Styles and Smarts

2025 Reading Challenge Reading List

2025-12-23T18:34:00.003-05:00

50 out of 50 completed!

-Mothering by Ainslie Hogarth

-Meddling Kids by Edgar Cantero

-The Witches by Roald Dahl

-The Girls Who Stepped Out of Line by Mari K Eder

-What's Next: A Backstage Pass to The West Wing, Its Cast and Crew, and Its Enduring Legacy of Service by Melissa Fitzgerald

-Men Who Hate Women by Laura Bates

-Leslie F*cking Jones by Leslie Jones

-Scarred: The True Story of How I Escaped NXIVM, the Cult That Bound My Life by Sarah Edmondson

-It's Not You: Identifying and Healing from Narcissistic People by Ramani Durvasula

-One in a Millennial: On Friendship, Feelings, Fangirls, and Fitting In by Kate Kennedy

-Before They Were Monsters by Pete Fleck

-Doctor Who: The Rani Elite (BIG FINISH)

-(Reread) The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher

-Strom Front

-Fool Moon

-Grave Peril

-Summer Knight

-Death Masks

-Blood Rites

-Dead Beat

-Proven Guilty

-White Night

-Small Favor

-Turn Coat

-Changes

-Doctor Who: Planet of the Rani (BIG FINISH)

-Selling the Dream: The Billion-Dollar Industry Bankrupting Americans by Jane Marie

-Davos Man: How the Billionaires Devoured the World by Peter S Goodman

-The Broken Ladder: How Inequality Affects the Way We Think, Live, and Die by Keith Payne

-The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel

-A Villains Collection (Fairest of All, The Beast Within, and Poor Unfortunate Soul) by Serena Valentino

-Mistress of Evil by Serena Valentino

-The Cozy Corgi Mysteries by Mildred Abbott

-Cruel Candy

-Traitorous Toys

-Bickering Birds

-Savage Sourdough

-Scornful Scones

-Chaotic Corgis

-Quarrelsome Quartz

-Wicked Wildlife

-Malevolent Magic

-Perilous Pottery

-Ghastly Gadgets

-Fly Girls: How Five Daring Women Defied All Odds and Made Aviation History by Keith O'Brien

-If You Ask Me by Betty White

-The Cure for Women: Dr Mary Putnam Jacobi and the Challenge to Victorian Medicine That Changed Women's Lives Forever by Lydia Reeder

-The Ultimate History of the '80s Teen Movie by James King

-Little Bosses Everywhere: How the Pyramid Scheme Shaped America by Bridget Read

-The Indomitable Florence Finch: The Untold Story of a War Widow Turned Resistance Fighter and Savior of American POWs by Robert J Mrazek

-How the Ghost Army Hoodwinked Hitler: The Story of American Artistry and Deception in World War II by Rebecca Siegel

-The Boys: A Memoir of Hollywood and Family by Ron Howard and Clint Howard

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Criminal Thoughts: A Criminal Minds Stream Of Consciousness (Part 1)

2023-06-21T19:47:00.003-04:00

So I started binging the TV series, Criminal Minds, back in May as background noise while my hands were busy working on stuff for (then) the upcoming PopCon in Louisville. I'd seen miscellaneous episodes throughout the years as reruns, but never in proper order. We had just gotten Paramount+ so I figured, what the hell, why not? Approximately a month later, I'm almost done with Season 5! Some friends and I have a persistent Facebook chat for the random TV shows we may be watching at any given moment, but I thought it would be fun to chronicle some of my thoughts here as well. These will likely be rambly, and may not make much sense if you haven't watched the series, I won't likely do this every time, and I'm not starting back at the beginning, but it's my blog and I can do what I want. 😇😈

*SPOILER WARNING*

S5 E22 The Internet Is Forever

A serial killer in Boise, Idaho, is revealed to have been posting his murders on the Internet, accumulating quite a collection of fans in the process.

-Facebook screwed up their privacy settings? Color me surprised! /s

-I remember in the "early days" of social media, how things like GeoTagging and using apps like FourSquare were considered so dangerous.

-Spencer doesn't have e-mail? Surely that's common use within the FBI.

-We don't talk about Bruno 🐶

-It'll be over when she stops screaming Garcia

-P*rn titles are just as bad as craft beer and hot sauce names

-An unlocked and open door is never a good sign

S5 E23 Our Darkest Hour

The BAU is called to California when a sadistic serial killer appears and begins killing people in the dark during the rolling blackouts.

-I've never lived someplace where rolling blackouts/brownouts were a thing

-Do the words "Stay here" not mean ANYTHING?

-OMG Tim Curry!

-Did I miss something, did Hotch take back over as the BAU director? He seems to be giving a lot more orders.

-What do you think the words "Rolling Blackout" mean lady? Of course, your garage door isn't going to work!

-Tim Curry is so good at being creepy

S6 E1 The Longest Night

As The Prince of Darkness continues his murderous rampage across California, the BAU go after him to save Detective Spicer's daughter from him.

-Yay more Tim Curry!

-Tim has spoken more in the first 15 minutes of this episode than he did in the previous episode, either way, he's glorious.

-How do you feel about a bob haircut Ellie? Maybe even a pixie?

-That wig is terrible

-His name is Billy Flynn? What in the Chicago is going on?

