What I Spent: June 2025

As a reminder, my husband pays the "big bills" like mortgage, phone, and electricity. I pay for groceries and the pets and that somehow evens things out.

Eating out ($20.46, .9%) - This was just coffee a couple of times and lunch once.

Entertainment ($86, 4%) - I started a Spotify subscription, so we'll see if I keep that. I also had a couple of adventures with Anne, and bought an audiobook.

Bills ($133.36, 6.2%) - Home and car insurance.

Personal care ($142.54, 6.6%) - Mostly makeup.

Savings ($200, 9.2%) - It is what it is.

Cars ($217, 10%) - New tags for one of the cars and way too much gas. 

Gifts ($251.30, 11.6%) - Grad gift, stamps (PSA - First-class stamps are going up in price from 73 cents to 78 cents on July 13, so stock up now)

Pets ($358.91, 16.6%) - Food, litter, Hannah's $$$ probiotic. It's just costs so much to have pets.

Groceries ($754.64, 34.9%) - This isn't all of it. Dr. BB did the Costco run and he ran to the store twice while I was out of town. 

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How much do you spend eating out each month? 

My Summer Wardrobe - What I Wore Last Week

Who wants a roundup of the clothes I wear?! If not, no worries. Skip this entire post.

Wednesday, June 25 - It's hot, friends. I regretted the sleeves almost immediately. Weird day. I started out with a dentist appointment and ran into the office for about an hour and a half. I spent the rest of the day working from home and dealing with a dog who wasn't feeling well, so I had to take her outside approximately eight times. 

Dress: Toad & Co. (purchased on extreme clearance in the off-season and is no longer on their site)

Shoes: Mephisto Helen

Thursday, June 27 - Still really hot. We had an orientation event at work, so I was meandering everywhere on campus. No bueno. Also, my hair stayed down for approximately two seconds. ALSO ALSO the computer lab was SO HOT that I almost melted into my students. (I did not wear the flip flops to work. I wore the sandals I wore yesterday. I wore the flip flops to walk the dog because the rain makes everything wet.)

Dress: Happy Earth Midi Dress from last year (no longer on their site)

Shoes: Vionic flip flops

Friday, June 27 - The floors in our office are being waxed, so it's a work from home day for the entire office. No makeup, no jewelry, my hair hasn't been washed in four days, and my husband is STILL IN MADISON for his conference, so I officially DGAF.

Dress: Wool& Ava Fit & Flare - Lovely dress - very cool and flattering. Unfortunately, it is too low cut for someone with my assets, so I have to wear a cami under it to wear it to work which makes it less cool and ruins the lines. Perfect for a WAH day, but not ideal if I'm going to meeting in person with anyone. 

Shoes: Mephisto Helen (in black instead of brown)

Saturday, June 29 - Adventure day with Anne! It was actually a really nice day for our adventure, which was a fun boat trip on Lake Geneva, along with a tour of a lovely old summer "cottage." I slathered myself up in in sunscreen and it was fun. 

Dress: Toad & Co. (another one I ordered on super clearance in the off-season and is no longer on their site) - This dress has an annoying slit, so while I would like to wear it to work, I do not because it frequently shows too much leg. Anne suggested I tack it down with a well-placed stitch or three. I might do that!

Shoes: Mephisto Helen 

Sunday, June 29 - This was the one and only time I left the house, which was to go to the grocery store to buy sweet potatoes, which I needed to make for the dog.  This dress is too short for work and doesn't have pockets (all the rest of the dresses shown DO have pockets), so it's reserved for days like today when I all I was doing was making sweet potatoes and granola, doing housework (mostly laundry and vacuuming), and catching up on my blog. 

Dress: Mata Traders (years ago - they do seem to have more offerings with pockets these days)

Shoes: Mephisto Helen

Monday, June 30 - The thermostat in my office says 74.5, but it feels closer to 88 in here. I forgot to take a photo before I left the house this morning. 

Dress: Happy Earth Lily Midi Dress (Paradise is the print)

Shoes: Mephisto Helen

Tuesday, July 1 - Back in my office because the morning light was harsh this morning. It's still hot, but it didn't feel punishing on my walk with Hannah this morning.

Dress: Happy Earth Isla Midi Dress (pattern is Les Fleurs) - I like this dress, but wish the V-neck wasn't quite so deep. I have to wear a cami under it and I don't love that look. Oh, well. The dress is cream/ivory and I only have white camisoles and the white makes the cream look dirty, so I have been wearing a brown one. I'd like to get a green or cream camisole, but I think you all know that I'm not going to actually take action on that. 

