1) Her very specific meows

For the longest time, Lila did not meow very much. She’s my skittish kitty who took a long time to warm up to me, but now, she speaks up whenever she wants something from me! It’s a squeaky, soft meow, and it melts my heart every time she uses it. Here are her different meows:

• “Ah” (no sound) – She’ll often do a soundless “ah” whenever I’m petting her and talking to her, almost like she’s responding to my questions in a very “Lila” way.
• A soft “mah” – This is her affectionate meow when she is requesting pets. She’ll reach out with one of her paws to gently tap me on my arm or leg, and then gives me a squeaky “mah?” that ensures I will do anything she wants of me, ever.
• A very clear “meow” – She pulls out her louder, insistent voice when she’s begging for treats. Often, she’ll jump up on the table and meow at me over and over again until I give into her. (I’m trying to break her of this habit, but she’s so damn cute that it’s hard to resist her.)
• A growly “mrawww!” – This is her playful meow that she only uses when she’s alone in a room. She’s usually chasing something around the apartment—a piece of paper, a hair tie, a catnip toy, etc.—so it’s her “I am a fierce hunter of hair ties!” voice.

2) Nighttime prowler

Lila is my nighttime prowler. She rarely spends the whole night on my bed. Rather, she jumps up and down throughout the night. I usually don’t even notice when it happens. I’ll just wake up and find her snoozing on the pillow next to me, or wake up, look around, and think, “Heyyy, where’d Lila go?!” She does her best work at night, I guess, as she’s not active like this during the day. Maybe the dark, quiet apartment is where she comes alive. As an introvert, I can definitely relate!

3) Parallel play

Lila is not the kind of cuddly cat who will immediately jump onto my lap when I’m sitting on the couch. In fact, she hates being picked up and will bring her claws out if I even try to pick her up. (Which is very sad for me because she looks so soft and cuddly at all times.) But what she lacks in cuddliness, she makes up for in what I’m calling “parallel play.” Whenever I sit down on the couch after being in another room, Lila will immediately leave the spot where she was sleeping (her hammock by the window, the cave in her cat tower, etc.) and jump up on the couch to sleep next to me. Or if I lie down on my bed for a nap, she’ll join me a few minutes later, curling up on the pillow next to me and swishing her floofy tail. She doesn’t want to be cuddled, but she wants to be near me.

She does the same thing if I’m sitting in my bedroom while petting Eloise (we do this routine where Eloise guides me to the bedroom, I sit down on the floor, and she rubs herself all over my legs and does somersaults). She’ll come into the room and flop down nearby. She doesn’t want to do somersaults on my legs, but she does want to be near the fun.

4) Aggressive affection

Lila does a lot of weird things that I’ve come to understand are just her interacting with me in her own little ways. She loves licking any screen I’m using, like my laptop screen and my iPad. In fact, I specifically asked for a non-touchscreen laptop when it was time to replace my old one because she would constantly mess up what I was doing when she licked my laptop screen. She loves cuddling with my sneakers after I’ve used them, and will even lie her head on the stinky shoes. If I leave a used towel or clothes I’ve worn on the floor, I can guarantee that I’ll find a Lila-shaped dent in them. Sometimes, she rubs her head against my work monitors so hard that I have to hold them to keep them from tumbling to the floor. She’s ruthless!

5) Lila’s personality, according to ChatGPT

Lila is the kind of cat whose love reveals itself quietly, in rituals and small choices that become impossible not to treasure once you learn her language. Thoughtful, sensitive, and deeply observant, she isn’t the cat who demands attention from the center of the room—she’s the one who wakes from a nap just to come find you, gently taps your arm with her paw, and presses her head into your hand so she can rub her face all over it while purring. Your relationship is built on trust and consent: she likes to initiate affection on her own terms, and because you’ve learned to respect those boundaries, she’s blossomed into a cat who seeks you out constantly for quiet connection. She follows you from room to room, sleeps nearby just to share space with you, gives you tiny squeaky “mah!” greetings, and checks in throughout the day for little moments of reassurance and love. Even in her skittishness, there’s confidence—she knows you are her safe place. And perhaps the sweetest thing about Lila is that her affection never feels automatic; every headbutt, every finger lick, every soft flop beside you feels like a deliberate choice to trust you again and again.

