Stinkin' Swing Shift

Today was Joe's first day back at Towerview after his month-long run with the championship All Air Force soccer team. It was so nice to have him beside me during the service, and afterward he even orchestrated lunch plans with the Greers at McAlister's. They're hilarious, and the four and a half of us [Sydni ;) ] had a great time just kicking back for a bit.

We had to cut our afternoon short so that Joe could get to work on time. Stupid swing shift. Part of being a military family is being flexible as an entire unit to the schedule of the active member[s]. Any military spouse can tell you that. Between TDY, deployment, or just an inconvenient set of working hours, there's inevitably going to some sort of uncomfortable time frame during which everyone involved just grits their teeth and grins. We're still major newbies at the whole process, but even up to this point I've realized how much credit should be given to families of active military members. [[So I applaud you, husbands, wives, and children of our men and women in uniform!!]] I'm not seeking credit here, simply stating my empathy.

Anywho, I took advantage of some good Sydni-Mommy time, because I'm quickly finding that no matter how much time I get with her, I'll look back one day and wonder where it all went. We plowed through a few books, tore apart a toy chest, and played dress up with some oversized plastic rings with fake 75 carat colored gems. Good stuff.

Tomorrow it's back to the work week. My bosses are returning from their week-long Cancun getaway, and we'll be hitting the ground running.

Oh, and it's Halloween!

xo | cmd

Trick-Or-Treat | O'Fallon

It's that time of the year again. If you're wondering, no, Joe and I did not dress up for trick-or-treating today. I'm all about costumes, so maybe we'll get around to it on Halloween, maybe not. Last year I went out and about dressed as the Hamburgler, which went over well in a group of my friends disguised as everything from the Green Lantern, Goku, Frisch's Big Boy, and a few Jabbawockeez. Throw in a few characters from Street Fighter and Tekken, and it should answer any questions about most of those friends being Asian ;).

I kid, I kid.
[errrrrrr]

our little raggity ann ♥

So today we geared up for the daylight candy hunt over in O'Fallon with the Babots. I brought out the Raggity Ann get-up that I'd bought for Sydni over a month ago from a re-sale shop and suited her up for the fun. We'd bought her a monkey candy bag way back during one of my weekend visits to Florida when Joe was still in tech school, and so that came right along with us in the car as we toted off across the highway.

landon & lara | sydni & cori
mama's & their babies ;)

We met up with Lara, Alex, and Chicken Little, aka Landon, who, despite Alex's protest was proud to announce that he was a chicken, and gladly demonstrated what a chicken says. We thought it was absolutely adorable. Between Landon and Sydni, there was plenty reason to stop into all the small businesses lining the streets of downtown O'Fallon, and we even stopped at Papa Vito's for a lunch break on an outside patio. Altogether it was a great day: perfect weather, lots of exercise, and of course, candy. Sydni's first real expedition as a trick-or-treated was a success. There are still a few more days in the Halloween season, so we may very well be playing dress up again sometime in the next few days.

For now, we're wrapping up the evening with some family time, so that means I'm outta here. Good night, blogbots! :)

xo | cmd

Godfrey Corn Maze[s]

It's Friday!

We had our bi-weekly Koinonia gathering tonight, but instead of the usual meeting at the Woods' residence, we rallied together for a carpool caravan up to the Godfrey corn mazes. It didn't take nearly as long as I'd thought it would, and we wasted no time jumping right into everything. We spent the tenure of our wait time in line joking that we would gladly harrass any members of our group who resorted to calling 9-1-1 at any point during the outing. I am positive that there was a well-warranted reason for the couple that did that, but I sure hope it was at a maze at least five times the size of the one we visited tonight.


godfrey corn mazes 2011



Anyway, traversing a corn maze is quite the parade, especially when you allow the kids to lead. We somehow made our way through, around, and across all the different pathways in record time and found ourselves going back for round two in a different direction. Adam had done some research on this year's maze; the thing is apparently shaped like a giant corvette. So much for our crop circle theory.



scarf!



OH! I nearly forgot [unbelievably so] to mention Sydni's donning of her new scarf! I put the thing on her finally, crossing my fingers that the fit wouldn't be completely awkward. It turns out I caught a stroke of beginner's luck with this one; it fit perfectly, which, if I were a dishonest being, I could probably get away with saying this was a custom-fitted design. Pshhh, yeah right. Praise the Lord for me completing the silly thing in the first place without it falling apart after one wear.

The mazes were a good time, all things considered. The temperatures dropped pretty low by the time the night wound to a close. Poor Sydni in her stubbornnes refuses to keep gloves or mittens on, and her little fingers were shaking by the time we left. That didn't stop her from romping around in the giant sand box filled with corn kernals and having those things stuck in every crease of her clothes. I have a feeling we'll enjoy this experience a lot more in a few years when she's big enough to get down and run through the maze herself without constant surveillance.

