Farewell for Now, 'Nati :|

[#backdated.entry]

Did I mention it's amazing to be visiting back home? Well, you should've gathered by now that it's incredible seeing familiar faces, going to old favorite hangouts, venturing into new places that didn't exist when I last lived there, and above all realizing that I am still home in Cincinnati.

We visited our old church for the service this morning, not realizing it was a baptism Sunday. Andrea Jones and one of the youth girls made their show of faith with Pastor Poe today, and it was a blessing for us to be witnesses to the event. Congratulations!


baptisms @ new harmony!
congratulations, andrea!!

Another thing I dearly miss about New Harmony is hearing Julie sing each week. There are some people who can "sing" [I sometimes fit into that category], and then there are people who can SING. Julie is the latter, among the ranks of say, Trish here at Towerview. She picked a great song, too; definitely not a shabby Sunday to be at New Harmony!


julie singing - beautiful!

After church, we made a quick stop by Mindi's, who was our full time in-home daycare gal whenever we still lived in Cincinnati. Since Sydni is scheduled to stay a week with Joe's mom, she'll be spending the weekdays at Mindi's while Sandy's working. It was incredible to see them again, to catch up, but ultimately to know that Sydni is going to in good hands all around while I'm back in Illinois. 

love love love & LOVE her.

It was then off to It's Just Crepes downtown to rendezvous with Jimmy & Mo -- WAIT A MINUTE! Aren't you in Cincinnati still?! -- << I know, right?! As it so happened, Mo's sister lives up here, and she got married yesterday, too. That put the Prescotts on our turf on the same weekend we were scheduled to be here, so of course we wanted to show them around some of our favorite spots. Oh, and I did their maternity pictures, too! I can't show you those just yet, because they've still not seen them. Nothing personal, and don't worry, I'll have them up soon. I can however, give you a glimpse of the best photographer's assistant, ever... Haha.

*sigh.
So obviously this is backdated, but the good news is, I'm back safe and sound in Illinois and getting ready to take on the week sans husband and child. Holy smokes.. I may actually get this place clean after all! ;)

And
heeeeeere

we.... GO.

xo | cmd

Otis :)

After last night, today started a little later than we had planned. We're cool with that.

We headed over to see the Edwards for a bit at their house since it's been quite a while. They have a new addition to their family: Otis! He's an English Mastiff, and he is adorable.

otis

giving puppy kisses!

Not a little guy per say, as he's already 45 lbs his paws are the size of my hands. This tyke is gonna be a big boy one day.

But for now, he's still a manageable size for even Sydni, who enjoyed playing in his crate just as much as he did. It's pretty roomy for her... Ideas for travelling? *Kidding.

He was impressingly docile with little hands, little fingers, and sometimes a not-so-little excited squeal chasing him around the kitchen and the yard. It's a shame we don't still live closer; in a year or so, he'll be pony sized. Haha. I joke.

Joe and I also made a pitstop at our favorite crepe restaurant downtown before I dropped him off at Eric's again and headed home to let him, Eric, and JB have a much-needed guys day to shoot pistols, play cards, and well.. just be guys.

I took that time to head up to Deerfield to BuyBuy Baby with two goals:

1. Get Holly [Joe's cousin] a gift for her baby shower next weekend which I can't attend.

2. Don't buy Sydni a bunch of stuff that Mama wants more than Sydni does.

I accomplished both of those things. Score.

Tomorrow we'll pay a visit to our now former church, New Harmony. I'm excited to see everyone!

xo | cmd

Ημέρα πέντε | Iméra pénte | [[day 5!]]

That's Greek, ya'll. Kalyn & I went downtown to It's Just Crepes, which is becoming one of my favorite digs in Cincy. There are two of these within two miles downtown, but unfortunately those are the closest and only locations around here [sad face].

REWIND:



oh, hello, shellac

 Why? Well, Kalyn needed a quick touch up, but her normal spot was well out of the way of our agenda. So we settled for a *different* place, to which neither one of us had ever been. We figured it would suffice, since it was kind of a spur-of-the-moment thing, anyway.

Long story short, TWO AND A HALF HOURS later, after filing her nails down beyond the fingertips and applying about 15 layers of bonding, clear coat, more bonding, shellac, clear coat, pixie dust, and who knows whatever else she had, the lady was finally done. An hour and 45 minutes into our visit, a girl came in to get a whole new set of acrylics, each one painted a different color, and was almost done by the time Kalyn was being finished. Oy.



southwestern crepe | it's just crepes | cincinnati, oh

I've recounted previous visits to this place, and I've yet to take someone who hasn't enjoyed it. I mean, look at that sucker! {the food, not KP} My favorite thing about this place is that its founder/owner is originally from Greece, so he's legit Greek. His motive in opening a restaurant was because there are crepe stands on practically every corner in his home Greek city, but none here. Basically, I love crepes, and I love this place. De-lish.


brittany | cori | kalyn

Sorry about that reso [phone camera]. This was our little visit to Bellevue/Covington to see Brittany and her beau, Rob.


pasta salad

  Pasta salad, compliments of Brittany!

