USWNT : Settle The Score [Quickly Approaching!!]

Ok, so I know this isn't until JUNE, but it is never too early to start preemptively planning where I'll be to watch this:

(via FOX Soccer)

 >>>>>>>>>> Watch the full VIDEO HERE! <<<<<<<<<<

Gahhh.. I CAN'T. My love for the USWNT is unwavering.

For starters, there is the CLASSIC:

abby wambach

^^ If you don't know who Abby Wambach is, then you've not been watching US Women's soccer for the past like, 15 years. At all. She's a staple for the USWNT and one of the baddest there is.

hope solo

^^ MMkay, so first there was Briana Scurry, the USWNT keeper who is forever stamped in my childhood memories of watching and cheering for the team back when Chastain, Hamm & Lilly were the ferocious forces to be reckoned with. Now, it's Hope Solo, and I'm behind this woman 110%, too. She's beautiful, she's a badass and she carries her team just like they carry her.

And then there's these three, "newer" additions to the USWNT, but as lethal as ever, and some of my new favorite stars to watch out there:

megan rapinoe. alex morgan. sydney leroux

Girls, you're on FIRE. I can't wait to watch ya'll in June. #USWNT!!

In a few weeks, most people I know are going to be setting up NCAA brackets for March Madness; that's their thing, and this is mine. I'm not nearly as much a basketball person as I wish I could legitimately say, but I'm okay with that.

#USWNT.. can't wait!

xo | cmd

Open House & Painting!

So yesterday, I was too caught up in sharing my excitement over Kalyn's birthday to touch on the fact that Carri and I left the office around 2 am today, after an all-nighter preparing for our office open house. Yeah... that was today.

I have to extend a huge note of gratitude to Rob, for coming along as well to assist in the late-night set-up of our space for today. Between hanging streamer's from the ceiling, posting all necessary signage, cleaning the cabinets and ensuring that all the necessary amenities were in their rightful places, it was an effort we had underestimated, and therefore were left at the last minute to accomplish. 

So to say that Carri and I were dragging a bit today was pretty fair. I think we did pretty good up until the early afternoon, when the flow of traffic finally started to slow down, and the day showed signs of ending. There was a lag period of a couple hours between the meat of today and its end, but that wasn't all there would be to it. 

cori. carri. elisa. 

 

Whew! MANY thanks to all who attended today's open house and proved our hard work's worth! It was a huge undertaking, but it was a success in the books and we all had a great time. Thanks again!

A while back, Elisa and I had arranged a surprise for Carri's birthday. We weren't initially certain what to do, but an ad on Groupon caught my eye one day for a Paint Night, and there really wasn't a second thought to it. We signed up for it, and scheduled it for tonight [originally, our open house was scheduled for yesterday, but schedules have a way of challenging us, amiright?]

So we closed up our office and made our way just up the road to Rookwood, where the class was set up in the back room of the Rookwood Pub. 

Ummm... WHY haven't I done this with friends before?! I am no artist, at least not visually the way my mom, sister & several friends are [no, I am much more successful at expression via literary & needle-based crafts.. haha]. It didn't matter, because the class was purposed as a relaxing outlet, with plenty of room for individual interpretation. Love, love, love. 

Well, that being said, the day is actually over [entirely] now, and there is a bed calling my name.

It's more my body screaming to go to the bed, than the bed calling me, but either way, that'll do for tonight. Thank Heavens tomorrow is Friday!! 

xo | cmd

Happy Birthday, Mom [No, Not *That* One, Hah..]! ♥♥

I don't even know where to start.

kalyn. freakin'. powell. 

It's one of my best friends' birthdays today, and I can't begin to explain how much I love this girl and wish I could be there in the Gorge to celebrate with her.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KALYN!!

This calls for a photo montage, and of course a corresponding, in-no-particular-order list of reasons [or moments in time] why this girl is one of my favs. Enjoy. ♥

1. She shares my love for music. Nevermind the time we together butchered a Laura Story song at church [we went on to NAIL it the second time around]. We sang together at her mom's wedding, and I'd say made up for it then :)

(Speaking of moms - here's one of my favorites of her & my favorite woman ever [[my mom]] dancing to some sort of music on a canal front in San Antonio.... hahaha) - 

hilarious. 

#25

2. We have no shame. Like, none. Like, the time Kalyn turned 25 and we went out in public dressed like this. On purpose. And her mom had to "assume liability" for ME, because the servers at the Mexican restaurant thought my ID was fake. I am 15 months older than Kalyn. Haha.

journey & steve miller band!

3. Concerts. Because concerts are awesome, and I don't know many people who don't enjoy them.. it's a matter of finding people who love the same music as you do. 

