seriously now...

do you think this pose makes griffey look fat?



holy mother of canned friskies cat food, i am thinking she is having just a bit to much this winter! forget catdog for griffey. i think catcow is a touch more appropo.

i you asked

my cat griffey if she loves sophey the dog, she would tell you.

"no"

it's a lie, i have proof of otherwise.


i frequently call sophey "catdog" because she reminds me him/her (whatever it is). now you can see why.

~ snowphey~

Merry Christmas

sadly Bill's mom is really sick )o: so we had to cancel our Christmas Eve dinner at their house last night. i hope she heals gently and soon.

we decided to try the buffet dinner at the Lodge at Aspen Lakes. so we got a little dressed up and ventured out into the pouring snow for the evening. it was a beautiful Christmas Eve.



here is our pretty Laura, smiling despite the fact that Christmas is way to lonely and quiet, sans the siblings. she is looking forward to next week very much!


of course my obligatory picture of what we woke up to (i just have to chart this tuff, it's so INSANE). another foot of fresh snow and ice.


this is a much heavier snow, so it's packed things down and the stacks on top of things are beginning to fall over.


well Merry Christmas out there to all of you who read this blog. i hope it's full of life and loved ones. we are headed into Bend for a movie then a seafood dinner of lobster. sounds fun and yummy but we really do miss our family and wish they were here! although last night i was thanking Disney for never giving holidays off, i really doubt anyone would've made it home. i am thankful all of the kids flights are after Christmas.

Buon Natale
~ Leila

idle time..

i am a little bored here at work today. it's soooooooooo quiet, the phone rang one time and that was Laura. i just felt i should stay most of the day so Bill & DeAnna (they are the only two really working) wouldn't be alone, they are both VERY quiet.

so while hanging out upstairs i decided to peak my head outside onto our deck to admire whatever pretty view the falling snow has brought upon the conference center campus that we are located in. it is an unbelievable setting to be blessed to work in every day. the snow looks quite lovely here. it just goes.




i was surprised at the depth. i do know it's been snowing for days on end but to see untouched snow makes you realize how much we really do have. our deck furniture isn't really usable right now and looks like it won't be for some time. double click the picture to get a close up effect. i'd say it's very fluffly looking; wouldn't you?

visions of the season

see the gentle snowflakes

falling from the sky;

on the walk and housetops

soft and thick they lie

on the window ledges

~

on the branches bare

oh how fast they gather

filling all the air.

~

look into the garden

where the grass was green

covered by the snowflakes

not a blade is seen

now the bare black bushes

have fingers formed of ice

every twig is laden

oh it's Christmas Eve tonight!

~

~ author unknown

~ edited by leila

if you are...

someone who knows me well and a regular reader to my blog. READ THIS, it is so cool and worth more than the minute of two it takes to READ.

and yep, it's still snowing here...

   (*v*)
 (    *    )
(     *     )

we have oh so much...

SNOW!

it has finally slowed down this afternoon to give us a break before the next storm coming in tomorrow night.
it is quite beautiful but makes for difficult Christmas shopping in Bend (i just don't drive in this if i don't have to).

so these pictures are for you kids missing home. also my mama and auntie, who grew up here and just don't get winters like this in arizona and california.

thankfully it is a lot warmer here than it was earlier in the week. the highs are in the mid to high 20's and it really does feel warm! seriously!







Yup, we're buried.

Happy White Christmas!

rudolph

this guy reminds me a little of rudolph. yes, the reinDEER. i know he's not all reindeer but in my mind he is half. we see him around a lot. he obviously lives in the woods near our house. every time we see him he is alone )o;

it's a little sad because he is actually a deformed deer. i think he has curviture of the spine or something. when he walks he is all hunched over. it looks like it hurts so much. he is just a bit crippled i suppose. i know you can not see it in this picture but his little antlers (no points more just a couple of horns which is surprising for his size, he's not a baby) actually point down.

i admit that i do not LOVE the deer that frequnet my yard because of what they do to what i attempt to grow (with very little luck) in the spring and summer. although every time i see this guy i just love him. i was lucky to get a photo of him with my phone today as i was backing out of the driveway for an errand.

i thought it was kinda Christmassy looking, so i have named him rudolph, thinking maybe the other deer laugh and call him names. nahhhh..... not deer i hope!


oh and yes you can see, we finally have snow. the picture up top is from last year but not this one, it's today. winter has arrived!

