Two Noras and a Mic
Oh hello! We’re Nora and Nora and we’re glad you’re here!
From parenting and local faves to current trends and recipes, we are two Noras discussing it all with a whole lot of laughter along the way. As we raise our families in the west suburbs of Chicago we invite you to listen weekly as we dish about all the highs and lows and ridiculous amount of tomfoolery that ensue on this journey. Follow us wherever you get your podcasts as we check out new local spots, interview all sorts of interesting people, and catch up with each other! It’s like inviting two friends over to visit and catch up with without all the hassle of getting ready for company. Leave the entertaining to us and be sure to tune in for a new episode each Monday.
Two Noras and a Mic
Oodles of Pools and the most Disgusting Chip Ever
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We kick off by unpacking Denmark’s approved name lists and the cultural logic behind banned or protected names. It’s part language, part legacy, part gatekeeping. We share the odd, the sensible, and the eyebrow-raising examples. From there, we shift to a case that rattles any listener with a heartbeat: a young woman pronounced dead, later found alive at a funeral home. The term “Lazarus syndrome” surfaces as a legal defense, and we explore what’s rare but real, how errors unfold, and what accountability looks like when systems fail.
We recalibrate with a list of America’s favorite franchise restaurant brands—sweet surprises and coffee-led loyalties included—and then dive headfirst into a taste test catastrophe. “Old hot dog dust” becomes the phrase of the day as a $1.99 bag of novelty chips teaches a harsh lesson about product development and common sense. Beauty talk follows with “slugging,” the petroleum jelly seal that promises glow while threatening pillowcases everywhere; we trade practical tips and harmless skepticism without the hype.
Finally, we wade into pools: childhood swim teams, community pool realities, adult pool party etiquette, and the modern twist of renting private pools by the hour through Swimply. It’s equal parts nostalgia and negotiation—about safety, cleanliness, time, and what counts as summer joy.
We wrap with personal highs and lows: a printer saga that turns into a small win, neighborly saves that make a week easier, and the pure delight of communion dress shopping.
Hit play for a smart, warm, sometimes messy tour through the rules we live by, the risks we navigate, and the comforts we chase. If this episode made you think or laugh, subscribe, share it with a friend, and leave a quick review—we read every one.
New Listeners And Shoutouts
SPEAKER_01Hi, thanks for joining us today.
SPEAKER_04It's Nora. And Nora. To all of you out there, welcome to the podcast. Yes, welcome, welcome. Thanks for joining us. We had a very big week when looking at our numbers.
SPEAKER_01So just pulling them. So if you're new to the pod, and I'm sure a few of you may be, uh, welcome.
SPEAKER_04We're really going strong. Yeah, so thanks for telling a friend. Thank you to everybody. And I don't know where this is, Nora, but N Sensi Gaio Gigi Do. They were listening to us quite a bit. Fantastic. And welcome. Yeah, there are new listeners from there, new listeners in South Dakota. Do they call that Sodak? So I wonder if they call it soda. Anyway.
Denmark’s Baby Name Law Explained
SPEAKER_04Speaking of last week, Nora, we were talking about Denmark. This is now our third week in a row talking about Denmark. This happened to us when we were talking about moose. Moose. Yeah. We got a real moose track. Ha ha. Oh, that's funny. But because we've been talking about Denmark, we've also last week talked about baby names. And now two worlds have collided. Is there a new Danish name? Well, in Denmark, they have their there was a law enacted in 1904 that your child's name needs to be on an approved list of names. And that if it's not, you have to send it an application. Like a request? Yes. And so they there are 23,000 boy names on this list, 28,000 girl names, and then 1,500 names that could go for boys or girls.
SPEAKER_01Okay, so gender neutral.
SPEAKER_04Yes. Like, for example, the name Storm, it took 20 years to get that name approved to be on the approved list, and now it's in their top 50. But they do have some names that are banned. So what can't you name your child? So they had one, two, three, four, five, six. The one, the first one, I don't really know how to pronounce it. J A Here you write it down. J A K O B P. Jacob. Jacob. Jacob. Just Jacob with a P? Jacob. But then why is that banned? Maybe that you just can't spell it that way? Jacob. Jacob. No, just instead of Jacob, Jacob. But why do you think that's banned? Maybe because of the spelling? I don't know. Because then there's also Ashley, what's spelled A-S-H-L-E-I-Y. Well they stu they ban that because that's dumb. But then the other ones are Bebop. Also dumb. Anus. Pluto and Monkey. Which tells me that people were trying to name their child that. That's why it's on the no-go list.
SPEAKER_01These people should thank the group is in charge. And perhaps the United States should look at something like this so that we don't have children named Six Seven.
