Enterprise Fail

It's almost Friday.

.......... ALMOST.

Tomorrow, I'm headed to Illinois to see three specific people: Dawne, Rob & Ali. Sydni and I are heading out right after work tomorrow, westward bound for the weekend. That being the case, I thought it would be fitting to rent a car, to avoid tacking on mileage to mine, etc. Cheap, halfway convenient, seemingly easy to do so.

"Yyyyyeah right!" said Enterprise.

Let's rewind to the part of the evening that didn't make me want to strangle the twerpish CSR at Enterprise. (:

I headed out to Milford to get Sydni, stop by the storage unit, and then downtown to Catie & Andy's. Catie had dinner ready, because she is an amazing chef and an even better friend. While Sydni did enjoy the dinner, she was moreso enthralled with Charlie and Callie [the cats...] and wasted no time digging out toys to play with them. I'm not sure who had a tougher time.. Syd, or Charlie. Apparently Charlie deserved every bit of obnoxious energy Syd had to offer.. haha.


"KITTY CAT! KIIIIITTTTYYYYY CAAAAAAT......"

Haha. Thanks again to my hilarious, helpful friend Catie for dinner, aaaand for accompanying me on what turned out to be a useless, time-wasted trip to the Enterprise at CVG.

Long story short, I did not opt to pay an arm and a leg's worth of security deposit and have my credit checked as a result of bringing only a debit card as opposed to an actual credit card. Sure, I get it, that's a policy on probably page 3 of 8 of that 6pt-font service agreement, but the weird thing is, I wasn't bothered nearly as much by my oversight than I was by the pompous individual who serviced us. I have a decent tolerance for rude people, but there's a limit, and I have to say I think even I would've been embarrassed to have to work with someone like that. *Sigh. To each his own.

The good news is, we have a car, and we'll just take that instead. (:
Anywho, we're back in Northside now and ready for bed. It'll be our first jaunt from here to Milford in the morning, so I'm crossing my fingers that doesn't cost me two hours to get there and back. I doubt it, but who knows.

I don't really care, because this time tomorrow night, well... I'll be in Illinois gearing for a couple of days with some of my other favorite people. Life is good.

G'Nite, blogbots!

xo | cmd

& A Wednesday to You!

One thing I did appreciate about my commute to and from work in Illinois was that even on the major highways, there really wasn't that much congestion. Maybe there was, but I definitely didn't notice it. Today I realized that's because I'd been accustomed to driving around CINCINNATI, where the highways are always bogged down during prime drive times and it's brakelights for miles. I noticed today that it was more stuffy than usual; I know they're doing a bypass expansion project on part of 75, but the real reason for the empty southbound lanes and flashing police lights was this:


yikes.

... & in a weird way, assuming nobody was injured, you have to admit that's kind of funny. Certainly not the way I'm sure that driver had anticipated his morning going, but I haven't heard of any serious injuries from it, so that's a good thing.

Work today went at about the same lightspeed pace that it has for the past few days; we're doing our initial ramp-up and it's pretty much been a blur this week. Between a full schedule of interviews and payroll, it was certainly a burst of a day.

I was so excited when I got theeeeeese finally [not that I waited long, at all..] in the mail. I'm pretty excited - THANK YOU to Danny & the team at BeOhioProud for being so quick to send these. I'll send ya'll a picture per your request as soon as possible!


Ohio (:

I decided today also that with everything that's going on and a small hiccup with the move I was scheduled to make this weekend into the new digs, that Syd and I will be taking a road trip out to IL/STL this weekend. That means.... DAWN....... ALI...... ROB....... THE [#amazingandalsofree]STL ZOOOOOO.... can we say EXCITED??!

Countdown's on.


= dawne. = ali. = rob. = stl zoo.
'nuff said....

I just got back from Milford, it's super late, and I'm going to bed.
..........So there. (:

xo | cmd

Back to Work

Here's a little somethin to welcome us back to the [shortened, hallelujah] work week:

I saw that online earlier this morning and must've watched it about 4 times. I read a few of the comments, one specifically that we know more about space than we do about the oceans. Hmmm. What do you think about it? :)

After work, Becky and decided it may be time to finally disassemble the tents that we pitched on Saturday at her parents house. We headed there to do that, and helped out with a few other miscellaneous things there. Becky's dad was kind enough to show me up into the tower he's building in the backyard as a playhouse for Becky's niece and nephews; I've gotta say - I'm jealous! Hah..

