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

Just.. Stuff...

SATURDAY: 

#puppylove

Our dogs woke up with Saturday on the brain - one wanting to sleep all day, and the other ready to get up and go do stuff ;)  

should we stay or should we go? ;) 

Rob and I took our time with the day, first snagging some breakfast and heading out to Ikea. I know, I know.. IKEA. On a SATURDAY. We must've been crazy committing to that, but really, it turned out just fine and we got what we needed and then some. We made a stop in the other direction for lunch before heading home: 

tom+chee! 

And that leads us right back to where we've been for the rest of the day: Planted here at home, enjoying the Saturday together. :)

Happy weekend to you & yours!

xo | cmd

Dear Future Vacationing Self: 10 Things You Should Remember

Confession: I predicted yesterday that I would be a bump on a log today, and I'm here to say I definitely lived up to every bit of that declaration. I was a Jamaican tree snail today, parked in the same spot for most of the day doing absolutely nothing. Okay, so maybe I sprinkled in some laundry and final unpacking, but the rest of the day was spent editing photos and listening to the rain come down outside. Yes, it was soothing, but no, not quite like the rainy moments on the beach. Welcome to the landlocked states, yeah?

Yyyyah mon. 

rainy backdrop in cincinnati

Oh, and congratulations to Germany on the World Cup victory! It seems like such a whisper in the newsfeed since the US was knocked out a couple weeks back, but the World Cup is the only major sporting tournament I avidly follow, so watching the final match today perfectly accomodated my plan of doing well, nothing.

couchin' it...

congrats, germany!

And yeah, nothing it was. I'll make up for my lethargy tomorrow. And Tuesday.. and well, yeah. We're back to reality, kids.. heh.

I figured, as I sat around like a rug today, that my future vacationing self may want to revisit this trip in a year or so, as I'm [hopefully] then preparing for the next big overseas venture. So, knowing myself the way I do, here is a candid list of things I either learned or of which I was very quickly reminded during the span of last week:

1. SAY YES to all-inclusive packages: flight + hotel + food/beverage. However, SAY NO to pre-reserving excursions. Either tack them on when you get there, or, depending on the reputation of locals, consult them on how/when/where to do the things you want to do. If you go back to Jamaica, UTILIZE THE LOCALS, BECAUSE THEY. ARE. AWESOME. Mexico would probably be a whole different story, etc., but if it's Jamaica, go local.

2. Please, for the love of your suitcase and the collection of souvenirs/gifts you will inevitably purchase and bring home - Use your common sense in packing clothes. The stack of shorts, tank tops & random pair of shoes that you didn't. even. touch on this trip is great now that it's laundry time, but really just wasted a bunch of time picking out, packing, and re-packing to come back. Jamaica is an island. There is sand and water.. everywhere. You wore bathing suits and a rotation of the same 2-3 pairs of shorts and tank tops for the entire week. Also, those sundresses you took? One for every day you were there? Narrow that down to 2. Maybe 3. But no more than that. Unless you're heading somewhere where there's an actual dress code standard on a daily basis, skip that crap and go light. Plus, Chaco's go everywhere. Keep that in mind.

3. Hair ties and bobby pins are your friends. Don't leave your house without them. All of them.

4. Exchange a limited amount of US$ for the currency of wherever you're going. Check the exchange rates, and more importantly, do research on the local area to see if they commonly accept both the country's currency as well as US$. Just so you know, future self, there is no need to exchange in Jamaica, at least not in Negril. Plus, Jamaican locals like American money, because the exchange rate fluctuates; they save it until the exchange rate is better, and then they trade up.

5. Figure out as quickly as possible what phrases, hand guestures and other seemingly harmless behaviors are and are not acceptable. For example, the "ok" hand symbol is a pretty vulgar insult in some European countries. Pointing is universally rude just about everywhere but in the U.S. Etcetera, and etcetera. Fortunately for us, Jamaica isn't rigid about most of that, but this is traveling 101; I know you already know this stuff, but just a reminder.

6. Make friends! Try to remember back to this trip, to Jamaica 2014, and how much better, honestly, this trip was after you made some friends! Yes, of course the trip would've been awesome with just you and Rob, but meeting and enjoying the beach life with those two other couples [coincidentally from Ohio, as well] was awesome. Even the locals started calling you all by name - MAKE FRIENDS! :)

7. Bug spray is also an ally. So is cortizone cream. They're both allowed on the plane. Attach them to yourself at all times.

8. Don't overbook yourself! You are your mother's daughter, which both the current and future you know very well means that you are naturally prone to be high octane in circumstances like... vacations. Your mom can own that energy, and you should only hope to have that kind of vivacity when you hit her age, but for the time being, just remember: vacation is for relaxing just as much as it is for sightseeing, touring, excursions or whatever else. If you don't see everything you wanted to on this round out, that's the perfect reason to go back!

