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.