Pamper Time: Subie & Lexi

Okay, okay, okay, let's not pretend like I am the only one out there who's ever taken her car's ability to function despite an exactly-routine oil change for granted. Whether it's surprising or not, I am generally not that bad about preventative maintenance and ensuring repairs are done as needed. Oil changes though? I could do better.

I said all that to say that today's top priority was getting my dear little Subie a well-overdue oil change! Not just that, but she got 2 brand new tires, an alignment and a full internal/external wash & detailing. That girl got pampered today! She wasn't the only one; Lexi got her fair share of attention today, too. It was definitely a day dedicated to the cars we've been blessed to have. 

lexi getting a bath...

It was a beautiful day outside. We're in the last couple days of January, and as we adventured out for a day of local tourism, we couldn't help but laugh at the masses of like-minded folks, clad in tshirts, shorts and even a few sandals were sighted! 

It would've been easy to commit today to a marathon of TV shows, lounging, perhaps packing for this upcoming move, or any number of other things, but it felt good to get out and about, contrary to what I'd originally thought I wanted to do today. Haha. Our city, Cincinnati, was wholly appreciated today, as we journeyed across 275, 52, 50, 28 and 125, and drank in everything from downtown to the east end. We didn't make it north, but the quality time I got to spend with Rob will supercede the fact that we spent the afternoon tucked in the car ;). 

We're home now, after a dinner of hibachi, sushi and edamame. 

Tomorrow is the first official meeting for June's SonRise Panama trip, aka Panama, Part II!!! I am beyond excited for this, and am praying there will be a healthy turnout of folks who are interested and able to join in. From what I've heard, it sounds like this trip may be a bit more mild than last year, with less physically-demanding hikes and seclusion; hopefully that provides a more conducive opportunity for a diverse collection of our church family to join in. 

See you bright & early tomorrow! 

xo | cmd

Friday, You Are My HEEERO.

Ok, so really it was last week that I could've legitimately said, "Friday, I thought you'd never get here." This week, I was equally ready for the last day, but not quite for the same reasons.

For starters, this came in today, and created a small but welcomed shift in my daily "living space" here at the desk... 

Last week was brutal from the time Monday rolled out on the wrong side of the bed, until it finally went back to bed Friday evening. Just a rough week. This week wasn't any less active, but there was definitely a firmer balance with life beyond the desk, and while we were at them, it didn't feel quite like the universe was trying to sizzle us under a magnifying glass. 

But still, a busy week is a busy week, no matter how you spin it. This Friday at hand was punctuated by an isolated incident involving an individual [who should also be isolated, perhaps on an island somewhere... or another planet... mehhh; I digress] with a fascinatingly-unfortunate and advanced arsenal of ignorance. The week's been good. We had the pedal to the floor for four full days, so I wasn't surprised to feel the gas running low today.

At least we finally took lunch breaks that exceeded 5 minutes. I think today was an entire 10, maybe even 12.whole.minutes. College taught me how to be resourceful with just a couple of minutes [usually running, ungracefully between campus buildings]. Whatever. Lunch!

nommmmsss.. 

The weekend was officially here. 

Well, almost. 

This was my 6:00. And 7. And also 7:30p: 

paperwork. the bane of my existence..... 

This guy I know [he's kinda cool, so I decided I'm going to take his last name later on this year ;)] - well, he made and brought me not only a PB&J, but a PB&J burrito, along with my favorite pair of jeans, so that I could wrap up my work and not have to go home and change/eat before reporting in for celebration with our long lost friend Jessica! 

I changed, ate and closed up shop. From there, it was off to Pearl's in Col-Tusculum for Jessica's open house: celebrating her past accomplishments and shortly-unfolding plans for expansion to her studio. 

love this gal!!

Congratulaaaations, dear friend! And so good to see you, as always! 

we're really good at pictures. like, really good.
:|

Oh, and my date was decent, too, I s'pose. 

this guy...... 

And with that being said, the weekend is officially here. And that's officially awesome. 

Happy Weekend, blogbots! 

xo | cmd

Happy Birthday, Clarissa!!

I seriously love birthdays. It doesn't need to be my birthday, either. I love love love... birthdays in general. Especially when it's a super cool person worth the efforts of staging super cool things.

happy happy birthday, riss!!!!! 

I wish we would've been able to relish a little more in the celebration of her special day, it was a neurotic day - in a good way? - and just didn't give us the time we needed.

