Cutest Apology Ever

I just want to highlight this for the day and leave it at that:

cutest apology, ever

^ My friend Sarah's daughter snagged her cell phone last night and managed to call me. I wasn't sure what she needed when I saw the phone ringing, but was quickly informed that it was in fact, a hacked effort.

&& then I got this.
&& then I decided she could call me ANYtime she wanted. Haha.

Too funny.

|| On to The Voice, some more edits, and probably a trip to Gold's to work off the Red Robin I shamelessly devoured today with the gals from work. *Sigh. My oh My. (:

xo | cmd

Hello, MAC!

WHERE HAVE I BEEN FOR THE LAST #### YEARS?!?!

I'll give you the condensed version of how this happened:

I've functioned primarily on Windows/PC-based software & hardware for the past however long... but it's been eating at me to try it all out on a Mac. For as long as I can remember, I never really had an interest in choosing sides [& I still don't, really] in the ongoing bout of PC v. Mac, but I figured I might as well at least step it up a little if I plan on editing any pictures in large quantities moving forward.

So... I bought a Mac. Problem solved. Haha.
And then I came home from work, with the Mac.
And now I'm going on hour FOUR of editing.
I'm obsessed.

Oh, and there's some sort of presdiential debate happening tonight, along with The Voice, and almost just as importantly, the Cardinals just lost to the Giants 9-0. Sorry, Cards fans. :p Haha.

#stillaredsfan
#cincinnati
#ohiofanlivinginstlouis
#woops!

Good NIGHT (:

xo | cmd

Candy Police

Current Mode: Watching The Voice.
Currently Enjoying:

card from my mom. to sydni.
so reminiscent of my childhood, it's unreal.. hahaha

Advice Halloween card from my parents, specifically my mother.

Did anyone else grow up in a household in which your mom commandeered your Halloween candy every single year, sorted it and then only gave you, at most, 4 pieces? Am I the only one?! Haha. I look back at that now with a huge compass of gratitude, but I'll tell ya what, I certainly did not have sentiment as a kid. Sorry about that Sydni, looks like your mama's gonna take after her mama... and your candy's gonna be limited. Tough luck, kiddo ;).

My mom is hilarious.

xo | cmd

When I Grow Up, I'm Gonna Sing Soul

I used to think I could sing.
And then I watched this.
I think I'm gonna be a singer... when I grow up ;)


Talent!

Oh, yeah, as for the rest of Monday... well.. it's been a Monday for sure and we'll just leave it at that. It was a good day, all things considered :)

xo | cmd

Flowers, Pea Pods & Serenades

It wouldn't be a Monday if it weren't eventful.

1 | FLOWERS! My husband.. has once again outdone himself [even if it did catch me some grief at work, but that's another story]. Thank you, Joe, for the antique roses. They are beautiful. And they smell terrific :).


antiqued roses? it's like having little bengal striped roses. they rock.

2 | Peas in a pod! This is part of the fun of being half of a mama-daughter duo: whenever I make a jewelry piece, I'm expected to make a dwarfed version of the same thing for the mini.

-- Exhibit A: 

peas in a pod necklace + earrings

-- Exhibit B:

mini peas in a pod bracelet, in purple... of course ;)

3 | The Voice. Awesome, as usual.





How much do I love life?
Lots :) I hope you do, too.

xo | cmd

El Voce! [Night 4]

More of The Voice.

I'm gonna start singing eventually, if these auditions keep inspiring me to do so.
I might also buy Christina a shirt.
Really it's all up in the air, still. Haha.

Top picks from tonight:

 

I think I was drawn particularly to these two tonight because they're both so quirky, in a fun way.

|| EDIT! ||

I totally forgot about this guy...


^Guess how many vocal lessons that kid has had? (Zeee-ro.) Guess how old he is? (Sixteen). That's natural talent, friends :)

There were more, of course, but I have to say these two three were by far the most fun for me :)

It's been a manic monday, for sure.

