Friday, June 11, 2010

My Ohio Visit Report - Lots of Updates!

I was in Ohio from last Wednesday through Monday of this week and wow, was it a busy visit home! I got in Wednesday night and apparently there were thunderstorms and tornadoes, but there wasn't a mention of it before I left LaGuardia. I found out later they were pretty severe. When I was a kid growing up in Ohio I was terrified of tornadoes but fascinated at the same time. Part of me secretly desired to get caught up in one a la The Wizard of Oz. Well, needless to say this was a whirlwind of a visit!

 

Q Gets a New Do

I'm in the process of growing out my relaxer (very detailed post is in the works on this topic!) and have gone without a touch-up since February. I've been wearing braidouts but wanted to get a new style. I had heard good things about Synergi in Columbus, which specializes in transitioning women from relaxed to natural hair so I made an appointment at 9 a.m. on Thursday with Paula Settle. I had read warnings in The Girlfriends' Guide to Pregnancy that pregnant women shouldn't cut their hair while pregnant although they're often tempted to - something about feeling ugly and regretting later. Anywho, I really didn't care, so I went ahead and did it, and I love the results:

 

I highly recommend Synergi. They got me in and out in a timely fashion, were very professional and half the cost of the average NYC salons I frequent for similar, but more damaging service. If you go, ask for Paula and tell her Quiana from NYC sent you!

Hanging out with the Cousins

Thursday night I went to Vonn's with my cousins. Columbus is really starting to step it up, and I'm thankful that my cousin Grace thought for us to meet here to catch up, enjoy live music and dinner. It definitely wasn't crowded compared to NYC spots on Thursday nights, but it was very comfortable. The live singer reminded me of Jill Scott, and she sang a variety of modern and standard jazz songs. The menu is Louisiana based, and I had the spicy chicken pasta. Baby Agbai wasn't too happy about that, but I thoroughly enjoyed it!

Here's a few pic of me and my beautiful cousins, Grace, Aminah and CasSaundria:

 


My Lil Brother and Sister's Graduation Party

Friday night was my brother and sister's graduation party. My parents threw a combined party for them as my brother graduated from high school and my sister from college. I know my parents are ecstatic to finally be empty nesters - and at the young age of only 52/53. Niiiiice!

There was a tent set up with lights and a dance floor, my dad had the sound system going outside and we later had a fire pit which means we had . . . S'MORES!

The party went from 4p.m.- past midnight but around 11:45 p.m. I crashed hard and headed up to bed. I don't even think I said goodnight to anyone I was SO tired!

Here are a few pics from the festivities:



(The cake was fractured in transit but it was still good!)

This is Michael with his teammate, JQ, who shared the party too


Ohio Baby Shower

Saturday we were all up early to get ready for the baby shower at 11a.m. It was a bit hectic cause of the previous night's festivities, but we all came together and pulled it off. Here are a few teasers taken by BFF Julie McGee (check out her Facebook page Julie McGee Photography):

 


 
 My paternal grandmother and my mom

Me and my sisters

 
My and my 6th grade teacher, Mrs. Hayes, and my BFF Julie
(Mrs. Hayes brought us our archived stories from 6th grade!)

The full album is here.

My mom did an AWESOME job, and I loved how everything turned out. It ran about two and a half hours and wasn't too overwhelming. I was thankful that we didn't play more than one cheesy game (a guess mommy's circumference game), and it was still fun. It was great to see so many lovely women who have known me over the years and celebrate Baby Agbai's arrival!

On a logistical note, we registered on Amazon's Universal Registry, and I was nervous about getting the non-registry gifts home, but my sister had the good idea to bring back my gifts in my dad's car since they had to drive back to D.C. on Sunday. Ariane's moving to NYC in July for her new PR job and is staying with us that month so she can bring everything up in the moving van. Now me being the Type A person that I am took a photo inventory of the packed boxes and sent it to her so she knows exactly what should be coming with her to NYC ;-)

Sister Portraits 

After the party my sisters and I went to Sears to do a 20-something sister portrait session since it's the brief window when we're all in our 20s. We figure this is something we can do each decade. I was so upset that the photographer didn't tell me my bra strap was showing although I specifically mentioned it during the shoot as my dress had a funny neckline and it kept peaking out. Anyway, my sister Lauren is in the process of photo-shopping them (they wanted $15/pic to take out the bra strap!). Anyway, the final pictures will be ready on June 18 so I'll do a separate post for them. 

Here's a teaser:


Michael's Graduation

After the photo shoot we raced back home to get ready for my brother's high school graduation. There were less than 50 kids in his class so it was nice and small. My brother made honor roll and will be attending college in TN this fall. 

Here are some silly pics:



After graduation we went to our neighbor's (also my high schoolmate!) party at 11p.m. I had a hard time staying up, but she had graduated from med school and it's been an amazing journey for her. Congrats Michelle!

The next morning we were up early for breakfast. My dad is a breakfast champion and made biscuits, cooked apples, bacon and eggs. It was SOOOO good, and I don't know how we all managed to stay awake in church! After we visited my maternal grandmother then my dad and sister hit the road for D.C.

On Monday my mom and I ran errands then I flew back that late afternoon to NYC. 

It was a really great trip!

2 comments:

  1. sounds like a great trip! i checked out the pictures from the baby shower, and it looks like it was sooo beautiful, and that FOOD....oh my, lol! And you looked so pretty! That(coral?) color is beautiful on you!

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  2. @Christina Thanks Christina! Yes, I really like that color. I keep wearing that dress over and over!

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