I found two podcasts from one of, if not, my favorite speakers in the world. Greg Laurie talks about how Christmas can be the easiest time to lose sight of the actual celebration – God’s gift – his son – Jesus. Enjoy!
The Man who tried to stop Christmas
We both want to wish you a Merry Christmas and safe travel through this holiday season. God Bless
Ral and Danelle
Hey all you City TV watchers! Just wanted to ask if you could let us know if you see us on City TV. As we were Christmas shopping the other day, a couple guys with cameras stopped us and asked us to introduce and do a couple shout outs for City TV. Of course having nothing to do… in a mall… in December… during Christmas hours – we said yes. Please let us know how stupid we look.
For all you supernatural fans – you might see us. We did an intro for the show that you have to see. We don’t have cable TV so we don’t know what the final product will look like. In short, the Supernatural promo Danelle is under a white table cloth pretending to be a ghost. It was hilarious. Let us know!
Peace,
</ral>
Hey guys, I’m sure that if you know us two, then you know that we are totally hooked on 24. Since moving to our new home we made a decision not to have cable TV. I seriously went through withdrawal the first couple days but got through it. A few months into our new home, sans TV, our great friends Joel and Amy (and Gracie) introduced us to a new drug called 24. It was probably one of, if not, the most addictive show that we have ever seen, since Saved by the Bell. We have finished the first 2 season and are now ready to watch the 3rd.
Through word of mouth, we have heard that the 3rd season is the best (we still have to wait and see). So, being on vacation and having nothing else to do – Danelle and I have decided to watch the 3rd season in real time. Yes that’s right – we are going to experience 24 as Jack experiences it. We won’t need sleep. The first two seasons we had to literally stop ourselves from watching it. 24 is just that good!
We are going to be incommunicado from watching and resting, so we just wanted to leave you with something to watch for yourselves. This was a video I made – long before rad studio was even a dream, let alone a thought. It was for 2 good friends of mine. He was in a ‘band’ and had to leave because he was getting married – true story. They played this at the wedding and everybody (supposedly) loved it =) – We hope you enjoy it as well! Feel free to leave comments!
Sorry for the compression, I don’t have time to fix it- I need to watch 24! Be blessed
done</ral>
rad studio is now closed for the holidays. You can all still reach us through email, but please be aware that we will only be checking at 10am on Monday-Wednesday and Friday.
We both hope that you take this time to spend with your families, reflect on this past year, and look forward to the amazing things that will happen in your life for 2008. We will be back in action in January. Until then keep checking the blog for our holiday posts, which we will attempt to blog every other day. Keep safe and God bless.
Merry Christmas!
Ral and Danelle
Although I’ve been receiving cute little emails and messages, regarding my blog posts for this month, I must say resting is good. Ral and I are actually still working because we have decided to get serious about some top secret stuff so, let’s just say I’m resting as I work…? I’ll be back -
xo|danelle
no image people, I’m resting.
December 6th: Rest
As we prepare ourselves for our favorite day of the year, Ral and I have realized that some R&R is essential to finding balance. We’ve been busy all year as life happens everyday but getting time to slow down and actually enjoy time for what it is during a period of “rest” is actually quite exciting. As many of you know, Ral and I have only been married for a little over a year and a half. It’s great that we work together (we’re best friends – good times) but really appreciating him as my husband before my business partner has helped keep every day fresh and exciting. Rest has enabled me to study him more closely and get to know him better… well, I mean it’s been almost 10 years of deciding to fall in love but getting to know him as a husband has made me more and more interested in this life long commitment of love and teamwork – aka “marriage”. Did you know he has a mole on the side of his head? Ya, I just found that out as I was watching him… our computer screens are getting less and less attention as the atmosphere of peace and the ability to rest permeates our home. So here is our game plan during this period: sleep (very much needed), grande peppermint mochas at Starbucks, Christmas shopping at odd times during the day, decorating our home (at least a few sections of it),watching movies and catching up on 24 with our potential apprentice, Jack Bauer (to name just a few off the top of my head). Oh, and spending time with family and friends (some believe we’ve fallen off the face of the planet)… I actually would like to rest now so toodles, we’ll write more when we can!
rest… you’re awesome!
xo|danelle
* thanks for tolerating my sentence errors… see, I do need rest. ral’s looking through what I’ve been writing and drawing and thinks Josh Groban looks like he has a jheri curl.
