My BiPolar City

Here's the course of a typical day here in Norwood [& really, in all of Cincinnati]:

8:00 AM. 

10:00 AM

11:00 AM

11:15 AM

1:45 PM

3:45 PM

Get the drift? 

If there's one thing you've got to accept and not fight living in the midwest, it's the weather. Seriously. We're about as close to bipolar as you can get without professional intervention. 

Fortunately, I have a collection of a few thousand of my closest friends here in Cincinnati who get the joy of suffering through all of this together. 

Now PICK ONE, CINCI. 

xo | cmd

Grown-Up Calamity Days? Nope. :/

Guess who got all dressed up today, and then had nowhere to go?

rub it in.. just ruuuub it in, kiddo.. haha

It was a cold one today. When it's this cold, the kiddos don't go to school. I'm know I'm not the only one who remembers this happening in my childhood just about ... NEVER.

Guess who got to spend a large part of her afternoon traipsing through the remnants of this beautiful weather? [Although said she didn't actually mind it.... ]

i love my job! ♥  

With the snow overflowing out of my wheel wells [& just about everywhere else in the city], I voted for a change of pace for the evening; instead of bundling up, I went a few layers lighter for a quick circuit at the gym with Rob beforewe decided on dinner. The snow had set in heavy by the time we wrapped up at the gym, so at the last minute it was decided that we'd stop somewhere on the way home:

nom nom nom

Phew.
It's still snowing! I imagine this will be fun in the morning, so I'm calling it a night for now.. Be SAFE out there, blogbots!!

xo | cmd

Monday in Corinthians (:

Today came and went in a flash. At work, it felt like we moved at one, consistently frantic pace all morning, and when I stopped to check the time, it was 4:15. Am I complaining? No (:

I ran a couple of errands after work before meeting up with Rob at the gym for a pretty good leg session. We stopped to grab a couple things at the grocery store afterwards, came home and made some chicken noodle soup, and now we're here, unwinding.

And I just dug into some scripture that one of my best friends now has tattooed on her arm because of how much she loves it. This happes to come out of the book of Corinthians, from which my first name also was derived [thanks, Mom & Dad!], and I can easily see why Ali loves this so much.

"For what was glorious has no glory now in comparison with the surpassing glory"
- 2 Cor 3:10

my dear friend ali's new tattoo!

There are a lot of ways to mull this one over; of course the first would be in context with the way it was written [go, go read the rest of it!], but for me, it's a concise reminder that the things of today hold no candle to the final prize for our faith. I'm definitely built in the human mold, so it's easy for me to lose sight of the fact that the here-and-now is temporary in contrast to the eternal glory of the Lord we serve.

It's Monday.
Deep breath, recite it.
Repeat.
Go. (:

Love you, blogbots.
Make it a great week!

xo | cmd

New Family Members!

... The Express family, that is.

Today we opened our office to a couple who will be the newest members of the Cincitucky Express family [Cincinnati + N.KY]. They'll be taking over a territory that was vacated by another owner a year or so back; today we welcomed them to our office to conduct interviews for their first staffing consultant.

welcome to the express fam!

Quick rewind to this morning... just really quick:

ohio.

^ Ohhhhhio, STOP IT!
Yeah, that's snow. Yeah, it was like, I dunno, almost 60 yesterday? Yeah, it's April. I know I'm not alone in wishing this crap would just..... go..... away. *Sigh. Mother Nature- 1, Ohioans Wishing for Warm Weather - 0.

Anyway, we lightened the drab start with the new owners; that's a special occasion for us, which also means food. If there's one unspoken Express standard, it's the provision of food at everything that could be considered a gathering. Shoot, we have office lunches here every single Friday. Today it was Chris bringing donuts, a pot of coffee to go around, and a bowl of greek yogurt+berries+honey. Nom, nom freakin' nom!


beauty in a bite!

After work, it was off to start my Easter preparation. That meant a trip to the dollar store to pick up a collection of plastic eggs, miscellaneous little trinkets and toys to fill them, some last-minute things for Syd's Easter basket and a few other things. I may have gone slightly overboard this year, but hey... that's the fun part!

