in a school district. Right, absolutely. But I think talking to adults, I'm gonna say there's a lot of adults that I do that with. Um simply because I either want clarification that I'm right, or they did the bait because I know you're wrong.

Zia 8:06

Right. Yep. But I also feel like if like I know with you, certain questions I don't even have to ask you, I just go get it or do it because I know what you're gonna say anyway, or what you would want to have done. Okay. So, like with me, example, people come to me, you know my personality, you know how I am. I I really don't change, nor have I think I ever changed. Those that know me know that I'm not gonna change my answer, and they know exactly what I do in life, like they know my life pattern. So that's not gonna change. So if you come to me and you ask me something, other people are gonna recognize that that was a stupid question to ask me because you know what I do. And I do it not only at work, I do it home, I do it wherever my life takes me. So it's kind of odd for people to come up to me and be like, you know, hey, uh, do you drink Coke? Yeah, what? Coke? Do you drink Coke? Yeah, you want a Pepsi? Yeah, you know, that's kind of like a that would be like a really stupid question to ask me. And it was it was really cute because I was listening, you know, we listen to the pod sometimes too. And I was listening to when Star was on, and she brought up that I should take a cocaine with me. And I was like, holy crap, how did I not fucking do that ever? Right, and then she's like, she knew my routine of what I was saying because I could hear her in the background going, yep, yep, that's exactly what she says. So I do not change. My goodness, she could have probably told you what I say in the restaurant, yeah.

Heather 10:02

I mean, I could probably tell you what you're gonna say at the restaurant. Absolutely, absolutely. Sometimes I think people are insecure about something or are lacking confidence in something.

Zia 10:21

Well, that lack of confidence can't be with us, though. It can't be like there's if you're a friend of mine or you know us, you can't have that lack of confidence.

Heather 10:31

Oh, I'm referring, I'm referring to you're right. No, what I'm referring to is John down the street comes up and asks you to help him with something, or asks you, are you planning on doing tomatoes in your garden? Obviously, you're doing tomatoes, you do tomatoes every year. Obviously, that's an example. Yeah, yeah. But I think maybe Tom's lack of confidence is making him ask you to confirm you're doing this. Not my problem. Not your problem. I don't disagree. But I think when people do that, not everybody and not every time, but in the situation that I know you're speaking of, yeah, I think that person was questioning the situation as a whole and maybe was overwhelmed and needed your confidence to guide them. Not that I'm defending because not that I'm defending people asking essentially stupid questions, right? Because I do agree that there are no technical stupid questions. Yeah. I think that falls under a confidence question. Yeah, not my problem. Which is why I deal with the social media. You do not.

Asking Questions You Already Know

Zia 12:05

Did we ever tell that story about Rich? Uh, I don't know. Tell it. Go ahead. All right. So we first started our podcast and everything, and I think what we called one of our first ones, uh, it was like something to do with Star Wars, right? New Hope, right? So someone which I didn't have the phone number or any contact with says, Oh, you guys are busted. This is like, you know, sanctioned to just Star Wars and they're gonna sue you and da-da-da. I blocked the person right away. I blocked this person, right? Not knowing who it was. Not only blocked them, but you turned off all comments. Yes, that too. So uh Heather goes, Hey, did you just block somebody? And I was like, Yes, I did. And she's like, Well, that was rich. And I was like, Well, I have no content. Our producer, right? Our producer, right? And um, I was like, oh my god, I was like, well, say nice things, and then that is when I said, Z, I love you, and if we're gonna do this for real and we're gonna have a social media presence, you are not allowed to speak on social media unless I give you permission.

Heather 13:27

Right. So I do all the posting and all of the commenting. Zia does all of the hashtagging and flagging of everything.

Zia 13:38

Yeah, and Heather does yeah, Heather does let me um post because I post a couple of times, you know. Yeah, but I just don't reply to you guys. I don't reply to you guys.

Heather 13:52

And that's it.

Zia 13:53

Yes, I heart you your comments. I can heart the comments, and that is all I do for you people. I you know I really like your comment if there's a heart next to it.

Heather 14:03

Yes, and if there's only a heart from me, oh a comment from me, know that I am speaking to the nice side of Zia. Yes, yes, there you go.

Zia 14:18

Yeah, that's why we work out because hey, I'm a Capricorn, I I don't know what to say. That truth bubble.

