Pitbull Personal Space

I titled this according to the short list of non-existent things in my life right now. 

I am not complaining, but it's still true. There is no such thing as personal space when it comes to these dogs.

I'm still kinda reeling from the Adoptathon that we attended over the weekend, and after spying on a couple of other baby bullies without permanent homes, it made me want to come home and give mine that extra inch of space (and then they take a mile, because they're pits and that's what they do, duh..). 

h....i. 

For almost an hour, this is how they both sat. Sasha eventually fell over, which is nothing new, but for that 45 minutes of dog breath into my book, it was still endearing in its weird little way.

I've managed to fly under the radar this week - no sick bugs in our home, no unusual crisis at work, and only the occasional hiccup here and there in between it all. I pray your weeks are treating you well out there also, blogbots!

Happy Hump Day!

xo | cms 

Sunday (Oy).

Fact: We were out late last night.
Fact: We were out way too late last night, according to my body....which has apparently become unaccustomed to a) being out late and b) going to places like OTR.... late.
Fact: I feel much older than I am in this precise, physical moment.

Yesterday had its highlights, followed by the unfortunate mishap last night. We came home, crash landed in our beds and let the exhaustion take the wheel. Rob and I awoke this morning to an empty guest room and a farewell note from Taryn & Kenny, who'd left sometime earlier than 10am.

Since our guests headed out before breakfast, we took liberties with any real plans for the day. Rob took to the laptop to research his phone replacement options, and I took to the recliner to watch some Olympic coverage, drink my morning lemon water and snuggle with 145 lbs of dog:

Uh-huh.

Eventually we made it out of the house, got breakfast, did some grocery shopping and retrieved the boat from storage, where we'd left it yesterday. Rob was able to identify the parts that needed repair, and spent the afternoon reconstructing the damaged pumps. As one last public service announcement to any and all of you boaters out there: USE YOUR HEADS out there! We are so indebted to each other when we're all out on the water, for trusting each other to understand and demonstrate basic common sense on the water. Gahhhhh.. haha. I'll stop ranting, but I really hope that you'll go back and read yesterday's entry... especially if you're one of us who loves the water and sharing that fun with others on a boat.

Anyway, it turned into a relaxing day, with plenty of leg room for smaller household chores and miscellaneous things we both wanted to accomplish. We'll cap it off with some more Olympic coverage and call this one a wrap. The work week resumes tomorrow and I'm sure we'll need a good boost of energy to get us both started.

Ciao, blogbots!

xo | cmd

The Mighty, Mighty Evening of NOTHING!

I was just reading a blog about 45 minutes ago that had all kinds of depth to it; it was a memoir-style thing written by a gal whose journey right now is documenting her travels across the globe for the sake of missions. It was pretty emotional, actually, and just about everything else that this entry

IS NOT.

Gotcha!

That's right, this is one of those phenomenally non-phenomenal entries, that I write for myself rather than others, in the legitimate and very probable case that I'm at a mental crossroad some odd days or years from now trying to remember if I did anything cool on 6/16/16. 

Well, not really. We did housework, which included laundry, vacuuming and some other super-fun adulty things like emptying the dishwasher and taking out the trash. Oh, and I fished a handful of magnetic doll accessories out of a vase, because in real life [at least mine, that is.. ] these are the types of things that are pretty typical around here. 

Speaking of typical: 

If you know our dogs, you'll immediately recognize that this happenstance picture is a perfectly unscripted capture though of their personalities. So. Much. Accuracy. 

And, just in case Rob starts doubting his chronological recall of boat maintenance, this happened tonight too: 

That my friends, is 2 things: 1) much needed updates to the brakes being installed on the boat trailer, and 2) just one. more. reason that I am insanely thankful for the handiness of this secret master mechanic. People pay big bucks for this type of thing, but it's happening constantly under my own nose in the driveway more times than I realize, and I'm grateful for all the headache he saves our family for things like this. Plus, I think's it's pretty awesome when my man can tackle stuff like this on his own. Just sayin' :). 

