February 2014 thru February 2015 recap

See last post for an explanation for why I was gone. I'm going to try really hard to include everything cool I've done in the past year, but probably going to miss a couple of things.

February 2014 (I had a post drafted, but never posted - that is why I have noted the "thumbs")

• 2/8/14 - 1st time @ Chuck E. Cheese
• A Field in England (thumbs up)
• Dead Dad (thumbs down)
• A Fantastic Fear of Everything (thumbs down)
• Let the Fire Burn (thumbs up)
• Lego Movie (thumbs side)
• Philomena (thumbs down)
• Lego movie (thumbs side)
• The Color Purple (thumbs up)
• The House (thumbs side)

March 2014

• 3/2/14 The Wind Rises
• 3/20/14 The Grand Budapest Hotel
• 3/27/14 Noah @ Imax

April 2014

• 4/16/14 Brewers vs Cardinals @ Milwuakee
• 4/17/14 Transcendence @ Imax (1st time in recliners)

May 2014

• 5/1/14 Got the keys to our place in Madison
• 5/16/14 Rodriguez @ Riverside Theater in Milwaukee
• 5/23/14 X-Men Days of Future Past
• 5/31/14 Hiking @ Devil's Lake in Baraboo with Sara

June 2014

• 6/6/14 Elizabeth's Dance Recital
• 6/14/14/ Madison Farmer's Market, Smoothie King (bought flowers & kettle corn)
• 6/19/14 thru 6/23/14 Yooper Vaca with the Littles

July 2014

• 7/4/14 Fireworks in Cascade @ the Finzels
• 7/6/14 Fillmore Parade @ the Trumms
• 7/8/14 Snowpiercer
• 7/9/14 How to Train Your Dragon 2
• 7/17/14 Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
• 7/22/14 thru 7/24/14 U.P. with Ian
• 7/24/14 Kaeden's bday party
• 7/25/14 A Most Wanted Man
• 7/27/14 Jackie and Nick's wedding
• Began Full Metal Alchemist (just finished the series today 3/1/15!)

August 2014

• 8/1/14 Guardians of the Galaxy
• 8/3/14 Get On Up
• Vanessa's Bday Party
• 8/8/14 Brocachs Live on King Street w/ coworkers: Ziggy Marley
• 8/14/14 thru 8/18/14 L.A. vaca with Sara & Shelley
• 8/27/14 Casino, shopping, Great Dane (beer flight), Mickey's Tavern (I think we went to see Cum Stain but show was late so we only ended up seeing a bad expirimental jazz band) with Ian

September 2014

• 9/6/14 Brenda's Bachelorette Party: Black Hawk Hotel & Barhopping in Cedar Falls
• 9/10/14 Brewers vs Marlins @ Milwaukee
• 9/14/14 Brought the ombre back
• 9/20/14 Love Is Strange
• 9/29/14 il sogno del marinaio w/ Mike Watt @ High Noon Saloon
• 9/27/14 Brenda's wedding
• 9/30/14 Box Trolls

October 2014

• 10/1/14 Marcus Theater played all the Harry Potter movies every Wednesday for 7 weeks and I went to ALL OF THEM!!
• 10/5/14 Gone Girl
• 10/5/14 Of Montreal @ The Majestic (+ Snake Bite @ Brocachs)
• 10/9/14 Sorcerer @ UW Union South (not a new film)
• 10/10/14 Freezer Meal prep day with mom and Michelle
• 10/12/14 Pixies @ The Orpheum
• 10/13/14 Cracked my phone screen :( :( :( (it's since been fixed....costly)
• 10/14/14 Kill the Messenger
• 10/18/14 Xmas shopping with mom and Michelle
• 10/21/14 Fury
• 10/24/14 1st time @ Le Tigre
• 10/28/14 David Bowie Is @ the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago
• 10/31/14 Halloween @ The Brink Lounge (Sweet Delta Dawn and The Earthlings) - I dressed as David Bowie and Ian as Hunter S. Thompson

