Off Kilter

Today was weird for me.

I didn't sleep exceedingly well following the rather emotional day yesterday, so I woke up today with this fuzzy feeling of sleepiness, mixed with a subtle sense of emptiness, and to top it off, cramps. Happy Saturday, y'all. To boot, Sydni ran in the room and bounded onto the bed like a bull in a china shop and kneed me right in the temple. At 8:30am.

Teeeeeriffiiiiic... haha..
But there are worse things, I know.

Even so, while Rob knuckled down and disappeared into the garage & driveway for the better part of the day, I remained inside, teeth brushed but really no other progress than that, finishing up wedding invitations and some of the other miscellaneous housekeeping things.

things i do on days like this..... :o|

And I watched a Lifetime movie [that's when you really know that you're in a funk]. These things just need to run their course; there's no need to fight them. Haha.

Soon enough though, just as I expected it to, the haze lifted and I started coming back to myself, in small fragments, until I was ready to rally the team and have a family outing to tear us all away from the house for a few hours.

this fancy little dinner doll.. 

my love, my best friend ♥

Dinner at Paxton's was a fun outing for the three of us, but it was immediately trumped by dessert next door. If you've never been to Loveland, you'll want to visit Paxton's. And if you're visiting Paxton's, you'll want to stop by Loveland Sweets before or after that ;).

loveland sweets ♥♥

Sydni made the joke, "MOMMY. Tell Nana I ate ALL THIS CANDY... "

She followed that up with, "Just kidding, Mom. She would have a heart attack." Hahahaha.. 

She's right, but the fact that she thought up that joke, knowing my mom (aka Nana) the way she does, she certainly proved that she got her Pappy's wit & jabby spirit, and knows a good jab opportunity when she sees one ;). 

All in all, not a bad way to end an otherwise iffy day. I'm still rattled by yesterday, but it's just that much more perspective to prove to me that my life is pretty good & I am very, very blessed. 

Good night & Happy Saturday, blogbots ♥

xo | cmd

Dave.

This one's a little harder.

It's Friday; that's reason to celebrate when we're talking about the work week. It started off like most Fridays do, with that weekly added perk to each of us, knowing that there were just hours left until another weekend. And so it went, for the first couple hours, until one of my clients called to ask me if I was 'doing all right...'

Doing all right? Well, yeah, of course I am - it's Friday! 
... But I didn't know. I didn't know that he'd be calling me under the assumption that I did know about the passing of my former franchisee, boss & friend, Dave. Apparently this happened on Tuesday, after an accident that had left him in a coma for some odd days prior to Tuesday.

I had no idea. I had no words, and left my poor client hanging on a promise to call him back after I collected myself. I called Chris first, then Elisa, and gathered myself enough to finish the rest of the day until the visitation this afternoon.

It's surreal to think that he has passed. There were so, so many things I revered and respected about Dave, as a person, as a businessman and entrepreneur. It hurts to try and grasp the pain and loss that Lizzy, Nancy & the rest of the family is experiencing now, and it hurts to know that he is gone.

dave :) 

a "typical" laughing day with dave!

My heart breaks for their family & friends, and for everyone who has now lost him as part of our community. I'm forever indebted to Dave for providing me the avenue to move back to Cincinnati when I did almost 4 years ago, and for the opportunity to be a part of establishing our office from the ground up. I learned many things from Dave, both professionally and practically, and I will always give him credit where it's due for that short, short window of time that we had him as part of our little Express family. 

express office 2712 | sales summit 2014
cori. elisa. dave | nashville, tn

Dave, you are so very missed. I'm thankful for having been brought into your path and learning from what we did. We'll all see you again one day. Until then, keep an eye on us and know that you are missed. 

I have hopes that the weekend will improve from here, but I'm left feeling a little empty after learning of this, and seeing Lizzy & Nancy for the first time in months today. My prayers for the family, and for a soul lost all too soon. 

Peace, light & comfort.. 

xo | cmd

Happy Workaversary To Me!