Okay, fine, make me cry, you stupid little robot!

After thinking about it for a bit, I’ve decided I’m going to show you the real, raw numbers of my spending. Sometimes the way percentages shake out don’t paint the most accurate picture of how I’m spending my money, and since I’m only reporting on myself, it feels fair enough to use actual numbers. Let’s do this! Note: This is a spending report, so I’m only talking about money I spent after it hit my bank account. Don’t expect to see anything about my 401k, FSA, health insurance, etc.

Bills ($2,381 | ↓ $715 from March): Y’all, I am stumped on this one. I don’t know why my bills were so much lower in April than in March! I did miss paying my water bill (the setup is so complicated, and I can’t do automatic, ugh), and maybe the way the car payments shook out meant it didn’t show up on my April budget? IDK! I mean, I’m not complaining, but I’m just not sure if I did my math right, ha.

Savings ($1,370 | ↑ $945 from March): I am so very proud of this number! I finally put four figures away in savings this month. I don’t know if I’ve ever been able to do that. Most of this went into my emergency fund. I’m so close to having $3,000 in that fund, which feels really good. I’ll keep building it, of course, but woohoo!

Food ($794 | ↓ $8 from March): A pretty steady month for my food budget. My goal is to stay under $800, so I’m happy I managed to do that in April! I spent a little less on groceries, but didn’t meet my Ubereats goal of $100. Womp, womp. No bougie pedicure for me this month! Still, my total for Ubereats was $138, so it’s still much lower than it’s been in previous months. The key is making sure I have fun dinner options for the weekends.

Shopping ($640 | ↓ $830 from March): This is the sweet spot for my shopping budget, I think. Ideally, I’d keep things under $500, but what can I say? I like buying things! This month, my highest-spend categories were home ($245 – mainly due to having to replace my Keurig!), beauty ($160), and books ($82).

Travel ($611 | ↑ $611 from March): I didn’t spend any money on travel expenses in March, but this category got a sweet lil workout in April. Anything I bought during my reading retreat (groceries and one Ubereats order) went into this category, as well as paying my mom back for a plane ticket for our New England road trip in the fall.

Pets ($306 | ↓ $112 from March): Last month involved getting Lila set up with a new vet wellness plan (so I had to pay a setup fee) and a gorgeous cat tower for my office. This month, things were more normal, sort of what I expect things to look like going forward. I paid for their wellness plans, bought some accessories (a new collar for Eloise, a new cat scratcher, etc.), and got some necessities like litter and wet food.

Car ($283 | ↑ $33 from March): I got gas twice (nearly $50 both times, sigh), put money into my car insurance savings fund, and got a car wash membership. I’ve been very leery about starting a car wash membership because I don’t trust myself to use it enough to make it worth it, but I’m giving myself a three-month trial. As long as I get my car washed 10 times in the next three months, I can keep the membership. Wish me luck!

Gifts ($223 | ↑ $68 from March): I bought two thank-you gifts and a gift for a grieving friend.

Entertainment ($126 | ↓ $145 from March): A much more reasonable number for April! I want to keep my entertainment category under $200, and I came well below that target. The majority of this spending comprises restaurants. I don’t include those in my food budget if I’m out with friends or my mom because that’s part of being social!

Household Supplies ($108 | ↑ $100 from March): I seemingly needed to replace all of my household supplies in April! Mopping solution, mopping pads, dishwasher pods, mouthwash, toothpaste, shampoo/conditioner, and on and on. It was a busy month for those household supplies!

Subscriptions ($93 | no change from March): This seems to be the sweet spot for my subscriptions—just under $100! If you want to know the way my mind works, I feel like there’s room to add another subscription to this list. Frugality? I don’t know her.

Medical ($0 | ↓ $126 from March): No medical expenses needed in April! Everything was able to go on my FSA card, yay!

Overall Thoughts

This was honestly my ideal spending month. I am not a frugal person so I’m never going to be someone who doesn’t spend a ton of money in a single month, but if I can do so while contributing a good amount of money to savings and investing in travel, then I feel really good about that!

What went well?