Happy WEEK!

xo | cmd

How's THAT For a Midweek?

I think I have a problem...
Seriously.
I'm addicted.

I watched the third night of blind auditions for The Voice tonight, and I've gotta say I'm goin' on night 3 of inspired by some of their stories, their talent, and the fact that they're putting it all on the line for the approval of the industry's megastars.

This one, by far, was my favorite from tonight:


I've always been a fan of the Marley vibe - there's something so relaxing about the emotion behind reggae in general. This kid's got it nailed down, and I'm kind of excited to see how he does in competition.

Then there was this one, by a guy whose family suffered through extreme political turmoil in Nigeria; his father was wrongfully incarcerated, while he and the rest of his family fled the country and made it here to the U.S. It's one of those heart-string stories that makes me stop and appreciate the gravity of the life with which I am blessed [magnified by the whole adoption thing]. His testament that music saved his life is dually-noted [no pun intended].


Suave, yeah?? I like the natural rasp in his voice. Major talent. 
Oh..  ... and just in case I'd forgotten this is still mainstream media programming, I'll include this one particularly unique gal: You can search her audition on your own if you feel inclined; I'd rather not have it on here... I didn't realize until I went back to watch the others that she ["Domo"] is on crew for Rhythm City [ABDC]. Interesting. Definitely conceited, though. Too bad, too - she's a pretty talented dancer, if nothing else. :/ 
Well.. all things The Voice aside, I caught some of the opening moments of America's Got Talent before retiring the TV for the night, but I did see this, which I thought was cool [apparently they're in the finals now? Sure.]: David Garibaldi & His CMYK's - I'll let you look that one up on your own too [video.overload]. Pretty amazing stuff! 
****
Anywho, today was about as decent as they do come.
Do I dare forget the birthdays for today?
Umm, absolutely NOT! ESPECIALLY since we LOOOVE these two munchkins! 
HAPPY 4th BIRTHDAY, LYLA!!!

beautiful lyla! 

and of couuuuurse,

HAPPY 4th BIRTHDAY, JACOB!!!

silly candid from the dual bday party we had a few weeks ago : jacob!

We have the privilege of having both of those little ones [along with Landon, the other September birthday kiddo] in our small group every other Friday, so we get a little extra dose of them from time to time, and we love it. Happy birthday to both Lyla & Jacob [& no, in case you thought to ask- they are not related. hehe]

**** And in other news: 
Nancy stopped by to see us late this morning - her new job seems to be treating her well and she's enjoying it. I'm so happy for her, but slightly reminded still that we miss her. Well, I miss her. A whoooole lot. *Sigh. So good to see her though!! Miss you, Nanc!! To top off the morning, I gave some blood and such to the life insurance medical examiner. I found out today that my heart's still beating and my arm still bleeds like it should with a needle in it. It's a start. :p.
Sydni and I did some more damage to the weed infestation that keeps threatening to overtake every spare inch of soil in the front and back gardens. I'm almost glad for The Voice airing at the same time every evening for the past 3 days - it's brought us back inside after about an hour of digging and pulling. I don't think it's over-exerting work by any stretch, but the mosquitoes have taken an equal liking to the moderate temperatures and it's made for very itchy evenings. My arms and legs look a little bit like broken brail sentences right now. Oy, bugs. >:[ Grawr. 
It's been a jam-packed week so far; I've got some last minute details to do on one of the Towerfest mail-outs, so I suppose I should get back to that before tomorrow. Oh, and I'm slated to sing this Sunday and have yet to solidify a song choice. 
Hey procrastination, heeeey. 
xo | cmd

The Self-Titled Day: 9/11.