And THAT, folks, is the super short, very much un-exhilerating chapter of my week, otherwise known as Thursday. 

Stay tuned; our weeks are chock full of these riveting tales.. haha ;) 

G'Nite! 

xo | cmd

The Biggest Hearts Live in the Smallest Spaces

We woke up to this today:

We've recently remodeled Sydni's bedroom, a process which included wall-painting, furniture building, hammock hanging and the general reorganizing of everything else she owns. We'll soon be adding decorations, a desk/workspace, reading nook and whatever else we can dream up to make that space truly hers. 

The only thing we didn't really take into full account with this was that our dogs - Stella especially - can limber up the stairs of her new loft bed, but cannot make the final jump up onto the bed itself. The horizontal space on the landing platform between the wall and the bed doesn't allow for any dog-conducive ramp addition, which has left poor Stella stranded like a castaway from joining Sydni at night. 

I've caught her the past few days lying on the carpet floor directly under the loft; if I were viewing from the ceiling and had overlapping images of Sydni on the bed and Stella on the floor, I'm certain they would align exactly as if they were sleeping side by side. 

This is something I didn't realize until today, when I woke up to find Sydni in our room, having toted a pillow and blanket from hers, asleep on the dog bed, with Stella splayed out beside her. Something in my heart broke this morning, for this aging dog of ours who wants nothing more than to be with her little human 24 hours a day, and for Sydni, whose heart is made of pure gold when it comes to loving animals. It hit me also in that moment that the biggest hearts often live in the smallest spaces. 

I don't know how this managed to grab ahold of my senses in the way that it did today, but I am suddenly acutely aware of the fact that my dogs can't sleep with their smallest commander - which in itself is fine, but it's a stark note that they are in fact aging, losing agility and no longer bouncing hairballs of puppy energy [ok, well maybe Sasha's an exception on most days, but still]... 

Really, I don't know where I'm going with this, other than it looks like we'll be working out something to make the co-sleeping arrangements in Sydni's room both kid and pet-friendly, and go from there. I just.... I really wanted to pen out my thoughts for a later day, for whenever I start to feel frustrated with my pets for something they've done, that they're just hopelessly, unconditionally devoted to us and want nothing more than to have that same love returned. 

Love your pets today, bloggers. We forget often just how much they love us.
[[Yes, even cats. That's a diatribe for another day, I know; they're fickle, brooding & moody little mysteries, but they do love us just the same, in their twisted little ways.. haha. #ButIDigress]]

The rest of today wasn't so awful, either :).

after work.. happy little bits of the universe

Small group was tonight, and it goes without saying that these are often my favorite evenings.  We're working our way through the Old Testament, and tonight we processed through Ezra and all that it has to offer. Some challenging - and very much eye-opening - material! I would highly recommend reviewing Ezra if it's been a while. If you can get through the lineage of chapter 2, you'll be great! :)  

small group: ezra!

Post small group, we made a pit stop at Orange Leaf, because we pass the daggone place on the way home and WHY NOT?! Haha. Also, BOBA. That's right, BOBA.

boba for daaaays... 

I hope the rest of you've had a wonderful week so far, and that it only gets better from here. 

Happy Hump Day! 

xo | cmd

Happy Birthday, Clarissa!!

I seriously love birthdays. It doesn't need to be my birthday, either. I love love love... birthdays in general. Especially when it's a super cool person worth the efforts of staging super cool things.

happy happy birthday, riss!!!!! 

I wish we would've been able to relish a little more in the celebration of her special day, it was a neurotic day - in a good way? - and just didn't give us the time we needed.

The day blabbered on so much that we had to forfeit small group for the evening. Instead, we arrived home several hours later to unwrap and set up the Big Barker that we bought off an auction site for the dogs.

big barker!

Ya'll, if you're not familiar with what these are, they are basically miniature memory foam beds. They have a built-in "head rest" on one end, and may as well come with a matching side table, because if our dogs don't like it, that means I'll have some form of a reason to craft up a custom sheet set and sleep on that sucker myself. Word of advice though - do everything you can to strike a deal on an auction site or somewhere otherwise discounted; these things are not cheap! We were super fortunate to find this one when and how we did. [Good luck!!]