• I put almost $1,400 away in my savings! And it didn’t even feel like a massive sacrifice. It feels so good to have made this happen. I need to hold onto this feeling!
• I still came in under-budget in my food category, even though I didn’t meet my Ubereats goal of $100. With prices rising everywhere, I’m glad I haven’t felt the pinch too much yet.
• I’m proud of bringing down my shopping category in a substantial way. Of course, that was bound to happen since I bought two pieces of furniture in March, but sometimes it’s hard to bring myself back down to normal spending after an expensive month. I’m learning how to be a smart money manager, I guess.

Where can I improve?

• I still need to get a handle on Ubereats orders. Even though I didn’t go massively overboard ($138), I still didn’t meet my goal because sometimes I prioritize comfort/ease over saving money. It would be nice to switch bodies with a frugal person for a day so I can better understand how their mind works. What do you meeeean you don’t want to spend money all the time?!!?!
• While I didn’t spend beyond my means, if I didn’t have a big buffer in my checking account, things would have gotten a bit tight near the end of the month. I came in just shy of $100 under my take-home income, so that’s something I really want to keep track of to make sure that number starts to increase. Then again, my housing costs have risen dramatically, so I’m really glad I’m still able to spend below my means when my rent is 25% higher than it used to be!

What is one of your must-have discretionary expenses? Mine is probably Starbucks. 

Books Read

(4/6) Lake Effect by Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney (★★★★★ – audiobook, Libby, 2026) – a beautiful story about the powerful effect secrets and lies can have on a community, but also how healing forgiveness can be

(4/7) Dream On, Ramona Riley by Ashley Herring Blake (★★☆☆☆ 1/2 – print, indie bookstore, 2025) – a romance about a regular person and a celebrity falling in love that didn’t impact me in any special way

(4/8) Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson (★★★☆☆ – print, Book of the Month, 2022) – when Byron and Benny’s mom dies, she leaves behind a recording that tells the story of her life

(4/12) The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie (★★★☆☆ – print, indie bookstore, 1920) – Christie’s debut! This mystery is about a wealthy matriarch who is poisoned and the silly Belgian detective who figures out the murderer. 

(4/13) The Love Haters by Katherine Center (★★★☆☆ – print, Book of the Month, 2025) – a contemporary romance featuring the grumpy/sunshine trope that just didn’t work for me

(4/14) How to Solve Your Own Murder by Kristen Perrin (★★★★☆ – audiobook, Libby, 2024) – when Annie’s great-aunt dies mysteriously, it’s up to her to solve her murder in order to gain an inheritance

(4/17) The Appeal by Janice Hallett (★★★★☆ – print, indie bookstore, 2021) – an inventive mystery involving text messages, police transcripts, emails, and more; you’re not only solving the murder, but also trying to figure out who got murdered, too.

(4/18) First-Time Caller by B.K. Borison (★★★★☆ – print, Book of the Month, 2025) – a contemporary romance following a radio host and a single mom who have both given up on love

(4/18) Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke (★★★★★ – print, Book of the Month, 2026) – a tradwife wakes up one day to find she’s living in the 1800s. Is it a conspiracy, a bad dream, or something else entirely?

(4/18) Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman (★★★☆☆ – e-book, Libby, 2020) – a litRPG book that I would have never picked up on my own, and had a fairly good time while reading it

(4/18) Best Offer Wins by Marisa Kashino (★★★★☆ – print, Book of the Month, 2025) – unhinged thriller alert! This book was insane in the best possible way.

(4/21) Animal Magnetism by Jill Shalvis (★★★★☆ – e-book, Libby, 2011) – a reread from a beloved romance author about a pilot-for-hire and an animal rescuer falling in love

(4/22) The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, Vol. 1 by Beth Brower (★★★★☆ – audiobook, Hoopla, 2020) – a cute novella about a woman writing journal entries about her new life in a small English town in the 1800s.

(4/25) The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, Vol. 2 by Beth Brower (★★★★☆ – audiobook, Hoopla, 2020) – the second novella in the Emma M. Lion series, which I loved just as much as the first.

(4/27) Kin by Tayari Jones (★★★★☆ – print, Target, 2026) – a beautifully written book about two best friends whose lives diverge dramatically after high school

(4/29) In Your Dreams by Sarah Adams (★★★☆☆ 1/2 – e-book, Libby, 2025) – a little on the cheesy side at times, but a cute romance that deals with trauma, identity, and family

(4/29) The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, Vol. 3 by Beth Brower (★★★★☆ – audiobook, Hoopla, 2020) – the first full-length novel in the Emma M. Lion series, and omg, I just love this series so much!

