T.G.I..... Kim's Birthday!!

Dear Kim,

!!!HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

♥ you, sizzlin' señorita!

We may not have hung out as much over the past couple of years as we did before I moved out of state, but that doesn't change the fact that I love this girl and hope her birthday was absolutely perfect.

Of course, in the interest of consistency, here are some highlights of my life with the birthday girl, in no particular order:

clearchannel days

birthday parties. Christmas parties. going away parties.

oktoberfest! cincinnati loves german culture ;)

there's really nothing to say ...



more goofiness .. unwarranted .. unashamed!



fast forward. 2013. love. her. to pieces.

To celebrate, I obliged Dan's invite to her celebratory dinner at Bravo in West Chester. 

happy birthday, dear!

Thanks, again for the invite Dan, and to this gorgeous mama-to-be, HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I cannot wait to do their maternity shots in a couple of weeks (:

I finished the night off with a quick stop off at OTR to see Nader, Keith and of course Grueter one last time before he heads back to Jordan on Sunday. It was a short visit since this week has kicked my butt and I am exhausted.

Tomorrow = Mount Vernon High School's class of '03 ... 10 year reunion.
Hahaha.. we'll see.

xo | cmd

Meanwhile, In Illinois...

My early morning sentiments:

adore. [not mine] | tgif!

FRIDAY'S HERE!

Work went as well as I could've wished it to go for a Friday; we got everything wrapped up into place, Nancy bought us girls lunch, and by the looks of it, we're going to be picking up pretty quickly, here in the very near future. I'm excited!

.... Not as excited though, as I was about getting my tail to Illinois after work to see a certain someone....


hiiii babies!! ♥

Well, and this guy, too, I suppose... ;)

♥♡♥♡♥ him.

Anyway, [this part is backdated], I got here in decent time, thanks in part to the hour time difference from EST to CST; Rob & I made it a mission to grab some food. We started off at Bindy's, but the crowd was a little much for us, so we found ourselves at Zapata's in Collinsville for some Mexican before an impromptu trip across the river to The Landing, Morgan Street Brewery to meet up with some of his friends. His friend Antonio, his girlfriend and a few others were our company for the rest of the evening.. definitely a fun crowd and a great time. Not a bad way to kick off my first night back here in IL!


i'm here! haha..

& that's a Friday wrap.. I'm looking forward to the rest of this weekend, for sure (:

xo | cmd

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LADD!!

Sooooo... birthday shout outs are my favorite.
And awesome people are also my favorite.
So.....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LADD!!!!

happy birthday, friend!!!

Good grief.. this guy..

Everyone has different types of friends. I know I do. The best kind, I think, are the ones who you can't picture yourself not having... the ones who would drop everything and be there for you when you need it, and know that you'd do the same for them. They're the ones to whom you might not speak or might not see for months at a time, but can pick up right where you left off when you do see each other. I have a small handful of those, and Ladd's one of them. His name's Matt, but I'm not sure I'll ever call him that. Haha.

[in no particular order until the last 3 or 4.. hah,]Top 10 favorites over the last 6 or so years of Ladd in my life.... lol... GO:

⑩ | Zoolander. Noooo, not the movie. But I'm not sure I've ever known someone who can do a better rendition of Blue Steel than Ladd. Haha. I probably have a hundred pictures of him making this face at different times, but that's part of why we're all friends.. in this crowd, the only way to fit in is to be just as weird as the rest of us. No need to be serious allll the time.

kim's birthday one year... and this guy... and his face. hahah..

⑨ | "Family Dinners" - So, for nearly an entire summer, the clan would gather for dinner just about every week. Honestly, it was more than once a week, but I'm talking IN the kitchen, cooking actual food, and sitting around a dinner table at THE SPOT like one big dysfunctional family. Nalom usually had a sippy cup of some sort, if it survived his climb up and over the balcony, Catie & I were usually responsible for not killing everyone with our cooking, and the rest of it's history. (:

family dinners.. minus nader & kim...
nalom. grueter. drenn. ladd. cegg.

⑧ | Lightning Fights. I have no idea where this picture came from [my best guess.. the spot, by default.. haha], but what I do remember is that the group of us didn't plan these out, but managed to take over 60 shots of random lights in our faces. Yeah, this is kind of a crappy picture, but it benchmarks one of the many random adventures I had with Ladd & co.

lightning fights. typical stuff :p

⑦ | Lending a helping hand... always.. haha. So this one was from a trip we took to the zoo, coincidentally the same day that Nalom ran his first full Pig [Flying Pig Marathon, Cinci OH]. Nalom was practically crippled afterwards, but we insisted he join us at the zoo. Solution? Wheelchair. Benefit to us? I think each of us took our turn at shoving him off at different times down some sort of hill, and placing bets on what he'd hit first. I think Ladd was the only compassionate one that day. Maybe. Probably not, but we'll give him the benefit of the doubt on this one....

they both look thrilled.... good shot, nalom. :p

⑥ | Midweek Luau's. Because everyone deserves a luau on a Tuesday. Or Wednesday. Or whatever day that was that we spent just about the entire afternoon and evening at some restaurant after nobody planned to be there in the first place. Again, one of the many random outings.. great times with these fantastic people...

nalom. nader. burg. cegg. drenn. catie. ladd.

