2017 – January Goals

Hello there! Long time, no write. January is typically a time for people to establish resolutions, new goals, and new habits. I was inspired to write this post from a BuzzFeed article (of course, BuzzFeed Queen here) about achieving your New Year’s Resolution to Losing Weight. A lot of the advice the dietitians gave were about setting attainable and realistic goals. These not only apply to establishing a workout regime and diet, but also to other goals that anyone can start planning the processes.In the past posts, I’ve made process goals that lists out action steps on how I will attain that goal.

I gotta be honest – I did not write one single post last year. Bummer! What was keeping me from writing? I had a pretty stressful 2016 because I felt burnt out at my job and also felt defeated when it came to job searching. I gave up on fitness, I gave up on trying to find a hobby, I gave up on happiness to some extent. I went to church less and my finances seemed to keep piling up on me. I didn’t have confidence in myself.

I decided to make a few changes so I could get out of this rut towards the end of 2016. I took a chance and left my job that was making me miserable to work at a start up. I joined a gym. I stayed in more. I started to learn how to cross-stitch. I’m going to keep the momentum going in 2017 and start creating monthly goals and hope my friends and family keep me accountable. If you see me slacking, go ahead and call me out! I dare you. I also appreciate the encouragement as well!

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{ January Goals }

>>goal one<<

• Work out three times per week

Reflecting on my health and fitness goals.

I joined Orange Theory back in November and love it! I only signed up for the 2x a week package instead of unlimited since it’s less expensive. Eight times a month is not cutting it for results yet. I need to incorporate at least one more day a week of activities to feel more progress.

>>action steps<<

1. Schedule two classes at Orange Theory – Mon/Wed or Tues/Thurs
2. Gather accessories needed for running outside (running band, charge headphones)
3. Run for 15-20 minutes each Saturday morning (depending on weather)
4. After run, use free weights for three exercises.

 

>>goal two<< 

• Finish two cross-stitch projects

My first few stitches, I’ve gotten a little further since this. 

For Christmas, my friend gifted me a three month subscription to get cross-stitch projects delivered to me. I started my first project in November and still haven’t finished it.

>>action steps<<

1. Instead of using screens before bed, spend 30 minutes cross-stitching a night.
2. Set a reminder on phone to pull out project at night.
3. Have materials accessible in one confined place.

 

>>goal three<<

• Start a bullet journal

via The Lazy Genius Collective

It’s the beginning of a new year, what else better way to start than to get organized! I found this article from BuzzFeed to be very helpful on where to start. I have so many notepads around my desk filled with notes and ideas, but they’re scattered and not contained and do not have a system. I’d like to give this a try to see if it will work for me.

>>action steps<<

1. Purchase a bullet journal.
2. Create an index and establish a key.
3. Establish a future log and start writing!

 

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I am really looking forward to this year. Aaron and I have vacations already lined up and I’m already happier at my new job. I’m excited to reach my goals and keep writing new ones (even if they’re repeated) monthly. If you’re looking to write more goals or get motivated, I also loved this article from BuzzFeed as well that inspires me to get things done and focus at tasks at hand.

Three cities we’re traveling to this year. insta: @_socheryl

Thanks for checking in! Hope to see more posts from me monthly.

xo Cheryl

whirlwind.

Hello all,

Today has been a Monday. The type of Monday that on Sunday you were trying to mentally prepare for and just wasn’t able to.

I’ve come to a conclusion that Aaron can’t leave me for more than a day or something will happen.

As some of you may know, this past week has been a little eventful for me. Wednesday, I took Chloe into the vet to find out later that she has arthritis. She’s a three year old lab mix with arthritis now in her back right hip. The initial shock was worrying but I know that we can keep her on a lot of preventatives and pain manage this issue.

Thursday, the big hubbub was surrounding work and the exciting news of our company being acquired by one of our main integration partnerships. It wasn’t a bad thing that happened, but just a shocker to cope with while your SO is away.

And here’s the kicker – on Friday I sprained my ankle walking Chloe in the rain. Thankfully, I have an awesome group of friends to the rescue who took care of me immediately and throughout the weekend. Super blessed to have a good support group here in Austin. 

