Five for Friday, Edition #30

1) Don't forget that we're starting our reading of The Joy Luck Club for Cool Bloggers Book Club (CBBC) on Monday! For the full schedule, check out this post. 

2) Has anyone else found themselves befuddled by the recent changes to Libby? Basically, you can no longer defer your loan if it becomes available when you won't be able to read it. You have to suspend the hold until you're ready to read the book. You don't lose your place in line or anything, but you have to remember to reactivate the loan when you're ready. I am endlessly frustrated by the fact that I forget to do this. I mean, we had a system that automatically did it - why is it now a manual process?!

3) My sister has done something terrible again. I won't go into details, but rest assured that I have only one more thing to do with her at the end of October/beginning of November and then I'll never have to deal with her again. 

4) At the beginning of the semester, I was excited because it seemed like blue jeans were making a comeback and that horrible athleisure trend was behind us. But then I realized that 2025 fashion on my campus is TRAGIC. Girls wearing crop tops with baggy pants, all the boys wearing baseball caps and khaki pants/shorts. Why can people not dress in a manner that is flattering?! I mean, one half of me is relieved that the athleisure phase is over - this seems like a sign that the COVID hangover is lessening - but the other half of me just wishes we could, as a species, realize that there are certain silhouettes that are flattering on some shapes and use this knowledge to our advantage. 

#getoffmylawn #kidsthesedays 

5) There's a thing happening here in Wisconsin. It's terrible. It's government dictating curriculum at the state universities. It should be illegal. Alas, it is not. Alas, it's going to be bad things for me and I'm over here dusting off my resume just in case. What this means is that liberal arts is being gutted in Wisconsin.

I'm not here to preach, but this whole post is preachy, so why am I going to stop myself on this bullet point? Liberal arts provide the foundation of critical thinking, communication, and problem solving that are crucial to everyone on this planet. We're not training our students for a particular job path or career. We're training them to be able to do ANY job. They learn how to go quickly from task to task, doing different things on a regular basis. We teach them how to work with people from diverse backgrounds - not just ethnically or racially diverse, but SES, disability, and sexual orientation. We teach people the soft skills employers say they want.

And they're just over here gutting general education like it's not the future of our students at stake. (And the jobs of many people in our college, if not the entire university.)

I probably shouldn't really talk about my work like this, but here we are. I feel like what I'm talking about is public knowledge and I'm not calling anyone out by name, but if you live in this state and don't know who is behind this, you're not paying attention.

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6) I can't leave it all with doom and gloom. Last weekend we went to a tourist place in Wisconsin with my sister-in-law (of podcast fame) and her family. We went to a waterpark and did an escape room - we finished with 20 minutes left! TWENTY MINUTES. We felt like geniuses. 

And then my niece and I got matching permanent jewelry. BECAUSE I AM THE COOL AUNT.

(I also managed to get a serious burn on both my elbows thanks to the most terrifying water slide I've ever been on. When a small child says, "don't worry, Aunt NGS, it's fine," DO NOT BELIEVE THEM. Also, they think I am brave and cool. Maybe?) 

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Who else is frustrated by the new Libby process? Do you think fashion is tragic right now? Have you even been to a waterpark? 

September 2025: What I Spent

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.

Um. I have no excuses for what you're going to see, but I'll explain it all. Here's how it all shook out. 

Entertainment ($17.15, <1%) - Spotify and parking when I was in Madison one afternoon.

Fitness ($47.48, 1.2%) - This is my fitness classes for the rest of the year.

Cars ($50.81, 1.3%) - Gas a few times. 

Eating out ($120, 3.1%) - I had a friend in town a few days and we ate out quite a few times. 

Personal care ($130, 3.4%) - Pedicure, haircut, and some makeup items. 

Savings ($200, 5.2%) - The usual. 

Bills ($256.01, 6.6%) - Water/sewer, and house/car insurance. 

Health ($301, 7.8%) - Periodontist visit. My periodontal care is not paid for with insurance so this is all out of pocket for me. 

Pets ($383.16, 9.9%) - Food for both girls, I bought a card for the dog bath (5 baths for $40), and I bought some birdseed. 

Gifts ($431.37, 11.2%) - Greeting cards, a present for a bloggy friend, and a graduation present.

Groceries ($844.08, 21.9%) - There was no Costco trip this month, so this wasn't too bad. 

