ELAINA!

[backdated]

Today =

Work.
Errands.
Volleyball.
MIKE & KELLY having their baby??!

Whoa.


♥ mp!!

Work was work.. nothing new to report there other than we're kickin' tail and taking names on our journey out of newbie-ness here in the Central office. Our new sales gal Nikki is flying through training and will undoubtedly be giving me a run for my money with the orders she's sure to bring in. [I say bring it! I love this part!]

Post-work = Errands, specifically to Michael's to pick up some Mod Podge & a brayer, the two components I didn't have, necessary for some projects that I will, at a later date, show off if/when I don't botch them. Haha. [Stay tuned]

Yep... moving on to volleyball @ Hahana with Keifer, Kalyn & Beth? Well, we got flattened, again, but in a last ditch effort to redeem ourselves, two of the guys from our competing team stayed after to volley with us and give us some pointers. If I haven't made it clear already, aside from Beth playing in high school, we are not volleyball players; prior to this Keifer hadn't played at all, so in spite of posting 3 L's tonight, I will say we're getting better where team dynamic and communication is concerned. Kalyn & I have our sights set on tournament championship; we won it at Grand Sands with Tim & Paul, so I have no doubts this is possible. (:

And THENNNN [this is the backdated part], Mike & Kelly thankfully made it through a LONG night of hospital visit and emergency c-section to deliver baby Elaina!!!

baby elaina! | congratulationssss mike & kelly!!!

.... two months early. Holy cow. Rob sent me this picture of Elaina; I'm not sure if she technically was born today or in the early hours of August 1, but she's certainly a premie and weighing in at a mere 3 lbs and some change. For you mom's out there who know the process of child birth from experience, it's scary enough going into it when the time is expected... I can't imagine doing this nine weeks early.

So, CONGRATULATIONS!! to Mike & Kelly!! Baby Elaina is beautiful.. and I can't wait to meet her. Since this is the wedding I was slated to attend this weekend with Rob, it looks like our plans will be changing a little.. but I'm okay with that. (: There's a reason for everything, so this'll work out fine either way.

Life's Good ♥

xo | cmd

VIDEO BLOG :: Cups... Again&AGAIN | Cirque!

I fell in love with Anna Kendrick doing her rendition of Cups [thanks, Pitch Perfect]; obviously the entire world did, because there are about a bajillion remakes of this song out there. Anna of course has her own video for it, which is adorable, but most recently this viral video came out and I'll be the first to admit I've watched it WAY too many times.

... but I'll keep watching it, because while I'm starting to tire of the song itself, I love this particular rendition. These four deserve all the credit in the world for this arrangement! (:

Like I said.. over & over again I'd watch this. It just makes me happy, and since it was sorta gloomy out today, it worked.

In the midst of linking ^that^ video, I found another one: done, produced, edited, etc. by one person. It's certainly a remix, but I wouldn't be able to do it, so much respect to him!

On a whim, I also watched one of the Cirque Du Soleil productions tonight, and thought I'd go and share some of that with everyone, too. I honestly wouldn't recommend settling in for a night on the couch with this entire thing, but if you have the chance to go to an ACTUAL Cirque performance [I have, so..] trust me, it's worth it!

This is a snippet from the Worlds Away production, part of KA, if I'm not mistaken. Like I said, the talent that comprises and Cirque production is so intense in a live experience that no video will ever really do it justice, but it's still entertaining.

Speaking of the weather, I'm gonna throw this out there now that I'm reaaaally hoping this drab crap clears out by tomorrow evening for volleyball. I'm quickly realizing this league doesn't give us the competitive edge we're used to, but it's still fun and not a bad way to ease back into the volleyball scene here in Cinci for four people who've never played together. Aaaaand, since all four of us just got back to Ohio [well, one was never here in the first place, so make that 3], it's coincidental that we're all coming back like this.