SPEAKER_04That's what I was thinking. Yeah. Six Seven should be. Oh my God.
SPEAKER_01But what makes those people in charge of being like yes or no?
SPEAKER_04So in the article, it went a little deeper to say that Danish last names are protected. And it kind of stemmed from a snobby reason where people with kind of old school, like old money Danish names, it'd almost be like the American equivalent to like Vanderbilt or Carnegie. They didn't want people using their esteemed last name as a first name. As a first name. Okay. So they were, it was a little bit of like, you can't name your child Bjorn Bjorn. Like, because that's our family name. And that's how they said it today. Yes, that's my Danish episode. That's great. That's great. Never heard a better one. But uh it was updated in 2006, but they have a feeling it might be they might get rid of it soon. Oh. But the best news, what? Guess what name was in the top 10 for girls? Nora?
SPEAKER_01Yes! I don't know. Don't she do you want people being Denmark? Yeah, sure. Oh yeah, guess who cares? Cool for Denmark. Danish Nora.
SPEAKER_04Danish Nora.
SPEAKER_01Do you know any Danes named Nora?
SPEAKER_04I don't. I only know my brother-in-law who's a Dane. And my nieces now are Danish. Mogensons.
SPEAKER_02Ah, yes.
SPEAKER_04So when they were just when they were there recently, a couple people started talking to my niece. They thought she was Danish. And she was like, oopsie. Oh man, I'm switching gears. Please.
Banned Names And Cultural Guardrails
SPEAKER_04Harsh. It wouldn't be our podcast if we did. There is no national segue.
SPEAKER_02Dude, this is a horrific story that I want to tell. Oh no.
SPEAKER_04There is nothing to do with monkeys. There is nothing funny about this story. This is not funny. Okay, I'm not laughing. This is a terrible story about a 20-year-old girl who was unfortunately found alive in a body bag at the funeral home. What? In 2020.
unknownOh.
SPEAKER_01Now I know it sounds like old news. Yes. But paramedics responded to the call and the doctor deemed her dead on the phone, so nobody actually examined her. So they put her in the bag and she went to wherever. And when they unzipped the bag, she was in fact gasping for air.
SPEAKER_04Stop it. So it went to court. Could she not speak? She did have cerebral policy. Oh, bless her heart. But I don't know if she could speak or not. Okay. Fair. But again, not fun. So she sued them. Yes. Fair. Okay. But the paramedics are using Lazarus syndrome as their defense. They're like, she was dead, and it's a miracle. And I guess Lazarus syndrome is a thing?
SPEAKER_01No, it is not. I mean, it was a thing in the Bible. Yes.
SPEAKER_04But it was, yeah, a thing that they were saying. She this does happen, where people, even after they've tried to revive them, come back to life on their own. Damn.
SPEAKER_01But it didn't really pan out too well for the paramedics. Yeah.
SPEAKER_04They were like, nope.
SPEAKER_01They eventually settled this week, which is a long time.
SPEAKER_02Oh my gosh, this poor girl.
SPEAKER_04This girl's since passed. Yeah. But the family did receive $3.25 million. Okay.
SPEAKER_01So but can you please imagine? Well, that job in and of itself.
SPEAKER_04To be a paramedic?
SPEAKER_01No, to like be unzipping the bag.
SPEAKER_04Like whether it's at the moral that. Poor Undertaker had a fright of their life. I would think that's one of those, like, at the next like mortician conference, they're like, and here's John to talk about his experience. He lived all of our worst nightmare.
SPEAKER_01I would think there would be next mortician contest conference for John. I think he would switch professions.
SPEAKER_04Oh my goodness. I and the poor woman stuck in that. I know not knowing
A Shocking Lazarus Syndrome Lawsuit
SPEAKER_04what went wrong. Yeah. And then, like, I'm not claustrophobic, but the thought, like, I don't like crawl spaces. Like, if I watch movies and people are like, we'll go through the air ducts. I'm like, nope, I would just stay and be shot. Like, I wouldn't, I'm not going to I'm not going in an air duct. I don't like a tight space either. No. So to be in that bag, and I would imagine there's not like they didn't make them with like a zipper on the inside. No, I mean like an escape problem. Yeah, like there's not that's not a feature that they thought about.
SPEAKER_01No. So, anyways, that's just wanted to share that because I've been thinking about it since I read it.
SPEAKER_04And her poor family. They're like, she's our our daughter is dead. Oh no. Psych. I mean, that's um great news. Yeah, I think so. But guess who's back? Back again.
SPEAKER_02Guess who's back?
SPEAKER_04Oh. Goodness, the poor thing. Should I change this subject? Okay. So these two companies work together. Technomic and the nation's restaurant news voted on America's favorite food brand. Okay, but it's not what you're thinking. It's like the America's favorite, what does it call it? Franchise. America's not like time. Yeah, it's not like craft or anything like that. America's favorite brand of franchised restaurants. Like McDonald's?
