Sunday, February 23, 2025
Good morning! Welcome to the midpoint of winter, where hope for spring is going to be crushed under the weight of fresh snow and plummeting temperatures. Just Sunday, I was dreaming of warm breezes, blooming flowers, and bike rides, and now, here we areāfacing subzero temps just to make sure I know who’s in charge. (Itās not me.) I really dislike winter.š„¶ Yesterday, at Tax-Aide, it was a surprisingly pleasant tax day.
Sunday, February 23, 2025
Good morning, everyone. I got some solid feedback on electric bikes following yesterdayās post. The best advice? Get a three-wheeler. I can already see the day when mounting and dismounting a bike becomes an Olympic event for me. Probably best to steer clear of clip-in shoesā¦ though I still have them, just in case I wake up one day feeling particularly brave (or reckless). Lis and Steve stopped by for a visit after traveling cross-country the last couple of days.
Monday, February 10, 2025
Late start for me this morningāI was finishing up a dashboard for the tax team so they could see the results of our combined efforts. Last nights Super Bowl was great if you were an Eagles fanā¦not so much for the other team. I enjoyed the gameā¦at least through 3 quarters. Then off to bed. I must be getting really old, because the commercials during the game were lame and the halftime show was unexplainable to me.
Monday, February 10, 2025
Good Morning! What a whirlwind of fun these last two days have been with the kids and grandkids! Wyatt and Coco were all smiles, their energy boundlessā¦at least whenever we were around. Whether they were just putting on a good show for us or truly basking in the moment, I donāt know, but Iāll take it! It was a full couple of daysā2,000 wobbly steps' worth, to be exact. And trust me, I feel every single one of them this morning.
Monday, February 10, 2025
Good morning, family! Howās everyone doing? The Brickhouse crew flew into town yesterday, and we met up at a brewery in Mundelein called Tonality. Since it was late, we didnāt see the little ones, but I did catch a great photo of Coco. Her hair was down, completely covering her face, andāsurprise, surpriseāshe tripped and fell walking through the airport. A stranger commented, āWell, if her hair wasnāt in her eyes, that wouldnāt have happened.
Monday, February 10, 2025
Good morning, everyone! āļø Welcome to Fridayāthe glorious end of the workweek and the kickoff to Super Bowl weekend! My prediction? Eagles 28 - Chiefs 24. Why? Because someone else needs to win. Wellā¦I finally feel human againā¦the spigot is off and the head feels clear. This may be the last day of medicine. So, yesterday, we woke up to a lovely sheet of ice. In years past, Iād load up the spreader with ice melt and hit all the townhomes before the early risers shuffled out.
Monday, February 10, 2025
Good morning. Today was a difficult writing day for me. I wrote, deleted, rewrote, deleted, and finally ended with the following: Another day, another 1,440 minutes. And this morning, I wake up still sick. The doctor confirmed itās just a viral infectionānothing serious, nothing that can be fixed with more time and a handful of over-the-counter meds. See photo to follow. This week, I crossed a milestone: 250,000 minutes since my ALS diagnosis on August 13.
Monday, February 10, 2025
Good morning, yāall. (That still doesnāt feel natural, but Iāll keep trying.) Still sick, still feeling like garbage. I need to get to the doctor today and hope they can squeeze me in. Apparently, getting a Z-pack without an appointment is a no-go. Iām sure thereās a good reason, but in my current state, it just feels like bureaucracy standing between me and breathing properly. I spent most of the day messing around with the excel dashboard for our small tax teamātrying to clean it up so I can hand it off next year.
Monday, February 10, 2025
Good morning, everyone. Well, Iām sicker today than I have been. š¤ I felt great all day yesterday, and we even went out for dinnerānot a good decision, based on this morningās hacking and blowing. Sorry, Mark and Barb. I had plans today to get out of the house and prepare taxes š¤, but I just canāt risk sitting next to or across from seniors. Iām disappointedāI really donāt like being absent and missing all the interactions with our clients, some of whom Iāve known for 10 years.
Monday, February 3, 2025
Good morning, everyone, and welcome to a new week! We are officially living in a construction zone. In my head, this was going to be a simple project. A little plumbing here, a couple of electrical circuits thereāhow complicated could it be? Well it turns out: VERY! Saturday, the plumber showed up and went to town cutting, removing, and reinstalling things I didnāt even know existed. Then Sunday rolls around, and two electricians arrive, ready to tackle what I thought was a straightforward jobājust adding two dedicated circuits to the bathroom.