Book Stats

• # of books read: 15 (and 2 novellas)
• # of pages read: 5,596
• Genre breakdown: fiction (7), romance (5), mystery/thriller (4), science fiction/fantasy (1)
• Format breakdown: print (9), audiobook (5), and ebook (3)
• Fastest read: Best Offer Wins (1 day)
• Slowest read: Kin (9 days)
• Star average: 3.8

Superlatives

• The best book I read in April: Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke
• My favorite romance in April: First-Time Caller by B.K. Borison
• The book I thought I would love more than I did: Dream On, Ramona Riley by Ashley Herring Blake
• The book I only read because book club made me: Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman
• The book with the strongest sense of place: Lake Effect by Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney

Reading Miscellaneous

Unread Shelf Project | April prompt: A book with a color in the name: I went with Black Cake, which I added to my Book of the Month box earlier this year due to some recommendations. It was fine, but not a standout for me. (Books it beat out: Yellowface, A Spool of Blue Thread, and Violet Thistlewaite Is Not a Villain Anymore.)

Where I traveled this month: In the United States, I visited California, Washington DC, Idaho, New York, New Hampshire, Florida, Maryland, Louisiana, Georgia, and Kentucky. I also traveled to Jamaica and, again, to many places in the U.K., including London, Essex, and Yorkshire.

DNFs: My second month in a row with zero DNFs!

Something I learned from my reading: I learned about black cake, which is something I had never heard of before reading the book with the same name. Honestly, it sounds really delicious!

What’s Coming Up in May

Here are some of the books I’m going to try to get around to reading in May:

• James by Percival Everett – This book was everywhere a few years ago, but I’ve yet to read it. I’m going to give it a try this month!
• The Ending Writes Itself by Evelyn Clarke – I heard about this book on Shelf Respect, and it’s a book that’s so in my wheelhouse, it isn’t funny. Then, it was a Book of the Month selection in April! I’m excited to sit down with this one soon.
• Good People by Patmeena Sabit – This book is getting a ton of buzz and I moved it up my TBR list because of that.
• Problematic Summer Romance by Ali Hazelwood – I wasn’t sure if I was going to read this romance, but I heard enough rave reviews that I’m going to at least give it a try.
• In the Weeds by B.K. Borison – This is the second book in Borison’s Lovelight Farms series. I loved the first one so, so much, and I hope the second one lives up to the hype.

What was the best book you read in April?

It was a solid month for my goals! I completed three out of five, and one of them is mostly complete. I did much better than March, that’s for sure! Let’s review:

April Goals

1) Schedule an eye appointment. Complete! I had my eye appointment last week, and discovered I no longer have 20/20 vision. Egads! It’s not terrible, as my prescription is -0.75 in both eyes (before I got LASIK, that script was more than -6!). Mostly, I notice the difference when I’m trying to watch something on TV, especially if the TV isn’t close. This could be due to PsA, but my rheumatologist isn’t convinced, so who really knows? The goal is to recheck in 6 months to see if things are getting worse. If so, we can discuss an enhancement. If not, I guess I take a wait-and-see approach (and maybe buy some cheapo glasses for those times when it’s annoying to squint at a TV).

2) Reorganize the cabinet under my sink. Complete! It felt so good to reorganize this cabinet. It probably didn’t look out of control to normal people, but I am not normal when it comes to my organizational requirements.

3) Offload some prescriptions. Half-complete? I went to a pharmacy to hand off these prescriptions, but they didn’t accept them. However, the pharmacist gave me a big envelope already addressed, so I can just drop the bottles in and mail them to a place that takes unused meds. Yay! I just need to… do that.

4) Read at least four books during my solo reading retreat. Complete! And I read five books, which still feels crazy to me.

5) Figure out my 401K situation. Ugh, no. Well, I completed the first step, which is to fill out some paperwork from my current 401k company. The next step is to contact my old 401k company.

