It's Party Time in the City

I have never been called a party animal. ever. ever. ever.
I'm a low key kind of girl.
introverted.
a home body.

and then things like New Year's Eve happen and people talk about going to parties, getting drunk, dressing up....oh my!

and my perfect New Year's Eve is dinner and a movie with guy I like a lot, and that can pretty much sum up the perfect night for me the other 364 days of the year as well.

Most of the time I get my way.

This year, however, we're headed to a party.

I'm not looking forward to it at all.

Wish me luck.

and Happy New Year.

(and as hard as I tried to find a New Year's Eve pic from a past celebration to post, I couldn't find a thing. I suppose it's time to attend a party. harumph.)

Old Traditions

One thing that we have been doing for years, is Christmastime goal making.
It's different than a New Year's Resolution.

We just write down on slips of paper what we wish for ourselves in the next year.
It's a secret that's stuffed into the bottom of our stocking until the next Christmas.
It's never a big deal.
Sometimes I write 'floss more' or 'drink more water' or 'take Peanut on more walks'.

Most of the time, I forget what I've written until I unfold that tiny piece of paper Christmas morning.

Some of the time the goals are reached and sometimes they are not, but either way it's fun to see where I've come from and remember where I was in life the year before.

New Traditions

This year I wanted to focus on making new traditions for Christmas. We already had a few in place, but I thought I would also be the chef of Christmas Eve dinner this year and every year to come.

I had been encouraged to make a Short Rib Ragu recipe by a friend who had tried it and loved it.

The week of Christmas, I was beginning to get cold feet-doubting my ability to pull this off successfully. Upon voicing my concern to some very encouraging friends, I was gently pushed into this cooking experience.

"It's only sauce" I was told.

Also, I was told that making it in advance would only make it better, so I started this adventure on Wednesday. After 3 hours in the kitchen I still wasn't happy with the state of the ragu. I was supposed to have a sauce, not a meat soup. Consulting my cooking friends, I was encouraged to just cook it longer.

So cook it longer I did, and come Saturday I packed up my culinary masterpiece to take to Columbia and that evening we ate like kings and queens.

The recipe turned out so delicious and in true Cheryl fashion, I praised myself highly for this culinary feat.

It's Christmastime

Last night we got in the spirit of Christmas, first visiting Christmas in the Park which was a fun light display, but ended up paling in comparison to a Kansas City resident's very own display- The Babick House.

This display wasn't even fully lit, which made me sad inside (there were some technical difficulties), but I'm hoping his house is lit longer than just through Christmas because the small bit of it I saw blew my mind. This is not an exaggeration.

Each display is full of moving toys. His garage is converted, and his living room is on display as well. It's an amazing thing to witness.

Merry Christmas.

Homemade Dog Treats

I'm pretty into making things myself and not very interested in buying things I'm pretty sure I can make.
I have been known, on more than one occasion, to say, "I could make that".

and most of the time I do...most of the time.

This year I had the idea to make my dog friends some homemade treats.

I used this recipe:

Ingredients
1 Banana
1/2 cup Peanut Butter
1 cup Oats
1/2 cup Apple Sauce
1 1/4 cup Whole Wheat Flour
1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
2. Mash banana with a fork until smooth.
3. In a large bowl mix all ingredients one at a time, kneading well after each addition.
4. Knead dough into ball and roll onto a floured surface 1/4 inch thick.
5. Cut with the cookie cutter of your choice.
6. Place on your prepared cookie sheet and bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until edges browned. Cool and refrigerate.
Makes 4 to 5 dozen dog houses.(I used candy canes) 

My treats didn't turn out like crunchy dog biscuits, and I'm not sure if they were supposed to. They are, however, delicious and Peanut loved them so much I couldn't get a good picture of her eating one.

Have you ever tried making dog treats before?

Pretty Pretty Princess

It's not very often I treat myself to the luxuries of life.
I get a massage once or twice a year and have gotten a pedicure once in my life and a manicure twice.

I received a gift certificate this summer to get a manicure, and today I cashed it in for my third manicure ever.

I was, surprisingly, looking forward to getting my nails done all week long-thinking about what color I wanted to get and how much fun it would be.

It's funny how the simplest thing can make me feel a little bit prettier and a little bit more girly, and this time, like always, I am vowing to treat myself to more manicures.

How do you treat yourself?

cut and glue and...

