That One Day, Sunday

I was still half asleep this morning when I headed in to church with my parents. I really didn't even have a late night last night, but I'm fairly certain the week is just catching up to me. I was tired and grouchy for a while this morning, but that started to subside around lunchtime when we found ourselves at a very familiar place: R&M Southside Diner. Call me simple, but their shredded chicken sandwich, while nothing fabulous, has been my single favorite thing from this place since I was about... eight or so. I was pleasantly surprised that as far as I can tell, they're still using the same recipe, and I was not disappointed. (:

hello, old friend (:

On my way out of town, I decided to stop by a place that I haven't actually visited in years, but is a staple memory from my childhood. My mom was the president of the Knox County Humane Society from as early as I can honestly remember, up until somewhere in my early college years. She poured her heart into that place, the operation, the mission and the animals, and I had the privelege of being a very participating part of that experience. I stood next to a veterinarian as he spayed and neutured anesthetized cats when I was only 8 or so. I spent a half day plucking off deer ticks from a rescued stray dog in my garage when I was 10. I could read behavioral signs from both cats and dogs by the time I was a teenager, and I can't even begin to tell you how many small rodent leftovers I cleaned up from having 4 cats of our own. Needless to say, this place pruned me to have the compassion for animals I do, along with the working knowledge of how they behave.

humane society & dog kennels/run

^ Oh, and see that building & the dog kennel? I helped build those. I was about 7 when the construction on the building was completed, but I was in my early teens when the kennels went up, and I very clearly remember my crash course in concrete finishing and "entry level" framing work from the construction. I stopped by today if for no other reason than to pay homage to what really was my second home as a kid. THANK YOU, Mom, for making this a part of my life!

And then, in the spirit of follow-up to the reunion last night, I made a quick round down Yellow Jacket Drive, over those rickety speed bumps and into the loop between the high school and middle school where I spent a combined 7 years of my life. My class was the first to go a full 3 years in the new middle school after it was built. I was almost overwhelmed by the memories that came flooding back when I circled through the parking lots.

mvhs & mvms

It was a little funny, too, seeing those buildings now. They almost looked small compared to the way I perceived them when I actually went there. I very clearly remember the floorplans of both of these buildings, and how much time was spent standing outside the middle school (bottom pic) waiting on the busses... for both the middle and high schoolers. At the risk of sounding stoic, I'll just say that it was, for me, a very humbling and nostalgic experience that I appreciate so much more now that I no longer actually live in Mt. Vernon.

Fast forward to my trip back to Cincinnati, which was followed by an immediate session of editing pictures and unwinding. I don't think I shared either of these pics from a few days back, but I wanted to make sure I did now, since I spent a lot of the evening talking to Rob and hearing these two in the background. He sent me these, of the pups being their goofy selves.

so typical.. stella carrying her food bowl around when she's hungry..
.... & sasha trying to steal it..

Gosh, I miss those two. I wish Rob could bring them with him when he comes up for Labor Day, but I'll be a patient mama, I suppose, and see them both the next time I'm there to visit. For now, it's a Skype date with Rob, and so far I've seen the dogs migrate from couch to couch and curl up next to each other.. and the whole thing just makes me want to be there. [Sad face.]

Anyway, it's getting super late and tomorrow is Monday.....
The GOOD news is:
Sydni comes home to me tomorrooooowwwwwww & we'll spend the entire week together.. and then, this weekend is Madison's princess birthday party.... and thennnn, next weekend is Sydni's 4th birthday party at my parents' house.. + Rob + Cirque show ...

.. I am.. beyond! excited (: (:

For now, SLEEP.

xo | cmd

MVHS, Class of 2003!

Among the list of things I find hard to believe:

 

I have been out of high school for ten years.

whoa.

That's right, ten years. Some of you just called me a youngster, and some of you just realized how old I really am compared to the 23-24 you originally thought. Either way, I graduated high school in 2003 and that means that my class and I celebrate our tenth anniversary of freedom from MVHS.

