Uh Huh...

Marianne sent me this via Pinterest today:

Guys.. I can't. The truth in this is that I need this logo'd over everything I own. I need this. For sure.

Instead of wearing that around like I wanted to today, I took the expected route and went to work, then the gym, and then home... [rinse & repeat, amiright?]

Dinner was an easy selection, and part of what I love about workouts: less guilt on the carb side...

spaghetti carbonara

^ That's a stock photo; tonight we used veggie noodles and did not take a moment in the space between the stove and shoving it in our mouths to photograph. Noted, for next time though.

Phewwwwwwww.... yeah.
See ya tomorrow!

xo | cmd

The MYSTERY Home T

I am left trying to solve a MYSTERY after today.
Here's why:

I'm a huge proponent of local food, clothing, product, music and culture. My philosophy has always been "Wherever local is for you, be a part of it." That doesn't mean drastically alter your slate of beliefs or standards to fit in anywhere, but rather to become engaged in the clockwork of your community. My friends and anyone who's seen a picture of me in the past 12 months would undoubtedly recognize my Ohio Roots hoodie, that I may be wearing down to the threads by this point. [thanks to Mica!]

ohio roots ♥

Anyway, today at work, Elisa announced that I had a package delivered. She and I are so easily-excited by the delivery of things we know are coming; I couldn't remember for the life of me what would be coming, because I didn't order anything.

This....

uhhh, hello, shirt??

  ^ I opened it, thinking maybe I'd forgotten ordering something [my bank account would later tell me no... no, I did not]. In case you don't know what a Home T is, here's what Ohio's looks like:

home (:

^ No, that's not me, just in case you for some reason thought I was a super skinny white girl. If you live in the U.S., you'll probably find yours, too. I always laughed whenever I'd see these and wonder if my family still lived in Colorado like we did originally, if I'd be interested in sporting my state's silhouette everywhere [...a box]. I wonder if Wyoming kids have the same concern... Haha.

So I am... trying to figure out who sent this to me. It's my size. I haven't tried it on yet but I will. I've ruled out the original suspects, so who knows. THANK YOU to the person out there responsible for this... you are a MYSTERY!

Anyway, surprise shirts aside, Sydni and I made our first trip to the gym together tonight. I was completely oblivious to the fact that there was a Fitworks on Beechmont Avenue until I opened my eyes and saw the thing over the weekend. So... instead of skipping a full week of circuits because of the logistics of Sydni's daycare and work, we can now go in the evenings.

She loved it.
So much so, that as soon as we got home, showered and ate dinner, she was done.

my sweet, sweet girl ♥♥

It took everything for me to move her out of our bed to her own room, but almost as sweet as her sleepy little self was her favorite buddy Stella, patiently waiting for her snuggler to climb in bed with her.

I wouldn't have started this week any differently. (:
Life is good.

xo | cmd

Growlers & Beanies & Friends, Oh My! [Rhinegeist Wednesdays]

There's really no better way to celebrate a mid-week than a breather from the routine.

Tonight, that took the form of a trip to Rhinegeist with some of my favorites. I needed my fix of hilarious antics, spontaneous decisions and even some souvenirs.

It's a photo-kinda-story.

holy hipsters, i love this girl... haha

my best friend.

'don't you dare ruin my cougar [ale]!'

photogenically-deficient society (:

Oh, and there was the arrival of Becky!

two of the greatest friends ever.

Aaaaand, timeout.
In the midst of all our silliness, I didn't notice when Rob slipped away.. until he came back with a fresh drink and something else tucked in his back pocket for me....

this. just.... this!!

^ I've had my eye on a shirt from here for a while now... and Rob bought it for me tonight. He. Is. The BEST, ever. How I landed this guy is beyond me, but I'm keeping him, keeping the shirt and keeping my word to always stay grateful for having my best friend here in Ohio with me. Thank you, thank you, lumberjack!! ♥♥

 more spoils...

^ I wasn't the only one who walked tonight with some charms of RG; we snagged a growler, too. Chad chose the medicine jar size and Rob of course bought my amazing shirt (: When we go to RG, we go ... to RG. Haha.

beckyyyyy

We snagged one final shot of us all at RG before the night wound down. This... is how I wanted my Wednesday to go.

love 'em.



