HAPPY BIRTHDAY CEGG!!!

Happy Friday!
I just wanna say ....
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CATIE!!

♥ you cegg!! | happy birthday!!

Oh, how I love that girl! I'll be back in Cincy next weekend to help celebrate; it's gonna be a wild one but I'm excited. Happy birthday to a friend who's always been there, has always been honest and has kept me grounded when I felt like I was falling apart. Love you woman - have a GREAT birthday!

Found another fun one from a few years back [Rock the Runway event!]:

circa 2008

aaaaand... sold.

Yay, friends! 

Speaking of friends, Jay came up to GC to do some work, and so we had lunch over at Applebee's. More importantly, we had a triple chocolate meltdown ... at Applebee's.

With Friday out of the way [halleLUJAH], it was time to veg and enjoy the evening. Dawne had asked for Sydni to stay over with Luke & Olivia for a sleepover, so she was there for the night. Rob and I made ourselves at home over at Hot Shots with some people from his work for dinner, and Marianne eventually joined. By the end of our time there, we'd resorted to spitting ice cubes into various buckets, trays and glasses left on the table.

Somewhere in the midst of dinner conversation, Marianne and I ended up on Pinterest and Facebook, and I found.... another foodie item.

Long story short, Marianne and I cut the trip to Hot Shots short, made a bee-line to Wal-Mart and made it back to the house for the creation of a chocolate chip butter sugar masterpiece.

Yeah, it happened.

pie. chocolate.. butter.. sugar... awesome.... pie.

Happy Friday...here we go weekend!!

xo | cmd

Something Something... Saturday

This was my view for most of this morning.


driving into the sunrise = beautiful.

It really  helped, given the circumstance and the fact that we hit the road right around 5am. This is my least favorite venture every single time I make it, not necessarily even for the distance traveled, but for what I know is waiting at the other end.

The other view I had didn't hurt much, either... and reminded me that there is a purpose behind all of this nonsense.


piggie pillow, apple juice, big smile.
.: LOVE :.

Like I said, not a fun trip to have to make, but it is what it is, and I'm embracing the simple fact that I have such a beautiful daughter to begin with. I made my way back to IL before 11am; I stopped off at the dog pound with the delusional thought that it might cheer me up some. I was clearly out of my mind, because I was two sad barks away from taking home a full wing of homeless canines. Don't do it....


chocolate consolation.
...... ooookay.....



I got home and resigned myself to a sullen state of "blah," which was promptly and thankfully interrupted by Ali and DeShawn. I forced myself out of the house and met them at Red Robin.

Good call. Chocolate cake was there. Whoever said chocolate is soothing was not kidding. It doesn't erase my wandering thoughts today, but it certainly didn't hurt my mood. 

Anyway, we finished at RR and made our way to Toys R Us [I was cheering right up by this point]. Ali needed a birthday present for her friend's little boy, so we tagged along. It wasn't long before the sugar rush from that gigantic piece of chocolate cycled out of my system and I wanted nothing more than a nap....

*insert nap*

Rob conquered the task of coercing me out of the house again [my inner emo being was insisting on a Saturday night of self-loathing indulgence on the couch], so I trekked up to his house. We hopped in the diesel and headed right back down to O'Fallon to Hot Shots for dinner with some of his friends before landing for the rest of the night at Jake's.

All in all, I must say that I'm thankful for these friends of mine; I still feel like I'm in kind of a funk, but I'm sure it'll pass. I'm still kickin', so that's one step ahead of a lot of other folk.

xo | cmd