Happy Thanksgiving, from Ohio!

First things first:

from our family to you & yours, with love! ♥

In the spirit of giving thanks, here's my little two cents on the things for which I am without a doubt grateful on this day:

God's Graciousness! 

Say what you will on this one; I know for a fact that I don't deserve anything that I daily consider to be mine, and I sure as shine didn't do anything to earn the life of liberty & happiness that I have. If there's one thing I do know about this day, it's that the road to comfortable life was one paved well before my time, through the promises of Christ. If you may doubt my resolve in this arena, I would love to talk with you! ♥

My FAMILY. 

That's a given, yes, but let's face it: Family ties are what can bring out both the best and worst in us, and at the same time validate much of why we do what we do. With my family being as blended as it is, I am beyond grateful for the bonds that've been created by way of our unique little collection of family that sometimes supersedes those created by blood. We love, banter, disagree and resolve with the best of them, but at the end of the day, we are there by choice for one another, and have zero doubt that we won't ever fall without being caught.

Sydni. 

She's 5 now and brings to the table everything I apparently did when I was 5. I can't say that I remember much of my single-digit years, but from what the older family members tell me, she's a spitting image of little me. Never in a million years would I have ever imagined learning as much from such a tiny person as I have through my daughter. I see the world through an entirely different light when I'm with her, and am reminded of the innocence, compassion, unconditional love and forgiveness that is clearly missing in so many adult lives. 

Rob.

I am dating my best friend. Time has sealed much of the emptiness and emotional static that had taken over me towards the end of my own failed marriage, and at that time I wasn't sure that I wanted, let alone would ever want to invest myself into another person again for fear of reliving the same set of disappointments. With the patient, compassionate honesty from which he himself stems, he helped me reach into and focus on rebuilding the deepest parts of me that had been so damaged. He was patient. He was kind. He was funny. He waited until I was ready to start over, and when I was, he was there to ensure that not one second of insecurity would find its way in. He is still that person, and has given so much of himself not only for my sake, but for Sydni, and for us as a family unit. I absolutely am dating my best friend, and although he might say he needs me, it's me who has grown and continues to grow because of him. 

Our Uniformed Men & Women

Life in America  hasn't been a calm ride over the last few months; the national headlines reflect the chaos and boiling tempers of both sides over the altercation between a Black teenager and a White cop, that left the teenager dead. Emotional turmoil has erupted into nationwide riots, looting, destruction of property and violence. I've never personally experienced life on the front-lines, but whether it is overseas defending the same freedom of speech privilege that we here at home are abusing, daily endeavoring out into local law enforcement, or anywhere in between: Men & Women are risking their lives, safety and inclusion in their own families for the rest of us. I have seen so much hatred in the last few weeks alone, directed in its majority to the police forces around the country, and it makes me sad. Yes, there is corruption in nearly every organization, but to those men and women who choose to exercise honesty, integrity and dedication to the oaths you took, I applaud you and want to remind you that you are greatly, greatly appreciated. 

My.. AND Your Employment.

I take my job for granted sometimes, but more often than that, I take other people's jobs for granted, too. We are one giant circle of service, and I fail a lot at recognizing that without the HVAC repair tech, we might be cold this year. Without the Electric companies, we'd be sitting around in the dark. Without the grocery store clerks, we wouldn't have anything outside what farms could directly produce [which, imagine that... I love the thought, but that's for another day!]. NO job, no matter how menial it seems, should be taken for granted; I am thankful for mine and the lifestyle it aids to provide me, and for you, your employer & the work ethic you clearly have to maintain your job. 

Good Health. 

