Not only is today the last day before Illinois’ gas tax doubles, but normal vehicle registration will jump by about 50%, electric vehicle registration jumps by what feels like 1000% (I don’t wanna do the math), and it seems like a bunch of other taxes are kicking in as well. 

Last night, Katie and I decided to start watching the Harry Potter movies again. We offered to show them to Nathan — at least the first two which aren’t quite so scary as the later installments — but he opted out. 

Instead of our usual take-out Pizza Friday, Katie and I decided that we would go to a place near where she works called Nick's Pizza & Pub for dinner with Nathan. 

Seeing as how Nathan is a full-fledged "little man" now and trying to get him to smile for the camera is like that episode of Friends with Chandler completely incapable of smiling for his engagement photos, I thought it might be nice to reflect back on Nathan's very first smile.

A couple years ago, Nathan happened across a couple of my old G.I. Joe 3.75" action figures. He doesn't have any other G.I. Joe stuff, but he loves these two figures. One of them is the vintage Baroness from 1984...

I do believe tonight marks the final night in what, if Instagram and Facebook posts are to be believed, feels like a month-long residency at Soldier Field here in Chicago. Actually, I think it was only three or four nights, but, damn, I'm getting tired of all the posts. 

Once again, Reuben came thru in a pinch and correctly identified last week’s #MiniMusicMonday. 

We saw Toy Story 4 today and, um, well, suffice it to say, I wasn't blown away. This despite it having an aggregate user rating on IMDb of 8.5/10 and here I am about to say that I really don't think it deserves much more than a 6.

In line at the theater, they’re selling “Share Size” bags of Hazelnut M&Ms for $4 each while the Mexican Jalapeño Peanut flavor are $1.50. I’d actually prefer the jalapeño. 

Feel free to file this under “Things I never ever saw coming,” but I have become obsessed with Miley Cyrus music. Legitimately. Her new EP, SHE IS COMING, is amazing and I’ve played it a bunch. What is happening to me?

Wanna know something I haven't done in just a hair more than four months and have only done once so far this year? SNIPPETS!! So let's get some! Ripped from the headlines!

For the first time in more than a year, I’m back using iMovie. Why? It was nothing that Splice (a GoPro product) did wrong. Just a desire to futz with the new stuff in iMovie. 

That whole feeling like the floor of a taxicab thing? It continues. Been a week now.

That whole self diagnosis of uvulitis? Spot on according to the doctor I saw yesterday. She actually asked me if I had medical experience the way I was accurately using proper human anatomy terms.

Lots of people got either last week’s artist or the album title. But the first to posit both was Kevin Spencer. And I knew he’d get it because he and I have discussed this album much in the past. 

I have several Wisconsinite friends. I love them dearly. But if I’ve learned one thing tonight, it’s that Wisconsinites cannot park for shit. Every state has bad parking. This is next-level bad. 

Uvulitis... it’s a thing. Get you some!

I’d show you a picture but I want you to keep visiting. 

Why do people almost always get sick just before going on vacation?

I feel like I’m writing announcements like this every year, but, yet again, another Fitbit has bitten the dust. 

I realized something tonight as I was logging my most recent finished book into my Goodreads account, I am exactly nine reviews behind. 

While going through things as part of our latest home renovation project, Katie found this in a drawer...

I really kinda knew that last week’s #MiniMusicMonday challenge photo would not likely be guessed correctly. 

It really sucks when something that you’ve been looking forward to for a long, long time completely blows and disappoints the heck out of you in ways you couldn’t even fathom. 

Take a tip from a pro, kids... When you make something in a blender and pour it in one of those Blender Bottles and then decide to put it back in the real blender to give it some more spin, make sure you remove that metal whisk ball before you push the start button. Oy.

It’s kinda cool the stuff you find when you clean out something like, say, the trunk of your car.

Seeing as how tomorrow is his last day as a Kindergartener, it seemed appropriate to spend this Throwback Thursday wishing this year didn’t go by so quickly.

Finally watched BlacKkKlansman. Such an amazing film. While it saddens me to think that our world has a need for heroes such as Ron Stallworth, I’m glad they exist. 

Katie and I desperately want to extend the wifi signal in our house. It just doesn't reach as well, say, upstairs in our bedroom as we'd like. It was fine before. But now that we're relying 100% on streaming for our TV habits, we need a better one to avoid buffering and display artifacting and the like. 

Katie's cousin Stacey was Johnny on the spot with the answer to last week's #MiniMusicMonday.

The second you lose sight of a blogging goal -- in my case, daily blogging -- it's amazing how quickly and easily it can all go to hell in a handbasket. Two days! I accidentally saved in draft status for two days! 

I really didn’t want to do this recap already. Feels like it may be frighteningly lackluster. Hold tight!