December 5th: Carbs
As we all gear up for the Christmas season, we cannot forget to enjoy the abundance of food that we come across at every pastry shop as we do our Christmas shopping, every Christmas party we attend and every bowl of mashed potoatoes or mac and cheese on those cold narly days. But I just wanted to give a womanly shout out to my ex-best friend. Carbs, although you’ve always been there for me when I needed you, I have to say our friendship is a bit unhealthy. Ral and I are actually on a diet plan now so carbs are on a bit of a timeout… as much as I’d really like a honey cruller… protein is where its at right now. Carbs can come visit in about a week and a half.
Although I said all those things about you to Ral,
Carbs… you’re rad.
xo|danelle
December 4th: Jack Bauer
Dear Bauer-Power,
Ral and I would like you to work for us. You are reliable, insatiable and creative. Although you would not be needing your CTU skills to the same extent, we will try and include such activities if we cut life insurance off of your benefits. You would be in charge of meeting clients in your own private meeting room (no cameras, no questions) – we know you’re kinda crazy but you get results. We have viewed your 2 days of work and will be spending one of our holiday days watching your 3rd day of work. We are catching up, apparently you’ve worked for over a week. (Don’t you think using the word “season” is a bit much?) We’re quite picky when it comes to considering who would be our future assistants but when Ral saw your jab, he stated how comparable it was to his own and he’s been talking about you ever since. Please consider our 10 year apprenticeship at rad studio, we would be more than glad to have you on board.
Sincerely,
Danelle Nicanor
–
24 rocks! If you’re not watching it, your best friend is Hello Kitty.
Jack Bauer… you’re rad.
xo|danelle
December 2nd: Rokko
So much to say about our family’s dog! He’s different. Although I don’t believe in it, he’s the kind of dog that makes me wonder if there is a little person in his bushy little body. My sister received him as a gift while Ral and I were engaged and we instantly fell in love with him. He was soooo cute. He looked like a baby panda and was so clumsy and curious. It was honestly difficult for me to really open myself to getting another dog because we lost our last dog (she was my best friend, but I’ll blog more on her December date) and it was really painful for me but when Rokko came to our home, everyone just couldn’t help but share the love.
He’s a mischievous little feller and unpredictable really… but I gotta say he has the biggest heart. He’s a feisty little Havanese/Lhasa Apso and is kickin’ butt and takin’ names… hmmm… ya… know what?… He currently won’t take “no” for an answer so maybe he’s a little bit of a brat but whatevs, he’s cute! Anyhow, I can recall a cute little story that my mom told me when Rokko was about 9 months old or so. My mom cleaned out the bread basket and decided to give Rokko a big piece of pizza bread (not thinking much of it, it was a treat) and Rokko walked away delighted about it. And so as she was brushing our cat, Milo’s hair in the kitchen and all the sudden Rokko comes in looking like he’s struggling to take a bite off of the pizza bread. My mom continued to do her business, brushing Milo until she realized that Rokko had a chunk of pizza bread in his mouth ready to share and hand it off to Milo. He left the chunk beside Milo so Milo would enjoy it after his grooming session with my mom. I thought that was so sweet. We have many stories but we’ll make this short because I love to write and I can seriously write a movie using sheer fact. He’s quite a character but I’ll leave the mischievous stories because it’s Christmas time. He’s just too cute to get coal. I just wanted to share an email we received in November from my sister, Alexa. She’s the ridiculously funny one of us 5 gals who is often heard entering a room greeting everyone with a cheerful, ‘Hey, jerks!’ anyway the email was concerning “helping a needy family”. I just cracked up about this because she always paints a picture that she’s Rokko’s single mother and is workin’ hard for the money. So here’s an excerpt from her email regarding this “good deed”with a bit of info to fill you in on what she’s talking about:
“I’m really impressed with the sophistication and generosity that this holiday season brings to our family’s hearts and minds. I was thinking we could also do a Christmas shoe box for a small family here in Surrey. We could wrap the shoe box in wrapping paper and fill it with a few things. I can deliver it since I know the place pretty well. The family is pretty small, just two of them. The mom is a single mother in her early 20s, still in school, working two jobs: the first as a tutor and the second as a care aid for two old people who talk too much (I believe she’s talking about my parents – she’s the last one living at home). She expressed the desire for a few very necessary items: a ceramic curling iron (already has a straight iron), rock and republic jeans size 24 (stone wash), restaurant gift certificates (no coupons pls; how will she ever find a husband with coupons?) and some money to spend on her son (nothing under $20). Her son has just overcome a pretty bad cough (he had some sort of canine cough but is doing very well now) and has not eaten in days. He needs a brush because his hair is growing at light speed and we (“we” hehehehe – she slipped up) can’t afford to get him a haircut. We asked him what he wanted and get this, bless his little heart: a ceramic curling iron. He’s a pretty humble kid, very simple, he hates clothes and is naked 99.9% of the time. If we don’t get him what he wants there will be hell to pay. Let’s bring some holiday cheer to another family this year. “
Rokko, can you guess who your mother is writing about? Of course you do, you cute little sleuth.
