Trunk-Or-Treat!

I have no idea how Halloween is already here, but it is, and with that being said,

BRING ON THE ELSA ARMY! 

If there's one universal American truth this week, it's that at the very least, 1 of 3 little girls has either requested to be, or is going to be... Elsa for Halloween. Thank you Disney, for another year of rampant internet and storefront sales on everything Frozen. I still vote pity for poor Princess Anna; it seems like although that movie was mostly about her, we'll still only see a slight fraction of Anna-clad darlings hitting the 2014 candy-tours in comparison to her magically-empowered-and-simultaneously-cursed older sis. [Welcome to the inevitable and inescapable limelight of younger siblinghood, amiright?] 

Anyway, Sydni found herself in the ideal position for being in a not-so-ideal situation of living between mom & dad's houses. The ideal part is that she now has two Elsa costumes to don this year. She will be trick-or-treating twice, and will likely continue into the winter holiday season in this exact pattern: doubling everything. The only real perks [from a kid's POV, at least] of split households, I'm convinced.

Rob and I rallied together in a tornado fashion after work: change our clothes, change her clothes, and get moving on up to West Chester for one of the few Thursday night trick-or-treats that I could find. It was held at an old stomping ground that I claimed for a very brief time years and years ago: Midwest Cheer Elite. [Clarification: I was a tumbler and a contemporary dance student here, not a competitive cheerleader. I don't want any of you to think I've been withholding a secret life from you!]

It was a trunk-or-treat, which meant an added vote of confidence for all the parents, knowing their little ghosts and goblins [or in this case, their little Elsa's and Marvel superheroes] wouldn't dash away into any line of traffic or otherwise hazardous situation. Keep it contained.... ;)

Sydni had a blast.

[& i spy an olaf back there! ;) ] 

A few of the many, many fun, decorated trunks! 

fun! :) 

And an added bonus of a hayride!

my family. love love love them. 

After trunk-or-treat, we had a last minute vote for Mexican food, so we spent another hour or so in West Chester to eat. We were halfway through dinner when Sydni decided to deliver some insight far beyond her years:

Hahahah. I freakin' love that girl.

Tomorrow is finally Friday, and that being said, I'm pretty excited for the grown-up Halloween festivities that will be taking place. I'll give you one hint:

Villains. 

That's all for now. Tomorrow's the real deal ;) 

Happy [Pre-] Halloween! 

xo | cmd

Last Minute, OF COURSE....

Anyone who thinks that I'm well-prepared for most things is probably someone who doesn't know me well. Sure, I keep it together for actual life events, but things like.... OUTFITS, are certainly not an area in which I have ever invested much time to "plan ahead." It makes my family crazy, and oftentimes I cycle back through a pile of vetoed clothing just to settle on and re-dress in the first daggone thing I tried. First world girl problems, I know.

That all being said, I wasn't really surprised when I remembered today that we have a Halloween party to attend on Friday, and that our costumes as of last night... didn't really exist. At all. Today, I embarked on a blinders-on mission to complete mine, and am happy to report back that I'm good to go.

teaser! 

^^ That's all ya get for right now, although I'm sure it won't be too hard to guess for most of you out there. That's the central theme around my costume; poor Rob had the headache of the ages when he got home from work, and as it's nearly 9pm and I've not heard a peep from him, I'm going to assume he'll get all his costume prep done tomorrow.

Last minute like.
'Cuz that's how we do.
:)

xo | cmd 

Find the Silver Linings ;)

It rained a lot today. 

I stayed nearly two hours after work to take care of things. 

I missed yoga. 

I was pretty bummed about it all. 

But then, I got this message from Marianne:

yiieee! 

^ That's kind of a big deal. See, Mare's headed to Italy in a few short weeks, and she'll be gone for about three months. I wanted to send her something to take with her, and once I'm sure she's seen it all, I'll try and post a couple pics. I'm just glad this made it to her before she left, and that it arrived in one piece.

ALSO, I found pictures I took this morning as I was running out the door that I had completely forgotten:

Those 3 shots of color were taken on my street, from my driveway and as I pulled away heading to work. I'd forgotten all about them, since it was an all hands on deck thing when our feet hit the floor.

It's over now, and I've come full circle back home, where I've re-connected with myself and let go of all the day's frustrations. There were a lot of victories today that I overlooked, and I am of course surrounded by my amazing, sometimes imperfect, but amazing life here at home.

That's a win in itself.
Embrace it :) 

xo | cmd 

Beating the Monday Bear

There's nothing like a Monday to crush some of whatever residual joy I have from the weekend. That's a little dramatic, but it's true and I needed something to kick-start my week.

This did the trick:

Watch it a few times if you need a smile like I did this morning ;)

To say that the rest of the day floated by like a cotton candy cloud is a blasphemous statement of trash, so I was more than ready to sacrifice my body for the sake of yoga when the work clock wound down.

[before] .. because the after... is just gross. 

I sweat like I've never sweat before; if I'm being honest with myself, I may have had a little more than I could handle on Saturday, and am clearly still paying for it two days later.

That little theory of mine was proved by the time I showered, got home and headed right back out with Rob to Mainstreet Cafe. Thankfully, Chad was working, and in a greatly-appreciated act of empathy, I survived dinner without the need to ask for a refill:

thaaaaaank you, chad! 