Happy Tuesday, friends!

xo | cmd

Defying The Monday Gravity (:

Here's a good sign it might be Monday:

hello, monday.

^ Main artery roads closed on the morning commute? Sure. Detours? Sure. Hello, Monday....

Today consisted of off-and-on rain for the better part of the 8-to-5, which always proves to challenge our productivity, but we managed to finish everything. The upside of a rainy day is the lack of desire to go anywhere for lunch. Fortunately, I'd prepared in advance not for the dreary day, but for a new week of healthier office eating. That's right... my mason jar salads are baaaaack!:

happy lil' mason jar!

I was most excited for an after-work trip to the gym with Rob; it's rare that the two of us can coordinate our schedules like this after work. We plowed through a solid workout, which happens to be the first time he and I have done this together. (:

rendezvous!

Oh, and we have had leftovers from the weekend, so guess who didn't have to cook tonight! ;)

This soggy little Monday didn't turn out so bad after all. It's hard to believe that Easter is this weekend, though. Whoa. I have some preparation to do!

xo | cmd

Workin' Out Together ♥

So today marked a first for Rob and me - working out [at a gym] together!

I decided to get back into a gym groove during the winter, mainly because I thought it was never going to end.... actually, I'm still not convinced that it will, but that's another rant....

Anyway, this is where we both found ourselves after work today...

yeahhhhh (:

It looks like we're on a good track, even though I think we'll both be sore for a couple of days. Nothing like a solid work out to keep the week in motion!

Oh, and yes, we're going to Alison Krauss in May! I just dropped money off at Kalyn's for tickets and I... can't... wait.

All signs are pointing to SUMMMMMERRRRR!

xo | cmd

The MYSTERY Home T

I am left trying to solve a MYSTERY after today.
Here's why:

I'm a huge proponent of local food, clothing, product, music and culture. My philosophy has always been "Wherever local is for you, be a part of it." That doesn't mean drastically alter your slate of beliefs or standards to fit in anywhere, but rather to become engaged in the clockwork of your community. My friends and anyone who's seen a picture of me in the past 12 months would undoubtedly recognize my Ohio Roots hoodie, that I may be wearing down to the threads by this point. [thanks to Mica!]

ohio roots ♥

Anyway, today at work, Elisa announced that I had a package delivered. She and I are so easily-excited by the delivery of things we know are coming; I couldn't remember for the life of me what would be coming, because I didn't order anything.

This....

uhhh, hello, shirt??

  ^ I opened it, thinking maybe I'd forgotten ordering something [my bank account would later tell me no... no, I did not]. In case you don't know what a Home T is, here's what Ohio's looks like:

home (:

^ No, that's not me, just in case you for some reason thought I was a super skinny white girl. If you live in the U.S., you'll probably find yours, too. I always laughed whenever I'd see these and wonder if my family still lived in Colorado like we did originally, if I'd be interested in sporting my state's silhouette everywhere [...a box]. I wonder if Wyoming kids have the same concern... Haha.

So I am... trying to figure out who sent this to me. It's my size. I haven't tried it on yet but I will. I've ruled out the original suspects, so who knows. THANK YOU to the person out there responsible for this... you are a MYSTERY!

Anyway, surprise shirts aside, Sydni and I made our first trip to the gym together tonight. I was completely oblivious to the fact that there was a Fitworks on Beechmont Avenue until I opened my eyes and saw the thing over the weekend. So... instead of skipping a full week of circuits because of the logistics of Sydni's daycare and work, we can now go in the evenings.

She loved it.
So much so, that as soon as we got home, showered and ate dinner, she was done.

my sweet, sweet girl ♥♥

It took everything for me to move her out of our bed to her own room, but almost as sweet as her sleepy little self was her favorite buddy Stella, patiently waiting for her snuggler to climb in bed with her.

I wouldn't have started this week any differently. (:
Life is good.

xo | cmd

Thundersnow & Icenadoes .. What?!

C'mon, Midwest...

..... calm down?!

