The Great GORP Project

Big Soft Ginger cookies with killer white icing. . .sob. . .

At the request of my dear nephew. . .the best ginger cookie recipe EVER!Seriously. .. these puppies rock.

Ginger cookies: (courtesy of my dear Grandma Fewster:)

1/2 cup butter or margarine

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1 cup molasses

4 cups of flour

1/2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. ginger

1 tsp. nutmeg

1 tsp. cloves

1 tsp. cinnamon

2 tsp. baking soda dissolved in 1 cup of hot water

Combine the wet, then combine the dry, add them together and mix er up. Drop by teaspoonfuls on greased pan.

Bake at 400 degrees for 8 minutes.

While slightly warm, cover with icing.

Killer White Icing:

3 cups of icing sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

about 5 tbsp.'s  of milk

Add milk a little at a time cause it's easy to get it too runny. . .drizzle over cookies and go to town!

Ahem. . .you may think that it isn't appropriate for a self confessed health nut to post a recipe such as this?? But really. . .sometimes ya just gotta eat a big ole Ginger Cookie with Killer White Icing and not feel guilty. . .cause life is short and it's not like you are shoving your face full of these suckers every day. . .Right?!

Enjoy! You have to find something yummy to do in this cruddy weather. . .my Dukan diet induced freak out over my sugar deprivation may have been what induced this rant. . .boy, I had no idea I was so addicted. .. .I've been acting a little NUTS. . .it's day 3, no sugar. . .no veggies, no fruit. .. and ALL CRAZY. .. but 4 pounds down. . .I'll blog about my Dukan Diet journey tomorrow:)

I'm left to chomp down on my grilled chicken breasts and dream about BIG FAT GINGER GOODNESS!

P.S. .. I tried to health-a-fy a ginger cookie recipe a few months ago and was left with tasteless cardboard lumps that NOBODY in my family ate. .. so just bite the bullet, pull out the butter and sugar and treat yourself. . .!

Culture building on the farm;)

 
Our farm. Our core.

ARTEL By definition means a group of people working together for a common goal. We are branding and company culture fanatics, every piece of equipment gets logoed up. It has done wonders for fostering pride in our team, plus it's just FUN!  If you need a logo, read on. . .we found two economical and entertaining ways to do it. One is to go to your nearest tattoo parlour. This will run you about $50; and tattoo artists are some of the most talented folks out there. .  the only thing is it gets a little awkward when you have to explain you don’t want the image on your body, just the sketch please! The second is logo tournament.com, 4000 designers from around the world competing for your business. Totally fun. . . and you set the price and the timeline of the contest. . .our whole crew participated, it was a blast:)

The attitude that “IT’S JUST BUSINESS” IS THE BIGGEST LIE IN MARKETPLACE CULTURE. Business is never just Business, where you find business, you will also find people, and where there are people there are families, feelings, and heart. We obviously arent' perfect. . but we sure try to make our farm a place people want to be. . .

If you take care of people and genuinely encourage them in achieving their goals, regardless of if they are in line with the position you may need them for, it will come back to bless you. Some people may be with you for life, and that's awesome, but for the others, why not try to be a pleasant stop on their way through life instead of a necessary evil. . .doing what is right.

Our goal is to have peoples interaction with our business's leave them feeling improved, inspired and motivated, not crushed, suppressed or used.

Our crew has seen us through some tough times, the loyalty has been amazing, considering the huge amount of time we spend “at work” it only makes sense to invest time in cultivating culture.

That being said. . . hands down the most successful teambuilding event EVER was. . . The Artel Rally. . Mini vans, hatchbacks, pick ups and even a school bus came out to compete for the coveted Artel cup..scary, yes, awesome, yes, here's a little glimpse of it. . .uploaded to youtube forever more. . .I have to add. . .the women did some pretty fancy moves in the minivans. . .sure the guys called it the powder puff race. . but we kicked some rally butt!

 “One compliment can keep me going for a month.”

Mark Twain

 “Wherever there is a human being there is an opportunity for kindness.”