Tomorrow's Friday; I promise this can't come soon enough. It's been a fantastic week, really, but the tank is getting low and the end is in sight for this week.

Here's to this week, here's to Thursday and heeeeere's to it almost being Friday!

xo | cmd

PITCH PERFECT 2!!

Yeah, so we talked about cooking breakfast at Jesse's this morning, but didn't have that conversation until we were sitting AT breakfast at Apple Tree. Which..... ok, that's fine, because the food's still good, but uhhhh.. we're definitely cooking at some juncture this weekend.

After breakfast, we made a 2ish hour stop by Geoff & Nikki's - it is sunny and beautiful outside today; we hung out there for a bit, soaking up the day and playing with little [although growing so quickly!!] Emma, before we headed back to Jesse's.

I had a few errands to run, so after a short nap [yeah, that happened, too; Jesse has these two TREES...]:

that happened. it was... awesome.
zZzZzzzzz... 

I came back to the boys giving the backyard smoker a run for its money, and the dogs playing together as though they'd known each other since day 1. That's a big deal for Stella, if you've never met her.

this thing.... #nailedit

pittie party! 

puppy smiles!
stella. sasha. zepplin.

The food came out amazing. Like, ah-mazing. Recommend, recommend.
Rob's mom and Don stopped by for a little while, which was awesome. The last bits of daylight hung around with the smell of slow-smoker chicken

The time came for me to leave the backyard shindig and head to Collinsville, where I met up with Ali and Damanji! That's right.. it was FINALLY TIME! 

pitch 2!! 

Ok guys.. I mean let's be real here. First, this movie came out LAST Friday (5/15). It is now EIGHT days later and I finally went to see it, in the company of literally the ONLY two people I would want with me to see it:

i seriously.. just... love. love. loooove them. 

Long story short, we found a movie theater in St. Louis that looked more like a Marriott than a movie theater, ordered some chicken quesadillas and a Stella Artois [because say whaaaaaaaaaat this place?!] and settled back into sectioned-off captains chair recliners to watch this.

P.S. - I'll see it again, anytime, if any of you out there need a tag-a-long :).
P.P.S. - This:

this is us, basically. 

I'll leave the night that way. I rolled back in to Jesse's closer to 1am than midnight [oh, and this is backdated], just before Rob and Jesse returned from Geoff & Nikki's. It's been an amazing day here in Illinois ♥.

Tomorrow  = Lake & Friends!
One more day here before the trip back to Ohio.

Woo!

xo | cmd 

The Drive: OH, THE. FUN. :|

You guys. 

This drive today... was long. 

1. Zac Brown Band at Riverbend. 

= friday night traffic... ohhhh joyyyy! :/ 

2. Rush hour in Louisville. 

* le sighhhh..

3. Construction.... EVERYwhere.. because we live in the Midwest and that's a fact of life. 

e v e r y w h e r e . e e e e e e v e r y w h e r e . gahhhhhh

Long story short folks, this is backdated.
We're here in Illinois, and ready for this weekend to start. 

xo | cmd

Goodbye, April!

Before I get on social media tomorrow and see the onslaught of this in many variations tomorrow:

You're welcome, in advance. :p 

I know I'm not alone in my disbelief... and slight terror.. that it's already the end of April. Because yeah, yesterday it was January and I've apparently spent nearly the first half of the year now preparing for the year. 

Ok, so that's not entirely true. I've accomplished a lot so far this year and that's a big deal. There's still plenty of time to accomplish even more, and I have a feeling that the first year of my 30's will be a chapter stuffed to the gills with new experiences and reasons to be grateful.

At work, I marked the start of a new month with a little revamping of my office space. I was due in for some updated pictures, so by careful selection, there were changes made!

At home, I celebrated the end of April by hanging out with my two favorite people in my little world; Rob & Syd. It was game night here at our house, which meant dinner [cooked by Rob!], followed by a typical Mama+Syd+Rob+Stella+Sasha night in at our house...

my hammock girl! 