Thankfully, Sunday I was able to wobble around and check out a new french market in Austin with friends and eat beignets! So delicious.

It was hard getting up and ready for today because of what I just went through the last week. I also realized that I haven’t been setting goals for myself to achieve recently either, and maybe that’s why I have been feeling unmotivated the last few weeks.

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{ November Goals }

>>goal one<<

• Plan Christmas gifts for family members and loved ones.

>>action steps<<

1. List out everyone we would love to give gifts to.
2. Plan a budget of how much we can spend per gift.
3. Compile a list of ideas that can meet my budget and what we can pack on a plane to go back home with.

>>goal two<<

• Meal prep lunches and stay away from eating out for lunch

>>action steps<<

1. Make sure to get the appropriate groceries for five meals.
2. Prepare everything on Sunday.
3. Don’t skip lunch and leave prepped meal in fridge! (I do this too often….)

>>goal three<<

• Schedule my vision, dental and physician appointments

>>action steps<<

1. Call up the doctors I already see and schedule appointments before the end of the year.
2. Find a healthcare physician I could use with my current insurance and new insurance for next year.

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I think these goals will help me accomplish bigger picture items for the rest of the month. Having something to work for always gets me going!

Side note, tomorrow is a special day. Aaron and I met four years ago on November 10th and I wish I could spend time with him tomorrow! Even better would be to be back in Milwaukee at Hi Hat Lounge drinking Lakefront pumpkin beer with him. That was our first date/first time meeting! Online dating works, folks! (Cough, Ok Cupid actually worked) So happy I messaged you at 2am while procrastinating on school work. And 11/10 is special as well because one year later you purposed to me in Chicago. You still give me butterflies four years later. (Sappy, I know!)

Only a few more days on my own, going to hog the bed and binge watch more How to Get Away With Murder on Netflix.

xo Cheryl

but the greatest of these is love.

It’s Sunday Funday!

I’m currently curled up on my couch with a pumpkin spice latte in my Aaron Rodgers jersey watching the Packers play on this cozy fall-like Sunday. Except, it’s not really fall here in Austin because of 90 degree weather. Oh well! I’ll channel my inner basic in my yoga pants in the AC instead.

October is my favorite month. I stock up on all the pumpkin things from Trader Joe’s, carve pumpkins, dress up for halloween and also celebrate my wedding anniversary.

Wow! It’s our anniversary already? Two years ago I was so nervous I was going to faint or throw up or fall while I walked down the aisle to meet my handsome man at the altar. I’m glad none of that happened and that it was the shortest aisle ever because I was also really excited to marry the love of my life.

With family and friends right by our sides, we had a fantastic day. It is so much hard work preparing for a wedding. But what I think is even more hard work is having the same positive attitude, love and gratitude about our marriage from that wedding day to every day. I feel like I take Aaron for granted every day and don’t show enough appreciation for this man who loves me unconditionally. He sees right through my flaws and supports me to the fullest every single day. I don’t take enough time to realize this daily.

From moving across the country not knowing anyone to starting our careers in the tech field, we’ve been hitting so many “milestones” in our first two years of marriage. I’m not sure where we will be living or what we’ll be doing in the next two years but wherever we go I am blessed to have him right next to me.

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>>My goals for our third year of marriage<<

• Express more gratitude daily towards Aaron.
• Think before I speak, words do more harm than actions.
• Pray more together, speak more openly about our faith.

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This weekend has been fabulous – got our fest on at Austin City Limits on Friday and visited Blue Owl Brewing’s new brewery on Saturday with friends. Today has been a nice comfortable day together and later we’re going out to dinner downtown to celebrate. I’m ready for the next year and the following years after that in our marriage as we tackle any challenges that come our way together. Our family has been super supportive of us and I’m really grateful to have them all rooting for us.

Thanks for reading and for all of your support!

xo Cheryl

P.S. I love you Aaron.

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” 1 Corinthians 13: 4-7, 13

austin fun adventures + results of goal planning

Oh, hey.

I took a week off from blogging to chaotically get my life together before my friends came to stay this past weekend. Boy, I am exhausted today. That three day weekend life is nice (two weeks in a row)! Feels like a Monday, but is a Tuesday. Hoping these next few days fly by! I think everybody’s working for the weekend this week.

