To Easton We Go!

Dear Future Self: 

It's late in the evening, and I'm still smiling as I think of the day we just had. It wasn't anything huge, but it was everything to have had it, anyway. I hope that on a dark day somewhere down the road, you'll look back at today, in all its simple perfection, and remember how much love you felt today. 

Love, 

Your Present Self. 

**********************************

My mom's birthday was last Sunday, but since we can't be in six places at once, I wished her happy birthday over the phone. We decided mid-week that the weather would be just fine for us to meet up for lunch in Easton, which is just barely an hour drive for them. 

Oh, and in case you haven't been in Columbus in the past 15 years, the answer is yes, we are STILL under construction. 

I'd forgotten how ridiculous parking at Easton is on a Saturday, but we finally made it to the restaurant to meet up with Mom.  

could she be any more adorable?!

happy birthday, mom!

Since we were at Brio, Sydni got to have some fun of her own: 

And entertainment: 

^ I can't handle this girl ;) 

Anyway, more fun from mom's birthday lunch and trek around Easton: 

3 generations ;) 

gosh, these two... 

hahahaha

dad!

i may be partial, but i'm sure my mom is the cutest! 

so. much. love.

After lunch and a quick stroll around Easton, Sydni and I headed another 15 minutes north to stop in and say hi to Maricor.. 

cousin time! 

We're back home now, and with another good Whole30 dinner under my belt, I think this was a pretty good way to wind down the day. A friend of mine just got tattoo #1 tonight, so now I'll be on Pinterest for the next definitely-unhealthy-length-of-time digging around mandala elbow pieces.. because I'm the type of addict who can't bear hearing about it without also going to get one.. haha. 

All ideas welcomed. For now, as Iliza puts it, "PINPINPINPINPINPIN"

Happy Saturday, blogbots.

xo | cms

Robin's Birthday & A Driving Lesson

Happy birthday, Robin!!!

Today started out with some sleeping in..... because Saturdays should always be that way. Right? :) 

... By sleeping in, I mean 8:45am. Watch out, I know. :) 

Anyway, we loaded up and headed over to Eckert's to meet up with the Pages and Robin and her boys; Joe and Adam had decided they would take the kids out to the farm for the day while we took Robin for brunch and a movie to celebrate her birthday. Well, the guys taking on five kids for the day was a large part of the birthday present as well, so I wouldn't dare detract from that value ;) 

I've never had breakfast at Eckert's, but after today, I certainly will again. Deeeelish. From there it was off to Wehrenberg, where we met with Rachel and headed in for a late morning showing of The Words, starring Zoe Saldana [who I adore!] and Bradley Cooper [who Robin adores! haha.. ]. I wasn't entirely sure what to expect from it, but whatever that was, it wasn't that. I definitely liked it; very unique. I'll probably have to re-watch this one at some point. Either way, it was a fun little outing and we even snagged a shot of us.... with Bradley Cooper. It was definitely by chance, lol. 

cori. rachel. cathie. robin.
...... & bradley. hahaha.... 

We found after the movie that the guys had finished the fair and apple picking at Eckert's, and had moved the party to Chuck-E-Cheese. We rendezvoused there for a short bit before heading back home for some family-wide nap time before making with it onto what is now an open driving range, literally. Remember a few days back when the Alexanders' birthday gift for Sydni arrived at our house and we weren't able to take it for a spin?

Well......

She's DRIVING!!! :-O

uh-oh..... driving already!

She had a BLAST. Holy cow. I loved every second of it. Love love love love her. A million x million thanks to Gerald & Leslie for their incredible generosity and for being so thoughtful!

Time now for some dinner with the fam....

See you tomorrow at the Tower!

xo | cmd

Mega.. Monday.. Meltdown.

Monday doesn't have a track record of being my favorite day of the week. That being said, today was like the highlighted version of chaos in motion.

reasons i miss her.. already.. lol.

We lost another one today. I mean that to say that the Express crew is yet another man short after Christine tendered her resignation today. It's been a long time coming, and honestly, I admire her for sticking in there as long as she did. Major kudos for all her hard work. It was bittersweet to watch her go, but we're all in agreement that there are bigger, brighter opportunities awaiting her gracing, and I definitely hope they're ready. Best of luck in your next move, Christine.. I definitely hope to see you very very soon [as in.. we're scheduling a shoot, soon soon soon, yeah? Yeah :)..].

Now, I called it mega Monday meltdown because the early morning resignation business boiled quickly into an honest rant session during which myself and a coworker let loose, upon managements' beckoning, on the list of reasons life as we know it between 8am and 5pm has morphed into something more closely resembling a chore than the realization of anyone's real passion. *sigh. It might be a stretch to think we made a dent in the bubble, but I'm goin' that way..... anyway. Chyeah. Keep ya posted.

meltdown .. kiiiiiinda what i felt like today.

Phewwwwwwww.

Softball tonight was a chillier experience than Sydni and I had anticipated, spotted by poor little Easton taking a spill and taking a bleacher corner through the front of his gums. Ouchy... He's a little trooper though! I was reminded of those moments as a mom during which panic must be traded for the cool, calm and collected fixer-of-boo-boos. Thanks for the reminder, Robin :)

Well it has beeeeeen a day. I rounded it off with the first day of week 2 of INSANITY. Nothin' like rounding out one of those Mondays with some cardio resistance. Yep...

G'Nite :)

xo | cmd

Kat | Changing Light Bulbs | Softball

I have to acknowledge first and foremost that today is Kat's birthday. Happy birthday, Kat. Words cannot express how much you are still missed. The pain of your passing has dulled in intensity over the last 7 years, but in no way have I forgotten you, forgotten our friendship, or forgotten how much you meant to me when we were friends and roommates.

kat & cori [& patricia, too! :)]
circa june 2005...