Clothes ($1080, 28%) - Here it is. Here's the big one. I bought new shoes to replace some that I need for the fall and winter, some winter dresses, and some leggings. I honestly don't have a good cold weather wardrobe for my job and last year I muddled through, but this year I want to make sure I have seven solid outfits. I'm still on the lookout for fun tights and/or leggings that aren't made of plastic. If you've got any leads, let me know. As you all know, I'm not at all frugal about the clothes I buy, but I try to buy ethically and I try to shop small businesses.

My new shoes are handmade here in the United States from CYDWOK (replacing a different pair I had for 13 years or so and had repaired repeatedly until they couldn't be repaired again) and I bought several items from Rowan Grey Clothing, a small place out of Michigan that handmakes all their items. 

Do I spend more than the average person on clothes? Yes. But I'm trying to do the best I can. 

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What do you spend more money than average on? Do you feel like you have to justify your spending? 

September 2025 Accountability Buddy

Monday, September 1
Day off

Tuesday, September 2 

30-minute power walk

Wednesday, September 3

15-minute stretch class at lunchtime*

45-minute yoga class at the community center after work

Thursday, September 4

30-minute yoga video at the student union during lunchtime

Friday, September 5

15-minute stretch class at lunchtime

30-minute total body, functional fitness

Saturday, September 6

An hour in the yard! It's still a jungle.

23-minute anytime unwind yoga 

13-minute Pilates stretch for head, neck, and shoulders

Sunday, September 7

40-minute bike ride with my husband

40-minute everyday yoga flow with Charlie Follows

Monday, September 8

30-minute yoga video at the student union during lunchtime

Tuesday, September 9

30-minute total body strength

10-minute cool down stretch

Wednesday, September 10

15-minute stretch class at lunchtime

45-minute yoga class at the community center after work

Thursday, September 11

30-minute yoga video at the student union during lunchtime

Friday, September 12

15-minute stretch class at lunchtime

Saturday, September 13

Day off

Sunday, September 14

30-minute total body no repeats - I really liked this one. I was a sweaty beast when I was done, but it felt good. 

15-minute gentle yoga flow for flexibility

Monday, September 15

15-minute standing abs

30-min deep tissue stretch yoga - Maybe there's too much prana, chi, and body energy in this video for me, but it is a good stretch. 

Tuesday, September 16

Day off

Wednesday, September 17

30-minute full body dumbbell workout - Really nice. I have had some issues with my leg and calf raises and lunges have been off limits for a while, but I did some here and didn't have pain. Yay!

10-minute cool down stretches

Thursday, September 18

30-minute yoga video at the student union during lunchtime

Friday, September 19

15-minute stretch class at lunchtime

Saturday, September 20

30-minute power walk - I am a sweaty mess. 

10-minute back stretch

Sunday, September 21

30-minute full body strength circuit

30-minute post workout yoga practice

Monday, September 22

21-minute upper body yoga

10-minute bedtime yoga - I'm doing this at 9:30pm, which is my bedtime. I couldn't fit this in all day, so here we are attempting to fit it all in before I go to sleep. 

Tuesday, September 23

Day off

Wednesday, September 24

30-minute dumbbell HIIT

Thursday, September 25

30-minute yoga video at the student union during lunchtime

Friday, September 26

Day off

Saturday, September 27

35-minute full body strength

15-minut fully body stretch

Sunday, September 28

40-minute fat burn zone speed walk - So sweaty.

15-minute mobility routine

Monday, September 29

30-minute yoga video at the student union during lunchtime

Tuesday, September 30

30-minute full-body supersets with dumbbells - Sort of half-assed, but half-assed is better than no assed. At least that's what we say in our house. 

16-minute check-in stretch - TWO adorable dogs. 

Total: 23/30 days (76.7%)

Cardio/strength: 13 days

Yoga: 13 days

Short stretch classes at lunchtime: 5 days

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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 I had just fit it ONE MORE DAY, I could have hit my goal. So frustrating. Do you have any fitness goals that are frustrating you?

CWBC October 2025 - Week One

It's Cool Blogger Walking Club (CBWC) time. Hosted by Elisabeth, we're trying for ten minutes of intentional movement every day.

Wednesday, October 1
Hannah and I went for several walks today, but the only one in daylight was after work. It was in the 70s on this walk and Hannah was loving her life. 

Thursday, October 2

On our morning walk, Hannah and I came across this spoooooky house. I have talked about this before, but the first year we had Hannah, displays like this would have majorly freaked her out, but she was just sniffing the decorations today. I love that I don't have to be on edge with yard decorations any longer. 

Friday, October 3

A few walks with Hannah today, but my favorite walk was with my colleague. She's having some challenges in her life right now, but Friday morning we forgot about all that and just enjoyed a lovely Friday morning together. We did *some* work, but also futzed around a bit.