A couple of sidenotes:

*THREE DAYS left, until I'm back in IL visiting with Rob, for Mike & Kelly's wedding! There's a tiny chance I'll get to see Mo on this trip, too, which would be awesome.. plus I'll see the meatballs [aka Sasha & Stella] - what is there NOT to love about this weekend?
*Sydni is in swim lessons all this week with Nana & Pappy, and from the reports I've heard, she is doing an incredible job and catching on at lightning speed [what else did we really expect?]. I'm itching to hear all about it from her!
*NEXT weekend is both my dad & cousin's birthdays! The bulk of my family will be there, which is great since we so rarely can do that anymore. I can't waaaait (:

C'Mon, week... hurry up ;)

xo | cmd

A Video & Some Tha-ROOOOWBacks

I keep up with the installments of CWM2YO - so here's episode 8. I can relate, for sure, with Sydni.

Funny stuff.

So, remember how I mentioned I would share some "vintage" material I found at my parents' house over the weekend? Well...... here ya go. There are just some of my favorites ;)

This was post-adoption some time, going back for my citizenship stuff... Mom & I noticed that my liaison looks a little elfish... which is just fine, other than that it now begs the answer of where exactly I'm really from.. The Philippines, or... The North Pole. Hrmmm.. ;)

^ Breakfast is served, friends. Look at me in my little jammies, getting an early start on those scrambled eggs... Say YES to that saucepan that I'm pretty sure we still have. Haha.

Camping. I love: 1 - Mom's lumberjack coat. 2 - 1980's pop up camper. 3 - Plastic folding chairs. 4 - My mom as we're going through this album present-day, saying, "Look, you're drinking whiskey!" .. hahah.. well all right then?

Dad & his kid-carrying backpack. I'm on the ground. Something's wrong here.

Cousins.. doin' some good old fashioned front porch sittin... I have no idea where or when this was, but we all look pretty excited to be there. Especially Chris (far left). Rob (center) looks like he wants out, and I'm... well, doing my best to smile. Yay, kids!

My grandmothers on both sides. Top is "Grammy," my dad's mother, and bottom is "Nana," Mom's mother. [Nana is Italian for Grandmother, so that's now what Sydni calls my mom]. I miss them both so much... for all of you out there who still have surviving grandparents, cherish and love them... I've lost all four of mine and there are days that it makes me sad, still. Love you, grandmothers!

HAHA! My younger cousin [I can't say little now, because he's nearly 6'3...] Tyler when we were kids and I forced him to play dress up. In his defense, I pretty much bullied him into this, but he just saw this picture again and basically decided he looked awesome, and is now owning the get-up. Haha... my poor cousin..


I started theater at a young age.. this one I found was from a summer rendition of a Shakespeare play, with Zeva. I just thought it was cute :) Look how little we were!

Sports buttons. I also have the picture of mine from track and cheerleading, but I think one shot is enough. I'm not sure if this was the same across ALL high schools, but I know that if you played a sport at mine, you had buttons. It was just a thing. A horrible thing, but a thing. Good grief.. haha.. look at us babies! ♥


So... I've always been an animal fanatic. My mom was the president of our county's humane society for yeaaars. At age 7, I was standing beside a vet doing spays/neuters. At 11, I was gloved up with a coffee can of kerosene, plucking deer ticks from a poor dog my mom had rescued. By 14, I was stringing cage wire for kennel runs at the place. I thought every kid did this type of stuff.. and looking back, I honestly think every kid should. Either way, mom's work led to Chez, a Golden Retriever rescue who became our dog for years before he finally passed away. I have loved with my whole heart every dog I've had since then, but he will always be my favorite. Miss you, Chezzie.


Knox County & Ohio's Junior Miss Scholarship program - local level. This was my senior year of high school.. our county was typically the home country for the Ohio Junior Miss competition, and once you hit your senior year, most girls opted to do this. This picture was from the poise & composure portion of the competition... and funny fact: following that year, they instituted gloves as a requirement for this part. Something about elegance, but surely not from me.. because let's face it.. I'm nearly as clutzy as they come. Haha. 

