Faaariiiiidayyyy

I woke up to this gem:

who messes up the ymca? we do. 

I can't tell ya'll how excited I am for Mare & Derrick's wedding, and the dancing that shall ensue when Becky and I get to hit the floor in celebration. A few of my favorite people are getting married this year, so don't worry - plenty of opps to catch us cuttin' up rugs ;). 

In other news, today was gorgeous! 

sunshine = happy people!

^ Okay, while that's not always the absolute equation, it happened to be true today. We've spent so many days gridlocked in a pattern of clouds and sleet and rain and more clouds and just gray gray grayyyyyy... when the sun came out today and the air didn't feel like freezing needles, the universal affect it had was an improved mood both in and out of the office. 

Aaaaaand.. Timehop gave me a flashback to something I'd flashbacked five years ago (do the math, this picture is obviously older than 5yrs), but I love it just the same now as I did then, so it bears sharing: 

more than 5 years ago, but still today! 

To celebrate the weekend, I promised Syd a mama-mini date, so the two of us headed off after work for a fun night of Funko shopping, decorating and dinner. I am one lucky girl to have this kiddo in tow. She's my favorite little ham... 

We headed home and knocked out the spare bedroom, which previously had been used for Sydni making sheet forts and chasing the dogs around: 

before & after
(look how adulty!)

^ You guys, I'm doing domestic things like using matching bedsets and eating meals in actual compliance with the Whole30. 

Please send help. ;) 

Or at least give me the weekend. I'll take that, for now ♥

TGIF! 

xo | cms

A BRONZE FRIYAY!

TGIF!

Today I walked into my office and was greeted by all of this, because my office collectively hit a new milestone of Bronze Circle. In my world (Express), that's a big deal, and is indicative of a team that puts in the dirty work. I am surrounded by some incredibly talented people, and we are blessed to have leaders who will go the distance just to say thank you.

happy friday!

And yes, we did. 

fruit and fizzy.. 

Really not a bad way to end the week, at all! I'm so proud to be a part of my team, and thankful every day lately that I'm back in a place where I can fully function, with a team that is right there with me. 

TGIF, ya'll. It's time for me to rest up; tomorrow is going to be a long day ;) 

xo | cms

Friday the 13th

On a scale of 1 to stereotypical, today was 5 paces past the latter for being a Friday the 13th. My team [at work] managed to make it through the day in tact, but it sure didn't come without a fight. 

Albeit a day of chaos that came in waves, I received my second installment from the Book of the Month club that I joined. The first book, The Sun is Also A Star from last month, introduced me to Nicola Yoon, and I read it as quickly as I could. I promptly wanted to either re-read it, or have a sequel materialize into my lap so I could continue being a fly on the wall to Natasha & Daniel. 

I haven't heard of either of these authors until now, but I am all about it and these two reads look like they'll be quick to finish but long to forget [here's hopin'!].

With the work day finally conquered, I made a beeline home and traded my office pants for lycra and met Rob at the gym. We squeezed in an evening of working out on separate sides of the building before reconvening for a jog side-by-side on the treadmills. 

I'm about to crack open the bigger of these two new books; I'll keep ya'll posted on how it goes. :)

Happy Friday the 13th! 

xo | cms

Sales Contest Winners... Again! :)

'Thank Goodness It's Friday' has never been exclaimed more earnestly.. or desperately, in today's case. It's been a tumultuous week at work, so it was nice when we were able to put the office aside for the weekend and head down to Montgomery Inn to celebrate the successes of the first quarter sales competition... that we won :). 

montgomery inn boathouse | cincinnati, oh

Cincinnati, you're a murky mess in the middle, but you're still beautiful [don't get all offended, 'Natians, you know darn well that this is true...]

sunny day! 

It's been quite a while since I was last at Montgomery Inn, but that doesn't change how delicious I always find it. Chris disappeared momentarily, and returned with a box of celebratory cigars to commemorate our team's winning the first quarter.

3rd in a row! 

express pros - cincinnati central
kristin. cori. clarissa. paul

the whole gang!
front: cori. krstin. melissa. clarissa
back: rob. chris. deb. paul. micah (missing aaron!)

Gathering with the work clan outside of work is always a refreshing and often much-needed change of pace, content and atmosphere, and tonight was no different. 

Congratulations, team... I couldn't be more proud of what how our hard work has materialized like this! ♥

Not a bad way to start off the Mother's Day weekend, I will say that. 

xo | cmd 

Here We Go, Weekend!

