Five for Friday, Edition #43: It's Way More Than Five

Is anyone surprised that this is going to start out happy and light and then the last two bullet points will be downers? Don't be surprised. This is 2026 in America. 

1) My co-workers has been in treatment for breast cancer. She'd done chemo, surgery, and TODAY IS HER LAST DAY OF RADIATION!!! Woot woot! She has been such a real light during this whole thing and she's wonderful and super and if you could just think of her today and send a smile out into the world, that would be amazing. 

2) The riverwalk is open! In just a few weeks it went from this:

To this:

It's now so dry I feel like I might set fire to the grass just by walking on it, but that's the price you pay for living in Wisconsin, I guess.

3) So, dogs can be jerks, you know? One of the things Hannah likes to do on walks is antagonize other dogs who are in their houses, behind a fence, or tied out. And she doesn't just walk by, but she'll stop to linger - to pee, to sniff, to just stare in the middle distance. I try to coax her to move along, but I have a "no yank unless it's an emergency" policy with Hannah, so other than moving myself in the direction I want to go and reminding her that we live in a society where it's not nice to be mean to others, I generally just let this happen. 

Am I jerk because of this? Particularly when it's (hypothetically) 5:47am and we're walking down a neighborhood street and one particularly loud golden retriever behind a fence sets off another unseen dog somewhere else and then another unseen dog? Is it my responsibility to maybe use the yank and get Hannah out of sight of the OG Barking Dog? We DO live in a society after all.

4) I mentioned very briefly in my April spending report that I had purchased an advent calendar. J texted me an advent calendar asking me if that was the one I had ordered. AND IT WAS. I hadn't said which one it is - mostly because I want it to be a surprise for my husband - and she KNEW. She's psychic. I am both kind of scared of J now (is she a mind reader?!) and impressed that she knows me that well. 

5) The people in the house across the street from our house used to be a nice couple with the friendliest chihuahua I've ever met. But now? That house is a source of amusement and consternation to us. A new family moved in and there are six? seven? eight? people who live there. At least one adult man and adult woman. At least two tween/young teen girls - we see three regularly, but at least five or six are repeaters. Maybe a tween/teen boy? He might just visit a lot. And then there is one (maybe two) young women who are of driving age. And then my husband said he saw an elderly couple, but maybe they were just visitors. ANYWAY. They moved in an immediately put up a trampoline, which the tween/teen girls use daily. 

But here's the rub. They have a whole flock of chickens AND at least four dogs (three goldens and a black and white goofball). AND I THINK THEY HAVE AN OUTDOOR CAT. 

(Cats should not live outdoors in the city. They kill wildlife and stress out wild animal populations. Cats' lives are much shortened because of cars and predators. And don't get me started on the spread of PARASITES. Grr.)

Anyway. Dr. BB and I are fascinated by this house. We're also pretty sure they're in violation of city regulations about the number of animals they can have. I mean, I'm actually positive they are:

No family shall keep any swine, horses, cattle, sheep, goats or mules, nor more than two rabbits, three dogs, three cats, six chickens, two mink, two ducks, two geese, two doves or two turkeys on any property within the corporate limits of the city; except, the total number of animals, fowl or pets that a family may keep under this section shall not exceed a combination of six. 

Whatever. I'm not going to turn them in, but can you imagine HOW CROWDED it must be in there?

6) At work we had these stickers we were supposed to give away to students who came to advising appointments.

I rolled my eyes, but when I started offering them to students, they took them. I had to start going to my co-workers' offices to get more.

But then I remembered that I had a series of dog stickers. Bestest Friend sent these to me and I had them in a drawer in my office. 

My students are obsessed with these stickers. No student who I have suggested look at the dog stickers has declined. Only one student has not taken one. 

Stickers are a good currency for college-aged students. Who knew?

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If you just want the Happy Things, stop reading here. It's going to get not so happy.