 

In pictures... here are some from the night {find the full collection HERE}!

kait. amy. nikki. britt. collette. me

me. sarah. mary. rachel

known these two since elementary school... josh & jim .. or jim & josh?
... thanks for labeling yourselves by your last names only.. haha..  

rachel. drew. pruitt. kelly. me.

only thing missing in this picture is clark .. haha.. the "brown kids"
of mvhs' 2003 class: me. kevin. brandie.

stef! the face & talent behind SOKAY DESIGNS!

kelly & me
three words: ohio junior miss.
four more words: i miss..those days!

becky & me
cheered together .. sang together ..
... caught my hair on fire in chem class together... standard stuff (:

me & arley... she's on baby #4 & still making it look great! 

me. becky. kelly.
i call this... chemistry choir misfits (:

sarah. stef. me.
known these girls since kindergarten...
... still as goofy as ever (:

Like I said, there are 30 some pictures all together, so feel free to go check 'em out. Many thanks to Kait for organizing this, and to the staff at Winestein for hosting! I had a great time (:

And because I'm old & lame nowadays, I'm callin' it a night. Sorry post-reunion party, maybe next time.

xo | cmd

T.G.I..... Kim's Birthday!!

Dear Kim,

!!!HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

♥ you, sizzlin' señorita!

We may not have hung out as much over the past couple of years as we did before I moved out of state, but that doesn't change the fact that I love this girl and hope her birthday was absolutely perfect.

Of course, in the interest of consistency, here are some highlights of my life with the birthday girl, in no particular order:

clearchannel days

birthday parties. Christmas parties. going away parties.

oktoberfest! cincinnati loves german culture ;)

there's really nothing to say ...



more goofiness .. unwarranted .. unashamed!



fast forward. 2013. love. her. to pieces.

To celebrate, I obliged Dan's invite to her celebratory dinner at Bravo in West Chester. 

happy birthday, dear!

Thanks, again for the invite Dan, and to this gorgeous mama-to-be, HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I cannot wait to do their maternity shots in a couple of weeks (:

I finished the night off with a quick stop off at OTR to see Nader, Keith and of course Grueter one last time before he heads back to Jordan on Sunday. It was a short visit since this week has kicked my butt and I am exhausted.

Tomorrow = Mount Vernon High School's class of '03 ... 10 year reunion.
Hahaha.. we'll see.

xo | cmd

Thursday Recuperation

I'm getting too old for this...

I realized today that I must come to terms with the fact that my body will no longer accept my demanding it to stay awake into early morning hours, sleep for just a couple of hours, and be back at it for another day. After bedtimes not before 1am both Tuesday night and last night, I was left in a half-coherent daze for the better part of today.

Fast forward to the good news: I'm awake now after the 3-hour nap I took just moments after walking in the door from work. I'm feeling better already.

Since there really isn't any noteworthy substance to share from the 12ish hours of today, I'll throw it out there that I watched a couple of movies tonight to simply unwind myself. [Thanks, Redbox!]

lazy nights = movie nights.

Three immediate things I learned from watching these:

1 | [In my personal opinion,] Perks is underrated. I need to read the book, too, apparently.
2 | James Franco has a younger brother, and his name is Dave. And, if I'm being honest, although I'm not a gusher over James Franco, I think Dave's the better-looking of the two.

james franco. dave franco.

.... and
3 | Apparently, all you need to really cure those afflicted in the zombie apocolypse.. is love. I mean let's be honest, isn't that nearly always the answer? ;)

truth.

Ya learn somethin' new everyday, right? (:

Yep. I'm still tired. Back to bed with my lazy tail...
We'll try this again tomorrow.

xo | cmd

Birthday Volleyball & Bakersfield Friends

Happy Birthday, Beth!!

It's always special when there's a birthday to celebrate and it falls on the same night as league volleyball ;). Today is Beth's birthday, so we made sure we had a little extra fun at Hahana tonight. It wasn't much, but it came in the form of some extra games with one of our favorite neighboring teams and of course, lots of laughing. The best news? This is the best we've played all season; I have no doubt we're ready for the more organized stuff that Kalyn & I did a few years back. Exciting stuff. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BETH!!!! (:

I am still exhausted from my lack of sleep yesterday; I snuck in a short cat-nap today between work and volleyball, and planned on heading straight back to bed after volleyball. That would've worked out just fine if it hadn't been for Jamie texting me an invite out with the group for dinner. I would've politely declined today, but he leaves on Sunday to head back to Jordan and I'm not sure when I'll see him next. So good to see an old friend!

grueter! | outside bakersfield otr | cinci, oh

Great to See You, Friend!!

