Happy hour chat

When I post one of my infamous (very far in-between) updates, I think of it pretty similarly to catching up over a delicious coffee or a super sour beer. Hurriedly and frantically at times, but nice to get it all out there.

So, I think I’ll rebrand these ‘life updates’ as happy hour chats, if that’s alright by you.

Here’s what life has looked like lately in my corner of the world.

Spring! Has sprung!

I mention the weather quite a bit—the past few months in the Midwest have been brutally grey and dreary. However, it seems as though we’ve finally turned a corner! We’re warming up and getting some of that critical sunshine. Thank god! I was starting to worry, lol.

We moved in!!!

One of the biggest updates is that we finally moved into our new home in Milwaukee! We took our time, since our apartment lease is through May. It’s been nice doing a slow move, and not having to live there while we painted the walls, updated the appliances, and started organizing the space.

We officially transferred our internet services, which was the final push to moving in. We’re excited to be here and spend some quality time crafting the space into our own. 🙂

Beer garden loving

Okay, I gotta say…Milwaukee beer gardens are possibly my new favorite thing, ever. They’re essentially mobile bars in the middle of parks or parking lots, where you can order a drink and sit outside in a cool spot while you drink it. It’s super casual and dogs are welcome. We’ve been to two so far (once with our friend Haley :)), and I’m obsessed with them.

We crashed a wedding

Lol! Chad and I went to our previous neighbor‘s sister’s wedding here in Wisconsin, in Baraboo! It’s around a 90 minute drive away. We were invited by our neighbor’s visiting mother, who couldn’t believe that we were about to move to Wisconsin. We had a great time reuniting with Steve, Christina, the kids, Tiffany, and Phil, and meeting the bride Sarah and her husband Hristo.

P.S. – it wasn’t totally a crash. I caved and sent the bride a message on Facebook beforehand to check and see if it was cool with her. Congrats again to them! 🙂

Traumatic blood donation experience

Okay…I have to share. Chad and I went to donate blood, both for the first time. On my end, I was rejected because my pulse was too high (I was SO anxious and nervous, could not chill out), and I was so embarrassed, lol.

Well, I was able to stick around and sit next to Chad during his session. About two minutes into his donation, he passed out. His hands were suddenly clammy, his head rolled, and I was the only one who saw anything happen. I had to alert the nurses and call for help.

From there, the nurses began yelling his name and trying to wake him up. Suddenly, he began thrashing and convulsing. He was still unconscious, and it seemed as though he was having a seizure and had to be restrained by several staff. After about three or four minutes, he came back to consciousness—extremely disoriented. He’s fine now, and we were allowed to leave about an hour later, after they checked his vitals twice and talked to a doctor.

Apparently, it’s normal but rare to have this kind of reaction, both as a first-time donor and as a dummy who didn’t eat enough beforehand. Also, according to Google, he’s one of the types of people who convulses after passing out, as oxygen tries to get back to the brain.

Overall, it was a horrible experience and I feel traumatized. However, I’m so thankful that Chad is okay and back to his normal self. It was shocking, but at least we were together when it went down? Lol.

Concert: Rainbow Kitten Surprise

Several months ago when we were still living in Colorado and had no clue to what the future held, I was so sad to see that I missed the boat on tickets to one of my favorite bands, Rainbow Kitten Surprise at Red Rocks. However, I looked once we moved, on a chance, to see if I could catch them in Milwaukee.

And…I found tickets! We saw them at the Pabst Riverwalk Theater downtown and I loved every single minute. They were wonderful—vibrant, fun, and so damn cool.

Comedy: Charlie Berens

During our first couple of weeks in MKE, Chad and I stumbled upon two tickets to a sold out comedy show for Wisconsin legend Charlie Berens. He’s best known for short skits on social media, that summarize midwestern living (he does frequent collaborations with other creators like Dude Dad and You Betcha). It was super fun and also crazy to see Wisco culture come alive in the show and audience. I’m glad we were able to go!

Here’s a link to one of his many relatable videos. (Maybe too close to home, lol.)

Hotworx

I just wanted to give a status update: I’m still going to Hotworx! Lol. Hallelujah. I’ve actually been going quite a bit—my initial goal was three days a week, but it has been closer to five, with one to two classes each time.

One of the biggest contributing factors (besides location) is their damn app! Besides scheduling all the workouts ahead of time, it also records calories burned during every session and then an hour afterward (the “after-burn”). Then, all the gym members are ranked! So you better believe that my competitive ass is trying to make it toward the top of the list.

Or, if you’re less of a psycho, the other motivation is that there are varying levels of calory burns (one through seven) and each one correlates to prizes, like a discount or swag.

New clients

I’ve added two new (ish) clients to my Sunshine Creatives workload: I’m once again working with the Garfield County Democrats, as well as continuing my contract with Ageless Fitness. I’ll be handling the social media for both. I’m excited!

Food adventures

Making new friends

In an attempt to make new friends, I’ve explored a new outlet: sliding into DMs! It’s been overwhelmingly successful, and I’m happy to report that I’ve met up with a few ladies in real life for beer and coffee. 🙂

What we’ve been watching

• Person of Interest
• Draft Day
• The NFL Draft
• Donnie Brasco
• He’s All That
• Turning Red
• Pirates of the Caribbean (we watched alllllll of them, lol)
• When Harry Met Sally

Cerebral help

After a couple years of internal struggle, I finally signed up for Cerebral (a resource for mental health medication and therapy) and was officially diagnosed with ADHD. Getting help has been such a validating experience, and medication has been a source of relief in my day-to-day life. And, I’m happy to talk about it—let’s normalize all the funky stuff that happens with our bodies and brains. You can read more about my experience here!

Trip to Denver

Chad and I hopped on a plane and took a whirlwind of a trip to Denver for a very quick weekend visit. We attended our friend Mitchell’s wedding (congrats to him and Rachel!!!!) and also got to see my mom and dad, brother, sister-in-law, niece, Chad’s grandpa, and friends Phil, Megan, and Emily. We definitely made the most of our time there, just in time for Mother’s Day!

You can read more about our visit here. 🙂