We all knew, if we'd heeded at all to the predictions of the Farmer's Almanac, that this winter would be pretty brutal. At least we were warned.

Today I heard a new term: thundersnow. I wasn't exactly sure what that meant, although it's pretty self-explanatory in all of its unofficial existence as a real thing. Sadly enough, it's a preeeetty accurate description of exactly what's going on in the Midwest this week. At least it is in Ohio.

We woke up today to roads that looked wet, at most.
Nope. Wet-looking roads this week are actually panels of ice disguised as drivable surfaces. Traffic everywhere was a jumbled mess of brake lights and dormant speedometers, dotted with flashing police lights to mark all of the fender benders. You win, winter.

icy roads. everywhere.

To compound the slick roadways, Cincinnati is presently suffering a plague of potholes. Between the ice and the giant tire-hating gaps, the traffic map I found of just our area alone looks... awful.


looks legit, right?

Need a street view of that?
No problem:

potholes, aka road acne

It's like a game of Frogger out there trying to navigate any local streets without bouncing in and out of these stupid things. Our poor cars :(.

Fortunately, I spent most of my day indoors with the office staff, away from the debachle that is driving around here. Lizzy even bought us lunch, because she's super sweet and generous that way.

perfecto!

^ So maybe that wasn't the best choice considering my fitness goals, but in my defense, I think I managed to at least neutralize the threat at the gym tonight. I'm feeling it for sure today, but in that satisfying way that reminds me this will all be worth it.

Staying off the roads is my mantra today, so tonight it's just relaxing with Rob & the pups.

Be safe out there, drivers!

xo | cmd

Martes! [Tuesday!]

Instead of a car dashboard picture, here's a phone screen shot. Hah...


-5, ya'll. still cold.

^ Oh, and about those multiple alarms set, it would be fitting that Rob sent me this today, completely out of the blue:

this is me. to. a. T.

^ Har har harrrr...
Speaking of Rob, and me, and all things Rob and Me, he sent me a shot today of Soliman, claiming I've been rubbing off on him in the photography arena. I have to give him credit; for a cell phone, this was not a bad shot.. plus it's of the ever-photogenic big boy himself! ♥

soliman the mastiff ♥

Post-work, I decided it was time to put these new running kicks to the test. I toted them to work with me and we got some good interval running done. I promised myself I would do some circuits, too, so abs it was. I'll see if I can stand up straight tomorrow. Haha.

not great for the first time in a few months.. but we'll get there!
13.1, watch out (:  

While I was planning my next move either for the gym or for this big move, Rob was consulting me for lessons on rice preparation. I am Asian, so obviously this is second nature for me, right? Hah. Just kidding. Buuuut, I have to say I think I did a half decent job explaining the process of fried rice via phone call, and from what he said, I'm thinking it worked out well!

long distance rice dedication from my one & only (:

Rob's pretty impressed with his new culinary abilities; I told him to watch what he wishes for, otherwise he's going to get trusted with multiple weeknights of showing them off. Haha. I wouldn't mind it if he did, or didn't... but I'm proud of him for mastering rice. It's not always easy when you don't have a rice cooker!

*Sigh. I'm whooped. Today was a good day, and I have some plans for the rest of this week to wrap up here before Rob, Jesse, the moving truck & boat get here this weekend. I'll keep ya'll posted.

For now, g'nite!

xo | cmd

Woooonderful Wednesday!

I may've gotten a smidge carried away with the new laminator we have in the office. Well, not really, but I did decide I'm going to take a stab at doing some dry erase stuff where I would otherwise be wasting paper. Let's see how that works.


lamination!

Sounds good in theory, yeah?
.. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

Anyway, after work it was time for my rescheduled session with a personal trainer. I can't accurately tell you how long it's been since I worked with a PT on a formal level. Probably... college? Yikes.

Well, he did some work on me and made me realize just how much work I have yet to do. No worries; I'm all over it and I feel pretty good about it. I felt especially hopeful today about reinstating some of the things I've missed for so long now that I'm back on familiar turf and finding once again some sort of stability.... and consistency, for that matter.