At one point last week I had taken over three areas of the house for scrapbooking and sewing projects. I had a station on the floor in front of the TV. I was sprawled out all over the kitchen table and had taken over the floor in the office/craft room. So far, two of the spaces are still occupied, but I have given some thought today to consolidating my mess to one area. We shall see.
I've been getting a lot of pages completed from Ireland and that feels good since I am sure Christmas will provide ample opportunity for more picture to be taken and more scrapbook pages to be made. Until then, however, I am going to focus focus focus and see if the chapter on Ireland can close before December 25th.
For now, show and tell:

I never said I was hip

I'm not hip at all. I never have and never will claim to be.
My fashion could be described as comfortable, never trendy.
I don't hangout at the coolest places in town.
I never have the coolest electronics.
I've never even seen an iPad (that's a joke).

When I was growing up and CDs had just come out, I clung hard to my tape player and tape collection (I love you, Bon Jovi!). I was sure this whole "CD craze" wasn't going to stick, and besides I was perfectly happy with my tape player and tapes.
"Works fine for me," I said.
I did eventually make the transition to owning a CD player and building a CD collection, but it may have been a little late.
Same thing with iPods-I don't own one.
Same thing with computers- I went through all of college without one (an an English major!).
Same thing with laptops-I just purchased one last month.

So when the e-readers came out years ago, I thought they were cool but knew I would never have one, not in this century, anyway. However, a friend recently gifted me the Kindle Touch and I love it. Now, I know I am not on the forefront of owning an e-reader, but I'm not the last one to get one either.
I feel good about that.

The Kindle is truly amazing and already I am reading more than I would without it. I checked out some books from the library and started reading right away. I'm currently reading Harvesting the Heart by Jodi Picoult. Now, this is not my first choice in reading, but it was the only book I was interested in that was available for immediate check out from the library. I'm on the waiting list for others. (If someone wants to explain to me why I would need to be on a waiting list for an e-book I would appreciate it).

I am enjoying this book and reading it at a fast rate.
I am enjoying reading in bed without having to hold a big, bulky book up.
I'm enjoying reading while I eat and not having to hold a book open with one hand and eat with the other or find some clever way to prop the book up and open.
I really love this Kindle.

I can't wait to read and read and read some more.

Do you have an e-reader?
Let's talk books!

Holiday 100 Update

I thought I would try the ole Holiday 100 this season and try to run 100 miles between Thanksgiving and Christmas. whoa! (I know)

Am I way behind? Yes.
Do I feel discouraged? Yes.
Am I still running knowing I won't make it to 100 miles by Christmas? Yes.

So in that, I feel successful. I'm still running.

So far, I've run 35.13 miles since Thanksgiving. That means I have almost 65 miles to run in 12 days which comes out to running over 5 miles a day. (math)

Is that going to happen? Probably not.

However, I'm going to keep running and I'm going to get as close as I can.

I feel good knowing that this holiday goal has gotten me back into running and thinking about future races.

My new favorite cookie

I'm making four kinds of cookies today to give as gifts tomorrow.
I had my favorite cookie on the list of cookies to make and picked a few other recipes to accompany it, one of which is a Martha Stewart recipe I learned about when she was on the Today Show this week.

This may be my new favorite cookie.

Chocolate-peppermint Thumbprints

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
• 2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
• 1 1/4 cups (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 5 ounces semisweet chocolate chips (3/4 cup)
• 1/2 teaspoon pure peppermint extract

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F, with racks in upper and lower thirds. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, and salt. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat 1 cup each butter and sugar on medium-high until light and fluffy, 3 minutes. Add egg and vanilla; beat to combine. With mixer on low, gradually add flour mixture and beat to combine. Place 1/2 cup sugar in a small bowl. Roll dough into 1-inch balls, then roll in sugar to coat. Place balls, 1 inch apart, on two parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake 5 minutes. Remove sheets from oven; with the small end of a melon baller or the bottom of a small round measuring spoon, make an indentation in center of each cookie.

Bake until cookies are just set but still look moist, 4 minutes (do not overbake). Let cool on sheets on wire racks. In a microwave-safe bowl, microwave chocolate chips and ¼ cup butter in 10-second increments until melted; stir in peppermint extract. Let cool until thick enough to pipe, 5 minutes. Transfer mixture to a large zip-top bag; snip 1/4-inch hole in one corner. Pipe chocolate into cookie indentations. (Store in airtight containers, up to 1 week.)

Active time: 35 minutes

Total time: 50 minutes + cooling

Tips

For extra sparkle, roll the dough balls in sanding sugar instead of granulated before baking.

