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 

Happy Workaversary To Me!

Once upon a time, I started a job with this company called Express: 

my first express family : cincinnati east, oh
photo circa 2010

I'll never forget it - March 15, 2010: It was a Monday, and it was my first day on this new job I'd found on Craigslist, at a place I'd never heard of a month before that. I jumped in with both feet and remember very clearly my first full week at Express Employment Professionals: computer training [yay!]. It was an overload of information, a time I look back at and laugh at how many pages of notes I took, on things I wouldn't need to know, really. I had no idea where that job would take me, or if it would lead to anything at all that would be stable, or permanent.

When the news came down that I'd be moving to Illinois, I lost a lot of tears grasping the idea of leaving behind one of the best teams on which I'd ever been. And then, I met Marc & Diana, and became part of their team as a transfer. As part of that team, I would go on to experience almost 3 years of team restructuring, process adjustment and even an office expansion. I became a staffing consulant, and eventually grew into a sr. staffing consultant role. I met Ali, who is now one of my best friends, as a product of working together there, and still to this day have lasting communication and friendships with that team. 

my 2nd express family: glen carbon, il
photo circa 2012

The decision to move back to Ohio wasn't the easiest thing in the world, but out of that came the opportunity for me to work alongside Dave and Elisa [& some other endearing characters: Nancy, Lizzy & Nikki.. and then some other more questionable thankfully short-lived cast members, but I digress >_<...] 

my 3rd express family: cinci central [part 1]
photo circa 2014

It wouldn't become the longterm Cinci Central family unit, but the time I spent working with each of them is invaluable.

Then came the revolution; Dave sold the business to Paul, Elisa went to grad school in Chicago and the last toxic cell was cut from the team all in the span of a couple months. From there was born the new and battle-ready Cinci Central team. It's a world of difference in dynamic, but we're steadying the foundation together and it's amazing to see how far we've come!

my [technically] 4th express family: cinci central [part 2!]
+ our significant others, along with chris & deb!
photo circa 2016

It's been a crazy ride: 3 different offices, 4 franchise owners, a multitude of different co-workers, events, seminars and the like. I wouldn't trade it for anything; this place is just as much a part of me as the 8+hours we invest into it daily throughout the week. I never would've envisioned myself working for a company like this, but now that I do, I'm grateful for every chaotic minute and wouldn't have it any other way. 

Six years later, here I am - still in one piece and ready to see what's next. 

Let's go, year 7! 

xo | cmd

Fridays CAN Be Fun! ;)

I started off the day by waking up to a head of hair that had apparently been through a battle royale overnight; my Spanish genes apparently came out victorious after I'd gone to sleep on wet hair... curls for Friday it was!

And then there was the matter of appropriate and sufficient caffeination:

^ This little guy sparked a variety of comments, from my sweet friends complimenting the lion's mane, to Rob, of course, who attempted and succeeded at borrowing a spot in the limelight of my post. My question: Who wore it better?! ♥♥

who wore it best? 

I didn't realize until after I'd posted this that Mare, aaaalll the way over there in Vermont, was having a similar Stanley-fueled morning:

I have such like-minded friends ♥♥...

Work was a blur, like it usually is, but I have a renewed energy in me this week, I think due mostly to the fact that I'll have a support person back here on the staffing side in just one more week. I can hang on until then, I'm pretty sure.

And just in case I wasn't sure, my team and I were pleasantly but completely surprised when the Pizza Hut delivery guy came sweeping into our office, clad with two pizzas that had been bought and sent to us by one of our truck-driving associates.

I mean... we have an incredible crew of associates who work for us, but it's times like this that stressful weeks remind me that the people we're helping are looking out for us too. You know who you are, sir, and we want to say thanks to YOU!!

many, many thanks!! :) 

The successes of today were not small, nor infrequent. We're feeling a bit ragged I'm sure, but not in vain. My team is amazing :).

The day didn't end at 5:00 - it was far from it! I mentioned earlier that we'd won a sales contest; it's a big deal for us, given that we're in the running for this against 8 other local offices, and we only have 1 staffing consultant right now. It's a team effort, and it's paid off! We celebrated tonight with dinner at Hofbrahaus, followed by a comedy show at Funnybone.

express cinci central (& co.) 

Whew. What a night! Yes, this is backdated; we pulled up to the house around 1am, and straight to bed it was for me; an early morning and a 4-hour drive to Cleveland awaited me on the other side. 

Happy Friday, and happy weekend to each of you out there. Enjoy!! 

xo | cmd

Is It FRIDAY YET?!?

Welp, I signed up for this today: 

can't wait!

I'm so excited to get to Summit this year, especially with Paul & Clarissa going for their first time. To add to my excitement, I realized today that the Edwardsville & Fvw Hgts Express offices will be going as well, which means I'll get to see all of them!! :D Yay!!

This happened in my office today.. haha..

he's lucky i didn't crush him to death... yiiiikes.. 

