The Optimistic Musings of a Pessimist

Thrifted Sneakers, A Free Trampoline + Other Recent Frugal Wins

It’s been weeks since I gave a “frugal wins” update, and I feel like enough have accumulated to gather them up for a little post!

We got a great deal on thrifted sneakers. While we…

Frugality
Sep, 16, 2026
19 Comments

Can You Read In a Moving Car + 2 More Questions for Readers

Apparently, I still haven’t exhausted my supply of questions about how other people read!

In the last few months we’ve discussed whether you have to stop at the end of a chapter, when to DNF…

Reading
Sep, 15, 2026
41 Comments

I’m Back + What’s “Saving My Life”

Hi! *Waves*

I’m back!

Things feel… a lot better this week! I was in a rough spot when I last posted (all the ongoing things in life, a leaky roof, AND I was smack dab in…

Brain Dump + Blog Break

I’m writing this just before midnight on a Sunday because I can’t get to sleep.

I had a whole week of blog posts scheduled (hooray!), but I’ve moved them all back to drafts and will…

Happy Things Friday: 4 September

This week—*waves hands around at the literal mess of laundry, bobby pins, safety pins, and nail polish bottles scattered all over the dining room table, along with the grass clippings tracked hither and yon…

Life
Sep, 04, 2026
28 Comments

On My Shelf: Books Read August 2026

After a fiction heavy July, I unintentionally turned the tables and read predominantly non-fiction in August. That said, I feel like reading an epic tome like Gone With the Wind is a bit like…