Sunday Salon/Sunday Post - August 30, 2026: Where Has the Year Gone??

While I know it's been a great, productive year so far (I could post about just that!), working with dated documents has me picking the wrong month on a regular basis. Last week, it was June. Almost September, and I'm trying to put a '6' for the month. Maybe because I see it as the start month on a few cases and just lock in? Boy, do I wish summer was just starting. Hahahaha

But it is part of my life philosophy to not wish time away, so August it is! And while living in the present moment also sounds intriguing, my life is a to-do list at most times. Today will be finishing some shopping with my son - his challenge for the last week or so has been cleaning his room. As I told him, not just cleaning it to make me happy, but cleaning it so it's a useful, pleasant, and safe space for him as he goes into high school. We did the professional closet organizer things a couple summers back, because his room is on the small side. I want him to have a space he likes, where he can find what he wants to, and have room to do what he wants in there without clutter or distractions. His reward for finishing at my request before he starts high school next week is new shoes - his choice. So today we get some under bed organizers to complete the project, and new shoes. And I drag him along for groceries, because I can and he doesn't argue too loudly. ;)

First, I'm up early again, and made this blog post my first priority! Because I like to write, and I'm trying to get into the habit more. I do tend to write a lot in my head, but I'm trying to get it to paper in a journal, or to the computer usually here. Now I'm joining in with some long time peeps on Sunday Salon with Readerbuzz, and Sunday Post with Caffeinated Reviewer. Last week I admittedly read a lot of other posts for enjoyment, while not feeling up to posting for myself. We had driven up to my daughter's college (about six and a half hours north) to drop stuff off, and then back again on the same day, on Saturday. Sunday was all recovery for us. 

What I'm Reading This Week:

On my kindle, I'm about halfway through The Witches Orchard by Archer Sullivan. I've gotta say, I'm sure I picked it from Netgalley because of the 'witch' in the title, but it's actually the first in a series about an Appalachian, Air Force special investigator turned private investigator, Annie Gore. I'm really liking it, even though she does not seem to be a witch.

In print, I'm still plugging away with Little Thieves by Margaret Owen, and Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant by Roz Chast. These were both part of the Battle of the Books. My other team member ended up with a sick cat that week, so we dropped out. I had already finished one of the books, and I'm still working on these other two because I'm enjoying them. I returned the hardcover non-fiction to the book store after having read the first 50 pages or so. 

In audiobook, I started The Housemaid by Freida McFadden a few days ago. I'm enjoying the book, and admittedly have no idea where it's going. The prologue (?) was a pretty serious future moment, without identifying who was who. I'm never big on figuring it all out in advance - I tend to just go along for the ride. With that said, I do want to spare an acronym for the last audiobook I finished - Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke. The acronym is WTAF. While most of that book progressed along the given summary (although I actually hated her husband more than her), the ending was a lot. I'm excited to see what the do for the movie.

Three Good Things:

1. My son has always mostly looked forward to entering our huge high school, which I'm so glad about. I've continually told both of my kids that your elementary school friends are friends of convenience - neighbors, and the people randomly in your class. As you get older, in bigger populations and making more of your own choices, you will find more of 'your' tribe. He has already met more high schoolers through his work on the summer theatre production, and after freshman first day (our district busses in the people new to the building a week before the rest of the 2000+ students on the first day), he came home even more convinced he will like it more than previous school years. Well, except the waking up every day early and having homework shenanigans. ;)
2. My office overtime is, well, over! I can do overtime tomorrow (since it's still August), but then it's eight-hour-days. Hubs predicts this will last til we get behind at the holidays, but for now, I'll take it and be home shortly after 3pm each day. I can read, write, working my jigsaw puzzle, get some new LEGO. Even make dinner! I'll certainly miss the extra income, but it is traded for time, and I'm focusing on that.
3. Gosh, I'm having a hard time picking just one good thing to talk about! I am so, so grateful to my best friend (who lives out of state) for telling me on our girls' weekend in the spring that I was so different. I told her I'd tried Xanax for my anxiety, but it didn't help much, and here I was. She said then that I needed a pill, every day, to adjust my brain so I could enjoy my life again. While I did wait for a much bigger breakdown a month or so later, I remembered what she said. Now I take my lil pill every day, and my life is indeed so. much. better. That is the start of all my good things now.

