CR's article I wonder what would happen if a smallish woman, who generally bordered on anemic, added Hershey's Cocoa (one of the highest) to every cup of coffee, 2-3 times each day, since about 2008? Maybe this 2021 abstract regarding potential link cadmium and ALS

Kylie M Interiors Her blog changed me into a human who can now actually understand color. And while I am grateful, my living room (which goes with nothing in my entire house) is staying mauve. Sometimes, most all times, it’s good to know and understand more about a given topic, but still give heed to your own input. 😉

Back in the day when we had boundless energy, he'd make us coffee and I'd set up a game for 2. ❤️

We are in the process of putting in hardwood floors. I love, love, love the annual trip to get the tree. However, it's inevitable that some water gets spilled. Put the stand on a rubberized mat? Or something else?

Death is a shock, yet it happens to everyone. Terminal diagnosis is a shock yet it happens every day. Truth is that most of us prefer the blind optimism of believing we’ll live completely healthy lives until we’re 96 then passed peacefully in our sleep. It is a rare person who plans for a diagnosis at 40, rare crippling disease, and an unfortunate death before fifty. I’m not sure I’d want to be that person even if that’s my situation, kwim? We still talk about the future all the time as if I’ll be there which I’m sure some would question 🤔 but how do you say, “Ooh! It will be so fun to make cider with the grandkids!” vs. “When I’m gone and you’re lonely or remarried, you’ll sure enjoy that cider…” Living the present doesn’t mean denial it just means being optimistically present?

This. We obviously put in the bidet for me but I can't figure out why bidets haven't become the norm. Outlets behind toilets should exist on every remodel and new build.

I didn't even think of the water and insurance. We're putting in new flooring (dining room) and cabinets (kitchen) and the kids removed the LVT in September... then we were told please don't put in the flooring by our friend/contractor which makes the most sense of course, but I hate looking at sub floor. If it were up to me, nothing would go out until the day before. 😉 (Obviously I realize this is both unrealistic and unreasonable.

One of my best friends had a Great Dane four years until she passed. Amazing dog with kids and she was so chill. However her final months lacking mobility and giant accidents were rough. I don’t think I could have dealt with it. They did just buy a new GD puppy. 😉 Saga is roughly seventy pounds with personality plus. I think their pounds is ideal. Our girl is the best but I’d love it if she was mini.

Vintage Mauve-I used several years ago hoping maybe would come back and finally it’s happening. 💕

My laptop is coffee drip free and we have a grandbaby here, 😉

Why do any demo until your cabinets are ordered and received?

A busty gold Roman goddess paper towel holder, a naked cherubim in the backyard, a lovely 5' statue in the flowerbed, and motion detectors in the kitchen. But, this takes the cake, step mama passive agressively left the adult sons’ baby books and some paperwork. We got those to the boys and met neighbors in the process.

This. Same exact scenario - I was a newly transferred freshman. I laughed because what are you going to do at 14/15? A couple years later when I was not new and confident, I told him he had been an ass and made me cry more than once. He had no idea. He's now the sensitive dad of two daughters, one special needs, who has been an outspoken advocate in his community for a park and other initiatives to make change. He was a clueless 15yo guy. I was a girl not comfortable to approach him one on one and sincerely say to him, "What you're saying isn't funny and I understand you were just teasing me but it's hurting me. Please don't."

I missed out on Ark Nova but there’sa good deal on the Wingspan expansion Oceana.

Midwestern mama here and I think it’s a phenomenal idea. i can’t imagine what kings of person would be offended by wanting kids with allergies to have fun too but if I Internet someone was I’m not sure I’d care much if I offended them.

It's fascinating. I birthed twelve children, all in a hospital setting, one was a c-section, eight were VBAC, six were without a spinal/epidural. I have relatively easy births. Four were exceptionally pleasant (#7, #8, #9, #10) and what those had in common were providers who let me tell them when I was pushing out baby. In my experience, I didn't push, my body pushed, it was not an option to NOT push. Each of those babies were less than ten minutes of pushing. Often grand multipara will experience a less effective contracting, and my #11 and #12 were less efficient, albeit very short labors by normal standards. I truly believe the hospitals tend to try to hurry the labor process and it's largely not beneficial.

Next year we'll have two but there are years we have three. I hadn't done any research on the changes until now. Ouch.