Rokko… you’re rad.
xo|Auntie
December 2nd: Josh Groban
I’ve been admiring Josh Groban’s voice for years now and every time I hear his voice, I am brought back to the very day I first heard him. The song, “To Where You Are” blew me away as I was enjoying hot chocolate with my sisters at an Italian cafe in White Rock. After that I was like, ‘who is that guy I gotta hear more’. So I think I literally sat for about 2 hours trying to remember the lyrics of the song I’d just heard and finally I found him. To this day after many years, I know I still can’t get sick of that song. His voice is so powerful and his demeanor is genuine. I do have his CDs and a DVD and I enjoy them often, usually as I relax after a productive day of work. If anyone knows me, I enjoy my music loud. So I guess he’s like my Michael Bolton, but less tacky. I also love to study the different tones and techniques in his singing. Like Josh, I trained for about a year in Speech Level singing so I pay a lot of attention to voice in music and he’s got one of the most cleanest singing voices I’ve heard in this generation.
Ral and I actually went to his concert at GM place this summer and we were both blown away. I was having second thoughts about asking him to come with me because I didn’t think he’d enjoy it but Ral loved it!! We were both cheering like crazy! You should have heard him on those drums… stellar effort! It was amazing… his voice was just as pristine as his CDs. Amazing, Amazing, Amazing!!! He deserves every bit of success he’s been enjoying. =) It really would be my dream to shoot his wedding but we can only dream… Now I’m off to enjoy his “Noel” CD – AGAIN!
Josh Groban, you are loved
and… you’re rad.
xo|danelle
December 1st: Chester
Hey everyone! We’re starting off this wonderful December with some rad shouts to certain people, places and things all up until Christmas day. =) We decided to take this December to reflect and enjoy everything we’ve appreciated thus far as a married couple. We’ll be writing a bit about them as well as draw our interpretation of them – actual images of them will be posted right on December 25th! So for December 1st, I chose a little man in my life who has brought me joy. He’s that little buddy that stops over without any notice – but has delightful visits. He’s that swagger that makes you stop what you’re doing and then notice time has flown by… he’s muma’s baby – “Chester”. He has come to visit almost everyday since we moved in July and it’s been quite the treat. He enjoys walnuts, crasins and Honey Bunches of Oats and most especially macadamia nut cookies (he doesn’t like whole almonds because he thinks they’re rocks). Between the times of 3 and 5, he would come from a day of chasing other squirrels (Tyrone, Pester (Chester lookalike) Jamal and Jamal Jr.) to come and see me. He hops up on a ledge, looks up at me and feasts. Sometimes when he’s on his way somewhere he’ll stop at the power lines and watch us. There was this one time when Ral and I were working on album design and all of the sudden we heard something hit the window. We didn’t think much of it until Ral looked up and yelled… apparently Chester jumped from our big tree to the ledge and was watching us. He jumped off the ledge as Ral yelled.
But I believe our most fondest memory of one of his visits was earlier in the year during the summer. Some people were working on the house and they left the back door open. So as you can imagine, noise was normal and we didn’t think anything of it. As Ral was on his way to the washroom from our office, he heard some taps here and there only to find Chester scoping our our place. Chester made his way over to the living room and acted like he owned the place, Ral wasn’t to jazzed. Part of me wanted to pick him up and hug him until he stopped moving and the other part of me with my mom’s voice said, ’stay away from him, he has rabies’… We have it all on tape. It was no ‘Welcome to your new home, I’m your neighbor’ welcome wagon, he was growling and snorting (I really think he was trying to visit me… and well, he doesn’t really like Ral too much). Ask us about Chester and we’ll tell you the story. But I think one of the highlights of his brief visit was when Ral gave him a whole cookie to get him to come out from one of the living room’s heating registers. Chester bolted out to get the cookie (not with his mouth) with his two little paws (the cookie spanned his whole body) as he waddled back under the register!
How I love my animals. =)
Chester… you’re rad.
xo|muma (& </mean guy>)