-I'm not a mom, I have no desire to be a mom, but DAMN JJ!

-Ah the good old, "Do as I say, not as I do" routine. And I hate it. Such an overused trope/character personality trait.

-That might have been overkill Morgan

Trying something new....

2022-08-30T22:30:00.002-04:00

So I've come to realize that I am a terrible blogger. It's not that I don't want to post anything, I'm on the internet a LOT. And I'm creating and publishing content all over the place (see my two podcasts, TikTok, and YouTube channel*), just not here. And I have ideas for posts, usually, they come at night as I'm snuggled in bed trying to fall asleep.

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For the longest time, I struggled, trying to ride the bandwagon of other "influencers" and posting similar content to them, even if it wasn't 100% authentically me. I was into clothes and makeup at the time, but it wasn't what I was passionate about (I mean, I still like shopping for clothes and buying makeup, but it's not a big motivator).

My friend and co-worker, Beth, over at The Crafty Nerd has recently posted that she's been in a similar boat creativity-wise, so I guess it's nice to know I'm not alone. I'm sure I could go into things like "Millenial Burnout" or whatever, and I might at some point in the future but honestly, I don't have the energy right now (how's that for irony #ElderMillenial).

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So what does this ramble mean? In short, I'm going to try and post more, but it's going to be on my terms. No themed days, no schedules, no niches, no promises. It might be nerdy content, it might be more serious life-related stuff, or it might just be ramblings about a weird dream I had. Really this is going to be an outlet for my mind. Sure I could journal in an actual notebook with paper and a pen, but I know myself and that'll never happen. Unless I find something better, this is what I'm going with. If you want to stick around, great. If not, we can always remember the good times? Whatever, it's going on 10:30pm and I need to go to bed.

*If you pay attention to when footage is shot versus when it is posted, you'll notice that while I'm pretty good about filming, I'm not so consistent with editing and uploading. A for effort?

A Kingdom of Isolation....A Covid-19 Diary (Part 5)

2021-01-04T13:37:00.002-05:00

As I write this, ~~tomorrow is the last day of 2020~~, oh hello January 4th, and honestly, it's coming not a moment too soon. You'd have to been living in a cave in the middle of nowhere to not see that this year has been one for the record books. It hasn't all been bad, but there's also been a whole lotta dumpster fires.

I'm currently at my in-law's house for the holiday break, as we usually have done since Chauncey and I got together. It tends to pretty relaxing, usually with some socializing but mostly just hanging out, no work, no distractions, it's pretty great. Sometimes we'll go to a movie or two, shop the post-holiday sales, the sort of year-end events one would expect.

We didn't have much planned for this year's stay, maybe a movie, lots of video games played between my husband and his dad, I brought my sewing machine and some projects to work on. Of course, we knew that flexibility is key as you never know what might pop up (bad weather, other family plans, etc.) What I never could have planned for was one of us getting sick with COVID-19, namely Chauncey.

Let me preface this next bit by saying that is just my experience and account of dealing with a spouse with COVID-19, every person's experience is different and each diagnosis should be treated on a case-by-case basis. What has worked for us might not work for you or your loved ones.

Leading up to the holiday break, Chauncey had been working really hard, burning the candle at both ends trying to be able to walk away with his inbox and To-Do List as empty as possible. He and I have both learned in the past that while it's great to get things accomplished, burning the midnight oil, again and again, is just an open invitation for illness. A good night's sleep is so important to your overall health, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. So when we loaded up the car on the 19th of December, we were both ready to leave the real world behind for a while.

We had a pleasant lunch with my mom and her husband, our annual chance for the two families to get together for a few hours. We followed COVID protocols at the restaurant and a good time was had by all. We got to my in-law's house Saturday evening, I went to the gym after we unpacked, and our vacation was now underway. Sunday was spent at the house, generally being lazy, doing last-minute gift wrapping, it was low key...until Chauncey started to feel a bit ill. Monday we both had to work, and at that point, all he had was some sinus issues and a mild headache so we figured he was developing a cold. Tuesday morning rolled around and two red flags popped up, Chauncey had completely lost his sense of smell and taste. Everyone I knew who had gotten COVID-19 told me that was the most common symptom, so once this happened we went into treating him like he had COVID. Chauncey started on a regimen of vitamins, fluids, lots of sleep, keeping him isolated from the rest of us (as best we could in a single-family home) and hot showers; by Tuesday evening he had a fever, chills, a rather strong headache, "foggy brain", body aches, runny nose. Before he got too bad and was in bed the rest of the day, he went online to find a local place that was offering COVID tests and snagged an appointment at a CVS for the following day.

Wednesday I took him to the CVS for his test, we had a bit of a wait in the drive-through but once it was our turn the test was pretty straightforward. The nurse/pharmacist walked him through the entire thing and soon we were on our way to wait the 3-4 days for his results. Of course, at this point it was two days before Christmas, so we (rightly) assumed that it may take longer, in the meantime, we stuck with our regimen and tried to enjoy Christmas as much as possible.