Once upon a time, I started a job with this company called Express: 

my first express family : cincinnati east, oh
photo circa 2010

I'll never forget it - March 15, 2010: It was a Monday, and it was my first day on this new job I'd found on Craigslist, at a place I'd never heard of a month before that. I jumped in with both feet and remember very clearly my first full week at Express Employment Professionals: computer training [yay!]. It was an overload of information, a time I look back at and laugh at how many pages of notes I took, on things I wouldn't need to know, really. I had no idea where that job would take me, or if it would lead to anything at all that would be stable, or permanent.

When the news came down that I'd be moving to Illinois, I lost a lot of tears grasping the idea of leaving behind one of the best teams on which I'd ever been. And then, I met Marc & Diana, and became part of their team as a transfer. As part of that team, I would go on to experience almost 3 years of team restructuring, process adjustment and even an office expansion. I became a staffing consulant, and eventually grew into a sr. staffing consultant role. I met Ali, who is now one of my best friends, as a product of working together there, and still to this day have lasting communication and friendships with that team. 

my 2nd express family: glen carbon, il
photo circa 2012

The decision to move back to Ohio wasn't the easiest thing in the world, but out of that came the opportunity for me to work alongside Dave and Elisa [& some other endearing characters: Nancy, Lizzy & Nikki.. and then some other more questionable thankfully short-lived cast members, but I digress >_<...] 

my 3rd express family: cinci central [part 1]
photo circa 2014

It wouldn't become the longterm Cinci Central family unit, but the time I spent working with each of them is invaluable.

Then came the revolution; Dave sold the business to Paul, Elisa went to grad school in Chicago and the last toxic cell was cut from the team all in the span of a couple months. From there was born the new and battle-ready Cinci Central team. It's a world of difference in dynamic, but we're steadying the foundation together and it's amazing to see how far we've come!

my [technically] 4th express family: cinci central [part 2!]
+ our significant others, along with chris & deb!
photo circa 2016

It's been a crazy ride: 3 different offices, 4 franchise owners, a multitude of different co-workers, events, seminars and the like. I wouldn't trade it for anything; this place is just as much a part of me as the 8+hours we invest into it daily throughout the week. I never would've envisioned myself working for a company like this, but now that I do, I'm grateful for every chaotic minute and wouldn't have it any other way. 

Six years later, here I am - still in one piece and ready to see what's next. 

Let's go, year 7! 

xo | cmd

That's a WRAP

Ya know, for a short week, this one was pretty stuffed!

Today was Dave's last day as active franchise owner for my office. It's a bittersweet thing to recognize, given the near two years of ebb-and-flow progression and digression that has led us to this point. My heart is happy to see him step into full retirement, and to know that our business will no longer serve as an added distraction to the things he hopes to accomplish from here on out. I do have some admitted sadness to see him go; there are so many things about Dave that we have come to love, and he has certainly been a part of our small office family. 

Dave, we wish you the best in your next ventures. Thank you for all that you've given us through your LLC and of course, for lunch today! What an excellent way to celebrate YOU! 

elisa with the mexican guac
cori with the thai chicken
..... typical 

It seemed as though our final farewell was far less ceremonial than we'd originally envisioned, but the time came and went, and that was that. It was a typical Friday on all other cylinders, with the weekend finally in our hands. 

pop... pop.. pop pop pop popppp....

Dinner plans took a spontaneous turn, and we found ourselves with bellies full at Los Cazadores. We enjoyed our casual family dinner date before heading back here to enjoy an otherwise uneventful night with each other :).

Here's to the weekend! 

xo | cmd

Mama's Birthday | E&C Out & About

Today was a GREAT day! 

1. It's my mama's BIRTHDAY!

love you, mama!!

It goes without saying that my mom is my greatest inspiration as a matriarch, and to say she's also the most vibrant woman I've ever known is also a solid fact. She's the best, and for her today I wish the best! Happy BIRTHDAY, beautiful mama! Another year YOUNG! ;)

2. At work, our marketing team [aka, Dave & Carri] hit the road in full force, and I have to say I'm pretty proud to be translating some creativity across the board into work things. Carri & Dave went to town [literally!] with all of this while Elisa and I kicked it into high gear at the job fair. How's that for teamwork? ;)

express-style greetings! 