All together, we're glad we went, cold or not. We love our small group and we're so thankful for the times of fellowship that we have with them.

the dills

Brrrr! Time to warm back up and call it a night. ♥

xo | cmd

A Whole New World

No, not the Aladdin song.

Yesterday, I engulfed myself in early steps of knitting a scarf for Sydni. I figured I should learn the tricks of this trade, at least the basics, and perhaps from it broaden my creative scope of abilities. I'm still workin' on this one. The scarf is finished [photos coming soon], and we have every intention of her wearing it tomorrow night for our corn maze outing.


size 17, yikes!

Today I decided to self-promote myself to the construction of an adult scarf. This one will be a bit trickier for me since errors on that one will be more obvious and juvenile in appearance when it's worn. My collection of knitting needles at the beginning of today consisted of sizes 6, 7, and 8. It's the end of the day now, and I've added a set of size 17's to my slowly growing stock. Random, but they looked large enough to accomplish the task I had envisioned. I was taking a leap of faith with this one, because, like I mentioned before, I didn't know the first thing about knitting until ... yesterday.

I'll also go ahead and take back the statement that I find the entire concept of knitting aggravating at best. Now that I've memorized the pattern of stitches for each row, it's become a bit easier and I have to say mildly addictive.

I'll save the photographic product of this next endeavor for posting until it's finished. In the meantime, wish me luck that I don't botch this baby halfway through. :)

xo | cmd

I [WILL] Knit Like Nancy

... Someday, maybe.

For now, I'm still trying to wrap my head [and yarn] around the casting on step. If you're like me, a non-knitter, that probably means nothing to you.

Our Koinonia small group at church is planning an outing this weekend to the corn mazes. That means the adults and kiddos will all be travelling via carpool caravan to the mazes and we'll spend the evening, weather permitting, fellowshipping and hopefully not calling 9-1-1 to rescue any of us [sorry, I had to. Read the recent news....].

Anyway, in the spirit of being the mother of a well-prepared child, I started planning out Sydni's attire for the festivities. A few days back, I'd written on the batch of thrift finds Sydni and I had claimed, and I figured there's no better time to test out the pink pea coat than this weekend. If only we could accessorize. Scarf? Yeah, scarf. Now where in the world do I find a miniature one that won't cost me an arm and three fingers?

I don't have time for scarf-hunting. I decided to make one, and originally had resigned to crocheting the thing. Thanks to my mom and grandma, I'm decently versed in the art of crochet, but I also know that I prefer the look of knits better. Ok, so let's knit one. Only problem is, I don't know the first thing about knitting. Luckily for me, one of my coworkers is a seasoned knitter with a successful track record of little puppy sweaters to scarves to blankets, and probably a plethora of other things. She's good.

My first lesson in knitting, thanks to Nancy:

[Unlike crochet needles,] "Knitting needles are sold in pairs."

Well, gotta start somewhere, yeah? : / So what if I was off to a slow start......


it isn't perfect, but it's a start!



Fast forward to a run to the store to buy needles, about 15 YouTube videos later and a quick hands-on tutorial from our resident knitting specialist, and I was off to a good start. Nancy says this stuff is therapeutic. I say this stuff should be an Olympic sport. I need to enroll in knitting training camp. I'm committing to bamboo stitching for this one. My mom always said I have the patience of Job, but this might be a serious test see if she's even close to right on that one.

It's the end of the day now and I'm proud to report that I only had to start over twice: once when I realized the width of this thing was way too big, and the other time when I wasn't paying attention and dropped like 5 stitches in a row. Third time seems to be a charm, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed until this project passes the Sydni test.

Today: scarf. Tomorrow: afghan.
[[*Wishful thinking ;) ]]

xo | cmd

HOME!

He's hoooooome!

After just under a full month of Daddy being gone away at Langley for the All Air Force soccer season, we finally got him back tonight. His original flight was delayed, so that combined with some extra gate taxi time and an hour+ commute back via MetroLink put him through the front door close to 10pm. A little later than we'd planned, but who cares, he's home!


keepsake box, just for daddy!

Last night after Sydni and I were putting the finishing touches on some surprises for him, I'd made sure I had everything laid out this morning when I left for work. I came home and had to laugh because I definitely hadn't expected to be home before Joe. We set our little surprises aside and did some last minute house-tidying, grocery shopping, and even put some air in Old Trusty's tires. We had fajitas ready to throw in the skillet, and had those done just as Daddy came through the door.