November 2014

• 11/1/14 Elizabeth's bday party
• 11/6/14 Nightcrawler
• 11/7/14 The Vintage w/ coworkers
• 11/8/14 1st time wine tasting @ Fawn Creek Winery w/ Sara
• 11/11/14 Dave Davies @ Milwaukee
• 11/20/14 Interstellar
• 11/22/14 Phillip Phillips @ Milwaukee with Jan
• 11/23/14 Mockingjay
• 11/30/14 Tickle Torture, Candy Boys, Pizza Underground, and Har Mar Superstar @ High Noon Saloon
• Employee of the month @ work
• Read The Stranger Beside Me

December 2014

• 12/2/14 Citizenfour
• 12/8/14 1st time @ chiro and it was wonderful
• 12/15/14 The Tale of Princess Kaguya
• 12/17/14 The grape ape kicked my a$$
• 12/23/14 The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
• 12/24/14 Phi Phi O'Hara snapchatted me :)

January 2015

• 1/1/15 NYE show (some cover bands) @ High Noon Saloon and doritoes in bed
• 1/2/15 Started Jillian Michaels Body Revolution (still going strong! month 3 woo!)
• 1/2/15 Imitation Game
• 1/9/15 Selma
• 1/17/15 FrznFest (Blanke Range, Cloud Nothings, PUP, Tuen to Crime) @ High Noon Saloon
• 1/30/15 Found out I got a promotion at work....still waiting on that raise

February 2015

• 2/6/15 The Owls Are Not What They Seem (Twin Peaks Event) @ Madison Central Library
• 2/8/15 Carter & Blake's bday party
• 2/17/15 Rupaul's Drag Race Battle of the Seasons tour @ Majestic Theater
• 2/19/15 Olive Garden (late) Valentine's Day lunch
• 2/27/15 Suuns / Disappears @ The Frequency
• Read Twin Peaks: An Oral History

Missing?!

Hello. I know, I've been missing (from this blog) for over a year. I'd like to get back into doing a monthly update of my life, favorite things, movie reviews, etc.

The reason I stopped blogging at this time last year is because I had a family medical emergency, and it really messed with my head. I was in a dark place for awhile, but have been able to accept what is and have become (somewhat) hopeful for the future again. I don't want to broadcast my family's personal business here, but if you know me and want to know what happened, just contact me.

Anyway, this past year has been hard. Things have been getting better and looking better. One major thing that happened since I last blogged is that I moved to the city of Madison. I had been living in suburbs previously (even though I actually work in Madison) and we finally decided to make the big move. It is so expensive to live here! Fortunately, that is about the only drawback. I love living so close to everything. There is always something to do. There is so much shopping and dining within walking distance. Unfortunately, winter lasts like 6 months here so that sucks right now, but I am so stoked for spring/summer to get here.

I will do a separate post highlighting cool things I've done/seen this past year. I just wanted to make this quick & separate entry explaining the hiatus. Hoping to post that this weekend.

Talk to you soon.

January 2014!

Hi there! As promised, here is a monthly update from the world of Cheryl:


-I took Lots of pictures of my love cats (and here are a couple):



-I have been suffering in unbelievably cold temps all month & there has been loads of snow. I am so sick of winter :'(

-I drank a margarita as big as my hand

-I started counting calories again - for real. Also been working out regularly again. I've been using EA Sports Active 2 (I LOVE THIS GAME) and Zumba (I have a dvd box set and also using the game Zumba Core). And I've been cooking and trying new things a lot more frequently! I will post recipes of some of my new favorites in the future :)

-I attended a pirate themed, combined birthday party for my nephews. :)

-I got piercings #6 and #7. These images are mirrored FYI.

-I started my bed quilt/duvet cover finally. I'm not even close to being done - still in the process of cutting out pieces. This will be a long project.

-DOWNTON ABBEY AND SHERLOCK are back!!!

-I was sick for a week. It was the worst. Just a really bad cold I think, but I felt like poo.

-I tried a detox bath for the first time. It wasn't bad. Here's the detox bath recipe I used.

-I lightened my ombre highlights a bit more. I think I will do full ombre when the weather gets warmer. Love it!

-I've been trying harder and harder not to use/eat products in which animals have been harmed to create. It makes me very angry and sad that people think they are > than animals. We are not.

-I tried a hot coconut oil hair treatment. My hair is really soft, but honestly I thought it stunk. Next time I might add some essential oils. Here's a how-to similar to what I did. I heated my oil in a mug in some boiling water instead of in my hands, though.