Lucius Annaeus Seneca

stomp on. . .be mighty!

. . .doing it different. .!

 

My sweet Ozzy. .. what did daddy do to you? While shopping for Mothers day gifts in the mall on the weekend Grant decided to take all the kids for a haircut. . .Oz came out looking a tad more punky than he went in. . .my jaw dropped, especially when I saw that our 4 month old Moses also got a trim. . .daddies. . .ohhhhhh my.

The conversation that ensued surrounding this new do was quite interesting to easedrop in on. . . Oskar was informed by his dear sister. . that although his mohawk was indeed "cool". .if he started to "act" cool. . .well, he was no longer cool at all. . and that the only way to really be "cool" was to just be himself. . .man, I hope they carry that bit of wisdom into their teenage years!

:)

A challenge. . .

What is your "Dream" anyways!?

 

It might not be what you think it is!

Sooooo. . .then what?

How do we chase our “dreams” without tripping over reality? How do we see the forest for the trees? This is a picture taken on the Newfoundland Trail in Spruce Woods. . . I was hiking with a person who shall remain nameless who saw this sign with the camera on it and exclaimed. . .”who would want to take a picture of that old rickety sign anyways??” Of course just beyond the sign was a beautiful valley. . . .when this was pointed out to her we first howled with laughter and engaged in sarcastic mimicry. . then we took a picture beside this beautiful old rickety photo op;) I think sometimes our dreams can be like this. . .they are right in front of us but we are too distracted by the noise to see. . .

I have a theory that most of us have been bewitched by advertising. .. and our “dream” might not be what we think it is.

The word DREAM has been thrown around, watered down, and misused. I think we have to stop and take a minute to redefine it so we can focus on our TRUE GOALS.

. . . . Look at all the main stream media messaging, it puts forth the idea that our ULTIMATE GOAL should be to pursue the most materialistic indulgent lifestyles possible.

Lets not believe the hype, or buy into our culture of consumption without question. There has got to be a reason why North Americans are among the richest and most depressed in the world. How can this be? Maybe somewhere along the way we became confused and forgot that we don’t have to keep up with the “joneses”. . .?

We’ve been bombarded with the “marketplace” definition of happiness for so long that we are acting like a Have-not nation. . .when we have more things and choices than we’ve ever had in history. . .

Think back to when you were say 10 years old. Revisit that time and try to remember what filled you with joy. . what did you think about? What did you love to do? I’m proposing that our 10 year old selves had a better grasp of what makes us happy than our current jaded, stressed out selves do!

What would change if we replaced all our associations with the word “dream” with our associations with the word PURPOSE? What if we chased our purpose in life with the vigor and passion that we chased after our so called dreams with? I doubt the red corvette, vacation property, or poolside lounging would make it onto your “purpose in life” list. Not that those things are wrong to have, but they certainly aren’t the means to a happy end. They are merely perks along the path.

Living “easy” isn’t my goal – living my own customized adventure while fulfilling my purpose sounds much better, doesn’t it? What does your customized adventure look like?? Think outside the box and enjoy the freedom. . .it's awesome.

. . .now you might be thinking. . yeah, sure wise guy. . .but what is my purpose?? Well, I dunno. . .but what I do know is that YOU WERE DESIGNED with an awesome one in mind. . .and it's way better than anything you could come up with on your own. God planted something unique inside all of us that He wants us to cultivate and share with others. . .it probably won't look like we think it will, but if we clear out the noise and just let Him lead us. . .I can guarantee that it will fill you, satisfy you, thrill you and impact this earth with love.

Tip: your purpose is probably intricately linked and woven into your natural giftings that God gave you. . .(yeah wise guy. . so that's clear as mud. . what are my giftings??) Yeah, I know. . it's super hard for some of us to see ourselves objectively. . that's why ya gotta ask someone you trust to help you out. . ask the person that you would take bathing suit shopping. . .someone who won't smile and lie when you look like a cellulite sausage wrapped in a bad hawaiian shirt casing. . . people close to you can often see things we are unwilling or unable to see ourselves. . .

