Ides of March.. & A Tired Brain

What do you do the day after Supercross?

NOTHING. You do NOTHING.
And you ENJOY it.

Rob stayed the night with Dylan and Dillon in Indy last night, so they were on the road still by the time church came around. I went solo, enjoyed an incredible message and shared it with Rob when he did make it back.

I was reminded of a couple things today:

1. Don't do laundry when you're tired. You will probably [if you're me] not use the important parts of your brain, and end up putting a red sherpa blanket in the same load as wool socks. You will spend about 40 minutes at the end of that mistake hand-plucking red strings off your socks.

good job tired brain. 

2. It being the Ides of March, I went rogue for dinner and started a massacre not of people [because I just... don't do all that], but of random items of food in my kitchen. It turned out to be a very successful venture - a little mixed up, but hey.. who's perfect?

redemption, tired brain. 

Whew. I love doing things on weekends, but it's the day after that always feels like a 9-ton truck ran over my brain and body.. here's to some early SLEEP & a good start to the week tomorrow!

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

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

Play With Play-Doh & Love Your Laundry

There's no baptism back into real life that's quite like a Monday. Seriously. We returned yesterday from our weekend camping/boating trip outing and basically crashed. That meant that the ruptured vessel of clothes, shoes, toys and other domestic innards that is our house would be sitting on my plate when I got home.

I nearly broke my neck dragging two full laundry baskets down the stairs with Sasha trying to wiggle down with me. I lost at least four socks on the trip there and wound up dumping half of one basket in the process of retrieving said socks. I finally hauled it all into the laundry room for sorting, and repeated the whole thing until I had about four full baskets lined up for washing.
In some cases, this is room to grumble. Tonight could've been one of those nights, but as I was sorting and filling the washer with the first load, it hit me. It was so subtle that I almost missed it, but a tiny thought dawned on me:

You're a blessed girl, Cori.

#realtalk

That itty bitty little inkling of a thought spidered out into a flood of reasons that started scrolling through my head like a reel of movie credits. I'm not the only person who suffers from the blight of first world problems, but tonight I had a beautiful little moment alone, in my basement, to absorb the truth behind not just this busy little Monday, but my life in general.

This is a lot of laundry.
... Which means that my family & I have clothes on our backs.Cooking dinner is gonna take a little while.
... Which means there is food to cook here, and that my family is actually here to enjoy it.The dishes are dirty, again...
... Which means that others have been here to eat and share that time with me.

There are toys everywhere in the living room.
... I have a healthy daughter who may still want for things she doesn't have,
but she'll never go without the things she needs.

My garage is a greasy, tool-cluttered space.
... Which means I have a man here who knows how to use his hands to fix
what's broken & improve what isn't.
The basement smells like dogs.
... We have two who are more loyal and loving than I could imagine.

The garage [sometimes] smells like dude (:
... Which means the dude who lives here is worth keeping around, is here more often than not,
and in turn values the idea of being present with his family.
My schedule is so busy.
... Which means I'm a functioning part of my own life and fractions of those around me.

My Bible is falling apart.
... Which means it's a working tool in our home.

There are things I didn't accomplish today.
... Which means I have a purpose, and a reason to face every day with a mission.

 

They were in no particular order, but those are just some of the things that made me pause from my human instinct to find all of those things [&more] as burdens, rather than the misleading appearances of the real blessings in my life.

 

This little lightbulb moment pacified my urging anxiety when I subdued the laundry and headed upstairs to start working on Mother's Day cards. I was met at the top of the stairs by Sydni and a bag of play-doh that had been given to her by the Easter Bunny.

 

Folks, spending time with your toddler is always more important than whatever you've got planned. She won't remember the birthday hat, cake and present we made out of play-doh tonight, but she'll remember that her mommy played with her, and even those short couple of hours are something that neither her nor I would ever get back if it hadn't happened.

crafty little miss... ♥

Plus, let's be honest: playing with play-doh is way more fun than making cards. We can do that tomorrow. (:

play-doh party!

 

My daughter didn't miss a beat of her decorating a purple and yellow play-doh cake to say,

"Mommy, thank you for playing with me."

Whoa.
Those 6 little words, delivered by no prompting from me, made me melt. We stopped everything and wrapped each other up in a bearhug for a few minutes. I have no idea if she'll remember saying that to me, but I will never forget it.

 

My little blended family and I ate, played and laughed together tonight. We're a frazzled bunch sometimes, but frankly, I wouldn't change a thing.

