NoMoreRack.com Strikes Again!

So, ya'll know about my affinity with nomorerack.com. A few months back, I introduced Rob to it, which has led to some minor splurging on things here and there. He bought me the first camera lens coffee mug I saw on there, which, ironically and coincidentally enough, Becky snagged for me later as well. I have two of these, now, and I definitely don't hate it. I'll use them both, if that was your question (:

caniam d-slr camera lens coffee mug!
[thanks to rob & becky for both getting me one!!]

And fast forward a couple months to today:

caniam l-lens travel coffee mug!
[thanks to ali!!] ... collection complete.
.... for now ;)

I am pathetically excited about this.
It's like my friends know me or something. I am so thoroughly blessed with some amazing people in my life, and I hope one day I can return that favor tenfold. Thanks again to my turtley awesome best friend Ali [if you know her, that makes sense] for the newest addition to my caniam coffee arsenal. (:

I somehow survived work today with minimal sinus issues, aside from a few little sneezing fits and a watery eye that persisted on and off throughout the day. Otherwise, the headache that's accompanied that for the past few days has subsided some, so I'm grateful on all accords for that.

Oh, and speaking of online shopping, Ali also introduced me today to PersonalizationMall.com. My advice? Don't use this website if you like shopping online, personalizing stuff, and saving your wallet all at the same time. Haha. I just did my shopping for my mom for mother's day, and I must say, I'm pretty happy with it. I think she'll love it. 

check it out... (:
[& no, this isn't exactly what I got mom... no spoiler alert here!]

Anyway, Rob just pulled up to the house and it looks like we're off to Bindy's for dinner. Good thing, because I'm starving, and fried green beans sound aaaamazing right about now.

Seeeee ya later!

xo | cmd

Ikea Part One: BUILT!

Remember when I mentioned the little outing Rob and I took to Ikea a few weekends back? Well, those boxes have been parked smack dab in the middle of his basement floor since we got them in the house. Tonight he decided he was going to break into the TV stand boxes and put that sucker together. I had offered my assistance back when we bought the stuff, but ended up just laying idly by nursing my migraine as he went to work and had the stinkin' thing put together in no time at all. It's amazing how having a handy guy around changes things; it's kinda nice not having to build all the furniture myself.. haha. Really, though, this thing looks nice! Stupid me didn't take a before shot of the set up, but this new stand is definitely sharp looking (:

yay, ikea!

And uhhh, yeah. Other than getting out for dinner with both Kelly & Mike, this was the highlight of the evening. We're exciting, I know.

Oh, and I may or may not have.... but probably MAY.. in fact DID... snag this today. Ali got the same one. We won't be hanging out on July 4th together [sad, sad face...], so it's okay (:

trueeeeee story.
... except kansas.
make that 49 states of awesome ... and kansas.
jk. :)

So uhhh.. yeah :) Not a bad little day, even in my current phase of sinusitis [okay, I don't really have sinusitis, but it feels like it....]. Time to call it a day and SLEEP [aka, poor man's remedy]. GO AWAY, SINUS PAIN!

xo | cmd

Sinus Infection? YES. I'll Take ONE.

This was me today. On a couch, though.

But yeah, this was me.

Yayyyy...

hoooooray, sinus infections.

Yeah. That's about it.
Thank you, Midwest weather.
We'll try this again tomorrow.

xo | cmd

Buchanan's Mudfest 2013

Today = Buchanan's Mudfest 2013

This one's gonna be better in pictures, than in words. It's been really rainy lately, so there was definitely no shortage of mud for today's mudfest. Hello friends... hello, Buchanan MO.

welcome! :)

a little bit of everyone showed up (:

aww.. couples.. haha

these girls... too much fun...
chelsey. cori. halley. ashley

trucks & people... eh - mud's mud!
.. if you're not dirty... you're doing it wrong!

:)

the aftermath.....

Good news: we only got stuck once.
Bad news: that one time ended being a mud fender bender, and now Rob needs a new fender. Or at least some repair. :( It's a pretty big bummer, but other than that... we managed to escape relatively unscathed, compared to some of the others we saw [one truck flipped over... another broke a ball joint and lost a tire all together... yeesh... ]

We're back now. Rob's not feeling well so he's already passed out... and I... I am hungry? Go figure.

I just took the best shower of my life.... haha.. and now I'm gonna hunt down some food and take a nap.

See ya'll laaater :)

xo | cmd

We Get to Hula Hoop at Work..

Ohhhh boy... it's FRIDAY. [Hallelujah!] It was my last "official" day at my desk before I hand over the reigns and all of my clients to MaryBeth on Monday and become.... officespace homeless. Hmmm. 

It rained pretty much all day, but Linda and Ali made sure to clear out any early disappointment with donuts and milk from Farm Fresh.. Nope, we didn't hate it ... at all. 

Oh, and Diana came out of her office brandishing hula hoops of all things.... another perk of this group that I'm definitely going to miss. These are some of my favorite people.... 

hula hooped with my boss today.. haha.. 

And of course, there's that certain best friend, too ... 

*Sigh. It's Friday...and for that I'm grateful. I will, however, be a little sad when this time comes around next week and I don't come back again. 

Here's to the weekend (: 

xo | cmd

Girl Crushes

Nothing says, "Yes, I'm comfortable with myself" like drawing up a list of the 10 other women you think are absolutely beautiful. Haha.

