#FCCvNYRB

That Cincinnati has such a huge futbol following right now is something that I love. There's nothing really like the energy at futbol games, and although the majority of Cinci has likely never truly experienced that in its fanatic European format, I'm still amped that soccer is at least on the map now in this city. Even in our infancy USL stages, I'm proud to be here and watch them grow.

photo cred: instagram @fccincinnati

Tonight was sold OUT!

photo cred: instagram @fccincinnati

It was a muggy day outside all throughout the actual daylight hours, and it wasn't about to stop at 8pm, either. Rob and I met up with Brandon for dinner before the game, which gave us the chance to see the parade through the stadium for the first time. Cinci, I applaud your spirit!

Brandon left us shortly after we found our seats; his work had one of the suites up at the top, but we were at least able to text our string of play-triggered emotions back and forth the entire time in a group text.

In case you weren't there, or didn't watch it, or really didn't and probably still don't care, here's an overview of this evening, as seen through the lens of... well, yours truly. 

Better luck next time, boys. We came out of the gate roaring but lost a lot of it in the 2nd half. I'm sure the tides will eventually turn when the growth cycle is complete, but with record attendance of 33,250, it's clear that your fanbase is ready to back you up, win or lose. After all, this is Cincinnati ;)... 
Whew. Tomorrow is a big day for a certain kiddo.. time for some serious ZzZ's! 
xo | cms 

FCC v ROC

The alternate title for this entry was almost,

I'M SORRY, WHAT?! : An Open Letter to the USL Game Officials, and the Optometrists Who've Failed You

... and then I realized that a title like that just would't work aesthetically on the main page ;).

moderately unimpressed.

Ok, but really. Rob and I spent the majority of the morning running random errands after breakfast at PFC, agreeing that it was nice to actually be home with no pre-set agenda.

Becky touched in early afternoon and invited us last minute to the FCC game; of course we obliged, and at 7p we found ourselves 2 rows off the field watching FCC take the rhinos on home turf.

>>This is where I'd insert my rant of unchecked discontentment with all but maybe a couple of calls made out of our favor.<<


It's been easy for me to get lost in these games and forget that the majority of our home turf fanbase is comprised of newly-immersed soccer watchers, who haven't had the chance to really download the game of futbol - at least not in the way we've done so far with football, baseball and basketball. What matters, in my incredibly non-expert opinion, is that futbol's gaining some much-earned traction and attention here in the Queen City. As someone who played on the college platform on the exact same campus a decade ago, I can easily say the awareness now versus then is night and day.

love them.

And I love it.
And I love the crew that sits beside me through the adrenaline rushes and, in tonight's case, every single one of those ri.di.cu.lous yellow cards... haha.

Next time, boys.... next time. Phewwww.... g'nite!

xo | cms

!!!!! WORLD. CHAMPIONS !!!!!

Today started out in church, alongside my best friend [that's Rob, fyi..] and our congregation as we sang praise, worshiped and studied. I made it my prayer that I would maintain myself and a level head for later today in the event that the USWNT would fall to Japan in the WWC2015 finals, and I meant it. It sounds frivolous to pray for something like that, but I've been making very intentional efforts lately to BE present in mind and focus on ALL cylinders, according to the way I'm called to act, speak and behave, so praying for self-control if the ladies lost was really not an illegitimate prayer.

We headed home, took care of some errands and chores around the house and then.. it was time!

all day long. thinking about this.... all. day. long. 

I met up with Brandon a little earlier than necessary, but with good reason: When Germany played, we nearly missed kickoff because Goodfellow's was packed and we got lucky with room at Latitude's. I was determined to stay put at Goodfellow's tonight. He'd snagged the big center table, a space that would soon be shared by Jessica, Rob and then by chance, a group of people who knew Brandon. It was the perfect arrangement, and within no time, kickoff happened. 

And I... MISSED. The. First. Goal.

I mean come on! We were still getting situated with menus and drink orders, and WHO would've honestly thought that we would score in the THIRD minute?! (Not me, so that means I'm a bad fan with no faith.. I know, I know!)

So there was Lloyd, in replay, with the first goal of the final WC2015 game, and it was beautiful. Goodfellow's was roaring with fans, and just as I was trying to calm myself down, Lloyd nailed another one in the 5th minute.

UN. REAL!!! 

lloyd, you're an animal!!!

Brandon declared that Carli Lloyd was his spirit animal, and I somehow became even more nervous than I was at kick-off, because all too often we've seen strong leads [especially this early on] be dashed by an unprecedented opponent comeback. 

I didn't stay nervous very long - Holiday with her 14th minute goal, and then Lloyd with the back half LAUNCH that cleared the keeper put us at 4-0 at half-time. Holy freakin' crap, USA. You. Are. On. FIRE!!!! 

holiday & lloyd!! 

I'd been saying the entire game that I wanted 2 things:

1. Tobin to score a goal, and 

2. Wambach to sub in for at least some playing time in her last World Cup. 

Minute 54 was Tobin... 

tobin!!!!!!!!

