Sunny Monday!

Today was beautiful!

Don't believe me?
Here's a taste [ya see what I did there? ;) ]

chocolate cheesecake happens... mmkay?

Yep. For a Monday [at work], the amount of situational management I had to exercise today was also at a bit of a low for the beginning of the week, so that was an added benefit.

Most importantly, mini is back and that makes me the happiest little mama today.

ohhhh... her... ;)

We spent the evening talking about the new things she's learning at school with Mrs. Smith, and how she's going to be a veterinarian when she grows up. I've got a career-minded chiclet on my hands, folks. Hah.

Speaking of learning, tonight Rob taught me how to fix my flat iron. He'd never done it before, either, but there's a first time for everything and now I know what I'm up against if this ever happens again. If you've ever wondered what a disassembled umberto iron looks like, here ya go:

poor little straightener!

^ Have I mentioned lately how thankful I am for this guy?

Here's to a continuously awesome week :)

xo | cmd

Monday: Mare & Mini-Me

I woke up this morning, a little sad that our last remaining visitor would still be sleeping when we left for work, but would be well into her journey back to VA by the time we were home again.

Or.... this message that came across this morning:

well all right then!

I don't think I was overly surprised that she'd chosen to wander around the city some more before she headed out, so I took my lunch break to rendezvous with her at Sidewinder's in Northside.

sidewinder?
no no, it's actually sheehan / cori

^ I kid, I kid. Even though I literally lived in Northside, with Becky for nearly three months during my initial transition back to Ohio, I rarely explored the little gems that neighbor one another on Hamilton Ave. Marianne of course had her camera ready to go; we took advantage of the beautiful day and trekked a short couple of blocks both ways before I had to return to work.

obey... imelda marcos? | photog cred: marianne

Yeah. So we finally said our final farewells [for now] around 1pm, snagged a couple final photos and I was off to finish up my day back at the office.

sunny day coffee lunch break with this gal.

I don't know if or when I will ever learn to stop assuming things.

Like, in this case, when I assumed Marianne would be at least halfway through her drive back to VA at 4:30?

hahaha yes!



Niiiiiiice. She's really not unlike me in that this is probably something I have done and probably will do again at some point. I can't say I complained, though. I may have laughed a little - probably a tiny cackle when I read it, but either way, I'm not mad.

 

I did however, have to put off evening plans with M&B until after Sydni's gymnastics.

Fun fact here: This little girl is built like me, acts like I did when I was 4 and is more stubborn than a mule. I've seen the pictures and 8mm tape documentation of miniature me [actual me, not Sydni] in my little leotard and shorts, perched atop a balance beam and swinging from the low bar. Aside from the hair on our head, it's nearly identical.

 

Except she's definitely going to be better:

Yes. Most definitely better than  me. It probably has something to do with the fact that I was still throwing handsprings while she was doin' her time on the inside [har har], but who really knows. I LOVE that little athletic girl of mine!

After gymnastics, the three of us headed home to change, and then right back out the door to Dewey's to meet up with Becky & Mare. It's apparently been one heckuva day for all of us; I have to admit I was definitely ready to be home in sweats on the couch.

BUT, not before a chocolate teeth picture. This is another one of those photo moments that will go on repeat for the rest of our lives, I'm sure. We were only missing Ali on this one..

26 february 2013

10 march 2014

^ Some things probably won't ever change..  haha.

We're home now.
We're spent.
We're goin' to bed.

G'Nite!

xo | cmd

Cute Little Boys & Chocolate Teeth

I am surrounded by some seriously funny people (:

Work was work; I so rarely want to talk about it after work, so I'll leave that beast alone.

Ali and I made plans tonight with her friend Marianne; our original intention was to help Ali shop for a dress for an upcoming wedding she'll be attending.
..... We didn't get that far.