Does that give ya something to chew on for the weekend? So that's the challenge. . .exchange your associations with the word DREAM. . .with your associations with the word PURPOSE. . .and see which things stick around. . .could be fun non? You might just end up with a bit of clarity as to what you spend your time pursuing. . .

Happy Mothers Day to all you birthing bohemian bahama mamas out there. .. and to all you women who may not have kids but have a "mothers" heart and who are making this world a better place with your nurturing spirits, Happy Mothers Day to you:)

 

 

 

 

 

Chasing Your Dreams Without Tripping Over Reality: step 4

STEP 4: EMBRACE THE POWER OF CHOICE: A TRUE PARADIGM SHIFT

 
(Being grain farmers in the Red River Valley/flood zone gives us plenty of opportunities to exercise this concept. . .when weather is your business partner, ya gotta embrace the power of choice.... some days on an hourly basis!)

Sometimes as an entrepreneur I have to remind myself that “I LOVE THIS. .. REMEMBER!?” I CHOSE THIS.

We choose our professions, how we spend our time, how we let people treat us, how we react to stress, how we treat others, what food we put in our bodies, how long we wallow in misery, or how exuberantly we rejoice in our victories! You can actually apply this to 90% of your life. We choose almost everything in our lives, most powerful of all our attitudes.

 A VICTIM MENTALITY IS CHOSEN. So just stop doing it. When this really sunk in it was life changing.

My mantra became: I’m not going to let life HAPPEN to me, I’m going to HAPPEN to life!! It takes you out of a panicked reactionary mode and turns you into a pro-active problem solving hero! It’s true.

Now it’s time to choose our attitude. . how many of us have taken our time realizing this. . .that we aren’t at the mercy of our emotions!!?? Anyone. . just me again?!! Oh no;)

3 TYPES OF ATTITUDES:

A “HAVE-TO” ATTITUDE PUTS YOU IN A CONSTANT POSITION OF PRESSURE (you know what this sounds like. .ahhhh, owwww,ohhh. .I have to do this, I have to do that. . blah blah blah. . )

 A “CHOOSE-TO” ATTITUDE PUTS YOU IN A POSITION OF CONTROL/POWER. (I chose to tackle my to do list and get gratification from it. . .I am choosing to work this job, be a mother/father and be excellent at it. . .I am choosing to find the joy in my task even though I may not be loving it, I am choosing my life. . .not everyone in this crazy world is so lucky. . .)

AND IF YOU WANT TO SUPER CHARGE YOUR EFFECTIVENESS TRY AN “I’M HONOURED-TO” ATTITUDE. (I am honoured to serve my family by picking up their socks and making their meals and wiping the snot off the back of the couch?? Yeah. .. I need to find out who is doing that;) But still, you get the idea!

I promise that looking at your To-Do List through A thankful filter will change your life!

This paradigm shift is the secret to combating all the bad work habits I mentioned in step 1.

I'm not saying any of this because I've mastered it!! Let me make that clear. . .all these steps I've shared over the past few days are things that I revisit ALL-THE-TIME! I find it encouraging to let myself fail. . and just know that when I do I have a small tool that I can go to for some inspiration. . my memory STINKS, that's why I had to write it down. . .it snaps me out of pity party mode. . argh.

Tomorrow morning a challenge is coming your way. . .a challenge to redefine a few words. . .that's all I'm gonna say for now. . .there are banana muffins and ginger cookies to bake with Oz and Leo today. . .plus a nerve numbing game of Operation to introduce to them! Remember that game? I saw it at Superstore yesterday and was flooded with childhood memories. . .it's now sitting on the dining room table waiting to zap the begeebers out of us:)

. .. don't forget to be mighty. . .stomp on!

 

Chasing Your Dreams Without Tripping Over Reality: step 3

 
STEP 3: PRACTICE CONFIDENCE BY STEPPING INTO WHAT YOU FEAR.

