Sunday, December 21, 2014

Pancakes, Big Screens & Knitting [Of Course!]

On our never-ending quest to try all of the foodie places in Cincinnati, Rob & I gladly obliged a breakfast invitation with Chip, Beth & Shane at the Original Pancake House, which is just a short drive down a straightaway from our house [go figure!]. It was excellent dining, and adorably accessorized to boot!
original pancake house
After breakfast, Rob and I parted ways with the Silcox family and embarked on our day of Christmas shopping. We both knew we were crazy for agreeing to the crowds, long register lines and traffic that is Christmas shopping in EASTGATE of all places, but against our better judgment, we went, we bought... we conquered.

The little girls' gifts are bought.
Our parents' are all taken care of.
Our siblings are good to go.
And we.... well, Rob took the plunge for an upgrade at our home, after the retail spirit got the best of him. That little inkling of a thought turned into THIS:
welp... there's that.. haha
Yeeeeup, thank you, Santa! ;)

We finally settled in for the day; Rob switched out the TV's and basked in the glory that IS this monstrosity mounted above our mantle... and me? Well, I finished THIS:
all done! 
This is a Christmas gift for one of my friend's girlfriends; he requested this one a few days back and I surprised myself by completing it within two days, when I was counting on at least three or four. Yay!

I'd say we're good to go here; just five days until Christmas! Yiiieee!! ♥

xo | cmd

Saturday, December 20, 2014

Oot & Aboot, Eh?

So today marked my first time in this office interviewing a true Canadian, and I must say it was a fun experience. It's the small things that intrigue me so, and this gent was nothing short of exactly what most people envision in conversing with a true northerner:

"Yeh kin tale me aboot thee hours, eh?" 

^ No, he didn't have a speech impediment or poor spelling skills; phonetically though, that's exactly what I heard when we sat down, and I thoroughly enjoyed just listening to him talk.

And so launched the rest of my day in which my brain translated everything in and out into what my brain imagined I would sound like if I were in fact a true Canadian. Fun fact for ya there.. haha..

Anywho, since Elisa's still out, Carri and I held down the fort for the final day of week and decided on a Christmas gift for our boss. We put our heads together and in a matter of minutes had selected, personalized and ordered our group gift. I volunteered for pickup, which I'm blaming as some out-of-body decision, given that I would be going to Kenwood Mall, on the Friday night before Christmas.

Here's a few movie clips that fairly encapsulate not my view of Christmas itself, but of the very concept of Christmas SHOPPING: 

Usually, I'm prompted by someone else to go with them. It's like employing the buddy system, because there is no telling what kind of crazy has materialized in the form of crazed, maniacal shopaholics.


So to all my friends who've ever said, "Yeah, it'll be fun to go shopping together!":

And then when I get within a 2-mile radius of just the mall parking lot [not even the actual mall]: 

When [today] I walked up to the counter with my online order receipt, and the poor underpaid gal at the desk couldn't find it anywhere in the mountain of completed orders, and turned back to me as though I would be able to sniff out the white stapled bag that was mine: [You know, that awkward moment when you second guess yourself on whether or not you should  know the answer to a question like that, so instead of audible words, you respond with a weird smile that makes it even more awkward...] 
feeling's mutual, girlfriend.
And then, that feeling after I'd been there for two and a half hours waiting for the product that I was there to retrieve [which by the time it was handed over was three hours past the pick-up time on the receipt]:
i'm doooooooooone!!!!!
Yeah. I and many of my friends/family have held retail positions in our past lives, and if there is one thing that bands everyone together like the dysfunctional little store family that you are, it's holiday shoppers. It's easy as the consumer to lose patience, become irritated, huff & puff over whatever-it-is-that's-really-not-as-big-of-a-deal-as-you're-making-it, and whatever other irrational behaviors that feel appropriate at the time, but as a general PSA [& reminder] to myself and all of you out there this year, please don't take it out on the store personnel, unless they have somehow deliberately and obviously taken strides to personally offend or inconvenience you. They're working the hours we don't want to, for pennies when you think about the chaos of Christmas shopping. So be aware, and even if you want to rip your hair out as you battle a crowd like a fish swimming upstream, just remember... Be Nice :) 