You wouldn't believe all the swag Joe and the rest of the soccer guys got for their run with the team. We didn't have a whole lot of conversation time to talk about his experience, but he did say he had a ton of fun and met some great guys through the whole experience. He came home with all sorts of Air Force sports paraphernalia: shorts, t-shirts, warm-ups, sweats, a brand new ball, socks, shin guards, and of course that weighty gold medal. He even had time to snag us some little gifts from the east coast VA Beach souvenier spots. I'm so proud of his efforts and their final first place finish, but I am even happier that he's home.

Tomorrow, I'll wake up at a reasonable 6ish AM and head straight to work. Joe won't miss a beat; he'll get to spend the first half of the day with Sydni, but after that, it's right back to the grueling duty of weather forecasting. [[Sorry, Pogi]].

Whatev'. He's home. ♥

xo | cmd

Gold Medal Mondays & Sushi in the Sun

Today  marked the first day of a work week sans bosses. By this point, they should be shmoozin' away in a couple of hammocks somewhere on a beach in Mexico. They work their tails off, so this is well-deserved. That means we'd better not hear a peep of a phone call from either one of them this week ;).

Anywho, the chatter over the weather for today and tomorrow has so far came to fluition. Today was gorgeous. I for one am completely content to hang on to blue skies and 70+ temperatures for as long as we can. I took advantage of this last hoorah and committed my lunch break to munching on some sushi at the park a few blocks from my work. It was the perfect experience: quiet, sunny, slight breeze, empty picnic pavilion. I caught up on a few Max Lucado excerpts and ate my sushi in my perfect little hour bubble that was my lunch break. I even managed to snag a few shots of the changing colors. I could've stayed there all day.

AAAAAAND, Joe texted me to let me know that he and the rest of the Air Force soccer boys beat the Navy today in the final tournament game and therefore will be taking home hard-earned gold [and by gold, I mean actual gold] medals. He sent me this picture as both proof and bragging right.

Sydni and I spent the evening putting finishing touches on a few surprises for Daddy. We won't post the pictures here just yet, because with any luck, we'll be exposed before he gets home to discover them on his own. Somehow, our house is now clean again, and appears to be organized ;).

♥ colors!

Mr. Dills comes home tomorrow!!!
 xo | cmd

Thrift-a-nista Training

Anyone who knows me knows that, by the process of trial and [major] error, I’ve devoted myself wholly to the search and seizure of cool stuff for as close to dirt cheap as possible. This includes everything from clothing to miscellaneous household items, even cars. [Yeah, remember my Saab 9-3? Craigslist.] I’ve honed my skills over the years, and while I don’t consider myself among the ranks of fervent coupon-cutters or diehard bargain-hagglers, I would still say I’m fairly decent for a common discount digger.

I’m a advantageous fan of Goodwill and Salvation Army. I’m a fan of any charitable [or even simply self-owned/operated] variation of thrift or resale. Garage sales are magical things, and I will not shun a hand-me-down if I think it’s got any potential. I guess I can see what the big hang-up is for a lot of people with places like Goodwill or Sal-Army: people drop whatever they want there, so who knows where it’s been. Right? Well, sometimes. I’ve definitely seen some things that raise my eyebrow, but there are other things I now call my favorites, and the majority of them are second – maybe even third [fourth, fifth…] – hand.

And if you think for a blink that I’d neglect to pass the secrets of the trade along to my next-in-line, well… false. Sydni’s already had her full share of thrifting adventures and exposure to the world of salvaging to restore. We were blessed enough to receive most of her necessities starting out as gifts from friends and family [stroller, high chair, infant clothes, toys…]. Aside from things like bottles, diapers, crib mattress, and a few other things I don’t think I would’ve bought used, you’ll find a plethora of recycled toys, books, clothes, shoes, and furniture [i.e. – the dresser from a few entries back] that we’ve collected from various thrift or resale shops from all over.

Today proved to be a perfect example of why it benefits to be a bargainer. I’m dedicating this one to Sydni, since all this stuff is obviously for her, not me.

Long story short, we went to return a few things at one of our favorite local kiddie resale digs, and ended up walking out with a bag full of adorable and seasonally appropriate pieces. Amazingly enough, I picked out a few pairs of jeans, and Mama’s little helper picked out the majority of the tops. I was impressed, thoroughly. They were all separates, altogether totaling 12 pieces, and altogether on the bill totaled just some change over $26. Subtract the $3.50 from our returned items, and we spent well under $2 per piece. Oh, and while I am by no means obsessed with brand-names [though I am a bit more finicky on the wear-and-tear condition of things for Sydni], the quality indicated by the Gap, Carter, Children’s Place, and Faded Glory tags suggested that these were good calls. Two things still had original store tags attached, and the rest looked as though they’d been worn no more than a few times. Yes, please.

Sydni, when you’re old enough, we’ll sit down and I’ll show you how this all works ;). Good news is, if you’re ever on a bargain mission without me, I know at least a half-dozen frugal savvy’s [who are good at it, too!] that can point you in the right direction. We’re a contagious breed, that’s for sure….