And then in came Wambach, with an even bigger surprise trade from Lloyd, who insisted that Wambach take the captain's band to finish out this monumental game. Sure, Abby's absence from the team is going to affect me and all the years of my childhood leading up to this [we won't even talk about Rampone possibly leaving], but to see her have the captain's band for the Title game of the 2015 World Cup was about enough to make me cry.

captain wambach! 

And then Wambach insisting the band move to Rampone, for the trophy ceremony: 

christie rampone - hero from my childhood! 

[Here's the link to the article & page from which I borrowed those shots: USAToday Article]

And I would've cried, if I hadn't been so busy screaming my face off as the minutes wound down and it became clear that even with a 2-goal answer, Japan was going home in 2nd place and the USA were taking the Title of WORLD CHAMPIONS!!!!!!!! 

The amount of can't even'ing that was me tonight was basically unrivaled. 

FIVE to TWO. WORLD CUP CHAMPIONS. I am SO. FLIPPIN'. ECSTATIC!!!!! 

I wore my Lloyd shirt today. It was a solid choice to do that, and I don't think I've ever been so excited to watch a group of women play and win a game in my life.. not even at UC! [Sorry, ladies]. Lloyd, you deserved every single bit of that Golden Ball award!!! 

congratulations!!! 

And, despite other ways in which Hope Solo's made headlines, when it comes to the game, there's not a better keeper out there. Angerer is a close contender, but Hope is the brick [wall] in the box, and while some may not agree, I wholeheartedly believe she earned the Golden Glove, too! [Quick question though, where exactly is Julie Johnston's award for baddest-to-the-bone defender?!] 

yeah, solo!!! 

Guys, I'm exhausted from screaming like a psycho in the public view of the poor patrons at Goodfellow's, but a] don't care much.. sorry not sorry, and b] we just WON THE FRIKKIN' WORLD CUP!!!! So there's THAT.. and now I don't know what I'm going to be looking forward to for the next few weeks... but I'll figure it out ;) 

U-S-A!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

xo | cmd 

My Name is Monday and I CAN'T Keep Calm!

I made it a point to tell myself this about once every 45 minutes today. Why? Well, the USWNT ladies were set to play Colombia tonight, and along with the rest of our country, I really wanted to see them win.

yiiiieeee!! 

I couldn't tell you what happened at work that would've been anywhere near comparable to my excitement to head home and catch this game. I spent the early evening monitoring my TV to be sure Time Warner would hold out [it usually doesn't, I'll just be honest], but I was pleasantly surprised when it came through and brought the game into our house. Becky, Brandon, Clark, Mike & his girls Avery & Alyssa comprised our viewing party, and what. a. game it was :)

It was a wild first half, but no score to count after the first 45...

"i believe that we will win!" 

The 2nd half was a different story! We were screaming at the tv by the time 90 hit, and after the few stoppage minutes to count, we were done, and HEADED TO THE QUARTERFINALS!! :D

I'm not kidding at all when I say that my childhood is re-living itself. I'm a little girl again, glued to the TV in admiration of our women's national team. My teenage years are back in swing again, too: back to 1999 when I watched the same Rampone that's playing now, alongside the legends of Mia, Christine, Brandi and the rest. We are BACK in the World Cup run, and I am 110% CERTAIN that WE. WILL. WIN IT!!!!

See you girls again on the 26th :) 

U-S-A!!! 

xo | cmd

The Next Step | USAvSWE!!

A couple days ago, I wasn't entirely sure that Friday would ever get here... yet, at the same time I felt like it was Friday for about 3 days in a row. Weird how that works.

At any rate, Friday showed up and I was ready to see it. The sun was out all day, the daily flow went as planned [well, for the most part, which... if we're even 51% to 49%, it's considered a win sometimes.. haha], and to top it off, there was an actual lunch hour today!

I finally purchased the book 'Phenomenal' today, and although I'm less than 30 pages in, I would recommend this to any and all of you! Elisa and I gathered ourselves together for what we're expecting to be the last Friday dual outing for at least a little while, tethered our hammocks up in Ault Park, and retreated into our own little moments of paradise for about 40 minutes.

this was perfect ♥

There's been so much going on recently, just as it pertains to work alone. We've been on hyperdrive for the past few weeks, so the degree to which this was needed today was grossly understated, at best.

hammocks. books. birds. sunshine. fresh air. barefeet. 

I'm not built to stay indoors all the time.. I'm really not. I mean, who is, I suppose?
There is so much change happening right now on the "workfront." Paul, our new franchisee, sets foot in the office on Monday.. at that point, he'll take full rein of the helm here and become the leadership element of which we've been barren for quite some time now. It is an overhaul on the horizon, and while I am welcoming it with perhaps aggressively beckoning arms, it is still change. It is new, it is foreign, and it is a little scary. It is all good change, but there is always some measure of the unknown that nestles itself into whatever resolve we've already made.. and it's weirdly unraveling.