Ok, so mini rant aside, I did realize that I've apparently been gone from Kenwood long enough for them to install THIS without my noticing. This is dangerous for me: 
i'll be back for you, after Christmas shopping is over..... 
I'm not a fan of shopping in general, but I am a beanie fanatic, and this place knows my heart all too well when it comes to that. So yeah... (: 

I finally made it home to Rob, who was ready for some dinner, and suggested The Eagle in OTR without a second thought. GOOD CALL ♥

We made it down to OTR, found a parking spot directly in front of The Eagle, put in our name on the hour wait list and headed off to The Lackmann for a drink in the meantime. 

FYI, there's this at The Lackmann: 
kcco brew?? ok then! 
And finally, at The Eagle to wind down the night: 
nom nom nom!!
My man sure does deliver on a date night - we had a blast out with just each other and I'm so thankful for the fact that we can do that on any given night. 

Oh aaaaaaaaaand... it's the WEEKEND!
WooOO! :D

xo | cmd 

Friday, December 19, 2014

Festival of Lights!

Tis the season.... for LIGHTS!

I thought to really dig into the holiday spirit, it would be fun to take Sydni out to the zoo for the annual Festival of Lights. It was chilly out, but we bundled up and headed down to join a happy crowd meandering their way through the zoo's gorgeous display of twinkling lights and exhibits.  
hello, zoo lights! 
The indoor displays were open for everyone to see, and out of all the wonders of the insect house, reptile house and manatee tank, Sydni decided this guy was her favorite:
winner winner, rodent dinner..... 
We strolled, we took in the light displays, and even took a pitstop for some photo ops, at Sydni's bidding.
love these two to the moon & back! 
It was finally time to go, and after picking out a tiger laser-light sword [aka, Sydni's ninja sword], we bid adieu one last time to the towering Christmas tree and headed out.
♥♥♥♥♥♥
Brrrr!
Stay warm out there friends, and Merry [early] Christmas!!

xo | cmd

Thursday, December 18, 2014

Express Company Dinner!

Very rarely do we have the opportunity to personally network with all of our local offices at the same time, so when the chance arises to get together, I'm that girl that loves to take advantage of it. My office is one of about eight locally, and although we often are at odds with each other over whatever business matter it may be, at the end of the day, we are one big, semi-dysfunctional family who loves coming together and celebrating the fact that we're bound together by the passion for what we do for others in our jobs.
my team! :)
carri. elisa. dave. cori
cincinnati area owners
I'm blessed to be a part of this little cluster of people; we drive each other bonkers at times but when we need to come together, we do - I wouldn't trade it!

We're getting closer and closer to Christmas; I'm certainly feeling the love this year.. and I hope you and yours are, too!!

xo | cmd

Tuesday, December 16, 2014

#SONRISEPANAMA2015

Okay folks, here it is: My Panama Missions kick-off for April of next year!

Let me unpack this for you in the most condensed way possible:

Rob and I have committed ourselves to the missions field for just one week, next year at the beginning of April, for the simple purpose of loving on people and aiding in the establishment of a church system that they are in the process of forming. I am elated to head into this side by side with five other members of our church, who are also investing themselves into this wholly.

There is a beautiful native people group in Panama - the Ngobe Indians, who reside in the lush mountainsides of Panama, removed from the churn of the city life below them in the valleys. They are a self-sustaining tribe who live off the land and approach daily life with the unfiltered appreciation we so often forget. They have decided to begin exploring the love of Christ, adding to their already fruitful culture, and our purpose is simply to provide the resources, material and coaching they need to build onto this dream long after we're gone.

The first step on this side of the process is funding that mission. We are each pouring 100% into this; there are costs of all kinds involved - time, resources and of course financial costs. For the first time in my life, I set up a Fundly account in hopes of fundraising for this mission. If you have a moment to check it out, please do! I know that's it's a tricky time of the year to be seeking donations, so if you're unable to give at this time, I would ask for your prayers at this point - we will need them! If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask! :)


Aside from my actual launch of my Panama fundraising efforts, I had the opportunity to scoot out of the office today with Elisa for a quick lunch break. We kept it simple, and it was perfect. Nothing speaks to my inner child quite like a good old fashioned grilled cheese.

