august 2025

WHEN L reminded me that it had only been three weeks since we tore out the living room carpet that reeked of decades-old mothballs, I had to recalibrate the calendar in my head. It felt like a lifetime ago for some reason.

Now we got shiny new vinyl planks on the floor, all thanks to L who knew how to use tools and build things with his hands. That’s pretty much August for us — fixing stuff around the house, buying stuff for the house, cleaning the house. Man I am so old.

We repainted the walls before putting the vinyl on the floor. Riveting, ain’t it?

Money

Same old, same old. I suppose this section is not as fun without disclosing my target amounts. I’ll think of a different format next year.

Savings Bucket	Savings Goals Met %
Long-Term	100%
Travel	100%
Gifts	100%

Fitness

I didn’t meet my 15-day goal again. Oh well.

Exercise Days	7
Walk	4
Barre	2
Strength Training	1

Reading

I read three amazing books: Rufi Thorpe’s Margo’s Got Money Troubles; Maria Reva’s Endling; and Sarah Harman’s All the Other Mothers Hate Me.

I don’t normally read books that are fresh of the press (read: recently published), but that’s what happened in August. I’ll try to read older books in September, just to shake my shelves up a bit. We’ll see.

Gnarly-looking but yummy-tasting (a.k.a. fresh, ripe figs).

Social

My parents came over to visit a couple times, and my brothers also came by to help with house repair. I had lunch one time with some friends too, and that’s about it.

nom nom nom

First and Finds

I finally got a big “professional development” task out of the way, so there’s that.

I also deadheaded the daisies in the front lawn, which was fun but also time-consuming and quite uncomfortable. Mosquitoes pretty much nibbled on my flesh for two hours, but at least my lawn is now free from unsightly crispy stalks.

Deadheading is basically cutting off the dead part of a flower to encourage new blooms.

Ahh, and we also got patio furniture for the backyard. Now my weekend mornings start outside, bundled up in cozy pajamas and with my hands wrapped around a hot cup of coffee. Love!