Old post that I forgot to post. Way to go Alpha!

Christmas music - check!
Christmas lights - check!
Christmas tree - check!
Paper snowflakes - check!
Gingerbread - check!
Snow - none yet!

The forecast for Saturday is flurries and/or rain. Which when you live in Vancouver generally means rain...but one can hope right? Its definitely cold enough outside. Foot long icicles have already formed under the hot tub, frost is abundant and its constantly in the negative degrees. I'm excited!
Dad brought home the tree this evening, and being as he wasn't feeling very well i put it up myself. Its now in the corner and i'm waiting for a day for the branches to settle down before i decorate it. Alpine Fir. Tis a beauteous thing!

Remember, Remember...

Remember Remember the 5th of November
Of gunpowder, treason, and plot
I see no reason
Why the Gunpowder Treason
Should ever be forgot....

Happy Guy Fawks Night!

Which remind me, i need to watch V For Vendetta REALLY soon, every time i see the letter V it makes me think of it and then i remember the comic book and how savagely awesome it was. Which also reminds me, i think Will has that comic...i need to steal it off of him one of these days...so good...

Have you heard of the band Eisley? My friend Mary introduced me to their music not that long ago and i've become absolutely hooked! An incredible blend of ethereal vocals and quality music, they remind me of a mix between The Cranberries and Relient K. Weird i know, like mustard and gingerbread. But hauntingly good. You should check them out.

Word of the Day:
Maugre
Meaning: archaic, in spite of.

Fall Love and the Anticipation of Christmas

Guess what today is!?? Aside from being October 26th of course.
It's 2 months minus a day until my favorite time of year! WOOT WOOT! CHRISTMAS!!
It's practically just around the corner! I've picked a name out of the secret santa hat (the name shall not be revealed naturally) and i've begun planning what to get them, my christmas lights are out, my wishlist is in progress (to be posted on the fridge with everyone else's), the christmas music is playing faintly in the background, visions on sugarplum fairies are dancing in my head.....
But before we get into the soggy slushy winter christmas season...here's a list of some of the things i LOVE about fall!
- Pumpkin Spice Lattes from Starbucks
- Multi-coloured leaves on the ground. What a carpet of beauty!
- Foggy mornings that clear up in the windy afternoon
- Crisp air that burns your nose when you breath in too deeply
- Torrential Vancouver downpours that last for days and leave floods everywhere
- PUDDLES!
- The day you finally cave and bring out your scarves and thicker jackets
- Clean cars and seat heat
- C&C starting up
- Pumpkin Spice Frappucinos

So while it's almost that time of year i'm not all about the future, i do enjoy the present.

Happy puddle jumping folks!

Untitled

Listening to: You're Just a Country Boy by Alison Krauss

You know that gratified feeling after having totally cleaned up your room? That is not the feeling I'm experiencing right now unfortunately. I got half way done and then I was somehow distracted by Facebook. How ridiculous is that! At least the floor is tidy...aside from the 4 Victoria
magazines which i am SO EXCITED to be soon reading! Woohoo!

Currently Reading: Swamp Thing: The Curse, Vol. 3

A Little Push

I've been going through a really rough time lately, feeling very dry spiritually and being hit by quite a few double-whammy situations. But by the grace of God, consistent every day, I feel like I'm pulling through. Its still a struggle to make it through the day but i know that God is faithful. I'm reminded of the verse in Matthew (i think? i couldn't find it right now) that says God will not put more on you than you can bear, but He'll always provide a way out so that you'll be able to stand up under it.
And I find that really encouraging.
Its like a little push from behind and God saying "don't worry, i've got your back, just keep going, don't worry, you can do it"

on spiders and rhetorical questions

i'm sitting on my bed right now pondering how a spider feels when it gets squished.
is it a quick and painless death? or is it slow and agonized?
who knows.
all i know is that right now my room has been invaded by little baby spiders. stomping boots on, i quiver at the thought of having to smoosh the nasty little boogers, but it has to be done. there is nothing quite like waking up in the middle of the night with a spider in your nose!
and it happens every year.
regular as clockwork.
just like christmas.
and camping.
which leads me to my second reason for blogging.
in just 8 days i'll be in the Okanagan for 7 blissful days, watching the sun rise and set, jumping off lighthouses and cliffs, making incredible memories never to be forgotten! am i excited? is the sky blue? am i hungry? what rhetorical questions.
i'll leave you to answer them because i need to tidy my room and people just arrived for dinner....

Adios Vancouver!

This next week marks a milestone in the Davies Family history. All 17 of us, plus Robin, will be together for an entire week! Lets hope we all make it out alive...
Dad and Mom, Aaron and Amy with Betsy, Peter, Austin and Leah with Kiara and Jane, Heather with fiancee Robin Mercer, Sam and Yvonne with Jonas, Myself, Will, and Hannah. That's a lot of people to fit on one 32' Grand Banks.
The plan is this: a once in a lifetime experience/trip around the Gulf Islands, stopping at various B&Bs for the nights and day trips to other islands/beaches.
Aaron and Amy will be joining us on day 3 because of work complications, but everyone else will be there for the entire week!
The idea is to leave as early as possible on Sunday morning, saaay....8 o'clock? But we all know that there's no WAY that will happen. We anticipate a reminiscent "bus-packing" episode except this time it will be the boat.....with Dad complaining about the amount of luggage/"unnecessary" buggies and playpens for babies/snack food for mom/Alpha's hairdryer/etc etc etc. The limits will be stretched, tempers will be lost, patience worn thin, important things forgotten...
But will it be fun?
YES!
Will we be closer as a family when it's over?
By the grace of God, YES!

i'm personally foreseeing a few bodies being brought back in bodybags, simply because of the incredible diversity within our family, our temperaments and personalities are incredibly different and yes, sparks will fly, forestfires will be started.

