Eve of America's Birthday

Today had something of a late start; we had no work today and planned to take full advantage of it! 

these two... 

I couldn't help it; check out this little sassy-pants... 

hahaha.. love you, grumpo.. 

After breakfast, Syd headed off to her dad's, and the day took a turn into a list of miniature errands, chores and some shopping, while Rob spent the bulk of the day off working on his bike. My first order of business was to take on a small section of the backyard. 

just a little bit of the work.. 

PHEW! If there's one thing I was reminded of today, it's that vine doesn't go down without a fight, and that stuff back there is stubborn! PLUS, we accidentally unearthed a patch of brand new little cottontails, which I'll be guarding for the next several days from our dogs' romping and whatever else I can, until Mama Bunny returns or they reach the point where they can scamper along on their own..

itty bitty buns!! 

I'd told Jessica earlier in the week that I was ready to hit OTR for a night back on the scene; I don't know the last time I was actually down there, so it was high time for us to have a rompus! 

We even ran into Chad's sister Paige at Neon's, after we joked that it'd be funny if we saw either her or Chad on the one night we decide to venture on down to OTR. We wound up at Japp's, dancing the night away and hanging out with a few of Jessica's friends.

As of this afternoon, our confirmed game plan for tomorrow includes some version of us on the boat on water.. somewhere. That being said, I'm OUT!

Happy weekend, loves!

xo | cmd

Yard Work & Bonfires

Rob and I got breakfast moving early this morning, as we anticipated a day full of yard and boat work. We chowed down and headed outdoor for a day of weed-pulling, grass-mowing, boat-buffing and other miscellaneous meanderings around the house.

i'm insanely in love

See ya later, weeds...

pre-weeding..

At some juncture in the day, I received a text from Chris, inviting us over for a bonfire later that evening, as one of their friends from Cleveland was in town visiting for the weekend. We happily obliged, and after the afternoon wore on, we cleaned up and made our way over for a relaxing evening of friends, loom bands, bonfires and smores.

The sun went down, and the sparks went higher! 

We sure have had a happy Saturday, and we hope you have too!

xo | cmd

Sunshine, BBQ & Boats [Well, Kinda ;)]

Perks of our centrally-located office [sometimes]:

yay, local swag & discounts! 

^ Rob will appreciate that :) :).

The downside of working in an office is that, when the weather is beautiful and beckoning, we're limited in the amount of time we can allocate in the sunshine.

i. need. [some.] sunshine! 

Elisa and I took full advantage today of the clear skies and traced a very familiar route through the outskirts of downtown to Findlay, where we of course had our free reign of lunch options.

.... I finally settled..

eli's bbq. bare feet. happy heart. 

We ran into Duy, as we often do since he works across the street, and managed a mini convo/catch-up before it was time for us to return to the Express homestead.

The day wrapped up in its usual fashion, and I made my way excitedly home to get Sydni and continue on to the house. Rob had promised Syd she could help, and made sure to follow through on that promise:

this girl 

Happy Tuesday, ya'll :) I hope the sunshine's been good to you today! 

xo | cmd

MAYWEATHER v. PACQUIAO

Filipinos everywhere have been anxiously awaiting this day for months now. The rest of the world has chimed in, too. It's been a topic of conversation for a while now and today was the DAY.

If you need to question my allegiance, you may as well just go now... I'm FILIPINO.
'Nuff said? ;)

#TEAMPAC
#TEAMPAC

#TEAMPAC

Hopefully that answers the question ;)

The day leading up to this event, for us, was pretty tame. It started off with my fiance making an incredible breakfast for us, and Sydni sharing scripture with us. She had no idea what she was reading [she was in the old testament.. haha], but it made my heart so happy to see her so determined to read from her Bible.

I spent the day catching up on some blog work, parked on my front porch soaking in the sunshine & occasionally bidding hello to neighbors passing by.

Sydni busied herself with some garden work, clad in her Queen Elsa dress, flip flops and eventually my chacara I'd brought back from Panama. She may be a Hapa, but she definitely looked pure Pinay today... we'll say in honor of Pacquiao.. haha.

little hapa gardener ;) 

Rob spent the day at work in the garage, where his bike now sits with at least some sense of semblance, versus where it was at this time yesterday. There's still quite a few hours left before it's back in running condition, but he made some solid headway today and I know that's an accomplishment for him.

The day wore on; we tidied up the house, did a few chores and managed to catch up on all of our individual projects before dinner [I'll mention here that Rob nailed dinner, too; he's been on a solid roll all week in proving his culinary prowess.. I am both impressed and grateful!]. Andrew showed up soon after dinner to watch the Pacquiao fight with us; Rob bought it and we were all anxious to watch it.

