The Great GORP Project

me-ow

"Ohhhhh! What the. .. wait. ..ummmm. . . freaking stink!"

That's what was going through my head when I opened the back doors of my truck and saw these freaked out yellow eyes peering at me from beneath the stroller tossed in the back. I was backed into the loading dock at Bee Maid honey, picking up some of the sweet stuff for my first test run of energy bars, there were a handful of guys standing on the loading dock, so I was already nervous about backing up in the right spot, not getting into the way of the semi driver beside me, and basically looking as professional as I could. (you know, so they didn't suspect that I was a hick mom from the country who didn't know how to act in the big city;)

Well, apparently my cover was blown when my extremely pregnant and scared out of her freaking mind cat leaped into my FACE and attempted to run into the plant. Nice. Professional. . you bet? Stink.

I totally got all weird and couldn't think straight. .. all I could focus on was not letting Ninja (prego cat) escape while at the same time getting my honey loaded. (No logic entered brain) So I raced to the front of the truck, tossed her in. .. .ran like snot to the back of the truck to quickly load a barrel of honey before she came screaming over the seat into my face again. SCRATCHING ALL THE WAY. I'd catch her and start the whole process over again, painfully aware that I was being watched, but too dazed to even care. It worked the first time. .. for the second and third barrels Ninja was onto my game and upped the ante with her lightening speed. After a few more failed attempts to get the other barrels loaded I chanced a frazzled look up onto the loading dock. . .yup. All the guys were staring at me as I feared. I zeroed in on the one with the kindest (least disgusted eyes) and asked if he's either load the honey for me or hold my pregnant cat. I felt like such a winner, let me tell ya. He laughed and said he was just waiting for me to ask:) Nice. Teach me to be all independent and stupid.

He opted for loading the honey. I don't blame him.

I still had two more stops that day, but had to cut my city day short due to the "sounds". .. coming from Ninja. I can't even really say they were sounds. .. it was more like a ghost giving birth. .. yeah, without an epidural either. I raced home listening to the horrifying harmonies of what I thought were crazy cat birthing pains. But she must have just been writhing in fear, cause she's still prego. Whew.

I'm sure I made an impression over there at Bee Maid. Better luck next time?

Tomorrow my goal is to have the first batch of bars through the factory, packaged and ready to present to retail FOR SALE! We shall see, the technical challenges thus far have almost done me in. Lord help me.

HERE WE GO!

 

 

 

DIY gym bags gone wild?

 

So the book I recently reviewed (Amish Values For Your Family) inspired my decision to spend some quality learning time with the kids making our own gym bags for the new school year.

I have to admit. . I had big hopes and dreams for this event. . .I envisioned the laughing, giggling, measuring, learning. . .then I'd playfully throw some material at one of the boys and we'd break into an impromptu game of tag around the dining table. . oh yes. . good times would be had by all. . .OR SO I THOUGHT.

It started off alright, we designed and cut out the pattern. Picked our materials. But the kids quickly lost interest when they realized that I was a super slow sewer. . .plus apparently I can't figure out how to sew a lining into a simple bag if my life depended on it?? (I am convinced that I get just a little dumber every time I give birth. . .i'm serious. . )And Youtube. . .YOU were no help at all. .. thanks for noth'in!

My "little house on the prairie-esque" day of joy and educational enlightenment started to resemble a scene from some cheap horror film, except we didn't have to use fake blood. .. we prefer the real deal. . thanks Leo. Slowly the kids started sneaking away from the table to watch cartoons. . .THIS WAS NOT THE PLAN PEOPLE!!. . .I kept my cool and figured I'd give them a few hours off. .. considering this was turning into a ten hour tour anyways. .. .the screaming started when Georgia caught me holding up her beautiful owl bag. .. but the lining was actually the OUTSIDE. . oops. . and no stitch ripper in sight. .. .I'm not ashamed to admit. .. I NEEDED MY MOMMY. . .but she's out gallivanting and hooting it up on the east coast. . .grrrrr;)

There was blood, tears, and gnashing of teeth. No joke. And I'm sorry to admit I had to put myself in a time out. After countless hours I started over. . .I cut the owl graphic we worked so hard on and cut out new material for another bag (no lining this time). . .the plan was to make the owl graphic a pocket on the front. .. but apparently that was a bad idea too. .. man alive. .I never needed a degree in something mechanical or right brainy so bad in my life. . .gawk.

BUT. . AFTER THE STORM. ..

ta da!!

 

Smiles:) Yes!