This has been a grueling week, void of just about all productive activity outside of work hours. This is one of those weeks that didn't see the inside of a grocery store for more than 6 minutes at once, and with us heading out tomorrow to St. Louis, we've made it by on what we still have in the pantry and opted for seafood tonight. Exhausted as we both are, I still had the chance to sit down with this handsome guy for a dinner that revolved around just.. us. Date night, woo! :)

date night with this guy! 

Don't mind me... just eating like I still live in Alabama.... haha.. corn on the cob and all!

corn on the cob? yes, i think so. 

Tomorrow it's one more day of work and then we're outta here for IL. It's WEDDING VENUE selection time! [please pray for us.. haha]. 

See ya then! 

xo | cmd

Whew, Wednesday.

Here's something that I don't do nearly as often as I should: 

I'm fortunate to have a boss who understands me from a deeper level than daily clusters [& flusters] of activity in the office, and can sit me down in his office with a simple, "what's UP [with you]?"

Wednesdays are a good time to recount my steps taken through the week so far, and in doing so, count the ones moving forward and map out the path to take. I'm perpetually awful at delegating, so too often I find that while I'm still moving in the right direction, I'm slowed by nothing other than my own stubborn refusal to lighten the load and share it with fellow travelers. 

I know; that's a little to deep for just work stuff, but it's true. My job is one shared by many all over the country [& technically in Canada & South Africa as well], and there are days that are, despite our best efforts, prove to be not only thankless, but wholly depleting of any confidence, steam and fragment of sanity we may have had walking into it. BUT THEN, there are the days that come with a mission of triumph, happy coincidences and birthing of new partnerships. Our end goal is to help people, and although some days come to test endurance, character, tenacity and integrity, the others are there to lend reprieve and thank us for the work we do. 

To be honest, today was one of those scattered days that felt as though I was trying to boulder straight up a bar of wet soap. I mean there's really no other way to put it. I drove home in a weird cloud-like state and collapsed into a straight line on the floor as soon as I shed bags and work material. Savasana, talk some sense into me, pleaaaase..... Flow, stretch these muscles and strengthen my brain. God, I give you my frustrations, failures and gratitude and know you are unfailing. Breathe in.. and out. In... Out. Rise... Hold... Rest. REST. For just a moment, just rest. 

true story.

Volleyball was within earshot at 7:15, and came and went in a similar fashion to the day, with a player out and two others standing in, then trading the lineup mid-game - it was just as scattered as the day preceding it had been, but it was OKAY. :) We were there, in the moment, and all was well.

Rob and I jumped into tennis shoes when I got home and went for a walk, a short 2-miles of reset that was much needed for him and for me, both separately and together. 

It turned out to be a beautiful experience, all wrapped up into one, otherwise ordinary Wednesday. 

Happy Wednesday to you and yours, and HEY - Take a moment for yourself this week - whatever it is that you do, and just... BREATHE. It's OKAY.

xo | cmd

Elisa's Last Day

Ugggghhhhhhhhhhh....

Today was Elisa's last day at Express. I've got a few different sets of emotions to deal with today...

One of them is sadness, because of the obvious reason that she's an awesome person, inside and out.
Another is that she's been my sole, stable source of sanity and clarity at work, and in the past 3 years, we've been through the ringer here at our office. Literally only Elisa can fully testify to and re-live the history of this office, and I don't know what I would've done without her!

Far unlike a few [one recent in particular] members of the Express team who've come and gone, she's an honest person and a friend before anything else. Our team won't be the same without her, but we have no business telling her not to go and pursue her dreams!

E - you're awesome, and I'm so glad that our paths crossed on this journey that started as coworkers and will continue as friends long after this! THANK YOU for keeping me sane, for laughing with me, for understanding the frustrations and celebrations of our job, for dealing with crazy [from coworkers to associates and everything in between!] and for always being there to talk sense into me when I thought I was in over my head. I'll see you asap when I visit that-a-way in Chicago! :)

my gift from elisa... isn't it supposed to be the other way around!? :o

Tomorrow we'll be flying solo with Clarissa, and while I'm super excited to launch off into our next chapter, it's going to be a very strange feeling doing it in her absence.

MISS YOU ALREADY, CHICA! See you soon :)

xo | cmd 

Welcome, Clarissa!

We welcomed a brand new member to the Express team today!! Elisa is leaving at the end of this week to prepare for her launch off to grad school, and after several unfruitful weeks of searching, we found Clarissa, who is going to be taking her place. I'm super excited to see our next chapter with her! :D 

welcome aboard!!

I was also pretty excited about lunch.... not just the salmon & green beans, but the fact that I actually remembered to bring it to work. I mean, that's half the battle, right? Haha.. 

Elisa and I took a breather [our first of the day, really] around 3:30, and opted for ice cream... because we were both embracing our inner fat kids today and it sounded awesome. 

and it was awesome!

How'd we never know about this place before?! Not cool...

