Five for Friday, Edition #27

1) Once again, a huge shoutout to all of you for the continued outpouring of cards, packages, texts, emails, and everything else.  Your support really has meant everything to me. I vow that I shall pay all of your kindness forward.

2) I am probably not going to do a recap of my trip to California because, to be honest, it wasn't a great time for me. I was so worried about my mom and then my mom died WHILE I WAS AT THE WEDDING RECEPTION, and then we were there, but I was wishing I wasn't, and it wasn't great. There were highlights (the happy couple! the ocean! meeting J!), but I wasn't at my finest (a very public apology to J for not getting me at my best - in another time, I absolutely would have wanted to go to the beach to watch the kite surfers and search for seashells and done more than just a couple exhibits of the museum). 

If I'm being honest with myself, I do not know that I'll want to think much about this trip in the future. But here's a picture of me being me at the beach so you'll know I really was there.

3) Let's talk about my leg. Have you ever seen the x-ray? Let me find it and show it again. I had recent ones taken, but I don't know how to get a copy of those.

This injury took place in 2011 and over the years, as with the frog in the boiling water, I have started to have more and more problems with it.

I talked with an orthopedic surgeon who suggested two basic things: 1) remove all the hardware that is currently there, which would be a surgery more invasive than the original surgery, and then put in NEW MODERN hardware or 2) fuse the ankle so that it didn't it move. As you can imagine, neither of these options were appealing to me, so I set up some physical therapy appointments.

They haven't been magical, but they have been helpful. I no longer get out of bed and nearly fall over because the pain in my leg is too great. I am no longer taking Tylenol multiple times throughout the day. Can I run? Still no. Can I jump? I mean, sure, if I don't mind chewing Tylenol the next day. But as long as I don't do crazy impact things, I can do all the things. Let's call it a win.

4) I'm taking a page from Elisabeth's blog here and giving you some things that have made me happy recently. 

a. I had a giant, all day long presentation (in front of 100 faculty members of my college) on Wednesday and it's done. It went mostly well, but they were working on the HVAC system in the student union, so it was boiling in our room and I was sweaty upon sweaty AND SO WAS EVERYBODY ELSE. But it's done! And I never have to do it again.

Yesterday a lot of people came to my office to say that the training was super useful and helpful and that our team did a great job. I also had a few emails. I'm coming up on two years in my current job and I'm finally starting to feel like the faculty realize that I'm helpful AND I'm starting to feel knowledgeable. Our team is great, too. I was going to post of picture my boss took of me at the event, but there are too many other recognizable faces in it, so just imagine me looking like a boss lady (drenched in sweat) holding a microphone and having a hundred people staring at me. 

b. On Wednesday after that presentation I went to a yoga class at the community center and it was a mat class! No standing poses! Perfect since I'd been on my feet all day!

c. My SIL called me. That's it. That's the happy thing. She's really one of my favorite people in the world.

d. Birthday presents from my husband including some new earrings and a new yoga bag! A bit ago, I asked people for advice on a yoga bag that would carry my mat, blanket, two blocks, and a strap. Basically, people told me it was impossible and I gave up on my search. When I was at a class recently, someone had a PERFECT BAG and I asked them about the bag and then I asked for one for my birthday. (NOTE: That's an Amazon link. The company that makes the bag is a small business and when you go to their home page and try to buy directly from them, they send you to Amazon. I have accepted this as reality. Please don't throw eggs at my blog.) I have a blue bag. It is everything I have ever dreamed of in a yoga bag. (Okay, fine. Yes, I would prefer if it had a fun print or color, but you get what you get and you like it.)

You can wear it as a backpack or just have one strap slung across your back messenger bag style. 

It has a blanket, a mat, two blogs, and a strap, and you'll notice there's still room at the top. When I take it to campus to do yoga, I add my leggings to the bag. PERFECTION.

e) Zelda the Cat recently went on strike and refused to eat her food. I researched and researched and we started her on a new food and she loves it and I refuse to think about how expensive it is. But now both Hannah and Zelda are eating WITHOUT ANY ISSUES and this has been so rare that I'm loving every meal time. 

5) I'm just going to leave a photo collage of the last several days here with no explanation, in the style of Allison.

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When's the last time you were at a beach? Do you have a recent purchase that makes you happy?