⑤ | The Squish Dance. The signature anti-pickup line from Nader & Ladd. I've lost count of how many times these two fools attacked unsuspecting people with their mad dance skills. I usually did a much better job of avoiding the ambush, but Kim managed to trap me into it one night and captured this incredibly-accurate footage of my reaction. Thanks, fam... haha.

help. me.

④ | The famous foam board family portraits. These were a result of Nalom thwarting his time into the enlargement and foam mounting of a few of our 'family' moments. They sat on the mantle at the spot for almost a full year. Who can really be mad at this...

i spy..... ale.. ladd.. cegg.. nader.. nalom.. kim.. grueter.. anyone else? :p

③ | Duct Tape, Bubble Wrap, & other things he probably caught us doing.... & it is probably exactly how it sounds. Not once in my adult life had I crammed so many child-like things into one summer. First, it was duct tape. Then it was the covering of the spot from top to bottom, inside out pretty much.. with industrial grade bubble wrap straight from the roll. And then... it was the tracing of every person onto the wall with sharpies. Who knows what else... but usually it was Catie and I creating some sort of disturbance and Ladd walking in on it. Go figure.

.... don't ask.

② | 2013. I'm back in Ohio as a permanent fixture now and am proud to say that I still have my friends here, who could've easily quit on me [with good reason, at that] when I left, but they didn't. I owe them more than I could tell them, and hope that maybe one day I'll actually be able to do it.

ladd & drenn. a completely horrible duo.. but effective. hahaha... (:

① | Last but not least, this horrible picture of both of us that I'm only ranking #1 because Ladd wanted to kill me for about a week after this was taken. This started off as a joke, but Ladd almost ended up passing out, not eeeeven because I'm that strong or anything like that, but because somehow, I just caught perfect timing. I have to laugh at this, because we still talk about it and how badly he wanted to murder me for the next five days. Party in the Park has never been the same.

.... still love you friend... sorry about that one .. hahaha...

ANYWAY... HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! Love you friend.. and here's to many many MORE.

I'm out, scouts.. time to do some more DIY junk around the house. I'm sure I'll come up with something to show ya'll tomorrow... hopefully ;)

xo | cmd

KIM!

Hello, Thursday (:

And hello, KIM!!

Earlier this week, Kim and I crossed chats and made tentative plans to get together today, if for no other reason than to catch up on the last two years and just make contact. (: We promised we'd have a sit down, and so after work I headed up to Kenwood and saw my friend that I hadn't seen since her wedding over a year ago! 

2007 & 2013 (:

I missed her! We had some definite laughs over the last six years or so, remembering some of the hilarious [and definitely not so hilarious] things, places and people that now seem to be such a distant, stark contrast to where we both are now in life. It was refreshing to look back on the days of unabashed malarky and know that your friends survived it along with you :) OH, plus.... Kim and her awesome husband Dan are expecting their first little one in October! Thanks A LOT for being an adorable prego; I've been trying to avoid the baby fever [still am.. nobody panic], but seeing cute prego's who make that part of it look good really doesn't help. Hah. I've already decided I eventually want more kids, but certainly not anytime in the next year. Just one of those things, I suppose. In time....

Anyway, Kim and I agreed not to let another two years lapse before we hung out again, and went our separate ways for the evening. I had every intention on meeting up with Becky for some bluegrass down in Washington Park, but knew that before I did anything else, I had to tackle the front lawn at my house.

It's small, yes, but it was getting out of control. Trish's grandparents were so kind to lend me their mower since I've yet to decide on getting one of my own, and in ten minutes the deed was done. It's a huge improvement, and aside from the grass still being damp from all the recent rain, it was cake.


it's the little things (:

Now, if I could just make a decision on the dryer plug adaption... we'll be all set.

TOMORROW.. IS... FRIDAY. Halle-stinkin'-lujah.

I don't think Rob's going to make it in town this weekend, and if I'm being honest, I'm so sorely disappointed that I can't go there to make up for it.. Yeah, I'm bummed that I won't see him. To dull that disappointment [in a completely separate way], Kalyn & Keifer are moving back this weekend and hopefully that will keep my mind off whatever else is missing.

