Hoxworth Reds Blood Drive

The fact that I participate in blood drives will forever be blamed on Becky. Hahh. I'm not upset though; I'm glad that she ingrained the necessity to attend these as frequently as I'm allowed.

The last time I attempted to donate, I nearly passed out, apparently not having eaten enough earlier in the day. I decided this morning that that would not be an issue today: 

breakfast

lunch

It was time to go! It's always unnerving to get a needle stuck in my arm for 15 minutes, but I was happy to report even halfway through that it was a no-worries situation!

good to go!

SUCCESS!

cincinnati reds swag ;)

Your turn, friends! These donations save lives; if you are able, GO DONATE!

xo | cmd

Rock 'N Roll Up Your Sleeve Blood Drive | Venus' Passing

There are very few things in this world that I can honestly say I HATE.
Of those few things [probably a list of like, 6 things total, if that?], I'm pretty sure needles are like 2-4 of those. I had an experience as a 5th grader with a nurse tech who should never have been left unsupervised, as she tried for nearly 40 unfruitful minutes to poke her way into a vein in one of my arms before spending another half hour on my other arm - to no avail. I was a whopping 10ish years old at the time, but it still makes me wince at the thought of a needle in my arm.

Seriously.

i survived! :)

I said that to let you all know that these blood drive things are always a mental challenge for me. I attribute my final ceding to this process, as always, to my college RA Becky, who planted the 'blood drive seed' in my brain; she all but mandated these things for her floor whenever we were eligible to participate. Before UC, I'd only been able to partake in one blood drive, mostly because I was bordering on the weight requirement but more importantly sat far below the regulated iron level. I've got stability certainly on that first factor now, but the latter is also under control, so I am more than willing to donate when I can.

That time came around again tonight at the Towerview blood drive [many thanks to Cathy, as always for her hand in facilitating this event with us and the American Red Cross. I feel it especially imperative that I get myself to these things now that I've been reminded I have a rare blood type, too. O pos., friends.

Oh, and tonight was also the much-hyped passing of Venus between our earth and the sun. This is one of the phenomenons that goes under-appreciated, I feel, since it's not going to happen again for a really long time [i.e., not again this century].

venus, yenno, just passing through

^ Yeah, I know it just looks like a little spec, but that's a planet crossing over. Look it up if you don't believe me. The last picture that I found was from 2004. Pretty cool, I think :) 

Joe heads back to Atlanta tomorrow for work, and I'm due to be back up early, too. I'm crossing my fingers for no residual bruises from the needle sticks. Ciao! 

xo | cmd

Towerview Baptist Blood Drive



american red cross | [haiti campaign poster]

I don't want to admit that the last time I donated blood was actually back in 2008, before I got pregnant. Prior to that, I was a frequent visitor at Hoxworth, either on my own or for UC during my tenure there. [Huge thank you to one of my favorite mentors, my former R.A. Becky Heine for encouraging us to make blood drives a habitual thing].

An abridged version of my diatribe on donating blood: I think that, if you are of good health physically able, you should be donating blood. It's one of the easiest ways to provide community service, and aside from your time, it doesn't require much legwork on your part. I started doing blood drives in high school and I've been doing them whenever I can. Of the 20-30 times I've donated, I've received three letters stating my contribution was used for a life-saving transfusion. That's more than enough for me.



the dills | towerview baptist blood drive



Get out there and save someone's life. :)

Anywho, we had a great time, and for some reaon, Alex & Adam convinced Joe that the top competition time for donating couldn't be beat, so his goal in giving was to get the fastest time. He did. I'm pretty sure that's not really healthy, but he's still walking with us so I'm sure one time was probably ok. Haha.

Sydni even got to play in the nursery with her favorite little friends while mama and daddy donated. It was a pretty  nice family outing.

A million thanks to Cathie and Adam for coordinating all of this, and Lara for photo-documenting the event, and for all the volunteers who gave their time and resources to be there and help out.

We're looking forward to the next drive!

xo | cmd



Wuest Wedding!!

The Art of Marriage, by Wilferd Peterson:

the wuests | todd & donna

A good marriage must be created.
In the art of marriage the little things are the big things...

It is never being too old to hold hands.
It is remembering to say "I love you" at least once each day.