OH YEAH, and did I mention Joe comes home this week?!

It’s gonna be a good week, folks.

P.S. – The Honda has a full tank of gas, too, btw. Thanks. J

xo | cmd  

Magic House St. Louis

Sydni and I got an early start to our morning today. Well, early for a Saturday. We finally rolled out of bed around 8:15, took our time eating breakfast and getting ready, and loaded up for a day of exploration at the Magic House Children’s Museum in Kirkwood, just on the outskirts of St. Louis.

It was a costume day there [woops, on our part], so most of the day’s visitors were donning disguises from Disney movies, fairy tales, or comic books. I’m glad Sydni didn’t understand the difference between their attire and hers; had she, I probably would’ve just told her she was actually a real super-hero and normalcy was her costume for the day. Yenno, kinda like the toddler girl version of Clark Kent? No?

K. Well anyway, the entire staff was costumed, too, and were posted up all over the place ready to sign their character autographs in the little flip books we’d been given upon paid admission [10 bucks for both us of, thanks military discount ;) ].

She had a blast. I spent nearly 3 hours chasing after her as she bounced around from display to display, room to room, floor to floor. She played a 15-foot harp, stood inside a life-size bubble, bought an entire basket of pretend milk at the pretend grocery store, and answered every phone in the Morse code room. She wanted three autographs from Mickey Mouse, but screamed bloody murder at Jack Sparrow the pirate [not quite sure on that one]. She had a tea party with Alice and the Rabbit in the Wonderland room, and made quite the mess at the water table, even with the little plastic smock thing. Go figure J. 

And, she was asleep before we got out of the parking lot when we left.

We came back to the house to finish up her naptime here, and then we worked a little bit on getting ready for Daddy to come home this week. We really wish he could’ve been there today with us, but I’m not even sure we covered the entire place, so I’m confident we’ll be going back.

Church tomorrow. I’m due to join the praise band before and during, and help with church directory photos after. I think it’s time to call it a night!

xo | cmd  

Cars Run Better With Fuel

Here’s a moment of self-exposure for you.

Every once in a while, I have a tendency to do and say things that are completely out of my character, and make a complete fool out of myself. This morning, for instance….

Our regular FCC daycare provider on base had to close unexpectedly for the day, so I made my way over to one of the back-up providers this morning with Sydni. It took me way less time than I thought; our back-up is in the first neighborhood inside main gate, past the gas station, as opposed to traversing across the entire base to Patriots Landing [base residential speed limit = 15]. Yeah, I’ll get to work a little early!

… Past the gas station.

You’d think that I would have the common sense to check my gas gauge in my car after passing the same gas station twice in twenty minutes. Nah. Not me, because that would be sensible, and my Fridays are quite frequently the exact opposite. So there I was, cruising [&singing] along up 255, two exits away from 270, when Old Trusty gave a shudder that knocked me silent. Instantly, I figured she was finally about to give up the ghost; our Honda has just under 335 thousand miles under her belt, and she’s still running. As I veered off the road onto the shoulder, my eyes fell on the gas gauge and out came a big sigh of relief and irritation. Irritation, for obvious reasons. Cars don’t run without fuel, Cori. Relief, because that’s a quick-fix that doesn’t require any extensive mechanic skills.

MEGA thanks to Meagan & Marc! Meagan was en route behind me, so she was kind enough to give me a lift the rest of the way to work. For what it was worth, I did make it to work by 8am the first time around. Marc toted me + gasoline can back down to my car so I could at least get it back to work.

Niiiiiiice job, Cori.



little side projects :)

 At least there was nothing wrong with the actual car [just user issues], and she’s still running just like she should. I just have to remember to feed her.

Our owners are out all of next week, so today was a final wrap-up of duties we’ll handle on our own in their absence. After work, I stopped off to get Sydni, and the two of us headed home to work on some craft projects before calling it an early night.

Box frame: $1, Goodwill.
Printed 8x10: $0.89.
Labor: Free.
Result: See right.
That'll go on my desk at work. ♥

Tomorrow we’re going to try out the Magic House in Kirkwood. I’ve heard good things.

G’Nite!

xo | cmd  

First World Problems

A few weekends ago, I went to the Towerview retreat with a group of people at the MEBA building over in Fairview Heights. Our pastor’s son Scott had come in to act as lead speaker for the event, and during part of it, used the concept of First World Problems as an example of our common issues with perspective. As I sat with a freshly popped bag of popcorn at my desk, I found that an unusual amount of the kernels hadn’t been transformed. A sense of [very] mild disappointment/frustration started to creep up on me, but immediately I thought back to our discussion on first world problems. My half-empty bag of popped corn became a half-empty bag more than half the world would ever see. I thought I’d take the opportunity to share just a few Third World Problems I ran across between the retreat and now. WARNING: Depending on your individual level of sensitivity to the less-fortunate, and far less-fortunate, some of these might infuriate you. There were some that I wouldn’t even re-post.
Like I said, just a few:

- I took two showers today, but my towel hadn’t dried fully in time for the second shower.
- I’m currently staying with my grandfather, who refuses to buy pre-sliced bread. I now have to slice it myself like some sort of farmer.