SPEAKER_01I mean, not McDonald's.
SPEAKER_04Yes, but yeah. And I will tell you, you've I have only heard of three of four of them, four out of the ten. And number one might surprise you. Is In and Out on there? It is not. And number one was Nothing Bunt Cakes. Really? Two years in a row. Wow. Americans have a sweet steak. Crumble on there? No. Oh. So it's Ruth Chris Steakhouse was number one. And then Nothing Bunt Kate bumped them. So number 10, Capitol Grill. Oh, so these are like chain restaurants. Yes. Okay. And then Carabas. Oh yeah. Okay, I've heard of. And then I haven't heard of this. The chicken salad chick. No, that's a cute name. So they just serve chicken salad. And then Ruth Chris's Dutch Brothers Coffee. I don't think I've ever been to a Dutch Brothers coffee. I've never even heard of it. Honey baked ham. I guess I've heard of that. But a scooter's coffee.
SPEAKER_01Never heard of Scooter's coffee.
SPEAKER_04And then brew drive-thru. Three coffees? Yeah. Three coffee places, a chicken place. I don't know. I'd like to vote on that because then you'd get to go around all the places. Oh, that would be fun to test it all out. But what I was excited about, I didn't realize nothing bun cakes was started by two moms. And I think they worked well Spargo. No way. I think so. And they now have 800 stores in the United States. That made me really happy. I do like those cakes. I do too. They're yummy. I don't know. Kind of forget about them though sometimes.
SPEAKER_01Speaking of food, I do have a taste experience for us today. And would you okay? So I know you don't like a flavored chip. So I already kind of know where we stand with this. Do you want to know the flavor and then we'll taste it and see if we can if it matches?
SPEAKER_04No, maybe we'll just give it to me and I'll be surprised. Okay, you have a glass of water. I do that. Okay. Because I'm afraid if you tell me what it is, you're not gonna want to. Is it pickles though? No, okay. When I do that to you, okay.
SPEAKER_01Just thinking I do want to say, this isn't a hint, but this is just something I think your husband will like cheese.
SPEAKER_04Okay. Is it ham salad? Smells like hamsters. Al gave up hamsters. He's not eating them anymore. They're bad for his blood sugar. I don't want to touch your chip. I'm not worried about that.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I'm over here.
SPEAKER_04What? I have to put him over here. Okay. Okay, I'm did you see it? No, I just see the word. Why does it smell? You have to try it too. Oh, I will.
SPEAKER_02It smells worse, though. Jesus Mary's if the dog got one.
SPEAKER_03Your dog throws up from this chair. I'm not eating it. It just smells. She spit it out. Oh no.
SPEAKER_02It smells like hers.
SPEAKER_03Did you try one? You have to eat it too. Why was mine so big? Oh no.
SPEAKER_04It smells
America’s Favorite Franchise Brands
SPEAKER_04like paper bags.
SPEAKER_02It's very furry. Oh, this is rotten.
SPEAKER_03I don't know what's in here, but it's gotta be better.
SPEAKER_02It's worse. This is the worst thing I've ever had. It tastes like old hot dogs. No. Old hot dogs taste different than new hot dogs. Can I please have one piece? Oh my god. It made my eyes water. What is it? What is it supposed to be? Um, I gave you a hint that I thought your husband might like them.
SPEAKER_04Pigs in a blanket. Oh my god. Who makes these writing them a letter? Kroger. Ah, Kroger. Oh my god, Nora. So this might come as a shocker that they were on sale for $1.99. But your husband makes a darn good He does hang in a blanket. And I know you don't like a seasoned or flavored chip, but I do know you like pigs in a blanket. I do. So I kind of went for it. I've never smelled a worse-smelling chip. Yeah, that is the worst chip I've ever had in my whole life. Same. Why? This is not a champion chip collection. It is not. No. It really was horrible. Yeah. And I'm curious why they thought that people want that. I'm curious. Why wouldn't you just either make pigs in a blanket or have a hot dog?
SPEAKER_01Get the warm, buttery, smoky taste of pigs in a blanket. No oven needed. Just pure game day bliss. I would like to know food that tasting. Do you Yucca score that? Oh God, no, it's in the negative. Your phone would just explode.
SPEAKER_04But really, like there was a test team that all sat around the boardroom and was like, Yep, yes, that's a win. It's not like one person was like, I made these chips by myself and I'm selling them on the corner. Kroger is a gigantic company. Like people had to approve this. And who was like, you know what? I love that I have old hot dog dust on my fingers from holding it. And it tastes like old hot dog dust.
