Well this is backdated a few hours, because well.. it just is.
ANYWAY - Look ya'll, it's a NEW year, so that means new things, for everyone! (Apparently today was a busy day; I'll get to that.)
Rewind to Christmas day, when an add popped up on Instagram from a tattoo artist in Cincinnati. That turned into me emailing from the car, and a short string of correspondence that then lead booking an appointment the next week.
Just. DO. THE. THING, right?!
ready to go do the thing!
And so I did the thing! I emailed him three concept pictures, two of which were pulled out of the Pinterest black hole, and one was of his own work, because I needed his brand of line work and detail to be part of this.
Fast forward to now (well, last night, technically), when I walked into GUTS in Price Hill, where I'd hang out for the next five hours. Oh, and GUTS stands for Get Up Tattoo Society. GUTS :).
goodbye naked arm!
stencil on
FINISHED!
♥♥♥♥
The obvious MVP of the night here was Austin, for giving me the first large tattoo I'll have.. and for having the lightest hand I've ever experienced during a tattoo. The other MVP's were the handful of people who made themselves available to talk me out of my pre-chair nerves and hold conversation with me throughout that 5-hour session: You guys are the best.
But just before 11:30, we wrapped up work.. and Ta-Daaaaa!
phase one is done!
The fact that I got there at 6pm was most definitely a good thing; I would've been there for 13 hours probably, if I'd been allowed, and my arm would've been wrapped entirely when I walked out. Oh well - gives me a good reason to go back!
While I was there, Britta was in Chicago getting her septum pierced!
septum!
Brandi was getting a bunch of hair cut off...
(she's pretty either way, duh!)
So naturally, I'm now mulling over piercings and drastic haircuts, in addition to the design for the next phase of my sleeve. I'm open to suggestions!
Cheers to all of us and all of you who are doing new things to start this year!
Today was a long, long day.
Today was also an absolutely amazing day :).
First things first: Sydni's first day of 3rd grade. I am not an emotional wreck. *Rinse & repeat*
---------In my defense, I was entirely fine with the entire thing until she said to me,
"Mommy. I am walking fast because I am excited. Not like, because I'm trying to leave you behind or anything. I really wish you could come in here with me."
... I swear. That kid can ruin me... haha.
my 3rd grader!
my ♥.
♥♥♥♥
We joke that Sydni has an entourage everywhere she goes; it's the truth.
sisters!
aw :)
Parents & teachers everywhere: I'm praying for you. I'm praying that every. single. one of our kiddos finds joy and progress while they're at school. I pray that they find classmates that will encourage them, accept them and challenge them in the way that helps them realize their best self. I pray that they'll be safe. That they'll feel welcomed and protected. That we as parents can do our parts to encourage them and reinforce what they've learned at school. That we'll be involved. I pray for Syd's and all the other teachers - that you'll be able to stay healthy these first couple weeks especially [germs, x infinity ;)], and that your classrooms will be safe, cultivating environments for your students but also for you, too. I pray that you continue to have the passion and patience that I. [most often, if I'm being honest] Do. Not.. for the swarms of our kiddos that you'll see every day over this next year. That we as parents will help you when you need it, and in ways that set positive examples for our kids. I pray for all the kids going back, from preschool to grad school: You've got this, and you'll move mountains! Amen!
That brought us to the second half of today: work, of course, but immediately followed by a group outing to Cincinnati Segway! Nobody on my team has ever done this before, so we went into it a little apprehensive of our own balancing abilities.
You guys.. I haven't laughed this hard in a long time. We were so close to a couple serious spills, but fortunately they didn't happen.
.. and it began.
We did the welcome video, met our guides and donned the standard and quite flattering tour attire:
stef modeling the getup
we've got this :)
practice makes perfect... or something close enough to it ;)
and we're off .. haha
Some footage to go along with it..
express takes on segway
eden park lookout
team!
i really think i've got it now?
your cinci east staffing consultants! ♥
rami :)
And last but certainly not least.. this hilarious Hawaiian tour guide..
aloha lilly!
I'm wiped. I couldn't have imagined a funnier night to end a great day. Hopefully nobody's too sore in the morning ;).
Where did this summer go? I saw a quote earlier today or yesterday somewhere on Instagram:
June & July lasted 4 seconds.
(They're not wrong).
I feel like this Summer has flown straight past me; I gathered that much when June hit and I was in Panama, and then proceeded to spend the rest of June out of state on the weekends. July wasn't much different. Now we're here, it's August 1st, and today was a GOOD DAY to slow down and enjoy it.
I got drafted to head northward for my office's weekly interview round-up in Warren County. Ashley's on vacation this week, and I'm the next closest geographically, so off I went this morning to Lebanon. It was a standard morning of interviews, new employee orientations... all the fun stuff that comprises my day-in-day-out.
