Get out the ALOE

Ouch! Five days in Mexico and I didn't have a sunburn - but give me two or three hours in the pool and I'm lobster red. Cripes!
The weather was gorgeous today and I truly appreciated having the pool and deck. One of those perfect weather days. Summer in Wisconsin can be beautiful, but the colors don't seem as bright this year without my dad.
The cat started eating again today. He hadn't eaten in almost a week and was all skin and bones....collar hanging from his tiny little neck....but finally I'm seeing marked improvement in his behavior. Not the curious cat quite yet, but he's doing more than lying on the chaise lounge refusing food.....so I have to say I'm guardedly hopeful that he may in fact have the systemic infection rather than the cancer. Time will tell, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a full recovery.
Meanwhile, I sat down over the weekend and mapped out our finances. My goal this summer is to trim the budget any way I can. Instead of buying books this summer (my two a week habit) - I'm hitting the library. Not buying books will save a bibliophile like me nearly $300 this summer alone. I'm considering giving up my Blackberry and switching to a normal phone without the $40 a month data charge. For a week, I'm planning to keep track of how much I actually USE the Blackberry's features, and whether it's fiscally responsible - or just another luxury for the tech geek that I am. And, whenever it's not raining and I'm going anywhere alone, I'm taking my moped - a 2006 Yamaha Vino Classic I bought last year that boasts 100 miles per gallon. And no more car washes - I can do that myself!
Why the change? After spelling out how much I make vs. how much I spend - it's ridiculous that I can't be farther ahead in paying off the house or the car. Time to save the money for the really important stuff.
The photos here are the boys playing instruments during their end of year program, all of us (including my brother David) at the Holy Name festival having the first cheese curds of the season, and Devon holding Sasha, the sister of the cat who is sick.