I do René of the Day. Crossroads does The Daily. Last year my friend Becca encouraged me to sign up for this email subscription that provides inspiration for topics to include in your prayers and insight on Bible verses and thought-provoking content each morning.
Today's thought was really pertinent to me. It was titled "Just Enjoy Work." It read:
God, replace my worries with contentment in the work you've set before me. Help me find joy and satisfaction in my work.
I love and enjoy my work. It's nice to have a refreshing reminder of how lucky it is to have a job that makes you happy and that it should never be taken for granted. That it has been earned and should be appreciated. Even -or especially - on 10+ hour stressful days. Beyond career, I think this applies to other aspects of life, even as simple as yard work or volunteering experiences. When working towards any goal, it's important to reflect on how the effort betters our community and world and that all participation is imperative. And how blessed it is to have the ability to serve and learn. This email influenced my thoughts today and I will continue to keep this in mind while I whistle and work.
If you'd like to receive emails like the one mentioned above and from Crossroads and The Daily or learn more before you sign up, click here.
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
René of the Day // 6.28.11 // Smash
Super awesome gift I have to share - *Smash Journal. I received this for my birthday about a month or so ago and have been pondering the possibilities of what I can stick inside the pages of this incredibly fun, unique and convivial book. The pages vary with gorgeous and vintage-inspired images, practical spaces for to-do lists (hello, SO me!), spaces for photos, highlights of today, lists of "some kind of wonderful and crazy" things you've seen, experienced, tasted, heard or smelled... It's like a carbon copy of René of the Day!
I also received neat stickers to use that say things like "makes me happy" and "someday..." Again, so René. I'm so ruffled to start piecing together what to include on each of the pages. It would be a wonderful gift to fill the book with photos and mementos to give as a complete gift. I've torn out a pretty page with a big slice of pie that says "You're my sweetie..." for my latest post-weekend thank you note to MR. My mom and my aunt are very creative scrapbookers so it's neat that they found a way for me to do it with my own style. For now I'm literally smashing photos and things between the pages until I get the time to glue it all down and organize my thoughts.
*Smash has a blog with more products and ideas to check out: http://www.smashstoriesblog.com/
I also received neat stickers to use that say things like "makes me happy" and "someday..." Again, so René. I'm so ruffled to start piecing together what to include on each of the pages. It would be a wonderful gift to fill the book with photos and mementos to give as a complete gift. I've torn out a pretty page with a big slice of pie that says "You're my sweetie..." for my latest post-weekend thank you note to MR. My mom and my aunt are very creative scrapbookers so it's neat that they found a way for me to do it with my own style. For now I'm literally smashing photos and things between the pages until I get the time to glue it all down and organize my thoughts.
*Smash has a blog with more products and ideas to check out: http://www.smashstoriesblog.com/
Monday, June 27, 2011
René of the Day // 6.27.11 // Get 'em Gators!
The Florida Gators play the South Carolina Gamecocks in the College World Series tonight. I'm not watching - I don't have cable and I don't have time to sit in a sports bar all evening but I'm still rooting for my Gator guys!
This is Game 1 of the finals and the Cocks are standing champs... MR's sister was a great college athlete at USC so I'm hoping to have a little dirt to rub in her face this weekend in the name of good fun ;) My co-worker who sits across from me is also a South Carolina alum so it's always a trip to mess with each other, too - I like to make chomps at him. I love how many SEC fans are in our office - literally heard the countdown to football season is 17 weeks today. Wild.
And because everyone always asks why I'm a Florida fan, I can explain. My family is from Gainesville. My grandparents moved there by way of Massachusetts then upstate New York as my grandfather worked for GE - their final move brought them to Cincinnati in my dad's final years of high school. He grew up at The Swamp and even though he's worked for UC for over 20 years, he still says "Baby, you have to cheer for where your heart is and mine's still down south." Since UC wasn't much of a football team until recent years, I'd adopted Daddy's Gator pride that I grew up with. One of the best games I've ever attended was when UC played Florida at the Sugar Bowl on New Years Day in New Orleans - who would have ever thought those two teams would play each other?! And God bless it, I miss Tebow.
GO GATORS!