Binisuan: A traditional Filipino dance in which you wear a skirt and balance two cups of liquid in your hands and one on your head for an entire dance.. including floor work. I was president of the Filipino student association at UC for a few years, and this was part of my experience.. I loved it, and I definitely miss it. Never dropped a cup in performance! ;)

Not the oldest of throwbacks, but I couldn't help but to laugh at this one.. this was in 2010 when I was in charge of moving our family out of our old house and into a new place. Two weeks prior to this, I'd shattered my collarbone into 10 pieces, which led to the installment of a metal plate and 10 screws in my shoulder. Oh, and that snazzy sling. I had no choice but to do the physical work that I could here, and with Sydni in tow, I became living proof that a mother's job is full time, and when push comes to shove, we will do anything and everything we have to... evidently with a smile and time to take pictures of the experience. Haha.

Last but NOT least... the REAL throwback here.. this gorgeous picture of my mom, age 33 .. working in Pittsburgh. There is NOTHING I don't love about this picture; she's beautiful, all the way around, and honestly, I love her shirt, too.

♥ .
Welp, I promised these, right? Haha. There are more, but I'll save the rest for another time. For now, I'm spent.. the house is clean though, laundry is done, and I'm ready to call this one a night.

xo | cmd

Cousins, Babies, Best Friends

Oh My GOODNESS.

So basically, today was incredible.

I woke up to my baby girl asleep next to me in the bed I had growing up, in the room that was mine. It was so surreal in just that moment to look around and realize that everything had come "full circle" in its own way: I was back in my childhood home, in that "little back bedroom, where I did my homework and I learned to play guitar" - YES, that's a Miranda Lambert song, but it fits beyond perfectly, since my family did in fact build that house and regardless of where I go in this world, that place.. that single place, is always going to be HOME. To have Syd there with me all morning was more than I could've asked for. It was perfect.

left: me, 1986 || right: sydni, 2013.



So once I'd put myself together, I opted for a mid-morning start on the road and called my cousin, Maricor, who I haven't seen in almost two years now. No excuse is good enough to justify that, but I had every intention on catching up with her, Madison, and now little Sophie, who I hadn't even had the chance to meet yet... until today. To say I was EXCITED was a bit...of.. an understatement.

It's been WAY. TOO. LONG.

cousins | left: pre-kiddos | right: today! (:

& today....... I got to say......
Hi, SOPHIE!!!!

adore. her. a whoooole bunch ♥♥♥

Love at first sight. She's so stinkin' cute. So off we were to CPK in Easton [because I'm still not fancy enough to eat anywhere other than that in Easton, hahh], for some lunch and short jaunt around Easton before the girls grew tired of the whole experience.

Some cuteness overload for you.. meet Sophie and her lemon:
 

I can't even take it.. this child is too cute for her own chunky-monkey-cheeked good.

BUUUT, this is definitely not to discredit her older sister Madison, at all. That girl is equally as adorable, in her own sassy way that I love to pieces.


♥ my silly madison girl! ♥

Silly little lunch buddies:

madison & sophie girls ... love my nieces!

fountain fun | easton towne centre | columbus, oh

Anyone who has children will totally understand this next picture:

we tried. that's all we can say... we... tried. hahaha..

Duh. Madison making silly faces, Sophie on the phone.. and the two adults coaxing between gritted smiles for the kids to look at the camera ;). Whatever. It's perfect. Hahh...

P.S. - It wouldn't have been a visit with my cousin without raiding her arsenal of Sephora product; since she works there and we're of the same complexion composition, this has always been way more fun for me than I need to tell you. Haha. Today was super-special, because I got the VIP hair treatment: a personalized salon-de-Madison styling, complete with spare socks and all. I. Love. It.

oh, i'm a lucky tita [auntie]!

We spent the rest of the day at Maricor's, hanging out with the girls and watching movies, catching up on our lives and realizing that we'll be seeing so much more of each other. I can't wait to get the girls together [Sydni's back with Nana & Pappy for swim lessons this upcoming week, sad face that she couldn't come with us today!].