Either way, life's good and I really have no room to complain.
.. I hope yours is too (:

xo | cmd

Well Isn't That Somethin'

I discovered popcorn chips this week.

Let me repeat that:

I discovered POPCORN... CHIPS.... this week.


these things. hello, new addiction.

I partially blame this on Elisa for introducing me to these things late last week. I was on a mission to find some salad dressing just around the corner at Kroger, and I happened down the chip aisle. I snagged a box of these things, and while I liked the variety Elisa had better, these are still delicious and I thiiiiink... I'm hooked. Dangit! I already told Ali about these [we share an affinity for popcorn], and advised her not to judge me if she shows up next weekend and the house is full of these things. Haha.

Anyway, that was a tiny highlight of the day [it doesn't take much for me, seriously]. I'd prayed that the rain would hold off long enough to get a quick paddle in with Becky. That didn't happen; instead it stormed all afternoon and well into the evening. Since her and I are always so great at making actual plans [< that's a lie], we decided that I would just head her way and we would go from there.

who knew....

Insert also, that I finally broke down and made a pitstop at Home Depot to pick up some shelf supports. I've so desperately needed these tiny little things to get the rest of my shelves up; the original pegs are still packed away, I'm thinking likely in a box somewhere still at Rob's house. Either way, I never thought such a big part of what I had left to do would be contingent on something so small, but I reached another milestone in putting my place together with them.

Anyway, Becky and I did dinner at the Thai Cafe down in Ludlow, then retreated from the rain back to her place to hang out for a little while before I headed home.

pad thai (:

It. Is. ALMOST. Friday.

Tomorrow I'll see Kim for the first time in..... well, it's been a while. If it's not raining, I'll get this lawn mowed, too. Haha. We'll see.

xo | cmd

Oh HAAAA... HAAA. :P

It's funny how, even though I'm technically settled now, things are still spinning. It's always busy [I'm not complaining], so it seems like there's never a dull moment.

In the midst of the chaos, I nearly had a mini stroke from a conversation over text with Becky earlier today:


turd. haha..

Suuure, I would've been thrilled for her and any new job opportunity, but I seriously would've faced much dismay had she been serious. This all stemmed from the earlier messages of my asking what her evening plans were, and her telling me, "farewell dinner." As it turned out, it was a dinner for someone else; she and I are river-bound tomorrow and I will guarantee you we'll both have at least one welt each for me punching her and her returning the gesture. [P.S. - she's not leaving.] Don't DO these things to me! hahaha...

To combat any leftover doubt I may have had from earlier in the day, I planned a solo mission to IKEA after work. This could've gone either way: me either getting exactly what I needed and not a thing more, or me being lured into the jungle with nobody to help me.

Got news for ya: I made it out alive! [I know you were all concerned.. haha.. just kidding...] Seriously though, I intended to pick up a cheap coffee table to replace the one I have now. There's not enough space for the table I already had, so I was on a mission to find something smaller. The glass top table now has a home [along with the owl lamp, thanks Mom :)] on top of the otherwise unused ledge that protudes into the living room.


.. and don't ask me how i got that sucker up there... it wasn't pretty.. haha..

And...


thanks again, ikea (:

Oh yeah, I got a cute little rug for under the table, too.. all for under $40, and less than 20 minutes to assemble [gotta love particle board]. This place is coming together one stitch at a time, and I can't complain one bit. This is gonna be a good little place for me; I can tell.

Sooo....

Kalyn moves back this weekend.. & Keifer too!

Rob's visiting [still tentative, but I'm really hoping!] this weekend.

Becky & I [& maybe Mike, too?] are kayaking tomorrow.

Trish is lending me her lawn mower to take care of this mess out front.

Ali is visiting in 2 weeks.

Brittany's housewarming party is in 3 weeks.

Heidi just sent me another picture of my family from this past weekend.

Julie just sent me a mega-encouraging message to help uplift & motivate me (:

Jamie just sent me pictures of the mountains in Kurdistan.

Kim & I are hanging out on Thursday.

Catie & I are scheduling a date when she gets back from Chi.

GOD is GOOD.. ALL the time... & ALL the time, GOD... IS.. GOOD.

....Look at all these incredible people in my life! How could I not feel blessed?!

Tomorrow's midweek.
See you then!

xo | cmd

Throwback Thursday : Wyclef Jean

Once upon a time, I had the worst job in the history of every job I've ever had. 

Well, I guess I should give it a little credit where it's due; it was because of that job that I met Kim, Catie, Berg and a slew of other people I otherwise wouldn't know and wouldn't have the chance to adore in the same twisted fashion that they adore me. Haha. 