Movies I saw in January:
Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom 
Inside Llewyn Davis 

The Wolf of Wall Street 
Her 
American Hustle 
The Square 
Call Me Kuchu 
The Act of Killing (I've seen the longer version, first time viewing shorter version) 
12 Years a Slave 



If anyone reads this, I hope you are well and I will see you next month for my February post! It's likely I will post a few recipes before then, so look out for that. ;)

I'm Bad At Regular Updates (Happy 2014!)

Hi - obviously I am bad at keeping up with daily updates. Maybe I should set a more realistic goal...like monthly updates.

Some things of note from December:

I got my cartilage pierced:

I went to an Arctic Monkeys concert in Milwaukee. Super fun! I really like that band.

I tried a new restaurant in Madison - Pizza Brutta. It was tasty. 

I got a sweet hand-drawn-by-the-band Pizza Underground -tshirt for Ian for xmas!! I thought it was a super cool gift. :) I got tons of nice gifts and money for xmas - I will admit that I am very spoiled. :)

I got to see everyone in my fam and Ian's fam for xmas. It was nice to spread the parties out so I could attend all of them. :)

I got a new tattoo! It's the pisces symbol done by my bro-in-law Russ. Foot tattoos hurt-BAD! I also colored in one of his tattoos - my first tattooing experience. It was hard!

Happy New Year! I rang in the new year with my husband, my sis-in-law, her hubs, and my nephew. We played Mario Party and drank mimosas all night. :) Unfortunately there was a big snow storm during the afternoon & evening, so my drive home from work and the drive to their house was pretty miserable! BUT the night turned out fun regardless!

It was a very cold and snowy December here in south-central Wisconsin! It has been in single digits/negative degrees most of the month (or so it feels like) and it's been snowing a lot. :( I hope spring comes soon!

Some movies I saw this past month for the first time (may add more after posting if I am forgetting anything):

• The Pianist
• Nebraska
• The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
• The Manchurian Candidate
• Death to Smoochy

Happy New Year! Here's to everyone having a happy, safe, & fun 2014!

11.26.13 through 11.29.13

(via my Tumblr)

11.26.13

Today was fantastic. I woke up early and got a project done that I have been procrastinating about. Then, I got ready for a day of fun. My husband and I had a double movie day today. This morning we saw Hunger Games: Catching Fire which was great. Later in the afternoon we saw Dallas Buyers Club which was also good. Both movies cost only $5 a ticket, and we also each got a free popcorn for Hunger Games!! We had a few hours to blow in between movies, so we ate lunch at Rocky Rococos, browsed the new Big Lots in Madison, and walked around the mall, Barnes & Noble, and Target. We stopped at a grocery store quickly too so I could get the ingredients for the bruschetta I am making for Thanksgiving.  Now we are home and relaxing. What a fun day! :)

11.27.13

It’s 5:48am on 9.28.13 (Thanksgiving Day) and I’m not sure why I’m wide awake. Yesterday was rather uneventful.  I worked. I will not be writing much about my job as I work at a psychiatric hospital and obviously am bound from discussing a lot of things about it. Plus, why talk about work in a blog. Ew. It was the only day that I have to work this week. I took PTO on Friday so I could spend extra time with my family in Iowa. Last night I jogged/walked intervals on the treadmill for 20 minutes. My hip is killing me today. This has been happening frequently in relation to jogging, so I may have to look more into it. For now, ice and Tylenol will have to do. I also prepared my contribution for Thanksgiving dinner - bruschetta. And I sewed a Velvet Underground patch on to Ian’s (husband) hoodie. I did most of my packing and watched Dr. Katz before falling asleep. I’m leaving this morning for Iowa and probably not coming back until Sunday. Happy Thanksgiving!

11.29.13

Hi! Yesterday was Thanksgiving Day. I drove to Iowa, had lunch at my paternal grandparents’ house and visited with family. Then, I went to my parents’ house and had dinner with my maternal grandparents and family. It was a good - but busy - day! And I ate way too much, as I usually do on Thanksgiving. Today was Black Friday. I have gone shopping early with my mom and sister the last few years, but this year my mom and I decided to go in later. We were tired. It was pretty nice - we didn’t buy a whole lot, but did get a few nice things. We were done by about 1pm and went back to my parents’ house to bake some cookies and make some xmas goodies with my sister and nephews. I feel like I didn’t help a lot - i was busy playing with my nephews. :) I nearly finished all of my Christmas shopping online - it feels nice to be almost done! I’m going to spend one more day in Iowa and then head home to Wisconsin on Sunday. I am having a blast and love spending time with my family, but I miss my husband and my cats.