Heather 14:26

Did I send you the meme about the about the astrological signs in order of which?

Zia 14:37

No, oh yeah, we're always on the top. They do those all the time.

Heather 14:42

They went due to number two, Scorpio number one. Yep, corn.

Zia 14:50

Did I send that to you? It must not have. I got another one you sent me, and Capricorn was on the top again, like being serious or a grumpy, or we're always on the top of that stuff, being too motherly, you know, wants things in order, who likes their money the best. It's always us, you know, jealous and you know, ready to kill you. I don't know. That's me. I don't know that that jealousy one that didn't make sense because I was on the top of that one too, and I am not. I yeah, I don't agree with that.

Heather 15:24

Jealous, I'm a FOMO, I'm not jealous.

Zia 15:28

I guess that can come across as jealousy, yeah, but it's not jealousy, but you're very close to me with Aries. So my cousin Barb is tacked right with me too. That's great. And then I got my Eliza way down here at the bottom, just happy, loving life, yeah, yeah. She's a cancer, was she cancer? No, yeah, right. Yep, yep. And it's funny because she's my my cousin, my other cousin was a cancer, and uh oh god, uh not totally not an Eliza, just the bane of like uh you just want to smack her. Eliza's a cancer Leo cusp. Oh, that might be why she's got that cute Leo stuff, yeah. She's got Charlie. Charlie's a Leo.

Heather 16:14

Charlie's a Leo. Yeah, no, I think of that when we started talking about social media, I was like, no, yeah, oh my goodness. Yeah, Z is not allowed to post. No, she's allowed to comment with permissions.

Zia 16:27

Yep, yep. I'm like, Heather, can I say that? Yeah, that's great. That's a good one, Z.

Heather 16:35

Yeah, it's funny.

Zia 16:37

I can swear, I can swear with nice things too. Yeah, except last week. Oh my gosh.

Heather 16:48

All right. Facts are facts. Facts are facts. I'm very happy. You know what? At least we know ourselves well enough to know hey that can't post.

Zia 17:01

Can't, no, no. I love you guys, but yeah, so not the safest on the internet.

Heather 17:08

No. So just remember if you ever post to us or comment to us or message us, it's me and sometimes Rich who responding to acknowledge it.

Zia 17:19

Yeah, yeah. Z is not allowed. Yeah, if you want a direct quote from me, I'm happy to provide that.

Heather 17:26

And and I will I will unleash you. Thank you. I will I will message you and be like, Zia, come check the Instagram. Yeah, I'm gonna sit back and put my hand again again. Others like, God bless you.

The Social Media Blocking Incident

Zia 17:48

So speaking along those lines, um, when it rains, it pours. So uh it does. Things come in threes, it's always a three thing. Uh so yeah, so we're just you know, that it just seems like even though you want to say things like that don't happen, it does happen that way.

Heather 18:09

Yeah, yeah. Um, what was our three?

Zia 18:12

I don't remember what our three things were now though. Um, well, like we were talking about, like when I was younger, we had like I had like three deaths. So it was like my grandmother passed away, then it was uh three months after that her mom passed away, and then six months out from November, my grandfather passed away. So it always seems like things come in threes. Or if you hear, like sometimes at the school, I'll hear someone's so-and-so passed away, like father-in-law or mother-in-law, whatever. Yep. Uh-oh. I got you. Yeah. Um, somebody will sit there and, you know, you'll hear if in family somebody passed away. So then it's like three of them happen, or like my car broke down, my car broke down, my car broke down. Or, you know, those kinds of things. Or if you'll you'll call me and you'll be like, oh, I had such a bad headache, or I wasn't feeling good, and then I'm like, oh my God, so and so is not feeling good, and so and so is not feeling good. Yeah, and it seems to be the same um like crisis, like it's always the same. Same type of crisis. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, or like I'm I'm close to you and I'm close to Tony, my friend Tony. So uh usually if she's like we we let each other know things because it's like um her family and my family seem to have the same medical, like broken bone kind of crises. Um yeah, or like her, she like if her dishwasher goes, she's like, I'm having problems with my dishwasher. Just watch my gosh, I have problems with my dishwasher. Yeah, so it's like those those types of things, like we we know that those things are on the same playing level of our families. So we just kind of say to each other, hey, uh watch out, you know. I mean, if I have a broken bone or I have a surgery coming up, I usually tell her because her husband usually has surgery or broken bone the same time I do. It's very weird. Yep.