The day blabbered on so much that we had to forfeit small group for the evening. Instead, we arrived home several hours later to unwrap and set up the Big Barker that we bought off an auction site for the dogs.

big barker!

Ya'll, if you're not familiar with what these are, they are basically miniature memory foam beds. They have a built-in "head rest" on one end, and may as well come with a matching side table, because if our dogs don't like it, that means I'll have some form of a reason to craft up a custom sheet set and sleep on that sucker myself. Word of advice though - do everything you can to strike a deal on an auction site or somewhere otherwise discounted; these things are not cheap! We were super fortunate to find this one when and how we did. [Good luck!!]

Tomorrow's Friday; I promise this can't come soon enough. It's been a fantastic week, really, but the tank is getting low and the end is in sight for this week.

Here's to this week, here's to Thursday and heeeeere's to it almost being Friday!

xo | cmd

My Favorite Character

In the continued spirit of my post-dated blogs, I decided to venture into my phone for any gems that may have been sitting dormant;

These aren't "old," but they're awesome and for my own amusement, thought I would share some fun with the blog world.

This one, from probably 2 weeks ago:

what happens when your kid finds your 80's glasses ;) 

And this one, from around the same week probably. We'd taken Sydni to Build-A-Bear, which was a far less chaotic experience than we'd envisioned it to be, thankfully. Frankly though, chaotic or not, it won't be forever that we'll get to go on these silly ventures with her - making teddy bears and preparing their birth certificates with absolute, unfiltered joy. She's already growing into her own, and I'm relishing every bit of it. Most days, I don't want it to go so quickly, but I remember as I took this picture that I'd realized in that instant that she is becoming more than I ever imagined. In my heart, in my eyes, she is a little mess of wiggly teeth, bedhead, scuffed shoes and knees from playing and a heart of gold. She's hilarious, inquisitive, generous, sassy, rambunctious, bold and kind-hearted.

build-a-bear! ♥

Just another reason that I'm determined to continue in my commitment to the regular maintenance of this little e-journal of mine :). These are the things I can't afford to forget. Ever.

Happy midweek, darlins!

xo | cmd

I Have Decided...

Confession: It's been a couple of weeks since I've been to a Sunday service at our home church. Between traveling, holidays and being so sick that I declined movement beyond the path from my couch to the bathroom for nearly two entire days.

My parents were in town for the weekend and nobody was sick. We were finally all assembled in town for a weekend, so it seemed a perfect a time as any to find our seats and be fed with a morning of worship and lesson.

Have you ever been in a service that speaks so clearly to you that you're almost certain it was written specifically for you? Well, this was one of mine.


No, it wasn't emotionally riveting. It was practical. It's an understatement to call it practical, really. It's applicable, realistic, achievable and above all, an integral part of how we as Christians are expected to live. Rob and I have a lot of financial changes coming this year, and we need as much wise guidance as possible. 
I went back and studied the notes again today, from yesterday's service. There's some excellent stuff here, packed into just an hour message with our senior pastor, Jeff. 
I said I didn't have any real New Years Resolutions for 2016. After yesterday, I'm not certain that's entirely true. I said that if we made it through the major events of this year with our sanity and a couple bucks left in our pocket, that'd be good... BUT, after yesterday, I'm challenging myself to not only saving, but better allocation of what we have. We're fortunate enough now that we don't live strictly paycheck-to-paycheck, but we certainly don't do nearly as well as we should with discipline in our giving, saving and spending. 
So there it is folks: last Monday of January and I just changed my mind that I do in fact have one new years' resolution, and that will be the one that helps propel my entire family in the right direction. 
For the time being: Pray, plan and perfect it. Stay tuned; I'm pretty sure our next step in this plan will involve Dave Ramsey :). 
For now, take a listen [& a watch] to that message, and see if you don't get something out of that, too! 
G'Nite blogbots.. 
xo | cmd

January 2015

I realized on Friday that this blog I've been neglecting for the past several months is more than just an outlet for me to bore an occasionally-engaged reading audience.

Isn't that somethin'? 
This isn't the first time I've relied on my blog to answer my own questions: 'what DID I do that day?,' or 'When WAS that thing?' It's been a while since I've need affirmation that's of any real significance other than satisfying a curious gap in my recall. Given that I haven't updated this thing recently, I'll just swallow the irritation weeks from now when I ask the same question but can't answer it from a blog reference. Meh.