Frozen Waco Beach

While we awaited the results of Chauncey's COVID test, life continued at the house as best as possible. Since we were already at my in-law's place when Chauncey came down with symptoms and we'd all been potentially exposed, we figured it was best just to stay put to keep the germs contained to just the one house. However, by Saturday we were all getting a little stir crazy being stuck inside, even Chauncey who at this point no longer had a fever, but was still stuffy. So we bundled up and went for a drive in my father-in-law's truck: driving by the two houses that Chauncey grew up in while living in Michigan, looking at the frozen coast at Waco Beach, and of course when in Rome (or in this case Sturgis) dinner at Hot 'n Now. We never got out of the truck, just drove around, and Chauncey kept his mask on and we used lots of hand sanitizer whenever he sneezed.

Late Sunday evening/really early Monday morning Chauncey's test results came in, he was positive for COVID-19. Not much of a surprise but at the same time it was nice to have confirmation, which meant I would need to be tested along with my in-laws. My father-in-law got tested that following Monday and got his results that Thursday (he was negative), I got tested on December 30th but it was a Rapid Results test (not available at every CVS, check their website for availability) so I got my answer within 30 minutes (negative). My mother-in-law works for the local school system so she's following their protocols as far as testing and when she can return to work.

So now it's been two weeks since Chauncey started showing symptoms and he's feeling much better. His foggy head, headache, fever, chills, and many of the major symptoms were almost gone after the first week; but he did develop a minor cough which was concerning. After talking to his primary physician's office, they said that he might have a cough for several weeks, but as long as he isn't struggling to breathe then he should be fine. He's taking an OTC cough medicine at night to help him sleep and that's been sufficient.

Kissing in the new year COVID style

I can only speak about Chauncey's experience with COVID-19 based on what he's said and my own observations, and I can tell you while his case was "mild" it was still concerning and stressful for everyone involved. He doesn't really get sick, so for him to be essentially bedridden for even a few days tells you how serious even this case was. Now he's at the end of when he could be contagious, but even though I tested negative I have to self-isolate till next week just in case I caught it after my test and just haven't shown symptoms yet. We're both being monitored by both the state and IU (our employer) and are following their directions as best as possible.

As for my own experience, it's not been fun but I also know it could've been way worse (I've got friends who have loved ones that are currently hospitalized with COVID and at least one who's had a loved one pass away). I'm always going to be concerned when Chauncey gets sick or injured, but once I started to recognize his symptoms as COVID-19, my stress level went up.

I am so grateful that we were at my in-law's house as I had help taking care of him: getting him food/fluids, doing laundry, refilling the humidifier, stuff like that. Now he's more self-sufficient, which is good since I'm supposed to be self-isolating like I stated earlier, and really the isolating has been the hardest part. If he was in the same area as his parents or me, he was wearing a mask; we've been sleeping in separate places; I haven't been able to hold my husband's hand or kiss him in two weeks, our New Year's kiss was done through a piece of plastic wrap! We're very tactile people, so not be able to show affection that way has been hard on both of us. I can't imagine what it is like for folks with loved ones who have been hospitalized and they can't visit them at all.

So this is where we are now, Chauncey is clear to go back out into public (wearing a mask of course) while I'm isolated for another week. Not ideal but we'll manage. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask, in the meantime wash your hands and wear a mask!

A Kingdom of Isolation....A Covid-19 Diary (Part 4)

2020-09-02T22:09:00.002-04:00

Finally meeting Holly!

Oh hello SEPTEMBER! When I last wrote it was May....time flies when you're social distancing? It's certainly been an interesting summer.

In mid-June Chauncey and I hit the road for a long weekend in Wisconsin. We both needed a break from the monotony of being stuck at home. The gym didn't even reopen till early June, so while that's been the one place I've semi-consistently been when I do get out, the drastic change of pace was just what we needed.

Why Wisconsin? Well, it was an easy enough drive from central Indiana, we only had a long weekend so we didn't want to spend a lot of time in the car. The House On The Rock was someplace we both have wanted to visit (me for the first time, C for the second in over a decade) and it was now reopened for visitors. Plus, we could visit my friend and podcasting co-host Holly! As you may know, we have yet to have all of us in the same place at the same time, but over the past 6 years we've managed to have one-to-one visits (Brittany has met me, Chrissy, and Mich on different occasions; I met Brittany last year, and now I've met Holly). We had a great time and ate a LOT of cheese and other Wisconsin dairy products. You can catch the whole trip on my channel.

Hiking the dunes or the cover for our next album? 😄

It was a blessing to get away even for a bit again in mid-July for our annual trip to the family cabin in Michigan. No internet, no TV, barely a cellphone signal. Just a small group of friends, food, campfires and the great outdoors.

The rest of July and pretty much all of August was a whirlwind of work, going to the gym, fighting injury and/or illness (I'm just now finishing treatment for a sinus and ear infection). Oh yeah, and podcast homework. Did I mention that on top of the Five(ish) Fangirls I'm now part of another podcast? Yep, Gold Standard-The Oscars Podcast follows myself along with Nik and Xan as we watch and review every Academy Award winner for Best Picture in chronological order. It's been a lot of fun and I'm watching so many movies that I'd likely never watch otherwise. Thankfully my local library has been an amazing resource for getting most of them on DVD if they aren't on the streaming services we're subscribed to. Otherwise this would become an expensive venture (even renting from a site like Amazon or YouTube would add up eventually). Get a library card folks, you'll thank me later!

So now we're facing Labor Day Weekend, the unofficial end of summer. The pandemic is still going on along with other things, so I guess with fall and eventually winter coming that generally staying home won't necessarily be a bad thing.