Three Goals for This Week/Month/Whatever:

1. Although it's probably a longer term plan, I'm ready to redecorate our family room. The sleeper sofa has two actually ripped cushion. I'm picturing some definite dopamine decorating. Either a bright couch and some print side chairs, or the opposite. I already told hubs I want the tv hung on the wall, since the table underneath it just holds it, and otherwise wastes floor space. And I want a cool curvy corner shelf to replace the nine-cube shelf that is on that wall now. So instead of a two-seat loveseat, we can have two splashy side chairs and a lil table between them. Yes, I do know this makes little sense since you are not actually sitting with me looking at this view. But it is still my plan.
2. The living room at the other corner of the house will also be getting a redo. Hubs arranged to get the neighbor's old piano delivered in a couple weeks, so things will have to move around in there. We're putting it in a space that currently has a roll top desk. I don't want to get rid of the desk (they're too uncommon now), but it will be emptied and moved into storage until we decide to turn one of the kids' rooms into a guest room? We'll see.
3. Super short term, I need to make a grocery list and plan some dinners for this week. I'm home, right? Today is a rainy, blah day, so I think I'll start in the Ina Garten cookbook I got for my birthday a couple months ago and see if there's a nice cozy casserole....

Whether it feels like late summer, the beginning of fall, or a whole new year with school starting, make it a great week for you and your peeps!

Honey - Book Review

Honey by Imani Thompson
Publication: May 5, 2026
Pages: 337 pages
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars ☆☆☆
Sweet Spark: Yrsa doesn't seem to acknowledge having a lot of feelings herself, but her intellectual studies have led her to be rather decisive about who the bad men are. She seem remorseless about acting as judge and executioner, with the intention of making the world a better place.

While I'm always in for a morally righteous vigilante killer story, this was actually more about the character of Yrsa. After rather non-intentionally eliminating a man who did one of her acquaintances wrong, she decides she may have a taste for improving the world by arranging the death of bad men, one at a time. 

The back story of Yrsa's life ended up being more interesting than expected, both in contributing to her character, and her choice of men to kill While I'm not certain what it says about me, this was not the fluff, fun, murder-y book I was expecting, as much as a late in life coming of age and self-realization for Yrsa, as she hopefully heads toward completing her academic capstone and entering a more traditional adult life.

The story earned a high three out of five stars, and definitely got better further into the book and Yrsa's development. It would be enjoyed by those who appreciate an unreliable narrator and dysfunctional family story.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for my complimentary electronic copy of the book. Receiving the book for free did not influence my review. 

Sunday Post/Sunday Salon - August 9, 2026: Girls' Staycation!

This is the last foreseeable girls' weekend at home for my daughter and I. And now that I've put that into words, I'm kind of sad, while still trying to enjoy every moment. This weekend, hubs is on a work trip, and my son is at sleepaway camp. Next weekend, hubs and I go pick up son from camp, and daughter heads to school again, 6 1/2 hours away. So this is our last hurrah for a while. 

Yesterday we slept in, she went out for breakfast with her girlfriend, and then she and I headed on an hour road trip for her to play an extra in a small film (for CASH, thankyouverymuch). Then we took the slow way home, visited a lot, got some groceries, and re-watched Pitch Perfect for the millionth time while eating a late dinner. Today we slept in again, will have cinnamon rolls for breakfast, maybe lay out in the sun for a bit, then have a nice linner of our favorite appetizers from a neighborhood restaurant (I'll be headed to bed early, in preparation for going back to work tomorrow). She's then having one of her childhood besties over for a girls' slumber party.

Fantastic weekend, but I wish it could last longer, ya know?

This morning, while she understandably sleeps in longer than me (because she can), I'm joining in with Caffeinated Reviewer for the Sunday Post, and Readerbuzz for the Sunday Salon. I have been trying to blog more - well, write more overall - but this is where I've been showing up the longest. It's a great group of bloggers, and I always encourage you to head over and check some out!