Rob left for Illinois this morning, which meant Sydni and I got to kick off the weekend on our own. I picked her up after work and we got started in on our first order of weekend business: starting a Mommy-Daughter notebook. It was Sydni's idea, and I think it's an absolutely terrific one!

It wasn't long at all after we got home that we were both doodling in our joint notebook; Sydni got the best of the artwork for tonight, but I'm excited for her to come back next week while she's at her dad's to find some notes I'll be leaving just for her ♥.

i love this girl!! 

I've come a loooong way from the Friday nights of the late 2000's; tonight I wanted nothing more than a quiet, disconnected marathon of silly doodles, cuddles and bedtime stories. I still dearly cherish those friends from the times of late nights and sore dancing feet, but I couldn't imagine trading my 8pm PJ's and sticky little PB&J fingers for anything a night on the town could've ever offered. 

bedtime stories!

It's gonna be a fun weekend, I can tell. For now though, there's another round of glitter-encrusted books with frilly tales of jibber jabber and tall-tale fun. My little bookworm is reading most of these on her own now, a fact that makes me feel both proud and pathetically nostalgic all at once. 

Don't ever lose your spirit, mini me ♥.

TGIF!

xo | cmd

Friday, You Are My HEEERO.

Ok, so really it was last week that I could've legitimately said, "Friday, I thought you'd never get here." This week, I was equally ready for the last day, but not quite for the same reasons.

For starters, this came in today, and created a small but welcomed shift in my daily "living space" here at the desk... 

Last week was brutal from the time Monday rolled out on the wrong side of the bed, until it finally went back to bed Friday evening. Just a rough week. This week wasn't any less active, but there was definitely a firmer balance with life beyond the desk, and while we were at them, it didn't feel quite like the universe was trying to sizzle us under a magnifying glass. 

But still, a busy week is a busy week, no matter how you spin it. This Friday at hand was punctuated by an isolated incident involving an individual [who should also be isolated, perhaps on an island somewhere... or another planet... mehhh; I digress] with a fascinatingly-unfortunate and advanced arsenal of ignorance. The week's been good. We had the pedal to the floor for four full days, so I wasn't surprised to feel the gas running low today.

At least we finally took lunch breaks that exceeded 5 minutes. I think today was an entire 10, maybe even 12.whole.minutes. College taught me how to be resourceful with just a couple of minutes [usually running, ungracefully between campus buildings]. Whatever. Lunch!

nommmmsss.. 

The weekend was officially here. 

Well, almost. 

This was my 6:00. And 7. And also 7:30p: 

paperwork. the bane of my existence..... 

This guy I know [he's kinda cool, so I decided I'm going to take his last name later on this year ;)] - well, he made and brought me not only a PB&J, but a PB&J burrito, along with my favorite pair of jeans, so that I could wrap up my work and not have to go home and change/eat before reporting in for celebration with our long lost friend Jessica! 

I changed, ate and closed up shop. From there, it was off to Pearl's in Col-Tusculum for Jessica's open house: celebrating her past accomplishments and shortly-unfolding plans for expansion to her studio. 

love this gal!!

Congratulaaaations, dear friend! And so good to see you, as always! 

we're really good at pictures. like, really good.
:|

Oh, and my date was decent, too, I s'pose. 

this guy...... 

And with that being said, the weekend is officially here. And that's officially awesome. 

Happy Weekend, blogbots! 

xo | cmd

Finally Friday

This was my vote for today: 

..... I sure needed it, today. Elisa was out for the day, and Paul spent the majority of the day doing field work, so my weird sinus allergy issue and I were on our own for most of the day. Fortunately, Nate from CYOFL took the jump for our Color Run team and went to pick up the race day packets, saving me a trip down to Newport [thank you, Nate!!!]

Rob took off this morning as well, after the early morning had passed, and I finally got an update that he'd made it to the rendezvous point with Matt and Dillon. 

the harley boys... 

I myself was looking very much forward to an evening of doing absolutely nothing, a goal I executed like a daggone professional if I may say so myself.. haha. Many thanks to Netflix and the worn-in sections of my couch.

The boys are settled in safely, and I'm completely content with the temporary solitude that I'll have for the next few days.

Heeeeere's to the weekend!

xo | cmd

Holy Cow. FINALLY Friday

Aaaaand FRIDAY it was! In full Friday fashion, too, might I add!

The day did its due diligence of giving us a solid run for our money in stamina, patience and productivity, but we fortunately came out on top with the day at our command. The weekend is HERE, and I am ready to welcome it!