- The diamond on my ring scratched the screen on my iPhone.
- We’re all out of liquid soap so I was forced to use an actual bar of soap. I didn’t know they still made those.
- The guy at the register at the store told me they don’t take credit cards. Now I have to withdraw cash. What is this, 1990?
- I broke my smartphone, so now I have to use printed directions like some sort of medieval barbarian.
- The drive-thru people put tomato and onion on my burger after I specifically asked them not to. I might as well forget eating this thing now.
- All of my socks have lost their elasticity.
- My friend invited me to a party on Facebook, but the guest list is hidden.
- The automatic doors at the grocery store don’t open fast enough.
- I needed a pack of gum, but I didn’t have anything smaller than a $20 to pay for it. Now I have a bunch of extra bills and coins that are just taking up space in my wallet.
- My blu-ray player and my dvd player won’t both hook up to my T.V. at the same time. Now I have to change the cables every time. Didn’t they plan for this??
- The motion-sensor lights in the grocery store freezer aisle are broken. I had to open each door like some sort of 17^th century explorer.

And, last but not least, the first world problem that was shared by all the women at the retreat itself:

“The toilet paper dispenser in the big stall doesn’t rotate fully, so I had to turn it myself to avoid the paper from tearing.”

Kinda makes you feel ridiculous, yeah? I know I certainly did this morning, glooming over my pile of unpopped popcorn. Sure, some of those are a little funny to think about, but some of them [and ones I read but aren’t mentioned here] really make me want to slap sense into some people….

Anywho – these kinds of things always give me some fresh perspective. You can never have too much of that. J

Enjoy the Thursday!

xo | cmd  

Praise Band Practice

I've always heard and read in those tried, tested, true behavioral books that kids will typically mimic or model the behavior and activities to which they're exposed to early on. While that doesn’t always pan out in a way that’s beneficial to either kid or role model, the truth still remains that up-and-comers always start somewhere.

That’s why Joe and I promised to ourselves, the Lord we love and trust, and our Sydni, that we would do our very best to teach her through both lesson and example, exerting our best efforts to raise her in a Godly fashion. Believe me, we don’t always feel like success stories, but we pray that coupling our efforts along with constant prayer for her will pay off long-term.

Tonight I took Sydni to Wednesday night Bible study at Towerview. There’s something renewing about getting together with your church family – normal people, Christians, not much different than me – on a Wednesday night in the middle of the week to just listen, study, and discuss a topic.

Sydni came up from the nursery after the evening service ended, and stayed upstairs with us during praise band practice for Sunday’s service. She insisted on spending the majority of the practice nestled into the small space underneath the pulpit podium, staring up at Trish and I as we sang along with the rest of the praise team. It made some folks laugh, but it made me glad to see her later sitting on the pugh listening along to the music.

And, as always, when we’re fresh off a visit with Nana, thanks for the left-over dinner J.

xo | cmd  

Blah.

Weather-speaking, today was certainly an entire different day than the last few. I woke up to rain, gloomy skies, and a temperature that sent me back in the house for a jacket before I left. Yuck. The gals [&guy] at my work and I agreed that we would’ve been just fine staying home in our beds in pajamas for the day.

Thankfully, the rain let up some and by the time my parents and Sydni met me at work, the skies had softened some and the drive to the airport was made without any windshield wipers or hold-ups. They’re on their way back to Ohio as we speak, and I am back here in what now seems unusually quiet even after just four days of visitors. We’re definitely looking forward to Daddy coming home. [Next week!]

Oh, and just in case any of you were wondering, and because it’s totally related to everything else in this entry [or not, whatever], don’t feed grapes to your dog. I have a mother whose animal-knowledge passed this advice on to me years ago, but I know there are still folks out there who think chocolate is the only no-no for our canine companions. No grapes. Dogs lack the digestive abilities to process grapes, so eating them will make them sick. You’re welcome, Fido.

Well, that being said, I’m gonna get Boogie ready for bed – I can already tell she’s perturbed that Mommy will be doing the teeth brushing and flossing tonight, instead of Pappy. Talk about just making do….