Saturday, October 4

My husband and I met up with his sister and her family at a waterpark in a nearby touristy area on Saturday. The three of us went for a post-lunch walk after some waterpark time while the kids played at a very loud arcade. We saw horses! I complained about my sister! My husband complained about the state legislature! 

Sunday, October 5

It has been unseasonably hot here. Hannah, as you can see, is over it. Today was the last day of the super hot weather and I think we're going to settle into more autumnal vibes.

Monday, October 6

It was a lovely day until it wasn't. Here was part of the lovely day. I took a couple of walks with Hannah, but my trip to and from yoga on campus was a real highlight. 

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Do you ever see wildlife or livestock on your CBWC walks? When's the last time you went on a walk with someone else?

September 2025 Books

9/1: Floating Hotel by Grace Curtis (library ebook, 2024)- You're reading a cozy science fiction book about how a hotel operating in deep space might operate and suddenly you're in a spy thriller with a dead body? I was unprepared for the whiplash. 3/5 stars

9/2: Beneath the Scars (Masters of the Shadowlands #12) by Cherise Sinclair (ebook I own, 2018) - I couldn't figure out the password to the wifi at my father-in-law's house and this was literally the only book I had downloaded on my Kindle (note to self: put some other books on there). I like Sinclair and I like this erotica series. I think the main characters in this book are both zzzzzz, but you do get some of the other characters from Shadowlands and that's fun. 3.5/5 stars

9/5: Sunrise on the Reaping (Hunger Games #0.5) by Suzanne Collins (library, 2025)  - A lovely bit of fan service. 4/5 stars

9/14: Clean Sweep (Innkeeper Chronicles Book 1) by Ilona Andrews (library ebook, 2013) - Did you know Ilona Andrews is a husband/wife team and she's from the Soviet Union and he's from Florida? That's not relevant, but I want to know how it works. ANYWAY. Good book. Magic and a dog. I liked it. 4/5 stars

9/17: How To Read Literature Like a Professor: A Lively and Entertaining Guide to Understanding Literature, From The Great Gatsby to The Hate U Give (library, 2003, this third edition is 2024) - Very helpful guide for doing a close reading of literature. 4.5/5 stars

9/19: The Correspondent by Virginia Evans (library, 2025) - I ate up this epistolary novel. LOVED IT. Grumpy old woman writes letters. What could be more perfect than that? 5/5 stars

9/25: Let's Make a Scene (Theo & Cynthie #2) by Laura Wood (library, 2025) - Lovely romance novel. 4/5 stars

9/25: Hemlock & Silver by T. Kingfisher (library, 2025) - T. Kingfisher never lets me down. 4/5 stars

9/27: I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak (library ebook, 2002) - I read this book in 2017 and wrote the following: I finished this book weeks ago, but I had to sit on it to think about it. I think, as a good friend of mine would say, this author takes himself a little too seriously. I loved The Book Thief and will definitely read more Zusak, but the ending of this book was a ham-fisted and unnecessary attempt at a sermon. No need to get preachy on us, Zusak, we understand that you are the omnipotent author.

But the characters were divine. The scene at the beginning with the bank robbery was hilarious. I just wish the last 15 pages were different.

I think I stand by this review. The beginning was great, the end was preachy. I gave it 4/5 stars back then, but it's 3/5 for me now. 

9/30: Mislaid in Parts Half-Known (Wayward Children #9) by Seanan McGuire (library audiobook, 2024) - I think I've come to the end with this series. It's up and down and the best books are really good, but nothing is coming close to those first two books. The worldbuilding is cool (even here we get scary birds and dinosaurs), but it's not enough to make up for shallowness of this book.  3/5 stars

Total books: 10 books
Average star rating: 3.8/5 stars

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DNF:

Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid - Consider these paragraphs from the first page of this book:

Her job today is one of her favorite parts of being an astronaut. She is CAPCOM on the Orion Flight team for STS-LR9, the third flight of the shuttle Navigator. 

The role of CAPCOM - the only person in Mission Control who speaks directly to the crew on the shuttle - is one of many that astronauts fill when they aren't on a mission.

This is something Joan often has to explain to people at the rare party she agrees to go to. That astronauts train to go up into space,  yes. But they also help design the tools and experiments, test out food, prep the shuttle, educate students on what NASA can do, advocate for space travel in Washington, talk to the press, and more. It's an exhausting list. (page 3)

Is it unfair to say that this is somehow all telling and now showing (wouldn't it be better to just drop us into a cocktail party where she's explaining this? or just drop her into a scene where she's doing her work as CAPCOM?) and yet also not explaining well? I don't know. I read until page 29 when I just realized that this book was going to annoy the fuck out of me. 

