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NEWS FROM SUMO SAM January 2021 QuickSumoPestControl.com
IF I COULD BE ANYWHERE ... I’d Be on a 3-Month Road Trip to Alaska
Jan. 13 is Make Your Dreams Come True Day — and I think 2021 is a great time to ask ourselves about our dreams. If money were no object, what would we be doing with our lives? For me, the answer is quick and easy: I’d be taking a three-month road trip to Alaska with my family. Back in 1990, I was a teenager when my brother and I went up to Anchorage, Alaska, to stay with my aunt and uncle. They were stationed there while in the Army, and it was just the two of us who went. You might imagine an isolating landscape of snow when you think of Alaska, but during the summers, that couldn’t be further from the truth. It looks like a painting out of a lush fairy tale. The trees are a rich green everywhere you look, flowers are huge and in bloom, and waterfalls trickle down the enormous mountainsides. My brother and I had never before seen mountains come out of the water like they do in Alaska. It presented a natural majesty that was completely different from Colorado, and one we’d remember forever. We had a lot of fun hiking, camping, and fishing together while we were up there. We took a 50-mile hike that was a week long, called the Resurrection Pass Trail. It was awesome trekking through the mountains, and I’ve always thought that, one day, I needed to pass on this experience to my kids. I’d love to take the whole road trip to Alaska, not only to see the changes in the landscape, but because there’s the Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada, that we simply wouldn’t want to miss. I’d love to stay there a week and explore the mountains, rivers, and sites. Then, we would make our way to America’s final frontier.
There are a lot of reasons this would be a dream come true for me. First, I personally love the physical exertion of
hiking in the mountains. There’s really no feeling that can replace it. Connecting with nature and being in the fresh air feels like a luxury today. It’s nice to get away from technology and avoid the hustle and bustle of the urban world. That’s why my family and I moved onto a farm; we wanted to get away from the congestion in urban life and are very happy where we are today. Of course — and I think other parents can relate to this — the kids enjoy hiking a little more than the driving. Once they get to the destination, they have a good time. But on the way there? Oh boy. We have a big van, so we let them bring movies and play them once in a while. We’ll even let them bring their iPods and play games for a while, but not forever. After that, little portable travel games, like tic-tac-toe, and watching the passing views keep them company and encourages them to make new memories.
Although we won’t be able to take this road trip this year, we might in a couple years. But if money were no object, we’d be leaving tomorrow!
Thanks so much for reading and have a beautiful start of the new year.
Josh Hopewell
“You might imagine an isolating landscape of snow when you think of Alaska, but during the summers, that couldn’t be further from the truth. It looks like a painting out of a lush fairy tale.”
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HOW TO FIND YOUR FLOW IN 2021 Is Deep Focus the Secret to Success?
Have you ever started working on an important project and looked up at the clock after what felt like minutes only to find that hours had passed? If you have, you’ve probably experienced “flow state,” aka the Holy Grail of concentration and achievement. WHAT IS A FLOW STATE? Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi describes a flow state as a "focus that, once it becomes intense, leads to a sense of ecstasy, a sense of clarity: you know exactly what you want to do from one moment to the other; you get immediate feedback.” That sounds complex, but you can also think of flow as being “in the zone.” And it might be the key to achieving your New Year's goals. That’s because a flow state almost always coincides with tackling a difficult task, and when you’re in a flow state, even the most challenging things feel relatively easy. WHY ARE HIGH ACHIEVERS OBSESSED WITH FLOW? Flow state doesn’t only happen for people with desk jobs. You can get it while running, playing chess, dancing, or climbing a mountain, and it’s considered the Holy Grail because it has a host of benefits. According to the meditation app Headspace, those perks include heightened focus (goodbye, distractions!), a sense of clarity, feelings of happiness and pleasure, and the impression that all obstacles ahead of you have disappeared. That makes
accomplishing your goals feel
like less of a struggle. It's no wonder high- achieving hobbyists, workers, and creatives crave the feeling!
HOW CAN YOU GET IN A FLOW? Usually, a flow state isn’t planned — it just happens. In a BBC article, author Steven Kotler describes flow as “a happy accident.” But he also notes that we can make ourselves “more accident-prone.” To set yourself up for a flow state, find a quiet place to work and choose an activity that’s difficult but meaningful for you. Ideally, it should be something you’ve already put work into perfecting. If you’ve never tried painting before, you probably won’t find flow on your first attempt, but an experienced painter could achieve it while mastering a new technique. Some people claim that being in a flow state is a form of meditation and that learning how to meditate can help you reach it. To that end, apps like Headspace and Evenflow (for iPhones only) are great places to start! Before you know it, you’ll be finding the flow like a pro.
A QUICK GUIDE TO CHOOSING YOUR VACUUM
You may be hesitant to shop for a vacuum cleaner because you don’t know a lot about them — but your old vacuum cleaner is failing or just isn’t doing its job as well as you’d hope. The first step to getting rid of pests is keeping your home as clean as possible, so we understand the importance of a good vacuum cleaning.
vacuum and have a wider cleaning swath. They’re also generally better at deep cleaning your carpets, especially bagged models. Most are easy to store because they stand up without any help. However, you’ll also be pushing and pulling a (generally) noisy machine that weighs up to 20 pounds. It could be a workout or a giant pain. If you have mostly bare floors, consider a canister vacuum. Because canister vacuums have lightweight attachments, it’s easier to clean drapes and upholstery as well. Some are even as good as uprights at cleaning carpets. Also, most are quieter, and you won’t be pushing the entire weight of the machine all the time. However, in terms of storage, these machines are still bulkier than upright vacuum cleaners. It’ll be harder to squeeze into a closet. If you need help with floor maintenance, get a robot vacuum cleaner. These are getting more and more sophisticated as time goes on, and they’re quite reliable for regular touch-ups in your rooms. However, you don’t want to rely on your robot cleaner as a replacement for your manual vacuum sessions. It cannot deep clean as well as a larger machine and has a harder time cleaning shag carpets and rugs.