Shoes: Mephisto Helen

Wednesday, July 2 - Back in my office because I forgot I was doing this. I only have one more daily summer dress in my closet - it's a way too short sheath dress without pockets I've owned since high school. It's perfect and I love it, but it really is reserved for days when I stay at home. I have a couple of cocktail dresses that are summery, but you're basically looking at my whole wardrobe.

Dress: Boden - This is from several years back. I fell for Boden's greenwashing and purchased this dress thinking it was an ethical purchase. Boden is terrible to its employees, though, so I wouldn't buy it today. However, since I already have it, I am going to wear it until it falls apart.

Shoes: Mephisto Helen

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For the wedding I am going to in early August, I am considering wearing one of the Happy Earth midi dresses (Thursday or Monday) with a duster I have. You can see the outfit I wore for our wedding anniversary when I'm wearing one of the dresses with this duster.

Thoughts? Do you have a preference for which dress would be more wedding-y? Should I try to find something else? (I am not opposed to buying a new dress, but if I want to do so, I should get started looking now.)

June 2025 Accountability Buddy

Sunday, June 1
Day off

Monday, June 2
30-minute Werq (dance) class after work - I hadn't worked out since Thursday and I had done very little movement over the weekend outside of some light stretching before bed. I was *shocked Pikachu face* at how much better my bad leg felt during this workout. There are some moves that I just automatically modify because I know my leg can't handle it, but here I was doing them. I wonder if I'm actually not giving my leg enough rest. It's an interesting question. I have a doctor's appointment next week to discuss if my leg is what it is and I need to suck it up or if there's something that can be done. 

Tuesday, June 3

30-minute no repeat full body 

15-minute full body flexibility yoga 

Wednesday, June 4

45-minute yoga class at the community center after work

Thursday, June 5

30-minute yoga in the student union during lunchtime

60-minute Zumba class after work

Friday, June 6

30-minute total body dumbbell  - Super sweaty.

15-minute full body yoga stretch - This was lovely after the workout.

Saturday, June 7

Day off

Sunday, June 8

35-minute full body no repeat superset

15-minute cooldown stretch - This felt more like another workout than a relaxing cooldown!

Monday, June 9

30-minute Werq (dance) class after work

Tuesday, June 10

35-minute total body dumbbell

10-minute full body yoga stretch

Wednesday, June 11

45-minute yoga class at the community center after work

Thursday, June 12

30-minute yoga in the student union during lunchtime

Friday, June 13

30-minute total body supersets

15-minute yoga stretch

Saturday, June 14

30-minute yin yoga - The music was loud and distracting in this video, but it is a good yin practice. 

Sunday, June 15 

45-minute slow flow restorative yoga - I should have done strength training today, but I feel beat up. I treated myself to this slow flow instead. 

15-minute neck and shoulder stretches

Monday, June 16

30-minute yoga in the student union during lunchtime

30-minute walking workout (cardio)

Tuesday, June 17

35-minute tri-sets total body 

10-minute full body stretch with Yoga with Adriene

Wednesday, June 18

15-minute stretch class at lunchtime*

45-minute yoga class at the community center after work

Thursday, June 19

Day off

Friday, June 20

30-minute morning yoga

Saturday, June 21

Look, nothing formal, but I set up tables and chairs and was crawling around on the ground for hours. I'm counting this as strength training. 

Sunday, June 22

Day off

Monday, June 23

30-minute yoga in the student union during lunchtime

30-minute Werq (dance) class after work

Tuesday, June 24

Day off - This was unexpected, but Dr. BB is out of town, it's approximately hot as hell here, and I just lost all willpower to do anything except lie down on the couch and sigh heavily

Wednesday, June 25

45-minute yoga class at the community center after work

Thursday, June 26

60-minute Zumba class after work - There were SO MANY people at Zumba. It was crazy. 

Friday, June 27

15-minute stretch class at lunchtime

30-minute full body strength training no repeats - It's been too long since I did any work with weights. Whoops. 

Saturday, June 28

30-minute total body bootcamp - I do not care for supersets, but it's definitely good at building endurance

15-minute full body stretch

Sunday, June 29

60-minute restorative yoga - Very lovely practice. A lovely weekend treat. 

Monday, June 30

30-minute yoga in the student union during lunchtime

30-minute Werq (dance) class after work

Totals: 25/30 (83.3%) days 

13 days yoga

16 days strength/cardio

2 short 15-minute stretch classes at lunchtime

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*Our local healthcare organization does free stretch classes virtually three times a week. Sign up here! It's free. It's fun. We regularly talk about candy and what's for lunch. It's a delightful break in the middle of the day. You do not have to have your camera on. 

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If it has been hot by you, where are you doing your workouts to stay cool? If it's not hot by you, you should brag about that in the comments!