Anyway, I found a shot from waaaaay back when I still worked at the horrible job, and was reminded that although I found myself on nearly a daily basis wondering why I bothered listening to that small voice that kept saying, "Corin, don't punch anyone and don't walk out for good....": there occasionally was a cool person or two we got to meet. 

I said all that to say this: Here's one of those fleeting moments: 

circa 2007

^ RIGHT??! 

I told you this was a throwback. 

.... And yes, that's Wyclef. 

I have a few other random studio moments, events and remotes that I've found recently, too, that still make me laugh just thinking about how we were "requested" [aka kindly mandated] to attend most of those for one reason or another. 

Go figure. Anyway, like I said, this day here just happened to be one of those times a few of us stumbled on the studio when it happened to be Wyclef in there. If I ever find the old video of him playing some random guitar for us, I'll post that, too. Haha. 

Happy TBT!

xo | cmd

Happy Birthday, KIM!!

From Illinois back to Ohio.... oh dear KIMBERLY...

!!!!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY !!!!!!

love you darling friend!!!!!

kim's bday 2010 .. because it was 5:00 somewhere..
.. yeah, we found that somewhere :)

Ohhhhhh man, oh man. I can't even tell ya how much I adore this girl and all that she is. There were a couple summers in particular that found us more often than not having the times of our lives and throwing caution to the wind [no, not in a dangerous way, but more in that youthful sense], untethered by the responsibilities of the grown up lives we both are now pursuing. That's the generous way to put it, haha. She's definitely one of those guaranteed spur-of-the-moment good times girls, with a huge heart, even bigger personality, and somehow fitting all of that awesome into her tiny little self. Happy birthday, Kimberlyyyyy - I love you dearly, and can't wait to see you again soon, friend!
---------------
Tonight's agenda: dinner with Eric, Joe, & the Prescotts, and then some good old relaxing. (: That's my kind of night!


To the rest of you - Happy ALMOST Friday!!

xo | cmd

Small Group Goodies

just a taste of what our friends are like :)
i love 'em.

It was a small group night. You know how these go.

* We were a few men short tonight; Julie & her boys, the Sandvens, and the Sleemans were all MIA, but we picked up Jarod for the night, along with both Becky's mom and Lara's friend Kim, both of whom were visiting from out of town.

It should go without saying that I beyond love our small group nights; I'm gonna say it anyway though, and with gusto at that:

I:: LOVE ::OUR SMALL GROUP.
♥

Truth. See for yourself :). 

Oh, and the picture there is a depiction of inevitable social time after small group lessons, juuuuuus-so-yenno. We actually did have a fairly cored discussion tonight over Matthew 9, which ultimately resulted in adding a few more points to the already flowering list of reasons that I admire, adore, and cherish my small group. 

.. But I'm still spent. Night, folks. 

xo | cmd  

Mr. & Mrs. Miller!!

SHE DID IT!

Congratulations, a thousand times over, to my beautiful friend Kim and her new husband, Daniel. She's American, he's British, and the whole ordeal was absolutely perfect. I love weddings as it is, but it's a whole different experience when it's one of your good friends and you feel like you can't express just how truly happy you are for them. Plus, there's something special to be said about a girl who hand-writes notes for the place settings of each and every single one of her wedding guests.

our gift to her | her gift to me

st. patty's day 07 | catie's 23rd bday | clearchannel christmas party
|| kim & dan's wedding!!! ||

This was also a very special night for me because I finally was able to see and catch up with another dear girlfriend of mine that I haven't seen in quite a while. Catie, I love you and it was just as I thought it would be to see you and Kim and cut loose just like the three of us used to so often. I miss it, but tonight was a great refresher!  

Kim, I wish you and Dan the most literal happiness and genuine prosperity as this next chapter unfolds itself. I regret that we live so far apart, but I consider it a blessing to still call you a friend. Thank you for having me share in your celebration. Have FUN in China!!

Tomorrow, my parents will be here, and we'll also get to see Joe's niece Katie for her big 6th birthday party. Hard to believe!

G'Nite!

xo | cmd

I Love Parmesan Cheese.

True story.

But first things first: It's August, which is a pretty packed birthday month for me. That being said,

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KIM!!

xoxo. Have a stellar, stellar day, friend!!

****

We did spaghetti tonight, and I was suprisingly re-focused on those de-lish little beige crumbles of awesome.

fresh parm. love love love.

Today was, for brevity's sake, my average Tuesday: work, payroll, interviews, commuting, & laundry.

My husband surprised me with some very special, very scrumptious spaghetti [a favorite here in the Dills household]. He added some parmesan, and I decided I loved him all the more for it. Yum.

Tomorrow's Wednesday, which means work, more payroll, Wednesday night church, and starting on the seemingly daunting task of crafting our wedding programs. We'll see how that goes.

xo | cmd