Hello, BAJA!!

It's HERE!

I have to say it was a little funny this morning to see Rob awake well before me.... that is, at 4:00 AM. Today was the day slated to head north [like, way north] to pick up the boat that Rob hadn't yet seen in person, but had technically already purchased, according to the banks.

that's no lie.

I was a bit nervous for him, yes. Buying something big like that without the opportunity to first see it in person, but I took cues from him and stayed positive about the experience until a reason should confront us not to stay that way.

It was a 4-hour ride up north, just a short time past Cambridge & Zanesville to Bowerston, where we met with an awesome couple about to hand over their boat to us.

We stayed much longer than we expected; the couple turned out to be a really interesting, funny pair of people and our conversations extended far past the details of the boat sale. We've agreed to stay in touch, and if they should ever find themselves heading to Cumberland, they'll look us up.

MOST importantly here though: WE HAVE THE [NEW!] BOAT!

i couldn't get back far enough to get both truck+boat in the pic :p

My boyfriend was a jargled, excited little mess all the way home, rightfully so. I may have had my reservations about this whole arrangement, but I have to hand it to him: he did an excellent job on this. His ability to hunt on Craigslist is truly unrivaled. Good job, babe!

This lovely behemeth is now parked in our driveway, safe and sound for a sleepover before its maiden voyage tomorrow [yes, tomorrow]. Rob and I decided to celebrate with a date night out to Rusty Bucket & a movie.

We accomplished two things tonight:

1. Rob's first trip to Rusty Bucket was a success.
2. We saw the new TMNT! Hahaha... okay, we saw HALF of the new TMNT; it would be our luck that about halfway through the movie, an entire BLOCK of Oakley's power would crash, leaving a theater full of movie-goers with raincheck tickets for a future show. I'm not complaining; we'll definitely be back to see it!

date night with this guy ♥

I guess in the scope of things, a power outage at a movie theater is nothin'. It's been an awesome day.

Time for some rest; tomorrow's a lake day!

xo | cmd

Go Home, Train...

And here I thought trains only came out during the day in Illinois? Hah.

Well, apparently this was the headline that we didn't see until after the fact of today:

oh boy...

We didn't realize the root cause until several hours after we left our office. We made the decision to call it a day after we sat around like this for nearly an hour:

express yourself... in the dark

Here's hoping for the businesses [especially restaurants] in Norwood and Rookwood, that the power will be back in action by tomorrow!

xo | cmd

Monday: Before & After

I've so far refrained from the infamous dashboard pictures that plague newsfeeds everywhere each time the temperatures hit high or low spikes. Today however, I just couldn't help it, as I realized that the longer I stayed out there, the colder it got.

yeah... it's cold.

From what I hear, it's supposed to hit a high today of something boisterous, like... 4? FOUR DEGREES. The midwest is having some serious identity issues this week.

On that note, I'm going to give a naggy PSA for all of you pet-owners out there...

It is ... COLD outside. Don't leave your dogs chained up in this crap outside. It's not safe, and you know it. There's NO excuse to leave our pets outside in this kind of weather. If you think there is a good excuse, then find someone who actually CARES for animals and give yours a better home. That, or you go spend the night outside with your animal and see how much fun it is. Negative something degrees overnights? BRING YOUR ANIMALS INSIDE. (:

We were fortunate enough to work indoors today, and when the day had passed and it was time to head out, I headed to Milford to get Sydni, and we were both greeted with this beautiful picture on our way home:

how great is our God?! ♥

In other good news, my headache and pinching sensation in my neck have significantly subsided. I am thankful for that, but beyond that, that I have a body that is still resilient and can recover itself. I am healthy. AMEN!

And also on that note, I can now officially say that we.. are ALL... in the same house together!!!! Sydni, Rob, myself & the pups - we're all here and we are having a blast. This is gonna be a good week! (:

xo | cmd

Happy Birthday, Hillsey!

HAPPY BRITHDAY, HILARY!!

hilary!! xoxoxo.

Ok. This one perturbs me a bit; I cannot for the LIFE of me find the pictures of hilary and I from the younger days we shared. Haha. I've known this little lady since middle school and we certainly had some classy [yeahnotreally] pictures I would've loved to share with the class here. There is a small handful of girls from my high school with whom I'm still friends, and she's right up there with the best of them.

Things that make me laugh thinking about Hilary [numbered, but really in no particular order]

1 | Pearl Harbor. More specifically, trying to watch Pearl Harbor in the theater, in the front row, missing one of your contact lenses.

2 | Getting advice from a lady at Crackerbarrel on which apron would best accentuate the overkill hats we were jokingly donning while waiting on a table.

3 | Writing on my basement wall. Also, the things that are written on my basement wall.

4 | 1990's chick flicks, with subtitles.

5 | Joining me on my family vacations. FAR AWAY family vacations.

6 | Hotel ammenities. Hotel room items, such as hair dryers, bath mats, irons, and towels. Also, hotel phone books. "Life ain't cheap, sista!"

7 | The term "clubbing." Hahahaha. Oy.

Long story short, Hills, I love ya, and I hope today was phenomenal. I understand that the power is out from the huge storm that eclipsed my hometown a few days ago; I hope it's not putting too big of a damper on your special day.

 Happy birthday, dear friend!!

xo | cmd