No, I'm not switching teams; I just happened to have a conversation earlier today with a few friends that started on the topic of man crushes and bloomed from there into the rest of the celebrity population.

Out of that, my dear friend Laila and I have both comprised our own lists of 10 gals we think are just.... pretty. I'm not talking Victoria's Secret bombshell goooorgeous, I'm talking just ... simply.. pretty. And.... this isn't a list of "top 10" necessarily, just the first 10 that came to mind... and really in no particular order.

So.. without further delay.. see what you think!

Cori's "First 10" Prettiest Female Celebrities.

Zoe Saldana.
.. and is it weird that her Avatar character really isn't all that ugly, either? Haha. I think I first saw Zoe when I watched Center Stage foreeever ago, and I thought she had a weird, simple beauty about her. I still do.

Brenda Song.
[Yay, Asians!] hahaha.. No seriously. She's done a few different kiddie movies and shows [I think Suite Life or something like that?], and some other random things. She's geeky on TV, but I still think she's pretty!

Sharni Vinson.
Actress, dancer, surfer.... flat out pretty even without makeup.... check check and check. I like that she's still in something of a limelight; she was the lead in Step Up 3, but other than that, I think I've only ever seen her in Blue Crush 2. She's super pretty, and an incredible dancer [modern/hip hop.. don't get weird..].

Minka Kelly.
It's weird, because I think I was drawn to her character from The Roommate moreso than I was drawn to her as an actress or anything like that. She looks a lot like a girl I knew back in college, and I always thought that girl had this natural beauty to her.. you know, those girls that can wake up in the morning, skip the shower and the makeup and still look like a million bucks? Yeah.. I think she's one of those..

Eliza Dushku.
Ya'll forgot about her, didn't you?? Hahaha. Yeah.. so did I until just the other day when I saw her on TV again.

Kirstie Maldonado.
Here's one not everyone may recognize. She's not only the female lead of the acappella group Pentatonix, she is the only female.. of the group. She's got a boatload of talent and rounds out an awesome, awesome sound for PT. Oh, and she's naturally pretty, too. Duhh...

AnnaSophia Robb.
Did anyone see Soul Surfer? No? How about Jumper? Well, if not, she played Bethany Hamilton in SS and the young Rachel Bilson in Jumper. I think I admired her even more after watching her take on the role of Bethany Hamilton, and realized that I hadn't seen her in a whole lot between those two movies. She's little girl pretty, but I think that's to be admired, especially if you're a Hollywood starlett.

Hope Solo.
US Womens' Soccer team goalkeeper.
I really don't think I need to say anymore. She is a perfect representation of the beauty behind strong female athletes everywhere. As a soccer player, I remember being a little girl and watching Mia Hamm and Brianna Scurry... and thinking that one day I'd be just like them. Thanks to these women like Hope, Alex and Abby, the next generation of hopeful little kickers still have solid, reputable role models to follow. Plus, let's face it, Hope's gorgeous. Haha.

Naya Rivera.
Ok, all you Gleeks, calm down.. calm down... Yes, I think she's pretty. Her character is mildly annoying [just my opinion, folks...] on that show, but overall I think she's a pretty girl.

Anna Kendrick.
Last to show on this list, but not last overall. This girl's got a voice on her! Ali would especially appreciate this one, if for no other reason than in honor of our shared affinity for Pitch Perfect. I happen to think that Anna's pretty in her own, funky little way too. Maybe a little on the skinny side, but eh. I hear Hollywood does that to ya.

Well there... ya have it. Like I said, it's not necessarily a TOP 10 list so much as a FIRST 10 list... kinda fun if you think about it... naming the first 10 of anything that come to mind is always interesting.

That was the extent of my brain power today... other than the normal, work-related stuff... which I'm sure ya'll would LOVE for me to chronicle ... again... daily.. for you.. haha. Just kidding.

Anyway, you should try it. Pick a category and name the first 10 things [or people, places, whatever...] that come to mind in that category.

Happy ALMOST Friday!

xo | cmd

Playful Pitties

Things I love [that are relevent to this entry]:

* Dogs.

* Photography.
* Nikon D90.

* Friends.

* Summer Weather.
* Smiling.

All of that being said, now that I'm fully out of the house in Shiloh, I'm up in Granite for the next couple of weeks and therefore living with a few roommates. Some of them happen to be canine; along with Mike, Kelly & Rob, Mike's dog Sasha and Kelly's dog Ziggy, there is now Stella and myself, for the time being. It's been a little boisterous in there when all three pups are wound up, so I made it a point to try and drain out some of that energy today.

It's beautiful outside. I got to the house just as Mike and Kelly were leaving; they took Ziggy with them so he didn't get to be a part of the photo madness that ensued. I grabbed the D90 and took the girls out to the backyard to play... and well, the rest is photo history: 

left: sasha | right: stella
©cmdphotography2013

"teamwork" | ©cmdphotography2013

"happy!" | ©cmdphotography2013

"best friends" | ©cmdphotography2013

"mission accomplished : tuckered out!"
©cmdphotography2013

We had.. a blast. (: I've not finished editing the entire gallery of shots I took today, but these were by far the best, so I definitely wanted to share. We just got back from dinner at Bindy's [hiiiiii, Alicia!] and it is.... time for sleep.

fried green beans? yessssss... thanks, bindy's!

What a good day (:

xo | cmd