4. Traveling. Slash Moving. Slash Road tripping. Slash adventure. That one's from the time Kalyn up and moved from Ohio to Arizona; we're in Illinois in this picture, from when she stopped by to pick me up on the way. We ventured out over the next three days to Phoenix. 

border of colorado & new mexico

5. Nature. We love it. We embrace it. We explore it. We breathe it in and feel whole again. 

6. Action shots [& other miscellaneous photographs]. How many times have you tried to take a picture like this with multiple people, and it never seems to work out? Well... Kalyn & I never have that problem. We're mutually weird .. and apparently coordinated, as well.

winter.

summer!

7. Seasonal Schtuff: Whether it's snow or sun, we're ALL in. She's that friend that doesn't gripe about it being too cold, too hot, too humid, too whatever. We're spontaneous people, so it's rare that we ever "plan" these types of things out, but we charge a day headfirst and usually end up having a blast anyway. 

8. YOGA. We love yoga. Nobody said we were professionals at it [yet], but we'll try it anywhere at anytime.. even if it does mean we fall face first out of a canoe into the river. #crushedit.  

9. Animals - We love those, too! I'd actually forgotten about that ^^ until I dug through pictures for this blog entry - we found ourselves in San Antonio for a weekend a few years back and spent some time at SeaWorld... #DOLPHINS. That is all ;). 

before & after..

10. Good AND Bad: She's one of those friends who doesn't run away when there's a bad day. I don't know if by definition that would actually be a friend if he or she does do that when the storm hits, but over the past several years, she's been one of the few who runs to her friends when they're in need, not away. That particular day was a pretty awesome one gone pretty wrong in a matter of minutes [I am smiling like a delusional tard after totaling my bike into a tree...wearing that. Don't ask. #youngandWAYdumb].

11. Fitness, fitness, fiiiiitness! Or at least pretending to be. Haha. ^ That's the Run Like Hell a few years ago, in which we dressed up like ghosts from Pacman and joined a team of about 6 others to complete the entire game cast for 3 miles. Hilarious, if you'd been there to watch us run without the use of our arms :p 

hahahahaha

12. Our luck.. is usually spot on awful. Yep, that's right. This particular time was when we hopped into a friend's outdoor hammock and BROKE it. Nothing says, 'DIIIIIIIIET NOOOOW' quite like busting all but 2 strings on a 20-something string outdoor hammock made to support like, 4-500 pounds. Between the two of us, we've had some pretty solid moments where this type of luck has translated into real life, too... which...well, whatever. We plowed through and moved on. Haha. 

SO, BASICALLY.... 

This girl deserves all the BEST for today, and for the next year - Cheers to it being the BEST of the BEST yet.

best. :) 

Happy birthday, crazy lady. Love you!

compilation from facebook ;) 

xo | cmd 

More Panama Prep!

Once again, inching closer & closer to Panama!

I received this today, which I already love, and which will be used absolutely outside of the Panama trip:

woohoo! 

office gear.. haha

^ My flowy shirt and flowy other shirt thing [I'm such a fashion major, I know... ] make me look like a 400 pound flying squirrel here.. just ignore that part because this little purple jogging band is just .. awesome :).

Here's what looked like on Amazon: 

Fun! By the way, it does accommodate my S3, with its case, along with my keys and a card or two. Just in case you were wondering - it's great! I had one a while back but it disappeared somewhere in the midst of the 5 or 6 moves I did within a few years. *sad face. 

Anyway, tonight was our standard meeting; we went over some of our DuoLingo progress [that's right folks, we're all re-training on Spanish, haha], and finalized our itinerary for the week that we'll be gone.

On the list of things I still need to buy:

Buy spray
Water repellent spray
[New] Water bottle
Batteries [for head lamp]
Granola bars!

There's a longer list, but we're almost there. Almost.

Counting down!

xo | cmd

SonRise Women's Gathering : Missions Preparation!

Tonight, I joined the women of SonRise to represent our small team of people heading out in a few short weeks to Panama. Our goal tonight was to gather together, fellowship, pray over the trip and the team and put together the care bags for each separate trip. [There is a separate trip heading out to Haiti in April, as well!]

ready, set, go! 

goodies for haiti ♥

For the Panama trip, we put together the little baggies containing Salvation Bracelets, which we will take with us and share with the Ngobe people. It's an awesome, simple little project that I'd forgotten about until tonight, that provides an easy, daily reminding visual for the wearer of what it represents.

salvation bracelets!

If you're unfamiliar with, or like me and need a refresher now and then :) - of what the six different colors of the salvation bracelet represent, here's a quick visual for you!

colors of the salvation bracelet

1. Black - Sin

2. Red - Blood of Christ

3. White - Cleansing/Purity

4. Blue - Baptism

5. Green - Growth/Development in Christ

6. Yellow - Heaven! 

Here's the individual breakdown, in case you'd like that too visual, too! 

