So this is a thing, just in case you were concerned... I dunno.. that it wasn't.. ?
i mean....
^It's funny because I drive past that thing at least 3 times weekly, and I've always wanted to stop and at least look at it. Cincinnati has a thing with posting various flying pig statues around the city, and this one has always seemed like one of the more elaborate among them. If you're ever in Milford, you'll probably spot it ;)
I arrived at small group expecting to delve into adult conversation right away. Instead, I built a house.
and i am not sorry.
The REAL story tonight is that we celebrated Mama Julie's fast-approaching retirement! This upcoming Saturday will be her last 'official' day as a nurse, but I am always in awe whenever she shares stories from her career. I've determined that she, along with people like my dad and a few other mentors I've had along the way, are models for where I want to ultimately find myself. I so admire her for having such a full and rewarding career, raising a family in the midst of it and all the while actively and intentionally pursuing her faith for herself and all those around her.
mama julie!
You've earned it, Mama J!
we love you mama j!
Jaclyn and I also thought we'd share with you the truth behind our small group study. If you're in the market for notes on how to study, well.. we've got you covered ;). In style. And fringes ;).
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!!
I realized on Friday that this blog I've been neglecting for the past several months is more than just an outlet for me to bore an occasionally-engaged reading audience.
Isn't that somethin'?
This isn't the first time I've relied on my blog to answer my own questions: 'what DID I do that day?,' or 'When WAS that thing?' It's been a while since I've need affirmation that's of any real significance other than satisfying a curious gap in my recall. Given that I haven't updated this thing recently, I'll just swallow the irritation weeks from now when I ask the same question but can't answer it from a blog reference. Meh.
Anyway, the end of 2015 was the beginning of the time Rob and I decided to be real adults and take our first steps down the road of home-buying. Neither of us have done this before, but apparently part of the process entails the mortgage company asking you for the last few years of your work history. No biggie, right? Well, no... unless you've worked for a franchise installments of the same corporate company for the past 6 years but they need to have specific dates. #AdultingIsTimestamped
I can't even remember what I ate for breakfast 5 hours ago. What I can do, is my due diligence to myself not just for the primary purpose of journaling, but for the the side benefit of revisiting any given day in as much vivid detail as I cared to use in scribing what was still fresh in my mind. And, as you may have guessed, I was able to hunt down the exact dates of my first and last days with each of my franchise installments, all from referencing my dear, recently-neglected blog.
I didn't make any real "New Years' Resolutions," because I figured making it through this year with our sanity and with at least a few bucks in our pockets after buying a house, going on a mission trip and getting married.... is a medium-term goal that speaks for itself. It's now January 24th; this month is almost over and I've decided I not only want, but need, for myself, to keep this blog from going on vacation. December will be here before we know it: Willing God's plan allows - We'll have a house, Sydni will be in 2nd grade, we will have gone to and returned from a second week of missions in the mountains of Panama and I'll have celebrated my final holidays under my maiden name. This of all years, makes sense to keep my blog afloat.
THAT BEING SAID:
Our first week of January included the viewing of and offer-making on what we're praying will be the fifth and final search result houses. We uncapped our pens and started practicing our signatures, not just for the house, but also for our wedding photographer! We agreed that the new year would usher in more intentional efforts of planning this wedding, so when I reconnected with one of my dear hometown childhood friends who now has her own photography business, I knew it was a golden opportunity.
Yep, it's KARA!
circa soccer '99
kara & her hubby matt now! right photo cred: tracie maglosky / tracie jean photo
I am so daggone excited to see this gal, especially since she'll be in a few days earlier for the pre-festivity fun. Who knew?
Week 2 of January:
More house stuff, including the initiation of real paperwork, negotiation and questions. My work, which I haven't touched yet in this entry, took another dive into change, as one of my fellow staffing consultants left the business, and I reabsorbed a double workload that I'll carry [again] until we hire a replacement. Prayer warriors, I won't be mad if you could spare a little extra for this one.. :) It's not the end of the world. We'll be okay.. but just a little extra encouragement would be nice. Oh, and I spent the week sick, with two days as a complete mute, thanks to a small tango with laryngitis. But the show must go on...