 

This is what life's all about, people.
Play-doh playbreaks and loving your laundry (:

 

What a life, I tell ya... what an unpredictable, impromptu, chaotically-fun, sometimes-smelly, laundry-filled, completely blessed life ♥.

 

xo | cmd

Great Wolf Lodge, Pt. II

Day 2, Step 1? DOOF! Spell that backwards and you have our first priority everywhere we go.. hehe.

Don't act surprised. Plus, it was a buffet-style breakfast, which was.... delicious. My daughter eats like a teenager, too, which on an unrelated note is actually pretty impressive ;)

breakfast shenanigans ;)

And after breakfast, we made a pitstop at our room to change and pack up all of our stuff. Sydni spent that time making very important phone calls, first to the local authorities [the cops] to report me for having my shoes on the bed, and then to the fire department, cops and taxi cabs to go and rescue a  kitty in a tree. Ya can't make this stuff up, folks.

Hahahaha. So yeahh... finally we were off on our adventure of day 2 at GWL. There was some more magic questing, and then a beeline straight for the waterpark.

goofin off with  my favorite goofball, ever ♥♥♥

And let me tell you, we had a blast. This little sassafrass had us laughing all afternoon.

silly water monster faces & a lounge in the big kid chair. she looks so tall! :(

My favorite of the day at the waterpark:

like mama, like daughter... ♥!

I didn't think I was going to be able to pull Sydni out of the waterpark, but as soon as I told her we were getting pizza, it was a done deal.

... Sometimes, I actually believe this kid is mine. ;)
Just kidding, of course. I'm the only adopted one here.

Anywho, pizza it was, with Nana, Pappy, and this random giant cupcak-hat-bear-sitting-on-a-cookie statue...

normal stuff.

Unfortunately, all good things come to an end. Fortunately for us, that only meant bidding farewell to GWL and promising Sydni that we'd all come back sometime. I have absolutely no problem with that.

This is the face of my favorite story-teller, recapping the weekend on the drive home:

she's fabuloso!

Here we are now, back at home, laundry going and a movie in.. and the weekend catching up to us. We're calling this one an early night.

Thanks again to my incredible parents for this weekend!

xo | cmd

Splish Splash

It's all in a day's work, right?
[I don't even know what that really is supposed to mean, but I do know we gave Thursday a run for its money today]

Work was work, nothing especially memorable about the day other than it's one step closer to Friday and that means we'll see Rob tomorrow!

Traffic, as usual in greater Cincinnati, was just.. a joy to navigate all the way out to Blue Ash for Sydni's swim lessons, but once I was there I realized that I would gladly grit through gridlock every single week just to see my little girl do this.

getting ready (:

learning how to float!

.. but never forgetting to have fun ♥

On the way home, Sydni said, "I wish Mr. Rob could see me swim!"
I was reminded in that moment how thankful I am for her. For Rob. For the fact that we are making this work, and that he's made an impact on my daughter. I was reminded why we're all being patient and making this long-distance thing work. We may not always be under the same roof at the same time, but when there's enough of the right kind of love there, we can do anything. I am blessed.

Back at home, it was laundry time, some goofing around [nothin' new there], and packing for the big weekend ahead of us.

this little girl is my world.

I'm exhausted.

Sayonara, Thursday.

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

2013 is Halfway Over?!

Firssssssssssst....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HILARY!!!

♥ you hillsy!

This girl.... haha. I love her and I hope she has a fantastic birthday. Hills, you've earned nothing but the best for your birthday and I hope you and little Julian [okay, so maybe he's not so little anymore] had an amazing time today. Say hello to another girl I've known since middle school, fought with like sisters in high school, and made up after that to get back to being friends (:


ouch. ouch. ouch. :(

And now we're all grown up. Happy birthday, beautiful friend! I promise I'll make it back to Mt.V and see you, soon soon soon.

As for me, well, this has been another day of rest and relaxation, and a few chores... and a bajillion mosquito bites. If I've learned anything around here, it's that this is a safe haven for those little critters and in the process of line-drying my laundry, they pulled a sneak ambush and got the best of me.

Mosquitos - 1. My poor legs - Zilch.

So.... that was fun...

I spent the rest of today tidying up the house, installing the rest of the shelves to the units in the living room, arranging all of my arts/crafts stuff into a manageable, searchable system, and just reveling in the beauty of the day. There was even a little visitor on my mailbox that I paused to photograph, since I don't see many of him around these days... 

hi!