We're home now, after a diesel dance party on the way back and some light unwinding at the house. Kalyn lives about one whole mile from here, so I'm guessing she'll be home before this is even finished. Haha.

Good night, friends - have a wonderful rest of the week!

xo | cmd

WELCOME BABY EMILIA!! [VBS Day4]

So as we all went to bed last night with the anticipation of little miss Emilia's arrival, the Babots headed to the hospital where Lara was induced at midnight. The journey started for them while the majority of us were asleep. This morning around 11am, little Emilia made her grand entrance!

I.. Am.. SO.. Excited!

welcome emilia leigh!

WELCOME EMILIA!!!!

[& Congratulations to proud Mama & Daddy Lara & Alex, and of course big brother Landon]

proud mommy, flawless & beautiful, as always :)
gorgeous daughter & mama!

I cannot wait to meet little Emilia, and I will gladly stand in that line to do so. We're continuing prayer for the proud parents, and perhaps even more proud big brother Landon! I pray everything goes well for the next couple of days and that you're home in no time. We are so excited for you. Yiieee, babies! ♥

----

Today, as we all know, is day 4 of VBS. It's been an energetic week so far, and we crossed the halfway point. I took a break from all things VBS to stop by Tracy's house and snag the giant bag o' T-shirts that were ordered for the Towerviewers participating in Relay for Life. I got them all home and separated them into labeled bags for the picking. Since my team co-captain is pictured above doing ridiculous other things like having a baby [sheesh... c'mon ;), heh.. jk!], I made sure to take care of this. It was a bit of work, but an oddly-refreshing breather from the cardio that is VBS music ;) Hah. Fun stuff.


relay for life | bellville il | july 20-21, 2012!

It's been a whilrwind week so far! We are so blessed :)

The almost-Friday is just around the corner!

xo | cmd

TWLOHA [The Reprise] | HBD, JIMMY!

twloha.com | [go]check.it.out.

It's been a little while since I last sported this one. I found it tucked in a pile of short sleeve shirts in my closet, its turquoise lettering peeking at the visible edge and reminding me that it's spent long enough on the shelf without being worn.

I always get asked, expectantly so, first the question, "What's your shirt say?" The second question once I either recite it or stand up straight and still enough for it to be completely visible: "What's it mean?"

mercy ministries/barlow girl '08
♥ ali | good times, love this girl!

Bear with me, because this one strikes me on a personal level a little deeper than some of the other equally-respectable causes. TWLOHA is a non-profit movement purposed to extend real hope, encouragement, wisdom, and help to those struggling and/or suffering from depression, abuse, addiction, self-injury/suicide. The initial project launched over 6 years ago; my first exposure to it came about 4 years ago when my darling friend Ali [*miss you, far-away-friend!!] and I were on a mission assignment for Mercy Ministries. It opened to the door for me to TWLOHA [not affiliated w/ MM], and it moved me.

For the people who inspired me to join and continue supporting TWLOHA over the past few years [in absolutely no particular order]: Mili, Jena, Ben, Mike, Robbie, Asia, Daniel, Dustin, Nick, Skye, Ashley, Hannah, and the rest of what is a very long list: I loved or do love each of you in a unique way, and I support missions like TWLOHA either in honoring memory of you or in a token of my utmost support and pride for each day that you continue to choose life - real life - over the alternatives of this broken world.

If you've not yet explored opportunities to advocate a cause like this that moves you in its own way, TWLOHA's not a shabby place to start. Mercy Ministries is another one. Invisible Children. Bloodwater Mission. The list is seemingly endless. One thing I can count on is that life is too short not to be the arms and legs of Christ in some way and reach out, unconditionally and unbiased, to the suffering and the broken. It's the least I can do in my little flash of a journey here. xx.

****
Speaking of really stellar people:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JIMMY!!! 

woooo! happy birthday jimbo!!!