SPEAKER_01Is that a hot dog chunk? Oh god.
SPEAKER_04But it's I'm hoping that's a piece of potato and that it smells like hamsters and paper bags. Yes and yes. Well, thank you for sharing that. Oh yeah. Moving on. Nor, you take good care of your skin. I try to. You do. And uh, you know, we're all us middle-aged ladies, we gotta keep that in mind and take good care of our skin. Koreans tend to be the people who people look to for skincare secrets. And there is a new one called skin slugging. Have you heard of this? Do you put slugs on your face? Thankfully, no, because I was really worried that that's what it was gonna be. And I was like, I'm out. But it is, I see where it gets its name from. It's you it's for moisturizing. You would put a thin layer of Vaseline all over your face before bed to lock in the moisture and steal, seal in your skincare products. And then you wash it off in the morning to enjoy glowing newly hydrated skin. Slippery skin. Slippery skin. How do you get the residue from the Vaseline off your face? So I would so my aunt uses Vaseline to get her eye makeup off. And which but she wipes it all the way off. She's not, it's not all over her. She puts like a little on a like a tissue and then uses it to wipe her makeup off. That to me makes sense. But this the article warned you is like make sure your face is clean or else you're trapping in dirt. Oh, gross. Yeah. I would think your pores would be like want to breathe.
unknownReally?
SPEAKER_04But it'd be suffocating. And then it was also said, watch out for your pillowcase. Oh, sick. And make sure you pull your hair back.
SPEAKER_03Oh you're thinking referencing the Bible a lot.
SPEAKER_04It would be like Veronica wipes the face of Jesus. Like you'd wake up and you'd
The Infamous Pigs In A Blanket Chips
SPEAKER_04have like a face print, greasy face print on your pillowcase.
SPEAKER_01Oh. That is I'm not behind that.
SPEAKER_04So I'm I'm not against Vaseline for certain things, but I also no. And also, don't you think you'd look kind of creepy covered in Vaseline?
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_04It looked like your face was melting. Yeah. And I like, what if you like sneezed or like had an itch? It's just too messy. Yeah. Too messy. Too messy. Something else. You know what? Should we take it? We're old for two. Let's check in with our sponsor. Let's do it. Hey, Nora. Hey. How is you sound down? Yeah. You know what? I think this gray weather for the winter's got me down. Like I maybe I need some vitamin D. No, you don't need vitamin D, Nora. You need vitamins GMC. Oh my gosh, I think you're right. That'll knock those winter blues right out. Tell me more. Well, it's easy.
SPEAKER_01Just head down to 93rd and Cicero to Mike Haggerty Buick and GMC, and it's like sunshine on the corner.
SPEAKER_04Oh my gosh, that sounds like exactly what I need. You need a new car, you need your car serviced. They'll meet all your needs.
SPEAKER_01That's amazing. And if you don't want to take a drive down there, you can go to their website, HaggertyCars.com.
SPEAKER_04That sounds so refreshing and already makes me feel warm inside.
SPEAKER_01I'm here for you, Nora. Thanks, Nora. And now back to the show.
SPEAKER_04Our topic today is pools. Pools, yes. Pools. All kinds of pools. All kinds of pools. Swimming pools, pool parties, pool tables, carpools. Baby pools. Baby pools? We did that with when the kid or like the kids were born. Like guess their weight when they're gonna be born. Al's family was big on it and it was super fun.
SPEAKER_01So when you found out you were pregnant, and you got your due date, then you announced that.
SPEAKER_04Yep. And then everybody in the family guessed. They would guess the weight, like when it actually might happen. And boy or girl.
SPEAKER_01Oh, fun.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, I think I still have most of like the spreadsheets available. Do you remember who was raised? I don't I don't remember who was right. Right on the motion. But it was always kind of fun. No, the only pool we've done is like fantasy football or March Madness. Okay. But those are still fun. Those are fun. I even liked, I mean, I don't follow March Madness very closely, but my dad always gets us into a bracket turn. Yeah, it's fun to watch. Yeah. Yeah. But how do you you and I, I mean, we already know you and I are pool Noras versus beach Noras. Absolutely.
SPEAKER_01Did you grow up with a pool? I grew up, well, in Arizona we had a pool because everybody has a pool. And then in Beverly, we either went to Ridge Country Club or Beverly Country Club. But my mom was kind of a genius of a 1980s parent. Because my friend Mora, her parents were also members at Ridge, and we were on the swim team. And the swim team practice was what, an hour long? But it took Us probably a half hour to get there, yeah. Bikes. So we would leave with plenty of time. I'd pick up more, then we would bike all the way to Ridge Country Club. Then when it was over, they would tell us we could get a snack or lunch or whatever. So we would do that. And then we would bike all the way home. So my morning. My mom mastered, like she took swim team practice and turned it into an all-morning event.
