Showing posts with label Dirty 30. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dirty 30. Show all posts

Saturday, December 6, 2014

[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 

Sunday, November 30, 2014

I. AM. THIRTY. (O.o)

My first inclination today was to find one picture of me for each year up to now.. yenno, like those giant frames parents have in their house for each kid moving up through school grades. I then decided that that was a lot more effort than necessary for now. Plus, I'm in Illinois, a rough 8 hours from my parents' house, which is where most of said pictures are stored. So yeah.. maybe later?

Anyway, I'm 30! Hooooly cow!
I thought for good measure, I would at least throw in what is one of the first photographs ever taken of me. I know you're already seeing it, but as a caption: This is the first picture my [now] parents ever saw of me. This was the picture that made them confirm that I would become their daughter, and they my parents. As you can see, it's not much to go from... I call that... LOVE.
#tbt : sometime in 1985?
Haha. Awh..

Yeeeeup. So to start off my birthday, we woke up at our leisure and hung around Dillon's house for a while. The iPad had of course come along for the long trip, and Sydni was bound and determined to "teach" Dillon how to properly play one of her games.
gooooot it, mr. dillon?? 
Too funny. Once we finally got ourselves in gear, it was off to see Rob's Dad's side of the family. We had a perfect, relaxing afternoon with his dad, stepmom, sister, nieces and Sydni. His sister Carissa was kind enough to host Sydni for a sleepover with her daughter Ella for the night, so to free up our evening. It took Sydni a little bit of warm-up time to get used to the new surroundings, but once she was comfortable - and realized there was a kitty - we were all good!
my little animal-lover ♥
ella. sydni. kate. 
^^ Kate & Bob bought Sydni a clay set as an early Christmas present, just in case the logistics of Christmas time don't lend to us actually being there. I still can't believe how thoughtful it was, and in case there's any question - Sydni LOVES it. [[Thank You!!!]]

Rob and I eventually left Sydni with Carissa & Ella, and made a pitstop at Rural King before heading back to Dillon's. I shouldn't have been surprised when Rob spotted a remote-controlled helicopter on the way out... and bought it.

For himself. :p


.... Boys ;).
We finally pulled ourselves off the couch and away from the marathon of Dog Shows on TV, dressed up a little, and headed back south to Collinsville for dinner and whatever else the night may have had in store for us.

In lieu of the recent "events" blanketing the St. Louis area, we opted out of The Landing, Soulard, even The Loop. Instead, we cozied up at a table inside Friday's South, on Main Street in Collinsville. We ordered up some food and waited for Jesse to arrive.

He did, with some others in tow, and the night got started.
thanks, guys for the birthday support!! :D 
Here's the list of what I consumed tonight to commemorate my farewell to my 20's:

1 beer. 1 shot.
Aaaaaaand.. that's it.
Oh wait, I lied. After both of those, I think I drank about 3 gallons of water. Literally.
And I wasn't alone. The bartender [bless his little hipster soul] found out that it was my birthday, and conned me into a shot of Rumplemints. Never in my life have I wanted as badly to vomit the entire contents of my being, but it happened, it's over and I survived. What a lush I am. Strangely enough, this may have been one of THE best nights out that I've had in a while. I'm denying that this is because I'm 30 now. It's because I basically have always been a rotten drinker and people watching in Collinsville was more fun anyway ;).
........ animals, i tell ya. #h20!
My 30th birthday has FINALLY passed; it's been just about a 5-month lead-up to this day, what with the Jamaica getaway, Nashville getaway and everything in between, mostly from Rob♥. I am so insanely grateful for another year, and I intend to wholly embrace the big 3-0. A million & 1 thanks to my family & friends for everything up to now, and going forward. You guys... are the bestest.

Okay 30, I'm ready. Are YOU?! ♥

xo | cmd

Monday, November 24, 2014

Hattie B's | Frist | Corvettes

*YAWN..

I am.. spent. Whoa.

