'Cuz Baby, You're a Fiiiiiiiirewoooooork! [Sings!]

It's no secret that we've run ourselves ragged over the past few weekends. I wouldn't trade any of that time, but with another weekend in our hands, we decided to plan on no plan, which is actually way more our style as it is. We made a resolve as we parted ways in the driveway that if we did anything for the weekend, it would be by chance.

Work was about as calm as we could expect any Friday to be; I was very much looking forward to an evening of relaxing and just hanging out with Rob. We of course spend a lot of time around each other, but sometimes we don't realize we need to just be together.

There's no better way to do that than an uplanned trip out for sushi.
And, where we live, there's no better place to go than Mango Tree.

our reaction to our resolve to "not do anything"
... haha.. love him.

He's the best man I could imagine sitting beside me in life; I'm not one for bushy bouquets of flowers every day, and I've never fully trusted anyone who thinks spending money is a viable substitution for quality time. Even with the means to approach it, he's nowhere near that danger zone. That... that is what I love.

... and i love you too!

Ok, who are we kidding. We're sick of each other. We just wanted FOOD.
[That's totally a joke, btw. Expect for the food part. That's not a joke ;) .. ]

spring rolls & crab rangoon = pre-sushi workout ;)

YUMMMMM!
The sushi, as always, was grade A and gone in no time. We paid our bill, left with full bellies and buckled up for the short drive home. As we were turning out of the restaurant, the sky in the distance exploded with fireworks. We had no idea what it was all about, and could only estimate their origin as the huge church on Newtown Road. Either way, we pulled into the drive of one of the closed businesses near Hahana and sat silently together watching what turned out to be at least a half hour's worth of fireworks. This wasn't a dinky little show!

fireworks!

I caught some of the action on camera..

There ya have it. Tonight's schedule has nothing else on it, and I am completely fine with that. We need a weekend in for a change. See ya tomorrow!

xo | cmd

I ♡ Perfect Weather

True story.

We had our 2nd week of league tonight at Hahana, and I have to say... I haven't been in much of a mood to extensively compliment the weather recently, but today .. was .. perfect!

myself. keifer. kalyn. beth | backseat sets

We all agreed that the team we played last week was way more fun about it [considering this is a rec league], so we weren't too sad when our opponents today headed out afterwards. We landed ourselves for a post-game dinner at Village Pizza in Newtown. I'm a little peeved that I've never been there before; it's delicious, cheap, aaaaand they serve fried green beans. No, I didn't order them, but they also have fried zucchini, and we did get an order of that. It was a good call. (:

Tomorrow's Thursday... it's almost Friday and that means we're a few days closer to meeting up with my parents to drop Sydni off for her swim lessons that start next week. I'm pretty excited for her, and can't wait to hear all about it.

And dangit! As I sit here settled in for the night, I just remembered the pictures I was supposed to pick up from Walgreens this evening. Woops. I'll get them tomorrow I suppose. Pretty excited for those, too.

.. Enough thinking for now. Lights out!

xo | cmd

Smile. Life is Good.

Life is Good.

I feel like I haven't actually made that declaration lately, even though I absolutely know that it is. It's been stressful, but I can see the light at the end of the flux tunnel, and I'm bent on getting there.

 

I'm back now in a city that should feel more like home than it actually does [granted, I've only been back for a week now]. I'm away from a staff that was more of a family than a job, friends I love, and a boyfriend who is also my best friend and now my greatest source of long-distance moral support. Illinois is a chapter that is closed for now, and I'm back in Ohio where I will hopefully feel more at home very soon. All of that being said, I look at what I have - both here and there - and realize that my life is good. No no. It's GREAT.

 

My baby girl, my little mini-me, the pint-sized whirlwind that defines my every move: She is healthy, happy, loved by both myself and her dad, even separately. She's smart, kind and discovering her way in this world. I'm back here for her, for the moments like these that I will hold onto forever. I'm here because I'm a mother and there is nothing in this world stronger than the bond between a mother and her child. Nothing. You know that smile - the one that starts in your gut, tingles up your spine, gives you goosebumps and makes your ears tingle before it lights up your entire face? That's the one I get from her, even thinking about the time I'll now have again with my daughter, my carbon copy, my pride and joy. I found these from a mini-shoot we did snuggled in bed one morning a few months back....

♥ this little girl... the best thing that's ever happened to me. ever.

I've been doing better, too, about not falling apart over the people I left back in Illinois, specifically my close friends and of course, Rob. I've said it before but I'll say it one more time for the sake of repetition: I really haven't ever been so in-sync with someone. I'm comfortable with him on a level that I never had, with anyone. I trust him, not only where fidelity could be questioned, but I honestly trust him... with my emotions, with my time, and with my deepest thoughts, goals and fears. We were friends - just friends - long before anything more than that, and I know that no matter what happens now that I'm here and he's there - our friendship wasn't skin-deep, and it won't ever go away. There's no real way to accurately show him how much I appreciate him, but I'll try until he gets it ;)

simple things that make me smile ♥

I wouldn't be sane, grounded or lifted if it weren't for some of my friends, either. Yes, there's a handful of other people [family, other friends] who deserve accolades where support is concerned, but today, I'm specifically grateful for four very different but truly incredible women, who have been there for me when I needed it the most and probably wanted it the least. ;) Through everything that has transpired in the last two years, I never doubted - not even once - that these women would be there at the drop of a dime for anything from a weekend refuge to just a shoulder or an ear. They didn't question or judge, but made sure I knew I had a soft place to land when chaos set in. I am indebted to each of them, in different but equal ways. Thank you. You don't know how grateful I am for you. From Arizona [Kalyn] to Illinois [Ali] and back here in Cincinnati [Becky & Catie], I love you, friends and I appreciate you!!

kalyn. becky. ali. catie.
every girl deserves to have friends like these.

And on a continous note, the housing search continued this evening, with a trip out to Mariemont/Fairfax with Becky to scout out a property [CList, Zillow & Realtor.com have gotten a workout these past few weeks!]. I'm very happy to report that I feel hopeful about this. Whether or not this materializes into the one, I think I like it and it went well with the landlord, so I was left feeling refreshed, after the last few weeks of dry leads. If I do end up moving, I'll show you a picture then ;)

After the viewing, it was off to Eastgate, where I picked up a steal I'd found on the ever-reliable Craigslist = new tent! My philosophy is that you can't really ever have too many tents, especially when it's a 4-person and you paid $30 for it. WINNING (: 

iiiiit's camping time! (:

Since we were already in the Eastgate area, I took Becky for her first visit at the Main Street Cafe in Newtown. Three words: Sweet Potato Fries. Oh, and two more accompanying words: Calypso Sauce. You know exactly what I mean if you've ever been there. Newtown itself is a cute little area, which reminded me that somewhere nestled in it, is a local retailer that sells spoon rings and other various knick knacks. I made a note to myself to find it again and make a visit. In due time.....

Meanwhile, outside Mainstreet Cafe there was a very worn entrance into a wooded area, which we couldn't help but explore. I'd gone straight from work to run all of these errands, so I was still fully disguised as the business-casual version of myself as we embarked on a mini-hike through some foliage. We found everything from a run-down metal storage shed alone in a clearing to a 4-hours cul-de-sac on the other side of the trails. Nothing spectacular, but fun for some curious people like us.

yep!

From there, we finally made our way back to Northside and settled in for the night. We started looking into some ideas for camping this weekend; it's a long weekend and supposedly going to be beautiful. I'm pretty excited, so we'll see what turns up. For now... it's past my bedtime (:

xo | cmd