I remember thistoday, last year - we were in church, attentively glued to the the testimony of a man impacted by the events of September 11, 2001. I wouldn't dare detract one second from the tragedy that made that day the historic pinnacle that it was. I read some articles around this time last year; there was a span of various interviews done with young men and women who were, in 2001, either infants or whose mothers were still pregnant. One or both parents of each of these children were taken during the events of 9/11/01; it was compelling hearing the perspective of young adults who had lost parents so young to that event. THANK YOU.. to the men and women who laid everything on the line on that day to save each other, and to the men and women after that who went to defend the honor of our resilient country. I'm PROUD to be in a nation so proud of its strength and so quick to defend it.

[fbhack!] thought i'd go with this one
[[with his better (& beauutiful)]] other half, his wife ashley :) 

In what is at most just a situationally unfortunate coincidence, I also don't want to detract from celebrating things that are worth celebrating. That includes a multitude of things, but today especially, a very good friend of mine from home has a birthday today.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ZACH!

I've known that kid since middle school, and although it's been a loooong time and quite a few memories later, I'm proud of him and proud that we're friends. Hope today is amazing for you, Ferg! You'd better be spending it with that lovely wife of yours. Happy birthday, on a day that's not really celebrated in this light anymore.

Among other things that were awesome today: USA SOCCER!!!! GO USA!!! I thought it exponentially fitting that the US walked away with a win tonight in their first WC qualifying game against Jamaica. They played their first WC qualifier in 2001 just under a month after 9/11, against Jamaica then, too. WAY TO GO, USA!!! I am so proud!!

"priveleged to play on sept 11" [per the us soccer website]
♥ so proud!

Plussssss, today was night 2 of 3 of the opening blind auditions for The Voice. There is some really incredible talent auditioning for this season; I'm going to speculate this one top to bottom. In the spirit of doing something a little different, this kid came and broke out a song completely in Spanish. Definitely different.. that's what I love about this show [yesterday with the yodeler? Yeahh :) ]

And this one: Aquile. One, his name is super-sweet, and his spin on this song is refreshing.


*sigh. This show. Love it.  What a day.
See you tomorrow, blogbots. 
xo | cmd

Do Re Mi Fa So La Theeee Voiiiice :)

It's back, it's back, it's back!
Season 3 of The Voice! I've so missed my weekly appointments

Soooo... the work day flew by without much of a hitch, which is a little frightening considering it was Monday [eeeeeeerie ...]. I'm not complaining! I made it a point to get Sydni, run our errands, and high tail it home with a due sense of urgency... pardon...

7PM = THE VOICE...

... aaaaaaaand...

... THE BENGALS!

'ello there, awesome Monday.

How did I forget that there are three nights of blind auditions? Who's a happy little hooked-on-power-notes viewer? This guy. 

Ceelo wore silk pj's.Christina wore a leather jumpsuit smaller than what my kid would wear. Adam donned a plain t-shirt that, in its ironic simplicity, probably cost more than everything combined in my closet, and Blake stayed true to his cowboy swagger [is that an oxymoron? I'm not even sure, really.]. 

Highlight reel? Okay. Sold. 

^Yodeling! She's got a killer voice to boot.. I know I can't yodel. Kudos.


^^ This guy just turned EIGHTEEN. He looks like he's at least 24, and even though I think Christina's a bit over-done these days, I would have to agree with her that I love love loved it. (: 
Sounds silly, but this show is pretty encouraging, even if it is a televised thing.
[Oh, and the Bengals lost tonight. Sad me. It's okay though. We'll get it!] Here we go, week!
xo | cmd

Farewell, Meagan [For Now]

oh, christine. how i love ya. 

My coworkers are one of a kind. Just thought I'd share this little moment that happened towards the end of the day, catching me in a rather frazzled moment and turning it into one of those I-dare-you-not-to-laugh things. 

Me: [on the phone]: "yes, client, I can send that information right ov--"
Christine: [parked at my desk like this]: "..........."
Me: [stifling a smile]: *ahem, "over. Absolutely. No problem! Kthanksbye...[click] .. WHAT. IN. THE. WORLD."
Christine: "heeeeeeeeey"

See? We keep it fun :)

We're on day 2 of work without Meagan, but today was special in that we had scheduled her official going-away dinner to take place at the 54th Street Grill down the street from the office. That being said, we flurried our way through yet another jampacked day and gladly made our ways out the door a few minutes early to rendezvous with Diana at 54th.