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7) Poor Hannah. Eating the cat food has really messed with her GI tract. Dr. BB came home on Wednesday to a mess in the house - the dining room rug may have to be replaced and she was clearly scratching at the front door trying to get out. We've had her on two courses of metronidazole, which has firmed up her stools temporarily, but it clearly hasn't fixed whatever it is long term. 

I called the vet on Wednesday afternoon and they said a vet tech would call, but they never did. So I did something I hate to do. I texted our vet's personal cell. Our vet is in my book club, we are actual friends, and I have moved vet offices to stay with her, but I hate to take advantage of it. 

Anyway, she's back on a long-term antibiotic, which sucks because it will depress her appetite and we're already dealing with Zelda's low appetite. But at least we have a plan.

8) My husband's friend group from high school is pretty tight, but one or two of the women have slipped off our radar. One of them literally has THIRTEEN children (Catholics, AMIRITE?) and the other had a falling out with someone else in the friend group and just stopped showing up to stuff. Anyway. The person with the falling out? Her husband just died. He had something called myotonic dystrophy. He wasn't even fifty. 

My husband wants to go to the funeral today, but because someone has to be with Hannah all the time, I don't think I can go with him. 

2026 is not being a very nice year, you know?

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Should I do an emergency yank with Hannah when she's setting off other dogs? Are you scared of J's clairvoyance? Do you want a dog sticker? 

American Fantasy by Emma Straub

Sarah's girlfriend broke up with her and took the cat, so she agrees to do a back-to-back on the American Fantasy, a cruise ship that's latest trip is centered around Boy Talk, a boy band whose peak popularity was decades ago. For four days, women will get a chance to do activities and make memories with the five members of the band and Sarah gets to direct the entire thing. Meanwhile, Annie's going on the cruise by herself since her sister broke her leg just before they were supposed to leave. 

I read this book in one day. It's absolutely readable. It's also sort of bad? 

Consider this passage:

Tonya smiled a familiar smile - lips closed, eyes wide - one that said I know you, even though she didn't, not really. The brothers were used to this look, as well as its cousin, Do I know you? It was what Dr. Robert, his therapist described as "the business of being Keith Fiore," and it was what they had spent a decent percentage of their time talking about over the years. Usually, the answer was meditation or breathing. (page 11)

I had to read this passage a couple of times. I do not care for the how hard it is to be famous trope, so I was already a bit thrown. But then the answer to what question? The only question in the passage is Do I know you? and meditation is not an answer to that. So, that's on page 11. And, friends, it continued to be just the tiniest bit confusing to read page by page. Not confusing enough that I couldn't read it, but confusing enough that the 3.22 on Goodreads makes sense. 

The most interesting parts of the book were Annie and Sarah and I really can't deal with the aging pop stars feeling sorry for themselves. It's just not relatable to me. You have enough money to have a landing pad. Figure your shit out and find something else you like to do and do it. Or don't do anything. But don't be miserable about it. 

(I have to admit that I find myself frustrated with my students sometimes in discussion about things like changing major or finding a minor. What do you like to do? I ask them. They stare. What do you do when you're not studying? There's always something, I promise. They play videogames, they volunteer walking dogs, they are vice-president of the Rock Painting Club, whatever. I had a whole unsatisfying conversation once with a woman who claimed she had nothing outside of school and work. Okay, maybe. Sometimes adult students are like that. We looked at history and sociology and all of a sudden she said that her foster daughter hated her World History class and SUDDENLY WE WERE THERE. Foster daughter? Yes, ha ha. Didn't I mention that? I do a lot of work with foster kids and I am a guardian ad litem....THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN HELPFUL KNOWLEDGE HALF AN HOUR AGO.)

Ahem. 

I've never been on a cruise and this doesn't make me want to go on a cruise. 

I don't know? I still thought it was fun. I feel like I've been on a cruise now, does that count?

3/5 stars

Line of note:

Cruises in particular had never appealed to her for all the usual reasons: bacterial diseases, an air of elderly American laziness, buffets in a pandemic world. (page 20)

This. 