Well, with a grown-up spin on it, of course ;)
tom+chee! 
love this little dig :) 
 And helloooooo pesto grilled cheese! 
pesto grilled cheese! ♥♥nommmm! 
Happy Tuesday, everyone! 

xo | cmd 

Boots & Music

Gooood Monday morning! I hope your weekends were incredible, and that you're off to a blazing start for the week like we were. My day started off alongside Carri & Dave, with a client facility tour, complete with the required on-site gear.

Oversized steel toed boots + leggings, anyone? ;)
ow ow!
Some desk-bound folks would see this as a burden in the middle of their day, but I embrace these things and probably have more fun than I should walking around warehouses and factories with my clodhopper feet and safety glasses awkwardly parked on the bridge of a nose that on my face doesn't even exist [#pinoyproblems]. Yay!

The rest of the day took something of a musical turn: I stumbled across this video by Steffany Gretzinger, an acoustic outpouring of her soul that moved me to share it with a few other people and listen to it multiple times.


^ So. Gorgeous!

Here's the part where I remind all of you that I'm heading to Panama in 2015 for the purpose of missions, and am starting NOW on the prayer part of that. There will be more details to follow on that, but for the time being, just... listen to that song and try to absorb it in the moment. Thank you, Steffany for sharing your gift with us! [#SonRisePanama2015]

Rob and I took a step into a new restaurant tonight and tried the Mexican place down the street from us [recommended!] before heading back home to let the ACC Awards carry us into the last part of the evening.

I had to share this, too, since Reba is not just an icon in country music, but truly a legend. I love the lady and realized that we're privileged to see these moments unfold; Sydni will grow up and hear stories of legends like this, but won't be able to experience them the same way we do now.

Congratulations to Reba, with love and gratitude for what you've contributed to the world of one of my favorite genres!


That's a rap here, folks. I've got Fancy stuck in my head like a broken record, so on that note, I'll call this one and pick up where we left off tomorrow!

G'Nite!

xo | cmd

Monday, December 15, 2014

Such. A. Sweet Little Sunday! ♥

Happy Sunday, Guys & Gals!

Hey listen, first things first: if you didn't make it to church this morning, or even if you did and just want a small, extra boost for today, here's THIS from our Pastor Jeff's message this morning. This is fantastic, so naturally I wanted to share it with you!


Thank you, Pastor Jeff & the worship team at SonRise! What an awesome morning!

With some sort of weird, collective sense of enthusiasm, we set out after church to do some more Christmas shopping. I know, I know - the Christmas spirit has me doing some things this year that are far outside my norms. Accept it and move on, mmkay? ;)

Just kidding. We had a blast. We found ourselves for the bulk of our mini outing right back at Meijer, where we originally found our little Christmas lights. We were short a few strands yesterday, so today we snagged some more, and a few stockings for the mantle to go along with.

And, because it's mandatory whenever we find ourselves near mechanically-activated anythings [horses, rocket ships, teacups... whatever...], there's this:
love my little cowgirl ♥
We made a stop by GameStop in search of BioShock [FOUND IT!!], and ended up heading home with a Wii system as well, for one heck of a steal. [It's Christmas, c'mon!]
gamestop .. ohhhh, the fun ;)  
We were home in no time and spent the next hour or so battling each other on MarioKart. I hate to admit it, but Syd's not half bad at this, and while she was up jumping all over the room to play, she somehow managed to hang in there and have a blast!

.... Don't worry, Mom, we didn't spend all night in front of the TV [or in this case, thanks to Rob the resident enginner, the projector on the wall....]; after about an hour of Wii play, we dug out the ponies and played the old fashioned way:
♥♥♥♥♥
I am one seriously lucky mama in this house. This has been another incredible day with loved ones, awesome message this morning at church and a day to enjoy each other.♥ Not a bad way to start the week!

Goooood night!

xo | cmd