Yep. A paced and relaxing yet productive Sunday. I even managed to squeeze in a short jog before the weather reared its mane for a thunderstorm. I'm settling in now on the couch with every intention on not lifting a finger for what's left of today. It's going to be a short week with a hectic weekend, so I'm absorbing this downtime while I can (:

See you tomorrow for the week!

xo | cmd

Monday: Come & Gone

Sign of a good morning?...

love. this. part.

... when your best friend calls you, first thing in the morning (:
[& when you nearly miss the call because you're trying to get a screenshot..haha..woops!]

 

Definitely not a bad way to start the usually-dreaded Monday. The day itself was a little sluggish, but I did get to have another great conversation with my mom before it was over. That being said, things are in an upward swing and I feel hopeful, from the core, for the first time in a while.

By the time the day did end, I was ready to veg out some, and just relax.
And then, I remembered I had laundry to do.
And then, I remembered my dryer still needs a plug adapter.
And then, I remembered we hung a clothesline yesterday before Mom & Dad left.
And thennnnn, I got really excited, because I honestly prefer line-dried clothes anyway.

I'm certain some days that I was born into the wrong generation. It's simple stuff like this that I love. It was awesome.

the original dryer (:

Not a bad start to the week. I've got to mow this lawn here within the next couple of days, but we're taking things one step at a time now that I feel like my feet are on the ground and not spinning endlessly above it.

Kalyn's in town, too, until tomorrow, when she and Keifer fly back to AZ, pack up all their stuff, and then MOVE TO OHIO at the end of THIS week. I can barely take it, I'm so excited! And hopefully, Rob will be here for the weekend, too. I owe him a trip there now, but either way I miss him more than I could tell any of you... and it'll be perfect to see him, in whichever state it happens to be. 

Good news? Four days til the weekend ;)

xo | cmd

Micah 6:8 Laundromat Outreach | Somber Loss

Today was a bittersweet day. Emotions are all over the board in my church family as the day closes with a ministry success shadowed by a tragedy.

caitlin

We've met so many fantastic people so far as part of the Towerview family. Jarod and his daughter Lyla are just two of them. Late last night,  Lyla's mother Caitlin was involved in an ATV accident that cost her her life. I personally didn't know her, but what I do understand is the effect that losing a parent can have on a child, and even on the other parent, regardless of whether or not they are still together.

My heart breaks for the Thompsons, and for Caitlin's family. The gravity of this, the freshness, proved to be a dark shadow not easily cast from our minds over the course of our morning on ministry. It's going to be a long road for Jarod and for Lyla; My continued prayers for peace, comfort, and strength are theirs.

It's hard to transition from that. If there is one thing I have discovered about my church family, it is that they are able to emanate their own sense of mercy and grace while simultaneously displaying perseverance and strength unlike any other. Today's example of being faced with news of this tragedy yet still completing the ministry we had planned, with genuine smiles on our faces and in our hearts for its purpose, not only encouraged me, but made me proud to be a part of it all.

towerview bus!

Back during our 40 DITW study, my study group had developed a plan for our Micah 6:8 project. It started with a church-wide yardsale [remember that??], the profits of which would fund a community outreach. We collectively decided that we would break into teams and hit a few of the local laundromats, armed with coffee, donuts, laundry detergent and quarters, and just pay for people's laundry. No catch, no fee, no sermon. Just free laundry and breakfast. 


 << Oh, btw, our Towerview bus is now complete! Just in time for the youth group missions trip, which heads out tomorrow. It looks great! :)

We arrived at the church this morning and divided up into three teams, quick to plan our routes and off we were. I joined Diana, Olivia, and three of the youth group at the Maytag in Fairview Heights. Our very first offer was met with flat-out denial. I was amazed over the course of the morning at the wide range of response elicited by our desire to load quarters into washers and dryers and provide the detergent to go along with it. While it was slightly discouraging to be turned down, what mattered more was the handful of people who accepted, perhaps questioningly, but accepted nonetheless, and were so deeply moved by it that some of them even began crying. I met a woman today whose husband is in the hospital for a medical condition that has almost taken his life twice. Her two children's lives with their father consisted more of hospital visits and stays than it did of him being home. The trips to the laundromat are a family outing for them. I sat and listened to her story after we'd loaded quarters into the washers and dryers, and realized that this was more than just gratitude for her laundry being covered for today. She poured out her heart to us, and I would be willing to guess we'll see her soon, at the Tower. I was moved by this, in a sincere way. I was reminded today just how powerful God's love is on a simple Saturday morning, in a laundromat, over coffee and a donut :). I was blessed to be a part of this.

look at this little guy!! adorable friends at the laundromat

these things are expensive!

yummm summer salads!