[pre-courser of what we can all expect when that does happen......:]

cousins! [exactly 1 week apart (: ] | 2010 ... sydni & madison

Anyway, today made my heart so happy I can't even explain it. Not only did I get to see my cousin, her beautiful kiddos and spend nearly the entire day with the three of them, but my amazing and talented friend Laney made it to town for one last visit for a while... since she's moving to Oklahoma for a job at the end of this week. I've known this girl since like, 7th grade, and can't believe she's moving so far away! We've made it a point to stay integrated in each other's lives, and I know we'll continue to do so. GOOD LUCK Laney, on your next adventures... you deserve every bit of this!

myself & laney!
left : skyview ranch, 1999 | center : vrooman wedding, 2008 | right : easton, 2013.
love you, my friend!

Laney and I grabbed some dinner at Easton before I finally got on the road back to Cincinnati. I'm home now, and admittedly feeling a little disoriented. The drive home is obviously shortened in a significant way now that I'm back in Cincinnati, which means my family is so much closer. It was amazing to have this time today and I'm looking forward so much so to more of it.

I'm one happy, thoroughly exhausted girl.

Goooooood night (:

xo | cmd

And THIS.. Is Family Time

I'm home this weekend, at my parents' house.
With my parents.
With Sydni.
Life doesn't really get better than family.

We woke up at our leisure today. Well, let me re-phrase that. Sydni woke up at her leisure, and I awoke to her inches from my nose hissing in my face, "Mommmyyyyyy... it's good morning time!! MOMMY! GOOD MORNING TIME!" - Adorable, right? How could I be grumpy at that?!

yes, it's blurry.. i was half asleep and this monkey was climbing on me ;)

Mom & Dad had something really special in mind for the day, which meant we were off to the store in search of an early birthday present. The mission was quickly accomplished, when Sydni picked out a brand new bicycle and helmet [thank you, Nana & Pappy!] & also two new swimsuits and a beach towel for her swim lessons that she'll start on Monday. Talk about one happy girl.

One of my FAVORITE pictures from the entire weekend was this one of my father carrying Sydni's bike through the store. He loves her, and I am so proud to be able to call him Syd's grandfather. So.. sweet.... 

pappy & sydni.... so sweet. look how excited she is!

Oh, and I almost forgot... they got her an umbrella, too ;) 

nana & syd... & an umbrella ;)

We finished up the day with a trip to the movie theater to see Despicable Me 2, which surprisingly even had my father laughing. So silly... I loved it.

Today was one of those days that didn't elicit  many pictures, mainly because we were out running around all day having too much fun to stop and take any. In a way, that makes me sad because I love photo-documenting, but then I realize that we had an incredible time.. and photos or not, I loved it.

I will however.. at a later date, compile some of the pictures I dug out of my parents' photo albums of the much-younger me [like, itty bitty me... from adoption day forward], and share some of those. Too funny.

For now, happy Saturday!!

xo | cmd

Home Bound ツ

One of the best ways to start a Friday?

Well, this works...


♥ he's pretty awesome

Cute overkill, I know. Don't get me wrong, he's faaaaaaar from being a sissy kinda guy, and he's definitely not the swoony romantic type.. honestly I think that's part of the reason this kinda stuff always catches me by surprise. He's not naturally sappy and I don't sit around expecting things like this, but man.. I love him & it's the small stuff like this that confirms my faith in this little long-distance gig we've got. Plus, happy Friday!