Hat mentions (why hats?):

Raybans and baseball hats (page 12)

baseball hat (page 38, 48, 73, 149, 195)

baseball hat's brim (page 43)

captain hats (page 94, 167, 258)

hats for the choreo (page 122)

captain's hat (page 128)

top hat (page 128)

straw hats (page 147)

sunscreen and a hat (page 148)

Panama hat (page 148)

a thousand sun hats (page 159)

brim of his hat (page 167)

pulled off his hat (page 189)

touched the hat (page 195)

bucket hat (page 215, 259)

hat and sunglasses (page 282)

(I love that the first one is Raybans and baseball hats and the last one is hat and sunglasses. The symmetry pleases me.)

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The Goodreads reviews on this are so great. Some of them say this is based on Backstreet Boys or NSYNC, some say New Kids on the Block, and some say Menudo (unlikely since most of the women on the cruise are white, but more power to people who see Menudo in the band) or Take That. My first reaction was definitely NKOTB, but that shows my age. What's the boy band of your youth? 

Cherry Baby by Rainbow Rowell

The winner of the mystery book is Dulcie! Congrats! Check your email and I'll send it right out to you.

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Look, I sort of read Cherry Baby by Rainbow Rowell because it fulfilled a Pop Sugar Reading Challenge prompt (a book with any type of fruit on the cover or in the title), but I also sort of read it because it's Rainbow Rowell. I mean, is there a better character in fiction than Cath in Fangirl? Is there a more perfect YA novel than Eleanor & Park? Rowell is an autoread author for me. I don't care what the book is about - I'm going to read it. 

Cath is in the middle of a divorce from her husband, a cartoonist who rose to fame writing a strip based on their relationship. She goes out to a concert and reconnects with a man she had a crush on in high school. But then Tom comes back to get his stuff and he starts eating dinner with her and walking the dog. What's going to happen with this love triangle?

Spoiler alert

I'm a prude. I don't like that she runs into a guy and sleeps with him that same night. I would not have done that when I was in my twenties. I would not do that now. But I kept going despite that because I trust Rowell as an author. Also, people don't always do what I would do in real life. Why should it be different in fiction?

 

There are some fair criticisms of this book. Cherry cries on almost every page, so I honestly don't know when things are really serious. Cherry is fat and I only mention this because she mentions it every chapter. I feel like that's an important part of the story, I really do, but I also found myself struggling with her complaining about it constantly, but not doing anything about it. I KNOW weight loss is hard, but so is being overweight, you know? 

But I was also rooting for all of these characters. I wanted good things for Cherry, Russ, and Tom. I wanted really good things for Stevie, the Newfoundland-Great Pyrenees mix who did not get enough walks or training in this book. I read through it at quite a clip and found myself thinking about the characters after I had closed the book. 

It's not perfect, but if you traditionally have liked Rainbow Rowell, you'll like this one. 4/5 stars

Line of note:

Tom had known all these kids since they were babies. He'd sat in the hospital waiting room when they were born. If you asked the little ones, they wouldn't be able to tell you that Cherry was their aunt by blood and Tom was their uncle by situation. (page 316)

This really resonated with me. My niblings have no idea who the in-laws are. I think that's great. 

Hat mentions (why hats?):

Santa hats (page 125), wool hats (page 245), matching hat (page 394)

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What's your favorite Rainbow Rowell book? Can you think of another book with any type of fruit on the cover or in the title (I immediately thought of The Grapes of Wrath, but didn't want to get messed up in that Depression)?

May 2026 Photo A Day: Week One

One thing I love about CBWC is that it forces me to pay attention and take photos on a regular basis. I am not always great about paying attention when I walk Hannah - I just listen to a podcast and watch her. Now, watching her is GREAT - she's so cute - but I do miss important things happening in the neighborhood when I never look up.

So I decided this month I'd copy Stephany and take a photo a day. These won't always be from my walks with Hannah, but I bet most will. 

Friday, May 1 - This spiderweb was PERFECT. It was covered in dew and just made my morning walk feel special. Anyone else expect to see Charlotte and Wilbur?