SPEAKER_04Well done. I know.
SPEAKER_01And you probably had a blast. Yeah. Yeah. So I spent the majority of my summer at that pool.
SPEAKER_04Yeah. That's awesome.
SPEAKER_01I would imagine the reason we swim there and at Beverly Country Club is because I couldn't bike there.
SPEAKER_04Yeah. So No, that makes a lot of sense. And now Beverly doesn't even have their pool in the country. Did you swim in your Arizona pool all the time? All the time. Yeah. So like you would get home from school and be like, I'm gonna go for a swim. You could jump in the pool because it's so hot. There's not much else to do. And then would you like play in the pool? Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Kids like play games in the pool or like basketball hoops in the pool. Oh, that's right. When we were younger, diving boards were a thing on in the pool.
SPEAKER_04Yeah. I mean, you could spend hours in the pool.
SPEAKER_01There was nothing else to do
Skin Slugging And Nighttime Routines
SPEAKER_01when it was hot, really.
SPEAKER_04So hot like that. We had a pool when we lived in California, but we were in the Bay Area. So you couldn't swim all year round because it gets chilly in San Francisco, but we loved it. Yeah. It was so fun. And but that's kind of the reason I think why we didn't take swim lessons. Because they're like, you'll figure it out. And we had our kids take swim lessons immediately as soon as they could walk. Yeah, they would be in with Miss Lou. Oh, and she came to your house, right? Okay.
SPEAKER_01She drove a yellow tracker with a pom-pom on it. She was about 90. Great, great swimmer. But she teached them to swim in a week.
SPEAKER_04And then you felt I mean you still had your gator under the pool, but it's a gator.
SPEAKER_01A gate around. Oh, gate around. I'm like you're a gator. The kids stayed far away.
SPEAKER_04Actually, my mother and they have a pool at their summer house and she has an alligator head. Not a real one, like a plastic. A fake one floating in the pool to keep the beasts away. Oh yeah.
SPEAKER_01But yeah, I'm a big fan of the pool, especially at the beginning of the season, because our kids get tired from swimming when they're out of practice.
SPEAKER_04We haven't belonged to a pool in the last few years because we went to my sister's swim club and it was way nicer than our village pool. And then my kids got snobby about it. I was like, all right, then we're not joining. And if you're not gonna go, I'm not gonna do it. Yeah. Because, and then I have to say I was probably part of the problem too, because we went to the pool and Aiden, who has diabetes, wears a continuous glucose monitor. And at the time, the version of this glucose monitor, the piece that was important, you had to reuse it. And it was good for three months. And it fell off of him in the pool. So we had to find it. And I was diving down to the bottom of this pool, this community pool, with the lifeguards trying to find it, and it was just like band-aid. Like so much hair, so many band-aid. That's so gross. It was just so cloudy and dirty. And I was like, I am never going in this pool again. But you did find them. Yeah, that one of the lighthearts found it. I was very grateful. But so that kind of spoils. Is this a gross pod? This is a really gross. Okay, what do you think about pool parties? Oh, um, okay. I do love a pool party. Okay. Now as an adult, though, I don't really know what to do. Okay. Right? Because I haven't been to a pool party
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SPEAKER_04where I'm like, let's all jump in. Like you're not cannonballing it. Correct. I also sunburned so easily. Yes, that's true. Okay. That I either need a hat or some shade or tons and tons of sunscreen. So I like it and it's nice, but I it wouldn't be my first choice. Got it. Okay. But that being said, if I got invited, I would go.
SPEAKER_01Okay.
unknownOkay.
SPEAKER_01I had a birthday party. My ninth birthday party, Nora's ninth.
SPEAKER_04Oh. Was at the pool at the Hilton in Oaklawn. That's fun. And some people still have their Nora's ninth birthday.
Pools We Love And Avoid
SPEAKER_04Sure. It's a collector's item.
SPEAKER_01It is. But in college, pool parties were a huge thing because all weed, the Where would you swim at in college?
SPEAKER_04Like our apartment complexes all were built around pools. Stop it. Yeah. It seems dangerous. Oh, I'm sure it was. And then the rec center had a nice pool. Dayton had an indoor pool, you know, for lap swimming, but there was not a pool to be found. Like an in-ground pool. No, it was fun. I'm sure. Definitely. It was a thing.
unknownWow.
SPEAKER_01Pool parties and U of A go hand in hand.
SPEAKER_04So like come to the courtyard at the Melrose place. Yeah. And like we're having a pool party. And what'd you get? Like kegs? Kegs or jungle juice was a thing? Do you remember that? We called it Harry Buff. What did you call it?