Cancer SUCKS. Muscular Dystrophy SUCKS. Autism SUCKS. There is a seemingly endless list of sucky conditions that strike maybe when least expected, and rock families and individuals to the core. I've seen the ripple cancer causes to a family; within my own family, we've seen it. I've watched incredible people deteriorate physically - though not mentally - at the hands of MD. I've enjoyed the company of Autistic children, and realized they are sensational humans. I have experienced the shattering heartache of suicide resulting from unresolved depression. I wish NONE of those people had to suffer by way of affliction, but I know the lessons we derive from their journeys are hard-fought and usually well-applied to the prevention, treatment and education to others. As an adoptee, this is an issue that has always been in the back of my mind; I do not have extensive knowledge of my biological medical history, and at any moment, I could lose the health I have to something genetically-predicted. I am blessed, I know this, to have my health. That my daughter is healthy. That my parents, sister, cousins, aunts, uncles and friends are, for the most part, in stellar health. 

********

There's a multitude of other things for which I am grateful this year [and every year, for that matter], but that's a solid start and I'll leave it alone for now. Tonight, I was fortunate to spend Thanksgiving with part of the family on my mother's side. My cousin Stephanie cooked a dinner that was not a speck short of divine, and we celebrated my birthday.

It's Thursday, so it's fitting to throw out a #TBT in honor of this Lego table! Sydni found it in the basement in no time, and as it happens, this is the same table my cousins and I played on for hours when we were the same age. Love! 

mini me @ the lego table we had as kids! 

And this..... is a memo for myself for a later date, to remind my cousin Mark that we'll need a few things for the house ;). These are just two of the pieces he's crafted for his own house - 3 if you include the wall shelves behind the bar. Mark's a wood-working mastermind and I'm thankful for that, too! :D 

Happy Thanksgiving, to you and yours. I hope it's been incredible, just like ours! 

xo | cmd 

!! THANKSGIVING !!

🍗 + 👪 + 🏈
{{IT'S HERE!!!}}

There is so much signified by this holiday, and for ALL of it I am wholly grateful.
The first thing on my agenda today: Bake a pie. Ya know, because food is like, 90% of why we all gather together at 2 in the afternoon on Thanksgiving as opposed to normal-people dinner times of like, 5 or 6....

>> 🍛 <<

And then, we loaded up the pups for the mini road trip to Mt. Vernon [Sydni's with dad this year for Thanksgiving.. she'll join in on the travelling extravaganza for Christmas!] to my parents' house.

💑 + 🐶🐶 ➡🚕➡ 🏠

Once we were there, it was only a few short hours before we all loaded up again for the short trip out to my cousins' house in Fredericktown, where the real festivities for the day would be taking place. We probably would've opted for a later dinner, but since my cousin's wife is in retail, and the world has disappointingly digressed to a place where we just... must... shop ON Thanksgiving, she had to leave earlier than originally planned.. to go to work.

Let me just take one second to say, on behalf of my family & every other family who has been interrupted by this STUPID new phenomenom of "pre-Black Friday" shopping:

 

{{NO. YOU REALLY SHOULD BE ASHAMED if SHOPPING on THANKSGIVING is a higher priority to you than spending time with your family. SURE, I get it: some of us don't have the opportunity to be with our families today, or even more unfortunately don't have families we want to be around, but really? We're diluted, admit it.
I REFUSE to shop on THANKSGIVING... because MY PRIORITIES are PEOPLE, not THINGS. }} //end rant

 

Aaaaanyway, we made the best of the day and wasted very little time digging into the meal collaboratively constructed by my family. It of course, wouldn't have been complete without a little company. Mine happened to be my cousins' 15-year old parrot, Joey. He, like a typical teenage boy, seemed fascinated with the simple fact that I was a female, and refused to perch on anyone else's shoulder for a few hours. Oh, teenagers... ;)  

🐦 💘

😏🐥

It was so nice to spend the evening with my cousins; the "younger" ones, both now in their twenties, are 6 feet tall with beards. With my birthday being tomorrow, I feel exponentially older combining that with the fact that I remember them both when they were babies. Good grief. I love my family (:

Oh, and I almost forgot... [sorry!!] our family's annual, sometimes grueling tradition of watching THIS... literally every..... year on Thanksgiving. I somehow skipped last year, so by default I was way overdue.