Monday, February 3, 2025
Good morning, and welcome to Sunday! The weekend didnāt get off to a great start yesterday. The plumbers were here most of the day, making more noise than the demo crew. Honestly, I thought I was being pranked and the guys were actually destroying the house. Cindy was smartāshe left for the day. Meanwhile, I picked up a nasty head cold, and Iām still dealing with it this morning. Ugh. Iām officially on SICK LEAVE!
Monday, February 3, 2025
Good morning, everybody! Welcome to a new monthāIām already thinking spring. Iāve been mulling over the idea of creating a blog. Currently, 23 people are on the daily journal list I started on August 21, 2024ājust eight days after my diagnosis. Iām genuinely humbled that so many of you still read my morning ramblings. Iāve even had some tell me Iām a good writer, which must make my high school English teacher, Mrs.
Monday, February 3, 2025
Good morning, yāall, and welcome to the end of the week and the end of January. Last night, we met up with high school friends at Lindyās Landing in Wauconda. This is a cozy restaurant where ten of us were able to sit comfortably together in a living room setting and have some beverages before dinner. Wauconda is a reasonable halfway point for most of us, taking 30ā45 minutes to drive, except for Tom C.
Monday, February 3, 2025
Good morning, everyone. It is a heartbreaking morning as I learn of the collision, last night, between an Army helicopter and an American Airlines passenger plane at DCA. Iām deeply relieved that Nicoleāand, to my knowledge, no other family membersāwere involved. Nicole reached out last night to let us know she had landed a couple of hours earlier. That was far too close. Still, my heart aches for those affected.
Monday, February 3, 2025
Good morning, everyone! The word of the day for me is āefficiencyā. Hereās my challenge I need to figure out: when I move from room to room (or, even more ambitiously, upstairs or downstairs), I really need to gather everything Iāll need in one go. Youād think Iād have mastered this by now, but nope. Yesterday, it was my water bottle. Sure, staying hydrated is great, but the multiple retrieval missions?
Monday, February 3, 2025
Happy Birthday, Nicole!!! šššš„³ Can’t wait to celebrate with you and the family in a couple of weeks, especially Wyatt and Coco. I watch them every morning on the Aura frameāitās a great way to start the day. Love seeing their sweet faces, even the ones that say, āIām having a bad moment.ā Day 1 of tax season prep! The real deal begins. Weāve got 22 days mapped out, 11 volunteers, and 700 tax returns as our target.
Monday, February 3, 2025
Good morning, family! Welcome to a brand-new week. Letās dive in: For the past few months, Iāve been ignoring the use of my cane indoors because I wanted to feel the freedom of movement, at least while Iām home. At the same time, I seem to set the cane down and move on without it and then canāt locate it. Itās going to be like needing cheaters to read, Iām going to need a cane in every room of the house so the odds of having one close by is improved.
Monday, February 3, 2025
Welcome to a Peaceful Sunday! Yesterday was…exactly as expected. A deafening orchestra of hammering, vibrating saws, pry bars, and whatever other power tools that could conjured up. If it had a motor, it was singing (or screeching) in the key of demolition. The crew was fantastic ā despite the noise ā friendly, personable, and surprisingly considerate. They did their best to protect the house from dirty winter foot traffic and demolition dustā¦as much as anyone can, given the circumstances.
Monday, February 3, 2025
Good morning, everybody! Itās the last weekend in January, and Iām already daydreaming about warmer weather. Hopefully, I didnāt just jinx usāI really donāt need a blizzard to round out the month. Mornings are my time to sit by the fire with a soft blanket over my legs, play a little backgammon, and sip on hot coffee while I wait for my brain to reboot. Itās my quiet time, or as I like to think of it, my donāt-talk-to-me-until-Iām-humanphase.
Monday, February 3, 2025
Yesterday was quite the marathon. I decided to sleep in, which set off a domino effect for the rest of the day. Day one of Tax-Aide at the bank is always the craziest. Not only do we have to take appointments in person, but thereās a mob of about 40 people lined up at the doors before the bank opens. The bank opens at the exact same time the volunteers arrive.