9. Take. Pictures. This one applies to life in general. If you happen to forget something, pray that it's your toothbrush or your underwear, and not your camera, camera batteries and/or memory cards.

10. BLOG IT ALL [or journal, whatev] as soon as possible! Just like I'm sitting here now, with all of these memories still very fresh in my head, but unavoidably, you're going to fill your head up with a bajillion other things between now and the next time you take a trip, even if it's right back to Jamaica, to remember exactly what you did on each day of your trip. You've been journaling your whole life. Don't stop now!

So yeah, future self... just some pointers and obvious reminders. You don't travel abroad half as much as you used to or wish that you still do, so I know some of those details will get overlooked for being so blatantly obvious.

That being said, JAMAICA [or other equally-fun trip] 2015 planning will commence.....

.... now. :D

xo | cmd

Coffee & Flatizzas

Allow me to illustrate for you how today was a major cheat day on the good ol' diet:
1.

this is a true story, today.

2.


subway flatizza.. yeah... that's a thing..

Yeah. Let's let this Monday go to rest and start over on Tuesday.
*Yawn.

xo | cmd

Popcorn Night With Mini-Me

It's getting chilly outside, which is a sure indicator that Fall is upon us.
It also means that our park visits are going to have to be strategically planned moving forward, lest we get out there and freeze our fingers off doing so.

That being said, Syd and I opted for a lazy Monday night in: movie & popcorn after dinner. She wanted to help with the popcorn part, so of course we did that together. (:

my little helper!

We did a lot of snuggling up under a pile of blankets this evening... not our most productive night, but we've got time for that this week.. and besides, it was worth every minute ♥.

love her!

So there's Monday.
I'm already looking forward to Friday; I'll be back in Illinois with Rob to see some familiar faces and celebrate Mike & Kelly's wedding. One day at a time....

xo | cmd

Office Workouts | Solo Floating

Well this one was inspired by the fact that it rained off and on for a large part of today.

tried this today.. loved it

So here's the thing about me: I'm not naturally a sedentary person. I just happen to have what can, on some days be clearly defined as a sedentary job. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE my work, but it does have an undeniable habit of parking my tail in a chair more often than not.

And so, it rained a lot today. If I hadn't been working, I'm not entirely sure that I would have been outside, or really doing anything other than meddling around the house. That being said, I decided to put together a little in-office workout to serve a few different functions:

➊ Every little bit helps. LL = Leg Lifts, PU = Push Ups, and SQ = Squats. Increments don't mean much alone, but if you add them together, it's not an ugly number by the time Friday's finished.
➋ Supplement! I have my regular routine outside of work, but if I'm being honest, there isn't such a thing as too much exercise, as long as you're healthy about it.
➌ Guilt trips! There will always be exceptions to this, but honestly if I've just spent tiny increments of time here and there doing 120 squats, 90 push ups and 60 leg lifts, there's no way I'm gonna go out and purge on something gross that I shouldn't be eating anyway. Like I said, that won't be the case every single day, but I've done these reps a few times already today and I can definitely say it's helped steer me clear of the body-debilitating food. WOO!
➍ This gives me an often-WELCOME break from something frustrating or adversely menial work.
➎ I'm competitive. Seeing this on paper tells me I can't make time to do it all in one day. It also challenges me to prove that I can.. and will do this every day.

So uhhh yeah! Day 1 [excuse the beautifully flabby way my shirt's hanging? Whoa.].. Yes, this is how we do it here on our lunch breaks nowadays. We're gettin' it.. gettin' it.. hahaha.

5x each arm.. it isn't much but it's a start!

And in the spirit of physical activity... last but not least, the best part of my day:

^ I am one PROUD mama!

my proud little swimmer!

I took one of the big cameras to her practice tonight, so once I get those pictures loaded and tweaked, I'll get some of those posted, too (:

For now.. goooood night ;)

xo | cmd

Calm Before the Storm

Faaaaaa-RIIIIIIDAY!!!!!

= Sydni and I doing a whole lot of absolutely nothing tonight. Tomorrow morning we'll head up to Columbus for a weekend of birthday madness. Madison's 4th birthday party is Sunday, so we'll be running all weekend I'm sure. Tonight we opted for a night in, which meant for us drawing pictures, playing games and some much-needed snuggle time as tonight winds down. Goodness, I love this girl.

my goofy love .. this little girl (:
& coincidentally, my other love in the pic on the wall in the back!

Sorry for the brevity today, but I've got an important date with a sleepy munchkin.... ❣

xo | cmd

Thursday Recuperation

I'm getting too old for this...