 

So after all that goodness. . I guess I'd have to say that I would do it again. .. except I'd hide the super sharp scissors from Leo and trick my mom into coming over for coffee the next time I attempt to sew:) This morning I sent them off for the first day of school with some super cool gym bags and a bucket-load of memories to boot!

 
 

See ya at 4 kiddos. . .HAPPY FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!

Master Angler Colleen?

 

Yup. . .I like the sound of that:)

 

This is a bass of some sort.  .small mouth? Large mouth? I can't remember. .. but what a battle!!!

It was MASSIVE. . .I wish we would have had our wits about us to take measurements or something??? But roughly 3 seconds after this photo was taken the line snapped and I went into a sissy fit screaming frenzy (which is what I do when I'm scared a wheezing fish's agenda is to swallow me whole instead of like maybe SURVIVE??), which then propelled Grant into save the fish mode. . .so no measurements. . and no time to convince him to let me keep it. . .I've got an empty spot above the fireplace that's screaming for a dead SOMETHING. . .;)

 
What a ham!?

. . ..here's to the last long weekend before harvest starts. . .smile lots. . .love your loved ones. . and take some time to remember what you are thankful for. . .that's what's on my agenda anyways. . .

After pulling an all-nighter making a LOAD of gorp bars for a wrestling tournament I am totally ready for some down time and some tequila. . um errrr I meant. . shut eye. .. yeeeeah;)

. . except there's work to do. . so onward and upward. . .the weekend is coming and I want to earn my downtime. . so soldier on Colleen. ..you can dream another day. . .

Shall we?

. .. lets!

Sooooo. . .yeah. ... about that. . .

 

Project early to bed early to rise started out pretty darn awesome. . .I was so motivated by my thursday post that I actually woke up at 5 on Friday morning. .(which was three days BEFORE my challenge was supposed to start!) kicked some serious butt with Jillian Michaels for an hour, ate awesome. . did devotions. . it was sa weet. I was turbo powered all day long:)

Then came the weekend. .. an awesome time at the cabin where I swam, got my heart rate revved with some butterfly. . .there was a chip incident but that's cool.

Then this morning the official start date of my two week challenge, I calved. (I guess staying up till midnight reading for my 6 hour board meeting today kicked my 5 am wake up call in the chops:(

What a mental battle this is??!! Changing routines is h-a-r-d. I'm reading a book right now called "Who Switched Off My Brain" by Dr. Caroline Leaf cause that's what is feels like these days. . and i'm learning some super cool stuff about using thinking strategies and exercises to change the makeup and connections of the brain. .. it's crazy research. . .and the science community is dumbfounded and amazed. . of course what they are proving what the Bible has been saying for hundreds of years. . .renewing the mind is a Biblical principle. I love it when science comes up beside the Bible and says "Hey ya buddy old pal. . .don't I know you from somewhere?" Then the Bible is all like. .."ummm yeah. .. I've been trying to tell you that for ages dude;)"

Yup. . .judging by my Bible meets science commentary. . might be time to hit the hay. . .tomorrow is fresh. .  .I'm not giving up. . it's all about chosing every day to make a better decision in every moment possible. I sucked wind . . but I'm hitting the floor and doing 50 pushups before bed and setting the alarm for 5 bells. .. giddy up:)

Jillian. . we have something to talk about. .

 

 

for the farmers;)

Tis the season. . what can I say!? (This video was found on Farms.com, originally uploaded to Youtube by Farmsvideos:)

Sharing some awesome motivational stuff I've come across next post, along with some kickin protein powder and clean eating lunch ideas. .. I've fallen off my own bandwagon lately and its time to saddle up and get on this health kick/lifestyle again. . . healthy kick in the pants blog posts coming soon!!!

be mighty:)

. . Oh and find an adventure this long weekend. . .do somthing involving ACTION!! Let the brainstorming begin!

 

But. . it was so pretty. . .

 
It was so pretty. . so I ate it:)

Kinda the way I feel about chocolate covered almonds. . .oh and chips.

(I stumbled upon this photo on the National Geographic website. . you can find the original here.)

. . and yes. Stumble Upon is my latest addiction:)

 

spider cupcakes. . .

 

Sooo Georgia FINALLY got a party:) My first "official" kids party at my house. . .the first 7 years of her life I conned her into having "family parties" or inviting one friend out for a movie or something. .(I know, I'm terrible!) there was one "build-a-bear" party that snuck in and will never be repeated. . .kids parties scare me. .no clue why. . .but I get all anxious and weird. .. I think it might be because when little girls get together a hyper-crazed phenomena starts and they get all unpredictable and fizzy. . . I stayed up until midnight constructing spider cupcakes and hanging giant blow up bugs from every light fixture in the house. .I thought it was pretty awesome. . .until. . .