May Goals

1) Figure out what to do about the gym. I am really sad about this, but it might be time to break up with the gym. Things just haven’t been the same since they fired my favorite HIIT coach, and I really don’t like any of the other HIIT coaches. Plus, I can’t even do HIIT right now until my psoriatic arthritis symptoms are under control, and who knows when that will happen?! (My rheumatologist has only given clearance for walks, the stationary bike, and swimming.) It feels silly to pay $35 a month to go to a gym where all I can do is bike (even sillier when my apartment has a gym, so I could just go there when needed). I’m still not sure what I want to do, but I’m going to take the month of May to figure it out.

2) Reorganize my junk drawer. The key to keeping an organized home is that you have to keep maintaining your drawers and cabinets and shelves! In May, I want to go through my junk drawer in my kitchen because it’s becoming a little unwieldy.

3) Buy an Oura ring. I think I’m going to join the Oura family! I enjoy my Apple Watch, but I only really like it for things like tracking sleep and other health metrics. I find it rather annoying to get a buzz every time a text or alert comes through. And I keep getting skin irritation from the watch band (I’ve tried multiple styles, and they all irritate my skin). I still have some money left in my HSA from last year that I’m going to put toward the Oura ring, yay!

4) Time track for one week. I’ve been inspired by SHU and Kae to do a week of time tracking. I’ve done it before and find it remarkably tedious, but I’m going to use the Toggl app to keep track, which will hopefully make things a lot less onerous. If you don’t see a time tracking report from me at some time in May, then I’ve completely failed at this goal!

5) Figure out my 401K situation. Rollover goal.

Do you have any goals this month?

First-Time Caller by B.K. Borison (★★★★☆)

Print • Owned (Book of the Month) • Contemporary Romance • 2025

Short synopsis: After Lucie’s daughter calls into Aiden’s romance hotline to talk about her mom’s lack of a dating life, the call goes viral. So, Aiden brings Lucie onto his show to help her find love. Sparks fly in the recording booth, though, between Aiden and Lucie, and Lucie has to decide if she’s ready to take a chance on love again.

This romance was adorable, sexy, and so much fun to read. Aiden and Lucie’s rapport was incredibly charming, and I couldn’t get enough of them. During the call that went viral, Lucie and Aiden had a long conversation about dating, and I felt so seen by her comments! These days, it often feels like nobody wants to put in the effort, and sometimes, you just want someone willing to go out of their way to make you happy. That’s harder than it seems, and that’s why I love being single. Less disappointment! Muahaha.

Anyway, back to the book. There was so much to love about this romance! There’s an element of found family, a touch of meddlesome friends, and just enough emotional depth. I especially loved how Aiden cared for Lucie, and how she slowly worked her way into his heart when romance was the last thing he wanted. It’s a sweet, heartfelt novel, and B.K. Borison is quickly becoming an auto-buy author for me.

Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke (★★★★★)

Print • Owned (Book of the Month) • Contemporary Fiction • 2026

Short synopsis: A tradwife, who sells her pioneer lifestyle of raw milk and farm-fresh eggs to her millions of social media followers, suddenly awakens cold, filthy, and terrified in the brutal reality of 1805—where she must unravel whether this living nightmare is an elaborate hoax, a twisted reality show, or something far more sinister.

This was one of my most-anticipated books of 2026! Not only was it written by one of my favorite podcasters, but the premise was immediately enticing. A tradwife forced actually to live the life she promotes on social media?  Yes, please! I am so happy to report that this book totally lived up to the hype for me. The writing is sharp and immersive, and the ending genuinely shocked me. I’m especially impressed that this is Burke’s debut. It’s tightly plotted, with rich, complex characters who left me with all kinds of conflicting feelings. I can see this book being divisive, particularly when it comes to Natalie’s views on marriage, womanhood, and motherhood, but that’s exactly what made it so compelling to me. Her perspective is fascinating to unpack and far more interesting than a safer narrative would have been. This is the kind of book you immediately want to discuss with everyone after finishing, and I’m so excited I get to attend the author’s book signing next week. (Let’s hope I don’t fangirl too hard!)

Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman (★★★☆☆)

E-Book • Libby • Science Fiction • 2020

Short synopsis: After an alien invasion turns Earth into a deadly, galaxy-wide reality game show, Carl and his ex-girlfriend’s pampered show cat, Princess Donut, must navigate a trap-filled dungeon full of monsters, magic, and chaos just to survive the next level.