The last two weeks have been crazy! September is already shaping up to be a promising and adventure filled month. My birthday weekend we went to Oasis Texas Brewing Company right on Lake Travis, such a gorgeous view on Lake Travis!

While celebrating my 25^th birthday, I took a trip to the San Marcos outlets with my friend Kim and of course brunched hard on a Monday. Aaron then took me out to dinner at El Alma for a “nice” view and some yummy Mexican food. The only thing is, the food was the only good part. Didn’t really have the best experience – the atmosphere was pretty dull and the view honestly wasn’t great. Maybe I was more concerned about getting eaten alive by all the mosquitos. My margarita didn’t even taste like it had any tequila, instead it tasted like a not-so-great bloody mary (sorry friends, not a bloody type of gal). Anyways, wouldn’t recommend that spot unless you get food to go, because I truly did like the food! End rant about birthday dinner.

This past weekend has been insane! We had the pleasure of being with friends from Milwaukee and I got to meet Aaron’s friends from San Francisco. I did ALL of the Austin things over the weekend.

Friday, I had a lovely half day courtesy of working for an awesome company who cares about our personal lives, and went to meet up with Aaron and his friends, Dana and Kyle, down off east 6^th and bar hopped during happy hour. Saturday, I picked up Hayley and her boyfriend Jack up at the airport and immediately started our day off with brunch at good ol’ Kerbey Lane. We then went to the Capitol and admired the beautiful architecture of the largest capitol building in the US. After strolling around downtown, we went to The Art of Brew.

The Art of Brew was a free event that showcased different contemporary art, craft beer, music and food. These communities collaborated together to provide an amazing event for the public and collected generous donations to offset the cost. I tried some amazing beer there this weekend! I’m already excited for next year’s event. But first, I have to go to the Texas Craft Beer Festival held on September 19^th at Fiesta Gardens.

We hit up Shake Shack for dinner (yes, it is as good as the hype) and napped until the Out of Bounds Comedy Festival. Tall Boyz was an improv troupe from Milwaukee, and they were by far the best performance of that night! Had a lot of fun laughing my butt off at Coldtowne Theatre off Airport.

Sunday was another fantastic day! We went to The Salt Lick and ate some delicious barbecue and then headed to Jester King to drink farmhouse ales. After spending a lot of money at Jester King on some amazing bottles of beer, we got Lick ice cream and then headed to swim. We were recommended to go to the Barton Creek Greenbelt to only find after a 2 mile hike that  there was no water! The Texas heat and sun dried up all of the water again from the greenbelt. That didn’t stop us though, we headed over to Barton Springs and cooled off instantly in the 70 degree creek.

Monday’s adventures were the hottest. We went to free yoga day and I tried out a different studio down the street. Next door is a pretty good taco place, so afterwards we of course had to get breakfast tacos. The rest of the day was explored around Lake Austin at Mozart’s Coffee Roasters and climbing Mount Bonnell. We ended the night seeing the bats on South Congress right at dusk, such an amazing sight! So happy that I got to see my friend Hayley from Milwaukee and also got to meet new people!

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{results of goal planning}

To keep it short about my results and goals, I feel like I have learned a lot about making short term goals.

The last three weeks I have been keeping pretty consistent goals, therefore making them a part of my lifestyle. I am staying active three days a week every week, I drink a ton more water than I normally do, and I dedicate a day or two a week to clean up my house and make it feel like a home.

I found that when I throw around too many big goal ideas at once and don’t stick to them for more than a week, I will probably not achieve that goal.

I also learned that scheduling is key. If I don’t schedule some of these bigger goals that I need to accomplish in my calendar, it won’t happen.

I’m going to continue making goals for myself, but I think more on a monthly basis.

This project I was a part of let me write out my action plans and made me feel more accountable all around. Can’t believe 7 weeks flew by so quickly!

I also have been thinking about what I want to utilize this space more for, and I’m planning to do more Austin Lifestyle/Personal Lifestyle posts going forward. I hope you stick around to see more what I have planned!

xo Cheryl

accountability sisterhood: week two results + week three goals

It’s Monday already?! Where did the weekend go…? If the week is going to be anything like it has been today, it will be Friday before I know it. I have a feeling that I’m going to jinx that!