Heather 20:17

Oh, I remember what our threes were. Husband, husband.

Zia 20:21

Oh, yes, right. So, you know, things happen with mine than yours, and then it's like, what the heck is happening? Yeah, um, yeah, so it it's just those that three line of welcome to my world now, or welcome to what I just went through, or yeah. Yep, it's very strange, but it does happen more often than not. And is it I don't feel like it's superstition either. I think it's something that actually is put out there with who you're close with around the world. I was gonna say that I feel like that is a provable wives tale.

Heather 20:58

Yeah, I think that's one of the provable ones, but total subject change. Um, speaking of Tony, your friend, she's my friend. I haven't known her quite as long, but we are friendly with each other. Yeah, she was at her other job, and Eliza went in. Oh she saw Eliza's name and she goes, Are you Heather Whitfield's daughter? Oh and Eliza goes, Yeah.

Zia 21:25

She's like, and so they had a conversation at the cute, and I love that they have like those people, you know, that know them.

Heather 21:37

Yep, yeah, yeah. So I thought that was really cool. I had to go, I don't know, she said she had to renew her card. Yeah, actually, I have to do that too. I have my card here in Northwood.

Zia 21:52

So I don't get to the library other than if I go see Tony. That's it. I go in and like a couple of years ago, I brought her coffee and then I went out. I just seem to see people I know when I go to the library, and then is it really enjoyable? No.

Heather 22:10

Which is why we had to change our Starbucks, remember? That's right. Yep. We used to go to the one inside of one of the price choppers. Yep. And we saw too many people we knew. So then we went to the price chart. Oh, then we went to the actual Starbucks. Yep. And it was easier because the only ones that we saw there were just the high schoolers getting out and they don't want to talk to us either. So no, no, no, no. Before we get to our five-minute loves, yes, really funny story to tell you. Yes, go ahead. So, as you know, last week we went and met baby Charlie. Yes, yes. Speaking of which, forgot to ask if I could post a picture of me holding him.

Zia 22:55

Oh.

Heather 22:55

So I will message them, and if I can, I'll get it to you to do the post. But um while we were sitting there hanging out all day, Vince, who has given us five-minute loves before, yeah, and all of that, asked me, goes, So what is a five-minute love? I love that. So Eliza and Alec were there and they both laughed. And Eliza explained what our five-minute loves are supposed to be, and then pointed out that we don't do that. And then I pointed out that we don't do that because we can't just answer yes or no. We have to explain our yes or no. Right. And like we like to go against the grain. Exactly. So Vince just thought that was very funny and decided that he likes our version of hot topics. I love it. But he's like, I love it. So what exactly is it? I gave one, but I'm not sure if I did it right. That's great. Because remember, I think that was the Philly New Jersey.

Zia 24:13

Yep. And I feel like that's why people are kind of like they know what it is, they think they know what it is, and they're probably correct.

Heather 24:23

But because we'll take whatever you give us as a five-minute love and turn it into a five-minute love. And yeah, yeah.

Zia 24:32

I mean, so with that, I don't have a paper. Our producer's gonna get annoyed. You gotta get a yeah, you're gonna get a post-it note, thank you.

Heather 24:43

I too um, I I'm out of them, so I've got a big five subject notebook now. All right, you ready? Yep. 24 35.

Zia 24:54

All right, ready? Start us. All right, so Eliza said when you do a tick, tick, tick. Oh, tick tock, tick to tick. Tick tock, tick tock. Well, I'm changing the time. Um, so Eliza said that when soda has make your own choices, what do you pick? Cherry, zero sugar, coke. So if it's the Coke one, which typically they are. I don't think I've ever seen one for pups. No, no, no, it's because Coke's the best. Sorry. Um uh I usually get either the uh vanilla coke, not that you can't buy it, but it does taste different coming from the machine. They do have a raspberry sometimes.

Heather 25:48

I've never had that one.

Zia 25:49

Yeah, so it's the coke and raspberry, delicious. Yep. Okay, yep, those are my two picks.

Heather 25:56

And then now and then I'll do the ginger rails. Oh, I really do like ginger ale, so every now and then I'll go do like a like a peach ginger ale or uh yeah, a gym ginger rails are good, but typically it's just cherry zero coke.