It started off rather slow...

pre-main event.. 

We watched as the openers took their places in the ring and went head to head for their honor, as the seats behind them on the screen started to fill up. The two openers finished and it was finally time for the fluff and thrill of the main event.

opening! 

And no, I'm not going to recount this to you play-by-play, or really even with highlights, because this was the fight heard 'round the world for anyone who cared to know the outcome. Filipinos and others everywhere left disappointed tonight, but I know I'm not alone in my unwavering allegiance to Manny, especially looking past his boxing into his code of ethics, values and priorities. Mayweather may have taken a title by technicality, but Manny remains a tenfold force to be reckoned with, and respected.

I think that's about we can handle for tonight, folks. It's an early one tomorrow.
G'Nite!

xo | cmd

Happy Birthday, Catie!!!

Happy birthday, CATIE!!!

love this girl.. happy birthday, catie!!! ♥

As it should happen, whilst cleaning yesterday, I found an ancient artifact dating back to the reason I met Catie, nearly a decade ago...

wow... just... wow.
#flashback #itsoverthankfully

^ Remember that? There was a day, believe it or not, when I worked for Kiss 107, and that's where I met Catie. Only those who worked in that place will ever be able to fully understand the.... chaos that was life with CC, but I'm thankful to have shared that experience with Catie... hahah :)

Here at home, it was a day of rest, relaxation and prayer that this sinus issues I've been having for the past four-ish days now will go AWAY, so I don't have to take it with me to Panama. [Any and all prayers are gratefully welcome!;) ]

Sydni, to make me feel better, arranged a "concert" in my honor, performed by the cast of her MLP girls:

my thoughtful girl... and her dolls 

She's so thoughtful.. ♥♥

Here's to a solid start to the work week for all of us, and to everyone out there staying healthy!!
Happy Sunday!

xo | cmd

All For the Sake of Feng Shui

Just for the record, I knew today was going to be a productive day when it started off like THIS:

it is... saturday morning... 

Uh-huh.

So there's this recurring set of stories that my parents could easily share with anyone who's interested.. they're about me, and how I became obsessed at a young age with regularly rearranging my room. From what I can remember, to as far back as I can remember, I was doing this on average at least once every 3-4 months. I think because it was a change I could control, and also because it gave me a fresh perspective on something I saw daily, I loved to do it, and would spend hours tearing my room apart and putting it back together in a different order.

I am so thankful in hindsight that I had parents who supported my creative expressions. There were limits, yes, but they gave me that space to call mine, and let me have free reign over how it looked. ♥. It's like they knew me! ;)

Anyway, fast forward 20 some odd years, and here I am, in my own house doing the same thing. I'm so fortunate to have Rob, who is quite like-minded in that respect; we decided on a whim today to take some drastic measures against our living room.

before. 

^ Ok, so this was partially into it; please don't think my house looked like this all the time.. haha.

And thennnn.. a few hours later, and after some lifting and creative measures of reorganizing the basement to accomodate some of this stuff, this was the finished work of the day!

after!

^^ And please excuse that pile of stuff in the corner; that's our neat-ish pile of stuff for my trip out to Panama, and Syd's vacation with Nana & Pappy. Otherwise, I'm pretty happy :)

To celebrate a day filled with cleaning, dusting, cleaning out, donating, more cleaning, rearranging and redefining our upstairs living space, we pulled ourselves together and headed out for a close dinner date at APG.

my handsome date!
[not the chapstick... or the glass of ice... ;) ]

^^ Ladies, this one's off the market. I scored such a knock-out, and I'm grateful every day for him.. even if he does look like he's holding a tablet instead of a cell phone... haha... #ANDROIDLIFE.

We're home now.
We're exhausted.
G'Nite!

xo | cmd

Christmas Is... Surprising!

To fully convey this morning's [awesome] message from SonRise, I figured I would do it the easiest way possible!

YES, YES & YES :)

Today was [hopefully] our final excursion into the mayhem entitled Christmas Shopping. We wrapped everything up within a very reasonable time frame, and even managed a pitstop for lunch afterwards:

sometimes these things happen..... 

Fast forward about 6 hours to now; house is cleaned, laundry's done, gifts are wrapped & I... feel... blessed :)

See ya on the flipside!

xo | cmd

F A M I L Y

Today started off with breakfast, which needless to say, perfectly complimented the space in which we sat together as a family to eat it.

We ventured out to Foundation Park after breakfast, where we accomplished my main objective for the day: Family pictures [for Christmas cards!].

Since they're for the cards, I'm not going to share those just yet, but I will give some sneak peaks to a few other shots we took today:

syd & her grandparents! 

Goshhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh dangit I so want to share the others, but I just.. can't. YET.

YET. Haha.

After our time at the park, Rob, Syd and I hopped back on the road and headed back here to Cincinnati, making it much sooner in the day than we'd originally anticipated.

That meant the work got to continue, until the daylight was gone. Sydni decided it was her turn to roll up her sleeves [so to speak] and take a stab at some housework:

go, mini, go! 

^^ And no, she didn't do the whole yard.. And YES, she eventually put on headphones so she wouldn't go deaf.

And YES, she did an awesome job raking up and piling the rest of the leaves for collection. That's my girl ;)

And NOW..... we rest. It is Sunday, after all.

xo | cmd

A Day In The [Lodge] Life

When you come to the Dren Lodge to stay, chances are.. you'll wake up like I did this  morning:

#HOME.

I somehow got up early and did a round of sun salutes [surya namaskar!] beneath the giant gable windows, and breathed in the traces of cedar and lavender that are permanent scents here. Every detail of the decor here has been deliberately set in its place by my mother's creative mind, inside the log home that is nearing its 30th year of fulfilling my father's dream to build it from the earth to the chimney. Everything about my childhood can be tracked back to this house, and the lyrics to Miranda Lambert's song, House That Built Me may as well be tattooed on every surface of the place.

No matter where I end up in this world, THIS.. is my home.

And because it's my home, it's where I get to work.
I'm a knucklehead for not swiping my mom's memory card; Sydni had a hayday with the camera while we were outside stacking wood for two hours. My mother, whose mind and body very clearly defy their age, was even found at one point about to bush hog the entire space behind one of our fences.

I mean, a family who lumberjacks together... stays together. Amiright?!
[And yes, once I steal mom's pictures, I'll share.]

We managed to finish our day's to-do list in a considerably short amount of time, which left room for showers, naps and play time before dinner. Post-dinner meant some solid time with my family, and I would not have traded this night in for anything the city could ever offer me.

love these three! 

.... EVEN.. if that means we grit our teeth while Ohio State contested MSU - for the win, might I add. ;) [Sorry, dad].

Mom brewed some Teavana, which served to warm us up, as well as provide comic relief.

dad & rob.. haha.

There's nothing better in life than family.
Aaaaaaamen.

xo | cmd

Blessed Little Whirlwind

As if yesterday's outing to the Renaissance Festival wasn't enough activity for the weekend, we continued with the whirlwind today. After church, we had lunch and then went stir-crazy at the lack of planned adventure.

That equated eventually to a day of chores: Rob mowed the lawn and started working on the winterizing process for his boat, while I detailed my car and tackled laundry & room-by-room cleaning inside the house.

Sydni was such a trooper all day; she had a hand in just about everything mommy was doing, which was not only helpful, but made my heart a little happier each hour that she is still excited to lend herself voluntarily to the chores.

When evening rolled around, she was happily nestled in her chair with a Highlights book.

little miss professor! 

Not twenty minutes after she took a seat to read and circle all the hidden pictures, I came up from the basement with a basket of laundry to find this:

poor, sweet, exhausted little girl! ♥

I just... love her. I couldn't help but laugh a little: For starters, I am guilty of falling asleep in the most random positions, places and situations, so I can't be at all surprised that she may have inherited that feature as well. Above that, she so much resembled a little old lady with her crossword puzzle and pen [aka, my paternal grandmother, to a T!], that I couldn't help but smile before I carefully peeled the book and pen from her and took her to bed.

We're a blessed little bunch here, and I know it. There are so many things even in our quiet little evening here that we take for granted more often than not, but I'm a proud, happy little lady tonight, and I think that's a good a start as any to a brand new week.

Sweet dreams, blogbots!

xo | cmd

Separate Sundays

Rob went to paint his car all day, and I... read this:

done & done!

^^ If you want an intense read, I would recommend this... but only if you're savvy to the English lifestyle and don't misinterpret slang terminology, like I did a few times. Woops ;)

Anyway, as an appetizer to my afternoon spent reading, I absorbed some love and light at SonRise before a quick grocery trip and return home to the couch, a blanket and that book.

I caught glimpses of Rob's progress throughout the day:

in the paintbooth! 

Different variations of the progress kept rolling in, until finally there was the finished product:

little lexi! 

Although I'm not the least bit surprised that Rob did all this work basically by himself [aside from the sanding job; that took professional assistance....from yours truly, of course... ;) haha], I am super excited for and proud of him for getting this done. It was clear that this project was eating at him, so now that it's done, I'm sure little Lexi will be fully welcomed to sit in the driveway. Hah.

