A Life-Is-Great Wednesday

I'm a huge fan of variety, and breaking out of the monotony of what's typical every day. In the spirit of said variety, I happily obliged a client requesting me to come down on site today for a facility tour to start the day. While I knew my desk had undoubtedly been piling up over the course of the morning with memos, messages and files, it was quite a nice change of pace to be driving north into the city at a time that is very unusual for me.

hello, daytime city! 

It was only fitting to make a pitstop in for some fresh-ground encouragement before heading in to the office!

it was too beautiful a feeling not to stop and capture it

I did however realize why I'd been met with some semi-raised eyebrows between my client's facility and the office: I'd forgotten about and was still sporting earplugs. I mean.... it's not totally irrelevant, right?

these are just in case it gets too loud... or something..

The rest of the day passed without too much chaos, and I'm happy to say that there was a moderate amount activity completed after work as well, re: THE MOVE.

That's another day's worth of diatribe.. but we'll get to that later. For now, I hope ya'll were out and about today for at least part of this gorgeous day!

xo | cmd

MARCH: Sunshine, Ikea & Donkeys?

Dude. It was freakin' goooorgeous outside today! Am I the only one who nearly fell over walking outside at lunch?

yes, i did that.

Yeah. I'm going way overboard with the daily lunches this week, and with the selfies to match. Here's the thing though: I haven't taken 2 consecutive 1-hour lunch breaks in almost 10 months, so ex-ca-uuuuuuse me if I'm a little chippier than usual ;)! 

^ But really, I indulged today. Whole Foods, for one, is not the 99-cent store, as we all can attest. I'm not shaming those of us who shop there, but let's be real: it's overpriced and we all know it. Today though, I went for it, got lunch, a $5 chapstick and a kombucha [shout out to Jen & Jordan @ Fab Ferments!!], then proceeded to park myself on a painted bench directly outside of Pier 1 to eat said lunch and consume said kombucha.  Yeeeup, I went full-fledged White Girl today.

On top of that, I proceeded to punctuate today with a trip to the second most basic place on Planet Earth: Ikea. Yeah, you read that right, friends: Cori, in one day did a Whole Foods and Ikea run. Ya give a girl two days of lunch breaks and she goes rogue, right? Hah.

300 pages of yes please!?

But seriously, Ikea. The love-hate relationship I have with the place continues, as it probably will until the end of time, or until I no longer need to buy $1 aluminum flower pots, $3 clippy hooks for EVERYTHING IN MY  HOUSE THAT NEEDS HOOKING and 2-for-1 adorable throw pillows.

Wait, what? I mean... the ONE accent table, the ONE bedstand, the ONE bedframe and the ONE set of pedestal legs for the ottoman.

And silverware.

Placemats Nothing Else!

LED light strings Nothing Else!

Bamboo plant! Nothing Else!

Buckets Nothing Else!

Kids art accessories Nothing Else!

CINNAMON ROLLS! Just kidding, these are NOT crossed off. #sorrynotsorry.

Rob is beyond ready for this move to be done; I can see the terror in his eyes when I open my mouth now and the sentence begins with, "What do you think about..." He's a trooper, who is hanging in there and providing the brawn that I don't have, the truck that my Subie is not and the accountability not to go broke... that I do not on my own possess at this time. Kudos to him. 

IKEA on a Tuesday: 

US, at IKEA on a Tuesday: 

let's do this!!
[at 8:45pm... haha] 

hitching a ride

 Spoils of the adventure:

we planned on buying [tonight].... about 80% of this. 

I'm pretty pumped. The guest bedroom will be together in no time, and the rest of this place will be constructed one little bit at a time. I've already enlisted Becky and Jess to assist with the painting, when that time comes. We're almost there; I can feel it.

Oh, and an additional feature of our new neighborhood to which I wasn't savvy before tonight:
We've got.... DONKEYS! These two, named Jackson and some other president name, are little escape artist pals from the farm across the street. Tonight, as we were nearing our road, we noticed them wobbling down the side of the main road; at first glance, it was assumed they were deer, but at closer look, that agile gait of a deer was totally missing, and to be honest, these two looked like the brown versions of our dogs.... so no, they weren't deer.

donkeys. neighbor. donkeys.

I took this picture for corroboration to my claim in case nobody believed me later on. Fortunately though, we weren't hallucinating, which was confirmed by our neighbor when I tiptoed onto her front porch at 10:30 PM to ask about the donkeys. And also introduce myself for the first time. Nothing like a Hi-I'm-new-here intro that starts with, "Sorry it's so late, but I'm the new neighbor and umm.. Do you know anything about the two donkeys out here?"  