Saturday, May 2 - This is the only photo I took all day and normally I'd never show Hannah looking so grumbly. Ha! Well, here she is. A dog who is off leash and was told to stay. She DID stay, but she was not happy about it. 

Sunday, May 3 - I have heard rumblings that Zelda does not get enough attention on this blog. Look at this precious face. She and I were cuddling and I couldn't resist. 

Monday, May 4 - This is a mural in the town where I work. I probably spent five minutes looking at it, trying to figure out what it's about. 

Tuesday, May 5 - I had a fitness class outside today and at the end of the workout, we all just laid on the ground. It was a rough one!

Wednesday, May 6 - One of our colleagues retired last year and they had a tree dedication ceremony today. This is literally the only photo I took. I hope someone else did a better job documenting than I did. 

Thursday, May 7 - Just an uncooperative dog. She is my life. 

Friday, May 8 - I mentioned yesterday that a colleague was resigning to go elsewhere and I got her a gift. I called it a "first day of work at a new place survival kit." Here's what I put in a gift bag for her: a half dozen chocolate chip cookies; two treats from a local chocolatier; a pencil pouch I stuffed with pens from my university, a pocket journal, and a sticker. You can't really see it very well, but it's a funny card that I bought at an art museum gift shop that says "work hard play hard" and that seemed appropriate. 

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When was the last time you saw a perfect spiderweb? Can you believe I get to go to a fitness class with that gorgeous view every week? 

Five for Friday, Edition #42

1) Eye masks - In February, we had a Costco adventure with my BIL and SIL in Iowa. They'd never been before, so we used our membership to get them in. (That's a big Costco flex.)

ANYWAY. My SIL and I egg each other on and we decided we really needed the 24-pack of Grace and Stella eye masks. We then split the eye masks and that's what I was using on Monday. They're very soothing and cooling, but do they do anything else? I don't really think so.

2) Pedicure - Do you know how long I've been trying to get a pedicure? It's going to be actual sandal weather and my toes are bare. I don't know. Maybe I can fit it in tomorrow? Or maybe it will be another week and I'll still have bare toes. Anyone have their first pedicure of the season yet? I'm thinking green for the color. 

3) Canvas outage - This probably doesn't impact many of you, but our campus is one of the campuses hit by the Canvas cyber attack. Finals are next week, yo. 

Honestly, I'm mixed on this. On one hand, this is almost like white hat hacking, you know? Down with capitalism! On the other hand, this really does punish the students who are working hard and earning their grades. Also, I'm mildly inconvenienced, although I suspect many, many of my co-workers are much more than mildly inconvenienced. 

4) Co-worker leaving -  A while back we were hiring an advisor position in our office. We interviewed a woman who would have been great, but we hired someone else because of reasons and that has really worked out for us. We suggested this woman apply for a different job on campus, which she got. Yay! She sort of hated that job, though. I met with her regularly (I try to make adult friends, I swear) and we had lunch and hung out and I tried to answer her questions about campus and introduce her to people. When we had an opening in our office late last year, I suggested she apply. She did, but once again she came in second and we didn't hire her.

To no one's surprise, she's leaving. Today's her last day. I am bringing her a small gift and homemade cookies and if I hadn't been on both of those hiring committees, I would happily give her some tips. *sigh* Off another potential friend goes. (Yes, we could be friends outside of work, but we hadn't made that leap yet and I'm 95% sure we won't now.)

5) Hair cut - I got a hair cut yesterday. It's maaaaybe a bit shorter than I wanted, but who the hell even cares anymore. I'm ready to buzz it off. Should I buzz it off? Probably not, huh? I mean, it looks FINE. But if I was going to go SHORT, I would have gone up even higher, you know? 

Also, note that I'm wearing my heated vest under a down jacket. YOU GUYS. IT'S STILL FUCKING COLD HERE. I guess that's fine. I don't have time for a pedicure. 

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Do you have any big plans this weekend? When's the last time you did an eye mask? 

