Nashvegas!

First things first: Our lovely boss is at it again with her festive sales call gear. With St. Patrick's Day approaching, she is taking full advantage of a costume into which none of us could fit; she wears that sucker well.....

our little leprechaun!

She's hilarious.

Anywho, so last week, we went to see one of Ali's friends [Kali] in a theater production over at McKendree. Well, she's also an artisan. She made a couple of rings for Ali and Marianne; it was for this reason specifically that we made a trip down to Nashville [IL; don't get too excited ya'll...] tonight.

Check out these wire rings!

borrowed from fb ;) | "A" & "M" .. by Kali

Pretty awesome.. and they looked even cooler in person. So... Marianne & Ali met me at my house and the three of us headed off in the direction of Nashville, IL. I'd never been, and neither had Marianne. It was instant hilarity as soon as we hit the exit and started heading into the heart of Nashville. Well... first you have to pass through Little Nashville, which is essentially just a cover page to the actual Nashville: an adorable little town that embodies that podunk feel that I personally just...love.

Not to mention, there is a KROGER there. For all you Ohioans who thought I may've been totally jipped moving to IL, nope... there's a Kroger in Nashville, IL. Sure, it's the size of a Dollar General here, but it's a Kroger no less, and that alone made me happy. 

wahhhh!!! illinois kroger??! .... score.

Oh, and there are enough yachts for sale on one strip of highway to fill up the empty parking spots in the field dealership lot of the neigboring tractor dealership. Marianne was convinced that every silo we passed was filled with poop, as opposed to grain, feed or really anything else, and I quickly decided that if there were to ever be a fabulous yacht club, Nashville IL would...... probably not be... that place. Heheh. I'm really not poking fun, because I grew up in the country and I didn't hate anything about that place. Plus, it produced Ali, and this world would be a bit more dim without her. Everyone wins.

We ate at this place called Girolamo's, which is pronounced something like Gironamo, if for some reason you thought it was like Gyro - Lame-o, like we did when we saw the sign. Luckily, Ali had mentioned the name beforehand, but all I can do is laugh now at the fact that my mind is only recalling the name when I think Gyro-Lame-o. Sorry Nashville. haha.

clover marianne drew | heated conversation
yachts of nashville | girolamo wall art, aka marianne's new home | map of italy 

Oh, and Girolamo's is an Italian joint. It's a really good Italian joint.
I don't have many words for the conversation[s] that ensued over dinner, but what I will say is that it's been a while since I laughed that hard.

A few gems that materialized out of our visit to GIROLAMO'S [and shortly thereafter]... in NASHVILLE, ILLINOIS:

- Marianne self-enrolled herself into an arranged marriage. FRANK, aka SIR to those of us who are not from Nashville, kindly agreed to keep his eyes peeled for a legit Italian boy, in Italy, to whom Marianne will probably be married and live a long and prosperous Sicilian life.
- I recognized the danger of trying to execute a genuine laugh with a mouthful of 7-UP and an ice cube. It WILL end up in your nasal passages and it takes an exorbitant amount of self-control to keep it from coming out of your nose.
- Ali knows everyone... in Nashville, IL.
- Dairy Queen delivers ... in Nashville, IL.
- Marianne's hair can be transformed into the doppleganger styles of: Jimmy Neutron, Carson Dailey, Cogsworth [the clock from Beauty & the Beast], Tim Curry from the original 1985 production of Annie, Goku, Ace Ventura, Wolverine, Steve Carrel, and the much more unfortunate Hitler. It's... amazing.

angry opossum... possum... blech

- We are officially forming a band. Since Rebel Wilson already thwarted the name Fat Amy & the Chubb Chubbs, we may very well go with Ginger & the Re-Re's or something equally-babblish. Oh, and I'm slated as the interpretive dancer for this project. Our first album's going to be a re-make of Lion King. Haha....

- Opossums and possums really are not the same exact thing [thanks, Google], but we'll go with opossum, because it seems trickier, and because we almost hit one tonight. Apparently, Marianne has a pre-conceived vision of these things, and folks, it ain't pretty.

- One of these two things happened in real life: [Setting the scene: A woman came in, clad in a nylon jacket, on the back of which was embroidered the very large, very colorful banner of the 2004 FOOSBALL CHAMPIONSHIP] - Either A) There really was a national championship tournament somewhere in Missouri in 2004 and she earned that jacket.... or B) she bought that somewhere and was just giving us false hope that she may be some sort of local celebrity..... haha.. either way, WICKED cool jacket, but it definitely begged the questions [& prompted further hilarious conversation] in the rules and bylaws of said foosball championships.

these things really exist; i checked ... lol...