June 2025 Book List

What an excellent reading month for me. Woot woot! Four five-star books! 

6/4: The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley (library, 2024) - IRL book club choice. I loved it. 5/5 stars

6/8: How To Read a Book by Monica Wood (library, 2024) - What a sweet book. Maybe too saccharine for some readers, but I liked it. 5/5 stars

6/13: The Favorites by Layne Fargo (library, 2025) - Yes! I'm all in. A sports book that's really a soap opera. 5/5 stars

6/17: Night Film by Marisha Plessl (library, 2013) - So engrossing. 5/5 stars

6/22: What Feasts at Night (Sworn Soldier #2) by T. Kingfisher (library, 2024) - Kingfisher really is a gem in the modern fantasy landscape. 4/5 stars

6/22: Seraphina (Seraphina #1) by Rachel Hartman (library ebook, 2012) - Dragons and humans have had a truce for many years, but that peace is in peril now. Seraphina understands both sides since she is the daughter of a human man and dragon woman. I thought this was a fun premise, but the execution was a bit sluggish. 3/5 stars

6/22: Dungeon Crawler Carl (Dungeon Crawler Carl #1) by Matt Dinniman (audiobook I purchased narrated by Jeff Hays, 2020) - This was our book club book. I will write more after book club meets, but that won't be until August, so I mostly liked this although it took me a bit to get into it. 4/5 stars

6/28: The Most by Jessica Anthony (library, 2024) - Disaffected housewife in the 1950s. Where else have I seen this before? 3/5 stars

Total: 8 books (I mean, two of those were novellas, but that's how it goes, right)
Average star rating: 4.25/5 stars

DNF 

Too Like the Lightning (Terra Ignota #1) - I'm 30% through this book and I have no idea what's going on. Sometimes you just have to give up. I'm not smart enough for this book. 

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Have you ever read four five-star books in a row? Do you think they're really great books or that I'm just an easy grader? 

The Most by Jessica Anthony

I heard about The Most by Jessica Anthony on Sarah's Bookshelves, when Susie described it as "a book about a woman who went into the pool and refused to get out." 

It's early November 1956. The Russians have sent a dog into space, Virgil Beckett goes to church in his brand new '57 Buick Bluebird with his two sons, and his wife Kathleen stays home and gets into their apartment complex pool wearing her swimsuit from her college days. When Virgil gets home with the boys, Kathleen just stays in the pool. 

I thought this was a thoughtful look at how a marriage can fall apart. The beginning was interesting, the setting was interesting, the mini character studies on the two sons was interesting, and even the evolution of the marriage in peril was interesting, despite my dislike of that as a subject. The writing is lyrical, but doesn't devolve into poetic. We switch between Virgil and Kathleen's POV and while I don't really care about Virgil all that much (I'd much rather spend time with Kathleen), there were some clever passages where we see the conversation from different viewpoints and that was fun.

But boy was I ever let down by the last third of the book. It's only 135 pages long, so I guess I don't know what I was expecting, but I sort of wanted closure. I wanted to know if these two sat down and hashed it out. I wanted to know if someone ever figured out why Nicholas was a little sociopath. I wanted to know MORE. I feel like the ending was abrupt and disappointing and it let down the rest of the book. 3/5 stars

Thing I looked up:

Thessaloniki  - The second-largest city in Greece, with slightly over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of Macedonia. (Seriously, why is my knowledge of geography SO BAD?)

Hat mentions (why hats?):

He played a cowboy, he said, who sat on top of a horse and wore a ten-gallon hat. (page 28)

With the men out of the office, there was no one to complain when Virgil put on his coat and hat, hung the CLOSED sign, and left. (page 63)

The man was wearing one of those old-fashioned wool suits and a brown derby hat, as though about to embark for a day at the office in 1924. (page 67)

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Did you know where Thessaloniki was? Is your knowledge of the geography of the world as limited as mine? 

Tell NGS What To Do: Wedding Edition

Later on this summer, we will be attending a wedding in California. It's in the Santa Cruz area for those of you who want to know, although I have to admit that due to microclimates in the area, that might not be the most helpful of descriptors. I don't want to out my friends here. 

The bride and groom have been very quiet about this wedding. We never even received a save the date and the invitation came with very limited information, but there was a link to a wedding website! 

Okay, I thought this would have solved all my problems, but it absolutely has not. 

Conundrum #1

Here's what it say about the dress code:

The bride will be wearing a wedding dress and the groom will wear a suit, but we'd love for you to wear whatever makes you feel comfortable and festive. Dresses, suits, and ties are all optional. If you prefer a bit of inspiration, think coast, garden, and sunshine. Plan to walk briefly on moderately uneven ground, grass, and dirt trail, and know that you'll be standing for the entirety of the ceremony.