. .  the morning of the party I was feeling confident enough to go for a run, spider cup cakes were chilling in the fridge, decorations were hung, craft supplies set out, goody bags packed. . .but then 10 minutes before the party was supposed to start Grant turns into the party police and decides that I can't possibly have planned a party without . . .gasp. . CHEESY PARTY GAMES. . triple gasp. .. so then I panic and second guess my whole plan. .. I thought my mega craft-a-palooza and eating pizza was enough to fill 3 hours? Well, the worry was all for not. ..I was right:)

 

Spider cup cakes turned out awesome, thanks for the suggestions everyone:)

 

 

For the craft the girls were let loose on this table filled with every make and model of google eye, pom pom and pipe cleaner known to man, the challenge was to create the craziest spider/bug/monster possible! We then attached the monsters to long wooden dowels with invisible thread and the girls proceeded to run around the farmyard chasing each other with their creations. . no party games required:) I dare say the giant spider craft-a-palooza was a success!
 
 
Whew. It was a tonne of fun. . .I think this might be my party "gig" for the next 5 years. . .YES!

 
. . and what's a party without one of Aunty Ella's crocheted creations? My kids LOVE these vintage toys she whips up. . .even more than the Xbox. . score!

All day yesterday I was at an amazing Ag policy discussion event organized by MRAC, U of M, and the MFPA. . (translation: Manitoba Rural Adaptation Council, University of Manitoba and the Manitoba Food Processors Association) It was an industry and academia response to the CAPI (Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute) destination paper, I just LOVE discussion/debates about pretty much anything. . . especially Ag policy. . o.k. . .better stop typing before I ruin my reputation as a "cool mom";)

If you want to read the paper, you can find it here. .. it's not just for Aggies or policy heads. . it's food. . it's business, it's your health. . . if you eat you are entitled to an opinion. ..

It's a discussion on what needs to change in order for us to have. .

“the most successful good food systems on the planet.”

I think that's a pretty big deal.

Today: I'm attempting to put together a more formal launch plan for Gorp while distracting my teething baby boy. . :(

be mighty!

The internet stole my post? And how to write a mission statement that doesn't suck!

Ahhhhhh!!! I just spent close to 40 minutes painstakingly crafting an informational post on my experience participating in my first strategic planning workshop, I'm a director on the Manitoba Rural Adaptation Council (MRAC) and Masterkey Business Solutions came in and led us through a major mindstretching brainstorming process to help us generate a strategic plan. . .of course I always have my Gorp hat on and was super excited at all the concepts I laid hold of that day. . and I sooooo wanted to share them with you. .. but after the unforeseen and insanely frustrating theft of my words that just occurred due to my dumb computer. .. I'm toast. . .I don't have the energy to re-type and re-think and re-produce my lost post:(

I'll find the motivation to do it again, because I picked up some pretty rad nuggets and tidbits of inspiration stimulating awesomeness. . .but alas, there is laundry to be done, babies to nurse and an insanely messy office to organize. . .so I will leave you with this bit of food for thought:

Wayne from Masterkey Business Solutions gave us permission to share and steal and spread his content and links (thanks Wayne!). He shared this video(from FastCompany), so I'll do the easy thing today and leave you with a you tube link;)

. . .while you are watching. .. think about this. . DO YOU HAVE A MISSION STATEMENT?? A PERSONAL ONE? HOW ABOUT ONE FOR YOUR FAMILY??? Or does your business mission statement need to be tossed?

hmmmm. .. !!

 

After watching this, I think I REALLY need to reshape Gorp's mission statement. . .I'm also totally inspired to come up with a mission statement for our family! Why not? We do it in business. . .couldn't we also benefit from a strategic family focus? Hmmmm. . what do you think? I think we actually just stumbled onto something kinda awesome. . .

. . .the family mission statement. . . yup. I think this calls for a meeting:)

be mighty!

1-800- WHAT THE?