It's awesome. Cute, small, locally-owned and operated... and delicious. :) 

Time Warner Cable on the other hand, has some absolutely ground to make up, and will stay in the doghouse until the end of time. While I understand it's a luxury, and this will certainly sound like a first-world rant... we signed up for this because we are blessed with the means to support it, and because we enjoy watching it occasionally. So given those two things, the fact that we spend more time speaking with customer service about our lack of service than actually having service is irritating. 

We're almost on board with whoever else has ever though and/or done this... 

last straws.. 

And I suppose if that's the worst thing that's happened to me today, we're okay :). 

It's Monday, and it's sunny. This is gonna be a good week! 

xo | cmd

Yenno.. Just... RAIN.

Here's how the beginning of the day looked: 

workday... and rain. 

Here's how midday looked:

lunch... and rain. 

Here's the drive to volleyball after work:

driving... and rain. 

Here's Grand Sands, in between sets:

volleyball.. and rain

The running theme of pure saturation was branded all the way through the day today. However, there's always a silver lining, and in our case today, that came in the form of winning the league after a round of tournament games! Not too shabby for rain-soaked sand, players and volleyballs. Yay, team!

league champs ;) 

Next session starts next week. Here's hoping for no rain in sight :D

xo | cmd

I Play Sand Rainyball

So, it rained a lot today. Like.... all day. Awesome, right?
No... not really...

right before the lightning... 

The good news, we walked away tonight with our championship Tshirts from the last session, where we somehow managed to pull away with both league champion and tournament champion status. I could've done without the rain & lightning, but I'm not complaining - it was still a blast.

woop woop! 

Let's all say a quick prayer that the rain will not be here when we wake up tomorrow... wouldn't that be nice? ;)

Maybe. We'll see.
G'Nite!

xo | cmd

Clone the Hiking Pack

It's heeeeeeeeeeere!

So way back in March, when my SonRise team and I headed off to the mountains of Suiche, we were equipped with borrowed hiking packs, courtesy of Chris' old church up north. It's been on my bucket list for about the past 5 years now to snag my own new pack, but I never got around to it... until now.

Out of curiousity about a week ago, I asked Professor Google about "Swiss Gear Hiking Pack," to see what the results that would ping back from the World Wide Web of Wonder.... As it turned out, the exact same bag that I carried for that trip was on Ebay, used twice by a seller who found that he had another bag that he wound up preferring.

Bottom line, I bought it.
And today, it arrived!

it's here! :) 

I let Elisa have the pleasure of opening the box, and before I knew it, this happened. Dave came out just as she was answering a call, stuck somewhere between a mountainous trek and an office:

hahahha

The arrival [& excellent condition!] of this new/used hiking bag shoved my day in the right direction; I topped it off with a client meeting in Springdale - with a fellow Pinoy!, and then with a 3-2 win over our competition at volleyball.

And now I'm home.. planning my next outing.
Any and all ideas are welcome!

xo | cmd

KINDERGARTEN GRADUATION!!

STOP IT.

Sydni graduated Kindergarten.. today. STOP IT. STOP IT. STAAAAAHP.

Already?!

syd & her class!

When I woke up and got ready this morning, it was hard for me to believe that I would have a first grader by the time the afternoon started. Rob and I met up with my parents at Sydni's school, followed eventually by Joe, his mom and Nikea.

We followed the crowd of parents and family outside [Sydni clearly had the biggest fan club], where Syd and her class had prepared this little number for us:


I mean... get outta here with all that cuteness!

action shots :) 

The celebrating continued, family style:

her dad's side

my parents! [aka nana & pappy]

my world! 

group shot

Syd's dad and mamaw had to leave, so that left us with my parents to enjoy the rest of family day and explore what Sydni's day looked like.

r: "what do you wanna do this summer?"
s: "um..... boat. and swim. and play in the park!" 

^^ Those two :) :) :).

making a tye dyed shirt! 

playing on the playground

Pappy, the patient observer: 

this guy... hahaha...

bubbles!! 

The playground time came to an end, so we headed inside to show Syd's classroom to Nana, Pappy & Rob:  

the book cover syd duplicated

the "clip" system - i love this! 

My heart was so happy today, watching Syd accept her certificate of kindergarten completion. As much as her dad and I have our differences, and likely always will, she looked so completed, and so content to have all of her close family there.. and that, really, is all I could've asked: for her to be this genuinely happy:

my heart. 

After the celebration, we grabbed lunch with my parents, then headed off on our own to return to our day at work, while my parents spent a few more hours with Syd. They eventually dropped her back off at her dad's before heading back north themselves, completing their daytrip. I am so thankful for them and for their willingness to make that journey.

Work finished with a big meeting, which was a great thing [I'll fill those blanks in later; it's a lot], before I finally made my roundtrip back to Rob, rendezvousing with him at the gym.

AND, we wrestled a Pinterest recipe into submission for dinner tonight, and it was pretty daggone good:

turkey & sweet potato skillet! 

nom nom nom!!! 

Whewwwwww! What a day! Life is good. Life. IS. GOOD.

xo | cmd