In 2018, I wasn’t sure about J.B. Pritzker. I thought he was just another rich dude trying to buy an office. Just another billionaire.

This photo is a selfie I took with him about a week before the 2018 election. I went to a rally in Chicago to hear him speak. At the time I wasn’t sure he was qualified to run the state of Illinois. What had this guy ever done except being born into money? This was his opportunity to change my mind. He didn’t do it.

Yeah, I voted for J.B. Yeah, he was the best of two evils. Yeah, he was much better than Bruce Rauner, but really, that’s not saying anything at all. So I voted for him while holding my nose. I was hoping against hope for the best.

We’re about a year into his administration. I haven’t thought much about J.B. Pritzker in that time. That’s not a bad thing in Illinois. For a state that has many of its governors going to prison, having one that lays low and out of the daily spotlight is a good thing. It’s refreshing. Besides, me and my people are more focused on the daily hijinx of Donald Trump to pay much attention to what is occurring with Pritzker.

But now we’re in the middle of a worldwide crisis. At a time where the federal government has reaffirmed that they are incompetent clowns, our state government has stepped up its game in dealing with the coronovirus pandemic.

J.B. Pritzker has taken decisive action to keep the people of Illinois safe.

When school districts and Chicago’s mayor were waffling on what to do with our schools, J.B. stepped and decided to close every school in the state. When fools decided to gather in bars to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, J.B. called out their recklessness with strong words. When that didn’t make an impact, he doubled down and decided to close bars and restaurants starting on Tuesday. When he saw the hours long wait to get through customs at O’Hare and the other major airports in America, he called out Trump and the feds in a series of Tweets. Trump instructed a staffer to make a late night call to our Governor and yell at him. J.B. sure knew the right way to get to the Donald.

It’s been a weekend of triumph for Governor J.B. Pritzker. He has showed the competency and leadership that I, and so many others, didn’t think he had.

Admitting you are wrong isn’t an easy thing to do. J.B. sure has shown me. Maybe he isn’t just a rich dude. Keep it up and I’ll be happy to give you my vote in 2022, without holding my nose. As of today, I’m a proud resident of Illinois. As of today, I’m proud to have my picture taken with you.

Related Post: Sometimes you have to vote for the lessor of two evils

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“Coping” sounds a little dramatic to me, because I have it better than most. I’m used to my kids being at home, and my husband will now join us- AND keep earning a salary. We live in a house with a yard, so we can escape each other. No one is on any medications or has allergies. We’re not in the stage in our lives where we’ll be missing out on high school or college memories, weddings, or big travel. I feel very grateful.

But, I’m me, so I also feel much more sane and safe with a PLAN. God bless the moms and teachers out there who are creating and sharing content for our kids. We will all adapt and overcome with this e-learning in place. There are so many good ideas out there, so this post will contain a structure for implementation, plus a few creative ways to connect with people without physically being around them.

Weekday Schedule (explanations at bottom; outside time based on hourly weather)

5-7am Mommy time: meditate, gratitude journal, email, WORKOUT

7-8am Morning routine, breakfast, PRAYER BOX and FACETIME CALL(?)

8-9am Morning CHORE, play (OUTSIDE?)

9-11am E-learning for eight year old, MINI-PRESCHOOL for the five and two year old

11am-12pm Lunch, FACETIME CALL(?), play (outside?)

12-1pm Read, nap for two year old, board games/puzzles for eight and five year old

1-2pm ALONE time

2-3pm Afternoon CHORE

3-4:30pm MOVIE, Mommy break/dinner prep

4:30-5:30pm Play (outside?)

5:30-6:30pm Dinner, clean-up

6:30-7:30/8pm Bedtime routine: bath, read, bed

8-10pm Mommy/Daddy time

WORKOUT: My preference will be to run outside or do the Nike training app workouts.

PRAYER BOX: Each morning, we’ll pray for someone, write his/her name, and put it in the prayer box.

FACETIME: Daily, we’ll choose a new friend/family member to call. The oldest will offer 5 minute piano “concerts.” (He’s so excited… 😉

CHORE: Clean bathrooms, wipe kitchen counters, vacuum floors, and prep meals.