It is never going to sleep angry.
It is having a mutual sense of values and common objectives.
It is forming a circle of love that gathers in the whole family.

It is speaking words of appreciation and
demonstrating gratitude in thoughtful ways.
It is having the capacity to forgive and forget.

It is giving each other an atmosphere in which each can grow.
It is finding room for the things of the spirit.
It is a common search for the good and the beautiful.

It is not only marrying the right partner...
It is being the right partner.

This is what Joe was asked to read during the wedding today. [He did it perfectly, too, for the record!] It was such a gorgeous wedding, even though the sun was both blindig and blistering.



More hilariously, this wedding is one I will never forget.
This is a true story:

Joe started the day with an 18-hole golf session with Todd and some other guys from the bridal party. I'm glad it wasn't me; it was sweltering out there today, and I'm not much of a golfer. They survived with no heat-stroke casualties, though, so that's always a good sign.

JB & his date Jess came by and picked me up around 5:30 and the three of us trekked up to West Chester to meet Eric at his sister's house. I hopped [literally, stupid dress] into his truck with him and we led the way for JB & Jess out to Northbend to the country club.



Did I mention it was h-o-t outside?? Todd & Donna craftily ensured that their wedding programs doubled as fans, but most guys our age don't jump at the option of sitting and, well, fanning. It seemed so unfair, since the boys were all in suits, and the girls... weren't. I did my very best to funnel as much air as I could on to Eric, since the poor guy had sweat dripping off his face by the end of the ceremony. A moment of cool relief finally crept over us when the sun disappeared behind a cloud and we no longer had to squint.

jess | justin | eric | cori | joe

CONGRATULATIONS, TODD & DONNA WUEST!!

The reception was everything a reception should be: food, friends, and plenty of dancing. And not just dancing, oh no, but the older adults dancing. Moms and dads and grandparents always make for the best duos at wedding receptions. Of course that didn't stop any of us from cuttin' up some pretty good rug to a well-constructed soundtrack.

Speaking of which:

Ooooone of us decided to not only cut the rug, but slide on it. I don't blame him, because that floor looked pretty slick. It wasn't. :( Eric attempted to slide across it into the worm [he powered through!], but unfortunately, the floor fought back and Eric ended up splitting his chin open. So, Joe, Justin, Jess and I all loaded up into our respective vehicles and set off in search of the nearest hospital.

First attempt = fail. GPS found Christ Hospital....... medical testing center. Ooops.

Second attempt = lesser degree fail. GPS found us Mercy Western Hills. For lack of a better term, that place is hood. Really.

So here we are, dressed like wedding yuppies [oh, and the wedding colors were bright pink & black; Joe was therefore sporting a bright pink tie and vest] at a hospital in the middle of the night, in the middle of a savory neighborhood. Thumbs up.

Justin tailed Eric back to the fixer-upper room to witness and photograph the stitches, leaving Joe, Jess and I in the waiting room to witness something I'm still unsure I didn't just imagine: 



wedding battle wounds | 8 stitches!



Roughly 45 minutes into our wait, a shirtless man comes waltzing into the hospital. By man, I mean likely some WWE has-been, standing at about 6'5" and impossibly weighing anything less than 300 lbs of sheer muscle. Scarier than his stature was the blood covering the entire left side of his torso. It didn't take us long to spot two holes, one in his chest, right above his heart, and the other parallel to it in his bicep.

Fast forward to when we're no longer freaking out about the bloody man to when we learned he wasn't shot, but he was stabbed. A lady not much smaller than he had accompanied him into the hospital and informed us that we "should see the other guy." No thanks, lady. No thanks.

So we leave, finally, after Eric and his 8 stitches emerge ready to go.
What do you do after an adventure like that?
You go to IHOP.

It's 2AM.

Yep.

Scrambled eggs, turkey bacon, and pancakes will cure any crazy evening. Especially when the entire meal is spent reflecting on a journey that began at a country club and ended at IHOP.

I love my friends.

So, all in all, this was the wedding.

Quite the eventful evening.

Congratulations, Todd & Donna. We wish you the best and then some for this new chapter of your lives!

xo | cmd

P.S. - Yeah, I'm cheating on this one and backdating it to the latest possible time that I can so it'll post on the right day ;) Shhhhhh.