Finally Friday

This was my vote for today: 

..... I sure needed it, today. Elisa was out for the day, and Paul spent the majority of the day doing field work, so my weird sinus allergy issue and I were on our own for most of the day. Fortunately, Nate from CYOFL took the jump for our Color Run team and went to pick up the race day packets, saving me a trip down to Newport [thank you, Nate!!!]

Rob took off this morning as well, after the early morning had passed, and I finally got an update that he'd made it to the rendezvous point with Matt and Dillon. 

the harley boys... 

I myself was looking very much forward to an evening of doing absolutely nothing, a goal I executed like a daggone professional if I may say so myself.. haha. Many thanks to Netflix and the worn-in sections of my couch.

The boys are settled in safely, and I'm completely content with the temporary solitude that I'll have for the next few days.

Heeeeere's to the weekend!

xo | cmd

Mini Master Mechanic [At Your Service!]

This is what my evening looked like: 

mini master mechanic! 

Rob takes off tomorrow for a weekend in the Smokies with a couple of his friends from back home. Before he even got the garage door open, Sydni was there, snow boots and long sleeves to "protect" herself.. haha. She is such a ham, and there's no other way we'd rather have it. 

This went on for hours. I busied myself with tidying up the house and getting dinner on the table, the details of which I'll spare all of you out there.. haha. 

It's also the birthday of one of my dear friends, Ladd! Happy birthday, Mister .. and hopefully I'll see you and your little family soon! 

Tomorrow's FRIDAY! WOOO! 

xo | cmd

Yenno.. Just... RAIN.

Here's how the beginning of the day looked: 

workday... and rain. 

Here's how midday looked:

lunch... and rain. 

Here's the drive to volleyball after work:

driving... and rain. 

Here's Grand Sands, in between sets:

volleyball.. and rain

The running theme of pure saturation was branded all the way through the day today. However, there's always a silver lining, and in our case today, that came in the form of winning the league after a round of tournament games! Not too shabby for rain-soaked sand, players and volleyballs. Yay, team!

league champs ;) 

Next session starts next week. Here's hoping for no rain in sight :D

xo | cmd

Bright Eyes, Beats & Box Jumps

I started off today in a way that I've never done before: Working out at CYOFL with Jessica!

If you don't know what CYOFL is, it's Create Your Own Finish Line, owned and operated by the one and only Jessica G! She's hardcore when it comes to fitness, but not in the maniacal way that you'd think. This girl is all about working everything, from the inside out, so the details that will ultimately make or break your body don't go overlooked: posture, form, balance, flexing, stability muscles, breathing... all of it. I don't have enough good things to say about this girl's work, but if you feel inclined to check her out, you should totally DO IT!

let's do it! 

I'll even make it easy for you: CLICK HERE to see it on Facebook!

Anyway, I arrived and we got started, with some trampoline running, planks, pull ups, TRX, deadlifts and of course.. box jumps. My personal favorite :) 

That is not a bad way to start off the day; I will say that.
I'll say this: nothing kick starts a day like a workout, especially when you're in the right company, with the right music, and of course the right exercises to kick your butt! ;)

Today = Owned.
Tomorrow? Bring it On. ♥

xo | cmd

Mondays (:

As it happened, I actually didn't have a frumpy feeling when I got up and headed in to work to start the week. Usually there's at least some bit of residual weekend vibe that makes Monday a tough pill to swallow, but today was good. I'm pretty sure I'm still on a high from yesterday's USWNT victory, but hey... who's to really say?? ;) 

So with an amount of pep that both baffled and annoyed even me, I pranced into Monday with a heart and mind ready for the week. I found this uncredited thing floating around the web, and thought it was a perfect reflection of how I felt this morning:

I bounded into work to find an egg mcmuffin and $12 sitting on my desk, which confirmed that today was in fact going to be one that would prove to be terrific. [The $12 was my change from money I'd given Elisa last week to pick up food, but still... who doesn't love finding money on their desk, even if it is yours to begin with?? ;)]

So there was that, followed by a day stuffed to the gills with activity, and topped off with the salad I'd prepared for myself during meal prep last night. Nom Nom NOM!

After work, it was off to get Sydni, and then home to get some homemade chicken noodle soup rolling. There were some visitors in the neighborhood that naturally put Sydni on high alert, and I must admit it was a pretty cute little band of critters.

surprise neighbors! 

We made and ate dinner, before Rob hit the garage for night one this week of bike assembly; he's got a trip coming up this weekend, so he's racing the clock. To say I'm impressed yet again by what this guy can do, well.. that's an understatement of course.

newly painted parts... wooo! 

Syd and I let him have the garage to himself, but not after Sydni made sure to inventory all the parts taking temporary refuge across my dining room floor.. haha. It's about time for teethbrushing & bedtime stories, so I'm outta here for now! 

G'Nite! 

xo | cmd

!!!!! WORLD. CHAMPIONS !!!!!

Today started out in church, alongside my best friend [that's Rob, fyi..] and our congregation as we sang praise, worshiped and studied. I made it my prayer that I would maintain myself and a level head for later today in the event that the USWNT would fall to Japan in the WWC2015 finals, and I meant it. It sounds frivolous to pray for something like that, but I've been making very intentional efforts lately to BE present in mind and focus on ALL cylinders, according to the way I'm called to act, speak and behave, so praying for self-control if the ladies lost was really not an illegitimate prayer.