The neighbor knew, of course, and even had the number for the farm on speed dial. I'm fortunate that the neighbor didn't answer the door with a shotgun, with it being this late, but I'm super happy that they seem to be decent people with a good sense of humor, especially dealing with roving donkeys [insert witty quips here, re: donkeys].

Happy Tuesday, ya'll. Stay beautiful, like this weather! ♥

xo | cmd

Monday Lunch Break!!

An excerpt from the list of things I love:

* Jesus
* Sushi
* Lunch breaks
* Sunshine
* Friends
* 70° weather in the 1st week of March
* A stellar deal off Craigslist
* Rob & Sydni

It's clearly not the entire list, but it felt appropriate today to highlight those specific things. 

First, and I cannot emphasize to all maybe-two of you readers out there just how liberating it was today to TAKE A FULL, 1-HOUR LUNCH BREAK. You call it dramatic... I call it... rare. 

I'd forgotten over the past 9 or 10 months just how fantastic it is to step away from the desk and everything that comes with it, and just.... exist in a space free of work, errands and anything else that qualifies as an obligation. 

[insert über happy emoji face here]

For starters, I donned a dress to work for the first time in months today. It just... felt right - the air felt promising this morning when I let the dogs out, so I went for it. My favorite boots went with it, and out the door I went to start the week. 

This was not a typical Monday, at all. From the time I woke up to now, it's been nothing but fun. Seriously! I'm going to blame this on Kristin, the new girl at work - she's just now starting her 2nd week, but even so, I'm already feeling layers of stress and pressure peeling off. The girl is seriously a God-send, I'll say that much. Now that she's here, the daily workload will be more evenly-distributed, and with that comes lunch breaks!

Monday lunch break = SUSHI! Extra ginger, pwede ba! [<that's 'please' in Tagalog]

People, listen. If you're going to pursue my heart, you have to start with my stomach. In fact, you really only need my stomach, if the timing is right. I wanted nothing more today than a seaweed roll, and once I got it, the rest of the day was a cakewalk. 

And then the work day ended, and it was on to the next thing: Retrieving an armoire I'd hunted down on Craigslist. The guy who posted it months ago has been experiencing relay issues with emails, and I just happened to swoop in at the right time, as he was near giving up on hearing back again from any of the previous inquiries. Cori, would you pay an 8th of the full price for an armoire in near perfect condition? 

hello, lovely! 

Yes. Yes I would. And I did. And I'm PUMPED. #newhousefurnituuuuuuure

We came, we retrieved, and somehow we [Rob & I, but mostly Rob] finagled that sucker up and over the banister and landing to the 2nd floor of the new house. He probably needs a chiropractor after it all, but hey, it's there, it's ready and as soon as the walls are painted, it'll be a functional fixture in the digs of yours truly.

And with that, folks.. we're good here. The week is young, but God's been good to us for a Monday. We're feeling inspired to get this place under wraps!

Have a beautiful week, blogbots!

xo | cmd

Sunshine, BBQ & Boats [Well, Kinda ;)]

Perks of our centrally-located office [sometimes]:

yay, local swag & discounts! 

^ Rob will appreciate that :) :).

The downside of working in an office is that, when the weather is beautiful and beckoning, we're limited in the amount of time we can allocate in the sunshine.

i. need. [some.] sunshine! 

Elisa and I took full advantage today of the clear skies and traced a very familiar route through the outskirts of downtown to Findlay, where we of course had our free reign of lunch options.

.... I finally settled..

eli's bbq. bare feet. happy heart. 

We ran into Duy, as we often do since he works across the street, and managed a mini convo/catch-up before it was time for us to return to the Express homestead.

The day wrapped up in its usual fashion, and I made my way excitedly home to get Sydni and continue on to the house. Rob had promised Syd she could help, and made sure to follow through on that promise:

this girl 

Happy Tuesday, ya'll :) I hope the sunshine's been good to you today! 

xo | cmd

My BiPolar City

Here's the course of a typical day here in Norwood [& really, in all of Cincinnati]:

8:00 AM. 

10:00 AM

11:00 AM

11:15 AM

1:45 PM

3:45 PM

Get the drift? 

If there's one thing you've got to accept and not fight living in the midwest, it's the weather. Seriously. We're about as close to bipolar as you can get without professional intervention. 

Fortunately, I have a collection of a few thousand of my closest friends here in Cincinnati who get the joy of suffering through all of this together. 

Now PICK ONE, CINCI. 

xo | cmd

Rain = Sleep.