Tuesday Tidings

I'm leaning into the dark these days. Hannah and I have been LOVING our morning walks in the pitch black. It's just me and her and I like to just let her sniff and enjoy the world. I mean, don't get me wrong, she's nervous as all heck and jumps if so much as a leaf falls near her, but at least I'm having a good time. 

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On our walk on Sunday night, I even took the holiday cards to the blue mailbox and dropped them all in (except for my five Canadian cards - I have yours sitting next to my goal journal all stamped and ready to go out as soon as the strike is over, Canadian friends) and whispered happy travels for them. I ordered my cards through Minted again, despite the fact that I literally have never been 100% satisfied with my orders from them.

One year, we did not get any envelopes. One year, we actually got two orders sent our way. One year some of our envelopes were duplicated, so I had to go through and make sure people only got one card from us. This year? This year some of the addresses were addressed incorrectly. The number 3 became the number 8.  Apartment numbers were added where apartment numbers did not need to be added. The abbreviation MN became MI. Now these are all things that could be blamed on me, but MY SPREADSHEET HAD THEM CORRECT. So I stuffed all the envelopes, but then had to go through each address VERY CAREFULLY to make sure things were correct. (If there is a handwritten correction to your address, I did that!) 

And let me tell you, I am not a detail lady. I am a lady who doesn't notice things like MN is MI. This took me a long, frustrating time. I don't know if I'm going to stick with Minted again. (Also, our card is HUGE. Like 5x7? This is on me, though. I just didn't look at the dimensions because I thought it was normal card size. I was wrong. I'm SORRY, friends. I'm bad at holiday card sending, I guess.) 

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But, in more cheerful holiday news, my Secret SANta gift arrived from Jenny! If you don't think that dog ornament went right on my tree, you don't know me very well!

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Also, we went on our annual trip to see the lights at the Rotary Gardens.

I did not ask my friends if I could post their photos, so I am protecting their privacy. Not my husband's though. If you see him around, maybe don't mention you saw his photo on my blog? 

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Last week, the dean of our college did a "Cookies & Cocoa" event. His partner made like a million cookies and all the leftovers made it to the kitchen on our floor and every time I go by the kitchen, I eat more cookies. The eggnog shortbread cookies are AMAZING, but I have to admit that I have not been making good choices re: sugar this December. January is going to HIT HARD.

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Speaking of cookies, do you know what my husband sent me a photo of today? 

A new KitchenAid!!! My beloved KitchenAid finally gave up its battle. We looked into fixing it (of course we did) and it was $200 to fix it and about $300 to get a new on, so Dr. BB took the plunge and bought me a new one! Who's going to make chocolate chip cookies tomorrow? This girl. (Yes, I'm going to make cookies despite the fact that I've eaten my weight in eggnog shortbread cookies this week. Don't judge my December baking decisions.)

(As part of the November/December hemorrhage of money, why not buy a new kitchen appliance? Fortunately, this came out of my husband's budget. He also paid for an oil change and the cat's trip to the emergency vet last week. Yes, all three things should have been mine to pay for, but that's how the cookie crumbles when you have a six-week winter break and your wife has to actually go into the office.)

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Have you sent out your holiday cards yet (sorry, Canadian friends - your turn will come soon!)? What's the last kitchen gadget you bought? 

Black Friday

Normally what Black Friday means to me is absolutely nothing except that I get to sit around and read my book all day. But things happened this year that forced my hand and meant that I made my way to a fucking outlet mall on the day after Thanksgiving. If you are not American, you probably don't understand exactly what this entails, but it's the busiest shopping day of the year and there was so much traffic and so many people, but I made it out IN ONCE PIECE.

Here's what happened. 

I went to walk the dog in the morning. It was COLD, like real feels in the single digits. I went to zip my eleven-year-old winter coat AND THE ZIPPER PULL BROKE INTO THREE PIECES INTO MY HAND. This poor coat. I ripped it mere months after I got it and a couple of years ago the inside lining started disintegrating, but I sewed it up and kept on keeping on. But this was the final straw. My husband looked at me and said, "you're going to have to get a new coat." 