This is Game 1 of the finals and the Cocks are standing champs... MR's sister was a great college athlete at USC so I'm hoping to have a little dirt to rub in her face this weekend in the name of good fun ;) My co-worker who sits across from me is also a South Carolina alum so it's always a trip to mess with each other, too - I like to make chomps at him. I love how many SEC fans are in our office - literally heard the countdown to football season is 17 weeks today. Wild.
And because everyone always asks why I'm a Florida fan, I can explain. My family is from Gainesville. My grandparents moved there by way of Massachusetts then upstate New York as my grandfather worked for GE - their final move brought them to Cincinnati in my dad's final years of high school. He grew up at The Swamp and even though he's worked for UC for over 20 years, he still says "Baby, you have to cheer for where your heart is and mine's still down south." Since UC wasn't much of a football team until recent years, I'd adopted Daddy's Gator pride that I grew up with. One of the best games I've ever attended was when UC played Florida at the Sugar Bowl on New Years Day in New Orleans - who would have ever thought those two teams would play each other?! And God bless it, I miss Tebow.
GO GATORS!
Sunday, June 26, 2011
René of the Day // 6.23-26.11 // Put-In-Bay!
Just returned from a great weekend in Put-in-Bay with some of my best girlfriends from UC. It was really enjoyable to get away and relax for a few days - it was a blessing and a curse that I didn't have reception on my BlackBerry or iPhone all weekend. It's nice to be off the grid but it's also a little frustrating since I'm so used to being able to check emails, the weather or shoot a text to someone. But I think it really forced me to live in the moment and appreciate the company I had. Like Becca's mom said, it may be one of the last trips the girls can take together as we've started our careers, getting married, buying houses and planning to have families.
I was stoked that our first meal was at Pita Pit at BGSU - seriously, when is Cincinnati getting one of these?! It was my favorite spot for post-bar grub whenever I visited friends at OSU. The ferry ride over was a very wet and wild start to the trip... the boat rocked roughly and we got hit with some pretty big waves. Every splash made us scream and laugh and we got a little damp - but it was fine because we had cold beer in our coozies!
We began with a wine tasting at the Put-in-Bay Winery at the Doller Estate. We tried a variety of different wines and shared all around. It was beautiful in the little gazebo on the lawn - a random couple bought us a few glasses of chocolate wine which was sort of like alcoholic chocolate milk - glad I tried it but not likely to ever order it.... After our tasting we walked to the Boardwalk then had dinner at a cute little Italian restaurant called Pasquales Café. The food was really tasty classic Italian but I was so STUFFED! We had a few beverages in our room and then went to the Beer Barrel, home of the "world's longest bar" - 405 feet long. The Menus, a rockin band from Cincinnati, was playing - they change into crazy outfits and put on a great show. We agreed we'll have to go see them back home. After their set we went next door to Mr. Ed's and the lead singer Tim came up and chatted with us. He's good people. He recognized us from dinner and we promised to come see them again the next night. The band at Mr. Ed's was less than entertaining but the crowd was buck -- a woman older than and much larger than my mom was flashing her chest as she danced - we were all shocked and grossed out. And her friend had her pants around her knees as they applied a fake tramp stamp to her back. Security just looked over and said "That's nasty." In Cincy, ole gal would be in the back of a cop cruiser! Just not right. We would have been drinking for free all weekend if we got a dollar for each time someone asked if we were a bachelorette party. We said we should have brought the stuff from Lindsay's in Louisville and faked it LOL
Friday morning the weather was less than desirable. It was cold and drizzly and Lori, Lindsay & I walked to the new PIBeanery for a cup of coffee... we had to form a game plan to enjoy the day despite the crummy cold rain. We went to Rita's Margarita's on the Boardwalk overlooking the bay and Lori and I introduced the group to their first bloody mary's. I loved them - the mix had crab and shrimp chunks and the right amount of spice and garnishes. I think they prefer mimosas but I'm excited they got to give it a shot. Julie had researched the island activities and had coupons to ride the train around the island - it was a really good time. We learned so much about the tiny community - there's no doctor or hospital; only 2 restaurants stay open in the winter and only 400 residents stay year-round; groceries and RX are flown in by plane. We stopped at Heinenman's Winery, the original vineyard on the island, and did a tasting. I've found that most small midwest wineries have very similar wines - most are quite young and sweet which isn't my preferred taste but the group really liked it so it was nice. We walked over to the Boardwalk to see the pirates arrive since it was Pirate's Weekend - whatever that meant. A few actors came over on two small boats and shot some cannons... a bit underwhelming but I'm sure it's pretty neat for kids to see.