What I Spent: April 2026

As a reminder, my husband pays the "big bills" like mortgage, phone, car, and electricity. I pay for groceries and the pets and that somehow evens things out. I spent a lot of money this month, but have no regrets.

Travel ($6.75, <1%) - public transit on my trip to Chicago

Technology ($29.99, 1.2%) - cloud storage for the year

Bills ($158.83, 6.5%) - insurance, home and car

Eating out ($170, 7%) - This is a lot for me. I ate out with Sarah for our buddy read a couple of times, had meals out when I was in Chicago (and twice in my own town when Bestest Friend was here), and got coffee a couple of times. 

Entertainment ($184, 7.6%) - Spotify membership and tickets to the Field Museum when I was in Chicago. Oh, AND I ordered my Advent calendar for the year ALREADY. 

Personal care ($191.84, 7.9%) - I had to stock up on some basic makeup supplies, including foundation, eye shadow, and some new lip stain. I mean, maybe I didn't "have to," but it feels like it's necessary. Next month I'm going to start adding regular pedicures to this category, so I have a feeling it will go up. 

Pets ($238.18, 9.8%) - Can you believe how low this is? Don't worry, it won't stay this way. Hannah the Dog is going to the vet on Tuesday because she needs to be vaccinated. 

Savings ($200, 8.2%) - You know what? I already added more than this in May. I will do better by the end of the year. (she says to herself)

Clothing ($544.25, 22.4%) - Okay, this seems like a lot, but it really is all necessary. I bought three pairs of summer pants, including these amazing linen pants that were on sale at Athleta. I cannot wait to show them to you if it ever warms up enough for me to wear them. I also bought new sports bras because that has been a for real problem. I also bought new cross trainers AND insoles because my feet and ankles were not having it when I had any impact with my old shoes. 

Oh, and I bought a couple of summerweight scarves while I was in Chicago and this is the category where I put my nose piercing. When I type it all out like this, it actually doesn't seem like a ton per piece. (For those of you asking if I need more scarves, the answer is always YES.)

Next month I'm on the search for new sandals and probably some lightweight professional tops to wear with those amazing pants. And then I'll be all prepared for summer. 

Groceries ($709.52, 29.2%) - We still gotta eat. Every single month. 

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How appalled are you by the amount of money I spent on clothes last month? Anyone else want to buy bright pink linen pants (they are very pink! it's awesome). 

Day In the Life, 5/4/2026

Monday was my mother's birthday. In an attempt to not think about that, I spent the day documenting what I did all day.

On Sunday, Hannah had GI issues, so I was sleeping on the couch in case she needed to go outside in the middle of the night. The thing is, neither of our girls knows how to act when we're downstairs overnight. Zelda keeps laying on me for thirty seconds and then jumping off my bladder or breasts to get down. Hannah must think I'm dead because she keeps coming over as soon as I fall asleep to nose at me - I think she's just checking to see if I'm alive. So, what I'm saying is that the sleep was not good.

2:04am - Hannah wakes me up. I decide we should go outside for a quick tour around the block. There is a surprising amount of traffic and it takes me a long time to realize that it's closing time. That makes me worried about the cars and I hustle Hannah along as quickly as I can. (No GI movement, in case you're curious.)

5:30am - Alarm goes off. I stare at the ceiling, hoping for more time to sleep. Alas.

6:00am - Get up, brush the cat, and check the weather. Friends, there is a flood warning and fire warning simultaneously. What in the ever loving fuck is this?

6:10am - Walk Hannah. No GI movement.

6:30am - I finish chores from yesterday, including putting away granola and sweet potatoes that I left in the oven overnight to dry out. I feed H half of her breakfast and get my own breakfast ready. 

6:45am - I sit down to breakfast where Dr. BB and I discuss Hannah coverage for the day. I'm going take the morning shift, he's going to come home in the afternoon. She might be home alone for an hour or so, but if I'm not confident in her control, I can stay for that hour, although it will be annoying.

