The Optimistic Musings of a Pessimist

Cool Bloggers Walking Club: Week #4

We’ve made it to the home stretch. Today marks the last day of our April walking club (can you believe it?). I’ll be back next week with a final recap of the last two…

I’ll Pass on the €600,000 Watch (But I Will Take the Beach House)

A few years ago I read Crying in H Mart and followed that up by watching some interviews with the author, Michelle Zauner. A major theme of this memoir is the death of Zauner’s…

Gratitude in Practice: Joel Larsgaard!

Exciting news: Joel Larsgaard is in the house — figuratively speaking, of course.

Joel and his best friend Matt loved talking about money. They also loved drinking craft beer. Naturally, the next step was to…

Happy Things Friday: 25 April

Well, this month is chugging right along. I am finding it hard to believe that next month is May. It feels like once we hit mid-May, there won’t be much stopping until September. Our…

Life
Apr, 25, 2025
44 Comments

Fourteen Years of Regular Solo Parenting: What I’ve Learned and How I’ve Survived

Several years ago, I wrote a post about my solo-parenting experiences. (It was on my “old blog,” so unfortunately, I can no longer link to that).

When I asked readers for new topic ideas, Katie…

Ask Me (Almost) Anything, Family, Hard Things, Life, Parenting
Apr, 24, 2025
52 Comments

Cool Bloggers Walking Club: Week #3

No snow – at least in my part of the world – this week. That feels like progress! (Week 1. Week 2.)

ELISABETH’S WALKS

Distance | Company | FIG*

*FIG = a Finding Joy in Gratitude moment

15 – 7.5 km | John | The…

Lost Books, Last Chapters, and Lifelong Favourites

As so often happens (see last Monday), inspiration comes from the comment section of the blog. Today’s post is brought to you by Maria, who mentioned that two of the books she was reading…