11.25.13

(via my Tumblr)

I’m going to start doing short blog entries via this Tumblr. I like looking back on them in the future. Nothing spectacular, just what I’m up to. I recently changed my hours at work. Previously, I was working 5 short days. Now, I am working 3 longer days. This is great for me because 1) it’s saving a bunch of gas money not driving to Madison every day and 2) it’s giving me loads more time to do other things. I woke up sick with a cold today and it snowed quite a lot last night, so the roads are not very good. Thankfully today is a non-work day and I was able to stay at home. I spent the day cleaning my apartment thoroughly. I am still working on it - I’m a slow cleaner. I think it’s because I get a little OCD and a little distracted while I’m home alone cleaning. I’m also listening to some music and taking lots of breaks, so that probably adds to the slowness. I’ve been working on some DIY xmas gifts recently. I will post pictures once the gifts have been given. I am mostly sewing things, which is great. I’m going to finish up cleaning, work out, take a shower, and spend the rest of the night relaxing.

Hello, Stranger!

I have rudely neglected this blog. Sorry! I got busy...with life. ;)

Since last posting, I have been happily enjoying "the married life." Actually, it's not very different than pre-married life...I just have a new last name. My husband, Ian, and I just renewed our lease on our current apartment; although, I think we are both getting antsy about renting/buying a house someday *soon*. Apartment-living is and has been getting old since we have both been doing it for at least 7 years. I guess since we just renewed our lease, our decision will be happening next year on "what's next." The main problem is that we don't know where we want to settle down!

We just took our honeymoon this past month - to Toronto!! I have had an unexplained love for Canada since I was....probably around 12 years old. I am so happy that I was finally able to cross the border to the great white north that I could cry! We had a great time exploring the city, seeing the Toronto Zoo, and visiting the Canada-side of Niagara Falls. I posted a link to my shutterfly book with pictures right before this post. :)

I have also gained a new nephew - Blake! That makes 7 nephews and nieces! I am one proud aunty!

I know I was crazy into the weight-loss thing while I was unemployed. Well, since obtaining a desk job almost a year ago, I have backtracked a lot. This past week, I read a book called "Thin Side Out: How to Have Your Cake and Your Skinny Jeans Too" by Josie Spinardi. Well, I'm actually only half way through it, but I have already decided that dieting is really not effective! I'm going to start using hunger-directed-eating and use the simple method of eating only when I'm hungry, and stopping when I am full. Simple, right?! Our bodies and brains are complex things and know when we need and when we do not need food. I have been trying to diet for the past, oh, couple of months with no progress. This book really is hitting home! So far I have already noticed that I am eating in much more reasonable amounts and, even though it's only been a few days, my weight is already going down. Thank glob! I think this is the answer and I am not spending tons of time trying to figure out how many calories, carbs, grams of fat, etc are in every single bite of food that goes in my mouth! I'm also not spending a bunch of money on food that I don't really like that much anyway. I'm just eating what I want in moderate amounts!

Oh, and on the exercise front, I've been doing that pretty regularly! I have been really focusing on jogging. I'm trying to do Couch to 5k again...but it's going way more slowly than what is recommended. This is because of interruptions (albeit good interruptions) such as our honeymoon. The weather has also been a factor - it's been a very rainy June in south-central Wisconsin! If I can't jog, I do some other form of exercise like 30 Day Shred, Tae Bo, or Zumba. I'm on "week 3" even though I have been doing this for over a month. Even so, I am making progress! I'm going farther and my times are improving. I also purchased a Fitbit Zip for my birthday. I really love this little device! And it's hot pink! ;)

I've also been watching a lot of TV shows via Netflix as of late. We recently finished watching the entire West Wing series! What a feat! ;) I love it. I know tv is not the most healthy of hobbies, but it's something I enjoy.

My life hasn't been that interesting since last year! I've pretty much been just doing all of the above + working. Exciting, I know! We are healthy and mostly happy, my cats are healthy and happy; therefore, things are good!