Serving Size

Makes 4 dozen

My favorite cookie

I only get this cookie around the holidays and I've actually never made it myself...until today.
I'm not even sure if it's considered an actual "Christmas Cookie" or if it's just a Christmas cookie in my world.
I don't even know it's official name.

Let's make it!

First make a Ritz cracker and peanut butter sandwich.

Next, cover with vanilla almond bark that has been melted in a double boiler or the microwave.

Let them set up.
That's it!

I love a cookie that's easy to assemble and easy to clean up, especially if you have a little helper to clean the peanut butter knife.

Knitting

I'm accustomed to knitting with pretty small needles most of the time, US size 10 is pretty standard around here, but with one week to make three knit hats, I had to figure out a different plan of attack.
I searched Ravelry and to my delight found the perfect pattern for a chunky knit hat.


Yarn: Cascade, magnum. 1 skein will make one small and one large.
Needles: size US 15 circular
Gauge: 2 stitches per 1”
Size: small (large)
Measurement: 20” (22”) round

Cast on 44 (48) stitches.
Knit in garter stitch for 6 (10) rows.
Change to stockinette and knit until piece measures 5 1/2 (6 1/2 ) inches, ending with a wrong side row.

Next row: (RS) knit 2 together until end. 22 (24) stitches.
Next row: (WS) Purl 2 together until end. 11 (12) stitches.
Next row: (RS) Knit 2 tog to end. {on this row, on the small size, you will
knit 2 tog 5x, and have 1 stitch remaining for 6 stitches total} 6 stitches also remain for
large size. Cut yarn and run through remaining 6 stitches.

Finishing: Sew together seam, being careful to line up garter rows.

NOTES: This can also be knit on 4 double point, size 15 needles, to avoid seaming.
Large size in parentheses.
Play around with the length of the garter stitch depending on your liking.
Garter stitch: Knit every row.
Stockinette stitch: Knit on the right side, purl on the wrong side. Both hats shown are
knit with the 44 stitch cast on (I like a tight hat, and have a smallish head.) I then
followed the large pattern, knitting 10 rows of garter, changing to stockinette and knitting
for 6 1/2 inches.

I deviated from the pattern just slightly.
I used two US 15 straight needles because after going to one craft store and calling two others, that's all I could find. I'm sure an actual yarn store would have been more helpful, but I was pressed for time, like I said.
I knit garter stitch for 8 rows (not 6) and knit stockinette until the piece measured 7 1/2 to 8 inches (not 6 1/2).
I decided on these changes after I read some of the reviews on Ravelry and am happy I made the hat longer than the pattern suggested.

I love this pattern. I can't wait to make more of these hats!
Do you use Ravelry?
What are some of your favorite patterns?

I apologize

I'm sorry that sometimes my nose will just not stop running.
I'm sorry that sometimes my nose is stuffed up.
I'm sorry I sneeze all the time.
I'm sorry I sometimes pull my nostrils apart to breathe better.
I'm sorry my nose is chapped on the outside.
I'm sorry I have used all the tissue.
I'm sorry I leave tissues around the house, on the couch, on the counter, in bed.
I'm especially sorry I leave tissues in bed.
I'm sorry that in an emergency I wipe my nose on my sleeve.
I'm sorry I cough too much.
I'm sorry I sometimes stick a tissue up my nose and just leave it there.

Snow

This morning I woke up to this dusting of snow.

There's not denying it now, winter is upon us in Kansas City.

Here's to
cold noses
fogged up glasses
scraping windows
the hope of 'snow days'
shoveling driveways
paw prints in the snow
hot chocolate
movie night
cuddling
warm beds
mittens
hats
scarves
chapped lips
bundling up
sledding
snowmen
colds
comfort food
Christmas
snow boots

Happy Winter.

What a day

Saturday morning we were both up early so we decided to dive into some Christmas shopping.
The first stop was the donut shop to get our less than practical fuel for this adventure. My donut was delicious, but I dealt with a belly ache later in the afternoon. Lesson learned? Probably not.

Then the shopping began.

We made about five different stops, and were having a great time shopping for others and shopping for ourselves. At one store, Zeb happened upon the Forever Lazy pajamas that he's been talking about for a couple of months and got pretty excited.

Every time Zeb and I shop together, I am surprised by how distracted he gets. I forget that he doesn't really go shopping all that often so when he gets in a store, he takes a lot of detours to whatever may catch his eye. At one time, I looked back to find him studying his face in a magnifying mirror. In an other store, he was talking about some cute baby hats (we have no babies to shop for).

