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!