Oh, HellO, Sunday!

W I N N I N G.

Today was just about as perfect as they come [just wish mini was here :/ ... ].

Xx | R I V E R! We made the decision early on to get some river time in, so Rob hooked up the boat and we were on our way to Grafton to meet up with Kenny and do some cruising. Taryn opted out, which honestly.. I didn't blame her after all of us being up eons past our bedtimes like teenagers last night.. haha.

[an oldie, but hey, it works ;) ] | river bound!

It didn't take us long to get moving once we got there; the first stop was The Big Kahuna in Grafton for some food, then it was back on the water en route to a sand bar to relax and do some quaaaa-li-ty people-watching.

Haha... yeahh. Really though, it made for a perfect afternoon, and checked off 'get on Rob's boat at least once this year' off my summer2013 bucket list. I realized today that this, in addition to my time last weekend with Laney, has proved completion of a few major things on said bucket list for the summer that I honestly wasn't sure I'd accomplish... so far I'm doing pretty good.. I wonder... what else I can do before it's over? Hah..

Boyfriend. Boat. Great company. Great.. Day. I needed this more than I realized. It doesn't take much, haha.

hi there, perfect day!

On our way home, we made the decision to go for sushi at Se7en, which was one of our frequent spots when I still lived here. This is never a bad decision for us, and tonight proved solid testament. 

se7en!

I'm here for one more night, which is strange to me.. but whatever, it works (: Tomorrow is the drive back to Cinci, but for now, one more night to relax & hang with my man & the two fuzzballs. Life's good, folks. (:

xo | cmd

HAPPY BIIIIIIIRTHDAY ALI!!!!

*SQUEAL!*
It's Ali's birthday.... sooooo....

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

Love love love love... her!

Here's how today at work went, in between actual work: Decorations, cake & our office staff all hanging out together. Oh, and I invited Jay to come up and be a surprise guest. (: 

decorations? duh. turtles, everywhere!!

I have to give major kudos to Andi, who has not only fulfilled the much-needed role of competent staffing consultant for the office, but also brings the talent of cake baking. She's pretty stinkin' amazing, and when we approached her for a second office birthday cake in the form of a turtle, this is what she brought today. And yes, it was even more delicious than it was cute. Belieeeeve it!

andi's creation: another amazing cake!

surprise guest! well, not really a guest so much as that one neighborhood
kid who just randomly shows up at your house to eat all your food and watch
your tv..... lol... hi jay! :p

This may be the first time I've gotten a picture of the entire office, too - at least the most current crew ;) I've gotta say, we're a pretty decent lookin' bunch! I love this work family of mine, and I'm excited to see it growing even though I'll be parting ways here soon. They will always have a special place in my heart and I'll miss them more than you'll ever know..... 

kyle. matt. linda. ali. cori. andi. diana. marc | 2013
express employment professionals | edwardsville/glen carbon il

celebrating my best friend & beautiful coworker.
happy birthday, ali. ♥

Oh, the JOYS of Express office birthdays. I've already promised myself back here for the summer and fall birthdays when they come around; I love this team & I will miss them. It didn't hurt to round out my employed-here birthday participation with that of my best friend.... & that was only the start of the birthday fun (:

We continued the birthday bash after work, with our first stop for sushi at Se7en in Belleville. Duh. I rendezvoused with Ali, Ashley & Scott, Tim and DeShawn, soon followed by Jay & Cindy, and finally Rob. It was a feat, but we somehow managed to go through not one, but TWO boats of sushi, drinks AND mochi. Hey. If you're gonna go, go big. :p What's that, another photo montage, you say? Well, I never thought you'd ask! ...... aaaaaaaand..... GO:

sushi boat... the first of two ... haha

The server thought it'd be wise to let us split the bill.
.... ummmm, sure?

easy, right? : / 

Dinner aside, we tailed over to The Edge in Belleville, with just enough time to catch the last round of laser tag. We pretty much closed the place. Ali, aka "TANK" came out on top, with the rest of us trailing behind. Let the record stand that I definitely did beat Rob. That probably won't ever happen again, so yeah... ;)

love. him. a lot.
...& uhh, check out the photobomb.. haha 

And of course, a semi-socially unawkward group shot.. so rare, I tell you (:

rob. cori. tim. ali. deshawn. jay. cindy

MARIANNE: We missed you, you poor surgery-stricken butterlover. We will have some GOOD fun once your nose is healed up and you're ready to smile again (: Hope you feel better SOOOON!!!

poor marianne. we missed [& love!] youuuu!!