It's been raining all day.
Rain makes everyone tired. Like, exceptionally tired. Haha.

To sum up today, here's how I found Sydni after she showered and dressed this morning. She'd gotten her yogurt and was back in her room while I got ready. I came back to find this: 

hahahaa

breakfast complete.. aaaaand... sleep.

This girl's too funny for her own good sometimes. She's my little ham, and on the days like this when we're all cornered indoors by the weather, she's that little bit of sun that I need.

 

I hope you all had a little sunlight in your day today, too, despite all this rain!

 

xo | cmd

Frankie's [Final] Farewell

Today was a beautiful day outside.

Marianne was still at the house when Rob & I headed out to work this morning.

yep. those are mare's keys.
.... it's tuesday.

Five and a half hours later, she and I were walking from my office to Chipotle for lunch. Haha. That's right, she was still here up until about 2pm, when she and I said goodbye for the 400th time. If I'm right, her last stop before she departed from Cinci was back down at the Coffee Emporium in East Hyde Park. We went there on Sunday before our great tattoo venture, and she went there on her own yesterday. Apparently, she ran into another Marianne, so they wrote Frankie on her cup and told her that was her name from here on out. I don't know if she had the heart to tell them today that she won't be back for... a while :(, but I do love that she's been in Cincinnati for about three days now and has already established herself at a coffee shop.

That being said,

GO HOME, FRANKIE!

 

And yes, I'm very much kidding; I wish she, along with Ali, Tim & Damanji, were residents of somewhere-right-around-the-corner, instead of other-places-around-the-U.S.-and-soon-to-be-Korea,-Tim... [*sad.face.]. I am in need of some recuperation still after the weekend rumpus with them all, but there is nothing more direct and satisfying than face-to-face time with your favorite people.

the quote is mare's original thought.
.. i'm blessed to be this part of her journey!

Like I said, today was beautiful. I had decided on my way to pick up Sydni that if she wanted, we'd take full advantage of the pretty weather before it relapses tomorrow into this wintery wackjob that it's been lately.

Since asking a 4-year-old if she wants to go play in the park is like asking me if I like... food, I really wasn't expecting anything other than a couple of hours at Stanbery to soak up the rest of the daylight.


"look mommy, i'm not touching the ground,
i'm not!"

my walking stick carrying, smizing super model tour guide :p

We even had a surprise guest, too. I thought Rob would be tied up at work for most of the evening, but his arrival was announced by the [beautiful] growl of his bike; looks like we were all trying to squeeze something out of the weather today!  

meet my world.

Quick Proud Parent Moment: I was reminded tonight that while Sydni is just 4, she is a fiercely loyal force with which not to be reckoned. Another little girl, seemingly around the same age, maybe a year older, unabashedly approached me and asked flatly, "What happened to your chest?!" She was of course referring to my keyloids, which is neither embarrassing nor aggravating to me anymore. Coming from a child, the question always amuses me more than anything else [especially as opposed to grown adults with no sense of personal space who feel it appropriate to just reach out and touch them while asking - that's a whooole different story, mis amigos..]. I opened my mouth to respond, but Sydni was quick to interject: tiny hands on her hips and all, "Those are my mommy's scars because her boy brothers threw a firework at her." She meant cousins, but it was so quickly delivered and direct that I stood there for a split second in silence, and, if I'm honest, a little bit of pride. My little girl can stand up for things. She also has a vault-like memory, as a side-and-cautionary note to myself. Hah.

Sydni tuckered herself out eventually, so we made our way back to the car to head home. The sun was setting, which gave me the perfect opportunity to capture Sydni carrying that big globe of light.

sunny girl (:

^ She thought that was the coolest thing; now I'll get to explain to other people why she's telling everyone she touched the sun ;)

It's unusually quiet around the house tonight; even though our company was only here for a few days, I'm a little... sad, if you will, that they're all gone now. Mare cleaned the place up before she left [thank you, even though you did not need to do that, haha], so we got to skip that part and go straight to dinner and some unwinding time.

We are some imperfect but blessed, happy people, around here. G'Nite ♥.

xo | cmd

Kat | Changing Light Bulbs | Softball

I have to acknowledge first and foremost that today is Kat's birthday. Happy birthday, Kat. Words cannot express how much you are still missed. The pain of your passing has dulled in intensity over the last 7 years, but in no way have I forgotten you, forgotten our friendship, or forgotten how much you meant to me when we were friends and roommates.

kat & cori [& patricia, too! :)]
circa june 2005...

Happy 25th birthday, little K.
7.16.87 - 7.28.05.