Zia 26:12

Yeah, I know sometimes they have um I feel like because it was uh the peach color, I feel like that was peach they had one time, and that was delicious. The cherry or the coke peach. Oh yeah, yeah.

Heather 26:27

But every now and then I'll take a Coke, you know, one of my zero cokes, yeah, and I'll take the maraschino cherry juice and I'll just put a couple of drops. Delicious.

When It Rains It Pours

Zia 26:38

Yep. I just gave um my granddaughters their first taste of the maraschino cherries fresh from the jar, and we made your own Sundays last weekend, and so I put them out and she's like, uh another one, like sure. Yep, another one.

Heather 26:56

So Eliza. Sorry, Eliza, when Eliza graduated kindergarten, she wanted to go to Friendlies for her dinner, so we went to Friendlies and we got whatever we got, and then she wanted a Sunday, so she's you know, five. So she asked for chocolate ice cream with 30 to 50 cherries. Oh, delicious. I kid you not, in Troy, the Hoosick Street friendlies, the lady brought her a bowl of ice cream and a bowl of maraschino cherries. Delicious. And this girl sat there and ate her maraschino cherries and her chocolate ice cream.

Zia 27:40

That is like a delicious combo. I had the chocolate with the maraschino cherries. Yep, exactly. I mean, girl was living her best. Oh delicious.

Heather 27:50

She also has part two to the make your own soda, yeah.

Zia 27:53

If there was a condiment machine like the soda, what would you pick?

Heather 28:01

Well, I love Chick-fil-A sauce. Okay, I love McDonald's sweet and sour, and I love Asian duck sauce. I love Asian, yeah. So but I also love mayonnaise and ketchup mixed and mustard. Like when you mix all three of those, yeah.

Zia 28:26

So I yeah, a little thousand island taste, a little bit, yeah.

Heather 28:32

Minus the minus the dill.

Zia 28:35

You know, so Alex always teases me that I need a thousand island drip machine in my kitchen. And when we went to Jersey for the um pop-up for Jay and Silent Bob's movies, um, we were eating the burger, and he goes, Is Thousand Island dressing a Jersey thing? Because it's in here, and I don't know what it usually is on a lot of stuff we like, you know. Like I mean, the Rubens, they got Thousand Island dressing on it. Yeah, so I was like, uh, I don't know, but I always have to have Thousand Island dressing in the house. Like if I run out, I put it on my wings, my hot wings.

Heather 29:22

Yeah, that's good actually. I haven't done that in a long time. I'm typically a blue cheeser on my wings, but it has to be chunky blue cheese.

Zia 29:31

Absolutely, yes.

Heather 29:32

Love that chunky one.

Zia 29:34

Oh wow, yes, yes, you have to have the blue cheese in the blue cheese. Um dressing and I, we go, it's on everything. I don't know why, um, but that's a thing. Um, and I always like my Golden's mustard. I I can't do without that one. Old fashioned, good.

Heather 29:55

Do you know what I love to make? I take Golden's mustard and honey and mix it and make honey mustard. That's better than any store-bought honey mustard. Honey mustard. Anyway, I'm gonna try that. That sounds hygious. You have to figure out the mixture because it takes a while. Um, I used to wait a year, you'll get my honey, and then I'll put it with that.

Running Into People At The Library

Zia 30:20

That'll be my first time doing it. Okay. Yeah, I will wait. I'll wait. I'll wait. That's good enough to wait. Yeah. Um, so like I I used to like the French's mustard. Um, but then pine's ketchup is our favorite ketchup. So then we actually started buying their brand of a yellow mustard. Oh, little bit more vinegary taste. Okay. So I love vinegar. That is you know, do the golden yeah. That so on my hot dog, usually Zach and I look for I have to have that in the summer for our hot dogs. Yeah, we have to have the golden mustard, gotta um naked. What teeth's hot dogs naked? No, yes, uh, I don't understand it. We were also talking about uh it is kind of an Italian thing where you have the mustard sandwiches. So my grandfather used to get you know the hoagie rolls and fresh baked, put the mustard on it, and we would just sit out back and have mustard sandwiches. We did mustard or ketchup, yeah, yep. Not gonna lie. Yep, delicious. Oh, I used to make uh just mayonnaise too. We like a lot of mayonnaise in this house. Yep, it's good.

Heather 31:46

Yeah, but you see, Vince, this is how the five-minute loves can't just be yes or no's.

