Buon Compleanno, Mamma!

IT'S MY MOM'S BIRTHDAY! 

look at that hair! ;) 

I'm not the kid that can say she and her mom have always been best friends. We fought a lot in my formative years, but here's the deal: she didn't then, hasn't since and I'm fairly certain never will not have my back. She's fought for me every day of my life, even before I was born (because yenno, adoption). She made sacrifices I can't imagine making, to be sure that the child she chose - not birthed - would have a well-rounded life. She invested in me with everything she had, and even though we can agree now that the good intentions didn't always hit their mark, they were there. Even when I felt most alone growing up, she was there. She is always, always there.

I wanted to say some things about her - my mom. 

The first of those things is this: My mom is  not the perfect mom. She never has been. She won't ever be. HOWEVER, the fact remains that she started that journey almost an entire year after her child was born. If you're anything other than blind, you've understood that I'm adopted; by definition alone that means that I am not her biological-born, and so the choices she made on my behalf were, in my eyes, just that much more intentional. She had none of it figured out when I got here. She didn't have to. My mom is the type of person who shines even brighter after moments of failure or mistake. I've never met anyone who so thoroughly uses a setback as an opportunity to do and be better on the next chance. That's been a hallmark of her personality for as long as I've known her, and from what I hear from my family, long before that. 

Another thing: My mom is the epitomy of the finite balance between endless positivity and an almost annoying air caution. I don't know how she achieves both so fully. She chooses to find the light in everything, even if that light is a buried underdog in the battle. In the same breath, she's warning me to check my fruits and vegetables for pesticides and not to use toxic chemicals when I clean the areas my pets and family might use. She has an unwavering smile through it all, as though the sun being out in the sky is the best thing since the sun existing in the first place. 

And then.. she's been the logistics coordinator and structural brain of our family for years, and is still somehow hilariously and adorably aloof. 2017 was the year she and my dad finally emerged from the leashes of FLIP PHONES, and went straight to smart phones. I now get to hear her say things like, "Oh, I just love the Google." 

Us too, Mom. Us too. 

If ever there was a non-celebrity human being who invested herself into the well-being of others around her before herself, it's my mom. She's a professional samaritan, which by proxy is likely one of the biggest contributors to her endless supply of joy. Oh, and if you've known my mom for more than 5 minutes, you'll know that that compassion is distributed in this order: Animals, Family, Food (aka, for everyone else). Those legends you hear about animal activists in the 70's with clipboard petitions to save caged pigeons are not just tall tales. That was her, in all her Farrah hair and bell-bottom prime. She channeled that into 20+years as the president of our hometown humane society, and has every ounce of credit for surrounding me with vets, trainers and breed advocates who taught me the fundamentals of animal well-being. I assisted in my first hands-on feline spaying surgery when I was 9, and was pulling rounds of deer ticks off stray dogs for multiple-hour sessions in my garage by the age of 11. I could recite the foster-to-adopt program by heart before I finished middle school, and it's because my mom was (is!) so passionate about any creature - 2 or 4+ legged, who don't have their own voice. 

Lastly (for purposes of this blog, but certainly not lastly in general), my mom is HAPPY. She is happy with the life she's built, with what she's lost and what she's gained. The joy that is in her eyes isn't fake. It's not forced. It's there because she obliged her passion for adventure and loving others. For being a part of a community, a family, a business, or an excursion. She's happy because the things she's poured herself into were not always rewarding, but then when they were, it was tenfold. She is happy because she has surrounded herself with people who share her beliefs and her passions, and who continue to encourage and keep her accountable to her goals. And she's happy because she still has goals. My mom is genuinely happy with her life and what it has given and continues to give her. Our running joke is that she'll be the one still riding her bike 13 miles a day at 212 years old, when we're long gone. I mean, it's unlikely, but we'll see ;). 

Mom, you deserve every bit of love and light today. I love you to the moon & back.

Happy Birthday ♥

xo  | cms

Winter Road Trip

Sometimes I wish I wasn't so bold when it came to driving through weather patterns.
But then again, I don't wish that, because I live in the mid-west. If I were squeemish, I'd never see anyone in the winter months. :p

So it's Cincinnati, and that means when we call for Snowmageddon like we did today, we will either get it, or get like, light rain for a couple hours and then 60degree temps the following day. We're hot and cold here.. literally.

We were all captivated today by the fact that as we left our houses for work between 6-7am, it was nearly 60degrees. By noon it was 12. By 3pm, freezing rain was making all the windshields gross in the parking lot, and by the time we left the office, everything was just a big ice cube with population topography.

Thanks, Nick, for taking the initiative to scrape all our windshields! :)

nick, easily the most dedicated in the office

This is the drive home at 5pm, versus an hour and a half later when we were back on the road heading to Illinois:

welp.

