Welcome to Issue #258 of My Monday Memo
by Rachel Brandes
Quote of the Week
“A cat’s purr, for me, is the simplest form of meditation and the best stressbuster.”
– Joanna Lumley, British actress
Today is Monday, May 5, 2025
Click the National Day below to link to the meaning.
Happily Ever After
https://www.everafterphotographypnw.com/
Ever After Photography PNW is owned and operated by photographer extraordinaire, Mira Nachtigall. Mira specializes in birth, maternity, and newborn photography.
Random Photo of the Week
What are you seeing? On the left is a sports car that appears to have crashed. On the right, look closely and you will find that car in the photo. This was a fun find while Rachel was out on a walk.
Feline Tomfoolery
with Brady & Belichick
- Brady– Why is there a beautiful, fluffy dog in our section this week?
- Belichick– That is Nemesis the Samoyed, remember her? She’s been in the My Monday Memo before.
- Brady– Oh, right. She is mom’s walking buddy, well Nemesis and her mom, Kasa.
- Belichick– She sure is pretty. I would be her friend. From a distance. Only because I am scared of my own tail and can only be near you, Brady. And that is sometimes questionable.
- Brady– Well, she may be pretty, but this is MY, uh, our, section. How dare a dog try to take it over.
- Belichick– Simmer down, Brady. I see you pouting down there.
Pouting Brady
Brady & Belichick are Rachel’s adorable felines. Brady is a short hair and very dominant and athletic, much like his namesake (Forever Patriots). Belichick, aka Belichick, the long hair, was the runt of their litter and is much more passive, until provoked. These two cute boys turned two on May 4, 2025.
Mental Health Minute
“It’s okay to not be okay.” – Unknown
May is National Mental Health Awareness Month
Let’s Talk Breathwork
Have you ever experienced the ability to alter your circumstances by simply changing your breathing? Rachel learned the importance of breathwork many years ago (two natural childbirths). With her life-long anxiety issues, she tends to turn to breathwork to calm herself in situations quite often and wanted to learn more. She found this great little book of breathing techniques, which she recommends to anyone interested in finding a bit of calm.
There are several sections within the book, each with several different techniques for differing scenarios. Sections include:
- Breathwork Beginnings
- Breath Practices
- Psychological Self
- Spiritual Self
- Breathwork Interventions
Below is a peek inside of the book. Each open page is a different topic and breathing exercise. Hopefully this photo comes through well enough to zoom in and give it a read.
An ’80 Ladies’ Birthday Lunch
Pictured LT to RT: Jackie, Janice, Carole, Kyungja and Rachel after enjoying lunch at Anthony’s at Point Defiance.
Rachel has this fantastic group of friends that she met back in 2018 while taking a Zumba class at the local YMCA. The group of ladies would meet for coffee from time to time until a couple of years ago when they began meeting up for birthday lunches. Last week they enjoyed lunch on the water at Anthony’s at Point Defiance to celebrate Kyungja’s April birthday. You wouldn’t know it from looking at the beautiful and young at heart ladies, but each of them is in their 80s. This is where the ’80 ladies’ name comes from. Rachel is always amazed by their lives and youthful spirits. They certainly do give her hope for what longevity can look like.
Last Month at Orangetheory Fitness…
April? Did April already happen? Time is flying by this year, and April at Orangetheory Fitness (OTF) was no exception. As always, there were plenty of fun specialty classes and benchmarks mixed in throughout the month and a few theme days, courtesy of the head coach, Coach Christine. Let’s take a look at how it went.
The 200-Meter Row Benchmark
This is a fun one, the 200-meter row benchmark is a fast benchmark, quick torture if you will. You get two shots at it during the class to try to beat yourself, too. Coached by Coach Blake (pictured below, bottom right), this class was a good one. Rachel was so close to a personal record (PR) landing at 36.51 seconds. Her PR is 36:15. Maybe next time.
Orange Everest
This benchmark challenge is by far Rachel’s favorite benchmark of all time because it makes her challenge herself the most. Coached by Coach Katie M, this one is a 23-minute climb on the treadmill with distance as the goal. Rachel’s has been chasing her PR of 2.02 miles since July 2024. She hasn’t quite gotten back there. Yet. This time she made it 1.86 miles. Not too shabby.