And of course, for dinner, because we lack the ability together to make any real decisions:


& it's bike night..

One standard order of two tofu quesadillas, a PBR & lager later, we were good to go and headed home to call it a night.

That's now, and tomorrow's just around the bend.

Seeee you there (:

xo | cmd

Memorial Day, 2013

beautiful.

 It's Memorial Day, and I wanted to make sure that in the midst of aaaallll the fun we've had this weekend, that we payed homage to the most important part of it all. This was the second half of the day, but I'm sharing it first because it's the most important. When I posted this picture, I captioned it:

"I know she's little, but she will know about those who gave what they did so that she could have what she does. For those who gave ALL, and for all who we pray won't have to, THANK YOU. Happy Memorial Day."

I couldn't help but just sit and look at her, as she knelt patiently beside the rows of crosses, each individually tagged in remembrance of a soldier who never came home. She seemed to realize that it was something important, even though she doesn't grasp the gravity of it all just yet. She will one day, and I'll do everything I can to make sure she understands just how thankful we should all be, not just on Memorial Day, but every day. So to all of the men, women and families who have given to keep us safe and free, thank you.

Rewind now to the beginning of the day, which equaled Sydni and I taking a trip down to the Newport Aquarium! I honestly can't remember off the top of my head actually going to the NA ever before, although I'm sure we did, so it was something of an adventure for both of us.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

[MORE] Picture time!:

sharks!

my personal favorite : puffers :)

animal time

After the joy of the aquarium, we did lunch and a mini photo shoot to cap it off at Bar Louie at the Levee. I realized as soon as we ordered our food that I had meant to take us to Tom & Chee, but having been away from the Levee for a few years now, I completely forgot it was down there. Until today. Noted. Haha.

mini time ♥

Aquarium, lunch & some light errands completed, I toted a very sleepy Sydni back to Becky's for a short nap [or at least an attempt at such], before we refreshed and headed to the park for a little while before I dropped her back off.

I can't even convey in words how much I enjoyed this weekend with Sydni. I was thoroughly bummed that Rob wasn't be able to join all of us.. since it's a holiday and everyone had planned to be out and about, there was nobody left to watch the dogs at Rob's house, so he was tethered there. We were both pretty disappointed, but I have no doubt we'll make up for it as soon as possible. Syd asked about him all weekend long, and I've promised her that we'll all hang out again together very soon. He did send me a snapshot of his day though.... remember our trip to Ikea?

Looks like it's turning into useable furniture ;) So much for me lending a hand to get this built... I guess that happens though from being so far away. Oh well. I'm happy at least that I have a man who can put this kinda stuff together without killing himself or the next person to sit on it. Haha. Small silver linings.

I'm back at Becky's now, winding down for the night and kiiiiind of not looking forward to work tomorrow. It's not my job or the people, definitely not... it's just the whole principle of going back to work again after an amazing weekend, haha. I'm sure I'm not alone.

Oh well. I hope you had an incredible holiday weekend, too, friends!

xo | cmd

Pre-Memorial Day Celebrating

This is how my day started!

good morning!! camping = success!

We left our campsite and showered for the next thing on the agenda for the day. I didn't really have a lot planned specifically, which was kind of nice, so I figured we'd start with breakfast at a place I know we both love... [First Watch!]

my little breakfast architect... ♥

With our bellies full, our first stop was a desperately-needed visit to the storage unit. That place is temporarily housing all of our stuff, and we needed to ditch some of our camping gear and decipher what did and didn't need to stay in the car for the time being. I took my time diving into the unit; Sydni was more than content to hang out outside waving to all the airplanes and kicking a ball in the grass until it was time to go.

...And go we did!
... To the park.
...... For THREE hours. :/

we love the park...

..&& we love the ice cream truck even more ;)

Haha. I don't know how we managed to lose track of time that way, but before we knew it, it was the middle of the afternoon and we decided to call it a day at the park. After an impromptu stop at Jack's Aquarium & Pets [something of a preview for tomorrow's trip to the Newport Aquarium?], we took ourselves back to Becky's with the intention of weaving a nap into the mix [thwarted of course, by existence of the iPad...]. That barely stuck, and before we knew it, Becky was back and the three of us were right back out the door northbound a ways for her cousin's Memorial Day BBQ.

kiddos (:

Sydni made herself right at home with the other kids, and we didn't have a horrible time, either! Many thanks to Becky's cousin Brandy for extending the invite to us!

just a little fire to finish the night.. yenno :p

We just made it back to Becky's, and I just put a very sleepy girl to bed. I'm about to crash, too, so we'll leave it at that and see you in the morning!

xo | cmd

Nature Preserve, Market & A Mini Camping Trip

Sydni started the weekend off with breakfast for her and me. ;)

such a great helper! 