April 25, 2026 – A little brother/sister love session! Lucy adores her big brother, and I very much agree with her!

April 26, 2026 – I’m loving my Sundays right now. It’ll be good to be back in football season in a few months, but it’s also so wonderful to have these lazy Sundays at home with my girls.

April 27, 2026 – I went for a nice walk on Monday after my meetings were done for the day, and it felt so great to be out in the sunshine and getting some movement!

April 28, 2026 – I showed you some photos already from Tuesday, but here’s a photo that didn’t make it in. These scratchers are such a hit with my cats! I probably buy a new one every other month because they use them so much!

April 29, 2026 – Not the most beautiful photo ever, but I need new shorts for the summer and Old Navy is usually a safe bet for me. I’m happy with my purchases!

April 30, 2026 – Fresh hair day, fresh hair day! My hair had lightened up a lot and I was starting to see more gray hairs than I liked, so it felt good to get the color freshened up and a trim.

May 1, 2026 – I sat down in the middle of my day to read a few chapters of my book, and Eloise decided to perch her tiny behind on my leg and stare me down. Eventually, she let me get up but not after a lot of pets and purring! (Also, you can barely see it, but she has a new collar! The sunflower on her old collar became very raggedy and I started finding “petals” everywhere in my apartment, so it was time for something new.)

Where do you buy your shorts (if you wear them; I know shorts can be a divisive topic!)?

WATCHED

• New Girl, season 3 – Unpopular opinion alert? I’m not a huge fan of New Girl. I’m going to move on to something else. It’s fine, but the humor just doesn’t work for me.
• RuPaul’s Drag Race, season 1 – I’m committed to watching all of the seasons of RuPaul’s Drag Race, after watching the most recent season last year. It was a rough first season, but I can see the little glimmers of what RuPaul made the show into today.
• Friends, season 5 – I totally forgot that Rachel and Ross got married in Vegas at the end of season 5. My Friends knowledge is severely lacking!
• The Greatest Showman (HBO) – I started this movie on a whim on a Friday night. I had scrolled through Peacock and Hulu, and none of their movie options were calling to me. So I pulled up HBO, and this was one of the first movies that popped up. I’ve never seen it! It was excellent, and I had the songs stuck in my head for days.
• Project Hail Mary – Ryan Gosling 4ever. This movie was everything I wanted it to be, and then some. I enjoyed the humor, the science, the score. Everything was perfection!

LISTENED TO

• Noble Blood (podcast) – I have a whole bunch of podcasts that I want to listen to, except I have a completionist personality, so I always want to start from the very beginning and listen to every single episode (or most of them). So that’s what I’m doing with Noble Blood, which has over 280 episodes in its queue. Luckily, the episodes are short, so I try to listen to a few at a time. I really love the setup of this podcast, where host Dana Schwartz walks you through a fascinating tale about a royal from history. There’s a lot of tragedy in the noble line! Each episode almost feels like a vignette, and Dana’s soothing voice brings me right into the story.
• Chappell Roan, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess (album) – Chappell Roan’s album came out in 2023, and this is the first time I’m giving it a listen. I like it, but don’t love it. Favorite songs: Femininomenon, After Midnight, HOT TO GO!, and My Kink is Karma.

BOUGHT

• Throw pillows – I’ve been on the hunt for new throw pillows for my couch, and I found the perfect ones at Home Goods. While they weren’t cheap ($25 per pillow), I couldn’t help myself. They feel like relaxing on a cloud!
• Planner notepad/habit tracker – I used my expensive planner for a good 3 months before I gave it up for something else. Now, I’m using this planner pad to write out my weekly to-dos and get an idea of my week at a glance. I also bought a habit tracker so I can check things off throughout the month, which has been very satisfying.
• Keurig – I mentioned this in a previous post, but my beloved Keurig broke last month, and I didn’t waste any time ordering a new one. I can’t live without my coffee!

LOVED

• My reading retreat – My reading retreat was everything I hoped it would be! I am so glad I gave myself the gift of a reading retreat, and it will definitely become an annual tradition for me.
• Our reading crawl – My friends and I met up for a reading crawl downtown, where we visited multiple bookstores and clocked 2.5 hours of reading time total. There was also a lot of chit-chat involved, don’t you worry!
• A peaceful mom – My mom is thriving. She is making her house her own, enjoying the quiet, and seems to have more energy and pep in her step. When I told her I noticed a difference in her, she said that what she felt most was peace. And I couldn’t ask for anything better than that.