It was a fun morning, but we're still not finished.

Simple Sunday, eight

On Wednesday, I walked into the living room and Zeb was singing to Peanut.

For this week's layout, I used Shimelle's sketch of the week.

Currently

It's December and that can mean only one thing. I am in the middle of making gifts for Christmas. I am currently in the middle of knitting two hats, making a few scrapbook pages, collecting cookie recipes and looking up sewing tutorials online.

Do you make or buy most of your gifts?

Our Tree

I was against putting up the tree last year. I was a bit of a scrooge I'll admit. I didn't get the point really. You take all this time to put up the tree and then 30 days later you just have to take it down. Who really has time for all that?

This year, however, I made the decision to enjoy the holidays and that includes putting up the Christmas tree.

I am proud to say we have condensed all of our Christmas decor into one Rubbermaid container, and though I toy with the idea of starting some sort of Christmas collection, I am really happy to only get one box down from the attic every year. When I was growing up we would lug about 10 boxes (big boxes) up from the basement year after year. The house looked beautiful, but that was hard work. So although when I see collections of nutcrackers or snowmen and I think about how much fun it would be to start a collection, I remember my one single box of Christmas decor, and am determined to maintain that.

So we (Zeb) got the one box down yesterday, put on some music, and got to decorating. Zeb and I were both lucky enough to get one ornament a year while we were growing up, and continue to get one every year from his mom, so we have quite an assortment.

The tree looks so pretty sparkling at night. I love it!
Have you decorated yet?

Year 4

Today marks the 4th year that we've owned our home. 

4 years ago we were in a 500 square foot apartment off the plaza. The location was great, the living space was not. Two adults and a dog in that tiny space was cramped, and I noticed it most of all once we moved.

The first week we moved in here, we felt like we were in some sort of mansion, calling out to each other if the other wasn't in our direct line of sight. 

And just as people said we would, we filled up the space. Filled it with things that make this house our home. Now that we have this spacious home, we can live comfortably with each other, and share our space with friends and family.

 

We're kind of like adults now,

hosting dinners

having movie nights

or inviting people over to play video games all night long, just like adults.

On this anniversary, I thought I would share some peeks at our space.

Holiday 100

I'm a personal trainer. It's my job. I chose this career because I like to workout. I am also a pretty regular person, so sometimes I don't like to workout.
I like to watch reality TV, just like the rest of you.
I like to eat crap sometimes, just like the rest of you.
Sometimes it feels good to not workout.
Sometimes it feels pretty great actually.

For the last few weeks, my workouts have been pretty sparse. With the cold weather and the darkness, my body just wants to hang out in pajamas any chance it gets. Now, I have worked out a little bit, probably averaging 2 hours a week-definitely not what I'm used to.

Recently I saw the Holiday 100 on Daily Mile and became re-motivated. (I do very well with goals).
The goal is to run 100 miles between Thanksgiving and Christmas. It averages to around 3.2 miles a day.

Today was day one. I ran 3 miles in 32 minutes and 11 seconds which is definitely not my all time best pace, but it's day one, right? My lungs were tight (I've been battling a cold/allergies for months), but my legs felt great and I felt happy knowing I was working toward a goal - and just working out again period.

I know I won't run everyday (tomorrow), but I know I'm going to get to 100 miles by Christmas. I feel excited and revived by my new goal.

I also feel a little red in the face and sweaty.

Are you participating in the Holiday 100 or do you have other holiday fitness goals?

Tattoos

I have been watching a lot of LA Ink lately on Netflix. (I love this show!)
It's a show about people getting tattoos and the reasons and stories behind the tattoos.

It always makes me feel like I want to get another tattoo, but when I turn off the TV and I'm back in the real world, I don't want one anymore.
I hate needles.
Also, I can't think of anything I want tattooed on my body bad enough to get another one.

I got my first and only tattoo as a Freshman in college at Mizzou.
It was the year 2000.
I had just met some of my best friends.
We were 18.
We were sitting around in the dorm, bored, and decided to go to the tattoo shop downtown for tattoos. We arrived and we each picked something from the displayed tattoos on the wall, paid our $50 and the man got to work.
I remember it hurt like crazy and I wanted to be done before the tattoo was done. At that point, I was fine with walking away with a half finished sun. Alas, I stayed until the end.

That night, we each walked away with a different tattoo.
1. a sun
2. the sign of Leo
3. a Chinese character
4. roses

I have since learned that people put thought into their tattoos. Perhaps they design it themselves, or it's a portrait of a loved one. Me? I picked mine from a display of pre-made designs.