I'm pretty certain Sydni would agree:

It's gonna be a good one, I can see it already!

Have a wonderful, safe & rejuvenating weekend, friends!

xo | cmd

First. Day. Of. SPRING!

Dear Google,

You're right, this is what I would have liked to see on the first day of Spring: 

Instead, it's this:

8am in norwood.
lovely.

Swell, huh.

Fortunately, the day went by as not much more than a blur of ringing phones, interviews, shuffling papers and orders FILLED [because we're awesome like that]. It ended well after 6pm, and I decided after that it was time for a date with the Mister... because it's been one heck of a week and I feel like I haven't seen him at all.

Sushi it was! We wound up at the usual destination of Mango Tree in Mariemont, but not before I made a trip through Ace Hardware to pick up some hard hats and glasses for work. *Sigh. We do it all.. haha.

A couple of fun things happened during dinner.
First, my sister sent me these:

20s flapper party! 

My mom, sister and nephew are probably the cutest ever with this. Let's talk about how my mom for starters looks like she could by sisters with my sister.. She is gorgeous, amirite?! ♥ LOVE you guys.

Oh, and Becky invited us out to soccer after dinner. I debated over taking my gear, just in case, but with this sinus infection still rearing its head, I couldn't bring myself to do it, especially knowing I'm down to 1 week before departure to Panama. An awesome night of kicks isn't worth the irritation of having an extended sinus infection hiking through Panamanian mountainsides. Gahh. Choices.

soccer cityyyyy

I've officially become one of those spectators, who arrives in full civilian attire to an indoor soccer facility. I always said I'd never be that girlish sideliner, but there I was tonight. Talk about the opposite of what I'm usually doing there. Woops. Haha.

Anyway, it turned out to be a good night, but I'm tuckered out. I've already pre-emptively called off for a birthday outing I was set to attend tomorrow, because my body is still going through a fit of being 89 years old for some reason. Graahhhh.

Oh, and I'm due back at work at 8am tomorrow - Saturday - to take care of a couple of things, so yeah. There's that. We'll call it a night for now.

xo | cmd

Bronte & Pinkie Bucks

yiiiieeeeeee!!

AMEN!

Every once in a while, a Friday will roll around and we'll be on semi cruise control, as there's not always a lot of movement as the week closes out. Today was the absolute opposite, reflecting the four prior days that came and went at a very similar full throttle pace.

Elisa and I were charged with the lunch run, a task rewarded by the culinary wonders of Bronte Bistro in Rookwood. No complaints here!

salmon nicoise (: 

Our plates were cleared [well, for the most part] when we all parted ways for the next couple of days. I headed off to Milford to pick up Sydni, thus the birth of our next and newest project: Operation Pinkie Bucks.

pinkie bucks! ♥♥

You see, I learned today from Mindi that for the first time ever, Sydni intentionally acted out while she was there during the day. That might not phase most parents, but of the few people we have here who've known Sydni for as far back as Mindi has, it's more than unusual. On top of that, she's been digressing in her consistency with having potty accidents.

For all my fellow mommy friends out there: I already know by way of general survey that I'm not alone in facing many of the challenges of kiddos as they grow into and out of all the different stages of kiddo development. The milestones are different for every kid. I'm no clinical psychologist, but I don't need a magnifying glass to see that every human alive responds differently to stress. Sydni's situation [the new little half-sister, obviously on his side] is obviously a huge adjustment for any child to face.

Syd, I've learned [yenno, from hanging out with her for about I dunno, the 5 years & some change that she's been... well, alive..], it's that she has to know that whatever she's doing, that it has purpose and that she owns it. That's basic principle for most of us, but how do you tell a 5-year-old that she suddenly is expected to share everything she has, including her family, with this new baby - who for now cries a lot and steals the spotlight in many ways, without her feeling like somehow she's been sidelined? You don't. What I know I can do for her, is to give her some other purpose, even a temporary one, that is 100% hers. It's a small thing, really, but to her, it's something she can control.

So here's the deal, folks:

Sydni wants THIS:

my little pony | equestria girls
pinkie pie

[Yes, btw, My Little Pony now has people characters.] We're lookin' at a whopping 12ish bucks for this one, but I wanted to make this hers. So she's earning it. For each day that we avoid having accidents, she'll get a buck. That couples with no more of these minor behavioral glitches; if she's mindful of them both and intentional about her actions each day, she'll earn $1 towards buying it. Let me tell you this - we've been committed to this for about 5 hours now, and she's elated that she just earned her first Pinkie Buck. I'm excited for her. ♥

I think it's gonna be a great weekend. Tomorrow it's Mom & Dad [aka Nana & Pappy] and whatever else we find ourselves getting into.