Jimmy celebrates another year young today; happy birthday to one of our great friends here in Belleville!! This is one truly stand-up guy, and very proud daddy-to-be, might I add. We love these two [Mo & Jimmy]. They've proven to be two of the kindest, selfless and flat out fun couples we could've asked for when we made Illinois our new home. We are so very thankful for both Jimmy & Mo, and wish him the very best birthday yet!

*****

Oh, on a sidenote - it's still a tad bit warm around these parts. I shouldn't very well complain about the blanket of everywhere heat that has settled over the midewest. What I can say is hooooly hot one! I stay thankful to have the amenities to avoid overheating, but not-so-secretly even more thankful for the 90 degree cold front that will be passing through this weekend. Haha.

Notice the 7am temp [top] and the 1pm temp [bottom]. I didn't grab a shot of the 111 temp at 5pm, but I figured by that point hot was hot and it reaaaally didn't matter. Hah.

OHHHH YEAH! And..... after almost a full week of unrelenting asking.. and asking.. and s'more asking, my boss finally ceded to myself and the other staffing consultant to move out of our Green Acres post-up to the other side of the "fence" to where our old desks now sit. Good news, we'll now have our old spaces back [sorta], and with a wealth of added privacy. Yay, little victories!! (:

Lastly, but certainly not of a lesser priority:

IT'S THE DAGGONE WEEKEND!!!! Two days of relaxing before the workweek picks back up. Next week's gonna be an especially eventful time as VBS kicks off on Monday. Exhaustion, here we come ;)

I can't wait.

Time to kick it with the mini - Umizoomi style. Yenno. ;)

xo | cmd

Expressaversary | KONY2012

Oh my word.

Happy Expressaversary to meeee..... again! Haha.

celebrate ;)

My track record with my company goes back a couple years now, but today was the 1-year mark of my tenure at this office. I was met this morning with a cute little cake and a white board decorated in my honor. It wasn't elaborate, but it certainly started the day off right. (:

What I was even less prepared to get was a handwritten note of gratitude from my owners, containing kind words and a little something extra. They really, really shouldn't have; I'm grateful and very blessed.

oh my word. unexpected. | many many thanks.

It's already felt like such a discombobulated day; it's Thursday but feels like Monday to those of us who had yesterday off only to return to work for two days. Joe departed again today for another short round of store visiting. We'll see him shortly, but it's going to be one heckuva jampacked week in the meantime. VBS starts on Monday, and that'll last until he gets back. I'm sure I'll be exhausted by that point, but that's the joy in being part of any good VBS.

kony2012 | liberty triangle | invisible children

Oh! And I almost forgot! This little guy came and surprised me today as well. I'd forgotten all about it, so it was a great little perk when it showed up in the mailbox. This is part of my effort to support the KONY2012 campaign initiative for Invisible Children. I would highly suggest you check it out. It's easier to turn a blind eye in the swamp of "noteworthy causes," but this is one I've chosen to follow. It really is the least I can do. 

Today's winding down; time to go hang with the mini before bedtime.... TG[Tomorrow's]Friday!

xo | cmd

Express Training, Day 1

It was coordinated months back that I would be headed to one of the training seminars hosted by one of the Express corporate developers up in Springfield. That was scheduled for today and tomorrow.

official office mode ;) 

Good news: I, along with 19 other staffing consultants and/or FOC's survived day 1 :)

I spent a few short hours this morning tying up loose ends at the office before I hopped on the road Springfield-bound. Apparently I had unevenly estimated the commute time; I rolled into Springfield about an hour early, so I did some light traversing of the immediate area before waiting it out for 45 minutes in the parking lot. Woot.

The training itself turned my brain to goo, but in a totally GOOD way. I know, that sounds ridiculous, but it's true. I picked up some new information and some well-needed refreshers on some processes I already use. Our corporate developer is an excellent public speaker, and the presentation itself was definitely worth the trip. Thanks again for the sendoff, M&D!

[[And I heard from Nancy during the day that our office construction went to a whole new level as the painting started today and apparently displaced everyone who's got a desk in the office. Probably a good thing that I didn't stay all day; I would've been homeless, so to speak.]]