OUTSIDE: We’ll play, go on nature scavenger hunts, create obstacle courses, do chalk, bubbles, messy crafts, etc

MINI-PRESCHOOL: If weather permits, we’ll start gross motor play outside. Then, we’ll come in for the letter of the day, plus a corresponding story and song. Our fine motor work will be to create a picture that fits our theme. We’ll mail this to a friend or family member. Other activities may include baking, painting, Play-Doh, and age-appropriate projects. Hopefully, this fills two hours…

ALONE: My oldest will complete schoolwork, play Legos, and read in his room. My middle will get the whole playroom to himself. My options include going for a walk, mindlessly scrolling through social media, calling a friend, taking a nap, and/or all of the above.

MOVIE: I checked out 20+ DVDs from the library. We have Netflix, but I’m a control freak and want to monitor what my kids are watching.

This is my PLAN. I’m also planning on it not going right, and on losing my shit once (okay, several) times. You know what I’m looking forward to? In one year, when my Facebook reminds me, “On this day one year ago,” and we all say, “Whoa. Remember that?” 

Logan the handsome two-year-old male abyssinian guinea pig is looking for a loving guardian.

Logan is sweet, talkative and fun – full of wheeks and whistles. He calls out in search of his favorite greens.

Guinea pigs eat a diet of unlimited timothy or orchard hays, limited pellets, and fresh vegetables including romaine, red leaf and green leaf lettuces, cilantro, and a piece of red pepper for vitamin C, etc.

Please read up on guinea pig care and diet before adopting by visiting this excellent web site http://www.guinealynx.info/

Logan would love a home with people who will handle him daily, keep him well fed, and keep his habitat nice and clean. He has always lived alone but he may be okay with certain males upon introduction. He’d certainly enjoy living next to another pig so they can talk to each other.

If you’re interested in possibly adopting Logan, please contact [email protected] to meet him.

He is being fostered in Chicago’s Andersonville neighborhood.

His adoption fee of $30 benefits the friends of Petraits Rescue. For an additional $50, we’ll include absolutely everything you need to care for him including a cage, food, hay, litter, hidey hut and water bottle.

While warehouses have always been an essential part of the retail and logistics industry, in the modern ecommerce age, they’re becoming indispensable. Whether you’re just starting or are established and looking for a way to cut costs without compromising customer experience, how can you save money in your warehouse?

Keep Up With Maintenance

One of the worst ways to lose money is by taking your facility offline due to broken down equipment. According to one survey, 98% of organizations say they lose more than $100,000 for a single hour of downtime. Around 33% of enterprises say the same amount of disruption can cost anywhere from $1 million to more than $5 million.

Keeping up with maintenance — and focusing on preventative care and scheduled downtime — will keep you from losing enormous amounts of money if something breaks and throws your schedule for a loop.

Opt for Used Equipment

Heavy equipment, such as forklifts, is a vital part of running a warehouse. They can also be incredibly expensive, especially for small businesses or those that are just starting out in the industry. Instead of breaking the bank to purchase new, choose used or refurbished equipment. While it won’t be the latest model on the market, it can help you get the job done without an exorbitant price tag.

Optimize Your Storage Layout

How do you organize inventory in your warehouse? It might seem like the most efficient option is to organize by item number, especially if you have a large number of small products. However, if you see a lot of traffic, it isn’t always the best option.

Take the time to optimize your storage layout, so items that sell frequently are closer to your packing stations. This step reduces the time you spend picking orders and can help you save money.

Invest in Tech Upgrades

A decade or two ago, paper inventories and manual picking were sufficient to keep warehouses functioning. Yet with the ecommerce industry expanding and orders coming in at all hours, it’s not enough anymore. Investing in tech upgrades might cost you in the beginning, but in the long run, it will improve efficiency, reduce costs and prevent losses that could become expensive.

Make Your Facility Energy Efficient

Warehouses have a lot of big open space — enough so that it can be challenging to make it energy efficient. It will take an investment to improve your facility so that you’re not wasting power. However, simple changes can reduce your utility bills, saving you money throughout the year.

For instance, upgrading your lighting to LED bulbs can reduce energy usage by 25% to 80% compared to traditional incandescents. You can also insulate the building to make it easier to control the indoor climate.

