Welcome to Issue #269
by Rachel Brandes
Quote of the Week
“Dare to be brave. Move out of your old house and leave everything behind to start anew. You’ll be surprised at the great things life will have in store for you.”
– Unknown
Feline Tomfoolery
with Brady & Belichick
Dear Humans,
Is it possible that we are more than halfway through the year? The human has been stressing us out lately with all of her döstädning. The more she purges, the more we feel unsettled. At least she still makes a point to play with us. Now that we have so much more room in the apartment, she even rolls around on the floor with us. The way she is purging things… it’s almost like she’s planning to move us out-of-state.
Wait, she is moving us. Soon. To the Beehive State. Utah. We realize our human brother, Alec, lives there but we don’t like all of this recent activity and change. She’s even testing out sedation drugs from our doctor in an attempt to makes things easier. Oh, we meant for us, but she definitely has her own.
Utah, here we come, six weeks to go.
Much Love, Brady & Belichick
Brady & Belichick are Rachel’s adorable felines. These two cute boys turned two on May 4, 2025.
Random Photo of the Week
Hello, sir, would you hold still and pose for a photo? This guy was working hard in a friend’s flower garden when Rachel got up close and personal to take this shot.
Mental Health Minute
International Self Care Day
This Thursday, July 24, 2025, is International Self Care Day. How many times have you heard ‘put your own mask on first,’ right? Rachel thinks this is important to remember. She reminds herself of this and tries to always take care of herself first so that she can be her best self for others.
What will you do to celebrate yourself? It could be something simple or something big. It doesn’t even have to be on Thursday. Just be sure to do something nice for yourself, whatever that may look like. Rachel is thinking a gentle yoga class might just do the trick for her.
Sunday FunDay RunDay
with Tacoma Run Club
The last two weeks with Tacoma Run Club have been as fun as ever, and very well attended. Rachel continues to enjoy meeting new people each week and getting to keep up with their efforts on Strava.
iFLY Indoor Skydiving
A Weightless Adventure
Pictured Above, LT to RT: Rachel, Bill, Angeline and Josh, preflight.
This Looks Familiar
For regular readers of My Monday Memo, this may look familiar. Back in October of 2024, Rachel was working on a list of 24 things to try that she had never done before, and indoor skydiving was on the list. She had jumped out of a real plane back in 2006 but once was enough for that experience. You can read more about her last indoor skydiving experience in issue 229, link is below.
Pictured Above: Rachel suited up for her flight in October 2024.
The Flight Instructor
On Rachel’s last visit to iFLY, her flight instructor was Dylan, who did a fantastic job in providing a great experience. For this experience, Jordan would run the show. Rachel knew right away after meeting Jordan that it would be a fun experience. His quick wit and fun personality would be the perfect combination for this group of friends, not to mention he’s taken around 1100 jumps from an airplane, as well as teaching in the tunnel here at iFLY.
Pictured Above: Yep, Jordan is one of those people… The fun ones that take their own picture with your camera when you think they are taking your picture. Gotta love it.
The Crew
Joining Rachel for this indoor skydiving adventure were friends Bill, Angeline and Josh. These three are no strangers to the issues of My Monday Memo, as they have shared many an adventure together with Rachel.
The four had originally planned on paddle boarding on this morning but Rachel wanted warmer weather for paddle boarding and already had a crew pass for iFLY. So, with a crew and a crew pass, why not? All were in agreement, and they set off for Tukwila, Washington, a 35-minute drive from Tacoma.
Pictured Above, LT to RT: Another preflight photo of the crew, Bill, Rachel, Flight Instructor Jordan, Angeline and Josh.
Let’s Get High
They had ten flights to use between them and Rachel opted to only use one flight to give the others three each. Having done this before, she was more excited to see her friends have fun with something new. Judging from the photos below, it looks like Rachel may have struggled to keep herself in a relaxed position more so than the others.
Pictured top to bottom below: Josh, Bill, Angeline and Rachel.
The Wind Tunnel Show
Featuring…
Angeline – The Swanky One
Josh – The Adept Jumper
Bill – The Shoe Aficionado
Rachel – The Cat Lady
Where To Try iFLY?
Too easy, click the link below to find a location near you (United States or Canada).
Pictured Above, LT to RT: Bill, Rachel, Josh and Angeline doing their best to become a promo photo for iFLY.
Photo Fun
Having a little fun while coming down from their ‘high.’ Thanks to Jordan for the fun experience and thanks to Angeline, Josh and Bill for once again joining Rachel on an adventure.
To Jordan, if you are reading this, you will know you ranked just as high as Dylan. Well done, but next time you pay for the photos. To everyone else, thank you for reading My Monday Memo and until next time, be well.