And then, I saw this as we were closing our lunch break and leaving the park:

.. & the first thing that came to mind was,

"IS GOING TO BE OKAY." 

Because honestly, it IS! I'm that notorious trip-&-free-faller, whereas most people are in either the camp of just leaping into something OR taking it one cautious and analytical step at a time. I run straight down the middle and usually end up faceplanting at the end, so I couldn't help but give that you-got-me eyeroll to the universe when I literally almost stumbled up these steps, and saw the pink chalk letters that were any and everything except random today.

I needed to absorb that although these changes start on Monday, it's cool.. 'cuz it's naturally THE. NEXT. STEP.

And it's [not] gonna be [just] okay.
It's gonna be AWESOME.
Deal? Deal.

The work day closed its doors, and on its heels opened the evening doors of WATCHING THIS:

^^ There were so. many. choices. for which one of those promo posters I would put on here, so please be proud of me for selecting only two. Haha.

USAvSWE! 

Disappointingly [< I was back and forth on whether or not that was a word; it is, FYI], while the game was a nail-biter, it ended after 3 minutes of added stoppage time, it still ended at a tied score of 0-0.

We have Megan Klingenberg to thank for that.

saving the game... literally.

The score was still at 0's by halftime, and although we had much hope for the second half, well... at least it wasn't a loss. 

halftime.... 

tied up: usa v swe | 06.12.15

Meh. It's obviously not ideal, but we'll take it. 

It's finally the weekend, and that's an added bonus! Enjoy it, fellow blogbots! 

xo | cmd

# U S W N T !

Google started my day off with that little number, just a quick reminder that today was the day that the USWNT kicked off their World Cup run in Winnipeg vs. Australia.

[I'll spare chat about my day at work; it was one of those Mondays that flew by about as fast as I could blink!]

After work, I picked up Sydni and we continued on home, where I spent the next hour both fueding and praying that Time Warner would get its act together in time for kickoff. By some miraculous spat of fortune, the "This channel is unavailable; try again later" screen transformed into pre-game coverage, with about 10 minutes to spare before kickoff.

Talk about cutting it close.

Mike, Becky and Brandon soon filled up the living room as we awaited the start of the USWNT opener against Australia.

It was off to a slow start, at first anyway..

^ Until this.

And then THIS:

And finally... this:

Ladies, ya KILLED IT!

yessssssss

That's about as much as I could handle for today... thanks for tuning in. See ya later!

xo | cmd

Bluegrass In The Park

It's almost Summer in Cinci! It's not quite here, but that's not gonna stop any of us from taking necessary steps to take full advantage of the pre-Summer fun that Cinci has to offer.

I snagged Syd up after work, and headed home to meet up with Rob; Syd made sure the evening romping started early, and as she became a colorful blur streaking through the yard, I couldn't resist some captures.

goshhhhh, this girl...love her. 

It wasn't long before the three of us were in the car en route to Washington Park, where we immediately caught up with Becky and continued on to find Brandon's selected patch of grass near the mini stage.

bluegrass in the park! | washington park, cinci, oh 

Let the fun begin!

training her up for the festival life! 

There was music, there was food, there were great friends, there was playing!

little hippie chick

Syd found the sand pit...

We caught her in action, and honestly, I'm not sure she even knew we were there... at least not for a little bit:

Hahaha :)

As the night wound down, we prepared ourselves to leave. The sun went from a gradual dip in the sky to a full eclipse, as the buildings aided in shielding its light. The water pad came to neon life at that point, making me regret not having clad Sydni in her swimsuit for the evening. Becky, per usual, came to the rescue with a middle-ground solution of walking through the dry passageways.

beautiful! 

It's been a beautiful, beautiful day & evening; I can't wait for Summer to officially settle upon us!
Happy [almost] Friday!

xo | cmd

One Day To Go

Marianne is HERE! She was here for the last half of the day yesterday, too, but she's been here all day today, and tomorrow we leave for the Smoky Mountains!

As I was at work, I caught glimpses of Mare's day, some of which she spent with Becky, and the rest that she improvised on her own like she usually does.

I lived the sunshine somewhat vicariously through Mare & Becky today, until they came and took Elisa and I away for lunch at Aladdin [delicious by the way].

aladdin mediterranean!

I was glad Elisa was able to join us for lunch; my friends are certainly a rare breed, but love welcoming others in and making them feel included/accepted. Plus, Elisa's awesome, so it worked out!

Mare & Becky dropped me off at work, where the day finished up and I headed to Milford to get Sydni. The original plan was to circle back to the zoo and meet them there for Tunes & Blooms; we didn't get to that part for a few different reasons... Sad face.

Fortunately, I was able to sneak away for a bit and rendezvous with them and Brandon on Ludlow for some more delicious eats.. this time at Marrakech. All I have to say about this place: TEA. I LOVE IT.

We disbanded after some incredible food and much laughing, and made it home with just enough horsepower left in us to finish packing bags for the ride out tomorrow.

Cheers!

xo | cmd