I'll pass on my scrambled egg secrets to her, one of these days. Haha.

First thing on the agenda today: Frogs & Turtles! Sydni and I had a mission to get to the Farbach-Werner Nature Preserve just up the road here in Cincinnati; they had a special day today dedicated to various frog and toad species, along with some other fun wildlife. There was a pond, too, complete with enough turtles to send Ali straight to Heaven, I'm sure ;)

PHOTO MONTAGE #1: Nature Center!

frog exhibits!

learning about froggies & toads

miniature outdoor amphitheater for a miniature drama queen? ;)

love of my life. light of my day!

some light trail hiking & one pretty cool tree

how could i not take a million pictures?

see ya next time, nature center!

We wrapped up our time at the nature center and decided we were hungry. It was absolutely gorgeous out today, so we headed for Findlay Market, to say hi to Becky & Mike and grab some grub.

love your local markets!

The rest of today was errands. Storage unit, a few stores, the post office, and maybe one or two other miscellaneous places before we took a breather back at Becky's. By breather, I mean nearly a 3-hour nap. I guess the week finally caught up to me - to us - apparently ... whatever the case, we both needed it and had a much better night from it.

And for the night... CAMPING!
I decided that rather than rummage through the depths of the storage unit for my other tent, we'd just use the one I bought secondhand on Friday. Turns out, all was well with it [A+, Craigslist! :)], and it didn't take us long at all to pick some flat spots on the lower portion of Becky's parents' property and pitch our tents.

PHOTO MONTAGE #2: CAMPING!

all set up (:

the most important part of camping?
-- marshmallows. duh.

syd learning how to make a fire
pie iron pizzas... no complaints there!

mike helping out with some marshmallow roasts

one of my greatest friends! 

Sydni had a BLAST, there were no meltdowns when I asked her to sleep in a tent, and it even rained just enough to lull us to sleep but not flood us out.

&& yes, this is backdated. I didn't take my laptop on a camping trip. (:

Weekend, continue!

xo | cmd

THREE DAY WEEKEND!!

*Whew! Another week down. This is the first full week we've been open as the newest Cincinnati office, and it was definitely interesting with Elisa gone for most of the week. I hope she's having a blast on vaca though, and maaaaybe she'll be sweet enough to bring back some Florida weather next week. Hah [drive safely!!]

Anyway, with Friday under wraps, let's take a deep breath and welcome the THREE DAY WEEKEND! Helloooo Memorial Day!

woooooo! three-day weekend!! ;) 

I went straight from work to Sandy's to pick up Sydni, and stayed there with the two of them talking for nearly an hour before we got back on the road. It was great to see her, and now that I'm back for good, it'll be a more frequent thing. Sydni and I made the haul back down to Northside to Becky's, where she and Mike were awaiting.

hello, mini!!

comet... mmmm!

Sydni wasted no time making herself at home and finding the water gun collection hidden throughout the apartment, and for nearly 30 minutes, it was an all out war between Becky, Mike, Sydni and me. It was hilarious. Once we'd settled down from that, we ordered dinner from The Comet, played some Angry Birds on the iPad, and called it a night. I have a feeling this is going to be one busy, BUSY weekend.

Syd's about crashed, and I can tell I'm not far behind her.
Here's the long weekend! Stay SAFE and have fun, friends!

xo | cmd

Today Was Thursday

I had to send some mail today, and went next door to Kroger to get a couple of stamps before work. This is the strip she gave me, and I had a moment of pride that I really wanted to capture. It seems small, I know, but it means things to us that we take for granted every day. 

Work went well today, considering Elisa is on vacation until next week. The Winnenberg's were here for the day today to lend hands, and I think Amber from their office may be here tomorrow to help out as well [woo!] Good stuff. I don't know that we'll have someone new on the books for this week, but the current issue of having orders and only lacking the people to fill them is a good problem to have for newbies like us ;)

I signed a lease today, too... [one step closer!!]