The other two groups had very similar stories: rejection by some, whether by pride or fear that a 'church group' would demand an ear for preaching if they ceded to them paying for their laundry. Others were more than receptive, appreciating our efforts, and even delving into conversation over life in general. We all ended up at the Page house, where the kids had spent the morning along with Lara and Cathie. We ate lunch there before we all headed home. 

It's going to be a very difficult remainder of the weekend for the Thompsons and Caitlin's family. I hate that tragedies like this are what it takes sometimes to put life in perspective. Our very deepest condolences go to their families, and our love and support will be among the flood of such for which our church family is so well-versed.

xo | cmd  

I Am Loved [& Blessed!!!]

I went into today thinking that it was going to be another one of those maniacal Mondays, filled from top to bottom with the commonplace chaos that so effectively defines Monday. I was on point as it pertained to work, but that's a standard there and I would almost be more concerned if I ever found myself wading through the work week's opening day in slow motion. I barely made it past the day's finish line before 5:00 rolled around, but I was on the road and en route back home. Little did I know that I had some fun stuff waiting back at the house.

I rolled into the driveway beside Mo's car; she'd been there getting some laundry done, but I didn't realize she'd done some light cleaning around the house, Sydni's room especially. She. Is. Awesome :). [[thanks, Mo!!]]

What caught me the most off guard was the box neatly taped and addressed to me.... from Gazelle.

I found the most recent picture of us, circa 2011 from Monica & Edlin's wedding:

me with my beautiful ate's:
gazelle. cori. grace. melissa

I hate to admit that my Ate [btw, Ate, pronounced 'AH-tay,' means big sister in Tagalog] G and I haven't been in close contact much at all over the course of the last year, but what precedes that without a shred of doubt trumps it. Ate G and I were nearly inseparable during one of those truly trying times in both of our lives; there's a good chance I would've unraveled at some point had it not been for her big-sister-esque hand in helping me along. For that, I owe her more than gratitude, and I'm pretty sure that even if we don't talk for years on end, we'll always be close :). That's just how it's been, and how it's probably going to stay until time runs out. I love her ♥.

So anyway, inside the box addressed from her was a card [that about made me cry, thanksabunch,G....] and the rest of this:

jumper, 2 dresses, shorts for syd
diamond necklace for mama
i ♥ my ate g!!

I still can't believe how thoughtful this was, and how I won't ever forget it. :)

****
Mo & I hung out for the early part of the evening before Joe and eventually Jimmy made their ways to the house for a little grill out and dinner. We're all settled in now and watching Kobe battle WorldPeace. Meta WorldPeace, that is.

I was reminded today [again] that I am so blessed to have the people in my life that I do. I think this is gonna be a good week; I can feel it :)

xo | cmd 

Potluck :)

I've said it before and I'll say it again: Baptists love fellowship, and Baptists love food.

Put those two things together and you've got what's called an incredible potluck.

That's what we had today following our morning service, after we listened to the words of missionary Ronny Carroll. I have such immense respect and admiration for those who are called to serve abroad in developing areas such as remote areas of Asia, where the Carrolls had been serving. It may not be a calling into which God is leading my and/or my family, but if it were, I would be ok with that. What an experience.


my laundry thief!

Anyway, the potluck was a huge success. Many, many thanks to those in my church who were behind the scenes on organizing, planning, and preparing for that meal. Everything was delicious, and it was a great time to spend talking with Meagan, Rob, and another new couple to the church. I'll tell ya, that fellowship thing... *phew. Amazing :)

After church, the Dills headed back to their lair to catch up on some family time and household to-do's. I was attempting to do laundry, when someone came flying by the laundry basket and managed to snag a pair of daddy's shorts. Before I could stop her, she was down the stairs and into the living room. By the time I caught up with her, Sydni had both legs in one side of the shorts and was waiting for mommy to come and see what a good job she'd done. I was so proud. Haha.

We like Sundays around here, so I'll bid farewell to the keyboard until I have to fight with one again all day tomorrow ;)

Good night!

xo | cmd