We headed home, took care of some errands and chores around the house and then.. it was time!

all day long. thinking about this.... all. day. long. 

I met up with Brandon a little earlier than necessary, but with good reason: When Germany played, we nearly missed kickoff because Goodfellow's was packed and we got lucky with room at Latitude's. I was determined to stay put at Goodfellow's tonight. He'd snagged the big center table, a space that would soon be shared by Jessica, Rob and then by chance, a group of people who knew Brandon. It was the perfect arrangement, and within no time, kickoff happened. 

And I... MISSED. The. First. Goal.

I mean come on! We were still getting situated with menus and drink orders, and WHO would've honestly thought that we would score in the THIRD minute?! (Not me, so that means I'm a bad fan with no faith.. I know, I know!)

So there was Lloyd, in replay, with the first goal of the final WC2015 game, and it was beautiful. Goodfellow's was roaring with fans, and just as I was trying to calm myself down, Lloyd nailed another one in the 5th minute.

UN. REAL!!! 

lloyd, you're an animal!!!

Brandon declared that Carli Lloyd was his spirit animal, and I somehow became even more nervous than I was at kick-off, because all too often we've seen strong leads [especially this early on] be dashed by an unprecedented opponent comeback. 

I didn't stay nervous very long - Holiday with her 14th minute goal, and then Lloyd with the back half LAUNCH that cleared the keeper put us at 4-0 at half-time. Holy freakin' crap, USA. You. Are. On. FIRE!!!! 

holiday & lloyd!! 

I'd been saying the entire game that I wanted 2 things:

1. Tobin to score a goal, and 

2. Wambach to sub in for at least some playing time in her last World Cup. 

Minute 54 was Tobin... 

tobin!!!!!!!!

And then in came Wambach, with an even bigger surprise trade from Lloyd, who insisted that Wambach take the captain's band to finish out this monumental game. Sure, Abby's absence from the team is going to affect me and all the years of my childhood leading up to this [we won't even talk about Rampone possibly leaving], but to see her have the captain's band for the Title game of the 2015 World Cup was about enough to make me cry.

captain wambach! 

And then Wambach insisting the band move to Rampone, for the trophy ceremony: 

christie rampone - hero from my childhood! 

[Here's the link to the article & page from which I borrowed those shots: USAToday Article]

And I would've cried, if I hadn't been so busy screaming my face off as the minutes wound down and it became clear that even with a 2-goal answer, Japan was going home in 2nd place and the USA were taking the Title of WORLD CHAMPIONS!!!!!!!! 

The amount of can't even'ing that was me tonight was basically unrivaled. 

FIVE to TWO. WORLD CUP CHAMPIONS. I am SO. FLIPPIN'. ECSTATIC!!!!! 

I wore my Lloyd shirt today. It was a solid choice to do that, and I don't think I've ever been so excited to watch a group of women play and win a game in my life.. not even at UC! [Sorry, ladies]. Lloyd, you deserved every single bit of that Golden Ball award!!! 

congratulations!!! 

And, despite other ways in which Hope Solo's made headlines, when it comes to the game, there's not a better keeper out there. Angerer is a close contender, but Hope is the brick [wall] in the box, and while some may not agree, I wholeheartedly believe she earned the Golden Glove, too! [Quick question though, where exactly is Julie Johnston's award for baddest-to-the-bone defender?!] 

yeah, solo!!! 

Guys, I'm exhausted from screaming like a psycho in the public view of the poor patrons at Goodfellow's, but a] don't care much.. sorry not sorry, and b] we just WON THE FRIKKIN' WORLD CUP!!!! So there's THAT.. and now I don't know what I'm going to be looking forward to for the next few weeks... but I'll figure it out ;) 

U-S-A!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

xo | cmd 

Happy Birthday, 'Merica!

We really don't know how good we've got it. I know I certainly take for granted the freedoms and amenities that come so easily and immediately to all of us. I am a PROUD American, and am proud to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my beloved country!!

To celebrate, Rob and I loaded up the boat, finishing just as Jessica pulled up to the house to add her gear to the inventory. We hopped in the truck and were off to find Cave Run; it had been recommended to us by a few different people, so we opted to check it out.

We came to the realization about an hour and some change into the trip that there were a number of boats traveling the opposite way on the highway, and that eventually got the best of our curiosity. After some Googling, phone calls and research, we ended up abandoning our original plans of Cave Run, and in turn found ourselves on a direct route to Taylorsville Lake Marina somewhere in Kentucky....

love these two! 

Taylorsville Lake was a blast! I totally dig the fact that my tribe is a pack of spontaneous adventure-seekers, and can roll with just about any situation. We didn't land at our intended destination today, but had an awesome day anyway!

The evening started creeping in, so we packed back up and trekked back to Cincinnati, where it was a quick shower and turnaround, and back out the door we went, to spend the rest of the evening and watch fireworks with Andrew, Jessica and a collection of their friends on the west end of Cinci.

love this guy! 

Fireworks, new [& existing] friends, food and fun! From what I've seen, birthday parties are full of those things, so I'm pretty certain we did it up just right.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY!
U-S-A!!!

xo | cmd