Again, it would be nice if somehow my brain would register that maybe, just maybe.. some ideas aren't great. But then again, my brain also works under the pretense - correct in this case - that it would eventually quit being crap weather and the drive would be fine... which eventually, it was, but not before it was complete crap and a freeway free-for-all for two hours:

Whatevs. It's super late, we made it to Kenny & Taryn's, and I'm gonna have to catch back up in the morning - I'm toast.

Stay safe, midwesters. It's nasty out there. ♥
TGIF!

xo | cms

It's a New Week!

Yes, yes it was.

One of my favorite things is a collection of people who can suffer joyfully through something together. One of my not-so-favorite things is that the reason we're suffering is because midwest weather seems to be having a midlife crisis. As a result, I along with a bucket of my fellow Ohioans are feeling the glowing effects: sinus infections, colds, flu, bronchitis, strep and delightfully-disgusting things that are coughed up first thing in the morning.

Beautiful visual, eh?

What I do look forward to on Mondays, for now at least:

And no, I didn't mean jumping ship after the standard Monday [although fitting, yes!]; Mondays mean new episodes of Shadowhunters, and I think it goes without saying I'm a hooked fan. I'm still 110% surprised at how much I don't hate all the plot departures in the show (vs. the books). When we got hit with Lydia in season 1, I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to handle these, but now that there's been a shift change with the writers, all the non-booky things seem to be weaving a course of their own that's still comprehensive, and dare I say it's kind nice? 

^ If you have no idea what I'm talking about, you really need to read the books. Honestly, I'd start with The Infernal Devices and work your way through those before The Mortal Instruments. It's all just... so good. So. Good.

SPEAAAAKING of TMI, this this THIS THIS THIS THISSSSS came today and I'm tripping over myself in excitement. I've been hunting this specific edition of Lady Midnight down since just before CHRISTMAS, when I spotted it on a couple of my favorite book instagrammers' feeds (bookstagrammers?). I learned it's a limited edition, and mostly specific to the UK. The Book Depository website told me it was out of stock, and the only available copy I could find in the U.S. via Ebay was going for over $200. I think not. THEN, just when I had a friend living in London who offered to procure this from a Waterstones and send it to me, Book Depository emailed me to let me know it was back in stock, and well.. the rest is history. This gem arrived today, from Australia, and it is even more beautiful than I'd imagined! ♥♥♥♥

i. am. swooooning.
#nerdstuff #goldenrunes

It's so.. beautiful. And it adds so nicely to the mantle shelf, which speaking of that.. is going away hopefully this weekend, if not very soon thereafter. The last thing I need is to replace a broken mantle and whatever book damage happens when gravity has had enough :p

So I'm outta here; it's time for the episode. One of these days I'll channel my inner Christine Riccio and do a book or episode review. We'll see. We'll see. 

xo | cms

May .. Day... 1!

Ahhhh.. good morning LOZ! 

It's a bummer that we had to leave this beautiful place behind today, but I'm pretty sure we'll be back, so it's not a forever farewell. Plus, next time I'm sure we'll have some aquatic horsepower in tow, and a couple coolers to go along with it, so.. that'll work. 

see you next time, loz ♥

The ride home was a mixture of fitfully uncomfortable car napping, shoeless feet, a Fifth Harmony song playing at least 15 times [work work work work work.. you ain't gotta work work work work work...] and finally the arrival back at Dillon's. We literally spared enough time for a bathroom break and some quick farewells, and then Rob and I were back on the road for the 5-hour trip back to Cinci.

3 hours home. 

Back at the homestead, there was a 45-minute gap between our arrival and my parents, along with Sydni. I couldn't imagine a better homecoming after a long weekend, and as we spent the evening together catching up on our respective weekends away, it dawned on me yet again that we have blessings in this world that money will never buy. 

From our family to yours, and from this pit-iful [har har!] behind, good night and cheers to another week of productivity! 

Ahhh... to be home ♥!

xo | cmd 

Sunday Fun Day in ChiTown USA...

I momentarily forgot where I was again this morning when I opened my eyes, but was immediately reminded that the city awaited us on the other side of the window, 31 stories below:

sunday in the chicago atmosphere

Departure mornings are always a test of initiative, memory, checklisting, communication and the ability to play travel tetris with your luggage, pillows, etc. so you can haul it all in one trip without the bellboy's help. At least that's how it was for us this morning, trying to drag ourselves out of bed, put ourselves together to look mildly human, pack all of our things in a makeshift sense of semblence and then leave the hotel room without leaving anything... behind.

It's a miracle we remembered where the car was parked.

As challenging as the check out process can be, the drive up to Southport Ave. was the complete opposite:

blue skies cruise, a marina and miles of happy people enjoying the day! 