Thanks to James & his pretty fiancé Carolina, Nader, Eli, Keith & Rick for hanging out for a bit at Bakersfield [*note, go there, people, and get yourself a taco!!] to end the night.

I really need to catch up on sleep... holy moly. Tomorrow night is going to be filled with absolutely nothing up until what I'm sure to be an early bed time.

*yawn. G'Nite.

xo | cmd

Killer Yardwork & Asian Volleyball

First things first, let's talk about yardwork.
... Let's talk about that time I completely forgot I had a backyard in the capacity of the jungle that had taken it over. I haven't bothered going back there in quite a few weeks due to the massive camps of mosquitos who I'm convinced are just patiently staking out until I'm in striking range, so honestly, it didn't occur to me that the yard might look more like a forest than an occupied property. Embarrassing blunder.. definitely won't happen again.

Good news, I took care of it, with minimal damage [only TWO mosquito bites.. take that, suckers..]. Note to self? - This sucked today. Don't forget about this again, self, don't... forget. Yeesh. 

massive overhaul. whoa.

Moving on to the rest of the night... it has been.... a while since the last time I was surrounded by this many of my Asian friends. Let's take a second to give a flashback just for the sake of a flashback...

uc dpsa 2004 (discover philippines student association)

Ohhhh yeah. That's a bomb right there, haha. Look at all those old faces.. and that's barely the half of it. There were definitely some great times with these guys and gals, and though I'm happy where I am now, I had some incredible experiences, road trips, conferences and performances with this group.

So tonight, for a miniature reprise, I opted in for some volleyball at Hahana Beach after B found out I played there. He and a crew of Asians catapulted me back in time to my college years when we stormed three full courts for a few hours tonight to play.

nothin' like late night sand volleyball (:

This was my favorite part... because I've become so used to now taking pictures and having no way of mistaking which one is me. I'd also like to say that yes, the obsession with taking pictures is absolutely an Asian thing, and I will embrace that to the bitter end ;)

asian overload!

Hilarious. Thanks again, B, for the invite! I'll be back here in the same spot tomorrow night for league with Kalyn, Keifer & Beth. I'm certainly getting my fix if nothing else!

On an unrelated note, I finally made it home after some debachle finding my keys post-game [it could be worse... I'm just glad I got back], and for what it's worth from the situation I must note that once again, I've been reminded that I am dating an incredible guy and even from 500ish miles away, he's there for me whenever I need him. I don't deserve it, and count myself one of an elite handful to have someone on whom I can rely and trust. //endrant (:

And that's the day, folks! Let's meet here same time tomorrow? ;)

xo | cmd

Happy Birthday, DAD!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DAD!!!

then & now

No, I'm not a big fan of the picture on the left, but for the simple fact that that was one of the first times my parents held me [sorry, mom, cropped you outta that, just this time], and I became part of the family I now call my own. Dad's got the super 80's mustache, and I look... jetlagged.. appropriately so since I did spend 25+ hours on a plane getting here. Haha. And then there's the grown-up [not adult, don't confuse those two ;) ] version of me with my father just a month or so back. It's safe to say that I have an incredible father who has always been there and continues to be a sound source of strength for me.

more then & kinda now [-3 years or so ツ ]

This one made me realize that while I was adopted, I sure didn't fall far from the tree. I developed an adventurous spirit from the get-go thanks to my parents, and for all of the times Dad toted me around on hiking trips in a trekking carrier, I figured I would pass it along to mine when I had the chance. I'm so thankful for having a father to show me these things; I can pass them on to my daughter and share part of my childhood with her in the process.

3 generations

Syd looks fantastically grumpy in this one, probably because I wanted a picture and she wanted to watch Mickey Mouse. Rough world, kid.. haha. Either way, I love this picture of the three of us. I thought I appreciated my dad as it was, but then Sydni came along and I could not imagine her not having him as a staple male figure in her life. Dad... or Pappy, as he's called by Sydni, is more than just a grandpa to her. He's a role model, consistent male figure, teacher, playmate, disciplinarian and protector. Certainly not unlike with me growing up, I know that the impact he's having on Sydni is unrivaled and absolutely incredible. Sydni and I are beyond blessed to have him.

Happy birthday, to the best father, grandfather and role model I could imagine. I love you!

xo | cmd