 
     

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My enviro-ink stamped business card that is now garbage:(

So, one of those hallmark moments when starting your own business is when you get your very own phone number!!! All of a sudden you feel one step closer to the real deal. . .THEN you go ahead and get a TOLL FREE number and it feels like you are legit. . like Donald Trump might be calling in the next day or so. ..you know, to ask for advice on how to negotiate his latest deal;)

Well I thought I'd be all smart and cheeky and get one of those custom 800 numbers that spell something so people can remember it. . .So after many failed attempts at figuring out how to spell something awesome with the numbers available we came up with 1-877- EAT-GORP:) Yup. . .I was feeling like the neighbourhood genius. . .UNTIL. The phone started to ring. . .oh the first say 100 times I'd blast downstairs tripping over myself and cheerfully belt into the phone. . ."THE GREAT GORP PROJECT. . COLLEEN SPEAKING!!!!!!!" I couldn't believe the sucker was actually ringing?? I hadn't advertised yet. . had people somehow found me online and just couldn't wait to get their hands on my awesome energy bars?? The answer was yes. . .about 2 people. And I love that, and am thankful and am soooo glad they called, but something fishy was going on. . . .The other 500 callers (whose calls I was paying for I might add. . .and who called at all hours of the night. . .) were less than honest about who exactly they were trying to get a hold of. . .when I'd ask who they were calling it was like I was interogating them. . they would, stammer, lie, and hang up. . .the best were the ones who would "accidentally" call again. . the ones who claimed they were calling their sister. .. AT AN 800 NUMBER? AT 4 IN THE MORNING??? WHAT THE? Either your sister is working for an infomercial selling some kick butt juicer, slicer, dicer or ab roller. .. .or she's a psychic, or phone sex worker. . in which case you shouldn't be phoning your sister anyways. .. creepers. Man.

Sooooo began my obsession with decoding my own personal 1-800 mystery. I stopped answering the phone with my oh so friendly "gorp voice", instead I started trying to lure the callers into identifying themselves by being very vague and mumbling my greeting.  .. hoping to trick them into slipping up. . .sometimes I'd just pick up the receiver and listen. . hoping to catch some conversation on the other end of the line that would expose these sly snakes. . .it was all to no avail. . .these folks were pros. . .they caught me every time. . and either hung up or made up some see through excuse as to why they were about to hang up. .. INFURIATING. . .then I started begging and pleading them to tell me. .. STILL NOTHING. Grant in all his wisdom started to spell alternate possibilities with the letters. .. all he came up with was 1-877- FAT-HOPE. . .I don't know what he was getting at with that. .. but I think I'm insulted;)

In the end. . "they" won. I got tired of paying for this crazy game of cat and mouse. . .whoever these folks were calling. . they were obviously embarrassed about it. . .were they phoning a "naughty line"? I can't figure it out. .. I will never know, because I switched my 800 number to 1-855-EAT-GORP. I guess I better re-train myself to answer the phone in a more civilized manner. .. just so you know, if you ever phone and hear me on the other end yelling "who are you. .. what do you want. .. tell me, oh please tell me NOW!!!! I'd appreciate it if you'd give me a little grace;))

Old habits die hard:)

Today is Sunday. . .the sun is shining and I better blast outside to play with the clan, there are mega dinosaur nests to be constructed and dogs to chase and hop scotching to scotch? Or so I'm told!

Happy Weekend!

 

Good May Long Monday Morning:)

 

I love rainy weekends. . .except when we are in the middle of seeding(!). . .but the forced break was nice especially for my hard working sleep deprived hubby. . and this is a bonus day. . I heart bonus days. . even if it's going to be filled with cleaning and scrubbing and trying my hand at some drywall repair?? There is just something about a holiday weekend that makes me want to get stuff done. . .like I exist outside of time. .  .

Oma is coming over to watch kids and my mom is coming over to help me get the Gorp kitchen spic and span. . .this deal of starting my own business out of the basement while raising 4 kids isn't happening because I have super powers. . it's happening because it takes a village. . and my fellow villagers happen to be some pretty amazing people. . .I am feeling blessed. . .

If a thankful heart does good like a medicine than I'm hopped up on some sweet Ty-love-ol this morning!

Have a fantastic day!

Ohhhhh. . and if I get a chance later on I'm going to post a kick'in playlist for jogging. . .Yesterday I jogged for the first time since the challenging aftermath of birthing Moses. . and man did it feel OTHER-WORLDLY. . I forgot that I need to run to stay sane. . .I've been doing bits and pieces of research about the correlation between the most successful top execeutives and exercise. . .and there seems to be something to it .. . . why is it so hard to take time to take care of yourself . .when you just know you are better for it?? Guilt Guilt Smilt. . .I'm sick of it! blah. I'm a better mom, I'm twice as efficient and a happier wife when I am exercising. . .time for a paradyme shift in this department. . .

Loving my moses baby days. . .just look at this pumpkin. . .I'm bursting with wonder. . .

 
 
. . time to go be mighty:)