There's not many better ways to spend a Saturday night than to just hang out on the backporch of someone's house and do nothing but relax.

Coming from a house headed by an Italian mother, I am such a sucker for pasta salad.

Plus, we brought out the D90 and got some silly candids to go along:


`brittany. cori. kalyn | gun show | lol

 

best friend :)

All in all, pretty good little Saturday!

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Oh, and for the record, it's Saturday night, so that means that the rapture did NOT happen. We are still here, so that means that that 80something-year-old Harold Camping was wrong, once again [1994]. His contextual abuse of scripture that resulted in thousands of followers makes me honestly, literally sad. It is this type of fanatical heresy that scars the true efforts behind genuine Christianity and the promises upon which it is actually based. As a Christian, the one thing I do know about the Rapture and any related events, is that it will come as a thief in the night, at a time that only God can see [2 Peter 3:10-11]. Let's get Biblical and remember that we are to live our lives every day, every moment to a capacity that would honor God, not just in the moments we think may be our last. Nowhere in the Bible does it state that we'll be instructed to sell all of our belongings, quit our jobs, or try to murder our families [read about that here] in advance. I mean really?

 

¹⁰ But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare.
 ¹¹ Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives.

-------------------------------

So, with that on my mind, I'm going to live this life the best way I know how that will glorify my God, so that when that day does come, I will have given my best for every moment on the books.

See you tomorrow :)

xo | cmd

Day 2: Let's Talk Food.

Confession: I haven't started my Z-Pak yet. I feel most of this sinus goop clearing up on its own, so I'm going to revert to my stubborn ways and not take anything until I feel a little closer to death like I did last week. So there. :) My mom would be proud...

packed lunch | salad + cucumbers + cuties

So today I thought I would pay homage to one of my personal favorite things in the entire world: food.
Ever since I started this Moreno regimen, I've gained a whole new appreciation for food and what I should be defining as actual food.

There's a book by Michael Pollan entitled, Food Rules, and for anyone who's even a little curious as to what they're actually putting into their bodies, this is one of the best places to start. It's outlined simply: what we put in our bodies should be compatible with our bodies, not foreign and fake. I would definitely vote in favor of anyone reading this if they haven't already.

Anyway, back to this Moreno diet plan that I've been doing for the last 30some days. I'm not entirely unaccustomed to eating healthy; not much fast food, if any at all, rarely indulging in junk food, no pop [or soda, you silly people who prefer that word] eating cooked food when at home, and packed lunches for the majority of the workweek. I don't eat red meat, either, which isn't necessarily a good or bad thing, but a personal decision.

In terms of translating that into my tales I share here: ya'll must think I'm the only one that eats around our house! :) Well, if you've ever met little Sydni, you would be amazed at the amount of food she can intake in relation to her petite frame. It's pretty impressive. This girl eats like a champ! One of my proudest moments thus far in my quest as a mother has been the ability to make educated discernments regarding what will nourish well-rounded development of itty bitty bodies. It takes a bit more effort and dedication than giving her a bag of cheetos and a piece of processed lunchmeat, yes, but consistency makes the whole idea nearly effortless over time. I gained so much dietary wisdom from one of the best mothers to walk the path of motherhood, and if there's one thing I won't ever regret, it will be repeating some of the things she did along the way.


Here's just a touch of what little monster will devour if you let her ;) ........

fresh fruit crepe w/ organic yogurt | gluten-free granola | whole wheat toast



homemade whole grain chicken quesadilla | organic green beans
vit d milk [she wouldn't give that up for a photo]

And last but absolutely not least!! -

scrambled eggs | biscuits | lemonade w/ fresh berries [not pic'd]



now that's country.

Yessss, that's right, MISTER Dills is entering the cooking arena! [I am so proud :)]. I received these two shots via text, and had to share them here. I am so proud to say that he's expanding beyond his signature scrambled eggs to sides, and even a little downhome country food. This is good. This is really, really good. I wonder if one day we can occupy the same kitchen harmoniously, at the same time, while it's in use. Hmmm. Baby steps. ;).

SO..

For any skeptics out there, I can't stress enough the exponential difference you'll feel if you try it, even if only for a week. I'm not suggesting you do something drastic like a colon cleanse or grass smoothies [but if that's your calling, good for you!], but even starting small, like cutting back on how many pops [sodas, yeah, yeah yeah... ] you drink a day, or maybe eating a piece of fruit instead of a cookie if you're hit with a sudden craving for sweets. Even popcorn [not the super butter extra butt .. yes, I said butt] is a better substitute than half a bag of potato chips. Oh, and don't forget to do something other than sit on your behind [aka, exercise helps!]

Sorry. I'll stop my soapbox. :)

Happy healthy Wednesday!

xo | cmd