Now, because I know that Kat would not have wanted any of us to waste any part of our day being sad, I will say that in every other sense of today, it's been another blessing :).

So Happy Monday!

In the spirit of mentioned transitioning, I thought I would start this week off with a little long-forgotten humor. This joke surfaced yesterday in a discussion between my sister and me.

This is all in good fun. My friend Brittany had posted this a few years back and I thought it was funny then [I’m Baptist, and must admit that the Baptist one is pretty stinkin’ accurate]. Either way, it’s cute, so I figured I would share ;) 

HOW MANY CHRISTIANS DOES IT TAKE TO CHANGE A LIGHT BULB??

i'm baptist.. so there are at least 14 more of me
ready to go on this ;)

Charismatic: Only one. Hands already in the air.

Pentecostals: Ten. One to change the bulb and nine to pray against the spirit of darkeness.

Presbyterians: None. Lights will go off and on at predestined times.

Roman Catholic: None. Candles only.

Baptists: At least 15. One to change the light bulb and three committees to approve the change and decide who brings the potato salad.

Episcopaleans: Three. One to call the electrician, one to mix the drinks, and one to talk about how much better the old bulb was.

Mormons: Five. One man to change the bulb and four wives to tell him how to do it.

Unitarians: We choose not to make a statement either in favor of or against the need for a light bulb. However, if in your own journey you have found that light bulbs work for you, that is fine. You are invited to write a poem or compose a modern dance about your light bulb for the next Sunday service, in which we will explore a number of light bulb traditions including incandescent, fluorescent, three-way, long-life and tinted, all of which are equally valid paths to luminescence.

Methodists: Undetermined. Whether your light bulb is bright, dull, or completely out, you are loved. You can be a light bulb, turnip bulb or tulip bulb. A church-wide lighting service is planned for Sunday. Bring a bulb of your choice and a covered dish.

Nazarene: Six. One woman to replace the bulb while five men review the church lighting policy.

Lutherans: None. Lutherans don’t believe in change.

Amish: What’s a light bulb?

*********

If you're a Baptist like I am, you laughed because you know it's exactly true. ;)

Anyway.... Happy Monday! I started my week off with something little to appease a craving I'd had over the weekend: Sounds silly, but these things make a world of difference when you're sitting at your desk looking to appease the munchies.

<< That's for Mo, specifically, since I had been on the hunt for these things on Saturday before the drive-in movie, to no avail. See? They do exist! Haha..

The rest of today passed by in the familiar fashion of Monday [you ragged thing, you], and I'm glad to see it go. I was reminded via sermon from our beloved Pastor Ron on Sunday to count my blessings and not the little things that seem to pickle my day instead of enhance it. In the spirit of doing that, I am blessed to have a job, the means to get there, and all of the other small and large things in my life that I love.

*********
Summer Mondays = Softball!

softball fun with the little ones!
seth. christopher. easton.

Softball was h-o-t. Yeesh. I know the boys were roasting out there, because sitting on the side watching alone was something like baking slowly in a wide open oven. Oh well. Dust and all, we had ourselves a good old time on the side playing with the kiddos, munching through a 2 lb bag of Twizzlers & a gallon box of Goldfish, and speculating on the game. I took some time to snap a few pictures, too, primarily because moving around a bit was a welcomed reprieve from the still heat.


softball :)

Jimmy and Mo just left the house; they stopped by after the game for some quesadillas and unwinding. Such great friends.. We sure do love 'em!
Early start tomorrow, folks.. I'm outta here.

xo | cmd

Beautiful Life

This one's gonna be short and simple. :)

It's March, and it's 80 degrees in the midwest. Beautiful day!
Today marked the end of another work week. That was a beautiful thing.
My husband is currently en route to Spain with his good friend Lynn. Internationally beautiful.
I got to spend the entire evening with my daughter. Deeply beautiful.
The sun was still out as we took a walk through our neighborhood. Beautiful canvas.

This was the truest, most beautiful thing I've seen all week:

love. ♥

Please pray for travel mercies for Joe and Lynn as they take the next week to explore the beauty that is Spain :) We'll certainly miss him while he's gone....

Here comes the weekend!

xo | cmd

Gold Medal Mondays & Sushi in the Sun

Today  marked the first day of a work week sans bosses. By this point, they should be shmoozin' away in a couple of hammocks somewhere on a beach in Mexico. They work their tails off, so this is well-deserved. That means we'd better not hear a peep of a phone call from either one of them this week ;).