So once the first day of training was finished, I got right down to checking into the hotel before finding my way to the mall [cuz that's what you do when you're me, on a Wednesday night in a city void of anyone or anything you know]

yeah zumiez .gif.... yeah.

panda express. yes please!

I discovered Zumiez tonight; it's kinda like Pac Sun except pretty much completely cooler. I also discovered that after a day of brain-mushing, coupled with the novel feeling of finding a unique store, I am definitely prone to semi-reckless, but absolutely impulse spending. Errrrr... YOLO, I suppose. [Truth be told that's the wildest part of my night. I know, I know: I'm outta control. Zzzz.]

Springfield didn't know what hit it, yeah? Pshhhchyeah. Hah.

Oh, and I indulged on some Panda Express tonight, too, while I was at it. I ate just about all of it and don't feel guilty at all. I do however, feel a little sluggish and full. No big deal. Haha. 

It's back to it tomorrow, bright and early.

Seeeeee you then!

xo | cmd

Pillows

Somewhere back when I was about 3, I caught a case of the DIY [Do It Yourself] bug and as of now, it's still here. I think my first major undertaking was when I started designing those little seed beed safety pins (come on, pretend like you don't know what those were), and a passion for creativity blossomed from there. I remember entering kindergarten believing that I would make a killing off those things, because hey, the lemonade had been a smash hit that summer. These things lasted a lot longer than lemonade.


originally uploaded by obstinatepursuit | seed bead safety pins

That was my thinking, at least. :)



shirt design | easy enough...



Over the years, I found myself attempting to create or re-create everything from my own haircuts to dress designs to screenprints. Some attempts were gratifying successes; others proved to be valued learning experiences. Along the way, as with every budding DIY'er, I found certain niches that worked for me, and I've been running with those and a few others here and there.



pillow patches

One of my favorite things as a DIY'er is to take a break from creating my own designs and find concepts I know I could develop on my own. Today was one of those days when I ran across two that I found at the Galleria. I thought they were simple enough, and that type of design that has plenty of room for open alteration and conformation to any style. I couldn't imagine paying the price listed for these, so what better way to own them than to make them myself. Once this wedding business is said and done, I'll get down to it.

I'm on a quest today... new design inspirations.

I'll keep ya'll posted :p.

xo | cmd

Satursinusday. MM15. Allyn's, too!

Mabuhay, weekend!

cottage cheese | fruit | almonds | spoon = enjoying♥

-- Did another sinu-cleanse/neti syringe this morning. I'm happy to report it was far less gruesome than the first round, and offered about 2 hours of "better" before whatever I've got going on up there came back to sit. [[ I'm imagining myself as a robot with a little alien the height of a pencap sitting in the control room that is my sinuses just pressing buttons and pulling levers unabashedly. He's a mean little guy, that guy. He might even resemble the little Mucinex guy. Who knows anymore. ]] And yes, I know I should lay off all dairy products until I get this straightened out, but it's day 15 of the Moreno deal, and I don't regret it. Not yet :)



my quarky little gem

 I'm also happy to report that today was one of those days that the little things just make you smile. In spite of these pesky head issues I'm battling, I dropped in one of my favorite thrift/re-sale digs and stumbled across a shirt that had gone on to that esoteric hangout with all the 'other socks' and teenage retainers (aka, lost it). It's one of those cases in which that particular item of clothing was purchased I-don't-know-how-long-ago and quickly became one of my favorites. Then it goes missing and I figure there's rarely even a minute chance in all of my graces that I'd ever find a replacement. Today I found a replacement. The exact same shirt, though a size smaller [still fits, because the shirt itself is just.that.stellar]. Good times, good times.


To top it off, I rendezvoused with Kalyn, Brittany, & Cameron for some dinner & a field trip out to Allyn's to see our favorite rising star Chris sing. Did we throw a chicken quesadilla into that mix? Who knows.....



chris | today i don't feel like doin anything | bruno mars



 

quesadilla? | ours? | who knows....



allyn's | c.k.c.b

So, as I've been doing all week, I'll be hopin' and a-wishin' for my  head to calm down. I've got a dr. appt. set for Tuesday; I really hope I don't actually need his services by that time.

xo | cmd