So long summer, until next year!

A Kingdom of Isolation....A Covid-19 Diary (Part 3)

2020-05-11T15:23:00.000-04:00

My D&D character

A like THAT *poof* April is gone and we're into May! Of course as per tradition, the weather here has been as sporadic as expected for Indiana. The first weekend of May was GORGEOUS, so Chauncey and I took advantage of the warm weather and sunshine and went for a drive down in Brown County. Others must have felt the same way because we saw a LOT of motorcyclists. Can't say I blame them, it was a perfect day to be traversing the hills and back roads.

Blue skies

The start of May also saw Chauncey and I celebrating our 12th "dating anniversary", the day he asked me out and connected on Facebook (you can read the story here). It hasn't been all sunshine and unicorns, but overall I'm so glad that he is the one I'm stuck at home with. We're both really good and giving the other space when we need it, which when you're stuck in an apartment isn't easy.

Unfortunately as alluded to at the start of this post, the weather hasn't been nice the entire time. In face it's been downright cold recently! It even hailed yesterday! So even if we could go out, it's not like we would unless we had to. The governor has release a game plan/schedule for "reopening" the state with a goal of "back to normal" by July 4th.....

Thankfully Chauncey and I's employers/managers are aware that is very optimistic and have told us that we are going to still work from home until told otherwise by them. So glad that there are some people in charge who seem to be aware of reality versus wishful thinking.

That being said, I'm still keeping busy. I'm not sewing as much as I thought I would, but since I don't have any conventions coming up anytime soon I'm not really feeling the "con crunch". It's more, I'll get to it when I get to it. BUT, I have started a new hobby/activity....

Over at the Five(ish) Fangirls we've started playing Dungeons & Dragons! Yes, I can now punch that hole in my geek card. I created a character and everything (she's seen at the top). Chrissy and her husband are experienced players (Jared is our DM) but the rest of us are complete newbs. Thankfully Jared is a great DM and very patient with all of our questions and fumbling around trying to get the hang of things. It's pretty fun and great way for us to stretch and exercise those skills we might not be using elsewhere. Whenever we do get together, hopefully we can do a group cosplay of our characters....but I'm not getting into a bucket ;-)

A Kingdom of Isolation....A Covid-19 Diary (Part 2)

2020-04-06T16:36:00.003-04:00

The stories I have heard....*shudders #StayTheFAtHome

Oh hello April! Well "social distancing" has obviously moved into a whole new month and will continue for a least two more weeks (our "stay at home" order was extended by the governor last Friday). Classes officially resumed last week, which was....something. While I don't directly work with students, our department definitely felt the effects of this transition to online only. My stress levels were pretty high and I've felt the aftermath with my mental and physical health. I had stopped coloring as much as I switched to sewing projects, but I had to go back to the coloring books to de-stress.

I did go to the chiropractor which was nice, I'm also feeling the effects from not being in my more ergonomically correct office environment. Other than that, I haven't been out except for a couple of walks outside for fresh air but even that is hit-and-miss with the weather. We're in that weird part of the springtime where the temperature can't quite regulate itself, so it'll gradually warm up for a few days, but then that causes it to rain, and then the temperature goes back down.

My view most of the time

C and I are still both busy as all get out, between our day jobs and our side pursuits, there's never really an opportunity to get bored. We did take advantage of a special offer and purchased subscriptions to MasterClass. Professional development is always a good use of time, and I'm thinking (and hoping) that I'll benefit more from these types of courses more than say, a subscription to something like Pluralsight. I'm not really a "technical" person like C is, I don't want to and have no desire to learn coding or things like that. That is his wheelhouse, not mine. I've only gone through one course so far with Bob Woodward, and I did pick up a thing or two. We'll see as I get further into it.

A Kingdom of Isolation....A Covid-19 Diary (Part 1)

2020-03-26T21:28:00.001-04:00

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So unless you're living on one of those islands where the native folks have never had contact with other human beings, you know that the current state of the world is in a word, chaotic. The US, along with several other countries are seeing numbers of citizens catching the Corona Virus, with medical systems being overwhelmed with the numbers of sick and dying.

Thankfully as I write this, I have not been knowingly exposed, and no one I know has been or has tested positive, or even showing symptoms. It helps that Chauncey and I have been essentially been quarantined at home for over two weeks at this point. Neither of us have been in the office since the 11th of March, although that weekend Chauncey did go up north for his annual "Man Day" weekend. And I went the geek cave on Saturday to record an episode of the Social Sci-Fi Podcast, and that Sunday was my mom's birthday so I was at her house for a small get together.

Mom's new service dog, Nash

Of course at that point we still had no idea just how bad things were going to get. From the 16th to the 22nd I didn't leave the house, except to the mailbox and down the laundry room. I ran to my mom's quickly on the 23rd to get my sewing machine that's been living at her house. I've got a ton of projects going and I figured if I'm stuck at home I might check off a thing or two. I also went out for another short while on the 24th to get a prescription and few grocery items (we had stocked up like we normally do before Chauncey went away). We went under a "stay at home" directive from the governor starting on the 25th, so Hoosiers aren't supposed to be out unless they have to for things like essential work, food/groceries, going to the doctor, etc.