What I'm Reading This Week:

I'm leaning heavy into my Battle of the Books list for reading now, since ideally I should finish the four books before the contest on Thursday. But reading before bed is one of my favorite times, and none of the books were available on kindle. So I started Confessions of a Grammar Queen by Eliza Knight, even though it isn't part of the Battle. For the Battle, I'm currently reading Lost Lambs by Madeline Cash, The Forgotten History of Easter Island by Mike Pitts, and Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant? by Roz Chast. I still need to make some time to hopefully zoom through (haha) Little Thieves by Margaret Owen. I was going to work some overtime this week, but maybe I should call in to create some free time in my schedule ;)

Three Good Things:

1. My daughter's tap shoes fit me! I've wanted to take tap dancing for a while now (have you seen the movie Miss Meadows? She tap dances everywhere!). Anyway, having to find and pay for a class, AND buy shoes was just another obstacle. Now, I have shoes, and I found an adult tap class through community education in October & November. So, I'm signing up for tap class!
2. I was able to buy the final book for Battle yesterday! I ordered the others on Bookshop.org a while ago, but they couldn't find the non-fiction. Probably because it actually has an insanely long title. Anyway, I went into Barnes & Noble with the screenshot yesterday, and after the booksellers exchanged a look and I told them about Battle, which explained why they had received a number of requests for an otherwise obscure book lately, they sold me the last hardcover copy.
3. I am so pleased and satisfied with the changes I've made around the house lately. I am definitely the one who spends the most time here, so I've bought a couple side tables and a table behind the couch, set up my cozy reading corner with a chair hubs bought for me on the TikTok Shop and a relocated side table, and I'm hanging some pictures on the walls that were previously waiting for frames. I've always liked being home, but having things more convenient and aesthetically pleasing just makes it even nicer.

Three Goals for This Week/Month/Whatever:

1. Obviously, the books. While our 'team' (me and one other friend) is not super competitive, it would be nice to get a couple answers right, and we did invest in the books... I'll try to read as much of them as possible before Thursday.
2. I'm continuing with the water challenge at work. We're tracking, and challenged to drink at least 64 oz of water, for 20 of 28 days starting July 27. I think there's only been one day so far when I drank less than that. There will be gift card giveaways for overall and weekly participation. Oddly enough, I do not win things at work. I know, I know. Words are spells, and saying that reinforces it, but it is statistically improbable that I have participated in so many things over the five + years I've worked there, and not won, while some of the same people win repeatedly. But, water is good for me anyway, so I keep going.
3. Writing more. I truly feel that writing is part of my purpose, and I want to move into something that is financially beneficial through writing. So step one is to write, right? I'm here for it, and I enjoy it. I'm sure the universe will surprise me with great results as time goes on.

Top Ten Tuesday: 4 August 2026

I really do best with following along for things like this, so while That Artsy Reader Girl says we can do any cover challenge, I will follow her lead and do 10 Books with a Body of Water on the cover. These will be books I've read, though, straight from my Goodreads list. Head over to her site to check out other peoples' posts! 

So I actually have read all of these, but they are simply in order from most recent to oldest covers I snagged showing a body of water.

Now I'm off to see others' top ten lists of probably cover anything, right? It always amazes me that after being a pretty regular reader for close to half a century, I'll still see dozens and dozens of books I haven't read...yet.

Sunday Salon/Sunday Post - August 2, 2026: Fake End of the Year

This is the last weekend of the summer for my whole family together this year. Yesterday the kids and I traveled a couple hours across the state to see Our Town by the Hope Repertory Theatre. The show's lead, Emily Webb, was played by a friend from my daughter's cohort at school doing her summer stock shows. And the show was excellent! Real tears were shed. Afterward, we headed to Hopcat for an excellent linner (late lunch, early dinner).

Today we're headed around town for errands. We'll head to Best Buy first, to return the Galaxy 7 watch I bought on Friday (which does not connect well to my Pixel phone) and hopefully get a Garmin watch (if it isn't too much more costly - in which case it may need to wait a couple weeks). Then my son and I will drop my daughter off at work and head to the comic book store in town so he can window shop, then to a couple more practical stores to get the last of the things he wants/needs on hand for camp (and a couple groceries for the house like dinner for tonight).