Anyway, the end of 2015 was the beginning of the time Rob and I decided to be real adults and take our first steps down the road of home-buying. Neither of us have done this before, but apparently part of the process entails the mortgage company asking you for the last few years of your work history. No biggie, right? Well, no... unless you've worked for a franchise installments of the same corporate company for the past 6 years but they need to have specific dates. #AdultingIsTimestamped

I can't even remember what I ate for breakfast 5 hours ago. What I can do, is my due diligence to myself not just for the primary purpose of journaling, but for the the side benefit of revisiting any given day in as much vivid detail as I cared to use in scribing what was still fresh in my mind. And, as you may have guessed, I was able to hunt down the exact dates of my first and last days with each of my franchise installments, all from referencing my dear, recently-neglected blog.

I didn't make any real "New Years' Resolutions," because I figured making it through this year with our sanity and with at least a few bucks in our pockets after buying a house, going on a mission trip and getting married.... is a medium-term goal that speaks for itself. It's now January 24th; this month is almost over and I've decided I not only want, but need, for myself, to keep this blog from going on vacation. December will be here before we know it: Willing God's plan allows - We'll have a house, Sydni will be in 2nd grade, we will have gone to and returned from a second week of missions in the mountains of Panama and I'll have celebrated my final holidays under my maiden name. This of all years, makes sense to keep my blog afloat.

THAT BEING SAID:

Our first week of January included the viewing of and offer-making on what we're praying will be the fifth and final search result houses. We uncapped our pens and started practicing our signatures, not just for the house, but also for our wedding photographer! We agreed that the new year would usher in more intentional efforts of planning this wedding, so when I reconnected with one of my dear hometown childhood friends who now has her own photography business, I knew it was a golden opportunity.

Yep, it's KARA!

circa soccer '99 

kara & her hubby matt now!
right photo cred: tracie maglosky / tracie jean photo

I am so daggone excited to see this gal, especially since she'll be in a few days earlier for the pre-festivity fun. Who knew? 

Week 2 of January: 

More house stuff, including the initiation of real paperwork, negotiation and questions. My work, which I haven't touched yet in this entry, took another dive into change, as one of my fellow staffing consultants left the business, and I reabsorbed a double workload that I'll carry [again] until we hire a replacement. Prayer warriors, I won't be mad if you could spare a little extra for this one.. :) It's not the end of the world. We'll be okay.. but just a little extra encouragement would be nice. Oh, and I spent the week sick, with two days as a complete mute, thanks to a small tango with laryngitis. But the show must go on... 

Week 3 of January: 

Ever have one of those weeks that just doesn't feel.... calibrated? Although I'm pretty sure that it's just that stage of readjustment that comes with a shift in activity at work, given that we spend at or over 40 hours each week together at work, it's not a surprise that any disrupt can ripple out across the team and even individually. At home, it felt like nothing was getting done, and the signing of our loan paperwork doubled as an exciting and equally-unnerving experience. It stamps the progression of this process, but amplifies the other stuff that's still temporary: our current residence, and more central - the looming task of cleaning and moving out. Haha. This will be the last time. Breathe, repeat.

That brings us to this weekend! 

family dinner for mom's birthday! 

Friday consisted of us cleaning the house. And by cleaning, I mean detailing Sydni's room, along with the rest of the house, in preparation for our special weekend guests. Laundry was done, small presents were wrapped, and dinner reservations for the following night were confirmed. Pajamas were donned and an early bedtime was surprisingly accepted without contest under just the mere thought of Nana and Pappy arriving in the morning. 

Saturday came in with the sunrise: We are among the fortunate this weekend who were not buried up to our eyeballs and then some in multiple feet of snow and ice. My parents had a smooth drive to [& from] up north to visit with us, and we were able to rendezvous with our realtor Tiffany, so they could get a first look at what is almost certainly the new house. 

Nope, there won't be any pictures yet... oh, the suspense! ;) 

... I'm just kidding; I know nobody really cares that much. Le sigh.. 

Anyway, it was no surprise that they loved the new place, and frankly, I can't wait to have my mom's help with decorating. We finished our quick visit at the new digs, and headed back home for an afternoon relaxing: Dad & Rob watched golf, Sydni played and ready with Nana and I enjoyed being right in the middle of it all. 

The evening came, and we headed out the door to Seasons 52, where a 7:00 reservation in a carved out corner booth greeted us with a team of smiling servers and a bottle of Wrongo Dongo to get the night started. Between the food, the company and the fun that's never absent from a gathering with my parents, I'm confident this was one of the best birthdays we've orchestrated for Mom in a while. 