SPEAKER_02Harry Buff?
SPEAKER_04It was like it was like alcohol and fruit in like a big gin. And you call it hairy buff. Like a buffet of fruit. I mean jungle juice. Jungle juice. It is better. But okay, and you just like scoop your cup in here.
SPEAKER_02A cup of hairy buff. They serve um pigs and blinkers. Could you imagine ordering one?
SPEAKER_03Somewhere. Oh, I love eat hairy buff. Oh yeah, always on the rocks. With extra fruit, please, so it can get really intoxicated. Gross.
SPEAKER_04Okay. Um we would the Dayton would do at the end of the year Dayton to Daytona, a big trip.
SPEAKER_02And the who started like I can smell the chips.
SPEAKER_03The advice was always like, don't go in the pool.
SPEAKER_04Or if you're gonna go in the pool, go the first day. Like by the end of the week, the pool was disgusting. Who went on this Dayton to Daytona? It was Dayton Students. It was like a student government sponsored trip.
SPEAKER_01How many students do you think went? 2,000. That's so fun.
SPEAKER_04So crazy. I wonder if they still do it. I think they do. But it and they were very smart. It always happened when school was over. Oh, so there was no. Oh, your dog doesn't eat that chip that you pushed off your table. She loves them. Barf. Probably better than dog food. Maybe it was funny because you would every day the pool was like murkier and murkier. From like people spilling drinks in it from everybody's from all the hair. All the Midwestern kids like covered in sunscreen. And I had friends when we went, they got so sunburned. They had like sun poisoning. They had to stay inside for they looked like they had a skin peel. They were so gross. My sunbar was pretty bad, but not that bad. They didn't need medical attack. What about carpools? Love a carpool. If the seatpool are timely. Yes. And it's organized.
SPEAKER_01Yes. And if the people in if and if it makes sense. There's no nothing worse than a carpool where you're schlepping all the way in the opposite direction.
SPEAKER_04Yeah. My daughter was in a basketball thing. It's not a team. It's whatever. She did basketball in the fall. And we had, it was like top ten greatest carpools ever. Didn't you organize it? I did. I really kind of barn bossed my way in and did it. But I don't regret it. Like it worked out so well. Like there were four moms, there were eight practices. Everybody take two. Everyone picked two dates to drive there and back. And it was great. We took, we each took a turn, taking two turns, taking the girls right from school to our house, snack, two basketball, dropped them off at home. It was great. Well done. I was that's a seasoned mom. Proud of myself. Because the ones where it gets tricky, it's like, who can drive this week? Who can drive today? And you're like, oof. Like last minute. Yeah, I don't like that. It's stressful because then I always feel like I think we've talked about this before. Then you feel like my calendar starts, or maybe I talked to my sister about it. My calendar starts get booked up, and then I'm like, well, no, I can't drive. You've driven last week. Yes. But now I can't.
SPEAKER_01My kids are very particular. And I think you know that about them, about a carpool. They don't like a carpool because they like to be early everywhere. Yeah. And I guess they don't much mind if I pick people up.
SPEAKER_04They don't want other people's parents picking them up.
SPEAKER_01And I kind of can't fight them on it. I just don't know why they're like that.
SPEAKER_04John, my youngest isn't as much like that as the other three, but well, I think they were also very competitive athletes, and there's probably something to be said for like when on the way there, being in a good headspace. Oh, well, that became a problem. And then on the way home, being able to decompress and just kind of relax.
SPEAKER_01Yes.
SPEAKER_04So that became a problem last week, actually. Wait, you were that was your high because you got Elle into a carpool.
SPEAKER_01Oh no, no. That was just one time when she when did she say bar and boss? No, she was invited because something happened. But Ryan's now working, he has a new job and is working out of a new space, and he can't take her all the way to practice two days a week. Her practice is about 45 minutes away. And she likes to be there 30 minutes, like 20 to 30 minutes around, which is fine. So I take her out about 30 minutes somewhere, and then Ryan picks her up and drives her another 30 minutes.
SPEAKER_00Okay.
SPEAKER_01And she gets there and it's fine, but she doesn't like that I drive her. And she told me that.
SPEAKER_02But we don't have a choice. This is it.
SPEAKER_01You could take the bus? I I don't know what to tell you. Oh, I'm sorry. Because it messes like she likes she just likes her routine.
SPEAKER_04Oh, because she's like dad drives me to soccer.
SPEAKER_03Mm-hmm.
SPEAKER_01So we don't like that's there's no solution. There's no, yeah. So she drove last week. I was in the car. Yeah. But it's a little bit better. Yeah. But it's a long drive for me to.