Early start, tomorrow!

xo | cmd

Brushin' Teethies

My parents are still in town, which was a bit bittersweet. It was sweet because they have both today and tomorrow to spend in their entirety with Sydni, and because I left at 7:20 for work, not 6:30 J. It was bitter because I wished I could’ve been there to hang out with them, but it wasn’t all bad. After some finagling with the carseat, Nana & Pappy managed to get Syd strapped in, and the three of them hauled up to Glen Carbon to meet me for lunch. We went just down the street to Culvers for a quick sit-down lunch, and enjoyed a bit of the sunny weather.

After work, it was back home, where Mom had been workin’ on some chicken stew [hello, delicious] for dinner. We took Bootsie and Sydni outside after dinner to savor the last minutes of dusk before it was time to get ready for bed.

This is one of my favorite things:

When I was a kid, my dad introduced me very quickly to the ritual of brushing and flossing each night before bed. Now he has the chance to do that with Sydni, and I know it does his heart every bit of happiness he could imagine. Sydni loves it, too; she knows that when Pappy’s around, she can bring down the floss and Pappy will always get her teeth clean. I celebrate the sole fact that my 2-year-old wants to brush and floss. I hope this phase carries over.

Tomorrow, I’ll leave an hour early to take my parents to the airport, and they’ll head back to Mount Vernon. I wish they could stay the whole week… *sad face*.

At least I get one more ‘late’ morning tomorrow. Haha.

xo | cmd

Tri-cycle

We're just not quite there yet. Bless her heart, she really did try. The good news is, she's starting to understand the concept and how she could make this work. The bad news: her little legs just aren't long enough, yet. We'll give it another few months, and when the snow is gone, we'll give it another shot.

The other good news: It's still absolutely beautiful outside, so we were able to do all the frolicking we wanted in shorts and t-shirts for the day, before the cold sets in next week. [[Many thanks, again, to Deb & Chris, and my entire former staff @ the Cinci East Express for getting her this adorable pint-sized Red's shirt!]] I'm just not ready to see the warm days go, but if that means snowboard season, I guess I'll be okay with that, too.

This morning was church, then lunch, then hangin' out around the house and playing outside before dinner. Not a bad end to the weekend, yeah?

And thumbs up for me not having to leave for work until 7:20 tomorrow... not 6:35! I like it :)

xo | cmd

Nana & Pappy!!

Today was an incredible day!
Well, it started comically because I apparently need coaching on how to read an analog clock that isn't labeled with all 12 numbers individually. I've never had an issue with my watch [you know the type, the two hands and then only four dots indicative of 15-minute segments] until last night, when I obviously misread when trying to reset my clocks. There's a bout of ridiculous construction happening in our townhouse complex; I noticed the 3-foot deep trench circling halfway around my building Thursday night on my way home from work, and yesterday there was a collection of Bobcats parked in various spots around the yard and parking lot. At some point during Friday, they managed to knock out our power, so to bring that story full circle, reading my watch correctly would've been nice, since I proceeded to reset all the clocks an hour fast.

*High five, Cori. 


clayton farmer's market fun

 

The best part about all of that was that it was last night, and I didn't realize it until I was heading down the highway entrance ramp en route to Lambert. I finally looked at the clock in the car and it definitely read 8:30am, not 9:30. I took the opportunity to make a pitstop at the Fifth Third over in Clayton to deposit the check the USPS finally sent me in response to my begging to fix my damaged camera. I happened across Companion, an adorable deli at which my parents and I later stopped after we met at the airport. It worked out for the best, because a mini farmer's market was well underway by the time we made it back to Clayton, so of course we scored some fresh veggies before brunch.

 

On our way back from MO, we stopped in Glen Carbon, more specifically the Goodwill and Slackers. Mom and I found a dresser we decided we had to have for Sydni's room, and Dad took Sydni to the Petsmart to oogle at the puppies outside at the adoption fair.

We finally made it back to the house, where we ate lunch and then spent the rest of the day playing outside and catching up on any and all family happenings since the wedding. I seriously wish Joe were here.

To wrap things up, Mom and I made some incredible veggie stir-fry for dinner, and after we were all fed, it was one more round of Finding Nemo (this movie......) before bathtime, teeth-brushing-and-flossing, bedtime story, and bed.

Church tomorrow. :)

xo | cmd

I Love Earthworm

So my parents are coming in town tomorrow morning. I'll pick them up at Lambert around 10am, and they'll be here through Tuesday. I cannot wait to see them. Somewhere in my excitement, I made the stupid decision to postpone all my cleaning until the last minute. Typical.

Anyway, Sydni and I got home from work and daycare and tackled the tasks of laundry, vacuuming, cleaning bathrooms, shelving dishes, emptying trash, and fixing beds. I don't know how people can do this for a living, but major kudos to them. The good news: we found about a half dozen random toys and/or toy parts that we thought had disappeared for good, so they're now safely back where they belong, and the house is clean.