Speaking of happy people, I think we were ALL happy when Britta descended from her apartment a few blocks away to join us for brunch at Southport & Irving! I'd told her I'd love to see her while we were in the city, but I really didn't expect her to come dressed just like Ali.. haha. 

No seriously, I can confidently say that Britta and I hold the record for the shortest amount of time taken for two strangers to become instant friends, but Ali and Britta just came in a close 2nd. I mean the two of them practically dressed like twins, without even a chance to plan it.  

instafriends! 

french toast, ya'll..
southport & irving | chicago, il 

We ate, we laughed, and we snapchatted. Ali & Damanji are officially SC Assassins in my book; they both managed to get some fantastically troll-esque captures of me. Damanji took the liberties of drafting a side-by-side comparison, and I've gotta say, he's not wrong...

grampy troll... and cori. :0|

more snappy fun.. these are reactions to some of the questions our table
received in the span of the hour we were there.. 

After Southport, we traveled just around the riverbend! CORNER.. to GingerSnap; it's a place Ali found online and committed us to because it says Ginger, and because she is the lens behind GingerSnap Photography. So it makes sense. Right? Right.

it's like the place was made for her! 

reunited!! 

In case you missed what I said about Britta & Ali dressing up like twins, there's this nicely posed sorority picture as proof: 

twinsies! 

Damanji & I have been pretending all weekend that we're as hipster as we feel, so we seized this opportunity to do something hipsterish, in the doorways [to the soul] on this street, illuminated by the light of a thousand serenading high-efficiency lightbulbs. Or something. 

you look so.... pensive

Q: How many hipsters does it even take to change a lightbulb?
A: It's a number you probably haven't heard of yet...

deep in thought about life, the universe, and probably donuts.... 

Q: How many kale smoothies did I drink before this picture? 

A: I'll build you the answer out of upcycled pallets. Stay tuned.

yayyy for friends! ♥♥

We finally said our see-ya-later's to Britta, and loaded up for the trip back to Naperville. From there, it was quick hello's and farewell's to the family,l and then Damanji and I were back in our separate cars, bound respectively for STL & Cinci. 

At least it was as beautiful day for a drive! 

don't skip these, kids... don't skip these. 

almost there :) 

they're much prettier in the daytime! 

Happy birthday, Ali... I hope you had the best birthday yet, and I miss the fun already! It was such a fun weekend meeting some new faces and reuniting with the familiar ones! 

See you on the flipside, blogbots..

xo | cmd

The Journey [Is a Long One]

Dude, hoooooly driving..

Where the trip to South Carolina went off without a hitch, the haul back was quite the contrast:

Cons: There was so. much. traffic. 

There were detours.
Ignorance was running rampant on social media.
Thirteen. Hours. In. The. Car.

PROS: 
Woke up to the smell and sound of the ocean, palm trees and sand.
Tackled the journey with one of my best friends & her beau.
It was gorgeous weather the entire trip.
North Carolina bartenders will make you a specialty Wedding Tea, if you ask!
Plenty of time to peruse and reflect on photo reels from the weekend.
Finished reading City of Bones (now on to City of Ashes!)
Took a stand against ignorance and self-made bigot #forthewin #saynotowestborokids

Traveled back through the 5 states: SC, NC, TN, KY & OH! 

Returned to my family: Rob, Syd & the Pups!

I'm... tired. Like, beyond tired. Today was a gorgeous day, and while I'm here blogging, the newlyweds should be well on their way to their Caribbean honeymoon. I'm so thankful to have been a part of this wonderful weekend, and can't wait to see the pictures!! 

Love, love & sleepinginmyownbedyesssssss... 

xo | cmd 

Memorial Day 2015

I'm elated to have had today off work. I love that we were able to spend just a little extra time visiting with our friends and family in Illinois. I love that businesses around the country closed down to "celebrate" today. BUT, in the midst of all that, I want to stop and THANK.... those who are beyond my reach to physically thank. The ones who gave all, so that we could have the liberties we have.

amen. 

For the families of those who paved the way and gave their lives to do so, today is to honor the memories, courage and ultimate sacrifice of your sons and daughters, husbands, wives, siblings and friends. I salute them, and I salute you.

My day started earlier than I'd expected; the air mattress gave way at some unknown point in the night, so there wasn't much sleeping between that realization and the sun rising. I took advantage of the silence to dig into some of my own sustenance, which was a perfect way to reflect on what Memorial Day should signify for us.

perseverance, tenacity, hope. 

I was finishing up with my devo time when Jesse and Rob starting moving, and in a matter of about 40 minutes, we had breakfast ready..

not too shabby! 

We ate and relaxed while the dogs did the same..

we don't wanna get in the car! :( 

We hung out at Jesse's for a little while longer, until we finally loaded up and hit the road for the trip back to Ohio.

on the roaaaad again.... 

