If I were to have extra money ….. (I’d pay off a house for each of my family) then …. In no particular order …
I’d tip 100% 💯 of the time
Buy a laundromat and make it free 🆓
Leave a card with an encouraging note and $ hidden under park benches ✉️
Donate more to the food bank 🏦
Create a maker space with sculpture garden 🎨
Key West House with a pool 🌊 to share with friends
26 years & 26 letters in the alphabet … hidden letters in our marriage: little moments that together spell a beautiful life 💕
A is for Adventure because you’ve never needed an exotic destination to have fun. A bike ride, a beer garden, a Cubs game, a lazy river… if we’re together, it’s an adventure.
B is for Basement Olympics, Beer, and the Backyard because somehow you’ve turned ordinary weekends into traditions everyone wants to be invited to.
C is for Calm the thing you’ve always brought to my chaos.
D is for Dad my most favorite version of you.
E is for Encouragement because you’ve never once made me feel small for chasing a crazy idea.
F is for Friendship because after twenty-six years, you’re still the first person I want to tell everything.
G is for Goofy your superpower.
H is for Home not the house you’ve repaired a thousand times, but the feeling you’ve created inside it.
I is for Inside Jokes third kidneys, ovaries, Top Gun pets, and a lifetime of things only we understand.
J is for Joy the kind that’s found in ordinary Tuesdays, not just anniversaries.
K is for Keegan de Mayo proof we’ll invent any excuse to celebrate life.
L is for Love the kind that’s quieter but infinitely deeper.
M is for Michael and Finnegan our favorite collaboration.
N is for Never Boring because life with you never is.
O is for Ordinary because you’ve taught me ordinary days become extraordinary when they’re shared with the right person.
P is for Partner my favorite title you’ve ever had.
Q is for Quiet Moments coffee/chai tea, campfires, front porches, and comfortable silence.
R is for Ryan the best decision I’ve ever made without realizing how much it would shape my future.
S is for Steady when life gets loud, you’ve always been my constant.
T is for Teacher not just in your classroom, but in how you’ve taught our boys kindness, respect, humility and integrity.
U is for Us still choosing each other.
V is for Victory not because life has always been easy, but because we’ve always been on the same team.
W is for Wonder because after twenty-six years, I still catch myself thinking, I can’t believe I get to do life with you.
X is for the X’s at the end of every note and every kiss that still says “I’m here.”
Y is for You the person who still makes me feel lucky.
Z is for The Next Chapter because the alphabet ends here, but our story doesn’t
Happy 26th Anniversary!
A celebration in every way! This live stream was everything!!
Showing us HOPE is a choice. 🎶
May I channel President Obama’s stubborn optimism to continue the steady work of change.
May we all continue to live with unshakeable moral fiber and use all these servant leaders as our guide.
Congratulations to the Obama family and the City of Chicago. I can’t wait to visit!!
Welcome to your Cedarburg birthday scavenger hunt.
A day full of coffee, treats, shopping, drinks, and little adventures together. Each stop was picked to celebrate turning 23&24 with good food, favorite places, and fun memories along the way.
Complete all 6 stops in one big birthday day, or spread them out over the summer ☀️
The goal is simply to explore, celebrate, and enjoy the adventure together.
Let the birthday hunt begin!
Stop 1 – Morning Coffee Kickoff
Challenge:
Order the drink that best describes your personality.
Clue to next stop:
Now that caffeine’s in your veins,
find the place with buttery grains.
Stop 2 — Fresh Bread Bakery Mission
Challenge:
buy a loaf of bread for later
choose a pastry for each other & rate dramatically like food critics
Clue to the next stop:
Something sweet is waiting next
Stop 3 — An Apple a Day, but make it BIRTHday
Challenge:
Pick out your favorite Carmel Apple at Amy’s Apples
Clue to the next stop:
Shoppers choice!
Stop 4 — Boutique Shopping Challenge
Challenge:
buy something under $15 that reminds you of each other
Clue for the next stop:
You’ve shopped downtown and earned a drink, the next stop serves pints, not pink.
Stop 5 — Afternoon Drinks at a bar you haven’t tried before
Challenge:
Rank every drink with ridiculous names:
most likely to start karaoke
main character energy
tastes like turning 23/24
Clue for the next stop: You’ve wandered, shopped, and earned your prize,
now follow the scent of chips and fries.
With salsa, queso, tacos too,
tonight’s birthday feast is waiting for you!
Stop 6 – Dinner at La Cantina
I love you! Hope you had a fun adventure 🙂
sure the starting gun, the cheering fans, the supportive teammates are all amazing sounds at track meets, but the bell lap is my favorite.
the last lap
the one that makes all the previous work worth it.
the one that brings you to the finish line.
kinda how I feel my life is like right now … the bell lap … 🔔 🏃 🏃♀️ 🏃♂️ 🔔
Welcome to Long Grove:where the bridge tests both truck heights and reading comprehension.
The bridge isn’t low. Your truck is just ambitious.
At this point the bridge should get loyalty points from tow truck companies.
Long Grove Covered Bridge: Illinois’ most successful truck magnet.
If you hit the bridge, congratulations; you’re officially shorter than your attention span.
74+ crashes later and the bridge still believes in second chances.
Maybe add a batting average scoreboard: ‘Bridge 74, Trucks 0.’
The bridge has survived floods, storms, and apparently truck drivers with selective literacy.
At this point the bridge should have its own defensive coordinator. 🐻 🏈
Long Grove’s hottest attraction: live-action geometry failures.
The clearance marker isn’t for the truck,
it’s for the driver’s ego.
Some people collect souvenirs. This bridge collects box truck roofs.
The bridge doesn’t hate trucks. It just prefers convertibles.
Every week another driver says, ‘I think we’ll fit,’ moments before becoming local folklore.
Long Grove Covered Bridge: where optimism meets physics.
Maybe the next sign should just say: ‘Seriously. We’re tired too.’
Quiet actions get your message across
Time one in your bedroom make everyone seem more easily to get along with
An afternoon spent laying in the sun or looking out the window is time well spent
Be ready for surprises life gives you
every photo I take is a way of saying “this mattered” & every word I write is me figuring out why 📖
Photography 📸 captures the moment my heart ❤️ pauses; writing is what happens after it starts beating again. ✍️
Making a photo is like breathing 🧘♀️ in the world, 🌎 writing is the slow necessary exhale.
Photography is my eye 👁️.Writing is the glasses so I can see better! 🤓
I love being a photojournalist of an ordinary+ life! 📸 📚
Commute Friendly 🚘
Lake Views 🌊
Close By 🥾
Worth the Drive Weekend Hike 🚙
💘💖❣️💗💞💕💛💜🤎🧡💙🤍❤️🩵🩶🩷💚🖤💛💜🤎🧡💙🤍❤️🩵🩶🩷
Join me on Instagram @the_lefty_writer for the first annual #LeftyLoveLetter writing challenge ….
For the month of February the challenge is to write one love letter or poem a day…
as short as one sentence
or as long as you want!
think creatively, write the letter to ….
Ice cream
Hummingbirds
The smell of fresh cut grass
Christmas lights
Sunrises
Remote start
Your favorite barista or coffee order
Flip flop tan lines
Yourself
Your significant other
Whatever your heart desires! ❤️
Let’s flood social media with love! 💕
💘💖❣️💗💞💕💛💜🤎🧡💙🤍❤️🩵🩶🩷💚🖤💛💜🤎🧡💙🤍❤️🩵🩶🩷
The Lefty Writer 