LOVE YOU, ALI. HAPPY, HAAAAAAAAAAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

dear friend, happy birthday  ♥

xo | cmd

A Little Dirt & A Little Love (:

Question: Can you really go wrong with breakfast at The Egg & I??
Answer: No.

That being said, that's where we headed for some good grub before getting the rest of the day started. The weather has finally started to show some real improvement [although with living in the midwest, we very well could've seen a hailstorm by day's end and wouldn't have really been all that surprised.....].

With our bellies full, we were off to run some errands and take the day one step at a time. I love our days of blank agendas; we never seem to plan more than an hour out but always end up having the best time. Today was no different. (:

First stop: Dropping my poor, insanely wobbly car off at O'Brien Tire. Mike works there, so it was a no-brainer. The entire right side of the Altima was off alignment so badly that in the last week, it's been more like driving a massage chair from Sharper Image than a vehicle. On the bright side, we got it in before it did any real damage, and I've had a week's worth of free massages on every commute I've had in the last five days. Always a silver lining to dropping $350 on unexpected car repairs.


thank you, mike!!

Next Stop: Finding ramps for Rob's truck, for the loading and unloading of the new bike and whatever else he should ever decide to haul around. Let me tell you, this endeavor sounded a lot easier to accomplish than it proved to be. Long story short, it took us three stops total, almost two hours and much deliberation before we landed at Harbor Freight and walked out with the ramps he needed. Sidenote: if you ever find yourself needing ramps like this, don't go to Wal-Mart. Ever.


comparing ... & comparing some more.... & researching.... ;)

We finally got the ramps and headed back to the house; Rob got the bike loaded up with no issues and I got Stella into her harness. Kyle had called before our ramp-hunting expedition began, wondering if we wanted to take a trip out for some offroad fun [.... yessss, duh? ]. That became our plan for the afternoon.


ready!

We met up with Kyle, hitched his trailor + bike up to the truck, and made our way out 270 and hit the dirt roads where the flood had wiped out all development back in the early 90's, save for the leftover concrete slabs and the remnants of careless visitors over the past 15+years or so. The boys wasted no time getting wheels on the ground; Stella and I stayed back by the truck and played in the woods, the field and on the bank of an old pond. She.. had... a blast [as I write this, I'm fairly certain she's snoring on the living room floor]. Happy pup! (:

playtime with stellapittie!

Not a bad Saturday, at ALL (:

seven sushi + edamame
+ boyfriend + relaxing
= happy me. ♥

We stopped back by O'Brien on the way into IL to get my car; I headed straight home & Rob dropped Kyle off before heading down. Once we were showered up and both spent from a good day, we opted out of cooking and instead for some sushi. Another great call, and a great way to end a great day [say NO to tuna tatacos!] (:

= Seven. = Delicious.

*YAWN*
It's been a great day. Rob's headed back out tomorrow with some of his friends for another round of wheeling, and I plan on hanging out here to get some of this stuff done around the house. This is turning into an awesome weekend - let's see if tomorrow can hold up its end ;)

xo | cmd

Happy BIRTHDAY Arthur Twins!

I've not yet found any electronically-documented oldschool pictures of Kacey with which I could embarrass her for today, but at least I was able to dig up some for Jasmine. haha...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO
THE ARTHUR TWINS!

jasmine!
left circa 1999 | right circa 2012

I have older shots; I've known the Arthur girls since we were itty bitties, but those photos are in safe storage [probably a good thing all around, ha] at my parents' house in good old Mt. Vernon, miles away from here and any scanning that could possibly be done. Congrats, girls, you lucked out this time. Haha.