Fast forward about 5 hours, and we're here, home, safe & sound and ready to nestle in and do nothing for the rest of the night. We made some dinner, lounged around for a couple of hours and are ready to call this one a night :).

Gooood night!

xo | cmd

The Drive: OH, THE. FUN. :|

You guys. 

This drive today... was long. 

1. Zac Brown Band at Riverbend. 

= friday night traffic... ohhhh joyyyy! :/ 

2. Rush hour in Louisville. 

* le sighhhh..

3. Construction.... EVERYwhere.. because we live in the Midwest and that's a fact of life. 

e v e r y w h e r e . e e e e e e v e r y w h e r e . gahhhhhh

Long story short folks, this is backdated.
We're here in Illinois, and ready for this weekend to start. 

xo | cmd

HOME for 2015

Usually our return trip from Illinois is a lot closer to the day of arrival, but not this time.
[Thank you, holiday vacations!]

They're also never quite this.... packed.

loaded up to the max! 

Hahahaha. So that's a combination of dog stuff, our stuff, and our new [Christmas] stuff. Poor Lexi didn't know what hit her until she was slammed to the ground with a full trunk and about 600 lbs of living cargo for the trip home. You're a trooper, Lexi ;)

Unfortunately for our tentative itinerary, the snow started to set in pretty early in Illinois; if there's one thing Lexi won't cooperate for, it's snow, so that rendered us with the decision to risk it or get a head start. Head start it was, which deleted the time we had alotted to stop by and see Rob's dad again this morning, but also landed us back in Cincinnati at a very reasonable hour.

These trips don't really phase us anymore, which I think is both a great thing and a small curse ;), but either way, we're home safe and sound and have even managed a full grocery run to boot. It's just now turning into evening, and I'm happy to spend it planted here and unwinding before the inevitable onset of Monday-after-holiday stuff tomorrow at work.

That being said, I couldn't have imagined a better holiday season overall: friends, family, fur-kids, lots and lots of presents, and something about an engagement to top it off. :p. This has been the best one yet. The pups think so, too!

Here's to wrapping up the holiday and making 2015 the BEST yet!

xo | cmd

ADIOS, 2014!

It's been a long time since I've participated in any real partying for New Year's Eve [as defined in the traditional sense, that is]. I've thoroughly enjoyed and not-at-all regretted the past several years of laid back, under-the-radar celebrations, complete with a small circle of friends and/or family, and calling it a night.

But not this year. I am 30 after all. Why not?!
Rob and I as usual were on the same page with wanting to celebrate New Years in a big way: We are after all engaged, and depending on our settling a date, we might be sharing the same last name come this time 2015. That's still up for debate, but for the moment at hand, it was a matter of ushering in 2015 with great friends in Illinois.

I was off work today, which afforded me just enough time to run some last minute errands, clean the house and get everything packed up for a 5-day trip to IL. Rob worked until noon, and joined me to wrap up, stuff the car to the brim and load up the pups [yes, they came, too!] for the all-too-familiar 5-hour jaunt to Dillon's house.

We arrived with just enough time to unload the car, order a pizza [because classy, that's why....] & doll up to join Matt & Courtney down in STL for the night's festivities to really begin.

So we arrived at the hotel directly across the street from Harry's, where Courtney & Matt were waiting. We finished getting ready and made our final decent into the chaos that was NYE celebration on the other side of the street.

harry's | st. louis, mo 

And that being said,

HERE WE GO!

ready to get this started! 

The plan to do the night to the extreme:

yes, we had a table. [thanks, matt!] 

And there were photos galore...

rob. cori. matt

this guy ♥

matt & courtney [aw♥!]

The clock struck midnight and we officially welcomed in the start of a brand new year! I have zero complaints about the entire experience & am excited to see how 2015 dares top 2014! 

love, love, love you! ♥♥

See you on the other side! 

farewell, '14, & hello, '15! 

I hope you and yours have ushered in the new year safely and joyously! I know that for us, 2015 is going to have to step it up in big, big ways to top 2014, and I'm pretty excited to see where the next year takes us.

Love love & more love to you & yours - HAPPY 2015!!

xo | cmd

ThisRoadIsUnderConstructionAndSoAreALLTheOthersSoGoAround......

YES, THIS IS A STOCK PHOTO: 

Here it is again, just in case you didn't see it that time:

Now.. imagine that, plus a nice, countryside side trip through who-knows-where-Indiana because of all that jazz.. for the trip home.

We made it [home], just a short [7] hours later.
We're done driving.

GET IT TOGETHER, MIDWEST. 

#OrangeConeMANIA

gahhhhhhhhhh.. 

over. it. 

See ya later, November ;) 

xo | cmd