Yeah.. that's something I'll have to research later......
.... anyway, we stopped by Ali's mom's house [hi, Mom!] to see her for a bit and visit with her before we made a drive-thru run at DQ... and headed back to Shiloh.

All in all... a.... great.... night. These two girls are a wicked good time (:

Time to go stare at the back of my eyelids and choreograph my routine for the opening scene in Lion King.

;) ... See ya'll in the morning.

xo | cmd

Remember, Life is Beautiful

What an incredible day this has been.


best friend. scottsdale arizona. rooftop @ izzy's.

I mean, thoroughly incredible.
I am in Phoenix, awaiting the arrival of a plane that will deliver me back to the midwest, just reflecting on the past four days. I'm in a state of raw gratitude.

Scottsdale has been my little bunker for the past couple of days; I've been on a mini vacation here with my best friend, Kalyn. It seems like I blinked and Thursday night turned into Sunday evening, but it was entirely worth it and I'm already looking forward to my next trip out.

peroni & fire. hi, sunday (:

Today started off with a trip in to Mojo [& a breakfast burrito, deeee-lish], then off to do some Christmas shopping for Kalyn's list before we headed back to Grayhawk to rendezvous with KP's friend and coworker, Jennette. She's probably the prettiest real-life human being I think I've ever seen. Sidenote. Haha.

Keifer works across the street from Grayhawk at Isabella's Kitchen (Izzy's), so we parked ourselves there for some Peroni, some food, and some live music by Ryan & Madison. This girl was only 12 years old, but I can tell she's got a future brewing. She's talented!

Of course, there was a fire pit and a random girl insistent on being a camera woman. Couple that with peroni refills and you've got a couple of best friends as happy as could be on a day that couldn't have been any more relaxing.  

cori. kalyn. jennette | izzy's - scottsdale, az

SO much so that we found ourselves doing back handsprings and triple planks in the middle of the golfcourse. Yeah, it was that good. Hahaha. Jennette joined in, too, at one point. There's not much bad to be said about a Sunday afternoon spent lounging by a firepit with good friends, live music, and spirited brew.

attempt #1 @ triple planking = unsuccessful.

ok. double plank then. we'll compromise.

These are the things that entertain us. In front of mountains, live music, and Christmas lighted wicker reindeer, there was us, doing this. We finally had a breakthrough:


attempt #3 : success!

Ahhhhhhhhhh. What. A. GREAT... trip this was.


I'll be home in a matter of hours.. we'll see if Rob can get that crazy diesel up to the parking garage at the airport in time to pick me up... otherwise it's gonna be a looooong walk home. Haha. So long, for now, Arizona. I'll be back in January some time for another visit, and I'll be sure to bring some extra company with me (:

LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL.

xo | cmd

Baby Shower | Grafton | Birthday!

I've got a lot to cover in this episode of unimportant Cori ramblings.

First things, first, Marlene's baby shower was today! It was off to the Tower with a familiar group of beautiful women to celebrate the not-so-far-off arrival of little baby girl Cunico. I'm so excited for them - what better way to celebrate than with a beautiful shower for Marlene. 

Thank you so much, dear Marlene, for inviting me to share this special day with you!! I cannot wait to meet little Miss Baby Cunico. She's one lucky little gal! 

******

While we're talking about friends, I'm dedicating birthday wishes out to one of mine from home. I remember both the silly & stupid things of the younger years that were our birthday celebrations, and I'm very proud to see that we've both come a little ways since then. Haha. Happy BIRTHDAY, Nikkis!!  LOL... 

nikki! happy birthday, friend!

Nikki, seriously, hope you're having the best birthday yet; you deserve it, mama!

******

An important bit of realization hit me recently: 

I have been living in the state of Illinois for over a year now and haven't really seen much of anything in the state. To combat that, I thought it well-overdue to oblige a friend's advice and take a trip out to Grafton (IL) today. 

It was my previous perception and absolutely ill-assumed belief that the entire state of Illinois is flat. Haha. I say that only because coming from the hilly roads that traverse most of the frequently-traveled routes in Ohio to Belleville, IL was something of an adjustment, for sure. 

Fact: This place has landscape after all! It was a huge breath of fresh air today when I realized not only is there mild elevation [mild meaning something more than a speedbump, which is about all I've got for miles around where I live], but there's a riverfront, state park, campground & hiking trails out there. It's gorgeous. 