Anywho, Nancy bought us lunch, which added to benefit of a week's ending, and the rest of the day passed over without too much fuss. It wasn't long before I had Sydni buckled up, weekend stuff in tow [yes, including laundry, because what kid ever, regardless of their age, doesn't take advantage of the laundry-at-mom&dad's whenever possible?] en route to the homeland.

home sweet home ♥ .. aka 'the dren lodge'

The homeland, in this case, is the little planet of Mt. Vernon Ohio, the true definition of little hometown. It's the place in which I spent all but the first 4 years of my life growing up until I left for college, and the only place on the planet in which I'd bet my 401k that in one weekend I could easily find one of each:
- 1. High school [& in most cases, current] friend[s].
- 2. Former teacher or coach.
- 3. Someone who knows me by name but who I could swear I've never met.... ever.
- 4. Family friend or old church member who very vividly remembers the little tiny me, like.. before I was 7 or 8.
- 5. .......and of course, either an old ex boyfriend or the girl who's either currently dating or married to an ex boyfriend.. not because I dated soo many people...., but because it's a small stinkin' town and if you dated more than 1 person in the 7 years of middle+high school, you stand pretty much a 125% chance of someone you know having dated at least one of those same people at some point. It doesn't make us weird or inbred, it just meant we were a small [genetically-UNrelated, mind you] population and we worked with what we had: each other. haha. Either way, yay, awkward!

I'm hoping well against #5, mostly against #4, and only mildly against #3 because I always end up feeling guilty for my inability to recall someone's name being a one-way thing. Either way, I never really know what to expect when I'm home, so I've adopted a principle of take-it-as-we-go.

Long story short... I'm HOME!!! I made it in excellent time, and am settled in for a much-needed, way-overdue weekend with my family. This... is... perfect.

xo | cmd

Paddlin' Munchkins [&TBT!]

Today = another perfect day as far as the weather went.
Work = Amiable and productive!
Sydni = With  me, and as we speak, thoroughly spent.
Me = Happy mama, happy girlfriend, happy daughter going home this weekend to see the fam!

That basically sums it up. Today was plain for the most part, but a good day no less. After work, I picked up Sydni and met up with Becky and her nephew Noah at Winton Woods for a quick evening paddle. Needless to say, the kids loved it, and while Becky and I walked away with soaking wet clothes due to a couple of unnamed splashers.... coughcough sydni.and.noah..... haha.

WELL worth it ☺!

tandem kayak time!

becky & noah

me & sydni

she worked so hard! ♥

best. tourguide. ever. | "mommy, look! another duck!"

"dancing boats" haha.. they had a blast!

We dried off some afterwards at the playground, and then headed home to get some ice cream [I promise these things so sporadically, but yenno what, she deserved it ♡].. she did a great job today and worked so hard paddling her kayak.. call me a proud mama, absolutely!

Tomorrow is FRIIIIIDAYYYY!! & that means after work Sydni and I are hitting the road north and heading to my parents' house in the good old Mount Vernon, OH. Semi-on-that-note, in the spirit of Throwback Thursday, here's a gem Nikki posted earlier today on Facebook of some of us on our last day of high school.. which was ten years ago, if I'm being honest about my age here... hahaha.

front: britt. hilary. amy m. nikki. | back: amy s., ginna, myself
mvhs senior year, 2003!

I say that because I'm about to head to my parents' house for the first time since Christmas, and I have no doubt that one of my missions on this trip will be to uncover some long lost artifacts [to be shared at a not-really-that-far-away-but-still-"later" date...]. I'm kind of excited. I'll apologize up front for any and all inevitable fashion faux paus, but hey.. I'm a kid of the 90's and I will embrace it.. wacked out hair, Old Navy shirts and all ;)

See ya tomorrow!

xo | cmd

I ♡ Perfect Weather

True story.

We had our 2nd week of league tonight at Hahana, and I have to say... I haven't been in much of a mood to extensively compliment the weather recently, but today .. was .. perfect!

myself. keifer. kalyn. beth | backseat sets

We all agreed that the team we played last week was way more fun about it [considering this is a rec league], so we weren't too sad when our opponents today headed out afterwards. We landed ourselves for a post-game dinner at Village Pizza in Newtown. I'm a little peeved that I've never been there before; it's delicious, cheap, aaaaand they serve fried green beans. No, I didn't order them, but they also have fried zucchini, and we did get an order of that. It was a good call. (:

Tomorrow's Thursday... it's almost Friday and that means we're a few days closer to meeting up with my parents to drop Sydni off for her swim lessons that start next week. I'm pretty excited for her, and can't wait to hear all about it.