Save Money and Boost Warehouse Profits

In today’s ecommerce-heavy world, warehouse efficiency is essential to ensure that you’re making the most out of what is one of the most lucrative industries in the world. That doesn’t mean you need to spend all your profits or bleed money to succeed. Making a few changes can save you quite a bit and help pad your bottom line.

I am sitting at my computer. My 12 year old is on headphones doing online learning. My 9 year old is in the living room doing 30 minutes of reading time. It was a rocky start this morning when the math app she was trying to use kept saying her answer was wrong without an option to skip to the next question.

I had no idea how to help her. Perimeters? What the who?

Today was supposed to be one of the most exciting days of my life. It was supposed to be opening night of School Girls; or The African Mean Girls Play at the Goodman Theatre. The rehearsal process and 7 performances we gave were the best professional experience of my life. It ended abruptly on Thursday 3 days before opening. Once all Broadway shows were mandated to close by Governor Cuomo other Governors across the country followed suit.

Now I am thrust into structuring my kids days and providing feeble help with assignments because my school district and everyone else’s as far as I know has shut down and resorted to quickly patched together online learning.

When my oldest was a baby and I was addicted to her smell and couldn’t imagine ever leaving her side I use to say I wanted to homeschool. It always gave my husband a good laugh because I am not in any way the personality type to effectively homeschool. I don’t like structure or repetition. I need alone time. I hated school and my career as an actress is way too unpredictable to devote full days of learning to my wonderful child.

Still a girl can pretend right? I use to say, “If I had a completely different personality I would totally homeschool.” I also joked about in my web series mom in real life.

It’s 10:21 and a bulk of the morning has been about links that don’t work, creating new passwords, inexplicable math problems and tears. My own. Just kidding. No tears yet but lots of internal swearing and eye rolling. Also the standard reevaluation of my entire existence.

Thank God I have writing as an outlet. I plan to do quite a bit because it has always been my link to sanity. A link that actually works.

How are you coping with impromptu homeschooling or working from home? Share thoughts, your at home schedules and ideas in the comments below.

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Driving to the grocery store early on Saturday, I saw a woman driving a Jeep packed with toilet paper. When I did, I chuckled to myself.

Then I pulled into the parking lot, which was already full. It had never been like that so early in the morning, even at the holidays.

As soon as I saw that, a small rush of adrenaline went through me. Suddenly, I knew I needed to park quickly. Then, after getting out of the car, I saw people almost running into the store. So, I picked up my pace.

Once inside, I noticed many of the shelves were empty or emptying. Which is when another burst of adrenaline hit me. And, which is also when I thought of all those scenes I’d seen in the past on TV where crowds were panicking.

I felt that panic starting to tingle along my arms, too, as I went into a primal “protector” role, wanting to make sure I could get what I needed for my family. Then, I took a deep breath, slowed my pace and bought what I could.

No, I can’t tell you why people think they’re buying so much toilet paper, beyond believing they may be quarantined for a long period because of the coronavirus. But I do know the real reason they’re buying it.

Fear.

And that is nothing to laugh at.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Contact me at [email protected]. And listen to my podcast.

Comments Note: All comments are reviewed. Any that are considered to be a personal attack or hate speech will be removed. In my blog, I always try to be respectful. I expect the same from my readers, both in responses to me, and about or to each other. And, again, thank you for reading.

Copyright 2001-2020, James R. Warda. All rights reserved.

The NFL’s free agency period is off and running.

And apparently the Chicago Bears are making a big splash.

Bears are talking to Teddy Bridgewater about a deal that, if finalized, would most likely make him the starter over Mitchell Trubisky https://t.co/nhGeCF5iJ7

— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) March 16, 2020

With unofficial numbers being thrown around when it comes to how much the Bears will pay Bridgewater, it doesn’t seem like Mitchell Trubisky will even be in the conversation for the franchise’s starting quarterback.

Bears are talking to Teddy Bridgewater about a deal that, if finalized, would most likely make him the starter over Mitchell Trubisky https://t.co/nhGeCF5iJ7

— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) March 16, 2020

Check out highlights from Bridgewater’s 2019 season below:

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• Bears reportedly finalizing a deal with quarterback Teddy Bridgewater

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