1. Black - Sin

2. Red - Blood of Christ

3. White - Cleansed/Pure

4. Blue - Baptism

5. Green - Growth & Development in Christ 

6. Heaven [Our Ultimate GOAL!]

What a great way to start off the week! Tomorrow we've got our team meeting; it's amazing to see how close we are getting to our launch date. Please, please please continue to pray for my team and me as we inch closer to heading out into the mountains of Panama! 

xo | cmd 

Headaches & Creampuffs

1. I'm getting old. Okay, maybe it's not so much that as it is the fact that I am not nearly conditioned as I ought to [still] be. My work as a Clydesdale yesterday, hauling Sydni back up the sledding hill on her sled about ten times caught up with me first thing this morning, in the form of a muscle migraine that wouldn't relent until about 8:30 tonight. [Awesome. :/ ]

notes to self.

So there's that. I spent the day curled up in a sedentary ball on the couch, absorbing a few hours of cartoons as Sydni patiently [bless this child, seriously] passed the time her mama was out of commission by coloring some gorgeous pictures as a healing offering. I have the sweetest girl, ever. At one point, she disappeared to the kitchen and returned with a bottle of Smart Water:

"I brought this for you Mommy, because sometimes when I have a headache, I just need water and then I feel all better.. so this can help you feel all better." 

Really? What I have done to deserve this girl's love?  I almost cried. I hugged her and told her that I promised to make up this lost weekend time as soon as my head would allow; she didn't seem phased at all, but rather tucked the blanket around me and told me she would color a pretty picture for me to feel better. I'm proud. Humbled. Amazed. Thankful. ♥♥♥

I am also thankful for my fiancé, who dealt with my lame existence today, and even took it upon himself to tend to the dishes, laundry, light house cleaning, dogs and Sydni while I was busy in my disoriented state of self-pity. He deserves accolades far more often than I openly acknowledge; he is my hero in more ways than one. [Thank you, Rob ♥]

I was awake but still belittled with a migraine when Becky made a last-minute appearance; she came bearing cream puffs from one of the newest potential Findlay vendors:

you serious, right now? 

Dangit, Becky! These things were delicious!
^^ Sometimes I want to loathe her for the things she subjects me to eating. Haha. She made up for the introduction of these decadent things by entertaining mini for part of the time she was there. As soon as she came through the door, she was greeted with, "MISS BECKYYYYY!!!!"

syd loves this lady! 

Miss Becky's a favorite character in this house, that's for sure :)
We made a trade: two creampuffs in exchange for the extra crockpot we had stowed away in a cabinet. Fair enough, right? Haha.. Becky left for the evening and it was time for us all to retire the weekend.

hello? 

^^ Jesse being here for the weekend warranted Sydni's bed fort being taken down so he could use the room without clothes-lining himself in the middle of the night. This was not a Sydni-approved move, so tonight, it was a mosh pit of stuffed animals that did the trick of warding off all the scary shadows and whatnot. My little bug sure does have an imagination [which will greatly benefit her later in life]; we're still working on debunking the kid-myths of bed monsters goblins ;).

#worksinprogress.

Good night, from us to you!

xo | cmd

SLEDDING! :)

So the weather folks weren't kiddin' when they told us we'd get snow last night. I woke up this morning to let the pups out, and this is what we had:

goooood morning! 

yes, that's right. 10 inches on the patio table!

just in case ya didn't believe me... haha

Haha. So much for the light flurries we've had up to this point! I know I'm not alone in that I was pretty excited to see this much snow on the ground; I am pretty sure it's because we didn't have to go anywhere, and had the day at our leisure.

I whipped up scrambled eggs while Rob took care of the turkey bacon... topped it off with some fruit & toast and we were all set. The boys bundled up and headed out in search of sleds - it's funny because we did the exact same thing last year when Jesse came to visit. We wound up that time building a fort and a snowman in the front yard, which worked out just fine. This year though, we were determined to do some sledding.

They did their duty of hunting down some sleds, and before long, we were out the door and off to Stanbery Park just down the road. The place was packed with others who'd had the same idea, so we joined in and indulged our inner child as Sydni led the way.

before & after :) haha

love this girl! 

The guys thoroughly enjoyed themselves, too!

And then Sydni and I took a few runs:


This is the first time Rob & I have gone sledding together. I was reminded today that you are never too old for some good old fashioned sled-riding. Amen?!

And you're never too old to make snow angels, either! ♥

snow angels with the mini 

Sydni was a champ today, taking on the big hill by herself at least three times once she got comfortable in the sled. Jesse & Rob of course had a snowball fight and we eventually managed a group photo.

had a blast! 

We made a quick stop at the store for some chicken noodle soup ingredients, and before we made it home, we had a sleeper on our hands ;)

zonked!

What a blast we've had so far today! We're home now, bellies full, sledding completed, and three rambunctious pups to go along with the energy Syd brings to the table. It's a mad house in here, and I don't know that I'd have it any other way.

What an awesome Saturday!

xo | cmd