Week 3 of January:
Ever have one of those weeks that just doesn't feel.... calibrated? Although I'm pretty sure that it's just that stage of readjustment that comes with a shift in activity at work, given that we spend at or over 40 hours each week together at work, it's not a surprise that any disrupt can ripple out across the team and even individually. At home, it felt like nothing was getting done, and the signing of our loan paperwork doubled as an exciting and equally-unnerving experience. It stamps the progression of this process, but amplifies the other stuff that's still temporary: our current residence, and more central - the looming task of cleaning and moving out. Haha. This will be the last time. Breathe, repeat.
That brings us to this weekend!
family dinner for mom's birthday!
Friday consisted of us cleaning the house. And by cleaning, I mean detailing Sydni's room, along with the rest of the house, in preparation for our special weekend guests. Laundry was done, small presents were wrapped, and dinner reservations for the following night were confirmed. Pajamas were donned and an early bedtime was surprisingly accepted without contest under just the mere thought of Nana and Pappy arriving in the morning.
Saturday came in with the sunrise: We are among the fortunate this weekend who were not buried up to our eyeballs and then some in multiple feet of snow and ice. My parents had a smooth drive to [& from] up north to visit with us, and we were able to rendezvous with our realtor Tiffany, so they could get a first look at what is almost certainly the new house.
Nope, there won't be any pictures yet... oh, the suspense! ;)
... I'm just kidding; I know nobody really cares that much. Le sigh..
Anyway, it was no surprise that they loved the new place, and frankly, I can't wait to have my mom's help with decorating. We finished our quick visit at the new digs, and headed back home for an afternoon relaxing: Dad & Rob watched golf, Sydni played and ready with Nana and I enjoyed being right in the middle of it all.
The evening came, and we headed out the door to Seasons 52, where a 7:00 reservation in a carved out corner booth greeted us with a team of smiling servers and a bottle of Wrongo Dongo to get the night started. Between the food, the company and the fun that's never absent from a gathering with my parents, I'm confident this was one of the best birthdays we've orchestrated for Mom in a while.
Whoa, did I just get on Mom's level?!?
- Okay, no... not quite I don't think... but hey, I was definitely in the zone today and felt more like my mom than I do most other days ;).
So Saturday was a wrap, with delicious food, spirit and memories under our belt, we headed home to unwind for the evening. What I always forget though, is that although we may annually celebrate mom turning another physical year older, there is nothing OLD about this woman.
These two... hahah. Gosh I love them.
Today, was church [which was incredible,btw] with the family, followed by Mom making us one of her signature brunch menu's. They were soon on the road back to Mt. Vernon, leaving us with a leisure day ahead of us.
Well, with soccer, of course. USWNT friendly game vs. Ireland? I think so :).
With so many new faces to watch, I have to say I'm looking forward to rabidly cheering on the USA through this year and their next road to the Olympics! #USWNT!
It's been a beautiful weekend and I'm ready to see what this next week will bring. Even with just one more blog under my belt, I feel a bit more like I'm back in my element and yeahhhh, that's good :).
Phew,
Happy weekend, ya'll. It's the last week of January at our fingertips, and I think it's gonna be a good week.
Happy Valentine's Day, folks! Whether that should translate to Happy Lovebirds Day, or Happy Singles Awareness Day, whatever... do what you need to BE HAPPY today, and extend love to someone. ♥
We took a different approach to Valentine's Day this year, by hitting the southbound road early in the day, en route to the Gorge. Red River Gorge, that is :).
First things first: In Powell County, KY, if you are injured, you will be high-rollin' your way to the hospital:
hilarious.