I wore my heated vest under my insulated raincoat and froze my thighs off on my walk with Hannah and admitted that my husband had a point. Also, my winter boots, after five years of hard work and daily dog walks, had developed a leaking problem and the last time it wintry mixed, I almost got frostbite. 

So I went to the Columbia store at the outlet mall down the road ON BLACK FRIDAY. 

I scored some boots (what I think are a replacement for my old ones, right down to the fun shoelaces) and a cool weather jacket, but not a winter coat. I went to the Lands End website when I got home and ordered a new winter coat for half off. I ordered holiday cards. I ordered the dog and cat more probiotic. AND as money was flowing out of my checking account like water, I also made an appointment to go to the tire store today to get new tires for our older car and then I'm going to be an adult and go to the Verizon store and buy a new phone to replace my 5-year-old phone that only kinda sorta works sometimes. 

I'll get into this if I ever do a November recap of my spending, but it has been OUT OF CONTROL. In the last week, here's what I've purchased:

Gift for a student who helps me with my freshman seminar
Gifts for student workers in our office
Grow lamps for my office because someone at work gave me a plant from the greenhouse and I don't have a window and this plant needs to be loved
A ton of food at Costco two days before Thanksgiving, including for the salad at Thanksgiving and some staples for us
Gift for my Secret SANta Swap partner
Probiotics for the girls
A jacket, a winter coat, and winter boots
Photo prints for my freshman seminar students
Holiday cards

And today I'm going to buy new tires and probably a new phone. Where do I think all this money is coming from? Egads. 

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Speaking of holiday cards, if you want a card from me, you can fill out this form and I'll get you one! If I already have your address, though, don't worry. You're already on the list. 

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And that is a wrap on NaBloPoMo. I have really enjoyed reading everyone's posts this month. Let's hear it one more time for San and her amazing organizational skills and keeping this blogging tradition alive. 

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What have you purchased recently? Have you ever had a zipper break apart in your hands?

What's In My Purse?

A couple of days ago I did this with my work bag, but let's look at my purse. I rarely actually bring my purse anywhere these days, except to the grocery store. I have to move my wallet from my work bag to my purse when I use it.

This is a Fossil bag I purchased years and years ago. My husband I were trying to do the math on it, but maybe it was even before we were married? So it's probably between 15-20 years old. They don't seem to make this one still, so I can't just give you a link to it, which is too bad. I like that it is both structured (it doesn't just sag when you place it down) and unstructured (it is just a big open space in the middle). I like that there is a tiny pocket on one side for things like my phone and grocery list. I really like this bag and here's the real real - I've never done anything to properly care for it. It's never been treated with any leather things. I've walked with it in the pouring rain. An entire tube of sunscreen once exploded in it and the liner is none the worse for wear. I do not want to ever replace this purse.

1. Wet Ones - Why do I have so many? Well, my husband has undiagnosed OCD and we use them regularly if he has to touch something at a store. 

2. Pens - So many pens.

3. Lotion - Eczema relief, my left foot. It won't come as a surprise to you that this exacerbates my eczema, will it? (It's CeraVe, Vanicream, or Cetaphil for me, friends. Most other lotions I've tried feel like my hand is on fire. I obviously haven't tried EVERY lotion out there, but I feel pretty good at saying I need to stop trying new ones.)

4. A ball marker (for golf) 

5. A "I'm COVID vaccinated" button

The ball marker is from a country club in Iowa. My husband and I love that crow logo and he got it for me once when he was golfing. I've literally had that button in my purse since I was first vaccination and have never once used it for any purpose. Nonetheless, I put both of these items in my purse after I took this photo. 

6. Lip things

7. Two empty eyeglass cases and an eyeglass wipe - I purchased new eyeglasses, but I'm having some issues getting them to work properly, so they've been sent back to wherever they go and I'm waiting for them to come back. The other empty case is a mystery and I took it back to where it belongs after I took this photo. 

8. A lot of earplugs - The green ones are the best. Now that I have noise canceling headphones, I don't use these as much as I used to, but I used to wear them almost every time I went somewhere with music (stores, coffeeshops, etc.). 

9. Notebook - This has been in my purse since 2019 when I took Hannah to an obedience class and we were supposed to keep track of our progress in this notebook. It has never been written in.

10. Hair ties - Every pocket I looked in had another hair tie.

11. A jewelry case that holds a pair of earrings That's been in there since August and after I took this photo, I actually put it away where it belongs.