The 12-Minute Tread Benchmark
This one is another challenging benchmark having to run for 12 minutes and accumulate as much distance as possible. Coached by Coach Christine, this one tends to mess with Rachel’s head. Start too fast and never recover, start too slow and just miss the mark on your goal time. She didn’t quite hit her goal of beating her PR of 1.42 miles but got very close at 1.37 miles. A tweak in the strategy next time and she will have it.
The DRI TRI – Sprint Version
When the spring DRI TRI came around, Rachel wasn’t sure about participating. During this event you row 2,000 meters, do 300 body exercises and then to the treadmill for a 5k (3.1 miles). The goal, do it as quickly as you are able. She participated in the event twice in 2024 and did pretty well with a PR the second time of 46:36 minutes. That is a long time to work as hard as you can. She wasn’t sure if she was up for it this year, mentally.
She is far too competitive with herself though and had to participate, but this time she would try the sprint version of the event. Half of everything. Start on the rower for 1,000 meters, then the weight floor for 150 body weight exercises and the treadmill for 1.55 miles. That would be doable. Her goal was to finish in at least half the time of her PR from the full DRI TRI. She would need to finish in 23:18 minutes to meet that goal.
So close… The event was challenging and was just as tough as she anticipated, just the way she likes it. She was surrounded with fantastic people. Friends Andrea and Brittany, and new friend Alvin were all there to give it a go and did amazing, as were plenty of others. Andrea brought mimosas for after the event, which everyone enjoyed. Coaches Marcus, Blake and Katie O were all there to cheer members on, as was the studio manager, Bryce.
Pictured Above LT to RT: Andrea, Alvin, Rachel and Brittany enjoying their post-event mimosas.
A big shout out to OTF staff member, Molly, who was there that day, she cheered members on throughout and gave major inspiration to the group. Each time she passed by Rachel and gave her encouragement, it boosted Rachel’s energy. Thank you, Molly, for being your awesome self.
There they are below, the DRI TRI Sprinters in all their glory. What a fun group of people. The studio decorations were also pretty great, and the swag, better than any before with that foam roller (pictured above, with a Brady photo bomb). The handwritten card was the perfect touch. Coaches and staff had prewritten notes to each participant. This was an A+ idea, thanks, Coach Christine, for your creativity and dedication.
The icing on the cake that day was being asked by Coach Katie O to keep her daughter, Shay, company during the full DRI TRI event (just before the sprint) so that she could help with the full. Yes, please. Shay is one of the cutest and well-behaved toddlers Rachel has ever seen and was excited to get to hang out with her.
Shay helped keep Rachel’s nerves down prior to her event and gave her plenty of joy. Shay and Rachel were caught on video while Shay was cheering on the participants of the first event.
A-D-O-R-A-B-L-E!
Dear May… May you give us all the strength to survive you and exceed all expectations.
Brady & Belichick Turn Two
Rachel’s cuties turned two this past weekend, May the 4th to be exact. It’s been a ride these last two years and is still loads of fun, most of the time.
Brady… Outgoing, daring, cuddly (he likes to spoon in bed). This big guy (compared to his brother) is now weighing in at just under 12 pounds. He is solid muscle, except for that little belly pouch that likes to wiggle to-and-fro. His full name, Brady Wilfork Snugglebum, suits this cuddly guy very well.
Belichick… The runt of their litter. This little guy is holding strong at 10.2 pounds. He’s short and stout and looks like a miniature cat next to his brother. His long hair is usually disheveled but he’s getting much better at grooming himself. He’s skittish and shy. He still can’t figure out how to cover his poop in the box but gives the best headbutts. His full name, Belichick McDaniels Runtzilla suits him well, as he tends to resemble Godzilla when he sits up.
Of course there were treats involved, Brady and Belichick got a new Ahi Tuna treat and Rachel enjoyed a birthday treat in honor of her kitties, the Lemon Earl Grey cupcake from Wanna Cupcake in University Place, Washington. Yummy. If you want to feel your mouth water, check out their menu, better yet, if you live close by, get yourself one of these delicious treats today. Click on this link to see the menu: Cupcakes — Wanna Cupcake.
Happy Birthday to Brady and Belichick, and until next time, be well.