Chauncey and I are very fortunate that we can work from home, do we can both collect a paycheck. And we've got plenty of other things to keep us occupied during non-working hours including said sewing projects, a super exciting secret project we're developing for Cyutil, plus I've been coloring up a storm with my stack of "grown-up" coloring books.

At this point we have no idea how long we'll be stuck at home, the order from the governor is for two weeks from the point of when it went into effect. K-12 schools are closed through May 1st. I know in the grand scheme of things, we're in a decent position with our jobs and access to entertainment and provisions. In the meantime, maybe I'll actually blog more often? I've got the time....

#MCUAlumniMovieWatch Update #4

2019-04-26T12:50:00.001-04:00

Check out the original post here

Well here we are. Avengers Endgame opens wide today (I'm seeing it tonight!). Due do some hiccups I wasn't able to watch as much as I would have liked in the past few weeks. But let's see how I did in the home stretch. Again in no particular order:

*all images from IMDB

Us-MCU Alumni: Tim Heidecker, Winston Duke, Lupita Nyong'o

Blade Runner 2049-MCU Almuni: Dave Bautista, Edward James Olmos

Ingrid Goes West-MCU Alumni: Pom Klementieff, Elizabeth Olsen

Nina-MCU Alumni: Zoe Saldana

Pilgrimage-MCU Alumni: Tom Holland, Jon Bernthal, Richard Armitage

Shazam!-MCU Alumni: Zachary Levi, Djmon Hounsou

The Fast and the Furious-MCU Alumni: Vin Diesel

Jumaji Welcome to the Jungle-MCU Alumni: Karen Gillan, Bobby Cannavale

Total: 8 productions, 15 new MCU alumni, 1 repeat.

Overall total (so far): 46 productions, 43 MCU Alumni.

So in slightly under a year I managed to check off the 6 OG Avengers, all the Guardians of the Galaxy, Spider-Man and more. The spreadsheet I'm using currently has 106 actors/MCU Alumni on it, with more to be added I'm sure. While technically I've hit my deadline, I'll probably keep up with it, although probably not as strongly. It's been fun to push my boundaries and watch things I probably never would have before

#MCUAlumniMovieWatch Update #3

2019-03-11T09:59:00.001-04:00

Check out the original post here

We're weeks away from Avengers: Endgame being released, and Captain Marvel was just released this past weekend (which I've seen TWICE already!) Let's see how I'm doing now that we're in the home stretch. Again in no particular order:

A Star Is Born-MCU Alumni: Bradley Cooper

Annihilation-MCU Alumni: Natalie Portman, Tessa Thompson, Benedict Wong

Arrival-MCU Alumni: Jeremy Renner, Forest Whitaker

Glass-MCU Alumni: Samuel L Jackson

Incredibles 2-MCU Alumni: Samuel L Jackson

Ocean's 8-MCU Alumni: Cate Blanchett

Playing It Cool-MCU Alumni: Chris Evans, Anthony Mackie

Ralph Breaks The Internet-MCU Alumni: John C Riley

Thanks for Sharing-MCU Alumni: Mark Ruffalo, Gwyneth Paltrow

Vice-MCU Alumni: Sam Rockwell

Total: 10 productions, 11 new MCU alumni, 3 repeats.

Overall total (so far): 32 productions, 38 MCU Alumni.

I've now checked off the original 6 Avengers (which was my smaller goal) along with some secondary characters. My new smaller goal is to check off the rest of the Guardians of the Galaxy before Endgame.

#MCUAlumniMovieWatch Update #2

2019-01-14T09:51:00.002-05:00

Check out the original post here

Well, the summer ended up getting away from me and my binge watch had to take a back seat. Thankfully the holidays and the subsequent break allowed me to check off some more alumni. Again in no particular order:

*all images from IMDB

Christopher Robin-MCU Alumni: Hayley Atwell

Detroit-MCU Alumni: Anthony Mackie

Ghostbusters-MCU Alumni: Chris Hemsworth

Liberal Arts-MCU Alumni: Elizabeth Olsen

Prince Avalanche-MCU Alumni: Paul Rudd

Spider-Man Into The Spiderverse-MCU Alumni: Mahershala Ali

The Grinch-MCU Alumni: Benedict Cumberbatch

The West Wing-MCU Alumni: Clark Gregg

Unbreakable-MCU Alumni: Samuel L Jackson

Kong Skull Island-MCU Alumni: Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L Jackson, Brie Larson

Sing-MCU Alumni: Scarlett Johansson

Mama Mia! Here We Go Again-MCU Alumni: Stellan Skarsgard, Dominic Cooper

Total 12 productions, 11 new MCU alumni. I wasn't able to check off as many this time since there weren't many productions with multiple actors in it. And I also had several alumni repeats which don't add to the overall total.

Overall total (so far) 22 productions, 27 MCU Alumni.

I hope to at least check off the rest of the original Avengers before Endgame comes out in April.

I'm Still Here!

2018-11-28T12:37:00.000-05:00

Oh my! I haven't posted anything on here since....well we won't specify how long it's been ;-)

If you're subscribed to my YouTube channel, you've seen that I've been posted videos on at least some of what I've been up to. Including our family Alaskan cruise, a corgi race, and then my recent trip to Dallas.

Even my channel saw a slump in posting there for a while, due to some personal issues (which is for another post at another time). But the podcast has been going strong, so I hope you're keeping up with what we've been releasing.