Had a blast having happy hour in our room and walked to dinner at Goat, which we'd heard great things about. I love the perch tacos - local Lake Erie fish. There was a chocolate shop and museum downstairs so we stopped in for dessert. We went to see The Menus again then saw The Webster's, another Cincinnati band whose lead singer works at the radio stations with Julie, at Round House. It was a really neat bar with a huge rotunda and the band plays up behind the bar. I ran into Calvin & Haver and was bummed that I couldn't call to meet up the next day w/o phone service.
Saturday we had gorgeous weather - finally! And the population on the island practically triples for the weekend. We walked to a different little coffee shop that was also an incredible bakery then it was a full out pool day at Mist - the pool with waterfall and swim-up bar at our hotel. It was straight out of MTV Spring Break 2003. We had a damn good time people watching - it reminded us a bit of a reality show with the ultra-blonde girls and bikinis in heels and muscly guys gyrating all over the place. The DJ was good and we met some fun strangers... we laid out almost until dinner time. Becca & I had both been really stoked to swim up to the bar and I'm glad we braved the cold water to hang out for a bit. The drinks were surprisingly cheap, too! A ton of people had big plastic Ohio State O's with long islands from Mr. Ed's and they were happy to share :)
For dinner we went to the Upper Deck which was a nice restaurant overlooking the bay. Matt's friend Sean's friend Doug's parents (uh, yeah) had raved about this place and their lobster mac & cheese at Sean's med school graduation in May so I had to try it - it was delicious. Julie, Becca & I walked to the little ice cream shop and had some really tasty key lime pie with graham cracker hunks. We'd also wanted to ride the little carousel all weekend but didn't have the chance. We were all fairly tired from the sun and didn't want to be hung over in the car so we popped into this tiki bar with near swings and a sand floor then the Put-in-Bay Brewery which I believe was just a bar, not really a brew house and headed home to rest. Exhausting fun weekend.
The one major issue was the disgusting mayflies! They were EVERYWHERE and latched on to everything. They flew around like the Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds" and the girls would scream and swat at them lol I think everyone would have enjoyed a bug-free environment much much better - none of us are sure if we'd ever go back but it definitely would not be at this time of year. Since there isn't a beach area, it's easy to do all you'd want to do over a long weekend but it would be best in late July or August when the weather is warmer and more predictable.
I'm really happy to have had the opportunity to finally visit this island that so many Ohioans speak of and to relax and catch up with the girls... it's always fun to see how much more you learn about people you're already close with when you travel. And I can knock one more place off my bucket list :)
I was stoked that our first meal was at Pita Pit at BGSU - seriously, when is Cincinnati getting one of these?! It was my favorite spot for post-bar grub whenever I visited friends at OSU. The ferry ride over was a very wet and wild start to the trip... the boat rocked roughly and we got hit with some pretty big waves. Every splash made us scream and laugh and we got a little damp - but it was fine because we had cold beer in our coozies!