Heidi had a a baby...

in the play that Bill & I flew down this weekend to see her in. so no i am not a grandma (o:

it was for her church's Christmas play and it was really great, a super story and Heidi did a fantastic job with her role (she had the lead). we are so proud of her and so happy that we were able to make it despite the extreme winter weather we are having right now.

it was a story about a bunch of people headed home on a flight for Christmas. they all had issues/problems (normal people in my mind). then Heidi (Marie) ended up going into labor and giving birth on the plane. it just should how the birth of a child brought meaning, purpose, joy and hope back to them all. it was really so good, so out of the box...

the cast


it was a complete joy to go to an event of one of our kids. we had a fantastic time!

i have been Branded

well i always want to make Christmas gifts for my friends. but i am a very bad baker so that is out, i don't do crafts so that is out, i don't know how to make wine so that is out.... i did find what i thought looked like a fun and festive recipe to infuse alcohol and then serve as a holiday cocktail. this i thought i could actually pull off.

needing a label for my concoction... every great branding expert knows it has to start with a logo! so my talented husband not only created a beautiful logo. just for me! he applied it to my label and waa laa. i am branded.

i hope to somehow use it more in my life. i like it. it's pretty, i think.

Office Holiday Party!

an Office Holiday Party is such an iconic event, a must for any firm that specializes in Branding. we had ours' this last weekend and it was not only wonderfully fun, we had a photographer friend capture it in black & white!

we began with a few 'reindeer games' to kick the evening off.


we were all really quite surprised who ended up where on our "Naughty & Nice" list.


a toast to a wonderful team and a delicious dinner.


our five course prix fixe meal at Jen's Garden was elegantly perfect!


it is ALWAYS wonderful to see our lead man relax and enjoying great fun with his team.


the BrandNav girls show off being dressed up for the evening.


the entire BrandNav Team. we are sure, one of the absolute bests that there is!

Family Time is

good time.

it is just the best to be around my kids, it was only half of them but i enjoy the time so much. because i enjoy my children more than anything there is. i know they are not children, they are all adults but they are mine so i think it's okay that i refer to them as children.

i was pretty impressed with: THE SURVEILLANCE MASTER 5000. my son is now a boss at his job (o: (way to go on the promotion son) and this is the 007 style little tool he uses to know all that is going on at one time.


here is is making a spy like / boss like move. so calm and in control.


Michael loves Joe's scooter. it is very cool but made me super nervous, super super nervous....


Bella enjoyed watching Michael scream up and down the street on the scooter (from in between Bill's legs). Bella is a very fuuny, entertaining and cute dog. either she was snuggling or she was nervous.


yeah and then, whoops my son... made my fears come true... wet streets, speed, ugghhh. thankfully he hopped right up and acted like he was fine. (*v*) so he says.


my handsome husband hangs in the kitchen and enjoys the activity around him. he looks good here, i had to show it.


as Heidi, Joe and I pull together some things to consume.


sorry for no phone calls to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving. i have NO phone service here at Mount Hermon. i do hope yours was wonderful!

thanks for reading!

BrandNav does OCC

my generous husband agreed to loan me his young and strong staff for the last day of collection for Operation Christmas Child. i admit i am much to busy to think of taking good pictures, but we have a few to share of the day and (i think) the fun they had.
the BrandNavigation girls are not only the three of the most wonderful young women i know. they also love to have fun and work hard, they are all the most attractive elves (Bill's new pet name for his staff).

then there is the 'hottie elf' (sorry he is taken) that was an immense blessing to Bill. loading that truck is very hard work and it was so nice to have another set of muscles.

it was a ton of work and just and much fun!

here is terra, working her little elf heart out!

here is our worker elf again and next to him is my right arm, "annette" she is my mom's age.... there are times i want to cut her off and put my mama in her place! i do know i could not do my job without her! obviously you can see from her hat, she is the head of us all.

our fearless leader, the most jovial elf of all. that hat... it just didn't work so well... we love him though and he brought tons of fun to the day!

the day ended with elf pivots, dancing, frolicking and 5239 shoe boxes. it was a good way for BrandNav to be away and work together.

oh boxes

this is what happens when you have a loaded truck trailer filled with shipping cartons, filled with shoe boxes and your count does not add up. you get to climb on top, gingerly crawl over the edges (hoping there is enough strength there to hold your weight) shimmying to the front of the trailer. to see and count if there are as many cartons in each row and there are in the rows you can see. all the while hoping there are not so that your count will somehow be correct!


it's a fun job with an interesting perspective!


sure enough, 16 in the two front rows rather than the 20 that i was ASSUMING! i know you would think i would count them as i load the trailer. now there is an idea....

i am pretty tired and going to bed. i am sure that i will dream i am a plane made out of a shoe box flying off to a special child in hopes of touching their heart.

i am ALMOST done. so close, just not quite. almost though. (o:

so....

i was on TV. it was at 6:45 a.m. so i am sure no one (other than my devoted husband) viewed it. he has urged me strongly to post it. i am uncomfortable with that but... one more box.... one more child... another life possibly changed...
the reason i did the interview.