I had a lovely weekend with friends since the hubs was out of town in San Francisco for work. Friday, I went out for a friend’s birthday and got to dress up to mourn the loss of her twenties (such a fun idea, by the way). Saturday, I went to the Austin Ice Cream festival and sweat an ungodly amount while waiting in line for deliciousness. That day felt like two separate days – later at night I had Kim over we made dinner and watched a movie together. So chill and relax!

Austin Ice Cream Festival

To finish the weekend, Sunday I went to a few breweries with friends and once again died from the heat. We took so many failed selfies and I always seemed to look at Jess’ camera right when she was taking a candid. I got to finally go to Circle Brewery and Red Horn Coffeehouse and Brewery. Such neat places, I especially need to go back to Red Horn in Cedar Park. They serve Rishi tea and it made me think about my home city, Milwaukee. Our original plan was to go to Pinthouse Pizza for dinner, and we finally made it there. I tried such a refreshing beer called Agua Loko; it had cucumber, watermelon and mint in it! Delicious and crisp.

Failed selfies!

So this week felt a little off, I don’t think I accomplished as many of my goals as I would’ve liked to. But it’s okay! I’m hoping to recover this week by making my goals smaller and more attainable. Here you have it! Week 2 results + Week 3 goals:

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{week two results}

>>goal one<<

• Keep being productive at home with organization and making it feel more like a home.

>>results<<

I think I did home productivity a little different than this. I kept up with dishes, took out the garbage on time (Now that I live in a house, I have to be aware of when trash is picked up rather than walking to a dumpster), put away laundry and kept my bedroom clean. I didn’t unpack anymore and kind of left all of those boxes in the second bedroom to be opened some other time. I would say this wasn’t accomplished to it’s full extent.

>>goal two<<

• Go to yoga 2-3 times this week

>>results<<

Germaine and I went to two hot cardio-yoga classes this past week, and boy did they kick my butt! I almost threw up during the cardio-yoga class called Sweat. I know now to eat a little better the day of and also not to do a million burpees. I would say that I accomplished this goal, it felt great going!

>>goal three<<

• Utilize the First 5 app and wake up with God’s Word every day. With this in mind, need to wake up earlier this week because of a new start time and I want to wake up earlier anyways to start reading this daily.

>>results<<

Well I realized that I don’t do well with reading a screen immediately when I wake up, especially when it’s pretty dark in my room still. This app didn’t really work for me to wake up to. I have my iPhone set to Do Not Disturb every night so I don’t hear any vibrating noises or buzzes. This app requires you to not have your phone set to vibrate/mute and you can’t have Do Not Disturb on as well. Which means I will not wake up if I try to rely on it just to wake me up. Instead, I read the passages/devotion at work while I was sipping coffee, still trying to wake up. That works a lot better for me, especially since I sleep until the very last second I can.

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{week three goals}

>>goal one<<

• Look over finances with Aaron and plan for a monthly allowance so we don’t feel so suffocated by paying only bills.

>>action steps<<

1. Make a spreadsheet of every bill we pay in a month
2. Make an amount dedicated to savings
3. Make an amount dedicated to allowance

>>goal two<<

• Work out three times this week

>>action steps<<

1. My work out is defined as being active and moving around
2. Schedule one or two days to go to yoga with Germaine/Brittany
3. Actually go to my planned soccer game this Saturday
4. Pick another activity to do outside at least once this evening, even it’s it’s a very long walk or a hike around a greenbelt

>>goal three<<

• Go to bed no later than 11pm, even on the weekend this week

>>action steps<<

1. Relax more at home this week, be inside and out of the hot heat
2. Last weekend was super busy and on the go, take this weekend to unwind and sleep
3. Limit my device time at night, it usually keeps me up later

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That honestly was really hard to come up with three goals again! I think these are a little bit smaller and more straight forward so I can actually achieve them this week. The hardest one in my opinion will be goal one, I absolutely hate talking finance – it stresses me out! Please send good vibes and prayers our way while we tackle that one! From what I took away from the workshop tonight led by Diana is to pray a lot before discussing those topics and have set goals to tackle debt. I know we can accomplish that daunting task.