I do hope that now my personal stuff is more in control, I can get back to blogging more. We'll see how I do finishing out the year, but it may just be that I pick up stronger when we get into 2019. Thanks for those who've stuck around!

#MCUAlumniMovieWatch Update #1

2018-06-23T16:46:00.002-04:00

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Check out the original post here

It's been almost two months since Avengers: Infinity War was released, and we're now slightly under two weeks from the release of the next movie in the MCU, Ant-Man and the Wasp.

I've slowly been cracking at watching as many movies with MCU alumni in them during my off time during what is a busy summer. Here's watch I've watched so far (in no particular order):

*all images from IMDB

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy-MCU Alumni: Toby Jones, Benedict Cumberbatch

Sherlock Holmes-MCU Alumni: Robert Downey Jr, Jude Law, Rachel McAdams

Sherlock Holmes Game of Shadows-MCU Alumni: Robert Downey Jr, Jude Law, Rachel McAdams

Jurassic Park The Lost World-MCU Alumni: Jeff Goldbum

Jurassic Park III-MCU Alumni: Sam Neill

Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom-MCU Alumni: Chris Pratt, Jeff Goldbum, Toby Jones

Deadpool 2-MCU Alumni: Josh Brolin

Ocean's 8-MCU Alumni: Cate Blanchett, Richard Armitage

Solo A Star Wars Story-MCU Alumni: Donald Glover, Paul Bettany, Jon Favreau

Mama Mia: Stellan Skarsgard, Dominic Cooper

16 MCU alumni so far over 10 movies, not bad. I still have a ways to go to check more off my list.

#MCUAlumniMovieWatch Suggestions Needed

2018-05-16T15:25:00.001-04:00

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So if you're friends with me on Facebook, you've seen this post already (and the subsequent rather large comment section that followed). But as my list is far from complete, I decided to ask the interwebs for their suggestions.

The Original Post

So I've got this crazy idea. Before Infinity War this year, I rewatched all of the MCU films in release order. One a week starting at the beginning of the year.

Looking ahead to Avengers 4 next year, I could do the same thing BUT to change things up I thought it might be fun instead of watch other films that star members of the MCU. Think of it as a way to expand my cinematic horizons instead of watching the same movies over and over.

So what I need are YOUR recommendations of movies that star members of the MCU (Robert Downey Jr, Mark Ruffalo, etc.) I want to start compiling a list and then go from there.

I know I've got a lot of film aficionado friends, so lay it on me!

What I have so far.....

Hayley Atwell

-Christopher Robin

Dave Bautista

-Blade Runner 2049

-Riddick

Paul Bettany

-Kiss Kiss (Bang Bang)

-A Beautiful Mind

-Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World

-Transcendence

-A Knight’s Tale

Chadwick Boseman

-Marshall

-42

Josh Brolin

-No Country For Old Men

Don Cheadle

-Miles Ahead

Bradley Cooper

Benedict Cumberbatch

-The Fifth Estate

-Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

-Third Star

Benicio Del Toro

-The Usual Suspects

Vin Diesel

-The Chronicles of Riddick

-The Iron Giant

Peter Dinklage

-The Boss

-Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Robert Downey Jr

-Sherlock Holmes

-Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows

-Chaplin

-Due Date

Idris Elba

Chris Evans

Martin Freeman

-Hot Fuzz

Karen Gillan

-Jumanji Welcome To The Jungle

Clark Gregg

-500 Days of Summer

Danai Gurira

-All Eyez On Me

Chris Hemsworth

Tom Hiddleston

-I Saw The Light

Tom Holland

-The Edge Of Winter

Samuel L Jackson

-Pulp Fiction

Scarlett Johansson

-Lost In Translation

-Ghost World

Pom Klementieff

-Ingrid Goes West

Brie Larson

Anthony Mackie

Elizabeth Olsen

-Wind River

Gwyneth Paltrow

-The Talented Mr Ripley

-Shakespeare in Love

-Emma

Chris Pratt

Jeremy Renner

Paul Rudd

Mark Ruffalo

Zoe Saldana

Sebastian Stan

Benedict Wong

So suggestions for the actors already listed? Anyone I'm missing (that you have a movie recommendation for). I wanna hear it!

A few disclaimers/notes: If you can suggest a movie that has multiple alumni in it, even better because that means I can check off more at once and save myself some time. Also, the suggested movie should be relatively easy to find (be it Netflix, Amazon, iTunes, etc).

Last Night Was Weird!

2018-04-13T13:05:00.001-04:00

Last night, the hubby and I drove up to Wabash to see Weird Al during his 'Ridiculously Self-Indulgent, Ill-Advised Vanity Tour' The concert was at the Honeywell Center, which the Ford Theater reminded me of my high school auditorium.

