Doin A Little Nothin' At All

O.M.Yay, Saturdays!

That being said, take a wild gander at what we did today. 

... Just guess. 

Ok, ok fine, I'll tell you. 

We... did....

... absolutely...

NOTHIN'

It.... was... amazing :)

breakfast! :) 

We slept in, had some breakfast, played some dinosaurs, and did everything else that was relaxing :). ♥

Welp... Usually, I'd hate to say that I don't have much else to report, but I kinda loved everything about today. We've been bums together today and I wouldn't have changed a thing.

Too bad Daddy wasn't here, too, even though it was kinda fun having a Mama-Syd day.

We'll get all dressed up and socially-presentable tomorrow.

xo | cmd

Feeling Like Friday

Oh, to be back. 

Chyeah right. As much as it pains me to say it, I quite thoroughly enjoyed my time in Springfield and wouldn't mind having that same distinct level of semblance around these parts. It's been a state of chaos for us here with the expansion well underway. Apparently I was fortunate enough to miss the heavy portion of the sanding and painting Wednesday and yesterday. The other girls in the office had been displaced on and off throughout the process; this goat rodeo [thx, Nanc] of a transition has been taxing on all of us. 

i'd love to stay and work, but i mustache
cori+christine+twin bracelets | mustashhhhhhhhh

So, I thought I would provide some reprieve for the one of us that travels the most. I found these at one of the stores on my way home last night and couldn't resist. The discount didn't hurt, either, so here we were, Christine and I, sporting another matching item this morning. I couldn't help myself. Hello, mustache bracelets.... and mustache mood ring. These things happen. ;) 

I could expand on the meat of today, but I'll give you the abridged version instead: 

Grrrrraaaaaaaaaaawwwhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhgggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

no, it doesn't say "beer beer" lol
love my friend :)

*Sigh. 5:00 has never looked so good. 

Thank goodness Friday yielded dinner with the Prescotts; Mo and Jimmy came by for some pasta and a night of just hanging out and unwinding... and pie :). Thanks, Mo. 

I have some amazing friends, that's for sure. Even if one of said friends thought for a split second that the little plates we have on hand for the kiddos read, "BEER BEER" instead of "BEEP BEEP". Really I think it'd be funnier if they said the first thing, but unfortunately they don't. We're callin' it prego reading. It's okay, we mama's have allllll been there. :) Yay, prego reading eyes!

I am... so ready to sleep in tomorrow. If I'm lucky, I might make it all the way to 8:00 without waking up. I'm slimming my chances already since Sydni's already asleep, but I'm crossing my fingers she'll keep it on snooze until the rest of us are ready. ;) Let's see how this goes. 

xo | cmd

Training, Day 2 ... And I'm HOME!

Oh, Springfield :)

hey, express!

Today was the second and final day of the EPSC training seminar to which I'd been sent by my office. It was definitely a long day, but let me say it was completely worth even the grueling moments of fidgets. For the all intensive purpose of being informative and productive, I have to say that this was one of the best seminars/sessions I've attended yet on behalf of Express. 

hey, i know her!

One of the most respectable things I've seen with my company is that it really is indeed a Christian-based company, and that that ethic, when exercised properly and consistently, yields results that are successful from the very core out. I was reminded of the heart behind the effort when Mr. Britton closed the session with his last slide:

corporate well-wishes :) 

^ How refreshing!

Anyway, we wrapped things up and I hopped in the car for the jaunt home. I had the chance over the past few days with the gals from my office, catching up on the mayhem that is underway as the office expansion continues.

spiderman...
['cept i see this and i start singing,
'spiderpiiiiig, spiderpig....
does whatever spiderpig does....]

I made it back to Edwardsville in a reasonable amount of time, and had planned to stop by the office to take care of a couple quick things [email, etc.] before rushing right back into it tomorrow morning. I should've snapped a shot of what had been my desk when I left yesterday; what I found instead was my desk, piled monitor-high with everything that had been sitting within a four-foot radius of my desk. The free-standing shelving units had been bellied right up behind my chair, and everything that had once been on my wall: charts, pictures, and my life-saving map of Madison & St. Clair County, was draped across the surfaces of my desk. So... no go on the Thursday night head start. I'll deal with this tomorrow.

Instead, I made my way back down to Fairview Heights to finish up some last minute errands before heading home. I stopped by the mall and saw this window set at Hot Topic, so I snapped a shot and sent it to my husband, because he is juuuust that big of a fan of Spiderman. Haha.

So yeah, here I am, back home and wondering just how effectively I will be able to apply anything I've learned over the last two days when I get back to work. We. Shall. See.

G'Nite, kiddos.

xo | cmd

Express Training, Day 1

It was coordinated months back that I would be headed to one of the training seminars hosted by one of the Express corporate developers up in Springfield. That was scheduled for today and tomorrow.

official office mode ;) 

Good news: I, along with 19 other staffing consultants and/or FOC's survived day 1 :)

I spent a few short hours this morning tying up loose ends at the office before I hopped on the road Springfield-bound. Apparently I had unevenly estimated the commute time; I rolled into Springfield about an hour early, so I did some light traversing of the immediate area before waiting it out for 45 minutes in the parking lot. Woot.