[borrowed photog] pere marquette state park | grafton, il

That's what it looked like from one of the lookout posts. I know I keep making references to the things of OHIO that comprise various fond spots in my heart; you'll just have to pardon those. Standing atop one of these lookouts today instantly catapulted my brain back to Eden Park, my favorite coined spot of reprieve through college. The moments of solace I found there over the course of the time I spent in Cincinnati are unrivaled, and I was reminded of those today. Perfect timing, too. It was one of those days on which I really needed to take a deep breath and just.... exhale.

*Siiiiiiiiiigh. :) 

PLUS, Grafton's a river town, which means that it's situated along a river [for those of you who didn't need that delineation, sorry]. Again, Cincinnati's riverside scenery came flooding back to me [[Montgomery Inn Boathouse, Newport, WEBN Fireworks, Yucatan?? << Really just kidding on that last one.. lol]] Well I had the chance to visit The Landing, this cool little bar/patio spot right on the river. According to the owner, it's shutting down for the season here in a couple of weeks, so I'm glad I was able to stop through before that happens. 

[borrowed picture ;)] | the landing

I must say, I'm both impressed and disappointed.. haha. I'm pretty excited that there's a little scenery to be found around here, but a little peeved that I never went searching for it before. Sad sad.

I'm spent. Today was a good day. 

Let's see how tomorrow goes (: 

xo | cmd

Chik-Fil-A Day!

8.1.12

So there has been quiiiiite the fuss and fury over today's nationwide campaign to visit Chik-Fil-A and support  Dan Cathy's honest answer to a question already answered before it was poised.

Was I there? Yep.
Was I concerning myself with harsh, irrational thoughts of hatred geared towards those who weren't there, or those who would rather sit back and criticize the motives behind Chik-Fil-A? Nope.
And did I enjoy my food? Duh :).

Here's the thing. You can speculate all you want, but there are a multitude of reasons to justify my trip to Chik-Fil-A today.

1 | I am a Christian. That might enrage you, at the very thought of someone declaring it, but I am, and I'm not just settling for it, I am proud of it. That being said, the fine line that delineates radical individuals or groups who use the term Christian in a loose, contextually-twisted form is something to be carefully weighed. Where so many automatically gravitate to the belief that Christians are a hate-filled collection of uppity, judgmental snobs, I must disappoint you in that my belief system as a Christian dictates that I must love all people, regardless of their circumstance, belief, or lifestyle. That does not mean that I must advocate decisions with which I don't agree. Likewise, I wouldn't expect anyone to follow my beliefs without research and the conscious personal decision to do so. I personally am an advocate of Biblical principles, and regardless of how the world twists it, I will continue to be just that.

2 | Free Speech. This particular series of debate and controversy spawned from a Christian man answering a question honestly. Just like anyone is clearly free to voice disapproval of his answer, he's free to give it. And we're free to go eat. And the next person is free to not go eat. And so on....

3 | Political Chicken? Nah. I remember this one time, when I was a kid, and I could eat my food without having to justify that decision with 26 hours of research and a term paper. This time, I'll be politely declining the invite to implement a political regimen into my diet. My daily diet is slightly more organic than breaded and fried chicken, so I don't think that's really an issue, but you know what I mean. I will support and abide by the guidelines of my religious belief system, not the attempted swaying by bureaucrats that my political beliefs should either permit or a ban me from participating in any form of commerce. I'm not really a party type of gal, but I do know one thing; I'm no fascist.

what a crowd!

4 | Telephone!Cell Phone?Tell A Poem?Gel Foam?WHAT?! Remember that game? I do. Sitting in a circle with a bunch of other people whispering a short phrase and hearing how distorted it would become after moving from ear to ear. I read today that the original statement made by Mr. Cathy stated not that he is "anti-gay," rather that he is in favor of traditional Biblical principles as it pertains to marriage. Sure, it's splitting hairs, but in the plight to read things directly as they're presented, let's not do any twisting.


5 | I  ♥ Chik-Fil-A.  < And I totally don't mean that in a bandwagon way. I wasn't alone today, that's for sure. The line when I left was wrapped around kiosks all the way from the counter to Sears. Whoa. I may be a health nut, but every one of us has a few guilty pleasures. This happens to have been one of mine for a looong time, and that's not about to change because a man answered a personal question honestly. It's unecessarily delicious. On this particular venture today, I even found some dinner company [Greg & Bonnie]. Sorry, Panda Express, you'll have to wait.

I feel like this is all I've heard about all day long. Well, good for all of us, for making a stand in either direction. Happy Wednesday, friends :)

xo | cmd

Fellowship, Mexican Style

If you don't know by now, I love our church and the family it holds. I love our pastor and his family; I love the dynamic of our congregation, and I love the relationships we've already begun forging in the short 7 months we've been here. I have to confess that this is the closest I've ever been to the heart of a church, and I attribute that to the fact that the heart of the church is so genuinely broad and willing to embrace on impact, and unconditionally.

