The Optimistic Musings of a Pessimist

The F.I.G. Collective: Announcing the 2026 Edition

It’s backkkkkkkkk.

I was on the fence about running another round of The F.I.G. Collective this winter because of… life! But then Stephany posted about her experience participating in this group practice last February….

Happy Things Friday: 9 January

Whelp… this has been quite a week. A bug of some sort hit various members of the family, we ran into unexpected logistical issues with our company (business “company,” not the people visiting kind)…

Life
Jan, 09, 2026
48 Comments

Drumroll Announcing My Ten Favourite Non-Fiction Reads from 2025

Since my mid-20s, I’ve been a non-fiction gal through and through. This year, I read far fewer non-fiction books than normal (I’m hoping to reverse that trend in 2026)!

After pulling together a HUGE post…

Holiday Leftovers, Clearance Finds, and Other Recent Frugal Wins

Who’s ready for a look at some recent frugal decisions/outcomes in our household?

1 | Leftovers!

We are a leftovers family. I’m so glad we have relatively little food waste, and nothing brings me greater…

Frugality, Money
Jan, 07, 2026
39 Comments

Drumroll Announcing My Ten Favourite Fiction Reads from 2025

This was hard! For the first time in years, I have had an absolutely banner year of fiction reading and I give all credit to the blogging community. The number of incredible suggestions coming…

2025 on the Blog: Stats, Stories, and So Much Gratitude

Last year I wrote a post summarizing my year of blogging (2024 summary here) and I thought it would be fun to do something similar again! (It looks like a long post, but there…