3. And let's be honest, Elisa and I grabbed some grub+bev after the job fair. Cincinnati, you've outdone yourself again :)

tom+chee! 

+ a pitstop at coffee emporium ♥

furry bike! 

fun fun & fun :)  

We headed back to the office, where the rest of the day flew on and found all of us hanging out [well, working, but you know] well after the 5:00 hour had passed us by. It's the price of progress, but very well worth it].

Whew! :)
We're halfway there, week!

xo | cmd 

Photo Shoots & Cold Pressed Juices

One of my favorite things about Cincinnati is that, especially now, it's constantly evolving and adding new dots to the map. Ten years ago, OTR wouldn't have drawn any legitimate interest from many people, but now it's a hub for some of the most delicious and attractive places here in the city.

Today started off with all smiles anyway; it was our 2015 marketing kickoff today, which meant dolling up in Express gear and bringing our A-game smiles. I love these opportunities because for us, it's never just pictures - we have a blast doing this sort of thing and inevitably have some hilarious outtakes when we're done.

Here's a couple of the highlights that we chose for our New Year's greeting card!

i ♥ this team!

It's been said that your work family can definitely be your second family; I don't know about the rest of you, but that couldn't be more true for me and this group of people. These ladies [& one gent] are the people with whom I spend most of the weekday daylight with, and I am beyond grateful that they are who they are and that we can blend the way we do.

Oh, and of course: where there are photo opps, there is always yoga.... duh!

elisa & cori : office yogis! 

Goooo figure ;)

Aaaanyway, once we'd reorganized everything that had been displaced for the sake of photography, Elisa suggested we try out a new place in Hyde Park Square: The Weekly Juicery.

the weekly juicery | hyde park, cincinnati, oh

Now, before you jump to conclusions off whatever preconceived notion you have about juice bars, let me say this: You're probably both right and wrong.

the weekly juicery | hyde park, cincinnati, oh 

If you're in the camp of people who think these places are frilly, overpriced watering holes for the privileged yogis with a weird obsession for $10 shots of wheat grass, well.... you're 90% there. This place is placed strategically across the street from a Lulu Lemon shop, on a block of retailers that yes, cater to the more... refined shopper, if you will. If you are one of those folks who frequents that level of spending on the reg, well hey, good for you - I'm not knocking you, but let's all level up here: Juice bars are a luxury, and as such by default need luxury surroundings to survive.

So that's true. Now, if you happen to be one of those artsy, free-range folks fascinated with all things local ... and fun... and artsy-fartsy like you are, then this place-and those like it- will appeal to you at face value based on those things alone.

See?

i admit i do love that. :p 

Well anyway, I'm certainly not one of those people who would be at this place every day, but I'm never opposed to checking out new things and giving them a shot.

never take yourself too seriously ;) 

Long story short, $20 later, Elisa and I had two bottles of cold pressed, locally bottled goodness:

$10/ea.

I'm 50/50 on the experience. I'm glad that Cincinnati is joining the ranks of juicebar cities, but at the end of the day, I don't know that it's gonna become one of my things, if that makes sense. It'll be a while before I'm on that level.

I'd definitely recommend you at least check it out, whether you're into that kind of thing or not. Expensive or not, it's still yummy, & a refreshing break in the day!

Here's to a day well spent, & a week hopefully the same!

xo | cmd

Office Christmas!

I seriously hope Santa gets a Caribbean vacation after all the work he's putting in this year ;)

@ express, feelin' the festive Christmas love!! ♥

Sheesh, Santa! 

dave. "the twins" [elisa. cori]. carri

In spite of our sometimes [truly] dysfunctional conversations and wading through the sometimes messy gunk that our jobs here can produce, I love my little office family and am thankful to have shared a Christmas celebration with them! 