I realized today that I must come to terms with the fact that my body will no longer accept my demanding it to stay awake into early morning hours, sleep for just a couple of hours, and be back at it for another day. After bedtimes not before 1am both Tuesday night and last night, I was left in a half-coherent daze for the better part of today.

Fast forward to the good news: I'm awake now after the 3-hour nap I took just moments after walking in the door from work. I'm feeling better already.

Since there really isn't any noteworthy substance to share from the 12ish hours of today, I'll throw it out there that I watched a couple of movies tonight to simply unwind myself. [Thanks, Redbox!]

lazy nights = movie nights.

Three immediate things I learned from watching these:

1 | [In my personal opinion,] Perks is underrated. I need to read the book, too, apparently.
2 | James Franco has a younger brother, and his name is Dave. And, if I'm being honest, although I'm not a gusher over James Franco, I think Dave's the better-looking of the two.

james franco. dave franco.

.... and
3 | Apparently, all you need to really cure those afflicted in the zombie apocolypse.. is love. I mean let's be honest, isn't that nearly always the answer? ;)

truth.

Ya learn somethin' new everyday, right? (:

Yep. I'm still tired. Back to bed with my lazy tail...
We'll try this again tomorrow.

xo | cmd

& I Did NOTHING Today

and it was amazing.

Okay, I might be lying a little. I didn't compleeeetely waste the day; I got some cleaning done and started scouting for a pub-style kitchen table. I didn't have much success in that regard today, but I've got some ideas.

In the interest of continuing the transformation of my little home, I made a trip to Marshall's and picked up two storage bins for a decorative yet functional project I've been doing at the house.

my mission for the day.... haha

I succeeded in getting everything done that I'd planned for the day, what little there really was, at my own leisure. It was fantastic. I had so much extra time at my disposal that I got myself wrapped up into laughing over some first world problems with practical solutions that a friend shared via the fabuloso world-a wide-a webbbbb....

What do you think about those? I don't know that I'd go so far as to line my toilet seat with tube socks, but hey, to each his own.. haha. I do think some of the other ideas are pretty practical, and might even try them one of these days. [Sure... reality says I'll probably add that to a wish-list of actions along withy my bajillion Pinterest ideas, but whatev...]

Anywho, I'm not doin' a single thing tonight and uhhh, that's the way, UH HUH, UH HUH... I liiiike it!

Who says these weekends always have to be chaotic?? ;)

xo | cmd

Sunday Crash

I would really like to say that I accomplished a lot today. I guess in the big picture of it, I did a little, but not nearly as much as I'd planned. I know my body well enough to know when it just needs to completely shut down and reboot; today was that day. In the midst of some unpacking and arranging, I found myself in napping increments, interrupted by my own mind fighting against the body to get up and get things done.

My body ultimately won. Here's a blurry picture to in essence sum up what the day looked like. I may've taken this picture originally just to send to Ali, proving that the priorities are always clear: Pitch Perfect initiation in the new house? Check.


buried. watching pitch perfect, of course.

Yes, I realize this freakishly resembles an episode of Hoarders. In my defense, both Sydni's room and my own room are entirely assembled, save for the clothes being hung and a few miscellaneous details like decorations and pictures. Oh, and all of the thumb-sized pegs required to attach the shelves to the bookcase, tv stands and small bookcases... are still hiding away in the mass of unpacked wonder, so until those are uncovered, the books, decorations, dvd's, electronics, and other shelved things will sit idle in their boxes. Being the type of person who just wants it done, I'm fighting back the urge to just go and buy new pegs to get this crap off the floor.... but I know as soon as I do that, I'll all but trip over the whole set of those I already had. Patience, grasshopper.....

So yeah. Miniature spurts of unpacking amongst long runs of sleeping. I've just woken up for the, I dunno, fourth? time today, and I already feel much better. It's dark out though, and that being said I'm making a U-Turn and going right back to sleep. I'll tackle this mess this week.

P.S. - FIVE. DAYS... and Rob's here to visit. It's safe to say I'm just a little excited. Oh, and he sent me these today, from when we were at the Styx/REO/Nugent concert. I'd forgotten about them, but it's never too late to share (: That was a good day.


with KSHE95 pig & rob's mom | photobombing my own pic [high five]
maryland heights, mo

Ahh. Good night, friends (:
xo | cmd

Sasha Girl!

I love animals.
I love dogs.
& I love pitbulls.

can we go play?? (:

Well, meet Sasha! She's Mike's, who is Rob's roommate. I spent the morning playing with her while Rob powerwashed his truck in the driveway. She's adorable. I've been thus far successful at warding off the pet-itch I've had; I really want to get a dog but there are a few things I should probably iron out before that happens. *Sigh.