One step at a time. Just ya'll wait and see... this girl will be cut again in no time. (:

Once I'd been whooped by the trainer, I headed back to Northside to meet up with Mike and Becky; Becky and I loaded up the kayaks and took off to Winton Woods for a quick paddle to unwind. It was exactly what I needed.


grab yourself a kayak, a peaceful lake & a great friend.. you're set!
winton woods lake | cinci, oh

Ahhhh. Perfect. To top it off, we got back to Mike's to find he'd already put dinner together. I know I'm an avid fan of The Comet, but I will have to say that even for my indecisive self, I absolutely would have chosen this over Comet any day. Delicious.


tofu. kale. couscous. peppers+onions+carrots. mt.carmel.
= heaven.

I have some great friends, that's for sure.

They're even greater for doing things like late night Graeter's runs with me. Haha. Nothing says, "Let's negate a workout" like some good old fashioned Graeter's. Oh well. Truth is, it was totally worth it and I'm not sorry ;) hehe..

There really isn't much I didn't like about today. It was an even-tempered day at the office, I spoke briefly with Ali, visited the gym for the first time in a few weeks, kayaked, and spent time with some of the wonderful people I call friends. Of course, the night ended with a phone call across the states with Rob, who I'll be seeing in just a short couple of weeks, too.

Who can complain about that?

G'nite!

xo | cmd

Plugging In

First, I wanted to start off the day with some color:

hello! (:

I don't often go for the bright pops of color quite like this, but I thought it was fun, and coupled with the chair in my office, I couldn't resist. Spring is here and I was definitely feelin' it today.

I have been on a very gradual transition back into Cincinnati. In the past three weeks that I've been back, I've already had two mini trips back to Illinois, and have been making myself sparse around here, for the immediate time being.

Today I checked two more things off my Return to the 'Nati checklist: link up with a gym and decide how I want to continue with my banking. Well, for the sake of being a 'Nati-an, I'm going to stay local:


fitworks & wright-patt credit union | norwood, oh

Yeah, I took the plunge. I've been wanting to get back into some circuit training for a couple of months now, but with everything that's been going on, I never had time. Then I remembered that I have to make time if I want to see any sort of result [duh], so there ya have it. I'm invested. Haha. Tomorrow I'll jump in with a personal trainer and see just how out of shape I really am these days.

Back in Northside, I paused to take pictures of some of the simple, quirky beauty its residents have to offer. I don't necessarily consider myself a truly ecclectic person, but I always enjoy the manifestation of the more expressive faculties. 

pretty little northside (:

Fun. It may seem tacky to some people, but while I don' tknow that I'd paint a garden onto my car, it's fun to see random things like this speckling the neighborhoods across Northside.

Tonight I found myself back in the company of two of my favorite friends from Cincinnati. It's been a long time since I spent any time with them, but on a random fluke I found myself sitting through the last half of the Pacers-Heat game and half of an AnimalPlanet Mermaid documentary with Lu & Kyle [aka Goldy & Chester]. Lu's adorable girlfriend Ashley and Kyle's brother Chad were there, too. I've missed them, and it didn't hurt my mood to see some old familiar faces.


ky. lu. cori | circa2007

[Has it really been that long?! :( ]
Funny. The edge of transitioning back is starting to wear down some; I will finally move into my new digs effective this weekend, so once that's completed, I'm hoping to wake up feeling a little more "here" than I do now. I've got a great job, great friends who've supported me [literally supported me] through the process, a boyfriend who still puts up with me two states away [love. him.], and of course, the center of my world: the 3-year-old who certainly knows more about US currency than I did when I was 3... ;) ["Look! Waaaashington!!"] Haha.

I'm back in Northside and ready to put Monday to rest. I can't help but feel that slight emptiness that you get when you know you're missing someone but have no choice to power through it. He knows, though, and I know that it'll be okay. I'm just being a baby about it. Becky gets back tomorrow, so I'll have to catch up with her and see how the big Apple treated her on her first trip.

Random idea: Say something nice to a stranger tomorrow, and mean it. (:

G'Nite, friends.

xo | cmd