AND THENNNN..
helloooooooo, gorgeous!
I'd never been to the heart of Lebanon, so I typed in 'coffee' and waited to see what happened. As it turns out, there are at least four coffee shops/houses in cute little Lebanon, so I picked the first one and saved the rest to explore another day.
I picked right.
This is exactly what I picture when I think of quirky little cafe/coffee joints: It was tucked into a row of street-side businesses, decorated like a parlour, and covered with chalkboards and coffee-themed things. The board inside the doorway reads, 'FUN FACT: We have a different flavored coffee EVERY DAY!' And obviously this was where I was supposed to come, because I have an irrational desire for this stuff.
^^ lampshade ceiling ^^
Approaching the counter to order food is a serious affair for me, although not as serious as trying to find a place to order the food in the first place. So I asked what the most popular dishes were on the menu, and was told that both the chicken salad sandwich and cornbread salad were award-winning (literally) items. Let's DO IT, because I am in no way a fan of making my own decisions at a food counter.
how your food is delivered at royce cafe & coffeehouse: ADORABLY.
I've never had so much non-salady salad on one plate. Frankly, I never even knew that was an option.
And then I saw this, which will be promptly displayed in my office when I get back to the homefront. I made it a point to thank the owner after this entire lunch experience for doing this, because not only is it a step and statement of faith to add scripture to a lunch order, but it told me that they'd thought well enough about how to encourage people, even if just for a second.
love, love, love.
On my way out, I ordered a Red Velvet Mocha, after again having asked for the most popular vote. Sure, let's do it... and omg this was the right choice kthanksi'llbebackbye.
wifi password, also my life motto.
SO FOLKS, if you're ever in or around Lebanon (OH), GO HERE. :)
And if you're ever in or around Eastgate (or Fairfield, don't forget!), go to Jungle Jim's and definitely buy escargot shells five-foot long dog ropes and mochi and most definitely 3 giant buckets of pop boba.
the filipino food aisle...
Say yes to dog toys. Especially those that are taller than you and can withstand the force of two 70 pound dingos at home.
Today was a beautiful day, and August is here.
Let's do it!
One of my favorite things is a collection of people who can suffer joyfully through something together. One of my not-so-favorite things is that the reason we're suffering is because midwest weather seems to be having a midlife crisis. As a result, I along with a bucket of my fellow Ohioans are feeling the glowing effects: sinus infections, colds, flu, bronchitis, strep and delightfully-disgusting things that are coughed up first thing in the morning.
Beautiful visual, eh?
What I do look forward to on Mondays, for now at least:
And no, I didn't mean jumping ship after the standard Monday [although fitting, yes!]; Mondays mean new episodes of Shadowhunters, and I think it goes without saying I'm a hooked fan. I'm still 110% surprised at how much I don't hate all the plot departures in the show (vs. the books). When we got hit with Lydia in season 1, I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to handle these, but now that there's been a shift change with the writers, all the non-booky things seem to be weaving a course of their own that's still comprehensive, and dare I say it's kind nice?
^ If you have no idea what I'm talking about, you really need to read the books. Honestly, I'd start with The Infernal Devices and work your way through those before The Mortal Instruments. It's all just... so good. So. Good.
SPEAAAAKING of TMI, this this THIS THIS THIS THISSSSS came today and I'm tripping over myself in excitement. I've been hunting this specific edition of Lady Midnight down since just before CHRISTMAS, when I spotted it on a couple of my favorite book instagrammers' feeds (bookstagrammers?). I learned it's a limited edition, and mostly specific to the UK. The Book Depository website told me it was out of stock, and the only available copy I could find in the U.S. via Ebay was going for over $200. I think not. THEN, just when I had a friend living in London who offered to procure this from a Waterstones and send it to me, Book Depository emailed me to let me know it was back in stock, and well.. the rest is history. This gem arrived today, from Australia, and it is even more beautiful than I'd imagined! ♥♥♥♥
i. am. swooooning.
#nerdstuff #goldenrunes
It's so.. beautiful. And it adds so nicely to the mantle shelf, which speaking of that.. is going away hopefully this weekend, if not very soon thereafter. The last thing I need is to replace a broken mantle and whatever book damage happens when gravity has had enough :p
So I'm outta here; it's time for the episode. One of these days I'll channel my inner Christine Riccio and do a book or episode review. We'll see. We'll see.
So Rob's never been to a pro soccer game, and now that Cincinnati has established on of our own, I'll have the privilege of taking him to his first ever, and on home turf, during an inaugural season, no less. That's a once in a lifetime thing, last time I checked ;).
established 2016
On my lunch break, I made a run downtown to the mini storefront for FC, where I found I was only the first of what would become a crowd in that small of a space. I came away with some new gear for Rob and myself, that will be saved in the closet until we head out that day for the game.
hi, fc!