12. My wallet - I purchased it at the same time as I purchased the purse. The zipper pull has recently broken on it and since they don't seem to have this color leather anymore, I honestly am rather paralyzed about what to do. 

13. A mask - Hey, are other people still carrying around masks like I am?

14 A grocery list 

Grocery list up close. I divide the list into sections of the store (aisles, produce, dairy, gluten-free/beverages) and we cross them off as we move on. The other side is our list for dinner for the week. Is this even remotely interesting? 

15. A price tag (read: trash) - I threw it in the trash after I took this photo. 

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So, this is for everyone who thought my work bag was organized. Here I have a random ball marker, eyeglass classes, and trash. How do you organize your grocery lists?

Advent Calendar Search

Last year I failed to do my advent calendar search until it was too late and everything was sold out and I did the exact thing this year. Here are my options, which are very limited because everything is sold out. *sigh*

1) Book Lovers ($30 from Uncommon Goods)

2) Jigsaw puzzle calendar ($28 from Uncommon Goods)

3) Different jigsaw puzzle ($19.99 from Amazon)

4) Popcorn ($36 from Wayfair)

5) Licorice ($59.99 from Amazon) - This, unlike the popcorn, is labelled gluten free!

6) Should I invest in an advent calendar that I can fill myself for my husband? This feels like a good idea RIGHT NOW, but is it just another holiday chore I will find myself responsible for in the coming years? ($59.95 from LL Bean)

7) I waited too long again this year and we're not getting an advent calendar once more? 

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What would you do, oh wise internet collective? 

Kisses in the House

Most of the time I refuse to acknowledge that the holiday season has started until after American Thanksgiving. I cannot deal with Halloween and then straight to Christmas. The one exception is in food.

The seasonal Kisses are out and you better believe I snatched them up the SECOND I saw them.

The candy cane flavor is my favorite, but I also really like the cherry cordials. My husband likes the mint truffles (they taste like Peppermint Patties). I guess we'll see how long they last in our house.

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What's your favorite seasonal candy? 

20 Things In My Work Office

We're ramping up to my blog's 20th anniversary on Sunday! I'll post a list of twenty things every day between now and Sunday and it will culminate, anticlimactically, on Sunday. Today let's take a look at random crap in my office.

If I'm completely honest with you, most everything in my work office is shit Bestest Friend bought for me. I limited myself to what I'm showing you, but you should know that her stuff is just everywhere.

1) Green rhino - Do you know whose favorite animal is a rhino? I'll give you one guess and it rhymes with Festest Briend. 

2) Green boot - Did I need a green boot? No. Do I love this green boot? Yes. 

3) Collection of random rabbits - I do not care for rabbits at all. And yet somehow I keep getting representations of rabbits. 

4) Footless doll -  Hey, does anyone want to hazard a guess as to why I have a creep ceramic doll with a foot missing in my office? I don't know either, Festest Briend. 

5) Pigs - I actually really do like pigs and my collection of tiny pigs pleases me very much. 

6) Constitution - Every political scientists needs a pocket Constitution, doesn't don't they? (You GUYS. No one called me on the "doesn't they" and I'm mortified.)

7) The Logic of Congressional Action (x2) - Because I have no place other than my office to store them, my books from grad school live in a shelf in my office. I honestly rarely, if ever, have looked at these books since grad school and should probably toss/donate them. BUT. The real mystery of these books is why I have two copies of R. Douglas Arnold's book The Logic of Congressional Action (1992), especially since one is brand new with exactly zero marginalia and the other is a used copy with notes someone else wrote. I am pretty sure I never read a word of this book. But I have TWO copies. Anyone need one? 

8) Painted rocks - Kim sent me a couple of rocks she painted. I did hide two more, but I can't bear to part with these two.

9) Postcards - I have a pretty large postcard collection and every time someone sends me a new on, I add it to my bulletin board.

10) Crayon art - The day Birchie, Anne, and I went to House on the Rock, we went to a lunch place and they had a vending machine where you could pay $1 (maybe $2? I don't remember) and get a piece of art. This was the art that came out for me.

