Dinner With Friends

Today flew past with flying colors. Literally. The sun was out, everything seemed... brighter, and I ventured outside to actually enjoy the fresh air at lunch. That's the first time this year. Spring is just around the corner!

it is a new day.. so smile!!

It even seemed a bit more cheery in the office. With the absence of windows in the back half of our space, we all took turns peeking around the front to soak in the sunlight of the day. The pace seemed busier and we are all excited about that.

Speaking of pace, I had to apologize to Rob tonight for getting impatient when he was late getting off work and making it to the house. He and I both put ourselves in overdrive at times when it comes to the at-work versions of ourselves, and when we get home, there are times that one - or both - of us will forget to downshift. So he changed clothes quicker than a racecar pit-crew, and we were back out the door to dinner with Becky, Catie & Andy and their neighbors Rachel & Travis.

Main Street Cafe it was. Chad of course took excellent care of us, despite our noisy, rowdy selves. Just kidding.. I don't think we were that bad. 

rachel. catie. becky. cori

^ We look super cheesy because this was taken just seconds after Andy went flying in front of us. Just.. sayin ;)

It looks like Jesse may be visiting this weekend, but we'll get all that figured out in the next day or so.

For now, good night!

xo | cmd

St. Paddy's Day Cookin'

Since it's Monday and I'm among the masses of grown-ups who have to work instead of spend the day binge downing green beer:

busken. yesssss.

^ Way better, right? Hahaha. We're not mad though.

It's a sure sign that I'm a lame one these days. The furthest I got into celebrating St. Patrick's Day this year was wearing some green to work to avoid being pinched by any of the more radical advocates, and add some green to dinner. If Rob was more of a traditional Irishman, I suppose I would've probably put a little more effort into some corned beef & cabbage [which I've obviously never tried], but green beans were as far as we got today.

Easy dinner recipe for all you blogbots, though!

EASY GARLIC CHICKEN

 

|| NEED || 

* 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

* 4 minced garlic cloves
* 4 tbs brown sugar
* 1 tbs olive oil
* salt, pepper & any addt'l spices you'd like!

 

|| DO ||

1. Preheat oven to 450°F. Line a baking dish or cookie sheet w/ aluminum foil & lightly coat it w/ either oil or cooking spray.

2. Sauté garlic in oil until tender, lightly browned. Remove from heat and stir in brown sugar. Add any other spices you'd like to use. I left it alone, but added salt & pepper to the chicken.

browned garlic + brown sugar

3. Place chicken breasts in/on prepared baking dish or cookie sheet and cover with garlic & brown sugar mixture. Add salt & pepper to taste.

chicken with some green beans cooking in the back!

4. Bake uncovered for 15-30 min, depending on the thickness of the chicken. I did 35 minutes for a slightly thicker chicken breast & it came out amazing!

added some cous cous for a smash hit (:

5. ENJOY!

That's all I had for today, folks. I'm stuffed from dinner and currently plastered to the couch... I know, too rowdy for a St. Patrick's Day.. haha.

G'Nite!

xo | cmd

Much Better (:

Signs boogie is feeling better today:

silly straws

^ & Yes, she's wearing the same, albeit freshly laundered outfit that she had on yesterday. Per her request, she wanted to wear it to church today since she only got to wear it for a little while yesterday before the belly fiasco happened. We made it through church and lunch afterwards with no issues, and since it was something of a drab day here, we resigned ourselves to housework, cleaning and of course, silly games.

she looks serious, yeah?

My favorite thing about this is that we have an entire sectional, yet she chooses to sit on just the arm of the couch. Perhaps it's because it's exactly the right size? (:

There's been a lot of quality family time today.
And laughing. That didn't happen a whole lot yesterday, but now we're back to giggles and smiles, and that makes me one happy mama.

Life's GOOD.

xo | cmd

Sicky Saturday

Today definitely didn't turn out like we'd planned, but at the end of it all, I'm thankful for my resilient, funny, and likely lactose-intolerant little trooper.

We started our Saturday off with an array of miscellaneous errands. That landed us in Eastgate, where we had a small bone to pick with Time Warner [shocking, I know]. Sydni had no qualms though, and perched herself on a tiny stool in front of a tiny computer with a tiny game on it. She, in all her itty-bittyness, looked a lot like a miniature college student, and naturally that warranted a picture. 

i can't handle it sometimes (:

^ See? My studious little girl, complete with leggings, boots and a thermal vest. It's like I picked her straight out of a Miami University kids catalogue. Don't worry, MU friends, I still love you.. but you have to admit the standard campus dress code is a bit predictable. ;)

Anyway, we checked things off our list one by one, and even stopped for some Orange Julius before moving on from Eastgate to Target.

I'll fast forward through our trip to Target, and absolutely through the ride home after that [at least the picture part, because there are none to document what happened... BUT, I can and will safely say that I now firmly believe that Sydni is following in my childhood footsteps of being just about completely lactose intolerant.

How do I know this? I have an incredible boyfriend who took my car straight to the carwash to shampoo and vac out the backseat as soon as we pulled into the driveway. I busied myself cleaning off what was left of the rejected ice cream [+ sprinkles & all.....] from Sydni, her clothes and shoes. She has never thrown up like this; my immediate instinct as a mother was to call someone, but as I inspected her face, breathing, mouth, eyes and behavior as she was in the shower, she already seemed to feel better. I figured I would give it a few more minutes before I summoned an army of paramedics, and realized she would go through two more, far less intense vomit episodes before her belly finally ceded.

No. More. Ice. Cream.