I'd made a purchase for Sydni when she was almost 2, I think, when the movie Soul Surfer made its big debut and we watched it: I'd found a Soul Surfer-themed Bible at a bookstore and decided then that I would get it for Sydni for the day when she'd be able to use it. Granted that day is still perhaps a few more years ahead of us, she realizes now that this is hers, and knows full well the gravity and value of this book.

sydni got her Bible out tonight! ♥

reading to us ♥♥♥♥

Devo time as a family is where it's at, folks. There is no denying that.

The dogs seemed bored with our devo time, but also seemed to know that it wasn't the time to interfere as they usually would with three people just sitting in the living room. They kept their distance until we were done, and managed to entertain themselves for that short time:

these two... hahaha.. 

Finally it was time to get the board games out. Sydni originally wanted to have a throne for the night:

really, syd? 

She was easily coerced from her perch when we told her that she would lose to us in all the games if she couldn't reach her player piece, so she hopped right on down and joined us at the table for a grueling duel of wits in...... Candyland. Dora Candyland.

Can I just say how amazing it is to have a night like this with my family? I'm in love. Seriously.

I sat back and just marveled at the simplicity of my day today, and for the millionth time in the last couple weeks it seems, just felt full of love, gratitude and peace. Life is good.

Good night!

xo | cmd

Two-Day Thursday

I'm down to two days and counting for departure to Panama!

I headed into work today, rushed as usual after having a night out much later than necessary last night, which of course led to a sluggish start to the morning. I wasn't able to really catch Rob on the way out as we both hustled to get ourselves to our jobs by go-time. 

As I sat at my desk mid-morning, this sporty little thing came strolling up to the front row of my office: 

say what? 

The guy driving that car [RENTAL, let's be clear.. hahaha..] came right into my office, had some small talk with Elisa and then headed back to my little space. That guy is more than I've ever deserved; he came across town from his office, a clear 25+minute detour from our house, to see me before heading back home to pack his stuff and load up the dogs for a mini getaway to STL. He hit the road today, while I was still working, but made it a point to see me before he left. I won't see him again until next Saturday... *sigh. 

((p.s. - I get to marry that guy!! ♥♥))

see ya in a week, loves! 

With Rob & the furballs out for the evening, Sydni and I made our version of Thursday, complete with dinner, books, MLP dolls and snuggles. Seriously. This girl...

love her! 

It's been a crazy week so far. Nana & Pappy come in town tomorrow, and it's finally Friday... time for bed!

xo | cmd

Thank You, J.K. Simmons :)

This is the benefit of waking up early in my house:

the gang's all there.... passed out.. but there.. ♥♥♥♥

^ My oh my, how I love them.

Folks, today wasn't a monumental day by any stretch, but it was perfect. I have these four, and that's all I need.

A little something I'm absorbing today:

Call your mom. Call your dad. If you're lucky enough to have a parent on this earth, call them. Don't text them. Call them." - J.K. Simmons

I'm outta here for now.
Have a blessed remainder of the week, loves!

xo | cmd

Office Christmas!

I seriously hope Santa gets a Caribbean vacation after all the work he's putting in this year ;)

@ express, feelin' the festive Christmas love!! ♥

Sheesh, Santa! 

dave. "the twins" [elisa. cori]. carri

In spite of our sometimes [truly] dysfunctional conversations and wading through the sometimes messy gunk that our jobs here can produce, I love my little office family and am thankful to have shared a Christmas celebration with them! 

The rest of the day went by at a grueling pace; as I sat and dialed out the last few calls, I multitasked to pass the time.. Don't worry; everything is done and I even managed to make some headway on things scheduled for next week... Carri would say that's the Sagittarius in me, somehow accomplishing more when I'm overloaded. I can't explain it, so I just roll with it :) 

talking & knitting.
multitasking! 

At home, Sydni and I got busy preparing dinner for our incredible head of the house; Sydni so sweetly explained to me that we "needed to do this because he does so much for us." I may or may not have cried a little when she said that..... ^_^

my own little cooking show! ♥

Rob finally made it home, and while he and Sydni were finishing dinner, I spent some much overdue time with the pups, which I think went over well. Would you agree? ;) 

♥ pibbles! 

