If you're a fan of The Office, then you read that title the way I heard it when I typed it:
In the voice of Kelly Kapoor:
And if you didn't originally read it that way, I'll bet you are now.... haha.
And to the original point, it was in fact pajama day at school for the mini, in celebration of her earning all her February stickers for reading at home. I doubt we'll ever have issues with read-a-thons, given that she's a little bookworm who didn't fall far from mama's tree in the reading department.
To say she was excited about donning jammies to school is something of an understatement:
this kid... haha..
... Goofy gap teeth and all. She's too much.
Take time to appreciate the small things today, folks. I hope you're out there doing the same thing! ♥
I feel sometimes like my closest friends and I are more like a collection of puzzle pieces that happen to be settled all over... everywhere. From Illinois to Pennsylvania, South Carolina to Michigan, New York, California... seriously. I love and hate how spread out we are, but that just means we're all pursuing what our hearts are telling us to do, and finding happiness that way. Plus, it just makes the reunions - sporadic as they may be - just that much better.
Today's Kalyn's birthday. This girl's one of those scattered pieces that comprises my core circle. We definitely don't see each other nearly as often as we should, but when it happens, it's like no time has lapsed at all. Happy birthday, lady... love you to the mountain and back, ya weirdo!
happy biiiiirthday!
And for the sake of nostalgia, some of my other favorite memories that didn't fit into a pre-sized photo collage:
antics in phoenix, az
the day we wore the same shorts and went the grand canyon
the time we thought the camera was way lower than it was. there were probably 3 feet of dead space that i cropped off the top of this.. haha
kalyn's mom's wedding.. we sang that time, too.. haha
Kalyn, thanks for being a stone-cold odd bird; if you were any different, I just don't know how we'd swing being friends.. haha. Seriously, love you dear friend, and I am so thankful for all the times you were there and the memories that were made. Cheers to the next year of adventures!
And cheers to the rest of ya'll - have a beautiful week!
There are a couple things for which nobody really prepares you. The most obvious of those is becoming a parent for the first time [an entirely separate diatribe; you parents out there know what I'm sayin'.... ]. Driving on the major Cincinnati highways would be the second thing [71, 75, 74, Beechmont Ave., etc.].
Okay, there are a few other things that are hard to gauge until they're in your lap. My point is... we've just opened the chapter of Homeownership, which 1) I'm told is not one word [don't care], and 2) introduced itself as everything except subtle.
We signed the closing paperwork yesterday, but ran short on time in the evening to journey across town to get the keys. We put it off to tonight, and had Becky & Mike joining us as we set foot inside for the first time without our realtor.
We showed them the upstairs; Becky claimed her bedroom ;).. haha. We toured the dining room, the other dining room [I'm still uncertain I'm grown-up enough for that kind of spacial awareness], and peered out into the darkness at the backyard that ends at the golf course.
And then we ventured into the basement, aka future mancave. It was going just fine until our solid footsteps were offset by the sounds of splashes.
Splashes = water.
Water inside = no good.
something... isn't quite right.
It took a moment to register, but we quickly realized [oh, and it was raining all evening], that the sump pump had broken and the water was flowing freely into the basement through several ruptures in the pump and pipe.
I know. Awesome.
This is a first world problem, for sure. Yeah, it's a pretty big deal, and it wasn't what we'd hoped to find in our new house that didn't hold even a towel of our own possession [which would've been immeasurably useful at this particular moment]. BUT - the silver lining is deeper than the puddle.
We 1) have a warranty from the sellers, thankfully, that will cover all of these damages. That's the operative reassurance that made this nothing more than a minor inconvenience and I'm sure a good story five years from now.
2) We brought Mike & Becky, probably the best two individuals to have on deck at a time like this. There was no griping, but instead almost cheerful engagement in the cleanup.
3) I'm taking up curling.
Which of those 3 things is false?
Haha.
This was Rob's and my first time setting foot in our new home together without Tiffany [realtor].
This will be forever how I remember this moment:
hahah.. that's about it!
new basement, coming right up!
I guess now, we get to update on the basement renovations. Everything happens for a reason!
Good times [kinda], good friends [definitely], good night [phew]!
When I was 5, I wanted to live in a tree.
When I was 17, I think I still wanted to live in a tree.
When I was 25, I wanted to live in a house built out of trees.
When I was sitting at home yesterday, I realized that while it's not a tree, I'm about to co-own [ok, technically co-babysit for the bank] a house of my own for the first time.
And it's closer to trees than swarms of other people, which sounds brash, but we've all got our things, right?
doing grown-up things!!
I don't think I've still fully downloaded the gravity of what those 843028 signatures we did today mean. A lot of you out there have been at this home-owning thing for years now, so I'm sure the carpal tunnel has worn off and you've since become seasoned veterans at being homeowners for the first, second, third [or more] time.
I'm welcoming myself [us] to the club. I've always known that I'd own my own home one day, but to be honest, I wasn't fully convinced that it would become reality.. until today. Haha.
tiffany, our realtor - she. is. awesome!!