Poor girl. :(
We spent the rest of the afternoon parked on the couch in piles of blankets, making sure there was no more belly aching to be had. By the time the evening rolled around, she was safely munching on some crackers, and even hopped up to start filling her piggy bank [which was our purpose at Target, earlier]. Rob donated a half a water jug's worth of coin to her collection, which she diligently dropped one......by...... one.... into her new bank. 

super saver!

I suppose four years with no major puking incidents is really not all that bad. Lesson learned, right?

.. Right (:

I promised some dinner in return for Rob hanging back with Sydni for a couple of hours while I made a brief appearance for Carolina's birthday. I'd promised her sometime back that I would at least come by to say hello before the gang headed down to OTR for the evening, so I visited with them briefly at Dancing Wasabi while I waited on my to-go order.

myself. carolina. ika

Happy, HAPPY birthday, Caro! I'm sorry again that Rob and I couldn't have gone out with everyone tonight, but I promise we'll get together again very soon and celebrate the right way.

For now, I'm back home with a boyfriend who has definitely outdone himself today, and a happily snoozing little girl who hopefully has a better day tomorrow.

I'm a pretty lucky girl.

xo | cmd

Just... This.

Today was a whirlwind, and really, there's nothing all that important that I need to share...

I'll share this, as just an all around celebration of the fact that it's FRIDAY:

haaaaaappy weekend!

^ From the girl in the giant boots, us, and the dogs to you & yours:

Happy weekend!!

xo | cmd

Beauty & Vitiligo

So I watched something rather captivating today. I've always been fascinated with the extreme characteristics that sometimes happen as a result of genetic composition. I'm not a scientist, doctor or otherwise qualified position to offer any explanation as to how or why this stuff happens, but what I do have is excema, and that alone gives me enough of a reason to do research from time to time.

Today, I saw this. It's a condition called vitiligo, which basically causes depigmentation of the skin. I wouldn't dare say that I have vitiligo, but I know that [on my skin at least] excema outbreaks can cause skin discoloration and yes, it's frustrating.

I've watched a few videos on this today, and thought I'd share one with my fellow blogbots.

^ This, girls [& guys!] is just a friendly reminder that you're beautiful, regardless of what your skin looks like. Beauty isn't [**SHOULDN'T**] be measured skin-deep, and I love the statement this girl is making.

Easy homework for today: Love yourself for the skin you have (:

xo | cmd

Missions Trip: The Decision

SO, hello Wednesday.
Hello rain...

... and snow.

Basically, hello, Ohio. Good to see you're still doing wel-- just doing. Glad to see you're at least consistently indecisive.

Aaaaanyway...

Today is Day 8 of my 40-Day Lent Letter promise:

day 8!

I've officially been doing this for a full week now, every day, and want to again just take a quick sec to encourage everyone to try this. Maybe not for Lent, but perhaps your own list, for your own reason. I'm a huge fan of the old fashioned handwritten note and this one today reminded me that even when writing to the people closest and often times most obvious to us, there are somehow things I don't know that I've ever said to them.. or at least not recently enough.

It's only been 8 days. I am not expecting anything in return with these, but to know that I'm making one person [hopefully] smile with just a small but sincere note is a very humble reminder of the responsibility we have to be active contributors in our relationships.


reply from one recipient

reply from another recipient

Our impacts are only as big as we allow them to be, but I'm a firm believer that they more often start with those closest to us. That, of course, got me to thinking.

Really, I'm certain I'm being called to do something bigger than [and in addition to] this.

I've just stepped out of a weekend spent with some of the finest friends I have. As it happens, two of my greatest friends both recently returned from separate, unrelated trips of service and mission in other countries. Becky realized her long-time dream of Nepal earlier this year:

becky during the dedication of their
finished project [construction] in nepal



 .. And Marianne is still quite fresh on her return from a missions-based trip to Guatemala.

mare loving on those adorable kids!

It's not that I am jealous. I'm really not. Every service trip has its own purpose, its own timing and its own set of gratitudes to be earned. What I am, is more inspired than anything else. It's not that I don't want to go to follow either of their trips to Nepal or Guatemala, but I do know that we are called to reach our arms as far as we can, and wherever that is, is where I'll be.

My request now, friends, is this:

Please pray for me.

A trip like this isn't something you plan out in a week's time. It's not a weekend getaway or a vacation. It's something to which I must be connected on a raw, unfiltered level, purposed to serve not myself, but someone else. As an internationally-adopted child myself, the very thought of positioning myself to serve in an orphanage is exhilirating, humbling and frankly, a little terrifying. I would love to believe that I have the emotional stability to contain myself in the faces of children who are not in the least unlike I was once. I know though, that I want to, and will be loving with all I have on some people I've not yet met.

The praying [for this] starts now.

The research starts now.

The planning starts now.

2015.

I am only asking now for you to pray for me. Please pray that the direction I choose is a selfless endeavor to kneel at the feet of the Least of These and offer the best of what I've been given, and that by this time next year, I'll be in the final stages of preparation for a trip.

The I heard the voice of the Lord saying,
"Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?"
And I said, "Here am I. Send me!"Isaiah 6:8 

.. And you are welcome to join. Serious inquiries, only. Let me know, and we can pray for this together.

To end the day, I received some rather EXCITING [though at this time, pre-emptive] news from one of these beautiful souls I call friends. I can't elaborate on it right now, but I will use it as a testament that we serve no small God. Hopefully I'll be able to share more about this later, in a couple days or so. Sorry for the teaser!

On that note, the here-and-now of this evening ends with Sydni on one side of me and Rob on the other. This is my family, and this is where I'm happiest. I'm in love with it. Sweet dreams!

xo | cmd