This tour is unlike previous shows that I've seen Al do (this is my 5th time seeing him). But I knew that going in, as Al said when the tour was announced:

"By design, it has extremely limited appeal. Instead of doing festivals, fairs and arenas, we’ll be doing small, intimate theatres. Instead of putting on a big flashy production, we’ll be trying to go for something very informal and low-key… kind of an Unplugged/Storytellers vibe. Like we’re just hanging out, playing in your living room. So if you’ve really got your heart set on seeing fat suits and Segways and hearing all your favorite parodies… this probably isn’t the tour for you. Chances are we’ll be doing that kind of show again sometime in the future, just not THIS time." Weird Al

As a HUGE Weird Al fan (I did ask him out my prom after all), I had no problem with the lack of costumes and parodies. Granted some of the songs I knew better than others, but I still sung along the entire time. The set list is different every show, which makes sense considering how large his music catalog is, even once you take out the parodies*. The vibe was definitely more calm, unlike the more party atmosphere at previous shows. But everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. I saw lots of Hawaiian shirts.

Set list

Stop Forwarding That Crap To Me

Traffic Jam

Generic Blues

My Baby's In Love With Eddie Vedder

Good Enough For Now

Craigslist

Close But No Cigar

Airline Amy

CNR

One Of Those Days

I'm So Sick Of You

Don't Download This Song

I Remember Larry

She Never Told Me She Was A Mime

Christmas At Ground Zero

The Biggest Ball of Twine In Minnesota

Unplugged Medley: Eat It/I Lost On Jeopardy/Amish Paradise/Smells Like Nirvana/White & Nerdy/I Love Rocky Road/Like A Surgeon

Secret Never Before Heard Cover

The Saga Begins

*There's a spreadsheet on Reddit that is keeping track of every song that's been sung during the tour.

Emo Philips was a fun opening act (Al normally doesn't have an opening act so this in itself was unique). Chauncey and I made sure to watch UHF the night before.

I wish I had a chance to see this tour again, just to see and hear for myself some of the other songs that are in rotation. But alas, it's not in the cards for now. But as Al says in 'The Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota'..."but at least we got our memories."

TCM Sports Legends Experience Preview

2018-03-23T21:49:00.001-04:00

The $38.5million, 7.5 - acre Riley Children’s Health Sports Legends Experience combines rich sports history, physical fitness, and health education in a variety of family-fun, outdoor and indoor experiences. Enjoy this drone footage to see the magnitude: https://vimeo.com/childrensmuseum/review/260178104/3ba30318e1

12 immersive outdoor experiences

Indiana Pacers and Indiana Fever Basketball Experience gives families a chance to take their best shot and practice basketball skills on courts with hoops that just their size (fitting adults and little legends).
Indianapolis Colts Football Experience sets the scene for kids and their grownups to practice offensive and defensive moves like the pros do among large Colts tackle dummies and take part in passing and kicking challenges.
Indy Fuel Hockey Experience provides opportunities to pass, shoot, and score street hockey style.
Subway Soccer Experience engage in soccer fundamentals and multiple goal-kicking opportunities.
Indianapolis Motor Speedway Pedal Car Racing Experience and Church Brothers Collision Repair Drag Strip Experience encourages families to get their heart pumping and feet moving on the pedal tracks with kid-sized and adult-sized cars.
Pete and Alice Dye Golf Experience presented by Henry and Christine Camferdam invites legends in the making to play some of the Dye’s most famous course and hole designs in the world on a smaller scale.
Wiese Field donated by Elizabeth Bracken Wiese and J. Frederick Wiese Jr. allows baseball fans to pitch, hit, run bases, and catch the ball on a miniature baseball field.
Seymour and Rheta Holt Tennis Center encourages adults and little tykes to serve and be served on tennis courts in different sizes.
Dr. Cory SerVaas Fitness Path boasts several fitness pads where families are able to practice healthy habits by doing activities and using exercise equipment that improves muscle strength, balance, coordination, and flexibility.
Jane and Steve Marmon Run-Walk Experience hosts a track with one lane for jogging and one lane for walking that follows the perimeter of the Riley Children’s Health Sports Legends Experience.
The Children’s Museum Guild’s Fantasy Tree House of Sports, which stands 60-feet tall is a magical place for little tykes to develop curiosity, confidence, and persistence as they climb inside and explore a tree that is filled with fantasy and sports.
Old National Bank Avenue of Champions allows visitors to meet a legendary character, hear their story of greatness, and learn the drills and skills that helped them succeed along the Old National Bank Avenue of Champions. Bronze figures will be installed in June. The avenue will feature 12 life-size, bronze sculptures (representing 16 sports legends) with which visitors can pose for photo memories and learn about the athlete’s accomplishments. It will feature some of the greatest athletes sports names of all time while helping visitors discover their own paths to greatness. Legends include: DaMarcus Beasley (soccer), Larry Bird (basketball), Tamika Catchings (basketball), Indianapolis Clowns baseball (Hank Aaron, Mamie “Peanut” Johnson, Marcenia Lyle “Toni” Stone), Pete & Alice Dye (golf), A.J. Foyt (racing), Wayne Gretzky (hockey), Bobby “Slick” Leonard (basketball), Reggie Miller (basketball), Oscar Robertson (basketball), Wilma Rudolph (track), Reggie Wayne (football), and Barbara Wynne (tennis).

Each miniature sports experience offers age-appropriate equipment and hands-on activities designed to get the whole family working together as a team. “We wanted to take a holistic view of family health and fitness through the lenses of sports and sports legends. The goal was to create an outdoor and indoor experience to promote an active lifestyle in an immersive experience that would bring families together,” said Dr. Jeffrey H. Patchen, president and CEO, The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis. “We believe this extraordinary experience will motivate families to work together to create healthier habits that stay with them a lifetime. In the process, we will provide educational programs that build character, instill life-enhancing values and promote healthy choices through sports.”