Make it a great weekend, blogbots! ♥

xo | cmd

Christmas Tree Time!

I realized today that Rob and I have participated in many, if not all, of this year's seasonal or holiday-related traditions. From New Years 2014 with friends, to Easter Egg hunts, Memorial Day weekend boating trips, pumpkin carving and Thanksgiving road-hauling to see much of our family, we've managed to stick to the traditional things that were focal activities of our own childhoods. We continued on tonight as we got our first family Christmas tree!

@ the tree lot by our house  

I have been excited about this moment since we decided to do it nearly three weeks ago. I was nearly itching in anticipation all last week, but the thought of picking out a Christmas tree without Sydni was never an option... soooooo... this week it was, and tonight was the night!

we found the one!
[sidenote... these two .. ♥♥♥♥]

ready to load up our tree!! ♥

We managed to both support a local business and have the entire tree lot to ourselves for the five whole minutes it took Sydni to pick out THE tree for our house.

We made a pitstop at TR for a celebratory dinner, and then headed home to get our new-found fir up and ready to decorate.

ready to decorate!

I.. love this little family of mine. ♥

TGIF!

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 

Take.. Me.. BACK

I woke up to this thought:

already?

Yeah. I dragged a little today.
By a little, I mean it felt like one of those days when the feet just don't quite ever make it under the body and I swear I was propelled by force rather than a steady type of energy. I know, that sounds way more complicated than was needed, but I'm still playing catch-up on the day and the brunt of it has already passed.

Long story short: Take me back HERE:

norris lake

OR here:

.. still norris lake, 2nd day. 

I think I should incorporate somewhere into my 10-year plan either a planned annual trip somewhere like this, or find a way to blend my current job that I love with a place like this, that I also equally love.

I think I just found my focus for daydreams this week.. haha.

Just kidding. Sydni's here and it's laundry time. *WHEW. Happy Monday!!

xo | cmd 

And Here We Go A-Road Tripping...

Well, we got a later start than we would have liked, but it wasn't all wasted.

There's nothing quite like a sunset-on-the-run:

.. accompanied by windshield bug splatter.. lovely.. :/

We demonstrated how gullibly sold we are on the marketing ploys of rest-stop goodies:

.. & lottery tickets. because... uncle si, that's why.

^ In the defense of all things Brach's, they're actually pretty good.

Oh, and even though we rolled into Granite in the dark and endured a very young crowd at Bindy's, we weren't disappointed by the green beans. We never really are - at least I know I'm not.

+ bill in the background... + blue moon in the foreground..

So yeah. We're here, safe and sound... and tired.
G'Nite.

xo | cmd

"Yeah, But What IF....?"

I'd be willing to gamble that anyone with children has at one point heard,

"Yeah, but what iiiiiiiiiiif

      [fill in the blank with just about anything here]     ???"

It's part of the daily questioning here at our house, usually the promptings of silly wanderings in Sydni's imagination. Since she's a 4-year-old little girl, the Disney princesses are also a very frequent topic of conversation.

Today we found a what if that involved some of the classic Disney gals.

.... Perfect.

Disclaimer: Because someone out there is bound to run across this and declare that I've opted to take credit for everything below, know this: These are NOT my original ideas, drawings or finished products. There. These are from the creative genius of Tumblr gal lettherebedoodles; we just found them fun enough to share. #lettherebedoodles, in case you're into all that hashtaggish stuff, too. ;)

Anywho, here's the fun that is the re-imagined version of the Disney royalty: 

snow white

cinderella

jasmine

aurora

ariel

pocahontas

belle

I thought those were fun! Of course there was the slew of feedback bashing the ethnic translations of each one for whatever supposedly racist innuendo, but frankly, I'm choosing to believe that this gal perhaps just wanted to play around with her creative side, rather than wage some sort of anti-[insert culture here] war. I visited her page, and nowhere in this post did she claim that the re-created versions are the better of the two, or that hers are the way they should've been, etc. I've decided not to read into this on a political or racial level; I think the artist here is talented and just had some fun with this!

 

Sydni had fun checking these out, too, which I enjoyed. A childlike approach to the smallest things, without a 50-page dissertation on why they are or are not correct, is refreshing. (:

 

Also.... the weekend's HERE!

Enjoy!

 

xo | cmd