Oh and yes, you did read correctly, i AM bringin my hairdryer.....hidden away in my bag so Dad can't confinscate it of course :)

See you all on the 29th!

Fifi

random thoughts II

My brother Will is making $690,500 an hour. On Mafia Wars. On Facebook. Can you say ridiculous?
I still have my Canucks flags on my car even though they've been eliminated from the playoffs.
I had 5 meals today (so far): Breakfast, Elevensies, Lunch, Second Lunch at 3, and Dinner.
I voted yesterday. and i'm disappointed STV wasn't passed. i was kind of hoping it would be.

random thoughts

y'know whats really nasty?
A spoiler on the back of a truck.
Or picking up a tissue from the floor and realizing that its used. and soggy.

Customer Etiquette

Maybe i'm just tired but it seems to me that more and more annoying customers are coming into the store lately. As a result I've decided to write out some pointers that you (you know who you are...) should think about next time you decide you need groceries.
#1. Always say hi to the cashier! don't just ignore them and walk past, remember that you're coming into THEIR store. There's nothing like saying hi to a customer and having them act like you're not there. Rude!
#2. Please don't leave your Starbucks cup on the shelf, find a trash can and dispose of it properly. That also goes for your Timmys cup, bag of McDonalds garbage, dirty moist kleenex, and your pocket lint.
#3. If you're shopping with your kids, keep them with you at all times (unless they're responsible adults). Who likes loose brats running rampage around the store? Its disturbing and creates a less-than-peaceful atmosphere for the other customers.
#4. When you take something off the shelf and decide you dont want it, where do you put it? If you said "on the floor" or "just give it to the saleslady" you've answered incorrectly. Go directly to jail, do not pass Go, do not collect $100. If, however, you answered "back on the shelf".....correct!! you just won first prize in a beauty contest! If we're spending all our time picking up after you it leaves no time to help you or other customers (and who likes bad customer service?).
#5. DON'T OPEN PACKAGES WITHOUT CASHIER ASSISTANCE!!! GAAAHH! I CANNOT STRESS THIS ONE ENOUGH!!!
ahem...
so ya, thats all for now folks. check back in a month and maybe i'll have blogged again.
peace

late night snack habits

Alpha's Top 5 Late Night Snacks:
1. cracker+nutella+brie+cracker=best thing ever!
2. some good ol' jelly bellys, preferably juicy pear and buttered popcorn.
3. open fridge. browse leftover selection. select the leftover mac. its always best the second time around.
4. NACHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO(s)
5. does Denny's count? it only happens late at night (or early in the morning, whichever you prefer). any other time of the day its just disgusting garbage. mmmm ultimate omelete! razzDANGO BABY!

movin on here...
so why am i blogging about snacks?
um i'm hungry? in fact, i'm gonna go grab me some gorp (#6 on the list btw).
ciao! (or should i say chow?)

Sunny Day, Sweeping the clouds away

Well for once the weather man was right! partly at least... it's been raining for the past couple of days, but this morning dawned bright and sunny with a few clouds in the sky. a perfect day for a birthday! Yvonne woke me up at 9.30 to say Happy Birthday and i dragged myself out of bed, ate a huge breakfast, organized my room, and put away my little Christmas tree for the rest of the year. For me the Christmas season isn't over until my birthday, then and only then should the decorations come down. my family doesn't quite see it that way though so the big tree comes down before New Years....:S i wrote a few letters, walked to the mailbox, and realized what a truly beautiful day it was today! i raced home, grabbed a scarf and my camera and set off again. the wind blew away my winter blues and the sun warmed me to the core, the first sun in about almost a month really, and what a comeback! God may be melting away all the frosting He put on the city but He's leaving behind a lush and green landscape. Thank you Lord!
And now it's off to my birthday dinner....21 years old!

Sick Day

According to the weatherman it's supposed to be raining. But is it? No. It isn't. Yesterday it snowed a good 5 inches at my house, only stopping in the late evening. Snow everywhere! I'm dying to go out in it but i know it would be foolish, i'm stuck at home today, tired and sick, while my mom goes to work for me for a few hours. I feel depressingly useless when i'm sick. But i did have fun this morning, Hannah painted her wooden H she got for Christmas while I amused myself to no end finger painting. I felt like a kid again, happy to just smoosh my fingers in the cold paint, not worried about the smudge on my nose or the smears all over my arms and the table. We listened to Jesse and Liz Enns new cd, Light Of The Morning, which is a really good cd, and ate apples and crackers and cheese. Sisterly bonding!
It's melting outside now, puddles of slush on the driveway which i forced myself to shovel, icicles all gone (:( tis a shame!), there is however still a foot of snow in the front yard with 3 ft high piles by the driveway. Those will take some time to melt thankfully. And who knows, maybe tomorrow i'll be feeling better and i'll drag myself outdoors to make snow angels!....