Today was another one of those weekly gatherings with said church family; the message was on point, and our fellowship made its way from the pews to a nearby Mexican restaurant. It wasn't anything extraordinarily spectacular; it wasn't a celebration of anyone's birthday; it wasn't for any special announcements. It was however, another small event that served not only some delicious food, but some casual conversation, funny stories, and hearty laughs. It was a chance for fellowship, and even in its simple, impromptu form, we took full advantage of it.

the motherload of enchiladas

Oh, and for the record, I can't for the life of me remember what the restaurant itself is called, but this sucker came out steaming on its plate and settled right in front of Joe. I have no idea how he finished it off, but I definitely give him kudos for that. We thought we'd photo-document this for the sake of remembering the accomplishment, but also in case we would need to explain to a doctor later on what it was that knocked him out. :)

Luckily, we're still stomachache free, at the end of the day.

Meagan and Rob made their way over after lunch to finally see our new digs, and experience the hybrid indoor cornhole set up in our basement. Once they left, it was naptime for the rest of the afternoon, and that puts us here now.

What a great weekend. :) We are truly, truly blessed.

xo | cmd  

Sydni vs. Santa

We took a 50/50 chance on doing the whole Santa Claus thing with Sydni today.
It didn't go well. I wouldn't really say there was an upper hand on either side, let alone a winner.

We'll get back to that.

heavy sleepers!

Today was excellent. It began when I found my dad snuggled up next to his grand daughter in the twin bed that was originally mine as a teenager. I later realized that both Joe and I had slept straight through Sydni waking up in the middle of the night crying for Nana and Pappy. She knows better than to call for Mommy and Daddy, especially when we're visiting the grandparents. Haha. It was a cute little scene, and I know Sydni loves being spoiled rotten, so this was just perfect for her.

Once we were all up and moving, we headed up to Bellville -- no, not Belleville [IL], but Bellville Ohio -- for lunch at Toyer's Dutch Heritage. It's been quite a while since I've been to an Amish restaurant, but it took me back to my younger years when we used to go frequently. We survived the majority of the outing there without incident; Sydni had one minor meltdown that was cured by Daddy taking her out to the car for a little vent session after which she was just fine. The weather provided for the perfect experience, and so we took our time dining before heading back to Mt. Vernon for what would be a terrifc fail at visiting Santa.



we don't love santa... yet.



Once I hunt down the picture of me with Santa Claus when I was about Sydni's age, I will share that with the class, as I remember it being a near duplication of the scene we saw today [poor thing]. The snapshot of toddler me with random mall Santa showed Santa standing, holding what could only be described as a hysterically terrified child, flailing with a life-altering urgency to escape that jolly, bearded man and all of his holiday magnificence. Charming photograph, really. Looking at it almost strikes a sense of pity for the Santa, who I'm sure was persuaded by no less than a handful of parents like mine to 'just hold her for a second!' While we didn't instruct today's Santa to constrain Sydni for photography's sake, we guided her over to Mrs. Claus, who did her best to daintily detain my child while we made lightning-like attempts to capture the moment. It came out, as you can see, just bursting of magic and fluff...... or not.

We'll try it again next year.

We calmed both her and our nerves by venturing out into the rest of that shopping plaza and finding some other fun photo-friendly opportunities. One of my favorite pictures to date of Sydni was a product of today; I'm both proud of myself for seizing that moment and amazed at how much she changes, daily, it seems. I'll end on the note of sharing those shots with my fellow blogbots.

 

Tomorrow, we'll head back to the other Belleville. *Sigh.
Praying for travel mercies for all those heading back home after the holiday! :)

xo | cmd

Lunch Visitors

Joe's back from VA, so that means he's back to work with the weather crew on base. However, he somehow finagled out of work altogether yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Lucky bug!


culver's | yum.



Yesterday, Nancy, Meagan and I all brought in food as our welcome-back to Marc and Diana returning from their week-long vacation. We all spent our lunch times in the office, so Joe and Sydni decided today would be a better opportunity to come up and meet me for a quick bite. We landed on Culver's, just down the street, where I had taken Mom and Dad when they were here visiting. I just love being able to spend lunch with Joe and Sydni. It really makes the day move right along.

Back at the office, Sydni made sure to pillage at least half the bowl of candy on my desk, and Joe snuck through to take a picture of the action. It almost appears as though I was interviewing a 2-yr-old, which ironically may have gone better than some of the others I've had in here. ;)

I joke.