Anywho, the chatter over the weather for today and tomorrow has so far came to fluition. Today was gorgeous. I for one am completely content to hang on to blue skies and 70+ temperatures for as long as we can. I took advantage of this last hoorah and committed my lunch break to munching on some sushi at the park a few blocks from my work. It was the perfect experience: quiet, sunny, slight breeze, empty picnic pavilion. I caught up on a few Max Lucado excerpts and ate my sushi in my perfect little hour bubble that was my lunch break. I even managed to snag a few shots of the changing colors. I could've stayed there all day.

AAAAAAND, Joe texted me to let me know that he and the rest of the Air Force soccer boys beat the Navy today in the final tournament game and therefore will be taking home hard-earned gold [and by gold, I mean actual gold] medals. He sent me this picture as both proof and bragging right.

Sydni and I spent the evening putting finishing touches on a few surprises for Daddy. We won't post the pictures here just yet, because with any luck, we'll be exposed before he gets home to discover them on his own. Somehow, our house is now clean again, and appears to be organized ;).

♥ colors!

Mr. Dills comes home tomorrow!!!
 xo | cmd

Lamentations 3:22-23

cell phone capture through my windshield en route to work ♥

"Because of the Lord's great love, we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail.
They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness."

 - Lamentations 3:22-23 [NIV]

I love that verse. There's a song by one of the student groups at Cedarville University that speaks specifically to this verse; I was listening to it on my way to work this morning and managed to capture that foggy shot of the sun rising through my windshield during rush hour. It sounds like something small, but I enjoy that God gives me little reminders every day that His mercies are renewed each and every single day. It's reassuring, I think! Amen, Amen, AMEN.

******

Lastly, but most certainly not least:

My beautiful baby niece Madison turns TWO today!
Happy birthday, baby girl!

xo | cmd

Blue Skies!



beautiful blue!



Blue Skies, smilin' at me

Nothin' but blue skies do I see

Bluebirds singin' a song
There's nothin' but bluebirds all day long

Seems like all the days are hurryin' by
When you're in love, my how they fly

Those blue days, all of them gone
Nothin' but blue skies from now on

Seems like all them days are hurryin' by
Cause when you're in love, then my how they fly

Them blue days, all of 'em gone
And there's nothin' but blue skies from now on

- "Blue Skies" by Louis Armstrong

****

This song felt particularly inviting today as I was driving all around and everywhere I looked, all I saw was infinite blue. I love it.

Yes, it's still roughly one-hundred-and-some-hot-hot-hot out there.
-- But it's gorgeous, and I feel blessed to have every second of it.

Wanna know why?
Well....

Today, in Japan, the final drafts are being drawn on radiation educational pamphlets that will be distributed to all Japanese school children, in essence giving them a crash course in the causes, effects, and after effects of disasters like the one from which they're still recovering. 

Today, in parts of our country, including Houston, TX, a drought is threatening the welfare of farmers, livestock, and civilians. I'm pretty sure that it's hot here, but we're not [yet] experiencing any shortages on the things we need the most.

What I'm saying is, that while I was guilty myself of griping at this soaring heat index, I am blessed to have eyes to see a shining sun, a functioning sensory system to feel its warmth, and the means to stay sheltered from it when it becomes uncomfortable.

Plus, blue skies are, in my opinion, much better than gray skies. :)

Happy Thursday!

xo | cmd

Dude, it's HOT outside.



hello, sun

Over the past few days, the weather around here [well, from what I understand, it’s all over the Midwest] has been more than just nice. I hate to say it, but it’s so hot that it’s almost been mildly irritating. I heard on the radio on the way in today that there was a heat-related fatality in this area. It saddened me, and made me thankful at the same time that my family and I are blessed with the luxury of relief and shelter from the elements that should not be taken for granted.

get into the Word!

Plus, I live with a U.S. Air Force weather forecaster. The term, high pressure cell has become a regularly-used term around our house. High pressure, in laments terms for all us non-weather guru’s, means simply clear, beautiful, sunny skies.

Whatever the case may be, it was friggin’ H-O-T out there today, and apparently that isn’t going to change anytime soon. Let’s get sweaty.

Relief = Wednesday night Bible study. These are always good refreshers to have for the middle of any hectic week.

Orevua!

xo | cmd

A[n actual] Day of REST...

scott | sun & water | beauty at the base

Let’s talk about lazy days…

This was one of those lazy days.

I honestly don’t have much to report; for the first time in quite some time, Joe and I didn’t have a single thing on the agenda today other than church, and a late evening soccer game at Vetta. Other than that, we really did, in fact, do nothing but relax at home and hang out with Sydni all day long.

This is the stuff weekends are made of. ♥

See ya tomorrow…

xo | cmd