Anyway, we left early and made it to the gorge for a day celebrating Jessica's birthday! We met her, her family and the solo welcome party at the door:
bump-a-lumper...
Don't ask me how I managed to get ZERO pictures of this killer cabin + separate yoga house + sauna and hot tub arrangement that we spent the day in; somehow I managed to do exactly that, and am very disappointed in myself.
awww.. look at him!
A few other faces joined the party and we managed to load everyone up for a hike up to the arch. It was threatening snow, but that didn't phase us one bit, as we embarked like city-slickers out into the woods armed with nothing but our coats, hats and gloves. This is depressingly funny & ironic because literally everyone in this crowd is savvy to the common sense/equipment/supplies of trail hiking. You just.. don't ever do what we did today. Ever. Fortunately, there were no major issues, and we all made it down into the valley and back out in the same shape.
Pictures, pictures, pictures!
so many places to go :)
icicles everywhere
icicle cavern
posed for a group shot!
the arch! (:
jess & clan!
love this of jess & bumper!
happy valentines day!!! xxo ♥
Whew! It was a blast out there, and although we nearly got snowed in on the mountain, we made it safely back to the cabin, where we spent the rest of the evening playing games, eating & making valentines cards.
happy birthday, jessica!!!
The darkness set in around the cabin, and our plans to stay the night - whether with the Ghantous clan or with Kalyn, as originally planned - came into question due to the already-fallen snow and impending freezing overnight temps. We spent a few hours in deliberation, until Jessica's dad decided he was taking off, and we voted to just follow him down the mountain and out of town.
Poor Lexi wasn't happy at all about this adventure. The poor girl didn't have her winter boots on for this trip, and didn't know what to think about what she'd been through today...
lit up like a lexi Christmas tree :(
Anyway, I was bummed that we didn't get to see Kalyn, but am glad that we made it back home safely without any issues. The commute back from the Gorge was almost a welcome 2 hours, compared to 5-6 hours that we usually endure between here and St. Louis.
Anyway, we're home, safe & sound, with just minutes to spare until it's officially Sunday.
Jessica & family - thank you again for having us down to celebrate your birthday! Cheers to you, and many, many more!!
I'm a day late on ushering in November, but today seemed far more fitting a day to do so than yesterday anyway.
yes!
I woke up today with two immediate options: 1 - Early church service and then yoga at Rhingeist, and 2 - Regular church service and no morning yoga.
It's Sunday. I wanted to sleep in a few more minutes before five full days of up-at-its before 6am, so 11am church it was. Anyway, we walked into today's message not knowing what to really expect, and walkedback out with a commitment to return in the evening for an informational session.
You see, November is National Adoption Month! Here's the little blurb I posted along with that collage earlier this afternoon:
#November isn't just my #birthday month; it's #NationalAdoptionMonth! I'll bid adieu to my 20's in a few weeks, but my love of and appreciation for my own #adoption will never age.
My biological mother's choice to surrender me reflected courage & selfless sacrifice in hope for her child to prosper beyond her resources - the type of selfless love I can only hope to exercise in my own life. Her last declare of maternal rights was that I be placed in a practicing Christian home. I was an #orphan. A couple who valued family over biology were called to choose, #adopt and love me as their own. And with that, I was placed by grace into a home half a world away.
My life would have been exponentially different if not for adoption. I am among the SMALL fraction of orphaned children who are #blessed enough with a second chance to find life and #giveback.
I'm #HONORED to #CELEBRATE #family this month. Cheers, all my fellow #adoptees & #adoptive families! Happy November!
It's something that I often take for granted, when I'm flying at lightspeed through a day in the life that I live, in this culture of ours that is all hustle & bustle, with deadlines and consequences for missing them. I don't always think to count the opportunity to participate in this life as a blessing rather than a burden, because the alternative is a rather stark contrast.
Amen? Amen.
So after a morning message about our purpose in life to reach out to people... to love and honor people.. to give of ourselves to people, we decided to come back in the evening to gather information on the church's planned mission trips for Spring 2015.