We recommend bringing layers, as temperatures can range from the low 50s to high 70s during summer.

What does that mean I should wear? 

I've googled the locations and literally cannot find the ceremony site, but I think it's literally a meadow. The place for the reception is a cute restaurant with a giant outdoor eating area. It sounds like we will be outdoors for all of it. 

1) Dr. BB is probably going to wear a linen suit.

2)The ceremony is at 4pm and the dinner is from 6-9pm. Both will be held outdoors. 

3) Should I just wear a regular cotton dress and bringing a cardigan or scarf?

4) Can I just wear my every day sandals? Because of my dicey leg, I am not great at heels on level surfaces, let alone uneven ground. Normal sandals doesn't seem very celebratory and wedding-y. I do not want to be hobbled, though. My bad leg sometimes does bad leg things. 

Conundrum #2

The registry has six items on it and then a contribution to a honeymoon fund. I suspect the meager registry items were put there for elderly relatives who would complain about just handing over cash, but I fear that I AM an elderly non-relative who is cranky about just handing over cash. 

Should I just suck it up and donate to the honeymoon fund (*sigh* *eyeroll* *unhappy face*) or be a jerk and purchase one of the registry items? 

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Okay, sound away. What do I do here? 

What Feasts at Night by T. Kingfisher

I really enjoyed the first novella in T. Kingfisher's Sworn Soldier series, What Moves the Dead, so I was excited to dive into the sequel, What Feasts at Night. 

We are back with Alex Easton, who has spent some time in Paris since their adventure at the Usher manor in the previous installment. They are now on their way to their home country of Gallacia to their hunting lodge where they will meet Miss Potter for more fungus exploration. When they arrive, they find that the caretaker of the lodge had died several months earlier. When they attempt to figure out what caused the caretaker's death, local superstition starts to take hold. 

Boy, oh boy, do I enjoy Kingfisher novellas. This was such a fun, quick read. Kinda spooky, but we know Alex is going to be okay in the end, so it's never terrifying, really. It's funny and Alex is such a fun character to be around. I see that there are two more books in the Sworn Soldier series to come and I can't wait to read more. 4/5 stars

Lines of note:

I gazed at Cordin's daughter's front door with sinking dread. Paying one's condolences sounds well and good in theory, but in practice you have to walk up to a stranger and effectively say, "Ah, yes, that person you loved so much? Remember how they died horribly? So sorry about that." It's different when it's at a funeral and fresh in their minds, but two months later? I felt ghoulish. (page 26)

Such great observational writing. It is different at a funeral than much later, but somehow you always end up having to do both, don't you?

If you have ever dealt with the possessions of the dead, you probably know what I mean. You take things away and leave behind emptiness, and everything you remove - every sheet and pillowcase, every lost sock and old razor - erases a little bit of the dead person's footprint in the world. You picture your own home being carted away, piece by piece, hopefully by loved ones and not by strangers. (page 35)

Am I the only one who does hope it is done by strangers so there's less emotional baggage for them? 

Nevertheless, I personally have never seen an ostrich.

They simply don't play a large part in my life. If I woke in the night and head footsteps in the hall, I would not immediately assume it was an ostrich. Why would I? Ostriches are things that happen to other people, far away, in countries more Serengeti-adjacent. If you want to tell me your saga of your encounter with an ostrich, I will listen appreciatively, but it's just not something I worry about happening to me. 

Likewise, ghosts do not play any significant role in my life. I have slept in reputedly haunted houses and never seen anything worse than a stray cockroach. The howls of banshees and Gray Ladies fall on deaf ears (or at least ears rather badly affected by tinnitus). I've never attended a seance and while I have a vague skepticism about mediums, it's the same kind that I have about landlords and minstrels. Undoubtedly some of them are fine people, and I do not question the existence of either rental properties or music. (page 99)

This extended analogy made me laugh out loud. 

Things I looked up:

moroi (page 32 and then over and over again) -  a type of vampire or ghost in Hungarian and Romanian folklore

Hat mentions (why hats?):

I took off my hat and held it in front of my chest. (page 26)

I took a deep breath and clenched the brim of my hat in nervous fingers. (page 27)

I squeezed the brim of my hat with my hands. (page 27)

I wanted to jam my hat in my mouth to stop myself talking. (page 27)

My hat was never going to be the same, as badly as I was twisting it. (page 28-29)

Miss Potter removed a pin from her hat... (page 48)

I shook myself and turned to Bors, who was mutilating his hat...(page 145-146)

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Did you know what a moroi is?