SNOW DAY!

it happened - snow day for alaina!  like i mentioned yesterday, we'd have to be buried in snow to get a snow day.  we are now officially buried in snow.  snowed in, actually : )

our grill, buried.

lawn chairs (not covered, i know...), totally buried.

all the way up to the fence mid-point!

side walks in the front of the house.

walking up to the front door.

the postman's footprints from yesterday.

flower pot in february = snow pot.

so in honor of being snowed in, i'll be cooking yummy food all day and having a woody allen marathon.  february is getting off the BEST. START. EVER.

fill in the blank {snowy} friday!

hello all! in case you haven't heard from, like, everywhere, there's a pretty huge snowstorm out here in denver!  i'm still working today.  unlike school closures around here, i'd have to be literally buried in snow to get a day off.  so we'll see what the weekend holds - i'm working til 6 tonight and tomorrow.  this snow is crazy!  but anyway, off to the blanks...

1.   if money wasn't an issue, the first thing i'd cross of my life list is  trans-siberian railway or orient express.  those are trips i will definitely take sometime in my life... when we have the money.  

2.   just about anything i like  is something i like that other people think is weird.  but seriously, i'd say cher. she's awesome and i love her.

3.  if my life were a movie right now, the title would be   [whoa - good question!]  probably 'i don't know how she does it,' because of all the things going on in my life right now!  or maybe 'something's gotta give.'

4.  three things i am looking forward to this month are    ummm, please refer to my earlier post for full list.

5.  my favorite song to sing in the shower is usually whatever i'm listening to now.  the last song i sang in the shower was probably 'every teardrop is a waterfall' by coldplay, because it's the happiest song ever.  but usually it's just she & him, what ever girl sings in the shower i'm sure.

6.  if i found out that the production of   chicken wine   was ending this month, i'd go out and buy as much as i could tomorrow.

7.  one thing i'll never grow tired of is  my thursdays with philip.  our favorite TV shows, no homework or other projects, and cooking together.  best ever. 

remember, if you ever want to play along check out lauren's awesome blog! 

high high #12

what a day for christmas spirit.

it started out great, with secret santas at work - yay!  i got my whole staff custom mugs with the pictures on them, which everyone seemed to really enjoy.  we were really all in the holiday spirit, and to top it off - winter storm warning for denver!  we are getting dumped on right now and should see about 8-10 inches before it lets up tomorrow afternoon.  SO, unexpected snow day for me tomorrow, which means my christmas vacation starts half a day early - RIGHT NOW!  whooo!

but then the day took a turn for the worst...  when i hear customers of mine who have fallen on hard times, i want to help them.  and in my line of work, that's not always possible.  i have made a solemn vow (to myself) to never be the woman who cries at work, so i held it in all day long until philip picked me up.

we were on our way home when philip reminded me that mom was doing a gift exchange with a single mother of three who we 'adopted' in our community this year.  philip and i bought toys for the kids while mom bought clothes for the whole family.  she was meeting the woman for  coffee and to give her the gifts.  we thought it might lift my spirits to go - so we went.  and WOW.  what a wonderful reminder of how blessed i am.  the mother  cried when we gave her the gift cards for groceries, and of course the rest of us teared up too.  just to see how grateful someone really was for groceries really put my holiday stress in perspective.

and i realized that while i wasn't able to help people out the way i wanted to at work, i still did something good for a family in need.  and i didn't feel so helpless anymore.  and that, along with the awesome winter storm we are having, was my high high.

friends, let's all remember what this season is really about.  friends, family and sharing what we have.  i hope everyone who reads this is able to pay it forward and do something nice and unexpected for someone who needs it this holiday season.

here's a few pics of the snow - and due to this we are headed up to keystone early!  huzzah!  i'm not sure i'll be blogging while on vacation, so we'll see.

outside tree

running inside! 

and one last thing...

i want to say a very special merry christmas to my pop pop.  he loved this time of year more than anyone else i've ever met in my life.  for the longest time i really believed he was one of santa's elves - he always knew just what i wanted, even when i swore i'd never told anyone (but my letter to santa).  he would be the one up at 5am in line at any store possible to get exactly what his grandkids wanted.  he's been gone for 5 years now, but i still miss him like crazy at christmas.  there's a line from the christmas carol 'wintersong' that always makes me think of him...

and this is how i see you

in the snow on christmas morning

love & happiness surround you

i'll throw my arms up to the sky

and keep this moment by and by

oh i miss you so

what a time to be thankful.

merry christmas to all and to all a good night.

xoxoxo