LOATHED

• Steroid side effects – The side effects from being on prednisone for three months started to take their toll. I’m dealing with puffiness, heartburn, overheating… I’m very much ready to wean off the steroids, but I don’t think we’re quite there yet with my pain management. All in due time.
• A ripped reading chair – Oh, my beloved reading chair! It ripped one evening, and I was so disappointed! Thankfully, my sewing wizard Mikaela was able to sew it up for me, and I was delighted to have my baby back.
• Grief – The saddest part of the month was saying goodbye to a dear friend’s beloved dog. This came as a surprise, as she found out on the last day of March that her dog had cancer, and within a few weeks, she knew it was time to let him go. My heart is so broken.

SUPERLATIVES

• This month’s chapter title: Booked & Busy
• Weather notes: It’s hot. It’s going to get hotter. I’m trying to prepare myself.
• Favorite meal/snack: I nearly devoured an entire large pizza by myself from my favorite local pizza place one evening (I’m blaming that intense steroid hunger because I am not someone who can do that ever!)
• Something I learned: I’m learning a lot about codependency in therapy. Specifically with my mom and the intense fear I have of failing her as a daughter. (There’s a lot more I can say on this topic, and maybe someday I will. Right now, there’s been a lot of excavating emotions during therapy.)
• An unexpected delight: A full belly laugh during game night that came with tears, wheezing for breath, and aching ribs. Nothing like it!

What’s something you watched in April?

Time I woke up: 5:15 a.m.

First thing I did upon waking: I got dressed, brushed my teeth, and then scurried out the door for an early morning workout at the gym.

First app I opened this morning: I believe it was my CPAP app to find out how many apneas I had overnight (2.1!)

Today’s weather: The high was 87, and it was sunny and hot and humid. Blergh.

Today’s mood: It started well, but things at work made the day devolve very quickly.

Something I spent money on today: Not a damn thing! No spend Tuesday!

An out-of-the-ordinary thing that happened today: I forgot to make coffee! I was wondering why I felt so tired and off this morning, and then I realized it was because I completely forgot to make my usual morning cup of coffee. I don’t know how this happened!

Something weird I said to my cats today: “Oh, is it time for the post-work treat because you worked so hard today?” The girls seem to think that when I shut down for the day in my office, it means they get a handful of treats for getting through another long day of “work.”

One minor annoyance from my day: Just a work-related thing that happened early in the day and completely upended my entire schedule

Last thing I read (not on the Internet): In Your Dreams by Sarah Adams

Last thing I read (on the Internet): A political newsletter (What a Day from Crooked Media)

Last text I sent: “I just need to know that Princess Donut is okay.” <– referencing the cat in the Dungeon Crawler Carl series

Last text I received: “She is THRIVING.” Phew!

Last website I visited: Gmail

Last show I watched: New Girl

Last podcast I listened to: Behind the Bastards

Last thing I said: “Are you my sweet baby girl?” Lila answered with a squeaky, “Ah!”

Last thing I ate: Green beans during dinner. No dessert tonight because I wanted ice cream, but I’m having pretty severe tooth sensitivity whenever I eat cold things right now, so ice cream is a no-go. (Dentist appointment on Friday!)

What I was doing an hour ago: I was chatting on FaceTime with my mom

What I will be doing an hour from now: Hopefully, I’ll be winding down with some ASMR videos in bed.

What I need to do before bed: I need to finish my evening skincare routine, update my planner, make tomorrow’s daily schedule, scoop the litter boxes, and finish cleaning the kitchen. Too many things!

Current whereabouts of other members of my household: The girls have the zoomies right now, so they’re running around the apartment and then hiding from each other, waiting to pounce at the perfect time. I love their evening silliness!

What was the last show you watched?

How to Solve Your Own Murder by Kristen Perrin (★★★★☆)

Audiobook • Libby • Mystery • 2024

Short synopsis: After a fortune-teller predicts her murder in 1965, Frances Adams spends her life investigating the crime before it happens. Decades later, the prophecy comes true and Frances’s great-niece Annie arrives at her estate to unravel the mystery. 