🎄 griswalds! 🎄

That's a wrap here, blogbots.
Happy Thanksgiving, to you and yours!

xo | cmd

Pre-Thanksgiving Roundup

As we all expected, today was about as quiet as we could stand in the office, with the holiday weekend approaching and most people busying themselves with that. Dave & Nancy are in Florida, but called us to cut us loose a little early. Nobody complained [thank you, D&N!!]

We whipped up a quick dinner at home before rendezvousing with the funky bunch for a couple of hours down at the Banks. The Moerlein Lager House was our destination, where we found Kalyn & Keifer, Brittany & Joe, Jackie, Jess & Tim, and even Chris, for a short bit. While it's a little out of our usual taste, a change of scenery never hurts. Besides, it was an easy night for all of us; a few of them are doing the Turkey Trot tomorrow morning, and we've gotta be on the road northward to Mt. Vernon pretty early, too.

jackie. jess. brittany. me. kalyn

♥him!

Happy almost Thanksgiving, blogbots! Get your appetites ready for all that yummy food we'll see tomorrow!!

xo | cmd

Good Old Fashioned Family Time

I wasn't sure last night if I'd wake up on time for church this morning. My parents, who were at the show last night along with Sydni, weren't exactly planning to go either, but somehow we all suited up and made it there and back . The rest of the day was spent relaxing and soaking up some much needed family time with Sydni.

my little burberry girl!

Oh, and my parents are starting in on their grandparent obligation of fire-safety education with Sydni. Mom bought her an activity book based on the fundamentals of fire prevention, safety and reaction in case the whole prevention part doesn't work out. I quizzed her on the answers, and well.. let's just say 2 out of 3 right isn't bad. Haha.

And I... LOVE.. My sassy little fire safety-savvy girl. Even if she does give some wrong answers every once in a while.. haha.

with jazzy, our nineteen-year-old cat (:

And... 

my silly love!

I will forever be amazed at how much this girl makes me smile and laugh. She's hilarious and there is never a dull moment when we're goofing around. She's a natural toddler: a wildly beautiful imagination and a contagious little smile. Of course, ice cream sandwiches from Nana & Pappy have never hurt anyone before, either ;)

We were prepared to hit the road somewhere in the middle of the afternoon, but Mom & Dad invited us to accompany them down to R&M's for a pre-Thanksgiving dinner, compliments of the diner, and benefitting the Knox Co. Hospice. I didn't know what to expect, but what I should've known was to never underestimate my small town fixtures in delivering!

That being said, we had a full-course Thanksgiving meal, complete with all the fixings and even dessert. To say that we had leftovers was an understatement. Sydni of course, insisted on sitting with Pappy for the duration of the time we were there (:

things that melt my heart

& my mom, who does more than most women do for her family:

awful picture of me, but who cares.. love my mother!

When we finally did get on the road, I managed to make it nearly an hour back towards Columbus before I realized I'd left my wallet in the glovebox of Dad's car.. so after my second time headed southbound out of Sunbury, it was on the way home.

... And now we're here.
... And we're going to bed.
... G'Nite (:

xo | cmd

I'm Awesome At Shopping!

.. That's a total lie. I'm about as good at shopping as I am at basketball.

& ice hockey.

& juggling hand grenades.

& cooking any sort of red meat.

You get it.

Shopping ≠ My strong suit.
It's okay.

Anyway, today after work, I embarked on day 1 of my mission to find a "semi formal" dress for the event I'm attending next weekend. I'm not a dressy girl by nature, so that in and of itself was the first hurdle. I figured it wouldn't be hard at all to find a piece to fit the bill.

 

Either I'm insanely picky, or I just... honestly... do not know how to do this.

^ found that online somewhere, made me laugh.. totally applicable.

So to my frustration this evening at dress shopping, and to the actual idea of dressing up in the first place, I say... not now. Just. Not. Now. I'll deal with you tomorrow. For now..

Here are some things that make me happy, that share my affinity for craftiness and avoiding big stores unless absolutely necessary. I'm drafting Christmas present ideas.