The three of us rendezvoused at my house and headed over to Olive Garden for dinner. We planned to eat and then continue on to the mall in search of a new dress for Ali. The only problem: we got hung up at OG being goofy instead. (:

It all started because Marianne transformed her hair today by getting a pixie cut, and she was a little at war with the styling on day 1. She ordered a piece of chocolate cake, and ended up with a little in her teeth. That spurred a photo session with all of us, which ended hilariously.

And by hilariously, I mean with Ali and I and some chocolate in our teeth, but more importantly Marianne looking like a scared little boy with detestable dental hygiene on picture day. Haha. ;) I haven't laughed that hard in a whiiiiile.



little boys with chocolate teeth?
.... hahahaha..., sure. :F

.... Killin' me. Hahahaha. 

We did make it to the mall, but only for about 30 minutes. It wasn't enough time to get much done, but well worth the antics earlier.

*sigh... Happy Tuesday, friends (: I hope you've had your laughs today like we have.

Have a great week!

xo | cmd

Valentine's Day 2013

Yeah, so as a reminder:

I am not a true advocate of all things Valentines Day. I don't necessarily hate it, as I know some do, but I don't proactively pursue any specific path of celebraton.

HOWEVER, even with all of that being said, it is admittedly fun to do a little something for that handful of people who deserve a little something extra.

For starters, my boss Diana went out on client visits dressed as the Queen of Hearts. She's an outta-the-box thinker like that ;)

my boss... lol

Sydni and I did some little trinkets for a few people, based off another crafty blog [2littlehooligans]. The pictures of ours didn't come out nearly as well as these, but for the sake of repetition, just imagine these, but with yarn hanging loops and a bit more orange in the variegated yard. ;)


easy diy projects? yes, and yes.

Sydni and I finished up our Valentines early last night, so she went on to kiddie movie [& sing-a-long... lovelovelove that!] mode, and I went on to one last DIY for the night... because I love owls, neutral colors, mason jars and Rob .. just that much. Incorporating those 4 elements into one simple little project was well worth it, even if it is for the ominous Valentines Daaaaaaaaay [muahaha...].

DIY window/shaker card? Sure!
[♥ rob!]

Back at the office this morning, I was greeted by this on my desk:

q: "hoooooooo loves you?"
a: "OWLi does!"
.... adore.

Don't you think for a second that I forgot them, either! It was little tiny mailbox time for me; I made sure each of them had a personalized mailbox with some Valentines Day love, too.

you've... got... [cori]mail!!!

Work ended late today, but we made it home and eventually ended up on the computer doing a mini shoot... I have the best Valentine ever ♥

my mini valentine....

Not a bad day, folks. Not bad at all (:
Happy Hallmark Holiday to you and yours!!

xo | cmd

Chocolate Party with Ali

Three things that will bring more women together than a Magic Mike showing:

Chocolate
Chocolate...
& Chocolate.

Those are not the same thing, if you're thinking in terms of different types of chocolate. Haha. Tonight was just that, as Ali and I made an appearance at a chocolate party at her church. It was part of the women's ministry, and nobody was complaining at all.

one of four.... chocolate-laden tables...

It was basically heaven in a church gymnasium.... well, until the end of the night when we'd all been stuffed to the gills with chocolate cookies, brownies, dipped fruit, oreos, nachos, puddings and candy. I never thought I'd ever hear myself claim chocolate overload, but hey... there's a first for everything.

.... And I'm home now...
.... and I just might be awake for the next 3729081 hours off the caffeine high.

.... Or I might crash in like 2 hours. We'll see.

Always a good time, either way.
Love my dear friends!!

xo | cmd

Dark Chocolate? YES PLEASE.

I have one thing to say about today:

THANK YOU, NANCY.

I was having one of those days that required chocolate, but not on a "sounds-kinda-good-but-I-could-go-without" scale. This was on one of those "If-I-don't-get-it-I'm-making-a-special-trip-and-you-had-better-stand-clear" things. Nancy came to a quick rescue with some of the most amazing dark chocolate I've ever had. Thank you thank you thaaaaank you Nancyyyyy. :)

omg. chocolate.
thank.you.nancy.