I'm not exactly sure what happened to the time between 6:30 and 8:30pm; I must've passed out. Literally. I woke up sprawled across our bed upstairs, with Sydni cozied up right next to me, fast asleep. Joe was already gone off to indoor soccer practice with Alex, so that puts me here, biding some time before Sydni wakes up again and Joe gets home.

Slow Tuesday.

See you tomorrow ;)

xo | cmd

Canoeing | Rehearsal Dinner

jess | meagan | becky | kalyn | brittany | cori
loveland canoe & livery

Thanks to my best friend and maid of honor Kalyn, our original plan this morning was to head up to Loveland Canoe & Livery for an early morning float down the river. However, what we hadn’t considered was that when we were ready to head out, we found ourselves confronted with a temperature well below what we felt like enduring for two hours. It started with Kalyn and I at her house with Joe and Sam, brainstorming different options: sand volleyball? Rock climbing? Horseback Riding? Bowling? – Gettin’ desperate on that last one; remember it was just before 10am at this point. We finally agreed to bundle up and take it like real men: canoeing it was. Kalyn, Brittany, Meagan, Becky, Jess, and I loaded up and carpooled over to Loveland....

Fast forward to us arriving at the livery and Becky knowing the guy working the desk from one of the summer camps on whose staff she’d served with him. All I need to say is that if Becky knows someone, that’s always a good sign. For us, that translated into some certain ‘liberties’ which aren’t usually afforded to canoers, and that made for a fantastic time. The weather even surprised us by warming to a final product of us all stripped down to short sleeves or tank tops. Perfect.

The only downfall of the morning was that we had spent valuable time in deliberation, which meant that we had about 45 minutes to get back to Sandy’s, pick up my things, get back to Kalyn’s, get showered, and get over to the Norlyn Manor for rehearsal. I have no idea how in the world I was only 10 minutes late. [Thanks, Sam, for your superior chauffeur skills!] We managed to wrap up a walk-thru with minimal drama [save for the disgruntled and socially inept woman that booted us out, unwarranted at the end], and off we were to the rehearsal dinner at The Great Scott. [If that made you think of The Office, you’re not the only one!]

Great Scott Oktoberfest menu = interesting, but delicious. Oh, and after that experience, I think I should probably learn some German. Just sayin’.

I’m shacking up with Kalyn tonight, and Joe with the boys. Sydni’s with Sandy, so that means we’re all accounted for. There’s something big happening tomorrow, so I suppose I should get some shut eye.

‘Til then!....

xo | cmd

Eating... All Day.



pegs.

Raise your hand if you've ever done one of those.
Now raise your hand if you've scrambled to start over before you finished, because you knew you would have at least 2 or 3 left over, when the goal is 1.
I may be the only one with two hands up right now, because I'll be the first to admit that, unlike my husband, I am a moron when it comes to these things.
This one was at Crackerbarrel this morning when we stopped in for breakfast. Sydni has about as much fun trying to color with the colored pegs as we did chasing them down after she got frustrated that they were, "broke, " as she called them.

Today was absolutely a good day. It was spent vegging out - I titled this one appropriately, because looking back at today, I feel rather gluttonous. It was all in good fun though; we had breakfast as a family, then spent the day together and headed out again at dinner time to Lotawata Creek for a group dinner with Meagan, Rob, and a handful of Joe's Air Force coworkers.

Now, about Lotawata Creek: There aren't any of these joints in Cincinnati, so this was a new experience for me. Apparently one of their famous trademarks is their portion size. In a comical spirit, I say that this is definitely an American favorite, because the plates here are well over what any single human being would ever need to eat on his/her own.

Examples:



sandwich hiding behind fries

club. club crazy.



attempts to conquer....

We. Are. FULL.
We made it home, got Sydni to bed, and hung out with Meagan and Rob for a short bit before calling it a night. It's church in the AM! :)

xo | cmd

El Maguey's

I don't think I ever mentioned that the girl training me for my position at the Edwardsville office is leaving at the end of this week. As an office, send-off dinner's aren't uncommon, but they are more interesting when it's held at a place to which I've never been. Although El Maguey's turned out to be your standard Mexican restaurant, it was still good, and I appreciated the opportunity to sit down in a more casual environment with the people I see for 8 hours a day every Monday through Friday.

el maguey mexican restaurant

I honestly miss the staff from the office back in Cinci. There isn't much I can do about that, so I'm determined to make the very best of and keep an open mind to this new staff; ironically, aside from the owners, I would technically be considered the senior staff member if ranked by longevity with the company. I have high hopes for my run here, and I do wish my departing predecessor all the best luck in her new job!

¡Adiós, y hasta mañana!

xo | cmd