Coffee Make photo plans / choose clothes Send a couple emails Make October lesson plans and menu Help kids tame the laundry beast! Costco? Spend time outside! Plant bulbs with the younger crew. I LOVE fall!

We have the emerald ash borer as well. We bought my parents an elm this year -it’s resistant to Dutch elm disease. My parents are losing all the blue spruce in their windbreak due to a canker fungus. We finally cut down a beautiful white birch experiencing dieback from an unknown reason, perhaps stress. It is painful to lose trees!

You're not wrong. That said, due to nursing shortages everywhere, we have gotten some feedback that it is going to be very difficult to get nursing care here. We think there will likely be a lightening of demand and the exterior can have a huge impact on sales. Lifespan of asphalt shingles is 15-20 years so we're at the edge. We agree - we're unlikely to match it. So that's why we're considering doing everything at once.

Hard to make a timeline. If I get another plateau? A few years to Never. If my respiratory numbers drop as drastically as they have the past six months? I’ll be dead or on a trach by spring. But it was a very uncharacteristic drop, so much so I very much doubt the accuracy. That said, I dropped three clinics in a row (9 month period) so if I opt not to do the trach as I’ve insisted, 9-12 months. If the kids were grown, DH would retire here. If I wasn’t sick this would be our forever home. But 🤷🏼‍♀️. All their activities are 25 minutes away. We are almost back to two teen drivers again but one graduates this May. The current interior changes are for DH’s peace of mind. He hates seeing half done projects. Hates it. So we’re having all the projects finished in a style we like but pretty neutral so they would be attractive to most folks. The exterior is curb appeal BUT we also believe the flat balcony is allowing water to back up in severe rain. We’ve never liked it but we had higher priorities like finishing the basement, flooring, appliances, HVAC. Being able to tap into a portion of my life insurance money makes it affordable to do it all at once. 😉

We rarely use the front door. We like it for light and a seasonal wreath, but there is a two car, attached, extra deep garage around the side which nullifies needing a porch. We also have a brick patio off the side and a back door slider of the living room.

Or like this: Essentially my colors are fixed. Our end goals are not to increase maintenance so NO painting the brick. But sorting out what to do with the shape of the roofline since we are DEFINITELY taking off the balcony. Likely then we need to change the steps but my brother and cousin do concrete. Or

The third pic is from our house listing when we bought it. Currently, new windows and doors will be installed at the end of October. The door is wood and the sidelites are black with glass. We are DEFINITELY removing the "balcony" thing. We are planning to add a triangle shape to the roof to break up that roof line, like so:

So, we are updating our house for sale. We're not sure we will sell. We don't want to but so much spins around my care and my health. My respiratory numbers have recently dipped hard and it allows us to access a portion of my life insurance funds. We're opting to use some of it to have work on the house be done for others. Inside, we know everything we want done. My son in law is currently redoing all the first floor flooring in hardwood and the finished basement in LVT, The cabinet company has drawn up plans for cabinetry in the front room and kitchen. Friends of ours are doing the work. They did our bathroom. Since moving here 9 years ago, every ppssible thing has had to be replaced and updated. Every toilet, sink, appliance, HVAC, garage doors, garage door openers, well pump, etc., has been replaced. We ripped out our garden this year and replaced it with an orchard - an assortment of low care fruit trees. Our area is pretty hot and with an easy 15 minute commute to city limits, acreages here sell within a week and they are rare. A 1/2 mile from me a neighbor put his house for $550k and it is much smaller than ours, unfinished basement, no updates, etc. He did have almost 4 acres to our almost two. Sold. I was shocked. Daughter (realtor) said she would say ours could go north of $600k, dependent on how we finish it out, so we've opted for safe upscale neutrals. She has been the approver before every step. Now we come to the exterior. This was our house when we bought it in 2014 for around $215k -about 2100 sq feet, 4000 finished. The exterior doesn't represent the interior. We've added two egress windows to the front. Landscaping has been redone. All windows are being replaced with black and windows to match. What are those things over the windows?! Remove? (How are they attached?) Or paint black? The roof is in great shape but is about 13 years old, Redo? Black? We want to remove that balcony. Beyond dated, we think it funnels water towards the attic of the house. The pillars are wrapped. We could build a timber/porch thing - see pictures. I'd welcome thoughts and input. I'm thinking Brick & Batten might really be worth it.... I'd welcome input, Pinterest links, random thoughts.