Rob sent me this randomly, as we were both driving home from work, two states away. He was laughing about this full-sized poodle and its windblown joy-ride. Simple things (:

♪ ♫ free & easy down the road we go.... ;) 

And then Ali... sent me these! Note: These are dry-erase and chalk wall circles that I bought her moooonths back - like, Christmas time. Wish I could've been there to hang these with you!!! I think I just decided I should redecorate my new digs with dry-erase and chalk circles, haha.

i miss you, my friend!!!

And nooooow.... I'm here with Becky watching Safety Not Guaranteed, a weird Indie film that is actually entertaining. Ya know, I think we're really on to something here with these quirky movies.

So that being said, I'm gonna go do that, call Rob back, and call it a night (:
TOMORROW = SYDNI! +CAMPING! +ART! ... I only wish two little white pups had babysitters for the weekend. *Sigh. Soon....

xo | cmd

HOME STRETCH & Eli's BBQ

Guessssssss who won't be in a state of semi-homelessness!

Hint: ME. It's me.

 

I went yesterday with Becky to scope out a little number in Fairfax; thanks to TJ for the suggestion to check out that area! It's pint-sized, and there is some fabulous wallpaper in the hallway [teehee..], but it's exactly what I need for now and I definitely can't complain. ;) I went through the viewing and application process, and got a prompt call back today from the gal that she'd love to extend the property to me. SCORE.

.... and for now, i shall call you home (:

pretty trish! my new neighbor ;)

OH, and here's the part where knowing some folks in this town gets funny. I have a lovely friend Trish who lives in Fairfax; prior to heading there to view the house, I'd asked her the distance from Fairfax to a few places I'd need to frequent. She said overall it's a great area, so I was excited to let her know today that I got the house. She asked me where it was in Fairfax, and I told her...

... well.... see that other house to the right of this one, with the green-trimmed window? Well, she certainly does live in Fairfax, in THAT house. I'm dumbfounded.. haha. Small world, right?! Soo.. I'll already know my new neighbor, and Sydni will have little Gianna to play with when she's there. Everybody wins! (:

The edge of anticipation is finally starting to wear off; it's not completely gone, but I expect it to be once I'm sitting on my couch, in the privacy of my own space, with Sydni next to me, and again finding that routine we were used to before things got a little chaotic. All I can say really,

God is Good, ALL the time, & ALL the time, God is Good!   

I was about as relieved as could be when I got back to Becky's, and the night got sweeter when we decided we were doing dinner at Eli's. If you're going to be in Cincinnati and you're not from here, I demand you visit this place ;) And if you're in Cincy, like I am now, well... call me and we'll go together. Haha. DELICIOUS.


eli's with becky & mike .. yummmm | cincinnati, oh

And yes, it was a packed house, as always, both inside and outside.
So yes, we pitched a tarp and sat on the ground... well, the stage... but still (:
And no, we didn't care.

nom nom nom!

There's just something about food that has absolutely no graceful way to be eaten. It's a barbeque thing, and I love it.

*Yawn. Not. A. Bad. Day (:

xo | cmd

Smile. Life is Good.

Life is Good.

I feel like I haven't actually made that declaration lately, even though I absolutely know that it is. It's been stressful, but I can see the light at the end of the flux tunnel, and I'm bent on getting there.

 

I'm back now in a city that should feel more like home than it actually does [granted, I've only been back for a week now]. I'm away from a staff that was more of a family than a job, friends I love, and a boyfriend who is also my best friend and now my greatest source of long-distance moral support. Illinois is a chapter that is closed for now, and I'm back in Ohio where I will hopefully feel more at home very soon. All of that being said, I look at what I have - both here and there - and realize that my life is good. No no. It's GREAT.

 

My baby girl, my little mini-me, the pint-sized whirlwind that defines my every move: She is healthy, happy, loved by both myself and her dad, even separately. She's smart, kind and discovering her way in this world. I'm back here for her, for the moments like these that I will hold onto forever. I'm here because I'm a mother and there is nothing in this world stronger than the bond between a mother and her child. Nothing. You know that smile - the one that starts in your gut, tingles up your spine, gives you goosebumps and makes your ears tingle before it lights up your entire face? That's the one I get from her, even thinking about the time I'll now have again with my daughter, my carbon copy, my pride and joy. I found these from a mini-shoot we did snuggled in bed one morning a few months back....

♥ this little girl... the best thing that's ever happened to me. ever.