We began with a wine tasting at the Put-in-Bay Winery at the Doller Estate. We tried a variety of different wines and shared all around. It was beautiful in the little gazebo on the lawn - a random couple bought us a few glasses of chocolate wine which was sort of like alcoholic chocolate milk - glad I tried it but not likely to ever order it.... After our tasting we walked to the Boardwalk then had dinner at a cute little Italian restaurant called Pasquales Café. The food was really tasty classic Italian but I was so STUFFED! We had a few beverages in our room and then went to the Beer Barrel, home of the "world's longest bar" - 405 feet long. The Menus, a rockin band from Cincinnati, was playing - they change into crazy outfits and put on a great show. We agreed we'll have to go see them back home. After their set we went next door to Mr. Ed's and the lead singer Tim came up and chatted with us. He's good people. He recognized us from dinner and we promised to come see them again the next night. The band at Mr. Ed's was less than entertaining but the crowd was buck -- a woman older than and much larger than my mom was flashing her chest as she danced - we were all shocked and grossed out. And her friend had her pants around her knees as they applied a fake tramp stamp to her back. Security just looked over and said "That's nasty." In Cincy, ole gal would be in the back of a cop cruiser! Just not right. We would have been drinking for free all weekend if we got a dollar for each time someone asked if we were a bachelorette party. We said we should have brought the stuff from Lindsay's in Louisville and faked it LOL
Friday morning the weather was less than desirable. It was cold and drizzly and Lori, Lindsay & I walked to the new PIBeanery for a cup of coffee... we had to form a game plan to enjoy the day despite the crummy cold rain. We went to Rita's Margarita's on the Boardwalk overlooking the bay and Lori and I introduced the group to their first bloody mary's. I loved them - the mix had crab and shrimp chunks and the right amount of spice and garnishes. I think they prefer mimosas but I'm excited they got to give it a shot. Julie had researched the island activities and had coupons to ride the train around the island - it was a really good time. We learned so much about the tiny community - there's no doctor or hospital; only 2 restaurants stay open in the winter and only 400 residents stay year-round; groceries and RX are flown in by plane. We stopped at Heinenman's Winery, the original vineyard on the island, and did a tasting. I've found that most small midwest wineries have very similar wines - most are quite young and sweet which isn't my preferred taste but the group really liked it so it was nice. We walked over to the Boardwalk to see the pirates arrive since it was Pirate's Weekend - whatever that meant. A few actors came over on two small boats and shot some cannons... a bit underwhelming but I'm sure it's pretty neat for kids to see.
Had a blast having happy hour in our room and walked to dinner at Goat, which we'd heard great things about. I love the perch tacos - local Lake Erie fish. There was a chocolate shop and museum downstairs so we stopped in for dessert. We went to see The Menus again then saw The Webster's, another Cincinnati band whose lead singer works at the radio stations with Julie, at Round House. It was a really neat bar with a huge rotunda and the band plays up behind the bar. I ran into Calvin & Haver and was bummed that I couldn't call to meet up the next day w/o phone service.
Saturday we had gorgeous weather - finally! And the population on the island practically triples for the weekend. We walked to a different little coffee shop that was also an incredible bakery then it was a full out pool day at Mist - the pool with waterfall and swim-up bar at our hotel. It was straight out of MTV Spring Break 2003. We had a damn good time people watching - it reminded us a bit of a reality show with the ultra-blonde girls and bikinis in heels and muscly guys gyrating all over the place. The DJ was good and we met some fun strangers... we laid out almost until dinner time. Becca & I had both been really stoked to swim up to the bar and I'm glad we braved the cold water to hang out for a bit. The drinks were surprisingly cheap, too! A ton of people had big plastic Ohio State O's with long islands from Mr. Ed's and they were happy to share :)
For dinner we went to the Upper Deck which was a nice restaurant overlooking the bay. Matt's friend Sean's friend Doug's parents (uh, yeah) had raved about this place and their lobster mac & cheese at Sean's med school graduation in May so I had to try it - it was delicious. Julie, Becca & I walked to the little ice cream shop and had some really tasty key lime pie with graham cracker hunks. We'd also wanted to ride the little carousel all weekend but didn't have the chance. We were all fairly tired from the sun and didn't want to be hung over in the car so we popped into this tiki bar with near swings and a sand floor then the Put-in-Bay Brewery which I believe was just a bar, not really a brew house and headed home to rest. Exhausting fun weekend.
The one major issue was the disgusting mayflies! They were EVERYWHERE and latched on to everything. They flew around like the Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds" and the girls would scream and swat at them lol I think everyone would have enjoyed a bug-free environment much much better - none of us are sure if we'd ever go back but it definitely would not be at this time of year. Since there isn't a beach area, it's easy to do all you'd want to do over a long weekend but it would be best in late July or August when the weather is warmer and more predictable.
I'm really happy to have had the opportunity to finally visit this island that so many Ohioans speak of and to relax and catch up with the girls... it's always fun to see how much more you learn about people you're already close with when you travel. And I can knock one more place off my bucket list :)
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
René of the Day // 5.19.11 // Email Award
So one perk of working with a former screenwriter on "Two and a Half Men" is that he never leaves a chain of emails without entertainment. In a moment of tense project management, he broke through with this comment and it practically made my day:
"I'm glad we're at least saying 'thank you.' When we lose our courtesy, we lose our humanity. If we can't be polite, we might as well be tree frogs."
