The Optimistic Musings of a Pessimist

Introducing the Newest Members of Our Family

Sorta.

Meet…Belle.

And Indy…

It has never felt natural or overly conversational to refer to my children by their initials. But I also wanted names that had some sort of tangential significance for our family without using…

Top Five/Bottom Five: Fall

It is no secret that fall is my favourite season.

Let me clarify. September (of which only a sliver is technically fall) through to mid-October is my favourite season. The rest of the year…

Holidays, Personality Insights, Top Five/Bottom Five
Sep, 18, 2024
43 Comments

A Final Portugal Recap: Top Recommendations, Things I Want To Do Next Time + How Much It Cost

I’ve started getting into the habit of doing a post-mortem of sorts after we finish a trip. What worked, what didn’t, and what we ended up spending. I always enjoy reading these sort of…

Budget, Habits, Organization, Planning, Portugal, Travel
Sep, 17, 2024
37 Comments

Where Do You Keep That? (Part One)

I am shamelessly using Engie’s post prompt that she got from Stephany who got it from a recent episode of the Girl Next Door podcast when the hosts discussed where they keep various standard…

Habits, Home, Life, Organization, Personality Insights, Random
Sep, 16, 2024
45 Comments

Happy Things Friday: 13 September

It’s Friday the 13th. I’m not superstitious (at all), but even I have to admit I stopped to take note of the date.

We’re nearing the end of a perfectly fine week. It was neither…

Portugal Days Thirteen – Fifteen: All Good Things Must Come To An End (Lisbon, Canada)

After debating the pros and cons of various modes of transport, we opted to take the train from Porto to Lisbon. Everything went smoothly in terms of logistics. We travelled with Intercidades which was…

Family, Portugal, Travel
Sep, 12, 2024
16 Comments

Announcing the Next Cool Bloggers Walking Club

It’s almost here!

The last time I decided to do a month of walking at least 10 minutes/day, I didn’t give much advance warning. In fact, it was a single line item at the end…