SPEAKER_04I I don't know. There's no solution. This is a very boring story. Shooting, I forgot we were out of microphone. No, no, no, no. But that's that's happened with my kids before. And like other times too. They're like, well, I don't like this. It's like, well, yeah. And like I I cannot do anything about it. No. There are things I do not like either, but here we are. That's tricky, tricky business. How so we also had a pool during COVID. We had an above pool. Oh, a COVID pool. Yes. I'm sorry. I jumped the gun on that. That's okay. That was pools. That was totally a thing. It was a hot commodity. We had it. I mean, it wasn't deep. Yeah. It was probably like three-ish feet deep. And it was totally killed our grass. It was super fun while it lasted. And then it was gross.
SPEAKER_01What happened to it?
SPEAKER_04Well, I think you really have to get the science right to keep the water nice and clean. And you have to skim out all the leaves. Like there's a lot of especially in an above-ground one because you can't, it's not like there is a filter or like machinery
Pool Parties, College Tales, And Hygiene
SPEAKER_04that's a good thing. Did you cover it at night? No, we did not. No, because it was covered in leaves. But the kids really liked it and it was really fun. Would you jump in for a while? I think I went in once or twice. Okay. And God bless our babysitter. She went in a bunch of times. Would you do it again? No.
unknownNo.
SPEAKER_04Just because it's the maintenance of it is a lot an above-ground pool. I think I would argue more than an in-ground pool. I think you're probably right. Because you are the filter pool.
SPEAKER_03You are the filter.
SPEAKER_04But there are 4.3 million above-ground pools in the United States. Gosh, thank you for telling me that it wasn't. 6.1 million in-ground pools. Wait, there's only wait, read that again? 6.1 million residential in-ground pools. Okay. And how many above ground? 4.3. Oh. That's a lot. So does it? And then but number the top three states for pools, Florida, California, and Texas.
SPEAKER_01Not Arizona. I wonder with all the new build in Arizona.
SPEAKER_04They don't all get a pool. Oh, maybe not. Oh because of water? They're worried about.
SPEAKER_01No, I think maybe it's just like cheap, fast construction. I don't know.
SPEAKER_04Well, when we lived in Texas, we live when we did not want a pool because we had really little kids and I got worried about it. And then and we also naively were like, no, we want a yard for them to play in, forgetting that it's too hot to play outside. So I'm like, we probably should have got out in the pool. Oh well. Next time we moved to Texas. But yeah, one pool for every 31 Americans. That's it. Seemed like a lot. Oh, that's what I mean. That's what I meant to say. Yeah, yeah, yeah. For every 31 people, there's a pool.
SPEAKER_01Oh, you know there's a service where you can like rent out people's pools?
SPEAKER_04Get out of here. Yes, like a BRB. Like VRBO. BRBO. BRB. Oh, BRB.
SPEAKER_02That's V right there.
SPEAKER_04Oh, okay. So VRB is a good thing. So you can pool. You can rent people's backyards.
SPEAKER_01No. Yes. And the name of the company is Swimply. Swimply? Like simply, but Swimply. Yeah, you rent hour by hour.
SPEAKER_04Are there any in our neck of the woods? That is really weird.
SPEAKER_01You can rent like mansions. You can rent rent tennis courts. It started out just as a pool service, but now you can, yeah. That is enter.
SPEAKER_04Amazing.
SPEAKER_01Let's enter our address. I mean, our stuff.
SPEAKER_04I babysat for people who had an indoor pool and their house smelled like chlorine. Okay, see, this I don't think is okay. These people are renting out their hot tub. Oh, grody. They're gonna murder you. Those people don't go there. So tomorrow we can We could go to Long Grove. Oh gosh, we could rent out Oh yeah, the Hunger. This is an award-winning pool. Mm-hmm. We could go to Plainfield. Okay. With 20 guests. I mean, this pool is 15 by 40 feet. That's huge, isn't it? The Harlem Knights Pool in Elgin. Oh, that is amazing.
SPEAKER_01I just have a couple, like if you have to use the ladies' room or that's what I'm curious too. It's like, well, where do you And then you can select like add-ons like this lady has her leg in the picture?
SPEAKER_04I don't like that.
SPEAKER_01You can select, like, do you want a barbecue? Do you want night lights? Do you want the pool heated? Like all sorts of things. So just like going to somebody's house with a pool and them not being home.