And dangit! As I sit here settled in for the night, I just remembered the pictures I was supposed to pick up from Walgreens this evening. Woops. I'll get them tomorrow I suppose. Pretty excited for those, too.

.. Enough thinking for now. Lights out!

xo | cmd

And Just Like That... [Daughtry&3DoorsDown]

Today started off as a pretty standard work day. We hired a new gal and she's settling in at lightning speed - not to mention she is going to fit in with us crazies just fine (: ... and the day itself wasn't too much of a headache. I solidified plans with my parents for Sydni's swim lessons, which led to trading off an extra night with her dad to balance out the time she'll be gone over the next couple of weeks/weekends.

I hadn't planned on doing anything spectacular with my now blanked-out evening, aside from possibly cleaning the house in the absence of the little munchkin.... coincidentally Trish texted me not even 20 minutes after I finalized tonight's arrangement for Sydni, asking if I wanted to join her and a few others at the 3 Doors Down / Daughtry concert at Riverbend. I'm neither a prolific fan nor opponent of either band, but I figured, "why not?" and decided to join up for a random outing.

myself. andrea. trish. amanda | riverbend pnc pavilion | cinci, oh

Another first for me: PNC Pavilion. The more I think about it, the more I'm positive I've been in there for something before tonight, but it's the smaller and far less noticeable stage on the Riverbend grounds, and the perfect covered place for what would have otherwise been a very soppy experience with all the rain.

3 Doors Down plays a lot in Cincinnati; I think I've seen them at least 3-4 times at random series concerts, collective tour stops, whatever they were.. so when we left halfway through their headling set, none of us were really all that disappointed. Daughtry on the other hand, put on a pretty decent show, for my first time seeing them. Like I said, I never really got into either band, but the tickets were free, the weather was perfect, light crowd, and the company was great. What else can you ask for on an otherwise solo evening? (:

Photo-documentation, as always... :::

daughtry

headliners

Oh, and let's talk about the last picture of the evening, that I posted to Instagram as usual, and realized later that the guitarist from the band had found it. Now I feel guilty about not being a mega-fan of 3 Doors Down. Hahha..


pretty trish! (: | ig love from chris henderson

Overall not a bad night! I'm home now and way past ready to hit the hay. Tomorrow's work & volleyball.. let's pray this rain can hold off!

xo | cmd

Express Girls & DIY Reveal

Happy birthday, Jess!

the big 3-0!

Meet one of the two girls who literally taught me everything I know about my job. Haha. Not only is she an incredible leader, but a beautiful mama and a fellow soccer player... so yeah, HAPPY BIRTHDAY JESSIE!

On the note of Express, our office welcomed our new [& first!] outside sales gal today! I got to pitch in on her interview process here a few weeks back and I have to say I was thoroughly excited to hear the final decision had been made to move forward with her as part of our team! Welcome aboard, Nikki!! (:

Oh, and it's Monday.. so that meant Sydni and I got to start our run of a week together.. which is always worth the wait of a week off. We're about to start making some more cards today for a few different people... and I know they're going to be awesome. I have the best helper, ever.

Speaking of cards... and birthdays.... I told ya'll I'd share Rob's card with you once he had it, so I wanted to be sure and keep to my word (:

front

front - textured view

inside

sneaky little hidden parts (:

 I don't often feel so accomplished, but I definitely did feel a little proud of this card... I think specifically because I had about zero faith in myself to outline the states correctly the first time. I don't think they're too bad though!

 

Anyway, this girl & her mini are in for the night, dodging the rain and hanging out. I.. love.. her.

my most favoritest..est..est .. munchkin... ever. ♥

G'Nite, blogbots ;)

 

xo | cmd