So yeah. The Monday bear has been tackled, and I think I can handle tomorrow without as much fuss or cloud as today ;)

xo | cmd

Disney Princesses On Ice!

Today was the day we've been planning for nearly the past month: Surprising Sydni with a trip to see Disney's Princesses on Ice. I have no idea how I managed to go for weeks without spoiling the surpise; I'm absolutely the worst when it comes to harboring secrets like that. I pulled it off though, and we were dressed and on our way to The Nutter Center in Dayton.

she was trying to guess where she was headed

OH. Before I forget, I must take a moment to recognize the absolutely incredible talent of Allison, owner, baker and master magic-maker of Tu-Tu Sweet. [<< That's the Facebook link for you to go like her page, look at her pictures and ORDER. COOKIES. You're welcome.]

cookies, galore! 

^ Those volleyballs on the right were a special order for our team a few weeks back, and the Disney Frozen-themed crowns and snowflakes on the right were made especially for Sydni's big surprise today. This girl is good. I'll say it again: Friends & family, if you love cookies, call this gal. She's awesome. Thank you, Allison!!!

Anyway, we made it to Dayton and found our seats. There wasn't much happening yet, but with the giant, empty ice rink in front of us, we told Sydni what was about to commence. This, just before the squealing and tripping over all the names of princesses, was her reaction:

this is definitely an "icanteven" moment. ♥

So we settled in for the show!

the official "emcees"

beloved disney characters!
genie. lumiere. olaf. the fairy godmothers.

snow white's seven dwarves

lumiere & the dinnerware, in the
"be our guest" number 

fire-breathing dragon from sleeping beauty

Princesses!

the princes with the lovely ladies:
jasmine. belle. rapunzel. anna. 

more princesses!
tiana. aurora. snow white. cinderella. 

cinderella arriving in her chariot

A brief intermission... Did it look like she was having any fun? ;)

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥!!!

And of course, the story - and sisters - that 90% of the audience came to see today:

anna & elsa! 

prince hans. olaf. kristoff. anna.
disney's frozen! :) 

finale number: all the princesses! 

WHEW.
A very special tribute to the man in our house, for driving us all there, but more importantly for driving our zonked-out tails back home. Just another reason in the book that he is the best.

sleepy candids... 

We're home now and ready to finally relax, after Disney and an incredible weekend all the way around.

What a happy little Sunday!

xo | cmd

Friends & Kids & Pumpkins & Apples & OTR

Today was a full throttle day from the time we woke up. Sydni was up at 3am to remind me that, "kids are coming over today!!!," and from there on out it was non-stop until our heads hit the pillow again. 

"honey, it's 3am. we still have a few hours."
- [skeptical response...]

First things first: Why pay a gutter service when you can just do it yourself?

do it yourself.

:). I was wrapping up the gutters just as Trish and the kiddos rolled up, jackets and snacks in hand, for an early afternoon of pumpkin painting and carving.

the girls (: 

mamas & kiddos

 Sarah made it out after work, with her daughter in tow. There were then 5 kids attacking one pumpkin..

paint, paint... and more paint! 

the aftermath? beautiful! 

 

Once the pumpkins had been thoroughly - and I mean thoroughly painted, the kids migrated to the front yard for some cardio and leaf-mud sandwiches [made, not eaten.. as a sidenote ;).. ]

gosh... love them ;) 

Soon enough, the kids departed, and we took a deep breath in preparation for round two: Jessica and Andrew soon arrived with their pumpkins. Sydni was off to her dad's for her father-daughter dance, so the grown-ups were left to their own devices.

great action shot of bumper & sasha! 

caramel apples!! nomnomnom

lol.. pumpkins ;) 

Round 2 of the day complete [carved pumpkins & caramel apples], we parted ways again to rest up and prepare for the evening, which was decidedly going to be spent in the bows of OTR.

We started our venture at 1215 Wine Bar, if you count our standing in one spot for 20 minutes deciding where the rest of the night would be spent. If that doesn't qualify, then we technically started with a pitstop at The Drinkery before they somehow coerced me into going to - and staying at - Japp's for more than a half hour.

yeah, so i guess when i'm photographed mid-laugh,
i look... super asian. ^_^

this folks, is what otr had to work with tonight...
oh i'm proud of this one.. hahaha.. 

that fan. we're music video superstars.... ;) 

We soon retired from the heat of Japp's and found our final grounds for the night: The Famous Neon's Unplugged!  

oh, lovely neons! 

runnin' the town.. into the ground [laaa dee daaaa... ]

we found chad!
ps - can't even be mad at the chick who bombed this...
.... she nailed it. #thanksdoodydood

nobody knows. 

that time jessica's hand was 2 feet in front of my face
& managed to still look insanely inappropriate.

i'm a cat. rob's an angry ghost.
#notsure...

some more of this.. 

... and consequently this, too. 

And it's Neon's, so there's Jenga...

we lost.

Along with a few hundred of our closest friends, we closed down Neon's and made one last pitstop for grub at Lucy Blue's before calling it a night.

pizza. because... yes. 

PHEW.
.. yes, this is backdated.. 

G'Nite!

xo | cmd