Monthly Wrap Up

Angel’s Monthly Wrap Up ~ Oct. 2026

Angela (Angel's Book Nook)
Step into the Nook for October’s magic, mayhem, and multi-tasking! Grab your favorite cozy drink and let’s dive into this month’s highlights.

The first full week of October brought plenty of expenses and a few unwelcome surprises. First, the 🧾 County Tax bill arrived—half of which is due by November 1st, which is never cheap in California. Then on October 6th, our Prius’s Check Engine light came on alongside a terrible grinding noise at startup.

After taking it in to be diagnosed, we learned that the cylinder number two has coolant leaking from the head gasket. Fixing it would cost far more than the car’s value since it requires a complete engine teardown. So, we picked up a rental and began searching for a replacement for our beloved Prius. We bought it brand new and took great care of it over the last 15 years, so it served us well and actually lasted longer than expected!

Shopping for a new car comes with its own stress—comparing prices, fuel efficiency, durability, and safety. Ultimately, we decided to go fully electric and chose a Tesla Model Y. Switching brands and going EV makes me a little nervous, but with California ⛽ gas prices hovering at $6.50 a gallon, I’m thrilled about the savings on charging.

Oh, and because the universe has a sense of humor, our couch broke, too. It’s definitely been one of those weeks where if it’s not one thing, it’s another!

Despite the week’s chaos, we still found time for family fun. The kiddo had a 🏃 cross-country meet on Wednesday (despite a heat wave advisory topping 90°!), and we squeezed in a few soccer games as well.

*****

The second week kicked off with a relaxing Monday holiday for ⛵ Columbus Day and Indigenous Peoples’ Day—no early school wake-up calls, just a slow morning and a nice walk with the kiddo. We also started gathering quotes for our new EV charger, and by Tuesday, it was fully installed! It wasn’t cheap getting it done right with all the proper permits, but it’s ready to go. Meanwhile, my hubby got his flu and COVID shots, though that unfortunately backfired when he woke up 🤒 sick on Wednesday and stayed under the weather for the rest of the week, putting a pause on U10 soccer practices.

To top off a heavy week, we received some very sad news early Saturday morning: my husband’s stepdad 🤍 passed away. We all called him “Baba.” He was such a wonderful man, and all the grandkids loved him dearly. We’ll be heading back east for the funeral once plans are finalized.

Naturally, productivity took a backseat for me this week. Between the stress, dealing with migraines (if you know, you know!), and having a rental car where the dog isn’t allowed—meaning my usual walking routine is swapped for our hilly neighborhood paths—I completely stalled out. I haven’t been able to get back into my 🎧 audiobook of Violet Thistlewaite Is Not a Villain Anymore, and I am so far behind on the October Read-Along and my TBR Challenge listens. Some days, you just want to zone out with some 🍿 mindless TV!

*****

Weeks three and four didn’t bring much of a return to routine. All of life’s stress really threw me for a loop this month. It took me much longer to finish my 🎧 audiobook; Violet Thistlewaite Is Not a Villain, and I still haven’t even started October’s read-along, Rogue Ghosts & Other Miscreants. I also really wanted to complete a bingo for the Library Love Alphabet Bingo Challenge, but I just didn’t get to the books I picked out.

Honestly, October was a month for diving straight into 🍿 mindless TV! Through it all, we still kept up with soccer practices and games, alongside the kiddo’s cross-country workouts and meets—and I did manage to snap some cute pictures of Panda 🐼. On top of everything, we were waiting to hear about the funeral arrangements, and once we got those details, we had to book flights back east. Flying right now is certainly not cheap, making it just one more expensive hurdle in a month that has been full of them.

*****

As we close out October, we finalized our travel bookings for the funeral in November and wrapped up our final AYSO soccer practices ahead of the season finale during the first week of November. The kiddo’s cross-country season is also coming to an end, though we’re still figuring out what’s next on the schedule!

On the blog front, I finally took the plunge and deactivated the Classic Editor plugin to give WordPress’s Gutenberg block editor a try—years after everyone else made the switch. I’m slowly getting used to the style and improving my post layouts, even if I’m not setting any speed records yet. It’s hard to break old habits when you’re used to a certain way of doing things, but I’m glad I finally made the jump.

📚 Be sure to peek at the sidebar before you go! It’s packed with all my 🎉 current giveaways—there are some amazing prizes up for grabs right now.

Congratulations to all the winners of the giveaways hosted on the blog last month! 🎉

  • Jenness M. won $10 Amazon GC in the Falling Into Leaves Giveaway Hop.
  • Cassandra R. won $10 Amazon GC in the Scaredy Cat Giveaway Hop.

 

Lately, I’ve been completely hooked on Major Crimes on Netflix and diving back into Criminal Minds on Prime Video—I’m currently up to Season 8! You just can’t beat a really good 🕵️ crime drama. (Plus, let’s be honest, quite a few silly short dramas on YouTube when I need a quick escape!)

 

 

🌟 The 14th Annual Ho-Ho-Ho Readathon hosted by Caffeinated Reviewer will be starting in November. Come check it out and sign-up to join the fun.

🌟 Our 2026 Library Love Challenge is officially calling your name. Grab your library card and join the fun! 📚✨ Don’t worry, there’s plenty of time to get cozy with a new book—sign-ups stay open all the way until December 2nd, 2026!

🌟 Story seekers, if you’re enjoying the content, please consider supporting Angel’s Book Nook! Even a small donation goes a long way in keeping our library growing and the Library Love Challenge thriving. Thank you for being part of the journey. Support here!

🌟 Make the switch to Libro.fm and support indie bookstores. You’ll get two audiobooks when you sign up!

Have a fabulous November! 💖 I’d love to hear from you—feel free to share your own monthly highlights with me!

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Published by Angela (Angel's Book Nook)

Welcome to my paradise! I'm Angela, the owner, reviewer, and mind behind Angel's Book Nook. I also have the pleasure of hosting the community-focused event, The Library Love Challenge. My reading obsession lies squarely in the thrilling worlds of Paranormal & Urban Fantasy—the bigger the lore, the better! You can always count on me to root for my favorite shifters: dragons! Off the page, I am a dedicated wife, mother, and lover of all animals, especially horses and dogs. As Desiderius Erasmus said, "Your library is your paradise."

2 thoughts on “Angel’s Monthly Wrap Up ~ Oct. 2026”

    1. Well, the car delivery date changed on us and now we’re looking at December. We’ll see when it actually shows up! Lots of folks in California drive Tesla’s, and honestly, I wanted to avoid buying one just to steer clear of Musk’s brand. But since Rivian was backed up over six months, we caved. October was a rough ride, so I’m very ready to get back on track this month. Thanks for visiting!

      Reply

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