The rest of the day went by at a grueling pace; as I sat and dialed out the last few calls, I multitasked to pass the time.. Don't worry; everything is done and I even managed to make some headway on things scheduled for next week... Carri would say that's the Sagittarius in me, somehow accomplishing more when I'm overloaded. I can't explain it, so I just roll with it :) 

talking & knitting.
multitasking! 

At home, Sydni and I got busy preparing dinner for our incredible head of the house; Sydni so sweetly explained to me that we "needed to do this because he does so much for us." I may or may not have cried a little when she said that..... ^_^

my own little cooking show! ♥

Rob finally made it home, and while he and Sydni were finishing dinner, I spent some much overdue time with the pups, which I think went over well. Would you agree? ;) 

♥ pibbles! 

And to round out the night, our own little Lila was spotted inching her way closer and closer to Christmas Day: 

sneaky girl! 

^ Oh, and I spy the ornament Elisa gifted me for my birthday [thank you!] 

TWO. MORE. DAYS!!! :D

xo | cmd 

Express Company Dinner!

Very rarely do we have the opportunity to personally network with all of our local offices at the same time, so when the chance arises to get together, I'm that girl that loves to take advantage of it. My office is one of about eight locally, and although we often are at odds with each other over whatever business matter it may be, at the end of the day, we are one big, semi-dysfunctional family who loves coming together and celebrating the fact that we're bound together by the passion for what we do for others in our jobs.

my team! :)
carri. elisa. dave. cori

cincinnati area owners

I'm blessed to be a part of this little cluster of people; we drive each other bonkers at times but when we need to come together, we do - I wouldn't trade it!

We're getting closer and closer to Christmas; I'm certainly feeling the love this year.. and I hope you and yours are, too!!

xo | cmd

Boots & Music

Gooood Monday morning! I hope your weekends were incredible, and that you're off to a blazing start for the week like we were. My day started off alongside Carri & Dave, with a client facility tour, complete with the required on-site gear.

Oversized steel toed boots + leggings, anyone? ;)

ow ow!

Some desk-bound folks would see this as a burden in the middle of their day, but I embrace these things and probably have more fun than I should walking around warehouses and factories with my clodhopper feet and safety glasses awkwardly parked on the bridge of a nose that on my face doesn't even exist [#pinoyproblems]. Yay!

The rest of the day took something of a musical turn: I stumbled across this video by Steffany Gretzinger, an acoustic outpouring of her soul that moved me to share it with a few other people and listen to it multiple times.


^ So. Gorgeous!

Here's the part where I remind all of you that I'm heading to Panama in 2015 for the purpose of missions, and am starting NOW on the prayer part of that. There will be more details to follow on that, but for the time being, just... listen to that song and try to absorb it in the moment. Thank you, Steffany for sharing your gift with us! [#SonRisePanama2015]

Rob and I took a step into a new restaurant tonight and tried the Mexican place down the street from us [recommended!] before heading back home to let the ACC Awards carry us into the last part of the evening.

I had to share this, too, since Reba is not just an icon in country music, but truly a legend. I love the lady and realized that we're privileged to see these moments unfold; Sydni will grow up and hear stories of legends like this, but won't be able to experience them the same way we do now.

Congratulations to Reba, with love and gratitude for what you've contributed to the world of one of my favorite genres!


That's a rap here, folks. I've got Fancy stuck in my head like a broken record, so on that note, I'll call this one and pick up where we left off tomorrow!

G'Nite!

xo | cmd

[Belated] Birthday Continued

I honestly don't feel any different now that I'm the "big 3-0." Frankly, it's probably due in large part to the fact that for the past what... 4 [at least]  months now have led up to culminating weekends, gifts and surprises that I can't believe came my way.