I'm happy to share more in detail about these upcoming trips when the time is right, but for now, I'm going to only ask that anyone reading along today, for whatever reason you're here reading - just... pray. The two trip options as they stand now are either Haiti or Panama. Both have clear advantages, and drawbacks as well.
PLEASE PRAY! ...
... For the leadership team at my church, whose planning well precedes the initial meeting they held today.
... For the other people who sat there for an hour watching past footage and testimony of those who've been to these places and touched the mission with their own hands.
... For those who are there, in the middle of unimaginable poverty, disease, famine and spiritual desolation, reaching into untouched groups of people with the purpose of enrichment & love.
... For the orphans, who, like myself, are/were not responsible for their circumstance. Pray that they will find the peace, attention, love and adoration they both crave and deserve. Pray that they, like I as well, will by grace become a tenfold blessing to a family that's missing what will be completed by adding even just one, beautiful little spirit to its bind.
... For Rob & me, as we pray together over this, to determine if.. and if so, which trip to commit ourselves. It will be a spiritual, physical & financial commitment that we won't make overnight.
One of my truly beautiful friends Marianne leaves tomorrow for a 3-month Italy endeavor: a mission-bound trip on which I have no doubt she'll grow just as much as the kids she'll be reaching. We're called to step OUT of our comfort zones. We're called to do MORE than live in the safety of our own schedules.
We're called to lead, to love and to LET GOD do the rest.
Over the years, I personally can attest to the convenient wonder that is Craigslist. Buying and selling online was never really my thing; throughout high school, many people I knew used Ebay. One guy I dated in HS bought a car off Ebay, and traveled something like 6 states away to go look at it before he bought it. I remained skeptical to the whole idea of committing myself purchase whatever it was, from some random person. I mean c'mon, I'm a 90's kid, and if you want to gauge our range of adaptation, think about this:
Kids born in the 80's are probably the last generation of kids whose baby pictures weren't taken on cell phones.
Mind blown with that one, a bit.. mine at least.
Anyway, I hit college in the "big city" of Cincinnati, and was introduced to all kinds of things, including Craigslist: An online community of buyers, seller, renters, wanters, givers and takers who were all... local? So I could drive 15 minutes to a mall to meet someone selling an ipod, rather than blindly buying it online and risk being severely disappointed? Sign me up.
Everyone's a newb at some point.
I started relying on Craigslist for my first point of search whenever I'd decided I needed a bigger-ticket item. There are of course horror stories from both buyers and sellers on Craigslist, so I am still to this day grateful to have been fortunate and fruitful after my repeated usage...
I found a roommate on Craigslist. She turned out to be awesome, and we're still friends today.
She and I found our apartment on Craigslist [it only seemed fitting...].
with trisha! 2008 & 2014
stella bella!
I bought a car off Craigslist. Sure, the fuel pump had a seizure and died just a couple weeks in, but reading up on Saabs after that, I realized that was probably imminent, and went on with life.
The next several places in which I lived were also from Craigslist, along with countless other random things: appliances, a snowboard or two, skiis, cell phones, laptops, cameras, camping equipment, etc.
I even had a few pets over the years who came off CL. My little rescue love Stella is herself a CL ad, answered by moi.
I counted myself a Craigslist aficionado.
And then I met Rob. No, I didn't meet him on CL, haha..
Where I thought I was a guru at positioning myself on Craigslist, Rob blew me out of the water: Cars, trucks, boats, motorcycles, rental houses and a lot more than I would've probably ever felt comfortable dealing with over Craigs. Sure, people buy/sell/trade things all the time; what Rob does that I don't get is to somehow manage to squeeze every. single. penny either into or out of whatever it is. I love it!