I was quickly reminded that I'm not a huge fan of the standard margarita from 54th, but that's no reason not to finish it once you've ordered it. Oy vey. So we dined, drank, and spent a few hours hilariously recounting some of the brightest and not-so-bright -.....-at-all moments of random happenings that are so frequent in our office. Moments that, moving forward, are certainly going to be void of Meagan's input and equally funny reaction.

nancy. meagan. cori. courtney
office ladies [minus christine & diana]

WE WILL MISS YOU!!!

I managed to make it home just after the opening moments of the final night of The Voice. Nancy and I got to our usual text tidbits as the show played on, eventually crowing Jermaine Paul as the season winner. Nanc & I both agreed that Jamar Rogers should've been in the finals, but he took part in over half of the finalists' songs, so I suppose we were content there.

I thought one in particular [Pip, Jermaine, Jamar, James] , was adorable :)



See? Told you it was fun.

Anywho, big thanks to Mo, who stood in for me this evening at the Relay meeting while I was at Meagan's going-away. We've got the Towerview Relay meeting scheduled for Thursday, 6:30 PM at the Tower....

... See you there! :)

xo | cmd

SMILE, You're On Camera!

I arrived at the conclusion today that I've spent just about ENOUGH time moping over things that 1) I cannot change, and 2) that are behind me now. I'm done hanging my head and feeling devoid of the ability to put forth a real, guenuine smile. Done, done done :) 

That being said, I had an excellent day, all things considered. Monday may have had different plans for me, but I made it a direct point to keep any and all of the day's drama[tics] at an arms length, and it made an exponential difference in the weight my shoulders carried as I made my way home.

Mo met me at the house shortly after I got there; she had some exciting news [over which I apologetically digress, since that's her call on announcing!], so we made wih some small celebratory talk before ordering pizza and vegging out to tonight's episode of The Voice. [rooting for you, Jamar!]

  
Joe staggered in halfway through the second hour of the show, sheerly exhausted from a jampacked day servicing vehicles damaged by the hail storm. Channel 2 News even showed up to feature them as one of the busiest businesses in the area.

Click here to watch Joe on TV! [Sorry, the actual video won't embed.. grawrrr]

All in all, a pretty tame evening. Joe's already zonked; I don't blame him. I'm bent on making tomorrow just as good as today. I don't think that'll be a problem :)


xo | cmd

Monday. Bite Me.

 

it's nothin' personal ;)

Poor Monday. It definitely handles the brute of the early work week days. Today was a slight step up in the direction of being calm, but I've still got some ground to make up in efforts to return everything back to normal. Sorry for being elusive with the details; you'll just have to trust me that in the course of being human, I'm prone to doing things, omitting things, and saying things that I later regret, to a hot degree, and consequently am left fending for my dignity. It's a sad cycle, and I'm sure it won't be the last time I find myself in it.

BUT, [dear English major friends, I am fully aware that a good sentence does not start with 'but,' however this is my blog, and I'll flounder it as I please ;)] today was no match for the relaxing entertainment afforded me by two hours of The Voice. Nancy and I spent the evening texting back and forth over choices in wardrobe, song, and judgment calls, and I unwinded into a pretty little evening. I'm cool with that.




^Mathai. She's still in the running as one of my favs.

Tuesday comes after Monday, most days, and I'm holding this one to a high standard. Bring. It. On.

xo | cmd

Monday It Is

Hey Meagan -

welcome baaaaaaaack ...... =P

It was absolutely a Monday. There's something almost tangible in the air in our office on Mondays. Each time, I find myself debating whether it's the fact that two days have passed without hint of human traffic, or if it's the remnants of cleaning product from our owners' son doing his routine scrub-down of the entire place. Today I realized that it's probably a mixture of both of those things, along with the naturally occuring vibe that just is ... Monday. Yep. It's just Monday: the constant rhythm of phones ringing, messages flying between desks, unread emails, and an invisible sense of urgency to get caught up on two days out of the office: two days that we were closed. Hah. Mouseclicks reach triple digits within the first five minutes, and we hit the ground running, at lightspeed. 