1. Jewelry. I have a lot of women [& men, too] in my family who admire and appreciate fun, quirky accessories. I just.. I have this really hard time spending exorbitant amounts of money on things unless there's an appropriate occasion [not saying that Christmas is anything less than that, however]; I simply like to give a lot, to a lot, so frugality is never a bad thing. 


via Tzunuum, Etsy
fun. definitely could add my own spin on it.

adore.

no, not mine... but doable.

... and so forth.

2. Scarves! I went on a huge knitting spree two years ago - remember that? Well, at the time I found a blog that I started obsessing over; it was one of those tutorial blogs that shows you how to knit and all that jazz. I found pictures [since I'm too lazy to go find the ones I took sporadically in 2011] of each of my four favorite stitches I learned and completed. I think.... it's gonna be another knitting year!

bring on the needles & yarn! i just got excited again...


3. Foooooooood. Duh. Food. I'd be here until next Christmas if I tried telling you all my favorite goodies for the holiday season, but I think at the top of that list is something I also learned while in Illinois: Gorilla Bread. It's a curse that I have no need for recipe instruction, but that I can recall it from memory. Pretty sad. Haha. Whatever.. I will be making mini versions of this for.... all ya'll this year. Be ready. Be hungry.


drooling already.

... So maybe my failed attempt at shopping today was a good thing, after all. I just caught my second wind of inspiration to actually do some of this stuff this year.

Gears are turnin'....

xo | cmd

Thankful 2k12 : A Mini Novel

My mind is kind of all over the place with this one, so I ask in advance for your forgiveness in that regard.

First of all, HAPPY THANKSGIVING! This is one of my favorite holidays all around, primarily because of the whole family vibe, but definitely in part to the unrealistic amount of food consumed in the span of just a few hours.

I felt I should cover a few bases for Thanksgiving 2012, since this year is the segue to many more that will be very similar, if not even more removed than the current state.

*Sigh.

So the inescapably-abridged version of my current status looks a little something like this:

I am in the middle of a divorce. There. I said it. I hate to throw that boulder in the road right in the middle of Thanksgiving [of all times], but please trust me when I say I'll tie it all together.

Since I'm sure there are at least one or two questions about that statement, this is where I start incorporating the current with my overall gratitude on this holiday.

I married an incredible man. I still believe hat whole-heartedly about him. What? Well then why....? I know. It seems that, by default, we should be soaring right along in a life of marital bliss with the occasional hiccup. You'd be right to think that, but unfortunately it didn't turn out that way. I am not proud of the way things have turned out, and I don't endorse or support divorce [I hate that word, too]. Never did I intend on reaching the point of ultimate separation from the man to whom I pledged my entire life, but after years of praying and pleading for my heart to feel something I already knew had become foreign and intolerable, I caved to myself and made what I viewed as a courageous attempt to grant us both real happiness later in life. That we didn't work out will always haunt me in the sense that I should've weighed it on the front end much more closely than I did, made far more attempts to settle disputes as they came, and communicated better. Take that for what it is; I am just as guilty here. I am thankful for the experience as a whole, and as testing as it's been, I know we will both emerge on the other side as stronger people, better partners to the next who walk into our lives, and wiser parents.

The rest of this is pretty standard stuff....

I have a daughter for whom I'd not only die, but for whom I would give the world, the stars, and a planet if I ever discovered a way to wrangle one. There's something to be said about the love for and of a child that only eminates from a parent. Some of you know. Some of you, I hope one day will. It'll stand uncontested. End of story.

My family: words wouldn't do them justice. All I can say there is that I'm adopted, but that doesn't matter. I have a family rivaling most. We're quirky, dysfunctional and totally loving every minute of it.

My friends: Y O U guys & girls are a group to be ENVIED. I say that not because you're my friends, but because you are absolutely. freaking. amazing. I didn't ask for your support and I didn't expect you to be there when I fell off whatever pedestal of contentment I'd had for whatever time. You were there. You were supportive, and you were more than willing to love me for me in spite of my nuuuumerous imperfections. One of these days I'll return those favors. Until then, just know that I love you to the ends of the world and back. I'd be a blundering mess if it weren't for some of you, and literally dead or dying if it weren't for a few of you specifically. Thank you. I mean it.