11) Fossil - I took a Geology class in college. I sort of hated it, but I learned a lot and now have an appreciation for fossils. When my students bitch about having to take science classes, I show them this fossil and talk about the benefits of a well-rounded liberal arts education and learning perseverance through hard classes.

12) Blue bowl - I wanted a bowl like this for my office and I was telling my MIL about it and she mentioned that she had one in her basement just like I was describing and she just gave it to me! And now I think about her whenever I'm digging out a pen from its depths.

13) TCHS band mug - I was in marching band for all four years of high school and all I got was this stupid mug. LOL. Just kidding. I love this mug and have used it on my desk every since I received it when I was sixteen years-old.

14) LEGO - In a pre-COVID world, we would spend every President's Day with my husband's brother and his family. Somehow we always ended up getting LEGO figurines. 

15) Purple stone - I found this in our yard one day. I use it as a worry stone when I'm fretting in my office. 

16) Spiderman sticker - I had to have some stitches removed and I was joking with the nurse who was doing it that I was a brave girl and deserved a reward for not crying or biting anyone. She then gave me this sticker. I like it as a reminder that I can do hard things and be good-natured about it. 

17) Spare shoes - I keep an old pair of flip flops at the office in case it's raining when I'm wearing my leather sandals. And the booties are permanent office fixtures. 

18) Random UWW swag - Sometimes I get swag and I throw it in my office. 

19) Dog park calendar - Hannah was an April model.

20) Heated desk pad - I use my heated desk pad even in summer because my fingers get so cold. See the red light on the white box? - it was on as I took this photo in August. 

What's something fun in your work space?

July 2024: What I Spent

Just as a reminder, I just track spending here. My husband pays for the mortgage and a lot of the bigger bills like electricity (yikes! the AC is constantly running these days) and phone. 

 

Pets (27.2%) - This is a horrifying number. We spent more on the girls this month than feeding ourselves. Ridiculous. Each of them got food and Zelda go wet food AND dry food (we only order that dry food about once every six months). I got Hannah a thundershirt (turns out that she's scared of the shirt itself and starts shaking as soon as we put it on her, so that was a waste), she needed her expensive flea/tick/heartworm medicine and I got a six-month supply, and they each got regular medications. Pets are so expensive!!!

Groceries (20.4%) - You know, we gotta eat. We did go to Costco once, but it was Dr. BB's turn to pay, so next month it will be my turn. 

Bills (10.4%) - Water bill, home and car insurance. 

House (11.6%) - Remember when I paid a guy to come and deal with our yard when Dr. BB was in the hospital. That was this. No regrets. 

Clothes (8.1%) - I'm still trying to figure this out. I am probably going to buy a pair of cross trainers and another dress or two next month. 

Savings (8.9%) - At least I did this. 

Health (4.3%) - Everything I bought for colonoscopy prep went into this category, as did some cold and flu medication I bought so that we'd have some in the house. 

Personal care (2.7%) - I got a haircut. This is going to go up in August because I'm going to get a pedicure AND I've already spent $100 at Ulta this month on skincare and makeup. 

Gifts (1.8%) - Retirement gift for a colleague who is retiring.

Cars (1.8%) - I put gas in our old car a couple of times. Like, we sort of think the car might die at any second, so we only put $20 worth in at a time. This is going to go way up next month because the new car is getting an oil change and new tires and I need to take the old car in to have it looked at to see what the mechanic says about if we should fix it or get rid of it. And it may very well need a lot of work, too. 

Fitness (1.4%) - I bought a pass for a yoga class at the community center. 

Eating out (1.3%) - I went out to eat with friends twice and got ice cream twice. 

June 2024 What I Spent

Just as a quick reminder, my husband and I split the household bills. He handles big things like the mortgage, car payment, and cell phone bill and I buy groceries. 

Groceries (33.7%) - This seemed like a crazy number! There was one trip to Costco, but I'm not sure why this was so high. Hmmm.

Clothes (23.4%) - I bought a dress and three pairs of shoes, but I'm only keeping one pair of the shoes, so the credit will be in July's figures. I am finding that my summer wardrobe for the office needs some work if I'm going to be going in five times a week and I need two or three more office appropriate dresses, so clothes will be big in July, as well. I also need to buy new cross trainers and new sandals, so the clothing spending will seem out of control next month, but I assure it's all well considered.