click here and enjoy.

six days down, two to go.
thank you.

oh and p.s.
i never realized the size of my nose until this! oh my! so yeah, thanks Grandma (o:

x

shoe box...

packing has begun. we collected more than double of what we did on the first day last year yesterday, and more than we did on the second day last year, today. i am perplexed.... there is a recession going on, i do a horrible job at promoting the program in our area. it's not really my job, but then there is no one else to do it so I SHOULD... shyness or insecurity (unfortunately i have both!) are not the best personality traits to have in a ministry like this one.

regardless, i am perplexed. the American economy is in the tank yet shoe boxes for hurting children still come in. not only do they come in but they seem to come in abundantly. either i am going to be REALLY slow for the next few days or people are caring more and more every day about the atrocities that take place in our world and want to take the time, money and effort to do SOMETHING that makes a difference. they see these shoe boxes as a tangible way to touch the life of a child.

i do hope and believe it's the later. i had two volunteers tonight, that happen to be dear friends, that sat and packed eight shoe boxes. simply out of 'stuff' that different donors had dropped off throughout the day (stuff they didn't need or want, some leftovers, but were hoping we could use in some way..) with that 'stuff' these two women packed and FILLED eight wonderful shoe boxes that will touch the lives of eight more children. for that i am thankful. also that the Lord God is still on the throne and has the power to move through hearts above and beyond 'recession.'

64 cartons filled and ready to go. hopefully a few hundred more to go.
two days down, six to go, and yes, my back is sore.

chatham comes to play!

laura has been dog sitting for a friend, a puppy, a puppy that is so adorably ugly that his is extremely cute.
laura came into the metropolis of Sisters to help me with shoe boxes (something she tends to be doing a lot of lately that will continue into next week...). i am rewarding her with a Thanksgiving trip to visit her oldest brother and his lovely wife in Nashville, but i do appreciate her help so much.

anyway... chatham came to play with sophey. he rarely sits still enough to get a photo that is not blurry. he is quite crazy.


we have come to the conclusion that sophey is not quite so friendly with cute baby dogs. when it's not all about sophey she becomes extremely grouchy! especially when Bill (who secretly babies sophey is a BIG WAY) is absolutely in love with crazy little chatham. "because he is a boy dog who does not act like a wimp."


to say the least it was an entertaining evening. chatham goes and goes and goes and goes then rest for like five minutes then starts again. he has a lot of energy! sophey basically refused to play with him. she is quite an emotional wreck at this point and needs a good spoiling from her grandma.


we ended the night with the season premier of Top Chef, just about my favorite show in the world. it was nice to have Laura home and enjoy the cuteness of a puppy. FUN!

i know...

i need to post and change things up here a bit. i have been busy getting ready for Operation Christmas Child. it pretty much consumes me in the month of November and i ask myself, "why am i doing this again?" it is stressful (i worry so much about failure, that shoe boxes won't come in, that i won't be inspiring to people, that i won't have enough volunteers.... on and on) and it is a lot of work. for eight days straight non stop back breaking work.

i do it because i know and understand that the shoe boxes, even if only one of them comes in, make a difference in the life of a child who is hurting, maybe an orphan, possibly living in war, living in extreme poverty, who may never in their childhood ever receive another gift... it makes them not only realize the God of the Universe loves them and knows them but also that another human being cared enough about them to send a gift.

i encourage each and everyone one of you that read this blog. visit the site, take the time, get a shoe box, read how to do it, spend the $15 - $20, pack it, put a personal letter and picture of yourselves in the box (yes they will get it) and make a difference in the life of a child. i think i can assure you, they will never forget you.

look at this young man in Uganda. he must bring a smile to your face and he hasn't even opened the box yet. doesn't it feel good to smile like that?! that is joy, i believe.

if you don't hear from me for days... i have to play get ahead at work and then do the work set before me. it requires a lot of prayer, faith, shopping, phone calling,organizing, etc... these things tend to take my time and i just do better when i focus.

please, pack a shoe box, please.

welcome to:

Dining in the Dark; Mansion de Chiaravalle
31st October 2008

the lady of the manor

set for a fine meal

the potions of the evening

ancient laboratory tests





a wee bit eerie


i had no idea of what to expect for costumes. i was blown away, everyone got really into it. they were the best costumes i have ever seen! so fun and entertaining.

luke & leia looked like the real deal!


bobby joe & rainbow where definitely the most in character!


max and 99 absolutely the most attractive!


and for sure the coolest by far, James... James Bond!


rainbow is looking..... dare i say... stoned. i don't think it's just the black potion she is drinking....


she and bobby joe threw this out on the table early on...

oh my!

don't worry it's fake (o: all in very good fun!

heh