This is absolutely one of the most powerful concepts that I've ever laid a hold of. It has been the genesis of everything in my life that now gives me so much joy and satisfaction. From childbirth, to open water swimming (for triathlons), to starting this bar business to public speaking to even writing this blog. . .all things that I can't picture my life without are the things that scared me the most in the beginning. . .yes that also goes for marrying a grain farmer;)

There is a misconception that you have to get confident BEFORE you act. Instead, recognize that by ACTING you are becoming more confident. Grow your courage THROUGH ACTION. This paradigm shift will automatically squash your big bag of excuses. . .and force you to execute. IT WORKS.

 SOMETIMES. .. not all the time. . .BUT SOMETIMES. . .YOU HAVE TO GET OUT THERE AND DO THINGS HALF ASS OR ELSE THEY WILL NEVER GET DONE. . AND HEY, HALF ASS IS BETTER THAN NO ASS. .AM I RIGHT!!

I have a problem with this, I can tend to be a perfectionist to a fault, but once I recognized the root of my perfectionism as pride and sometimes even fear, it motivated me to choose action instead of wasting time anxiously picking away at details. There is a famous quote by a yogi: No trying, only doing. Yes Please!

Confidence is truly a habit. You have to choose it over and over again, until it sticks. . .Believe me. .. I have to walk this one out EVERY SINGLE DAY. I used to become paralyzed with fear every time I had to pick up the phone and make a call and I’m not talking about a high stress sales call either. .. I’m talking about making a hotel reservation. . . .my palms would get sweaty just thinking about it. . . sad story. but true story.

 It’s great to know what needs to be done, sure. But, wisdom is knowing what needs to be done and actually doing it. Sounds simple but execution (pulling the trigger) is one of the most intimidating things to do in life and following your dreams. . .

 Did you know that IQ only accounts for 20% of your success? Amen eh!? How many of us are relieved to hear that? Raise your hand. . .do it. . .just me? That's awesome;)

“When star performers were compared with average performers in senior leadership positions, nearly 90% of the difference was attributable to emotional intelligence factors rather than cognitive abilities.”

Daniel Goleman

As published in the Harvard Business Review.

Ohhhhh yeah. I love it. Isn't it refreshing? Wave good-bye to your wanna-be smarty pants alter ego and say Helloooooo to that rocking normal average chick/dude just trying to follow her/his heart!

. .. it's the perfect spring day to think about growing your confidence through ACTION.

go grow.

be mighty.

See ya tomorrow for Step 4!. . .there are mothers day preparations to be made, and I'm actually going to try the newest fad diet (Dukan) to attack the last 10 pounds hanging onto my body for dear life. . .so I better go buy the book. . .can you say sucker? Du-kan do it. . he he.

Chasing Your Dreams Without Tripping Over Reality: step 2

 
 

STEP 2: HONESTLY IDENTIFY AND WRITE DOWN YOUR UGLY BEAUTIFUL TRUTHS. (YES. . get out the mirror again. . .)

Here, I have to give credit where credit is due. I came across this “UGLY BEAUTIFUL TRUTHS” concept a few weeks ago on a blog I adore called Love Life. The author put forth the challenge to expose 3 embarrassing weaknesses in the comments section on her blog. And well wouldn’t you know it, an internet phenomenon started and the response was crazy. .. It turned into confession time and boy was it contagious . . . people obviously need to get things off their chest. . they were exposing everything from hiding in the pantry from the kids so I. . .could gorge on chocolate. .. I mean “they” so “they” could gorge on chocolate;). . . to confessions about jealousy and greed, really hardcore stuff . .. truth empowers, and boy was there some super hero size oomph floating around cyberspace that day. . .

In business and in life, we tend to suffer in our insecurities alone, assuming that we are the only ones, not as smart as, organized as, or worthy as the next guy. Compelled to justify and hide our flaws, . . .It’s the impostor syndrome . . .and it will paralyze how effective you are.

I found that when I chose to see this exercise as empowering instead of humiliating it gave me the freedom to enact change.