Once the truck was clean, we spent the day lazing around and doing all of the things you should do on a weekend day. We loaded Sasha up in the truck and toted her along with us. We stopped by to see his mom & stepdad, where I may or may not have fallen in love with his stepdad's collection of knives. -- Also not helping my other fond addiction to switchblades, balisongs, swords, etc.... Haha.

pretty lil sasha!

*Sigh. So far I can't complain on today. The only concern I have at this moment is my willpower withstanding the purchase or otherwise acquiring of a dog.... specifically a pibble. Ugh.. Cori... don't... do .. it.... yet.

Haha. We shall see....

xo | cmd

Hello, Flu.

It's here.
Flu season. + Me. + Sydni. = A few of my most unfavorite things.


that's me.

 ................. *sigh.

xo | cmd

Lounge & Dream of D90's

So.... the snow melted super fast yesterday and today, leaving very little for snowman-making. I give credit to the wild weather patterns of the midwest for that rapid delivery and take-back of the snow. I'm wondering if I will indeed see a slope this year, or if the boards in my garage will just lay dormant for the season.

Anyway, in spite of the lack of snow, today was one of those lazy hazy Sundays that I love. I started off with a visit to a new church; I'm putting out some feelers to see if there's another little outlet into which I can plug myself. I had a great time, and while it was a little on the "big scale" side for my liking, there's a good chance I'll be back to visit. I'll keep ya posted.

Once that was said and done, Rob came by and kept me company while I was doing nothing more but daydreaming.. haha..

Speaking of, I got the D90 out and decided that one of my next endeavors is to save up and do some investing in expanding my arsenal of D90 artillery.

dreaming.... of d90 ;) 

Ah.... and now it's time to wake this buster up so we can grab some grub and call it a day. I still can't believe this year is almost over. Seems like it flew right on by, but I'm not complaining that it's over. Haha.

waaaaaaake uuuuup :p

Back to the work week tomorrow... here we go!  

xo | cmd

Simple Saturday

ahhh... good morning (:

We didn't do one stinkin' thing of worth today. We're in recovery mode, still, from last night. It wasn't that we did anything extravagant, more that we're just gettin' old and staying out so far past our bedtimes beats us up. Haha. I was grateful this morning for good coffee, the light breeze, and a sunny backyard surrounding the pool. Not a bad way to wake up, even if we're all a little groggy still.

Oh, and I had a little friend for most of the morning. Meet Cecil! 

'ello, little friend! | little fluffy blanket ninja

^ That's Becca and Justine's little puffball puppy.. I'm typically not sold on little dogs, but he's a sweetheart and dedicated himself to a mode of hospitality for pretty much my entire stay thus far.

Things we did today:
Breakfast.
Jam Session: Mumford & Sons, Avett Brothers, Florence & the Machine, Ray LaMontagne.
Nothing.
Errands : Get Kalyn's car, Urban Outfitters, Zumiez.
Lunch.
Nothing. + Nap.
Thai Food & Redbox.

I'm not at all bothered by our lack of adventuristic plans today. Sure, we soooorta perhaps thwarted a day of my visiting, but the fact is, it's been rainy here all day anyway, and to be honest, the simple change of scenery is enough for me at this point. I'm happy.

Wake us up in the mornin' time (:

xo | cmd

Doin A Little Nothin' At All

O.M.Yay, Saturdays!

That being said, take a wild gander at what we did today. 

... Just guess. 

Ok, ok fine, I'll tell you. 

We... did....

... absolutely...

NOTHIN'

It.... was... amazing :)

breakfast! :) 

We slept in, had some breakfast, played some dinosaurs, and did everything else that was relaxing :). ♥

Welp... Usually, I'd hate to say that I don't have much else to report, but I kinda loved everything about today. We've been bums together today and I wouldn't have changed a thing.

Too bad Daddy wasn't here, too, even though it was kinda fun having a Mama-Syd day.

We'll get all dressed up and socially-presentable tomorrow.

xo | cmd

Movie Marathon

blueberry pancakes | joe's famous scrambled eggs

We started off the day RIGHT:

Scrambled eggs, by Joe

Blueberry pancakes, by yours truly

Sticky mess of both, by Miss Sydni

.. and then off to church we went.

After the service, we felt like doing a whole lot of absolutely nothing for pretty much the rest of the day. You'd be surprised at just how easy that feat can be when you really put your mind to it. Ha.

Toay we had a family movie marathon, interrupted only by dinner, diaper changes, and occasional phone calls or other miniature distractions.

That's right. Who needs an overpriced theater when you've got a better variety of the own-but-never-seen, love-and-will-watch-over-and-over, and old-b-lister-but-somehow-still-entertaining lining your dvd shelves.

blind side | dear john
perfect score | unkown



This certainly wasn't as entertaining as last weekend, but sometimes it's the lazy one that you need every so often. I'll get back to full throttle mode tomorrow.

xo | cmd