Today's agenda was just as packed as yesterdays, it seemed:

First on the itinerary was checking out of the hotel and finding our way to breakfast. Brunch, if you will, based on the time we finally got to eating, but most importantly was VENUE:
heya, hattie b's! 
Damanji did a killer job of hunting down a chicken+waffles spot, which made me feel much better about him being cheated of T.o.B. back in Cinci. Coincidentally, Hattie B's happens to be one of the top-rated C&W joints in the U.S., and it is of course in Nashville.

..... So Hattie B's it was!

so much deliciousness, hattie b's! 
After lunch & a couple spontaneous merch pick-ups, we made one final stop at the Frist Center for Visual Arts to explore and stretch the legs before our separate trips home.
♥ these people.. so ... stinkin' ... much. ♥
And then it was goodbye, at least for now. We'll be headed westwards in just a couple of weeks to kick off the holiday traveling, so I don't doubt that I'll see them soon :). LOVE YOU GUYS!
farewell for now, nashville! ♥
Rob and I loaded up and put on our game faces for the trek back to Cincinnati, which we thought would be a straight, uninterrupted shot.

It was, until Rob spotted the National Corvette Museum from the highway, and it goes without saying that this would probably be the only time we'd ever actually go there. It was a good choice for a pitstop, though!
national corvette museum! 
generations of corvettes everywhere :) 
one of the several destroyed by the 2014 sinkhole :( :( 
I'll give to these Corvette owners - they are a dedicated bunch!
coming together from all over! 
It was certainly an interesting piece of history to see, and I'm glad we stopped. Given that we probably wouldn't have dedicated a trip solely for the sake of a visit, it's one of those places you've got to go at least once, even if you're not really a Corvette kinda person.

And now.. we are finally home and ready to unwind. I feel like this weekend was a dream, and am counting one more time before I call it a night just how thankful -- and blessed -- I am for these 3 people who did so much work to ensure my birthday weekend was perfect.

You guys are incredible. Love you!!

xo | cmd 

Saturday, November 22, 2014

BIRTHDAY SURPRISES, PART I

say whaaaaaaat!?
You see THAT?
I'm still at something of a COMPLETE loss of words over what's unfolding so far this weekend.

My guess is that everyone except me was savvy to the underlying plans for tonight, but as keen as I usually am to people being sneaky [the good way & the bad way... :| .. ], I was not expecting nor prepared for my friends to walk through the door.

My friends FROM ILLINOIS.

Before I had any idea what was happening, this was already happening:
... to ohio they were going.... 
Rob had managed to coordinate a birthday weekend for me that included two of my best friends of Illinois, Becky, Brandon.. AND.... 
ahhhh!!!
I'm FLOORED.
My friends are here. I'm apparently supposed to pack a bag for tomorrow, because we're heading somewhere.. that they won't disclose.

THESE. SNEAKY. PEOPLE.
[how I love them SO!]

♥♥♥♥♥

xo | cmd 

Thursday, November 20, 2014

Happy Birthday, Shef!

Since I made/used this last year to commemorate this guy's birthday, I'm going to take the easy road and do the same thing this year... since I haven't seen him since that last time :(
Add caption
HAPPY BIRTHDAY [30th, at that]
TO THIS GUY! 

Shef, I hope you had an incredible birthday, and that year 30 is all it can be & more. You've earned it! I hope Cali continues to treat you well, and if we're in the same small hometown at the same time this year, I hope to at least say hi :). HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Here in my little world, it was a client facility tour day, which warranted jeans for the day. That of course made office yoga that much more enticing.... and long story short, this:
itty bitty bakasana :) 
^ Those jeans were not interested in any sort of ground work today, but that just made it all the more challenging, and when you're learning to float like I am, it was kind of fun.

Anyway, we just finished up dinner at Main Street with Jess; Chad wasn't working tonight since he's apparently called off Wednesdays for volleyball and life forever thereafter, haha.. but still fun either way.

So far so good on the week! See ya tomorrow, blogbots!

xo | cmd