Whoa, did I just get on Mom's level?!?

- Okay, no... not quite I don't think... but hey, I was definitely in the zone today and felt more like my mom than I do most other days ;). 

So Saturday was a wrap, with delicious food, spirit and memories under our belt, we headed home to unwind for the evening. What I always forget though, is that although we may annually celebrate mom turning another physical year older, there is nothing OLD about this woman. 

These two... hahah. Gosh I love them. 
Today, was church [which was incredible, btw] with the family, followed by Mom making us one of her signature brunch menu's. They were soon on the road back to Mt. Vernon, leaving us with a leisure day ahead of us.  Well, with soccer, of course. USWNT friendly game vs. Ireland? I think so :).  With so many new faces to watch, I have to say I'm looking forward to rabidly cheering on the USA through this year and their next road to the Olympics! #USWNT!

It's been a beautiful weekend and I'm ready to see what this next week will bring. Even with just one more blog under my belt, I feel a bit more like I'm back in my element and yeahhhh, that's good :).  Phew,  Happy weekend, ya'll. It's the last week of January at our fingertips, and I think it's gonna be a good week.  Seeeee you there!  xo | cmd

Once Upon a Hiatus [31]

Oy.

So as I sit here in front of my blog for the first time in nearly 3 months, I have mixed emotions. I've been completely resigned from my previously diligent daily scribbling here, a point I didn't intentionally make, but it happened. It'll be to my own chagrin when I try and look back at my activity on a specific day, but hey, whatever.. :)

I turned 31 on Sunday. That carves the first full year of my 30's in stone, and had I in my teen years set any idea of what I believed my 30's would be, I'm not sure this would've been it. A lot has happened since the last time I sat down at a computer outside of my day job. I've not penned a memo here since August; that means nothing to what small, general audience bothers to come here, but I realized that this blog has become my crutch for determining exactly what I did or where I was on any given date within the past 3-4 years. This is, after all, a journal of sorts.

So as I reach back into the past 3 months in an effort to chronicle the memorable moments, what I managed to find looks a bit like this:

[[august2015]]

* We celebrated birthdays of family and friends: My father - the staple of our family. Shayne - a friend we met serendipitously along with his wife in Jamaica. My cousin Maricor - one of my first and truest best friends.
* Just in time for a new school year, Sydni lost her first tooth and we had the first visit from the tooth fairy! She's a lucky kid; the tooth fairy's in an economic hotspot; that $2 reward is a far cry from the fare we as 90's kids saw ;).
* Sydni started first grade. It was a momentous day for her, and an emotional one for us. We're entrenched in another year of intellectual and social development, wishing all the while that time would slow down and we could relish the drooly, babbly wobbly-legged darling that has somehow began blossoming into a spunky, unique, charismatic and compassionate child who has a budding social circle and homework.
* We visited our families in their separate cities, each a handful of times. Our parents, family and friends laughed and fellowshipped around dinner tables and living rooms, parks and bandstands. We visited new landmarks, listened to live music and put miles upon miles on our cars to make sure we enjoyed it with those family members and friends.

[[september2015]]

* Day 1: Sydni turned 6. It was a hilariously bittersweet task executing a DIY monogrammed shirt for her to wear to school in celebration. We listened to her recount the experiences of her birthday from school, her dad's house, her friends. We played games, shared a special night out and tore through wrapping paper  to discover wishlist birthday items. I'm amazed by her compassion and selflessness as she shares her hope to give her old toys to kids who don't have any, so she can enjoy her new inventory - but in moderation.
* Buffalo Wabs & the Price Hill Hustle, a Cincinnati-based folk band, played a free concert in my hometown. My parents, my sister, my fiancé, daughter and I danced and laughed a night away.
* My company attended the annual corporate gathering: Sales Summit. My office's FOC and Owner had their first Sales Summit experience. I saw, fellowshipped with and learned alongside familiar faces from past offices, and celebrated change with the faces of leadership I've followed that have led me to where I am now, nearly 7 years into this job.
* There were date nights with Rob, outings with friends, movies seen and outings completed.
* We joined a new life group with some folks from our church, and immediately started feeling the benefit of community with a refreshing group of people!
* Fall officially began, and ushers in the expected though unseen hints of crisper weather, fire-infused leaves, and everything pumpkin-spiced (okay, maybe that part was seen, though wished to stay unseen, haha...)