Anyway, today went by as most Wednesdays should at my work: busy, busy and a little more busy. It's not a bad thing - it actually helps the day fly right on by. I made it home and intended on making dinner until Rob suggested a trip to Se7en [ssssssssold]. We even started branching out into new things, including tuna tatacos.... while not a fan, it was fun trying out a different path. We ultimately ended our string of piece by piece orders with the traditional California roll, which is... always a winner. Haha. 

mexicana & crunch rolls | tuna tatacos
se7en! | belleville, il

We made it back to the house and got Stella [aka, The Meatball] out for some play before we settled in to relax and call it a night.....

Here's to the homestretch of the week (:
See you tomorrow!

xo | cmd

Owl Never Quit Lovin' Youuuuu

A few weeks back, one of Sydni's earrings came up missing. My mission today was to find some replacement studs for her.

In the entire planning phase of that, I neglected one faint but important fact:

I could make the frikkin things at home... myself. Oh well.

I'm not sure if it was the miniature nature of the studs that would ideally fit Sydni's ears, or what it was, but I was bound and determined to get that girl a new pair to replace the one she'd lost.

Not only did I find some basic itty bitties for her little ears, but I came across some owls in the process. I... couldn't... help it. 

adore! owl always adore you ;)

Ya'll know how I get with thrifty finds [excited, point blank]... so just bear with me as I try to maintain my excitement here. Haha.

Dawne asked to keep Syd for the evening, so Rob and I took advantage of the evening and made a break for Se7en in Belleville for some sushi. I absolutely love that place, and since it was his first time, we walked away satisfied after some edamame, a crunch roll, spider roll and cali roll. Sushi.... WIN. (:


dear cali roll... owl always love you, toooooo ;)

So far so good on the week... here's hoping the rest of it is just as good!

xo | cmd

Sally & Naomi Date Night

Remember this place? :) ... We do.

All I have to say is that it was a great night for sushi. Ali and I decided earlier today that it was time for a date night, and since we spent the majority of the day being addressed by the wrong names on the phone [Sally & Naomi? Right....], some R&R was in heavy order.

WINNING:  



yeah, sushi (: (: (:

DOUBLE WINNING:


mochi!!

I love my friend.
Thanks, Sally :p

xo | cmd

Date Night :)

♥

^^ Because that's what you do when you're kid-free and your husband's home from travelling! :)

Mo pointed out yesterday when they were at our house that it's noticeably quieter without mini running around. I guess I hadn't really noticed the stark contrast until she pointed it out, but in either sense, we didn't feel like hanging out in the calm of our place for the night. Once Joe was home, we made quick to head right back out the door for one of those rare, cherished date nights that parents of itty bitties see so infrequently. Haha.

We decided to stay local and re-invent the evening on local turf: downtown Belleville. There's nothing I don't love about that little stretch of Main Street, other than that I am always fighting the urge to go home with some handmade or locally-crafted thing that I realistically don't need.

In any event, we took to the streets of our little town and figured we'd stop off at Se7en, a little sushi bar we've tried before and loved.



sushi!

Also, it wouldn't be an outing in Belleville without a stop-off to see Bulent and raiding his supply of delicious gelato :). Duhh... We even ran into a musician there who plays in a local Christian band. He gave us his card, so you can trust that once I check it out, I'll share it all with you, too :)



one of each, please? :)

relay for life 2012 - paint the town purple!

 On our way out of downtown, I stopped to admire and capture the 2012 Relay for Life's Paint the Town Purple efforts by those who volunteered to do it. We were in VBS while they were out and about tying purple to every available post and pole in the area, but major kudos to those who made it!!

Our original theory for the night was that we would stop and see the new Spiderman after dinner, but unfortunately none of the show times were within an hour of us finishing dinner, so we opted to RedBox it and head back to the house to relax.

Good thing, too, since the movie we rented is still sitting on the coffee table, unopened and unwatched, because we are both about to crash out instead of watch it. Go us.

Haha.
We'll try it again tomorrow. :)

xo | cmd