Zia 31:50

Yeah, because this is a whole condiment conversation, whole condiment conversation, exactly. You think it's five minutes and we love it, exactly. All right, so the next one.

Heather 32:02

Do you pre-plan as much as you can, or do you wing it?

Zia 32:10

Zia the control freak? Uh you wing it all. I wing it all. Could you could you imagine?

Heather 32:19

Oh my god, I cannot imagine a world when you wing it all.

Zia 32:26

That would be a scary ass world. You're like, what is Zia doing? What is Zia doing? Um, yeah, I pre-plan everything to the T. Um, I I have had my Easter cooking list preset like the beginning of March. Like beginning of March, I was like, oh my god, Easter is coming soon. Wait, Easter's gonna be here, right? Um, so yeah, I've had my grocery list set, times of cooking, days of cooking. Uh, so we're gonna go with that. I pre-plan everything.

Heather 33:08

You before I answer it, I'm gonna add to that question. Do you pre-plan for emergencies? I do. I do.

What Even Is A Five Minute Love

Zia 33:19

I have I have so many emergencies in my head. Also, like like if something could happen on the could happen, that emergency is probably already pre-planned, also. It was tickling my neck. I'm sorry. Yeah, or or if you like, even when I'm driving, I'm crossing a bridge, I try to tend to stay in the closest lane to everybody else, even if it's two lanes, or I go in the middle, because if I go in the right one, I'm off the side of the bridge and I'm in the water first.

Heather 33:53

Yeah, so I have to then you're at the bottom because everybody's gonna fall on you. They plan everything. Tin bridge flashbacks. Yes, yeah, this is like bridge.

Zia 34:06

Yeah, I just um that's how my brain works. I can't stop it.

Heather 34:11

So again, control freak. Yeah, I pre-plan everything and I pre-plan contingencies. Yeah. Um except I'm working on allowing Rich to pre-plan. Okay. It's not going well.

Zia 34:32

I'm working on it. Um Michael plans our trips. You know, he's the trip planner. Like if we go somewhere, he plans the trips. I don't have to do that. I'll spend the three weeks, you know, packing, but I won't do it. Wherever he says, yeah, wherever he says, yeah.

Soda Mixes And Condiment Dreams

Heather 34:52

So I'm the trip planner, but yeah, when it comes to getting there, I let Rich do it.

Zia 35:01

Okay.

Heather 35:04

I like to drive, but he likes to drive. And whatever. If you want to drive, every now and then I'll kick in my heels and be like, no, I want to drive. Or I want to, you know, drive the control of this. But most of the time I just let him go when it comes to that kind of stuff.

Zia 35:23

Yeah, I always let Michael drive too. Like I, you know, I'll fall asleep. You know, I have to really trust you to fall asleep in the car, but yeah.

Heather 35:32

My part of my thing is just that being a single mom for so long, I didn't drive in. I didn't have the ability to do that. So now that I get to be the passenger princess, I kinda I kinda like that. But don't tell Rich.

Zia 35:47

Yeah, yeah. He's he's our producer.

Heather 35:51

Oh well. All right. Well, don't tell our product. Well, we'll tell our producer, but we won't tell Rich. Okay, okay, perfect. Sounds good.

Zia 36:02

I like that.

Heather 36:03

That's funny. And the wing it about winging it. Um, if I trust you as a person and you say, let's do something, I can wing it. Like if I'm with you and you have something planned for us and I don't know exactly what it is, I'm good. I trust you. I know whatever you got going, I'm okay with. Um, but the winging it is hard. Um a lot of that though comes with my mental health.

Zia 36:33

Right.

Heather 36:33

Right.

Zia 36:34

But some of our little outings, we've had to wing it.

Heather 36:41

Yeah.

Zia 36:42

Because we have tried to go to that um garage sale or flea market like six, seven times, and we haven't been able to make it because they they're they say they're gonna be there, and then I don't it's not even inclement weather. It we they just are not open when we get there. It's not there, and yeah, and then we we've had to do other things and plan our day accordingly. Right.

Heather 37:04

So yeah, but the last couple of times we tried that, we had we planned it that if they aren't there, let's do.

Zia 37:11

Right. That's true. That is true. So I guess we can wing it.