More pictures later. I'm still high off this closing. Ya'll, we just bought a house!
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII feel like I was hit by a MEGABUS today.
Let me lay this out for you in a super scientific visual:
See that sliver of hope in there, the yes part? That's the part that was in charge of getting me out of bed, dressed to a standard just a thread above vagabond and into work. That tiny yes line died of over-exertion at promptly 8:00 am, and the rest of the day was.. well... Monday.
I texted Kalyn something to the effect of, I'm dead.
She replied similarly, My throat and entire body, probably my soul too.. hurt.
I agreed with an emoji, the one that looks like it's seasick.
She replied,
rough monday.
I replied,
double rough monday.
She responded, "I'm so sorry."
And that was Monday.
It's 7pm and I feel like I've been awake for the duration of history. I'm passed the yawning phase; right now I feel like I'm just observing myself somehow meditating, except instead of actual meditation, my body is shrugging and resigning itself from existence all together. Meh.
How's that for melodramatic? I'm tired. Bye.♥
xo | cmd
We left Nashville today. I have to believe I wasn't the only one who was beyond exhausted as we prepared for our individual drives back from where we'd originated on this trip.
Before we left, we left one final stamp of ourselves to celebrate this weekend. Kalyn will fill in the picture later :).
The idea was tossed out to set up a camera on the mailbox to capture some group shots of us. It was only a couple thousand takes it seemed before we were able to get the ones we needed. We certainly looked more like normal humans than the dolled up specimens we were for the past two nights, and I think I loved this the most.
And of course, the obligatory - and hilariously necessary - group jumping pic:
The drive home was a laborious one, given that we were all spent from the weekend festivities. Kara, Kalyn and I stopped in Lexington for lunch at Cosi before parting ways again. Kalyn headed back to the Gorge, while Kara and I made the last leg of the trip back to Cincinnati. Once Kara was dropped off, it was home again for me, where I was greeted by my two loves that had spent the weekend on quests of their own - boats, pancakes and home videos of cows and horses. Haha..
Oh, and THIS!
tooth #3 - gone!
I... am... crazy tired. Folks, see ya in the morning!
Saturday morning in Nashville, in a [gorgeous] rented house you're sharing with nine other women:
Yoga.
Coffee.
Breakfast.
A Barrage of Planning.
More Yoga.
More Coffee.
More Breakfast.
I was never in a sorority in college, nor did I ever spend time living in close quarters with more than 3 other women at a time for an extended period of time. The closest I think I ever came was sharing a bus and hotel rooms with other soccer girls, but when there's no practices, diet regulating and ice baths to top it off, it's a totally different experience. I'll admit I'm totally out of my element here, but I don't dislike it. It's a fun change of pace, and I found out today that I really appreciate it and them.
The afternoon portion of our Saturday was dedicated to a Country Swagger dance class at Studio Goddess in Nashville. SG is cute little watering hole [dance studio] for weekend bachelorette parties to congregate and attempt to absorb basic choreography.
And they give you champagne, just in case you need some fizzy courage to egg you into doing it.
.... like so!
[back] kelsey. jess. jess. maddie. kara
[front] layla. dalia. britt. cori. kalyn
Okay, okay, okay. We, as a group are probably not in line to be the next slam dunk backup crew, but we didn't do half bad for whatever stunted focus we had on what our instructor was trying to show us. We're not awesome dancers, and that's ok.
We are however, apt to nail a good pyramid at any given moment. Maybe not the first time... obviously.. but when we get it, we're good!
hahahaha
Ladies, you're a riot.
Dance class ended, so we made our way a few blocks down to Jackalope, a tap room that looked like The Eagle in Cincinnati blended with every other rustic-esque bar I saw in Phoenix.
those 2 darling sisters!
We grabbed our brews from the bar and found ourselves a cubby spot on the stairs outside. Cheeeers to you, Britt!!
and the other sister!
cheers to you, b!
random asics picture.. team tennis shoes here..
Before we left, we obliged a photo opportunity from a pretty wall on the other side of Jackalope, in the only way we knew how...
layla. cori. kalyn. kelsey.
handstand practice
Back at the homestead, we tested Brittany's guessing abilities, something that I will never again underestimate! We each bought Britt a pair of underwear, and when it came down to guessing who purchased what, she was 6 for 10, and guessed the first 3 in a row correctly. Nailed it, B!
brittany, the queen of guessing!
And then.... came the prep for our second and final night out to celebrate Britt's final soiree as a single gal.
had to snag some with this girl.. love you, kp!
And the night out!
the bridal party, minus mandy
kara. britt. dalia.
philippines & mexico here as the "brown girls" hahah
It wasn't as wild as last night, but it was just as late when we returned to our little house on Holley. Layla had the excellent idea before we left to do before & after mugshots, and I'm so glad she did - they came out great!
Tomorrow we head back home, but not before what I'm sure will be a few more surprises and a little more laughing. For now, gooood night!