In the meantime, I'm up a bit before most of them to start my Sunday post and join up with those doing the Sunday Salon (hosted by Readerbuzz) and Sunday Post (hosted by Caffeinated Reviewer). I'm truly looking forward to this evening, after the busy-ness and hub-bub, when I can take some quiet time to visit some of the usual participants who I enjoy following along in life with.

What I'm Reading This Week:

Last night I finished Honey by Imani Thompson. I'm figuring out what to say, as it was not what I expected from the blurb, but I am glad I read it - probably 4 out of 5 stars? I'll decide what to start next on my kindle later today. I'm thoroughly engrossed in the audiobook of Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid on my way to and from work. Loving it! (BTW, looks like there's currently a giveaway for print copies of the book on Goodreads through Aug 13 or so.) And I started the print book of Lost Lambs by Madeline Cash. It's one of the books for the Battle of the Books competition in a couple weeks.

Three Good Things:

1. Okay. The first thing that came to mind made me wonder if this is from the previous week, or looking forward? No matter. Ima list what I list. LOL I'm excited to have this coming Wednesday off of work! We're taking the boy to camp, where he'll be for 12 days. It's his first time, but it's a pretty well known camp with multiple sessions where his cousins also go (but not during the same week). He is super excited.
2. Yesterday was a really great day with the kiddos. They are fabulous road-trippers who roll with the punches. We planned to get there early and get a meal before the show, but the town was PACKED and an hour was unlikely to be enough time. We got concessions, loved the show, and went back to where we originally planned to eat afterward instead. I was worried about them being way hungry during the show, but then we all almost laughed out loud when it was MY stomach that audibly delivered practically a monologue during a quiet part of the show. I was MORTIFIED. Part way home we stopped for root beer floats at some place off the expressway that my daughter knew of, and drove by the big lake just to say we did. I'm so grateful for days like yesterday.
3. I re-gifted my Davincified dragon painting. I realized what was intended to be a distraction from stress, and something to do to free my mind and relax, was adding pressure because I wasn't really looking forward to working on it. Some things will be our jam, and some will not. And my closest co-worker was excited to receive it and says she is looking forward to the process, but would not have picked that painting, so she'll probably finish it and give it back all done!

Three Goals for This Week/Month/Whatever:

1. I'm gonna get a smart watch and get it set up! Technology is usually frustrating for me, but it sounds like the right watch that properly connects should be pretty user friendly. I'll give it one more try. If not today, in a couple weeks. Keep your fingers crossed for me!
2. Continue with my office's water challenge! Starting July 27, we're challenged and tracking how much water we consume each day. The goal of the challenge is 64 oz for 20 out of 28 days. So far so good! I got 80 oz/day on the Monday - Friday of last week. I always planned to not try yesterday (because who honestly wants to pee that often on a road trip). I'll hopefully get it done today after errands, and then tomorrow it will be back to guzzling at work. I'm taking Wednesday off again (road trip to camp). At work, I try to empty my 40oz Owala (I have a white-ish one, and a forest green one) before lunch, and again after. So far, so good!
3. I think I'm going to try my Woobles crochet kit today! I got the Yeti for a christmas gift from my kids, but was disappointed to find that the instructions are online. Now that I have my new laptop and keep it in the living room, I can hang out among my other humans as they do their activities and teach myself to crochet, more or less. And looking at the website now, there's other cute kits if I end up liking it. We'll see!

Sunday Post/Sunday Salon - July 26, 2026: Happy Birthday!

Hello! I always see people with little kids saying they want to 'stop time' to enjoy their little one. Personally, I've made it sort of one of my word goals not to say anything like that. We all know people for whom time has stopped, when their child is sick, or gods-forbid, dies. Time has to progress and proceed. And words are spells (this is a huge one for me). Every moment is so precious, and never to be repeated.

This week, we're celebrating my first child's 19th birthday. One of my great sources of joy and satisfaction is seeing others appreciate my amazing daughter. I love to watch how much her friends and family care for her, how she elicits notice and laughs or admiration from audiences and people she interacts with, and the reactions she gets just being her fun, kind, and unique self out and about with those she cares about. As I said when she was being ridiculous at an event with friends and family a few weeks ago, "I made that." Hahahaha....