Heather 37:15

Never mind. No, but I mean, but you're right. I mean, I feel like when we're together, we can wing it. As long as one of us can take control and figure it out, we let the other one do it. Yep, yep, yep, yep. And I feel like I could do that with people I trust. There's a few I can easily do that with.

Zia 37:35

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Heather 37:37

So that brings us to our last five-minute love.

Zia 37:40

Yeah. You brought this one up. I did. I love my Easter. So Easter candy in general, you know, Cadbury eggs, etc. Do you love them, hate them? What flavor of peeps do you like? I mean, there's so many questions, but Easter's coming, so let's talk about candy.

Heather 37:57

So yeah, cadberry eggs. Yeah, I like them. I like the old original cream-filled cadberry eggs. Caramel ones are good, but give me an old-fashioned buck buck buck from the bunny.

Zia 38:13

Yeah, yeah, I don't like them. I know you don't. Yeah, I don't like them. Just something too sugary for me in the middle with just a thin chocolate thing. I don't know. I just it's too much in the middle to have.

Heather 38:29

You break it open, you lick out all the sugar in the middle, and then you eat the chocolate.

Zia 38:34

No, thank you. Michael loves them, my daughter-in-law loves them. I think I think even Star likes them. Alex, I don't know. I've never really bought them for Alex. Um they have those tiny ones too. I could probably do the tiny ones now.

Heather 38:50

I don't it's funny because the tiny ones I don't like.

Zia 38:53

Oh, see? Makes sense. Makes sense.

Heather 38:57

Yeah.

Zia 38:58

So what's your Easter candy? I love my peeps. Oh, you too. I love my peeps. Uh my my mom Karen and I used to like stab them with the fork. So I get a little bit hard, and they'd be like, Yeah. Um, I do love my I it's Cadbury eggs, but they're the hard-shelled ones. The chocolate. The chocolate.

Heather 39:21

So you know what we used to call them when I was a kid? What? We used to call them Easter footballs. Oh.

Zia 39:30

Yeah, okay. I don't know why, but that's what we call them as a kid. Yeah, and um, there is a meme going around about how um if you eat a whole pack of them, it has so much protein in it. So people are like, so I could eat this whole pack and then just have my protein. That's great. Love it. For some reason, you're missing out on the diabetic end of that. Yeah, I wouldn't do that. No, no, no. I would not do that.

Heather 39:59

So for peeps, I like peeps in quantity. Okay, okay. Come Easter, give me a package of peeps, I'll eat them, and then I don't want them again. Yep.

Zia 40:12

I'm good. Yep, yep. So, what do you like? You like the bunnies or do you like the little chicks, the peeps? They have to be the chicks, yeah. Me too. I love the chicks. Yep. Yep. I buy the kids like different flavors. Like I've gotten Zach the Dr. Pepper ones. Um I think I yeah, I think I got Leon one time. Uh, they were like Sour Patch Kids flavor. Um, so I try to match their Alex likes the cotton candy ones. So I try to match their fancy. I did not know there were that many flavors of peeps. Oh, there is like watermelon and Zach and I like the ones that are like the original peep dipped in chocolate. The bottom is chocolate. So good. So good. Yep. You gotta get on this peep thing. Yep, you gotta get on the peep thing, ma'am. So, what kind of a bunny do you get? Like a chocolate bunny. Um, well, we don't really get too many chocolate bunnies anymore. Um, I always have put in the kids' basket a chocolate cross. Yep. Um, so I did that for the babies this time. Um but there were certain kids in the household that didn't like vanilla chocolate or the white chocolate. They only liked the the uh white uh was it milk chocolate? So I always had to do that to make sure who's getting the white chocolate compared to the you know milk chocolate. I like the white chocolate crosses in the bunny form. I like the white chocolate. Yeah, white chocolate crosses were the best. Yep. I don't know if it was the like the accessibility of how to eat it that made it good, or I I totally agree with that. That's weird.

Heather 41:59

I don't know why. The white chocolate crosses are the best.

Zia 42:03

That is true, yeah. That is true, yeah. Yeah, um, I'm not sure. Have you ever so when you were younger, did you get more of a solid bunny or did you get a hollow bunny?

Heather 42:19

I think we always got the hollow bunny with the solid ears. Yep. Yep, yep. And my I can remember when I was a kid, my grandma used to eat the ears first because she said the bunny didn't want to hear her eating the rest of him.