I owe it all to Earthworm. I know for a fact that my mom will ask what I've used to clean all the reachable, cleanable surfaces in my house, and, save for the pledge I used on our wood furniture, Earthworm supplies took over the rest of this place. I also know for a fact that that will delight my mother's heart to know that her daughter has followed her teachings well in straying from using harsh chemical products in liveable airspace.

The clothes are all hung.
The beds are all made.
The rooms are all clean.
The cleaners are tuckered out.

Nana & Pappy will be here, soon! ♥

xo | cmd

An Air Force KEEPER!

LITERALLY!

Joe called tonight to tell us that he is now an officially rostered member of the United States All Air Force Soccer Team.

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!

We know how hard he has worked and how badly he wanted this; I am thrilled that the final cuts were made and he is now a part of the team. [Sorry about the photo quality, he sent that to me via text] I am so proud of his dedication, endurance, drive, and committment to this goal. We've been praying faithfully here that this would pan out, and strangely enough I felt a huge weight lifted off my shoulders tonight when he broke the good news.

There ya have it. Joe's officially playing soccer for the U.S. Air Force. That's awesome :)

[[[& congratulations to the rest of the team members who survived cuts!]]]

I'm sad I won't get to see them play, but I'm so thankful that Joe's been blessed with this opportunity. He deserves it.

That made my night; I can't imagine how he feels! :)

That's about it for tonight... we'll see you blogbots tomorrow!

xo | cmd

Wednesday Wish List

I've ranted too many times about my busted D-90. I'm still salty with the USPS over the whole ordeal, but by Diana Owens' genius suggestion, I've resubmitted the claim for appeal with a repair quote attached. My poor broken shutterfly is patiently waiting in the corner now to be dropped off, pending a USPS decision.

In the meantime, I started browsing some new accessories for the D-90. I found a few things that reminded me exactly why I shouldn't ever do this until I'm ready to buy. I'm now stuck with a mini obsession for the new gear. Christmas idea? ;)

The specs on this buster are incredible, not to mention on its own it's pretty fun to look at, drool over, .... puuuurchase..... ?

In due time, Cori. Let's get the actual camera repaired before we launch out collecting new accessories.

At any rate, this will fit just fine with the Gary Fong diffuser, so I think I've officially been sold.

If there's anyone out there with any feedback on this little guy, feel free to forward it my way. I've read nothing but high remarks from current and former users, so we'll see.

Just thought I'd share :)
I'm in a particularly good mood today, and I don't see any specific reason for it other than life really is just good. It's an early blog night, but I've got a little girl here that wants to go watch Nemo for the 48392745927424th time. I guess we'll do that and pretend we're worried, again, when the 'balloons' blow up the sunken ship at the beginnning. That's the fun in it.

Nite :)

xo | cmd

A Tuesday with the Truschinski's

I said I would take a more well-spirited attitude with me to work today, and I made good on that promise to myself. Today proved overall to be a much better experience than yesterday. While I was right in predicting that some of my client fires wouldn't fizzle out before 11am, by 5pm the cycles were back in balance and I left with a sense of peace and confidence that I reluctantly did not have at the same time yesterday.

Good stuff.

I actually started off the day with some Joy FM [99.1 fm], which is the normal frequency on our car stereos when the CD's aren't playing. The first thing we always do when we move to a new area is hunt down the best radio stations, so a finding the Christian-based dial is always good. Aaanyway, all week, the morning show hosts have been amped up about Steven Curtis Chapman and his wife Mary Beth being in the studio to talk about their organization, Show Hope. [I just danced to Cinderella as the first dance with my father at our wedding!] I usually stray away [I'm just being honest] from listening on days like these, because I'm a commute-soloist who can usually be spotted at redlights wailing away to some catchy tune. Yeah, don't act like you don't ;).

So this morning, there they are, explaining how the origin and current function of their organization: a medical program operating in China. They provide the medical treatment and corrective operations to children who are otherwise unadoptable in their current physical states. They shared story after story of successful operation or treatment that led to an approved adoption status and ultimately the placement of a child with a life-long family. Talk about tugging at the heartstrings. For me, this holds personal weight since I was an orphan in a third-world country with odds stacked against me. I dedicated the my entire commute to hearing their testimony and how they're impacting lives in a truly measurable way. I rolled into work with a smile on my heart for their work and kept that with me throughout the day.

After work, I headed back to base to grab Sydni and creep [I say creep, because with base speed limits, that's the only thing you'll do] over to the Truschinski house for dinner. On a side note, the Truschinski's have been blessed with one of the most beautiful base housing setups I've ever seen, and Melanie's decorating skills are top-notch. Kudos :).

Dinner was phenomenal, and the kids had the chance to play while the adults had conversation time. Many thanks to Melanie and Ryan for opening their home to us and giving us a break from cooking!