Three brand new indoor experiences

The National Art Museum of Sport (NAMOS) captures the eternal spirit, endurance, and resilience of humankind. It’s amazing to think about how artists capture the spirit of sport and how they portray motion and emotion in their artwork. Visitors will be inspired by the surrounding artwork and then encouraged to create their own at special creation stations.

The World of Sport will introduce children and their families to the key factors that elevated a diverse range of sports figures (both women and men, amateur athletes and professionals, coaches, and other associated careers) to legend status – hard work, training, opportunity, and perseverance. An NCAA Training Facility focuses on the student athlete and the Church Brothers Collision Repair Shop provides an opportunity to challenge each other in a pitstop challenge and learn the history of women and blacks in the sport.

In History of Hoops, visitors learn what it takes to be successful on the court. Children and families learn about athletes’ statistics and percentages; then, they get to try out their own basketball skills to see how they measure up. An area that is sure to be a hit is the interactive in which visitors can practice their footwork with 4x gold medalist and Indiana Fever legend Tamika Catchings.

Health expertise

A key to the success of these immersive experiences is the ability to draw on the expertise of Riley Children’s at Indiana University Health.

“Children today face serious lifestyle-related health risks such as obesity, heart disease and type II diabetes, and reversing that trend requires a community-wide effort,” said Matthew Cook, President of Riley Children’s Health. “As Indiana’s only statewide pediatric health system, it is our job to keep kids healthy and out of the hospital. The Riley Children’s Health Sports Legends Experience is designed to get families outside to enjoy the fun that comes with being active together.”

It’s only fitting that visitors to Riley Children’s Health Sports Legends Experience will be greeted by statues of Nike (Greek goddess of speed, strength and victory) and Discobolus of Myron (discus thrower) in the Efroymson Pavilion. Ancient Greeks believed Nike could grant strength and speed to humans to be victorious in any task they undertook. Add the harmony and balance of Discobolus and visitors can walk away with ideas for a well-rounded and healthy lifestyle.

SLE text courtesy of the Children's Museum.

Disclaimer: Styles and Smarts is part of a group of bloggers/YouTubers/media peoples that The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis invites to exhibit openings, in exchange for live tweeting and social media coverage. All opinions and comments are 100% mine, and are in no way influenced by the Children’s Museum.

My Harry Potter Themed Birthday Party

2018-03-09T12:10:00.004-05:00

I haven't had a birthday party in years, so when I was facing turning 35 I figured why the heck not. After visiting the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal in December and rereading the entire book series, I had Potter on the brain and decided that would be the theme of my party.

Of course, these days the best resource for any sort of party planning is Pinterest. While I don't mind being crafty, I was also on a budget both monetary and time wise. So I had to pick and choose what I wanted to do. Relevant links are below.

With almost 20 people in attendance, I wanted a lot of simple "finger foods" so that people could graze while socializing. I got several compliments on the food, and considering I'm not much of a cook I'd say that's a win! (Thanks to Costco!)

Buffalo chicken dip

Charcuterie: Costco

Cheese: Costco

Chips: Aldis

Harry's birthday cake

Fruit pastries: World Market

Berries: Costco

Roasted potatoes: Costco

Candy printables

Fizzing Whizzbees: Sour gummies

Cockroach clusters: Chocolate covered peanuts

Jelly slugs: Gummy worms

Treacle fudge: Double chocolate brownies

Polyjuice potion: Sprite and rainbow sherbet

Chocolate digestives and Tim Tams: World Market

Hogwarts plates, napkins and cups: Oriental Trading Company

Harry Potter drink labels

I kept the decor fairly simple, as I wanted to keep in fairly neutral house affiliation wise. Black is always a good background, but I did add a few colored accents to bring in some house representation for some Hogwarts pride. The colored tissue balls are from Dollar Tree.

Streamers: Dollar Tree

Platform 9 3/4 sign: Google

Thanks to everyone who showed up! Getting older is so much better and more fun when surrounded by family and friends!

Random Vlog #35: My 35th Birthday Shenanigans

2018-03-03T18:06:00.001-05:00

Random Vlog #34: The Flu, Driving Through Pea Soup, Goodwill Finds

2018-02-25T18:30:00.001-05:00

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Asian Snacks Taste Test ft. Snacks from Snackoo

2018-01-25T09:00:00.000-05:00

Here's $10 in FREE snacks for you to try: http://snackoocom.refr.cc/rachelf

2017 Christmas Haul: Doctor Who, Star Wars, New Shoes

2018-01-23T13:40:00.001-05:00

Random Vlog #33: Christmas Vacation (VR, Presents, So Much Food)

2018-01-16T12:47:00.001-05:00

2017 Vacation Vlog Day 6: Animal Kingdom (Flying a Dino, Flying on a Banshee, Flying a Plane)

2018-01-03T19:12:00.000-05:00

2017 Vacation Vlog Day 5: Animal Kingdom (Pandora, Yeti, More Pandora)

2018-01-03T17:00:00.002-05:00

2017 Vacation Vlog Day 4: Universal Orlando (Harry Potter, King Kong, Doc Brown)

2017-12-31T12:03:00.001-05:00