Zia 42:41

That's so funny. Well, I have this card here that I look at all the time, and Star bought it for me a long time ago, and it says it's two snakes, okay? And one snake has the middle of his body shaped as a bunny rabbit, and the one snake said, Did you eat my chocolate bunny? And the guy goes, Nope. And he's clearly got the chocolate. I will take a picture of yes, you need to, and it's so funny. I have it sitting next to my desk forever because she just was like, I had to get this for you because it's so funny. And I look at that card. Yeah, I look at that card more often than not because it makes me happy. And then inside, when I open the card, it's the little bunny with the you know, the little chocolate inside him shape, and he's just sitting there looking at everybody like, What? What did I do? What are you talking about? Yeah, I don't know what I did. You're silly. I just ate some chocolate.

Heather 43:45

So so before we wrap up, yes, not only did we hit more than 500 listens in 18 weeks, we have an exciting new thing we're gonna do next month. Um, and we're gonna kick it off next week, which is before the month, but always add to it. So next month is Autism Awareness Month.

Zia 44:10

It is.

Heather 44:11

And we are both very involved in Autism Awareness Month. We are for different reasons, yeah, but we are very involved in it. And so next week, my nephew, Johnny, um, which is Nikki's son, is gonna join us on the podcast.

Zia 44:34

Yeah, and he's actually one of our fans.

Heather 44:37

He is one of our big fans.

Zia 44:39

Yeah.

Heather 44:40

Um, I'm gonna go down to their house in New York. I'm gonna hang out with them for a day, and then we're gonna record. Um, we're actually gonna record Friday morning because that's the start of spring break. And actually, and we do start that is April, so we got right into it with that. It really is. Um, and he's gonna tell us some stories about how he took all of our family pets and turned them into a YouTube, uh, not a YouTube, I'm sorry, turned them into the story of the Lion King. I love it. And it is it was such a great story. I it was amazing to watch him do it. Um and then he and his father do those synchronized Christmas lights that play to the music. And he helps his father um puts them all out, and he and his father coordinate it, pick the songs, love it, and do all that.

Zia 45:37

Um, he's got some other stuff he's gonna talk to us about. Yeah, and then he'll be involved with our five-minute loves that aren't five-minute loves.

Heather 45:46

Correct. Yeah, I'm hoping he's got one or two. Maybe he'll have something.

Zia 45:50

Yeah. Um we'll do one excited. We'll have to do one with him for megablocks or Legos, and I know what the answer is gonna be to that.

Heather 46:02

Probably. I know he's a big uh Power Ranger guy.

Zia 46:07

Oh wow, we should have Leon on with him.

Heather 46:10

Oh, yeah, that's right. I forgot about that. Yeah, he loves the Power Rangers, he did talk about that, but anyway, so I'm super excited that we're gonna start off um Autism Awareness Month with Johnny. Absolutely. Um, Johnny is the best guy I know. I love Johnny. Um, so I'm super excited for him to be on with us next week and hopefully have more of a voice.

Zia 46:35

Yes, absolutely. It is coming back. We'll have more uh texting meetings to take care of that, and then uh we can it's hard. I felt like I was ignoring you because I was trying to leave you alone. Oh, and I was like, oh my god, I feel like I'm ignoring her. I had I had to talk to Allie.

Heather 46:52

I had a dentist issue, and her mom is a hygienist, she's a listener, and she works for an orthodontist. And I went to a new dentist here, and um it was completely different than any dentist I've ever seen in New York. Yeah, and I'm talking like so different. And I had so much wrong that I didn't know I had going on. Not that it was wrong, I just had more stuff going on than I thought I did. Absolutely. Um, so I texted her and I'm like, oh my gosh, this dentist is like blowing my mind. And she's like, what's going on? And I'm like, I can't talk, but you have to call me because it was way too much to text. So we had like a 10-minute conversation, and we're like, okay, I got it out, I hang up now. We hung up, but I think that was literally oh, and I called um Naomi, Isabella's Izzy's grandma to talk about not coming out. Other than that, I had doctor appointment conversations and that's it. So it was hard, hard week. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But it's coming back, so yeah, just more rest. Yeah, working on it.

Zia 48:05

But with all that, I'll let you close us out. Absolutely. Thank you guys for joining us for episode 18. Do we love downloads and keep them going? We do we do love you guys, even though I can't respond to you guys. I do love you. Have a good wonderful weekend, yes, bye guys.