Perhaps this would have been the last thought that crossed my mind when blazing through creation of a microsite submission page, but this is why he worked on a team with Charlie Sheen and I did not. Dare I say, winning?
"I'm glad we're at least saying 'thank you.' When we lose our courtesy, we lose our humanity. If we can't be polite, we might as well be tree frogs."
Perhaps this would have been the last thought that crossed my mind when blazing through creation of a microsite submission page, but this is why he worked on a team with Charlie Sheen and I did not. Dare I say, winning?
René of the Day // 6.22.11 // Table Topics
By nature, I ask *a lot* of questions. Sorry if it drives you bonkers, but that's just me baby. I like to learn and always want to know more - call me nosey, hard to deny. Thus, Table Topics give me an excuse to ask rarely relevant, always interesting, absurd and totally irrelevant out-of-the-blue questions with merit. I hate to admit I forget who first told me about this phenomenal little crystal cube but I thank them from the furthest corner of my heart.
These fun conversation starters were a catalyst for MR and I after we met and started chatting on the phone long distance. We'd been playing 20 questions but after a few weeks, you begin to run dry on things to ask on the fly. There was so much to get to know about each other but the cards sparked great conversations, made us laugh and definitely took away any nervousness or tension. Cute, huh? ;) Some questions dive pretty deep while others are shallow as a parking lot puddle and just make you laugh. I'd highly recommend them for long distance phone calls, road trips or ice breaker activities. It's neat to hear what you can learn about people you already know fairly well. I even used them for the role of Table Topics Master at our Toastmasters meeting at work.
Example questions from my set, the Dinner Party Edition:
If it were necessary to add two countries to the U.S. which would you pick?
Would you rather your home had a pool, a tennis court or a rose garden?
What's the best way to deal with stress?
Are you old school or new school?
Where is change needed in your life?
If you could only take one cd for a cross country road trip which would you choose?
I bought my box - the adorable brown and Tiffany-blue damask image below - at Poeme, the darling stationery store on Hyde Park Square for ~$25. Visit http://www.tabletopics.com/ to see sample questions or order your own! I'd love to collect some of the other versions; there's a wide range of topics from kids to adults, family oriented to naughtiness. They also have an iPhone app now for $2.99 - might be perfect for this weekend's road trip with some of my best girlfriends from college!
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
René of the Day // 6.21.11 // Special Gift
I've done a bit of spiritual seeking in the past year. It began with the Freedom series at Crossroads last spring. It was a heart-changing experience and a really wonderful time to re-connect with old friends and learn more about myself. That level of introspection can work wonders... I truly think it was a contributing factor to beginning my relationship with MR - we met just weeks after the sessions wrapped... and I had been stubborn on staying single for almost 3 years until then.
I digress... I've learned a lot about God and my relationship with him in the past year. My mom and aunt Christine (Kiki) have listened as I've shared what I've learned and they also know that I am an absolute bookworm and holidays never pass without a book wrapped in pretty paper. Last Christmas, I had one last gift to open - a big orange book titled "The Handy Religion Answer Book." It was a very thoughtful and exciting gift - and per family tradition, I cracked the front cover to read the hand-written note that is always scribed into gifted books... And tears started to well in my eyes. The note was written in my deceased grandmother's perfect script. I was astonished and confused... She died in August 2007. But I remembered, we have two floor-to-ceiling book shelves filled with her books... old illustration books of Cincinnati, books on architecture, art and cooking (we have such similar interests!) My mom and Kiki had come across this book and knew I would love it.... It was an incredibly special gift.
I've been reading through it the past few days and was reminded of that story. MR is a loyal Catholic young man and is one of few I know my age who attends regularly and is a parishioner, even though he's grown up and moved away from home. I find that very admirable. My other grandmother, with whom I was very close, was Catholic and I always wanted to learn more to be like her. I am a heathen though - lol - I have never been baptised. So I'm learning more about Catholicism as I consider going through RCIA... I have a few good girlfriends who have done it and are doing it now so I am blessed to have them to consult for information as I explore. I'm looking forward to seeing where the Lord and my heart take me... and I'm sure grandma Dolores would be absolutely pleased. (See if you can read the note below.)
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