My head spins sometimes when I think about the level of gratitude I have for the elements of my life - both the good, the bad, and shoot, even those that just seem to be neutrally supplemental. I'm one lucky girl, in spite of whatever you've heard ;)

xo | cmd

Ohio. This Is Becoming A Habit.

I made it.
This whole long-distance commute thing is starting to become less and less daunting, the more I do it. I took off after work and before I knew it, I was rolling right into Eastgate. I'm not exactly sure where five hours went, but I'm here, and all is well.

[borrowed!] | cincinnati, ohio

Four day weekend.... begin.

xo | cmd

Sick of Driving

I'm going to squeeze this in before I call it a night.

I am... so sick ... of driving.


gorilla bread | delicious addition!



This morning, we put final touches on the lunch plans at my parents' house with them, and my Aunt & Uncle from Shaker Heights. We ate, took some family portraits, and then wasted no time getting everything stacked like a road-trip version of tetris into the car for the haul back to Illinois. We're borrowing my parents' artificial Christmas tree this year, too, since they're coming to us for Christmas and don't really mind ditching the fuss of erecting the tree if nobody will be around to oooh and ahhh over it on Christmas anyway. That meant all our luggage plus Sydni squeezed into slots in the backseat for the trip home.

Simply because I am exhausted after our 9-hour car ride home. Plus, it's work tomorrow.

*Yawn. Enjoy. 

mom & aunt toni

joe & cori | ♥

dills & drennings | christmas card preview? ;)

 G'Nite!

xo | cmd

Sydni vs. Santa

We took a 50/50 chance on doing the whole Santa Claus thing with Sydni today.
It didn't go well. I wouldn't really say there was an upper hand on either side, let alone a winner.

We'll get back to that.

heavy sleepers!

Today was excellent. It began when I found my dad snuggled up next to his grand daughter in the twin bed that was originally mine as a teenager. I later realized that both Joe and I had slept straight through Sydni waking up in the middle of the night crying for Nana and Pappy. She knows better than to call for Mommy and Daddy, especially when we're visiting the grandparents. Haha. It was a cute little scene, and I know Sydni loves being spoiled rotten, so this was just perfect for her.

Once we were all up and moving, we headed up to Bellville -- no, not Belleville [IL], but Bellville Ohio -- for lunch at Toyer's Dutch Heritage. It's been quite a while since I've been to an Amish restaurant, but it took me back to my younger years when we used to go frequently. We survived the majority of the outing there without incident; Sydni had one minor meltdown that was cured by Daddy taking her out to the car for a little vent session after which she was just fine. The weather provided for the perfect experience, and so we took our time dining before heading back to Mt. Vernon for what would be a terrifc fail at visiting Santa.



we don't love santa... yet.



Once I hunt down the picture of me with Santa Claus when I was about Sydni's age, I will share that with the class, as I remember it being a near duplication of the scene we saw today [poor thing]. The snapshot of toddler me with random mall Santa showed Santa standing, holding what could only be described as a hysterically terrified child, flailing with a life-altering urgency to escape that jolly, bearded man and all of his holiday magnificence. Charming photograph, really. Looking at it almost strikes a sense of pity for the Santa, who I'm sure was persuaded by no less than a handful of parents like mine to 'just hold her for a second!' While we didn't instruct today's Santa to constrain Sydni for photography's sake, we guided her over to Mrs. Claus, who did her best to daintily detain my child while we made lightning-like attempts to capture the moment. It came out, as you can see, just bursting of magic and fluff...... or not.

We'll try it again next year.

We calmed both her and our nerves by venturing out into the rest of that shopping plaza and finding some other fun photo-friendly opportunities. One of my favorite pictures to date of Sydni was a product of today; I'm both proud of myself for seizing that moment and amazed at how much she changes, daily, it seems. I'll end on the note of sharing those shots with my fellow blogbots.

 

Tomorrow, we'll head back to the other Belleville. *Sigh.
Praying for travel mercies for all those heading back home after the holiday! :)

xo | cmd