SPEAKER_04That's bizarre. I know. You can rent people's yards. I guess there's a market for everything. I know. Yeah, but it's interesting. Like they this one pool has 319 reviews. Wow. So it's very oh, you can rent an igloo. You can rent somebody's house for a dinner party. That's kind of fun. Oh, somebody if they had a really big dining room table. That would be nice if you wanted to have it feel like a really big group. Wow. This is amazing. You can rent don't know what else to say. Swimply. Swimply. Genius. Great idea. Should we swimply get into our highs and lows? Swimply get into them. My printer, Nora. I've been on a journey. Okay. My printer. Okay. I it was working just fine. Printing great. No problems. But then on my printer, I would get an error message saying your printer is not connected to the internet and you will not be able to print soon. But you could print, anyways. But I could print. It was on the internet because I was printing wirelessly from my computer to the printer. And there's like dark. Yes. I was like, well, this is strange. I could be up in my room and print. I could be anywhere. Would you get this message every time you tried to print? Yes. And it would print. It didn't matter where in the house. Didn't matter. And it would print, but it would say, like, clocks ticking. Pretty soon you're not going to be able to print anymore. Because I do subscribe to like an ink service, so it automatically sends me printer ink, whatever. So I reached out to the good people at Hewlett Packard two weeks ago on with the chat, like to try to fix it for an hour. And then I was like, I have to go. And they had me in Why bother fixing it if it was working? Because it wasn't connecting with the company, like the mothership of Hewlett Packard for I don't know why. Okay. An hour trying to fix it didn't work. So the other day I was like, I gotta get this done because I don't want it to stop printing. Like all of a sudden, like they're gonna cut me off. But it was printing personally, but not registering with the company. And then two hours I was troubleshooting, and then I couldn't print at all.
SPEAKER_01Were you troubleshooting electronically?
SPEAKER_04Yes. So I was on a chat and then I was doing things on the computer, and then I was going to other things. The guy was in my computer trying to fix it. Oh my God. And then he was like, You need a new printer. We will send you one. And I was like, thank you. He was like, it basically you pay a dollar, and then once you send your old printer back, we refund you the dollar. It'll take six days unless you want to expedite it. It will cost 15. And I was like, what? Fifty? I was like, no, I I don't, I would like it sooner, but I'm not paying $15. Please wave the fee. Like, we can't. I was like, I have spent three hours of my life trying to troubleshoot this. I used to be able to print. Now I can't print at all. And why? Yeah. Why can't you wave it? And then they were like, okay, we will wave the fee.
SPEAKER_01Oh. Did your printer arrive? Not yet. Oh gosh.
Carpools, Routines, And Sanity
SPEAKER_01Okay.
SPEAKER_04So I'm hoping in the like the next day or two, because I actually do print out a lot of stuff for that for the musical. Oh, shoot. Well. So I had to have Al print stuff out for me yesterday, which he was very kind to do. But I was just like, those moments when you're like, when you realize how much time you have spent trying to troubleshoot something. That drives me bonkers. I'm like legitimate, like at least three hours of my life trying to fix a printer that was just broken to begin with. I love that you did that though. Kind of a boss move. Instead of oh cute, you know, that all always falls on me, all the tech stuff.
SPEAKER_01Isn't that funny how different?
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_04But anyways, how about you? Sorry, mine was long.
SPEAKER_01No, my low is that I have been needing Nora the last couple days. But they go hand in hand because you have saved me both days. Stop. I needed a guitar. Rest of guitar in my mailbox. Didn't even send a thank you text, went right to the hot glue gun to put them on the bottle, buddy.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, but you brought me some beautiful, delicious cookies. Thank you. To cleanse the palate.
SPEAKER_01And then today, my husband deemed that it was too cold for the kids to walk to school, which once in a blue moon that happens. Yeah. And then your husband was nice enough to bring my kids. That was it. So thank you.
SPEAKER_04My highs and lows are intertwined. Oh, well, I'm always happy to help. And you are always happy to help me too. So it it all goes together. But my high is my mom and Rose and I went communion dress shopping. And your high is that she found a cute color dress. It's so cute. And she was adorable. She tried eight dresses on. She had so much fun, like twirling around. And we had some good laughs about ones that were like not great. Like this one, she's like, I know you won't let me buy this, but can I try it on? I was like, let's go. Do you remember uh communion dress shopping with your mom? No. We talked about this last year. Yeah, I remember. I remember the shoes. But and I was saying to my mom, I'm like, I don't think I was like, I think you just picked it out. And she was like, You think so? I was like, because I don't remember shopping for it.
SPEAKER_01And I remember mine came from like a gift shop or a clothing store in publication. Yeah.
SPEAKER_04But it was really fun. And we had a a really nice we had, you know, lunch beforehand, and it was a whole fun girly day. And she's so pleased and a little proud of her little self. And oh, I can't wait to see her on the big day. So it was awesome.
SPEAKER_01Yay.
SPEAKER_04Super fun. That's a great way to end.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. So continue telling your friends about us because we love new listeners. We sure do. And to those of you that come back for more week after week, thank you. And we'll see you next week. Bye. Bye.
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