I've been doing better, too, about not falling apart over the people I left back in Illinois, specifically my close friends and of course, Rob. I've said it before but I'll say it one more time for the sake of repetition: I really haven't ever been so in-sync with someone. I'm comfortable with him on a level that I never had, with anyone. I trust him, not only where fidelity could be questioned, but I honestly trust him... with my emotions, with my time, and with my deepest thoughts, goals and fears. We were friends - just friends - long before anything more than that, and I know that no matter what happens now that I'm here and he's there - our friendship wasn't skin-deep, and it won't ever go away. There's no real way to accurately show him how much I appreciate him, but I'll try until he gets it ;)

simple things that make me smile ♥

I wouldn't be sane, grounded or lifted if it weren't for some of my friends, either. Yes, there's a handful of other people [family, other friends] who deserve accolades where support is concerned, but today, I'm specifically grateful for four very different but truly incredible women, who have been there for me when I needed it the most and probably wanted it the least. ;) Through everything that has transpired in the last two years, I never doubted - not even once - that these women would be there at the drop of a dime for anything from a weekend refuge to just a shoulder or an ear. They didn't question or judge, but made sure I knew I had a soft place to land when chaos set in. I am indebted to each of them, in different but equal ways. Thank you. You don't know how grateful I am for you. From Arizona [Kalyn] to Illinois [Ali] and back here in Cincinnati [Becky & Catie], I love you, friends and I appreciate you!!

kalyn. becky. ali. catie.
every girl deserves to have friends like these.

And on a continous note, the housing search continued this evening, with a trip out to Mariemont/Fairfax with Becky to scout out a property [CList, Zillow & Realtor.com have gotten a workout these past few weeks!]. I'm very happy to report that I feel hopeful about this. Whether or not this materializes into the one, I think I like it and it went well with the landlord, so I was left feeling refreshed, after the last few weeks of dry leads. If I do end up moving, I'll show you a picture then ;)

After the viewing, it was off to Eastgate, where I picked up a steal I'd found on the ever-reliable Craigslist = new tent! My philosophy is that you can't really ever have too many tents, especially when it's a 4-person and you paid $30 for it. WINNING (: 

iiiiit's camping time! (:

Since we were already in the Eastgate area, I took Becky for her first visit at the Main Street Cafe in Newtown. Three words: Sweet Potato Fries. Oh, and two more accompanying words: Calypso Sauce. You know exactly what I mean if you've ever been there. Newtown itself is a cute little area, which reminded me that somewhere nestled in it, is a local retailer that sells spoon rings and other various knick knacks. I made a note to myself to find it again and make a visit. In due time.....

Meanwhile, outside Mainstreet Cafe there was a very worn entrance into a wooded area, which we couldn't help but explore. I'd gone straight from work to run all of these errands, so I was still fully disguised as the business-casual version of myself as we embarked on a mini-hike through some foliage. We found everything from a run-down metal storage shed alone in a clearing to a 4-hours cul-de-sac on the other side of the trails. Nothing spectacular, but fun for some curious people like us.

yep!

From there, we finally made our way back to Northside and settled in for the night. We started looking into some ideas for camping this weekend; it's a long weekend and supposedly going to be beautiful. I'm pretty excited, so we'll see what turns up. For now... it's past my bedtime (:

xo | cmd

Express Is OPEN

EXPRESS IS [officially] OPEN!!

today is the day! (:

Soooo... hello again, work.... 

Chris was at the office this morning and came bearing donuts [here we goooo]. I do love Busken. 

awww, the love ♥

It really wasn't a bad day [not that I'd expected it to be], despite having to put on my big girl clothes, aka business attire again. We were spoiled with nearly a full week of casual dress for set-up, but now we are OFFICIALLY open, and ready to rock and roll. I'm excited to get back into the swing of things here at Express; now that we're open, it's game time! I even had a last minute sales call, on which I took Nancy. It looks like we may just beat Dave & Chris after all in snagging that first job order ;)

big girl clothes.. ohh yeah.

After work, I voted to take one more day off of what is becoming a loathed effort to find suitable residence here in Cincinnati. I'm so looking forward the evening when I can go home, crash on the couch, curl up with my daughter, and put the entire world to rest for a night. I'm thankful beyond words for the friends I have who've been nothing but supportive of this process .... *sigh.... I'm simply more than ready to be done with this state of nomadic lingering, temporary as it is.

Mike & Becky are starting dinner; I need to give this blog a rest and go lend a hand (:
It's the mellow nights like this that would be complete with my two favorites next to me. I can only pray that's soon. Maybe even temporary and spread out, but soon.... (:

...... & I will laugh without fear of the future.
.... deep breaths. :)

xo | cmd