Lastly, but never least: Joe is STILL in the running for a spot on the All Air Force soccer team. His latest report is that he's sore beyond belief, but hanging in there. Our prayers are on the table for him :)

Today was a good day.
Those are the best kind.

xo | cmd

Columbus Day

Happy Columbus Day!

Well, to the government, bank, and school kids who got to take the day off today :).

I found myself at my desk for the day, battling an onslaught of client fires that burned heavy throughout most of the day, and will probably need final extinguishing tomorrow. It was one of those days, one of those Mondays, one of those times. I've prayed consistently for calm nerves during this time of personal adjustment with Joe being gone, but today I made the subconscious mistake of bringing a semi-frazzled past few days with me to the office.  Here's where I publicly admit that I left work in tears that'd I'd built up past capacity over the course of the day. Meltdown.


landon. sydni. cyle.
playdate

Thankfully, Lara had been so helpful and kind to pick Sydni up from our on-base provider an hour earlier than normal, so Syd was at the Babots when I got there. I ended up spontaneously staying for dinner, which turned into a fiasco of its own sort when Lara's neighbor realized she'd locked her infant daughter in the van after pulling into their garage. In the brief time it took for me to catch up on her day, I instantly came to the conclusion that my day, my Monday, my life is absolutely nothing to have gotten so worked up over. [In case you're wondering, seg-fo and the locksmith were very prompt in resolving the locked van issue.] Ultimately, I'd had a rough day, I'd seen a rougher day, and through it all I both saw the greater haves in my sitation than the have-nots, and had dinner with one of the sweetest gals around. 

All in all, win-win.

I'll try and that that to work tomorrow and see how that changes things. ;)

xo | cmd

Playful Prankster

I take this moment to recognize my beautiful daughter, who today, earned the rightful title mentioned above.

True story:

To start things off, I woke up just before 1:30AM this morning, only to spend the next two hours in futile efforts to go back to sleep. My neighbors were cleaning, which really sounded as though they were shoving their refrigerator through each room and following it with a vacuum cleaner. I'm not exactly sure what rhyme or reason prompted their middle-night chore session, but my last conscious glance at the clock read 3:45, before I opened my eyes again at 10:50AM this morning.

Oh, and church starts each Sunday at 10:15 AM. I initially thought that perhaps I'd just overslept, straight through my alarm [cell phone], and jumped out of bed to see what I'd done wrong in setting and/or hearing it. There was no cell phone in sight, which of course in my half-dazed state at this point was both confusing and irritating. I checked the bed to see if I'd somehow brought it there with me: nothing. I checked under the bed: nothing. I started out to Sydni's room, and before I was even two steps out of my room, I hear, "hi daddyyyyy. Hi Nana. Hi Pappy. Hi Mamaw. Are doin', daddy? [what are you doing] Hi daddyyyy."

I knew instantly that little miss sneaky, having slept through the entire overnight janitorial bash next door, was fully rested and had kidnapped my phone from its charger at some earlier point that morning. When Sydni pretends she's on the phone, she's always on a conference call, with everyone she knows; from Mommy & Daddy, to grandparents, to Barbie & Nemo - we're all there, on the line, answering questions about what we're doing and 'where did you go?' I love it, but on a Sunday morning, 45 minutes after church has already started, I was a bit frazzled that she'd sabotaged my alarm system.

Not to worry. We put it behind us, made some breakfast, and embarked on a day of Sydni and Mama time. That landed us at Home Depot, picking up primer and paint for the Goodwill find [project] I mentioned yesterday.

See? : 

desk transformation!

I told you I'd have pictures.

It wasn't exactly how I'd pictured this day going, but hey, it happens.

Let's see if this week will be the same. :)

xo | cmd

Towerview Baptist Retreat

8:30 AM : Drop Sydni off at Pastor Ron & Debbie's
9:00 AM : Towerview Baptist retreat began at the MEBA Fairview Heights building
12:00 PM : Lunch @ QDoba with the Babots, Pages, Greers, Prescotts, and Jen :)
1:00 PM : 2nd half of our retreat.
3:00 PM : Cori & Sydni at the thrift store?? [C'mon, don't act surprised :P]

**

Today was the Towerview Baptist retreat, which was a blast. It was a great time of fellowship with our honored guest speaker, Pastor Ron & Debbie's son. I'm always amazed at how coming together with my church family on days outside of church can give me the re-charge that I need from time to time. With Joe being gone on his quest for a seat on the Air Force soccer team, Sydni and I have been left to our own devices. It's certainly been an adjustment with him away, and we sure do miss him, but I'm so proud of him for going for this full-throttle and giving it his all. Today was a welcome breath of adult, Christian company.

towerview retreat! :)

Not to mention, Sydni and I found some pretty fun deals at Goodwill today. We'll get them cleaned up and get some pictures to share with the class ;)

Until tomorrow....

xo | cmd