I'm taking a few minutes to join in with Caffeinated Reviewer for Sunday Post, and  Readerbuzz for Sunday Salon, before I take a quick shower and run out for breakfast treats, before the girl needs to go to work. Ugh. Then she'll take her quick shower after work, before more family comes over to celebrate her special day. Our summer is rapidly heading to a close. This will be our last week all together, as the week after has camp for my son, another business trip for hubs, and then it ends with my daughter heading back to college. So just a couple weeks to go, really.

What I'm reading this week:

I'm about half-way through the kindle edition of Honey by Imani Thompson (which I may be enjoying more than I should, with the murdering and all...). In print, I'm hoping to wrap up The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wacker later today, so I can start on my Battle of the Books books before the event on August 13. For audio books, I just finished Bookshops and Bonedust by Travis Baldree (really enjoyed, and may pick up the later books in the series another time), and Astrophysics for People in a Hurry by Neil deGrasse Tyson (loved, and his passion for the subject makes it great, even if I didn't understand most of it - would listen again). 

I just unsuspended my hold and will start Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid on Monday. I've somehow not read any of this author's books before, and what caught my attention for this one was the Audio Award Winner for the audio book narration by Kristen DiMercurio. I actually first watched a lot of Tik Toks by this voice actor, as they pick animated characters they don't know, then reads about them and 'guesses' at their voice. They're usually pretty close! When I saw them winning the award for narrating this book, I really wanted to hear/read it.

Three Good Things:

1. I did a good something for myself! I mean, it didn't work out, but I initiated something. I was talking to a friend a couple weeks ago who recommended a breath studio in town. I scheduled a consultation! I went in last Monday for a tour of the place, and talked with my guide for a few minutes about the whole 9D breathing therapy thing. It sounded ah-mazing. But they do the intro class on a Monday - Wednesday from 7 - 9 or 9:30pm. I've become a big fan of doing what works for me. Being in bed by 7 on nights before work is a win for me. I get up at 4:20am, so not being home until almost 10pm would be bad. Especially the first three days of the work week. I'd never catch up if I had to do that for a month (the intro period). So I had to pass. And never even found out how much it would actually cost. But my 'good thing' is that I did schedule and go see about something just for me.
2. I finally started my Davincified painting! Just a couple spots so far, and I accidentally left a paint pot open when I walked away the first time... But progress is progress!
3. I got more furniture for the family room. Not sure if mentioned the awesome skinny table behind my couch (that hides remotes, phone chargers, and the like), but now I also got a side table with built in outlets/chargers next to the lounger chair in the family room and the one in the living room. We had actually been using a cat climber/scratcher next to the chair in the family room, so when the cats scratched, a drink was often spilled! LOL

Three Goals for this week/month/whatever:

1. Keep working on my painting! I meant to yesterday, but got drawn into the appeal of laundry (just kidding, the only appeal is trying to stay ahead of the panic of dirty laundry we need to be clean...)
2. Work some overtime this week. The kids and I are going to a theater a few hours away to see Our Town next Saturday, but I don't have any time off during the week. So I can make some overtime, but it will have to be Monday - Friday.
3. I almost wrote menu plan, but I think I need to do it a little less traditionally. Since schedules around here change unexpectedly, I get way too frustrated when I have dinner planned, and not enough people are here to eat it. So by 'menu plan,' I think I need to essentially be ready for a few dinners at home by having ingredients thawed and on hand, that I can use within a few days. When people are here and ready to eat, I can make what is next on the plan. I really like planning, so this is sort of uncomfortable for me to do so loosey goosey. Hahahaha....

Throwback Thursday - December 2004

Here's an oldie. Today, I tried to find an old picture of just me, instead of picking up my phone to ask if anyone else cared if they were in the picture, but getting distracted by my games, and getting back in a half hour to have forgotten which picture I meant... I'm sure that description shows just how easily that would have happened. LOL

This is a picture taken by hubs, of me in Garmish-Partenkirchen. It's in Bavaria, Germany, and is where the 1936 Winter Olympics were held. The photo was taken in 2004 during a two week trip while hubs was working in North Rhine-Westfalia for BHTC. While I'm a homebody, hubs has always loved checking out all the touristy stuff he can find on his work trips.