This is much like Step 1 from yesterday, except that instead of identifying bad work habits. .. it's more like diving right down to the root. . .and looking at who you ARE. . not just what rises to the surface as bad behaviour. Writing down these truths is an extremely important part of this exercise. . .it's one thing to think it. . .but writing it down gives the words life, it makes it real.

Sooooo. . .think about what your Ugly Beautiful Truths are. . .they are beautiful because they are honest. And whatever they are, you aren't alone. . .Joyce Meyer said the other day that you don't have a problem, addiction, shame or mistake that God hasn't seen before!!! So keep that in the back of your mind when you are thinking about this. . you aren't special or original when it comes to ugly truths:)

Some random words and thought nuggets to get you started. .

. . .jealousy, fear, low self worth, competitiveness, are you happy for your friends when they succeed?, do you resent someone in your life for reasons that have nothing to do with them?, Are you selfish?, Do you go out of your way to help others?, Are you a good friend?, Does your craving for attention outweigh loyalty to others?, Do you gossip?, Do you secretly like hearing gossip?, Do you care?!, Do you lie? Are you sick of me and my random list of words/ideas that might be making you feel guilty?!!

(alright, I'll stop. .. )

This isn't meant to be a guilt fest. . quite the opposite, it's all about owning it. Then change is easy, plus this exercise puts you in a refreshing position of power. If you chose to do this. . .awesome. . if you don't. . just think about it. . .tomorrow we talk about confidence and fear and why it's so important to scare yourself into action!

Oh yaaaaaa. . it's a good time for shuuuuure. . .(insert Mennonite accent here;)

peace out. . .

Chasing Your Dreams Without Tripping Over Reality. . .step 1

 

(WARNING: this may sound harsh. . but it's awesome if you can kick your pride in the teeth and look at yourself honestly. . .yeah, it will probably hurt. . .but just give it a go. . .ya?)

STEP 1: IDENTIFY YOUR “ENTREPRENEUR OR WORKER TYPE”

This exposes the root behind our bad habits . . .chasing your dream is challenging, yes, but it’s especially hard for those of us who have developed bad work habits. Let me stop here before I continue. . .some hold entrepreneurship up on a pedestal. . like you’ve made it when you’ve been able to start your own thing. . .don’t fall for it. . .not all of us thrive in this type of roll. ..you can apply these steps to whatever situation you happen to be in. . .

 Sooooo. . . .What type of “worker” are you?

People Pleasers

Many of us are people pleasers, which on the positive side can be helpful because we are motivated to perform for our boss so we can be recognized and appreciated and all that good stuff. ..  However, when you are working for yourself (the old pat on the back from yours truly) loses its thrill pretty quickly!! I signed up a friend to be my “accountability boss” so to speak, a 3 minute phone call once a week asking about my project due dates is all it takes, just simply to keep me accountable. It’s done wonders. 3 minutes a week. Gold.

 Procrastinators

Grant has gotten pretty good at calling me out on this one. He knows when I have an important deadline looming because all of a sudden. . .the house, CLEAN. All our drawers and closets, miraculously organized overnight. If all of a sudden you just can’t live another minute with the pantry looking so horrible, you might be a procrastinator. Which means you are either lazy or don’t have a plan. Face it for what it is. Own it.. . I know, ouch.

 The Excuse Miesters

How many of us haul around our big bag of excuses that we pull out when we aren’t performing well? If you can’t take responsibility for your actions or lack of action, you may have to do some work in the pride department. errrr. . pride, yeah, an ugly one. 90% of the time the situation you find yourself in is your own doing. . .

Imposters

 . . .and finally, The Imposter Syndrome. . .I’m sure most of you have heard this term by now. It’s the fear of being found out. That it’s only a matter of time until the world sees that you are really a fraud, and that you don’t deserve to be pursuing your dream because of x, y or z. . fill in the blank with whatever insecurity plagues you the most - lack of education, intelligence, money, confidence, connections. . .whatever. Both Grant and I have limited education, we took two year programs with intentions of returning for degrees, but then were thrown into business early. . .we attended the school of hard knocks instead. . .and boy is that ever an unforgiving institution!! But honestly. . you don't need a diploma or degree, you need to know how to read and have enough gumption to seek advice from the "smart" folks;) Seriously.