[[october2015]]

* A new staffing consultant finally joined our team, after months of delegating the duties of the desk in a circle that started and began on the same desk - mine. Krista was an answer to prayer, and proved to be the influence and presence that was so desperately needed.
* My beloved Subie wound up in the care of Rob's team of autofacelift experts. Goodbye, blemishless insurance, but hellloooo wrx facelift! ;)
* My family attended the Ohio Renaissance Festival, in full medieval attire, to fulfill our commitment of making this outing an annual tradition.
* Marianne and Damanji rendezvoused in Cincinnati separately, in a chance of good timing. Having two of my dearest out-of-town friends gather with me here, joining forces with Rob and Becky in a weekend Cincinnati take-over was just a short couple of days, but a refueling that was much needed. Mariane and I took a day's worth of timeout to venture off the grid into a trail matrix, and managed to find coffee and music on the other end.
* I let Olivier at Beelistic scribe ink into my back along lines that comprise a mountainscape scene on my back: my 3rd tattoo.
* Halloween arrives in the form of office-appropriate costumes, followed by a weekend in Mt. Vernon: trick-or-treating with Sydni, chopping & stacking wood and enjoying the sights of mentors imparting the gift of rhythm, carpentry, literacy and fine motor skills to my daughter.

[[november2015]]

* It's decided against our highest hopes that the office staff will be again reduced to a roster of 3. Growing pains that have festered unaddressed for weeks finally reach a boiling point, and in an emotional culmination of honesty and determination to accomplish the same common goal, a new course of action: attitude, drive and desire for compromise was birthed and thrown in motion.
* I obliged an invitation to serve another year as a volunteer judge for the Distinguished Young Woman scholarship. I'm continuously amazed by the talent and vision of these girls - high school seniors, and am renewed through every experience that with the right influences and involvement, my own daughter will have a chance to excel as a person, an athlete, a musician, an artist, a scholar, a humanitarian, or whatever other or combined realization of her own potential she sees fit to follow.
* Kaitlyn joined the office staff as the newest staffing consultant, and a hopeful final addition (for now).
* Thanksgiving weekend provided a very much needed departure from the daily work grind, and allowed us an extended opportunity to visit our St. Louis area family and friends.
* More birthdays are celebrated: Nikki, Clark - hometown, highschool friends - one of them 19 days older, and the other 9 days my elder. My cousin Caridel and our friend Matt, both of whom had Thanksgiving Day birthdays this year. My beautiful friend Brittany, with whom I'll stand during her wedding next year, and her in mine.
* I share in the birthday streak, and turn the page of 30 to land on 31. I am now wholly immersed in my 30's, and blessed to have ushered it in in the company of some incredible friends and family.

I realized also in the past 48 hours that not only have I launched into the meat of my 30's, I will have celebrated that, along with this year's Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years as my last.... as a Drenning! I can't help but look forward to this time next year, when another band is added to my ring finger and my last name migrates to the other end of the alphabet, that I will then be married to the man who has managed to bring me so far from the place I was before I rediscovered the confidence to take advantage of my blessings rather than allow the shortcomings to take me. I owe him more than he'll ever know, and the thought of becoming his wife is the one thing that excites me as the rest of time whizzes right by us without much other thought.

I am here, though. Future me is going to reflect on this entry and remember the times of change, adjustment, busy schedules, road trips and landmark events, but probably not the fact that I skipped out on blogging them every single day.

It is now DECEMBER [holy crap!]
Even just sitting here now typing this up has renewed my spirit of journaling, blogging, chronicling, whatever it is I call this caboodle of thought that winds up on my blog. I don't do this for you, my dear audience [although I love you, don't get me wrong!]; it's tough to keep the pen sharp and step outside of my limited daily vocabulary if I don't actively do it.

[[december2015]]

* So, dear December, I'm imploring you to be the satisfying zenith to 2015, and usher in this next year with a smile, if you don't mind :).

This time next year, I'll be a married gal. Sydni will be 7. Who knows what the year will hold, but I am hopeful that through the mountains and valleys (& everything in between!) that I'm sure this next year will hold, I'm already praying for grace and gratitude to absorb whatever comes down the line.

Happy December, blogbots! It feels great to be back. Maybe I'll take to sharing some imagery from the past couple months once I sort through the hoards of pictures I've got, too.

31, & feelin' great!

Until then - be well, find happiness and encourage someone else to do the same!

♥♥♥!
xo | cmd