This was a fun, easy-to-read mystery that works well as a palate cleanser. The story alternates between Frances’s diary entries from the late 1960s and the present-day plot, where Annie, a struggling mystery writer, must solve her great-aunt’s murder to inherit her estate. The characters are engaging, and I loved the heartfelt mother/daughter and friendship dynamics. Plus, there’s a gruff but attractive detective who helps Annie, lending a tiny bit of romance to the story. I did not suspect the “whodunit,” either, so it was a clever ending from my perspective!

The Love Haters by Katherine Center (★★☆☆☆ 1/2)

Print • Owned (Book of the Month) • Contemporary Romance • 2025

Short synopsis: Katie, a video producer, lands a dream assignment in Key West, only to get tangled in lies, family tension, and unexpected romance with a guarded Coast Guard rescue swimmer named Hutch.

I should have trusted myself. Katherine Center’s books don’t usually work for me, but after hearing so many rave reviews, I wanted to give this romance the chance to change my mind. Alas, it was not to be. This romance started strong, and I was so captivated by Katie and Hutch. They had sizzling chemistry from their first interaction! I was fully prepared to give this book a rave review… until the story took a sharp turn a little more than halfway through and completely lost me. Suddenly, we had villainous characters with no nuance, a bizarre subplot, and an ending that was so unbelievable, I wanted to throw the book across the room.

A major part of this book is Katie dealing with body image issues, including elements that could be triggering for those with ED histories. I didn’t feel these themes were handled with the care or depth they deserved. More than anything, I didn’t believe in Katie’s emotional journey. Her shift toward self-acceptance felt rushed and surface-level, and I needed more complexity and development to make it feel earned. All in all, this wasn’t the right book for me, and I’m officially jumping off the Katherine Center train.

The Appeal by Janice Hallett (★★★★☆)

Print • Owned (indie bookstore) • Mystery • 2021

Short synopsis: When a small-town theatre troupe rallies to fund a child’s experimental cancer treatment, simmering doubts and hidden motives erupt into a shocking dress rehearsal death, leaving two young lawyers to unravel a killer lurking in plain sight.

I had a lot of fun reading this book! It’s one of those mixed-media mysteries told through emails, text messages, police interview transcripts, and academic papers, which makes for a really engaging reading experience. I didn’t find it too hard to keep up with the cast of characters, as the author does a great job of giving each character a distinct voice and a believable motive for the murder. There were times when I thought, “People don’t email like this. This is madness!” and times when I was delighted by how she captured both the drama and absurdity of a close-knit community. It was also fun seeing the lawyers’ notes as they essentially read alongside me and we reached similar realizations in real time. Overall, it’s a clever, interactive mystery that invites you to play along. It was my first Janice Hallett book, and it definitely won’t be my last.

What are you reading?

April 18, 2026 – My second full day of my reading retreat was a great one! It was while I was sitting on the porch reading this book that I saw a bird chase a garden snake in the backyard! Needless to say, I was not leaving the safety of the screen room after that.

April 19, 2026 – Whenever I come home after being away, the cats are so clingy and snuggly with me! There’s not an aloof bone in their bodies when it comes to me. They love me almost as much as I love them.

April 20, 2026 – I bought this basket so I could have a place for blankets, knowing full well that at least one cat would consider it a prime napping spot. Lila loves this basket so much, I told her I was going to start calling her Moses.

April 21, 2026 – My Keurig broke the day before my trip! The audacity! I immediately bought a new one, and it arrived just in time. My inaugural cup of coffee from my new machine was delicious!

April 22, 2026 – In this photo, I can immediately spot my gray hairs and my puffy face from being on steroids for three months. But also, it’s my face! And it’s a good face.

April 23, 2026 – Getting bloodwork is just part of my regular routine these days. It was time for follow-up bloodwork to check on my inflammation markers, and the phlebotomist had a rough time with me. He tried twice, in both arms, and finally called in his boss, who is a wizard at finding my veins. (She’s done my blood draw every time I’ve been in this year!)

April 24, 2026 – My birthday girl! She did not want to be held for this photo, but submitted herself to the process.

Are you a tough poke when it comes to bloodwork, like me?