 I like to take solice from this quote:

 "The future will always belong to those who see the possibilities before they become obvious."

Danny Klinefelter                                                                                 

I love that, because to me it reads. . .if people call you crazy, it means success must be right around the corner! Sweet.

Chew on that for a while and do some honest reflecting. . .you can't change what you don't acknowledge!

Step 2 coming down the pipe tomorrow:)

 

practice makes perfect. . .

      

        (cool material that will soon be a blanket for baby Mo!)

Hello birth month. . .May. Snowy snowy fool you are;) My 34th birthday is drawing nigh. . .not sure how I feel about that yet. . .34. I always told myself that I would be finished having kids by the time I was 35. But something in me isn't finished. And I sooooo want to be finished for all the selfish reasons you can think of. . .but the heart is a separate beast from the mind. . .and she is far more persuasive and dare I say crafty in an insidious kind of way. . .I've had a few conversations recently with some older and wiser folks about the heart. .. and more specifically how your heart has an intent, and when you notice patterns in your life that seem to be at odds with your minds best efforts. . .the problem could be that you are unknowingly working against yourself. . .this causes stress and turmoil. . .and I think the secret just might be to look at your heart. . ..real real close and see if it's silently screaming at you to change directions. . .

Heavy for a Monday?. ..maybe. .. except that this particular Monday is snowy and gucky and I think she can handle a bit of fodder for the old ticker. . .

This week is full of board meetings. . .and hopefully a meeting with the Womens Enterprise center about all the money they want to throw at me so I can buy my packaging machine and all the inventory to start this little bar making business. . .Ohhhh there is a HACCP plan to be made. .. traceability???. . .help!. .. .inventory management. . computer systems to implement. . .oh my! But today will be a day of frantically pumping breast milk so I can actually go to the board meetings. . ack. . .hate breast pumps. .. I especially hate the looks I get from ladies in the washroom that overhear me in the stall with the humming of the machine and act like I was doing something weird in there. ..

. . .One time at a conference (mostly men in attendance I should add), I accidentally kicked my bag and my battery powered breast pump went off. . . .needless to say I caused quite a scene. . .it was soooooo embarrassing. .. and you just know those guys didn't think it was a breast pump either. . .I turned 5 shades of purple before I skuttled out the side door. . .gak;)

I promised to share some of my speech content. . .since I went off on a tangent today I'll post tomorrow. . .

I titled my speech Chasing Your Dreams Without Tripping Over Reality. . .cause that's been my area of expertise these past 5 years as I've chased and fallen and crashed and burned and gotten back up to do it all over again! I created a 5 step process to help me stay on track, I'll expand on each step for the next 5 days. . .hopefully it will help anyone out there who needs a little umph:) It's done wonders for me. . .every time I hit a slump I pull this out and it never fails to pick me up. . .

A 5 Step Process to help you Identify road blocks, squash fear and become UBER effective!

 

STEP 1: IDENTIFY YOUR “ENTREPRENEUR OR WORKER TYPE(S)”

              (Note: This is different than determining your personality type, it specifically identifies the flaws in your work habits.)

 

STEP 2: HONESTLY IDENTIFY AND WRITE DOWN YOUR UGLY BEAUTIFUL TRUTHS. (this concept came from the love life blog I adore. . .www.lovelife.typepad.com)

 

STEP 3: PRACTICE CONFIDENCE BY STEPPING INTO WHAT YOU FEAR.

 

STEP 4: USE AND DEVELOP YOUR EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE

 

STEP 5: EMBRACE THE POWER OF CHOICE: A TRUE PARADIGM SHIFT

 

So get ready for some fun with step 1 tomorrow. . .

 

We are truly put on this earth for each other. . . so don't forget to share some of the good stuff God put inside you today:)

 

be mighty.