And to round out the night, our own little Lila was spotted inching her way closer and closer to Christmas Day: 

sneaky girl! 

^ Oh, and I spy the ornament Elisa gifted me for my birthday [thank you!] 

TWO. MORE. DAYS!!! :D

xo | cmd 

The Un-Extravagant But Extravagantly Excellent Monday

I don't lead an extravagant life. I do however, have reasons to feel extravagantly fortunate on all cylinders.

christmas spirit! 

^^ For starters, the Christmas spirit is taking over this year. I don't know if it's my newfound start of another decade, or just because Christmas is awesome [I vote the latter, because that's just a fact, c'mon!], but I am feeling the love from all angles and hope to reflect that into whoever's path might cross mine this season. Life's too short not to celebrate the big and small things, and although Thanksgiving's come and gone, the gratitude still remains.

And today, in a very extravagant way, I present the Monday that was extravagantly unextravagant to the untrained, outside eye:

My queen of the roost:

♥

.. and the roost itself: 

so. in love. 

No hefty price tags or glittery bows here, folks [yeah, definitely no glittery anythings.... sidenote]. We're the average bunch absorbing life the way we think it's meant to be: appreciated, experienced and remembered. Extravagant stuff will eventually break, rust, dust or disappear, but this stuff... is what we're made to love.

It's a new week, and we're edging [rapidly] towards Christmas; my prayer is that every single one of you out there remembers what it's all about. :)

Happy Monday! 

xo | cmd 

Movie Monday

hello, you ♥

 Yeah, it's already December. Holy smokes. 

Rob and I both had today scheduled off from our jobs, as a way to complete our Thanksgiving road tripping without exhausting ourselves. After the weekend we just had, it was an excellent decision to give ourselves a few extra hours of re-charge before heading back to work.

Sydni got the raw end of the deal; she had to be back for school, and I somehow managed to appease her requests by the compromise of iPad time in the car.

Today was a rather unceremonious entrance into December for us; Rob took advantage of the extra hours to sleep in, and I made myself busy catching up on some RedBox flicks I've wanted to see [specifically The Giver, but I threw X-Men into the cart as well, just for good measure]. I won't spoil the fun for any of you out there who've yet to see either of them, but if it matters, I'm glad I just... waited for The Giver to make its way to RB. Jus' sayin'.

Anyway, I'm proud to say that the house is clean, dinner's cookin', and these two are driving the dogs crazy with that stinkin' helicopter that found its way into our family when we were in Illinois. Sydni loves it, and I'm sure within no time, she'll be hovering that thing around this house like a pro.

♥ these two!!!

^^ That's my little world, folks. ♥

Happy December!

xo | cmd

3 Day Weekend.. GO!

Labor Day weekend is HEEEERE!

3 Days of no work started at the end of an abbreviated work day, and it took us very little time to hit the road westbound to Illinois.

( ^ ^ p.s. - I googled Labor Day, clicked images, and for some reason, there's a Filipino-adapted version of this.. so hey, let's roll with it.. haha) 

We have landed at Dillon's, with boat and dogs in tow.
This is gonna be an excellent weekend (:

xo | cmd

Boogie Goes To The Dentist

I know some people who say they actually enjoy the dentist. I think they're all full of it. Haha. I can't say that I hate the dentist, but it's certainly not my favorite place or number one pick for a fun outing. It made me nervous for Sydni, since today was her turn to park herself in the chair for a quick cleaning; school requires it!

such a trooper!

my little girl is growing up :/

♥♥♥♥♥♥!

Back at home, it was high time the pups got a little cleaning, too. Not their teeth, but bathtime!

dun dun dunnnn... bathtime!

And dinnertime..

main street cafe ♥

I still can't believe Sydni is a] turning FIVE this year, and b] starting KINDERGARTEN this fall. My little mini isn't such a mini anymore! Ahh!

xo | cmd