So Meagan [&Rob] returned safely from their Mexican cruise over the weekend, and I completely empathized with her on flipping the switch from relaxing vacation to the mayhem that is our job :). We are so, so glad you are back. By we, I primarily mean, I, but nobody's counting.

Once the blur slowed down enough for me to start processing it [that happened right about 5:00pm], I headed home to unwind before The Voice aired. I became a huge proponent of this show last season when it originally debuted, and I am completely fine with repeating myself this time around. I also know that Team Adam [or whatever his team name is] won last season. I'm all about his team again this season; he's got a solid group of talent!

the voice | team adam 2012

It's definitely been a Monday!

That being said, it's about time for this little trio to settle in and watch the show.

Let's go Team Adam!

xo | cmd

Happy Birthday, Courtney!



happy birthday!

Hey, hey! We got a new girl! It's HIGH time we hired an FOC for my office, and it came after weeks of fruitless interviews and disappointing evaluations. I finally managed to interview Courtney, and we collectively decided we would take the plunge with her. She started on Friday of last week, but we consider today her first official day. Plus, it's her birthday! Happy birthday, Courtney!

We celebrated by chowing down on some cream cheese squares and slavin' away in the absence of our bosses, who are taking the week down in TX for the Express ILC. It's gonna be a long one here, folks!

That being said, it's time for the Voice, so if you'll excuse meeeeee...

xo | cmd

The Voice [Mathai]



adam. christina.
cee-lo. blake.
* the voice *



I'm still battling some weird form of headache-stuffiness, and by the time church let out, all I wanted to do was sleep. I had every intention of doing just that, too, but those plans were thwarted by the recap of the past two episodes of The Voice. I'd missed the episode from last week, so I found myself laid up in the bed with every intention of sleeping, but not actually doing so. Dangit!

I listened to the final audition from the episode that I'd missed; it was from Sharon Mathai, who already has a few singles released, but was at the auditions no less. She completely aced an Adele song, and so I thought I'd share it with everyone.

I'm gonna try and get at least an hour of rest before church starts again. *Sigh.

Headache, be gone...... please?

xo | cmd

The VOICE. Can I just say....

With all the reality show competitions now, I try to just stay away from all of them just because I feel that we've quickly become over-saturated with the 'next big' [you name it]- everything from piccolo player to cathedral architect it seems. That's why I was so hesitant to settle in and watch not just the season premiere of The Voice [on NBC], but the 2nd episode, too [yeah, believe it].

For anyone who hasn't caught any of this: A quick rundown...

On shows like American Idol, the televised nation gets to watch a fame-craving artist audition in front of a jury of experts in that field. What I found interesting here was that while there is a panel of 4 celebrity musicians/recording artists, each person(s) auditioning had to rely solely on their vocal abilities, because the judges had their backs turned. Sure, it's not a mind-blowing concept, but it's definitely a breath of fresh air on the spin of things.

So once a judge [Blake Shelton, Cee-lo Green, Christina Augilera, Adam Levine] decided he or she liked the 'voice' they heard, that lucky auditioner became a part of said celebrity's "team".

Following?

K.

Well, for the 2nd episode, each celeb had to pit two of his/her own teammates against each other at the same time, singing the same song. It's not often that I watch a performance more than twice, but this one got me hooked. I'm admittedly jealous of the vocal talent of both of these girls, and as a kinda-sorta singer myself, I absolutely loved this rendition of Perfect, by Pink. Whether you like the song, like Pink, or like singing competitions, you have to admit.. this is talent :)

Kind of inspiring, to me at least.

xo | cmd