Do I regret my tattoo? Absolutely not. Though the sun on my back may just look like a sun to some people to me it represents:
freedom
turning 18
starting college
meeting my best friends

I don't think about my tattoo much because I can't see it, but when I think about it, I love it.

books and food and travel...

I attended a continuing education class for my personal training certification this weekend. At one point, the speaker wanted us to write a list of things we would do during the day if we didn't have to work and we had enough money to live....we could do anything we wanted!

Among the things on my list were:
read
scrapbook
take pictures
walk Peanut
make good food
eat good food
travel

I didn't write 'train clients' on the list. I thought I should though, like a dedicated, motivated trainer would. I tried to peek at other people's lists. "Are they writing 'train clients'?"

I thought at the end of this exercise he was going to say those that didn't write 'train' were bad trainers or something. However, if I didn't get paid to do it, I wouldn't train clients. It's true.

It made me think about my career choice (I've been doing that a lot lately, actually). Should I have a job I would do whether I got paid or not? I guess that would be ideal. However, I do love what I do. I love my job. I may not be as motivated as this speaker (I'm definitely not), but I do love my clients and I love helping people get healthier and make better choices every day.

I also like to do a lot of other things too and I'm thankful I have the job that gives me enough free time to do the things I love to do, even though I don't get paid to do them.

What's on your list?

Simple Sunday, seven

This week, my Simple Sunday page is about the great date Zeb and I had on Thursday afternoon.

I started with the Elle's Studio sketch this week and then modified it a lot.

I've been really into bright colors lately which I think has served me well. In the beginning of my scrapbooking journey, I was very matchy matchy. I couldn't add colors to the pages without them being represented in the pictures I was using. Now, I like to play around with a lot of colors and I think my pages are better because of it.

A Day Date

Zeb and I....we're not like most couples. We don't have the kind of jobs that give us a "regular" life. We're not 9-5ers, we're nights and weekenders.

My schedule usually looks like a split shift with clients in the morning and clients in the evening.
Zeb works at a liquor store and a pizza place so his schedule has him working five nights a week, especially on the weekends.

So our date time isn't in the evenings or on the weekends.

This week we had a date Thursday afternoon.

We started with lunch at our favorite place, Chelly's.
When we walked in, one of the servers said "Welcome home." (That should give you some indication of how much we go there.) a lot a lot.

Then on to the 1:55 showing of The Rum Diary. It was set in Puerto Rico so the colors were beautiful to watch on the screen. The story was entertaining too.

A good day date, I'll say.

A Stop in Spiddal

I feel overwhelmed after a big event, like a vacation, or Christmas, when all I've been doing is taking pictures. After I come home there's the pressure of how to include it all in your scrapbook. Do you scrapbook all of it? Do you make one page for each day of vacation? So many questions!

So here I am, five months after arriving home from my trip to Ireland and I am still working on pages, trying to figure out what is important, what to include, what doesn't have to be in the scrapbook, etc.

Today I used the Elle's Studio sketch from this week, again (I'm obsessed) to document a stop during our Connemara bus tour. I thought this spot was perfectly Irish: a little cottage, ponies, a rock wall and green fields. Beautiful.

I Love to Scrapbook! There I said it.

The prompt over at The Creative Type for the month of November is "The best advice I have ever received...". When I saw this, one important conversation came to mind. I was talking about my upcoming weekend with a client of mine and I was bashfully telling her how I was going to be scrapbooking. I was embarrassed talking about scrapbooking, like always.

She said, "Life's too short."

She's right. Life is too short to constantly be embarrassed or afraid about who you are. Some of my hang ups with scrapbooking come from me thinking that people don't know what it is exactly, that they don't know it's this creative and inventive art. However, it doesn't matter what others think it is or isn't, what matters is that I love it.

A Simple Re-do

Let me start by saying that I wanted to do Simple Sunday because I have a hard time putting glue to paper. I can sit with a layout laid out for months and months before committing to the page completely. So Simple Sunday helps me to commit, to not think too long and get pages done. However, that doesn't mean that I don't want them to look great, because I do.

With yesterday's Simple Sunday I was feeling a bit underwhelmed. I thought the color palette was drab. I couldn't figure out how to spice it up. I didn't like the picture. I loved the story, but wasn't allowing that to be visible.

So, I tweaked it a bit. I printed a new photo in black and white this time, added some color, and I like it a lot better: a page I can be proud of.