Happy 25th birthday, little K.
7.16.87 - 7.28.05.

Now, because I know that Kat would not have wanted any of us to waste any part of our day being sad, I will say that in every other sense of today, it's been another blessing :).

So Happy Monday!

In the spirit of mentioned transitioning, I thought I would start this week off with a little long-forgotten humor. This joke surfaced yesterday in a discussion between my sister and me.

This is all in good fun. My friend Brittany had posted this a few years back and I thought it was funny then [I’m Baptist, and must admit that the Baptist one is pretty stinkin’ accurate]. Either way, it’s cute, so I figured I would share ;) 

HOW MANY CHRISTIANS DOES IT TAKE TO CHANGE A LIGHT BULB??

i'm baptist.. so there are at least 14 more of me
ready to go on this ;)

Charismatic: Only one. Hands already in the air.

Pentecostals: Ten. One to change the bulb and nine to pray against the spirit of darkeness.

Presbyterians: None. Lights will go off and on at predestined times.

Roman Catholic: None. Candles only.

Baptists: At least 15. One to change the light bulb and three committees to approve the change and decide who brings the potato salad.

Episcopaleans: Three. One to call the electrician, one to mix the drinks, and one to talk about how much better the old bulb was.

Mormons: Five. One man to change the bulb and four wives to tell him how to do it.

Unitarians: We choose not to make a statement either in favor of or against the need for a light bulb. However, if in your own journey you have found that light bulbs work for you, that is fine. You are invited to write a poem or compose a modern dance about your light bulb for the next Sunday service, in which we will explore a number of light bulb traditions including incandescent, fluorescent, three-way, long-life and tinted, all of which are equally valid paths to luminescence.

Methodists: Undetermined. Whether your light bulb is bright, dull, or completely out, you are loved. You can be a light bulb, turnip bulb or tulip bulb. A church-wide lighting service is planned for Sunday. Bring a bulb of your choice and a covered dish.

Nazarene: Six. One woman to replace the bulb while five men review the church lighting policy.

Lutherans: None. Lutherans don’t believe in change.

Amish: What’s a light bulb?

*********

If you're a Baptist like I am, you laughed because you know it's exactly true. ;)

Anyway.... Happy Monday! I started my week off with something little to appease a craving I'd had over the weekend: Sounds silly, but these things make a world of difference when you're sitting at your desk looking to appease the munchies.

<< That's for Mo, specifically, since I had been on the hunt for these things on Saturday before the drive-in movie, to no avail. See? They do exist! Haha..

The rest of today passed by in the familiar fashion of Monday [you ragged thing, you], and I'm glad to see it go. I was reminded via sermon from our beloved Pastor Ron on Sunday to count my blessings and not the little things that seem to pickle my day instead of enhance it. In the spirit of doing that, I am blessed to have a job, the means to get there, and all of the other small and large things in my life that I love.

*********
Summer Mondays = Softball!

softball fun with the little ones!
seth. christopher. easton.

Softball was h-o-t. Yeesh. I know the boys were roasting out there, because sitting on the side watching alone was something like baking slowly in a wide open oven. Oh well. Dust and all, we had ourselves a good old time on the side playing with the kiddos, munching through a 2 lb bag of Twizzlers & a gallon box of Goldfish, and speculating on the game. I took some time to snap a few pictures, too, primarily because moving around a bit was a welcomed reprieve from the still heat.


softball :)

Jimmy and Mo just left the house; they stopped by after the game for some quesadillas and unwinding. Such great friends.. We sure do love 'em!
Early start tomorrow, folks.. I'm outta here.

xo | cmd

S U N D A Y

Wanna know how to stretch out every inch of a Sunday?

Well, you're in luck, friend. I'll give you one good example of how to do just that. :)

I knew last night going into today that we would be on our toes and on the go-go-go for the bulk of the day, if not the whole entire thing. I was right on point; all I could do was take a deep breath as I scurried out the door in efforts to be on time for church choir.

There are, every so often, messages delivered by the pastor that stand out on a personal level and really hit home in a way that sends you home still reeling from the clear impact of what you just heard. Instead of that slightly unnerving sense of conviction that tends to pull on me in those catered-to-Cori messages, today's was enlightening, encouraging, and fueling. I left church feeling spiritually refreshed. It was certainly a good morning.

We bee-lined directly from church to a BW3 lunch outing with the Pages, Babots, Prescotts, Woods, Jason, and Jarod to celebrate Alex's birthday. Being the food-loving folks that we are, it was an excellent intro to the afternoon, complete with a Rudolph-iced cookie pizza. Alex claims that was Landon's doing, but we still say, hmmm.... :) Joking.

vetta sports | easton's birthday party

happy birthday, easton!

When the bellies were full and the bill was paid, we made a quick pitstop at home to change clothes and head back out to Vetta for little Easton's big 2nd birthday blowout. We spent a few hours there overseeing a hoard of running, screaming, bouncing, kicking children playing to the complete contentment of their little hearts. We settled down for about 45 minutes while everyone ate and Easton dug into his presents, and then made another stop at home to change, yet again, for the evening church service.



towerview children's play
jarod as Jesus

The regular church service was replaced tonight by the children's play. Major kudos to all the hands that were tasked with coordination and execution of the play; it went off without a hitch and we spent the evening awwing over adorable children prancing about dressed as angels and wisemen.

That, my friends, is how you cram a Sunday from top to bottom.

4 destination events 

3 wardrobe changes

2 birthday celebrations

1 children's play

0 downtime :)

Gooooodnight, kiddies. 

xo | cmd