Entralled yet?
I know, this is pretty menial stuff to an audience, but I write these e-memoirs more for my own recollection more often than not, so your patience and silent endurance are greatly appreciated ;)

Monday's here again tomorrow, despite my ongoing protest [to whom can I write a letter on this?!].
Time to close out for now. I hope you've had a wonderful weekend, too!

xo | cmd

Farewell for Brittany | Night Out With Trish!

The good news from today: 

- Lawn is mowed. 

- Gardens are weeded, cleaned and trimmed. 

- Boat is clean. 

- Cars are washed. 

- House is vacuumed.

- Laundry is done. 

- Dogs are [sorta] clean. 

Basically, we got gross today before we prettied up again. It was well worth it, and in some ways, overdue. 

We managed to clean ourselves up in time to head to Brittany's for her going-away party. This gal is moving to South Carolina for work and I'm super happy for her. Congrats, Britt; thank you for letting us share in your going-away festivities! We are coming to visit you, also. Just so you know :D. 

After Britt's, it was down to good old OTR to rendezvous with some faces I haven't seen in way too long. The usual suspects, Keith & Nader were among them, but the gaps of time that lapse between visits with TRISH proved to make tonight a great opportunity to catch up. 

thanks for hangin' with me, pretty mama! 

I don't know where my mind was tonight; I didn't have my camera out at all at Brittany's, which I attribute to the fact that we were all having too much fun to worry about pictures. It's a miracle we got any decent pictures at the end of the night, too.. and Rob decided to photobomb nearly all of them. Awesome :|. 

Anyway, that's not a bad start to the weekend; I'll take it! 

xo | cmd 

Ombre, Take II .. & Other Miscellaneous Things

Ok. This is a serious announcement. I decided today to make the courageous decision to address my substance abuse issue and declare an undetermined duration of sobriety from what is clearly my worst habit:

The struggle is real, people. If you ask anyone, I never really had an interest in coffee until I started working in Glen Carbon 2 years ago. It was all downhill from there. Haha. No, I am NOT a drug addict in an illegal sense of the phrase, but I have absent-mindedly turned into a dependent.

I say this because I haven't had coffee since Friday and my head feels like it's about to implode. Or explode. One of the two, it doesn't really matter, but the pathetic truth is that I've dealt with this exact same thing, with the exact same timing, for the past three weekends in a row.


.. i can't help it :(

So yeah. To busy myself today, I had Sydni's expert assistance in tackling some laundry [she is quite the great supplier of "lost" clothespins; it's like the missing just materialize when she's finally been asked of their whereabouts...], checking the PO Box, pulling the vines off the gate where they were starting to creep, and cleaning some of the house. Basic chores, but nonetheless needed to divert my attention from the onset of any caffeine-deprived migraines.

Oh, and I took a second stab at the ombre nails, too, remembering some of the things that didn't work the first time I tried. They're still not perfect, and certainly a little chipped due to my impatience during the drying process, but they'll do.

ombre's are back!

That's really all I have to report for today: my public vow to take a full week off coffee and see how I feel by this time next weekend, and an account of all the menial chores we did today.

As reward for all our hard work today, I'll leave us all with this.... this is real time... & it's movie time. So long for now (:  .... 

quality relaxation with mini = my favorite.

xo | cmd

It's a Small World

Today I turned the corner into our cul-de-sac to find a slew of little kids trotting and/or wheeling around the driveways. Joe and Sydni were right in the middle; I slowed to a near crawl and crept into the garage. As it turns out, Joe had finally made contact with one of our neighbors. We've been meaning to get around to this as a family, but it so often seemed that the only time that the three of us were in a presentable state as a whole unit was during the week after 6pm. That's kind of an odd time to do door-to-door intro's, so it's been one of those re-re-re-re-re-postponed things, unintentionally.

As it would be, the neighbors we met tonight happen to be in the midst of a work-related relocation out of the state. Their house was for sale at the time as the Rainers', and I'd always been curious as to what their story was. It turns out they are incredibly friendly people: a young couple with four adorable kids in tow. Through the course of conversation, we realized that the wife, Skye, had worked with Bonnie Prescott over at Whiteside. It's a small world, isn't it? [Plus, it was funny that they had originally thought Joe was a bachelor who just had parties every weekend.. haaaahaha].

Whatever the case, it was a welcomed crash course on the who's who of the cul-de-sac and a brief intro into everyone's background. I'm really looking forward to meeting the rest of our neighbors.

Once we'd finally gotten back into the house, I was off on a sprint to get the grocery shopping done for small group, conquer some laundry, clean the bathrooms, and get the kiddo to bed before 11pm.

I WON.

It's time for this one to celebrate sweet victory with some [hopefully] sweet dreams.

xo | cmd