The training itself turned my brain to goo, but in a totally GOOD way. I know, that sounds ridiculous, but it's true. I picked up some new information and some well-needed refreshers on some processes I already use. Our corporate developer is an excellent public speaker, and the presentation itself was definitely worth the trip. Thanks again for the sendoff, M&D!

[[And I heard from Nancy during the day that our office construction went to a whole new level as the painting started today and apparently displaced everyone who's got a desk in the office. Probably a good thing that I didn't stay all day; I would've been homeless, so to speak.]]

So once the first day of training was finished, I got right down to checking into the hotel before finding my way to the mall [cuz that's what you do when you're me, on a Wednesday night in a city void of anyone or anything you know]

yeah zumiez .gif.... yeah.

panda express. yes please!

I discovered Zumiez tonight; it's kinda like Pac Sun except pretty much completely cooler. I also discovered that after a day of brain-mushing, coupled with the novel feeling of finding a unique store, I am definitely prone to semi-reckless, but absolutely impulse spending. Errrrr... YOLO, I suppose. [Truth be told that's the wildest part of my night. I know, I know: I'm outta control. Zzzz.]

Springfield didn't know what hit it, yeah? Pshhhchyeah. Hah.

Oh, and I indulged on some Panda Express tonight, too, while I was at it. I ate just about all of it and don't feel guilty at all. I do however, feel a little sluggish and full. No big deal. Haha. 

It's back to it tomorrow, bright and early.

Seeeeee you then!

xo | cmd

Happy Birthday, Jena. [Missing You..]

I went to bed thinking about this last night, and I woke up thinking of it this morning.

Today marks what would've been the 28th birthday of a dear friend of mine from my life back home. I still miss you, so very much, Jena, and think of you constantly.

i made this in november 2009 | missing you, friend...

circa senior year '03
myself. allison. amy. jena. | an amazing year!

Many hearts haven't healed completely from losing you, and from losing little Braylon.
Happy birthday, to you Jena. You are always so sincerely, daily missed. 

... Love you, friend.

P.S. - On this note, I have to take a minute and implore everyone reading this to take a moment and consider partnering with a cause. Specific to this entry, I would suggest at least researching the AFSP, which is the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. I am still a current field advocate rep for the AFSP, under the Cincinnati region, but I plan on moving my regional participation to the greater St. Louis area.

To the Fogle family, your loss breaks my heart, and I am praying daily for peace of mind and comfort for you. It's been 3 years, but I can only imagine the pain you still feel.

My love, to you.

xo | cmd

Softball: Belleville West

Softball Time! 

team towerview

This always makes my Mondays a little better during the summer. Tonight was a great night for the games, even if we didn't win both of them. 

carlee & syd

Mo met me at the house and we rode over together; Kylie & Tanya were both there so we sat and chatted our way through the double headers while Sydni ran around with Landon, Carlee & Loralye. It's almost Summer, and it's beautiful :)

bubbles!

Amen? Amen. 

See ya tomorrow! 

xo | cmd

Father's Day 2012

This is a dedication to my dad:

Thank you.

Thank you for making the decision to adopt, and for choosing me to fill that spot in our family. Thank you for loving me unconditionally, and for making every effort you could to make sure that I knew that.

circa 2009, engagement party | love you, dad!

Thank you for being a Godly man, who dedicated his life to learning more about the word and what it means to follow it.

Thank you for being there, I mean *really there for me, on all levels: for being at my games and track meets, for making sure I was where I was supposed to be when I needed to be there.

Thank you for everything you did right, and also for all the mistakes you made. Knowing that you weren't perfect and you were okay with acknowledging it is one of the things I will always admire about you. Thank you for helping me understand the difference between right and wrong, and for teaching me about forgiveness - both to others and to myself.

Thank you for showing me what a husband should be like to his wife, my mom, in the presence of his family. Thank you for being a solid example of what the head of a household should really embody, even when you were gone for times for business. Thank you for not putting your family as a second priority to anything.

Thank you for being Sydni's beloved and only Pappy. She is so blessed to call you her grandpa. We are blessed.

dad & sydni.. i love this

Thank you for everything that you are, and everything that you aren't. You are a man of true courage, love, forgiveness, patience, and humility. Your sense of humor is ingrained into me, and I am so grateful to have adopted so much of who you are, and with any luck, I'll be able to pass that on to my own children as they grow.

Thank you, Dad. Happy Father's Day.

*****************

And of course this wouldn't be Father's Day without recognizing Joe, my husband and father to our amazing daughter. Thank you for all you do. Happy Father's Day!

happy father's day ♥

Happy Father's Day to all of the fathers out there: new, seasoned, and expecting! And to all the mothers who must fill this role on their own, shout out to you, too.

HFD!!

xo | cmd