Well, it’s 10pm and I actually think I’m going to go to bed now (Yay, before 11pm)!

Thanks for reading tonight and I am so happy to be wide open and sharing my goals/results with you!

xo Cheryl

accountability sisters: an intro + week one

Hello world!

I have no idea what I want to do with this blog. But I have many goals I am trying to achieve in the next seven weeks, and I plan on incorporating this blog into it.

Last Wednesday night I decided to step out of my comfort zone and sign up for a 7 week accountability series led by a former classmate of mine who is a professional life coach. It’s called The Summer Accountability Sisterhood and I’m excited to share with you my goals and achievements throughout the next seven weeks (and hopefully continue after!).

What will I be doing in these next 7 weeks?

1. Create realistic goals and steps to achieve those goals (weekly and long term)
2. Get motivation from others (my accountability sisters) and dig deep to have my own motivation
3. To stop procrastinating and get rid of that lazy feeling of not accomplishing anything!

This program really got me because I am a big procrastinator in my personal life (for some reason not so much at work) and get overwhelmed really easily in my work and personal life.

Things like finances and decision making make me sick to my stomach and very anxious. I’m hoping to overcome this with help from other women who are in the same situations as I am.

Another reason why I’m joining this group is because I feel like my faith life is not strong at all. I didn’t grow up in a heavy Christian background, so I never really attended bible studies or went to many church extra curricular activities besides music. I think this is a step is the right direction to actually open a bible and read more about God’s word (because honestly I haven’t done this on my own EVER).

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{ week one goals }

>>goal one<<

• Unpack the rest of my necessities and store away the ones not needed from my recent move

>>action steps<<

1. Dedicate time every night this week to move a small amount
2. Start in sections i.e. bedroom on Monday
3. Set a date to complete

>>goal two<<

• Create a work out regime

>>action steps<<

1. Look for ideas on Pinterest (maybe ones I already have pinned!)
2. Create an organizational list with instructions of 2-5 different work outs to do
3. Print out list and block times out in calendar to work out

>>goal three<<

• Stay calm, take time to breathe and don’t stress over workload

>>action steps<<

1. It’s a BUSY week before projects launch next Monday. Take breaks!
2. Set reminders to break in my work calendar
3. Take a few minutes to go outside or go say hi to a fellow coworker instead of starring at my screen

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Now that I have some goals laid out, I hope to communicate more through this platform.

What else have I been up to lately? Well, work has been keeping me extremely busy! I’m hoping to utilize my HTML skills in this blog now that I use that every day! I moved to a duplex with the hubs (literally down the street) almost two weeks ago and have been hanging out with friends out in the sun every weekend.

Hope you enjoy my journey in achieving goals and becoming a go-getter!

xo Cheryl

feeling hopeful

I have just started up this blog and I already took a lull from it, not really sure why.  Maybe I didn’t have anything to say.  Maybe I didn’t know how to write down my emotions.  Well, I’m back and I need to promise myself to at least weekly share my thoughts with you.

It’s a beautiful afternoon in Milwaukee and I can’t wait to get outside.  The only thing stopping me right now is my monstrous headache that is pounding and throbbing.  I believe it’s from the lack of sleep…I’m not going to go into that.

So I have felt all kinds of worries lately from wedding planning (less than 5 months!), to my hours at work, to seeking out my first big girl job and maintaining my workout regiment.  Even though I have this terrible headache, I believe that life is going to get better this summer.  So many opportunities to grow are right in front of me.

Sunshine does make me a happier person, and maybe that’s why I loved living in Florida so much.  Someday I will make it back there…..

Anyways, some new goals to set for myself include:

1) Lose 7-10 more lbs by the first day of summer – June 21st

2) Land an interview at a company I have applied for

3) Get my bridesmaids their perfect dresses!

4) Set up my payment plan for loans before June 1st

I believe I can accomplish these all!  All I need is a little bit of encouragement from my friends, family, AND myself and I can do this all.

I’m looking forward to the sunshine every day and to exciting new twists in my life.