7:00am - I put the clothes away that we line dried overnight. I grabbed all the things I brought downstairs to sleep (my pillow, charger, Kindle) and brought them upstairs with me. I brushed my teeth, washed my face, cleaned my piercing, and did an eye mask. While the mask was masking, I read a book. 

7:30am - Get dressed, put on work clothes.

7:45am - Log on to work. You can absolutely skip this if you are uninterested in my work.

Emailed the group chat that I'd work from home this morning while on sick dog duty.

Looked at a portfolio for a student in my class. The portfolio is not great and I decide it's going to take me too long to give feedback right now, so I start looking at students who made appointments with me over the weekend.

I commented on a few blog posts.

I arranged for someone to take over yoga the student union today since I'd probably still be home with the dog.  

8:12am - Heard Zelda finishing her breakfast. I wanted to know how she did, so I looked. The brat left one kibble and her steroid. Sent photo to Dr. BB.

8:13am - Back to work. 

Toubleshooting an issue with our degree audit form, including a phone call from a faculty member. Chatted with one of my colleagues about the issue so she didn't mark a student deficient for graduation.  Prepping for student meetings for later in the day.

9:15am - Walk Hannah. Oh, boy. Not a good outcome.

9:30am - Call vet. 

10:00am - Feed Hannah the rest of her breakfast. Give her medicine, as per vet tech I talked to. 

10:05am - Back at work, with occasional stops to see how the dog is doing. I'm writing feedback for that portfolio I ignored postponed earlier this morning. I also took another phone call from a faculty member troubleshooting our registration system.

Poor baby does NOT feel good.

11am - Tried to walk with Hannah. She laid down in the grass in the neighbor's yard and seemed content to just sit in the sun. We did this for 20 minutes and then I brought her back inside.

11:30am - My husband's home. He's now on dog duty. I ate lunch and headed to campus.

12:30pm - I have barely started my computer when a co-worker comes into my office to troubleshoot the degree audit. 

Work stats for the day:

Emails sent: 18

Student meetings: 3

Co-worker meetings: 2

Phone calls: 8

Meetings arranged for the future: 5

Grading and documentation - caught up 

Items off master to-do list: 4

4:40pm - Leave work to head to the local shoe store. The owner is retiring. This is SAD NEWZ because this is the place where I take to have my shoes repaired. But at least I got some deals, I guess. It's a short-term win for a long-term inconvenience.  

5:00pm - Head home. When I get home, my husband is already cooking/reheating dinner and he just took the dog out. I unload my haul from the shoe store, put away items from a Sephora delivery I received, feed the dog, and read my book on the couch for fifteen minutes. I consider vacuuming the dining and living rooms in those fifteen minutes, but YOLO, right?

6:24pm - Walking the dog again after dinner. She was cooperative and actually walked, but it was not a productive walk.

6:46pm - We made a grocery list and head out after I change from the dress I wore all day to jeans because it's cooling off quickly. The list is pretty bare, but we're planning a trip to Costco later this week, so don't worry. We won't starve. 

7:17pm - We arrive at my friend's house with cookies. We chat with him, his mom, and his sister. This is such a hard time for everyone. 

8:24pm - Finally make it to the grocery store. The self-check we usually use is not working properly. By the time we make it out of there, three different employees have had to assist us and we ended up finishing our transaction at a different terminal. 

9:11pm - We're blocks from my house when I notice we're right behind one of the cars with the penis taillights. I had to take a photo through the dirty windshield, but I had to document it.

9:16pm - Back home. We unload the groceries, prep the ginger (we peel it and freeze to it make grating easier), and take Hannah out for a walk before bed.

9:38pm - Getting ready for bed. I brush my teeth and take my make-up off. Then I take a shower. We discuss if someone needs to stay downstairs with Hannah (no). I blow dry my hair and do my daily goal tracking/journal. Then I put Hannah to bed, start the dishwasher, and go upstairs to wash out my piercing.  I read my Kindle book for ten minutes.

10:30pm - Lights out. 

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You'll note that I did not get any yoga or strength training done today because I was too busy walking Hannah half a dozen times. What is something you wish you had time to do today?