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Have you DNFed a very popular book recently? I feel like between this and Margo's Got Money Troubles, I am soon to be expelled from the reading world. 

Hemlock and Silver by T. Kingfisher

Other T. Kingfisher books: 

What Moves the Dead (Sworn Soldier #1)

What Feasts at Night (Sworn Solider #2)

A House with Good Bones

A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking

The World of the White Rat

Clocktaur War (duology)

Swordheart

The Saint of Steel (quartet)

T. Kingfisher's newest book is Hemlock & Silver. As should be clear from above, I am a huge Kingfisher fan and I think she does super exciting things in fantasy. 

Here's how this one shook out. 

Anja is a Healer, but she's not really. She studies poisons and antidotes. If you break your arm or have the flu, she's not useful, but if someone is poisoning you, she can help you out. The King hears about Anja's expertise and asks her to help him figure out what is wrong with his daughter Snow. The King recently had found his wife, the queen, killing their daughter Rose and then slew his own wife through with a sword, so he's in a bit of a pickle right now. Snow must be saved. So Anja heads off to help Snow. And there's that sexy guard who comes along. And there's a talking cat. 

I liked this one. I liked Anja. I liked the talking cat. I found the magic system (it involves mirrors) to be a bit snoozy and that meant this one dragged a bit in the middle, but, overall, what we have here is a good old time. Kingfisher isn't for everyone, but if you have read and liked Kingfisher in the past, you'll enjoy this one, too. 

I listened on audio and found the narrator to do an amazing job. 4/5 stars

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Lines of note:

I was a child with a child's attention span. Many adults think this is no more than a butterfly's, flittering from thought to thought, but they have forgotten in some children it is as sharp and pointed as a stiletto. (timestamp 29:39)

Right? Kids are hyper focused. 

There is a crazy wild delight that comes over you when you discover something new, something extraordinary. If you try to share that and people look at you blankly, it's crushing. But if there's someone else there to say "really?" and take fire with enthusiasm alongside you, well, that will keep you going for a long time. (timestamp 40:37)

Yeah, this is right. You want to celebrate with someone. Great observational writing. 

"It was translated from Harkelion the physician." 

Scand leaned back in his chair and steepled his fingers. "What if he was wrong?"

I stared at him in alarm. "What? But, he's...he was one of the classical scholars, you know? He wrote half the books on medicine." 
"That doesn't mean he was right," Scand said. 

"But physicians still use his books." I tapped the cover of a book next to me. "They quote him all the time." Practically every book I'd read had at least an epigraph attributed to Harkelion and most of the had much more.

"I'm sure they do," said Scand. "But that doesn't mean he was right. It just means that everyone has learned to repeat his errors." (timestamp 47:22)

So much this! Back in the day, I listened to the podcast Sawbones, which is about medical history, and there was so much referring back to Galen and Hippocrates and boy were they wrong about a lot of shit. 

The last thing Isabelle had said to me before I left was, "try to be tactful." "I always try," I protested. She gave me a look. "Try harder." (timestamp 2:09:52)

I might have written about this here already, but it's worth saying. I had a difficult meeting with someone last month and I tried so hard to be super tactful and diplomatic and there was a lot of laughing at me later when the other person in the meeting referred to me as "honest" and "brutal" and I was TRYING HARD TO BE DELICATE. Apparently I cannot try harder.

I had honestly never given much thought to the sort of cat that a king's daughter would have as a pet, something white and fluffy, maybe, with a jeweled collar and a tail like a feather duster? This cat was not that. It was the shade of dark grey that people call blue. It was short-haired and skinny and it was missing an eye. Also, it had an expression like it was thinking about disemboweling everyone in the room. (timestamp 4:03:35)

All cats look like they are going to disembowel someone. It's why we love them 

No sense asking why he was like this. He was a cat.  If cats were helpful, they'd be dogs. (timestamp 5:57:27)

I think maybe Kingfisher doesn't like cats. 

There's no point in discovering something amazing if you can't grab another person by the forearms and shake each other and yell "do you see that?" (timestamp 6:11:02)

I feel this in my soul. 

My eyes felt gritty. That's caused by your tears evaporating while you sleep, incidentally. Tears are salty  so when your eyes dry out, tiny salt crystals get left behind. Bodies are so marvelously revolting.  (timestamp 7:29:06)

I don't know why, but this line made me laugh out loud for several minutes. 