I'm pumped to head down and watch this team play; I can't believe we're this far into the season and I haven't been to a game yet, but that ends asap - can't wait! The countdown's on - Seeeeee you there!
I woke up with an especially ambitious spirit this morning, and took off on a run to begin the day.
Yes, I did that on purpose, and No, I'm not ill. In fact, Rob even jumped in on the last lap, much to my pleasant surprise. Thanks for supporting my crazy ideas of morning fitness, love ♥.
it's a happy day to feel happy :D
We cleaned up a bit [& by that, I mean changing clothes; don't pretend like I took a shower.. that's silly] & headed downtown to meet up with Becky at CityFlea513. I love this time of the year for this specific reason, and although I don't attend every weekend of Flea, I do love drinking it in yearly.
photo cred: insta@mrs_falhaber
photo cred: insta@thecityflea
& quite possibly my favorite shot that I've seen so far [as my phone was buried in the bottom of my cotopaxi this entire trip >:(... ]
photo cred: insta@timeandagainshop
The best part of CF513, besides all the crazy cool and crafty vendors, was running into Lauren & Sara, two sisters who I still hold dear after nearly 14+ years since our silly college days. They now run Mixie Studios, and have the most adorable collection of unique goodies for you, so if you plan on CFlea513'ing at any point this summer, make sure you go see them.. and BUY SOMETHING!
sara [lauren not pictured :( ]
For the sake of throwbacks, a bonus:
haha.. oh boy. circa.. 2007.
Fortunately, La & Sa still look pretty much the same.. beautiful as ever, and even more fortunately, I finally figured out what eyebrows were and that they should be left on your face. Sheesh.
Anywho, it was a beautiful day to be out and about, and although Rob & I had every intention of the additional jazz festival in the evening, we both awoke from "short naps" about 4 hours after sitting down on separate sides of the room, and by that point well..
Happy Saturday, blogbots. I hope you're able to get out there and enjoy it!
We've recently remodeled Sydni's bedroom, a process which included wall-painting, furniture building, hammock hanging and the general reorganizing of everything else she owns. We'll soon be adding decorations, a desk/workspace, reading nook and whatever else we can dream up to make that space truly hers.
The only thing we didn't really take into full account with this was that our dogs - Stella especially - can limber up the stairs of her new loft bed, but cannot make the final jump up onto the bed itself. The horizontal space on the landing platform between the wall and the bed doesn't allow for any dog-conducive ramp addition, which has left poor Stella stranded like a castaway from joining Sydni at night.
I've caught her the past few days lying on the carpet floor directly under the loft; if I were viewing from the ceiling and had overlapping images of Sydni on the bed and Stella on the floor, I'm certain they would align exactly as if they were sleeping side by side.
This is something I didn't realize until today, when I woke up to find Sydni in our room, having toted a pillow and blanket from hers, asleep on the dog bed, with Stella splayed out beside her. Something in my heart broke this morning, for this aging dog of ours who wants nothing more than to be with her little human 24 hours a day, and for Sydni, whose heart is made of pure gold when it comes to loving animals. It hit me also in that moment that the biggest hearts often live in the smallest spaces.
I don't know how this managed to grab ahold of my senses in the way that it did today, but I am suddenly acutely aware of the fact that my dogs can't sleep with their smallest commander - which in itself is fine, but it's a stark note that they are in fact aging, losing agility and no longer bouncing hairballs of puppy energy [ok, well maybe Sasha's an exception on most days, but still]...
Really, I don't know where I'm going with this, other than it looks like we'll be working out something to make the co-sleeping arrangements in Sydni's room both kid and pet-friendly, and go from there. I just.... I really wanted to pen out my thoughts for a later day, for whenever I start to feel frustrated with my pets for something they've done, that they're just hopelessly, unconditionally devoted to us and want nothing more than to have that same love returned.
Love your pets today, bloggers. We forget often just how much they love us.
[[Yes, even cats. That's a diatribe for another day, I know; they're fickle, brooding & moody little mysteries, but they do love us just the same, in their twisted little ways.. haha. #ButIDigress]]
The rest of today wasn't so awful, either :).
after work.. happy little bits of the universe
Small group was tonight, and it goes without saying that these are often my favorite evenings. We're working our way through the Old Testament, and tonight we processed through Ezra and all that it has to offer. Some challenging - and very much eye-opening - material! I would highly recommend reviewing Ezra if it's been a while. If you can get through the lineage of chapter 2, you'll be great! :)
small group: ezra!
Post small group, we made a pit stop at Orange Leaf, because we pass the daggone place on the way home and WHY NOT?! Haha. Also, BOBA. That's right, BOBA.
boba for daaaays...
I hope the rest of you've had a wonderful week so far, and that it only gets better from here.