Today was one of those bittersweet days. We said goodbye to the big red lug of a boat that Rob bought around this time last year. Rob decided to list it a couple of months back, but was biding his time waiting on the perfect bid.
hitching it up to its new owner :(
Of course, it always helps to remember that bidding farewell to one just means that we're now in full-fledged quest for the next one..
whoa.. haha
Rob's madly scouring Craigslist again now, with his eyes set on a couple of potentials. One of them is in MO, where we'll be this weekend.
Oh! I also almost forgot to mention - CONGRATS to my team at work! We've broken even, just after a year! That's a HUGE accomplishment for a new office, and I couldn't be more proud to have been a part of that effort. It's the up-&-up from here! :D
We of course celebrated with lunch, which was decidedly at Trio Bistro in Kenwood. I felt like I'd been there once before, but I still can't put my finger on when, or with whom. Either way, the food was delicious and it was great to have all of us together to celebrate such a cool achievement!
thai flatbread
proscuitto flatbread
Yum! Congrats again to my awesome team. We're pretty awesome, in my books :)
I've seriously been waiting all week for this.
By mid-morning, Rob and I were in the car, en route to Connersville, IN to rendezvous with Catie, Andy & Co. for their Stock the Bar Train Jamboree [aka, joint wedding shower]. Let me tell you, this was a genius idea, and an all-around awesome time for everyone.
I'll spare the chatter & get straight to the pictures. I borrowed a couple from Ryan & Reena, but since I forgot to bring the D90, I had to count on Ryan's Canon to capture a lot of the day (:
whitewater vally railroad | connersville, in
We boarded the train and got caught up with some familiar faces we hadn't seen in a while...
jen! a little filipino love for the trip (:
me, catie & trisha: "roommates," 6 years later!
the beardless guy i brought to the party ;) ♥♥♥♥
This was a legit train ride, complete with a conductor, tickets & all:
(:
and yes, we made him yell, "aaaaaaaaaall aboooooard!"
Once we started moving, The Tye Dyes [aka, Catie & her band] provided some of the soundtrack for the trip out to Laurel. There is nothing quite like an old fashioned train ride with awesome people and live bluegrass music. I could do this every Saturday.
LOVED IT!
yeah, catie!!
Of course, there's nothing like an unfortunate fender bender to add some awe and quick prayer to the first train ride we've taken in a long time. It didn't appear that anyone had been hurt, but we did spend the next 10 minutes after this all speculating on how that may've happened..
ouch :(
The train plugged along for about 45 minutes before we reached Laurel. There, we were met with some Indiana hospitality for lunch.
not nearly as shanty as it might look!
you had us at fried food
^ Lunch = buffet. Of fried food. Let's be honest, nobody was watching their diets today, and a good thing, too, because the food was pretty good. I'm pretty sure we were all back for seconds, if that says anything. (:
After lunch, we all took to exploring a bit outside the restaurant. The train was awaiting us just a few meters away on the tracks; there will be lots of pictures surfacing soon of us all on the train as it stood waiting.
yes, that's rob. lol ♥♥♥
We boarded back on the train for the trip home, and watched as Catie & Andy tore into all the gifts that were brought to actually stock the bar. I think they did pretty good, haha..
stocking the bar for these two!
because why not?
We arrived back in Connersville, and bid temporary farewells to everyone. Back in Cincinnati, I managed to squeeze in a quick catnap before I was up and heading right back out the door to Rhinegeist for the girls-only part of Catie's bachelorette party.
yessss!
traditional fobby picture from your brown girls ;) haha
I even got a random text from Trish, asking if I was getting into anything tonight. I told her to come and join us, so she did, and it was awesome having her there to spend the evening with us! We left Rhinegeist and bounced around some to good old OTR. Our final landing spot to finish the evening was The Drinkery, and we all left with huge smiles knowing we'd done our due duties as friends to celebrate Catie's approaching nuptials.
trish came to play!
adore her!!
Catie, I LOVE you, and I am SO excited to see you in a month, walking down to tie the knot with Andy! Thank you, THANK YOU for including me on your celebration. LOVE YOU!!!