It's been a pretty busy week around here, but my team managed to pull together an office birthday gig for me, despite us all being right under each other's noses for 8 hours a day. I had no idea, but it was the perfect final touch to the week and cap on our traditional Friday office lunch.

oooh! ♥

Lunch came in from Habits Cafe in Oakley, and dessert came from one of my favorite places in this neighborhood: Whole Foods!

cupcaaaaaakes! 

you guys are the best! :D

Elisa, Carri & Dave - THANK YOU for all of this today!! You guys sure know how to make a girl feel appreciated :). We're like our own little family here; we don't always like each other, but I'm so thankful for each of them and what they bring to the table. ♥

At home, it seemed like the birthday celevration just wouldn't stop. I took the leftover cupcakes home [duh], and Jessica came by for dinner. THIS girl... did a PSA on holiday fitness this morning on Channel 19, and sheeeee... nailed it. She hadn't seen the clip yet, so Rob hooked up the projector and put about 400 inches of Jessica on the wall for her. Haha..

oh heeeeey jess! 

Oh, and yes... they're gone now:

done & done! 

:)

Happy weekend, blogbots!

xo | cmd 

Aaaand We're Home

First things first, a hotel arm selfie ;)

new midi ring!! 

 ^^ This little midi leaf is my new favorite accessory. Many thanks to the Jondie Boutique in Franklin for this perfect find. Add that to the stack of bracelets and the Marianne-matching tattoo, and my I've got a happy arm and hand going for me.

We loaded up for the ride home and off we were, destination: Cincinnati.

Fast forward back out of the mountains and across the plains back to Ohio, and we were finally here:

i spy..... 

Home sweet home. Phew.
Rob was ready when I got home to stuff me back in the car for a date night at Mango Tree; aside from being back inside the confines of a vehicle, I couldn't have asked for a better evening; two days felt like a lot, and I'm content that we missed each other rather than the opposite of that.

It's back to the conventional office tomorrow.
ZzZz.

xo | cmd

Nashville Sales Summit, Part II

So today was the second and final session for our time at Sales Summit. We all have pages of furiously-scribbled notes and anecdotes which we'll be applying to our daily practices once we touch back down in Cincinnati tomorrow, thanks again to the guys from Afterburner.

express 2712 & the afterburner reps!
dave. carri. "whiz". cori. "duff". elisa

sittin' pretty at the awards ceremony & children's miracle network raffle!
carri. cori. elisa.

my original express family [w/ the afterburner guys]: the cinci east office!
chris. brandi. "whiz". jess. "duff". deb.

The breakout session was also immensely helpful, and before we knew it, the formal Sales Summit had drawn to a close and we were all left with the rest of our time in Franklin/Nashville at our disposal.

Our little clan of four set out to do some local shopping in downtown Franklin, which I could best describe as quaint. I love it here.

downtown franklin

franklin theatre!

Shopping!

i couldn't resist buying this guy ♥

Some things I loved, but will not be taking home [don't panic, Rob... haha]:

coasters

this wooden board reflecting words written on a cellar wall
during the holocaust [also, listen to barlow girl sing this!!]

And a few shots of my Express family ♥:

elisa. cori. carri. dave. 

cori. elisa. carri. dave. 

Other than Dave, each of us left cute little Franklin with some small treasures as we traveled back to the hotel. There was a two-hour gap to fill, so I slipped into the leggings I bought today, before Elisa and I took to the hotel back patio and lawn space.

new leggings, yay! 

^^ Because what is any trip now, without a little yoga?!

FINALLY, it was time to get country dolled up for the evening, and head to dinner.
Dave chose The Tin Angel for dinner, which was a superb choice. The food was out of this world, with matching ambiance and promise of a good night ahead.

@ tin angel | nashville, tn

We said goodbye to the Tin Angel, and made our way finally into the heart of downtown Nashville. It has been years since I've been on Broadway, but the energy and the fun hasn't changed.

street performers | nashville, tn

second fiddle, one of many venues on broadway | nashville, tn

neon signs everywhere!

selfies. for dayssss.. hahaha :p 

greetings from downtown nashville!! 

Holy smokes... [this is backdated]... what a night!
Sunday means the trip home. Time. for. BED.

xo | cmd