Pets (10.3%) - This isn't too bad, actually. Food for Zelda, some toothpaste and litter, some of Hannah's medications. 

Savings (9.5%) - I still need to tweak this and I'd like it to be closer to 25% before the end of the year, but I'm okay with it for now.

Cars (7.7%) - Renewed the registration for one of the cars and got gas a couple of times.  BIG CAR NEWS!! We paid off our "new car" last week. So now we have two paid off cars. We're truly living the American dream. I mean, sure our old car can't really go on the highway, doesn't have a working HVAC system, and sometimes when you hit the lock button the trunk opens and we'll inevitably be car shopping in the next few months, but woot woot!

Eating out (3.6%) - I bought lunch with friends once, coffee a few times, a Gatorade when I was on campus (I was trying futilely to get rid of a headache), and ice cream once. I'm satisfied with this. 

Entertainment (3.5%) - This is where I classified all of my expenditures from The House on the Rock and Cave of the Mounds adventure.

Gifts (3.4%) - Okay, this was completely MY BAD. I noticed the day of that it was my FIL's wife's birthday and I hadn't sent a card and my beloved SIL's birthday was the next day. Sending cards is my jam, but I was so insane with work in June that I just forgot. I texted Dr. BB and told him to pull out cards from the greeting card box while I was at work and I'd sign them when I got home and we could send them out ASAP. He reported back that there were NO CARDS FOR ADULT BIRTHDAYS. How had I let my box get into this shape? We sent blank cards to the birthday people with birthday wishes and then I ordered a couple of dozen birthday cards from a couple of Etsy shops. 

Fitness (3%) - I paid for some classes that will be on Tuesdays from September through December. 

Personal care (1.9%) - Pedicure. No regrets.

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My new dress is my favorite thing I bought this month. What's your favorite new thing?

What I Spent - May 2024

Remember that my husband and I split things so he pays big bills like the mortgage and car payment and I buy groceries and dog food. This may not seem like an even split, but have you seen the price of hydrolyzed protein dog food these days?!

 

Traveling (20.1%) - Hotels room were a big chunk this month. I was out of town a lot. 

Groceries (14.9%) - Still gotta eat. 

Pets (12.7%) - Food for both girls this month plus the dog's allergy medicine and her probiotic. 

Savings (11.5%) - I have upped this so that more money is coming out of checking account into savings every month and more is going into my mutual fund/IRA. 

Cars (9.7%) - All that road tripping meant I spent way more on gas than I normally would. 

Clothes (8.2%) - I went to my alma mater and splurged at the bookstore. #noregrets

Bills (8.1%) - Car/house insurance and water bill.

Personal care (6.1%) - Haircut, some makeup, and a pedicure. #reallynoregrets

Gifts (5.1%) - Birthday presents for my husband and my twin niece and nephew. 

Eating out (2.2%) - I didn't eat out too much when I was road tripping, but it did happen a couple of times. I mostly ate out of the cooler (and my mom paid for a dinner out once and Bestest Friend's friend paid for dinner once). 

Health (1.4%) - I bought two tubes of prescription toothpaste when I went to the dentist. 

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What do you have #noregrets about buying in May?

KitKat: The Taste Test

Over Easter, my FIL's wife bought lemon-flavored KitKats and they were delicious. 

Then I recently wrote about how I went to a store with five KitKat flavors and I hadn't purchased any of them and I regretted it. Well, one of my dear readers, Kate (HI KATE! - thank you note incoming, I PROMISE), sent me FIVE FLAVORS OF KIT KATS. 

When I was in Ohio a couple of weekends ago, I took the box of KitKats with me and the four of us -me, Bestest Friend, her giant teenage son, and this guy she kept calling her "other best friend," which was deeply concerning because I WILL NOT BE REPLACED - did a taste test while hanging out at the hotel room. Here are the results!

(There was mild ribbing of me for doing this taste test solely for blog content. Friends, I think of you even when I'm in difficult situations.)