Hat mentions (why hats?):

broad-brimmed hat (timestamp 2:05:01)

Hats decked with enormous plumes... (timestamp 2:06:54)

He took off his hat...(timestamp 3:53:15)

scratched under his hat (timestamp 3:53:51)

pull the ribbons off my hats (timestamp 4:10:29)

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Have you read any T. Kingfisher? Would you like it if cats could talk?

Let's Make a Scene (Theo & Cynthie #2) by Laura Wood

Let's Make a Scene by Laura Wood was a green light for Jamie on The Popcast. Who here is not up for a second chance romance story? (I have not read the first book in this series. I didn't realize it was the second book in a series or I would have read the first one. Oh, well.)

Cynthie Taylor gets a job acting in a big motion picture alongside Jack Turner-Jones. Things are great except that Jack is a dick and they have to fake a romance to promote their film. Thirteen years later, Cynthie is in a bit of a career crisis after the director of her previous film creates a scandal around her. The solution: have another fake romance with Jack and make a sequel to their wildly successful first film. 

Interesting characters: Sure. I like these two, actually. This is a rare romance where the male lead is more developed than the female lead. She's a bit flat and I don't get her motivations, but Jack's past and motivations are super clear. Their banter was fun, too. 

Believable conflict: Yes, for sure. This is a series of miscommunications that could (and should) be talked out, but since that's not going to happen, all the misunderstandings make sense. I mean, would I let this go on for thirteen years? Probably not. 

Emotional tension: Eh. I mean, no. Let's be honest. They're both hot for each other and I never really felt like there was a potential for them to NOT get together. However, it was a fun read despite this lack. 

Happily ever after: Yes! This was great. There's not random pregnancy or marriage. They're both just happy with each other and with how their careers are going. Perfection in an ending to a romance novel. 

In general, I thought this was a good book. The dialogue was a particular high point. But I am over romances about rich people. Decisions about careers and where to live do not feel particularly fraught when it doesn't really matter if either person ever works a day in their lives again. I understand that a lot of people want to read about rich people and rich people's romantic lives, but the stakes of this felt really low to me. No one was going to lose their home if the job didn't work out. 

This is maybe a larger critique of the romance novel industry. I want books about regular people going through regular things, but finding that love wins in the end. There are some authors that do this well (Carrie Ann Ryan regularly writes about blue collar families), but most of them do not. 

Regardless, this was fun. 4/5 stars

Lines of note:

Surprise, surprise, Jack Turner-Jones is a very experienced rider who looks incredible on a horse. Apparently, it's one of many skills his parents deemed necessary from a young age. These, I have discovered in the last couple of weeks, also include fencing, speaking fluent French, and playing the violin.

This is quite a contrast to the special skills that Hannah and I mastered in our early years - performing a flawless Macarena; being able to play Britney Spears's "Toxic" on a recorder (self-taught); knowing all the words to "The Real Slim Shady." (page 97)

This is what it's like in my house. My husband golfs, plays tennis, and studied Latin. I can sing every song to you in the Bon Jovi and Garth Brooks oeuvres, get the smell of skunk out of dog fur, and discuss the merits of various crop rotations depending on soil. 

"This is unreal," she hums with appreciation. "Did you know they filmed The Mummy Returns here?"
"I love that film," I exclaim. "I went to see it four times at the cinema."
"Wow," Brooke says, solemnly. "I wish I could have seen it on the big screen, but it came out the year before I was born." (page 223)

TJC and I went to see The Mummy Returns in college and we laughed so hard at the scene I linked to above and I regularly overreact to things and do a lunge and yell "NOOOO!" and I'm the only one who understands why it's funny because TJC doesn't live in the same state as me. ANYWAY. This exchange made me  feel old, just like the character in the book. 

Thing I looked up:

architrave - (in classical architecture) a main beam resting across the tops of columns, specifically the lower third entablature

So this led me to look up entablature - a horizontal, continuous lintel on a classical building supported by columns or a wall, comprising the architrave, frieze, and cornice

So what's a lintel? - a horizontal support of timber, stone, concrete, or steel across the top of a door or window

Confused? Here's a picture.

Hat mentions (why hats?):

pulling off the hat and wig (page 43)

the rakish tilt of his hat (page 97)

takes off his sunglasses and hat (page 154)

I recognize it at once as Fred Astaire singing "No Strings" from Top Hat. (page 231)

not wearing a hat (page 319)

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Do you want to read books about millionaires? Do you think books about middle-class people can be sexy and romantic?