But what are you looking for in yours?
Let’s start there.
We know your New Year’s resolutions are keeping you busy, so we hope this helps you shop and accomplish your clean home dreams!
If you’re looking to vacuum mainly carpets and area rugs, then you’ll want to consider an upright vacuum. These tend to cost less than a canister
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A n important skill to have as an adult is setting goals and achieving them — it’s a skill you can start setting the foundation for right now! Here are a few tips for helping your kids learn the very first steps to achieving their dreams. NO. 1: SUGGEST THEIR RESOLUTIONS — DON’T FORCE IT Knowing your goals can be a very special experience because they’re yours and nobody else's. It gives you a sense of control. Give your kids this special sense of control by suggesting resolutions, not necessarily choosing theirs for them. They might need time to decide what goals are important to them, and that’s natural. But make sure to stir their minds to brainstorm and help them think it through. NO. 2: CHOOSE ONE OR TWO RESOLUTIONS, AT MOST Maybe you have a very ambitious child — that’s wonderful! But it may be helpful for your child to focus on just one resolution to start with, and as they learn to accomplish that goal, it can give them knowledge and confidence to tackle others. Also, it’ll 4 STEPS TO HELP KIDS REACH NEW YEAR GOALS
make it easier for you to stay on top of them! (Keeping tabs on multiple resolutions can be a lot of work.)
NO. 3: BREAK DOWN RESOLUTIONS TO SMALL STEPS
SLOW COOKER CHICKEN CASSEROLE
Once they’ve determined their goal, the next step is to figure out the small steps that’ll get them there. Let’s say the goal is to brush their teeth more. Stanford behavior scientist BJ Fogg says that the formula to any new habit is motivation, plus ability, plus prompt. Does your
INGREDIENTS
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8 chicken thighs or drumsticks, lightly salted
1 lb potatoes, peeled and cut in large chunks
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1 tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, sliced 14 oz chicken stock
1 tbsp all-purpose flour 1 onion, finely sliced 2 celery sticks, thickly sliced
1 sprig rosemary
child have the motivation to do it? Can they actually do it — do they have the ability? Then, what will prompt your child to perform their task? Will it be a time (8 a.m.) or through a certain sequence of activities, like before they take a bath? NO. 4: BE A RESOLUTION ROLE MODEL We’ll be honest: If you’re helping them with setting and accomplishing their resolutions, your child is going to hold you accountable as a resolution role model, whether you like it or not! Make sure you’re ready to fill that role and accomplish your goals for the new year, too.
Finely grated zest and juice of 1/2 lemon 1/4 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
2 carrots, thickly sliced 1 leek, thickly sliced
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DIRECTIONS
1. In a large frying pan, heat oil and fry salted chicken on high until brown. 2. Transfer chicken to the slow cooker. Add flour and stir. 3. In the frying pan on high heat, fry the onion, celery, carrots, leeks, and potatoes until lightly browned. Add garlic and fry for 30 seconds. 4. Transfer vegetables to the slow cooker and add the stock, rosemary, and lemon zest. 5. Cook on high for 2.5–3 hours or until chicken is tender. 6. Check seasoning and add lemon juice to taste. Top with parsley before serving.
That’s it! Four steps. We know it’s much harder than that, but we’re confident you can handle it! Let us know how it goes for you!
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1 My Dream: A 3-Month Road Trip to Alaska 2 How to Find Your Flow in 2021 A Quick Guide to Choosing Your Vacuum 3 Help Your Kids Make New Year’s Resolutions in 4 Steps Slow Cooker Chicken Casserole 4 The First Dog to Win a Nobel Peace Prize INSIDE
THE FIRST DOG TO WIN A NOBEL PEACE PRIZE
Just this past October, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to what can only be described as one the world’s goodest boys — a dog named
largest refugee camps. According to an NPR article that spotlighted Foxtrot and the efforts made by his WFP humans, they worked not only to get food to refugees but also to flatten hillsides to make room for shelters for Rohingya refugees fleeing Myanmar. Foxtrot himself became part of the effort to combat world hunger during a WFP beach cleanup in his home country. Workers found him as a 4-week- old pup, and after failing to locate his owners, took him in as one of their own. For the past two years, Foxtrot has helped however he can to further the WFP’s efforts to end hunger in Bangladesh. This usually includes accompanying his humans while they work, wearing an adorable custom- made WFP cape, and taking to Instagram to raise awareness about how anyone can join in the WFP’s mission. After learning that he and his humans had won the Nobel Peace Prize, Foxtrot didn’t waste the opportunity to share his excitement with his followers. “Woweee,” the pup said. “I … think it would be even more amazing if we didn’t need any peace prizes because peace was the status quo in our world.”
Foxtrot, known also to his Instagram followers (of which there are nearly 7,000) as humanitarian_pup. While Foxtrot wasn’t responsible for improvements to auction theory (like Paul Milgrom and Robert Wilson, who won the Nobel Prize for economics) or for a standout career in writing poetry (like Louise Glück, who won the Nobel Prize for literature), this
incredible canine shared the Nobel Peace Prize with the World Food Programme (WFP) for their work in combating world hunger. As the organization’s official mascot, Foxtrot shared in the win with the thousands of other WFP workers worldwide.
If Foxtrot and his humans keep up the good work that won them the Nobel Peace Prize, it seems like that status quo could be within reach.
Foxtrot lives in Bangladesh (one of the most densely populated countries in the world) at a WFP outpost that works to supply one of the world’s
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