White chocolate: Pretty bland. Average score: 2.25/5 

Birthday cake: Man, I was so excited about this and it was disappointing. I was hoping for a bit more texture and it didn't really taste like birthday cake at all, more like an even blander white chocolate. Average score: 1.6/5 

Dark chocolate strawberry: I would argue that this was the best of the batch. The teenage boy was the only one who didn't give it a 3. Average score: 2.75/5 

Dark chocolate mint: This tastes like a Thin Mint or an Andes mint. If you like that, you'll like this. Average score: 4.7/5 

Chocolate frosted donut: I did not like this at all, but everyone who was not me thought it was better than white chocolate or birthday cake. Average score 3.33/5 

Overall, I have to say that I would rather just have a plain old KitKat, but I'd take one of those dark chocolate flavors if they were on offer and pass on the others. I am now on the lookout for churro flavor and will definitely report back if I find it. 

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Do you like KitKats? Have you tried any flavors beyond the original? What did you think of them?

Shopping Spree

Two whole people wanted to know what what I bought at my undergraduate alma mater's bookstore.  Jenny and Stephany, this is for you.

Non-clothing items:
Notepads (taken to my office)
Pennant magnet (taken to my office)
BGSU postcards x2 (I sent one to a friend; the other is on my bulletin board at work)

Tops:
Long-sleeve waffle knit top (I wanted a long-sleeved tshirt, but none were to be found - maybe because it's summer?) - I settled for this
Full-zip hoodie - Scored on clearance.
Tshirt - If you think I would pass up a chance on that adorable Falcon, you are wrong

Bottoms:
Shorts - For sleeping during the summer. In retrospect, these are not a great buy because they don't have pockets, but I'll deal.
Sweatpants - When I broke my leg in 2011, my SIL and BIL bought me some BGSU sweatpants for Christmas and I've been wearing them every night for about six months out of the year ever since. They are in ROUGH shape and I am sadly relegating them to backup sweatpants and these will become primary. 

And that's my bookstore haul. I'm quite proud of it, to be honest with you. I do regret not buying a BGSU bandana for Hannah. I've convinced myself that she doesn't look good in orange because it clashes with her fur, but I think I'm just telling myself that to make myself feel a bit better about it. Maybe she'll get one for Christmas.

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Do you think this is a crazy amount of merch or just the right amount?  What's your favorite piece of apparel from your alma mater? 

What I Spent - April 2024

Here's a breakdown of my April spending.

Just as a reminder, my husband and split our finances, so he pays a lot of larger bills (like the mortgage, car, and cell phone) while I buy groceries, deal with most pet expenses, and lots of other little things. 

Groceries (39%) - This was a big chunk because when I was in Michigan I paid for a grocery store trip for four adults. And there were multiple trips to Costco. Basically, when it comes to the problem of food, I just throw money at it. 

Pets (32.7%) - Holy moly. This was a lot even for my pampered girls. Hannah had an annual exam at the vet complete with some vaccinations and then she was sick a week later. I also bought Hannah's expensive food, her Seresto collar, and a month's worth of her expensive allergy medications. I don't even want to admit to you that Zelda also had an annual exam this month, but my husband took her to that appointment and paid for it, so technically this number should be higher. 

Gifts (8%) - I bought some stuff for my BIL the judge, some greeting cards, and presents for a friend's birthday.

Bills (4.3%) - Insurance.

Personal care (4.3%) - You guys, I did it. I bought a new hair dryer. My old one had sloooowly been dying and sometimes causing the power in the whole house to surge, so I bought a new one. RIP old one I had had since college in the 1990s.

Eating out (3.8%) - This is far more than I normally would have for eating out, but when my mom was in the hospital, cooking was just not in the cards. Also, there was more coffee than normal. 

Miscellaneous (2%) - Normally I track how I spend my cash. But when I was in Michigan I had $45 in cash and I honestly have no idea where it went or how I spent it. So it just went under this category. I will not promise to do better next month because I think there will be a similar amount of panic when I go back to Michigan.

Savings (1.8%) - Ugh. This is terrible. As soon as I saw this AGAIN, I upped the amount that was going into various savings/IRA accounts. Next month WILL be better.

Cars (1.7%) - Mostly gas on the way to Michigan and back.

Tech (<1%) - I paid for cloud storage.

Clothing (a return netted me some money) - I returned a pair of winter boots I purchased last month because they didn't work out. Now I'll probably need to buy some winter boots next year. 

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What was your favorite purchase of the month? Mine was probably the new hair dryer. It's making getting ready for bed so much easier.