Highlight of my day, for sure.
Dark chocolate is my new best friend.
This kind, at least.
Yep, that's all, friends. We'll try this thing again tomorrow.

xo | cmd

Kisses & Made-Up Words

One of the things I tend to enjoy most about the day-to-day routine of my job is the seemingly natural tendency people have to fabricate words out of other existing words in order to convey a point. There's a certain point up to which I find it tolerable and mildly acceptable only given that individual circumstance, but there are other times that send me wandering in deep thought all the way down to the root of our educational system.

I personally appreciate the spice that this type of thing adds to my day. It's not my intention to poke fun at these folks individually, but rather to marvel over the general concept of creating new words at perhaps the most inopportune time: interview time.

For example, over the past week or so, we've began compiling a list of new and purposefully used words that have infiltrated conversations and face-to-face interviews. It's comical, now that I think more on it; not only did people use these words intentionally and without hesitation, they repeated them multiple times to ensure we heard them. We did: loud, clear, and questionably. My personal favorite was shockitifed, as it was coupled with an exclamation point at the end over an entirely separate but major resume blunder. In case you needed a contextual example of how to best use these new words in a sentence [spelling-bee style]:

1. [new candidate] "I had put in a application like last week and needed to verificate did ya'll get it?"
2. [in response to asking what set a candidate apart from other applicants]: "I have over 13 years of really high level managatorial skills, and always had to keep up with new company managatorial policies."
3. [in reference to a resume hacked and inappropriately re-worded]: "I would never write that; I didn't see it until just now, but I am shocktified!"

Lesson for today: stick with simple words until it's proven that the more intricate ones aren't just counterproductive. :)

Sidenote:

Here's my annual thank-you to Jess back at my old Cincinnati branch for introducing me to the Christmas edition Hershey Kisses. I snagged a bag of the candy cane kisses as well as some mint chocolate kisses, and as expected, they are proving to be quite the hit with the audience.

Another sidenote: Tomorrow's Friday.

Yesssssssssssssssssssssssss.

xo | cmd

Godiva? Yes, Please.

We were graced a few days back with a UPS-delivered box addressed to Marc & Diana, sent directly from Godiva Chocolates. Now, in an office primarily composed of women, naturally it would be a high priority to unveil the contents of said mysterious delivery, but unfortunately it took nearly 3 days until we finally opened it.


godiva chocolates | good call



-- Many thanks to Jim & Carole Britton, our corporate developers, for thinking of our office and therefore sending us this beautiful bundle of Godiva goodies [yayyy, alliteration!]. It didn't take us long to inspect each box; we must've looked like circling hawks for that brief moment, but when it was said and done, nobody over-indulged, and everyone was content. Pretty good way to start off the day.

Oh! And Marc snagged me one of the Illinois Fire schedules, complete with team photograph. Alex Babot didn't make it into the group picture [asst. coach], but my husband made an appearance, complete with that stone-cold face that so many male athletes use during team photos ;). Rather impressive either way, I think. :)



see that guy on the bottom left?
.. cute, isn't he? ;)

I've got about 3 minutes until we have to scurry back out for church, so I'll leave it at that and bid you all adieu until tomorrow.

xo | cmd

Dove Love



dove love

Today was one of those Fridays during which I think I, multiple times, forgot to breathe regularly, which resulted in those long, over-dramatic out-loud siiiiiiiiighhhhh's.

Diana brought in a few of these today, and they were exactly what I needed to pick myself up and carry my beligerently tired self through the rest of the day.

It's Friday, so that meant as soon as I hit the front steps after work, it was a quick change of clothes and then back in the car to head over to Bible study at Pastor Ron's. This week's was led by Adam, since PR & Miss Debbie are still out.
Ya know what, it's the weekend.
I'll take it!

xo | cmd