The Great GORP Project

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!

Mighty in the mail!

Look what squeaked in BEFORE the nasty Canada Post strike struck!

 

When my other kids were small I ordered them each one of these customized posters from one of my favourite local artists. Then when Moses came along I was mourning the fact that he would be the only kid without one. .. until Kal from Lovelife decided to offer them again. . .sweet! I chose the Rhino and the adjective MIGHTY (it just so happened my word of the year fit Moses completely;) and this beautiful glossy print arrived unscathed by the strike. .. there is something about seeing your own name in print. . .I gingerly pull out the posters from time to time for the kids to gawk over. . until I frame them properly I hide them away for safekeeping.

 

After writing to my daughter yesterday. . and seeing/hearing the response on facebook and here on my blog. .. it really got me thinking. . .

Man, all these kind vibes have given me an idea. . .I'll post about it soon:)

Part of what inspired me to write Georgia this letter was a brown crinkled note in the bottom of my keepsake box that was written to me 25 years ago (errr. .actually 29 argh!)it was from my Kindergarten teacher, she had taken the time to write down a few nice things about me and gave me the note at the end of the year (I had a hard time in Kindergarten, I was a bit of an odd duck and very emotional and she really went the extra mile for me). . I kept that letter, and still have it. . I remember taking it out and reading it as a teenager when I was going through hard times. . it grounded me somehow. . .when I came across it again the other day I was shocked at how many memories and warm feelings surfaced...something as simple as telling someone how you feel. .a simple encouragement. . . how far can it go?

I wanted Georgia to have something she could put in the bottom of her keepsake box. . .maybe she will pull it out when things are rough, maybe not. . but it will be there, and even if our relationship goes through those rocky seasons. . .it will be my voice expressing love to her even when she might not want to hear it from me at the time. . .

Soooo if you want one of those rad custom posters for someone you love, you can order them here!

My BIG IDEA. . is growing by the minute. ..work to do and a birthday party to plan. . any ideas on how to construct a cake that looks like a spider?? Don't know why I promised that feat of baking magic.  .but I did.  .shoot!

Oh. . and my sister is on a knitting rampage and has been making these crazy cute knit animals for my kids for their birthdays. . .I think they are brilliant:) (pic of flamingo coming tomorrow)

 

Roar!! Yup. . this one was for Leo our lion:)

be mighty!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Georgia Kaye. . .I will miss you when you're 8. . .

 

Dear 7 year old Georgia,

It was your birthday yesterday and at 3:30 you turned 8 years old. In the morning your brothers and I sang you awake to the tune of Happy Birthday. . even though you really weren't 8 years old yet! I reminded you to enjoy and love the last hours of being a 7 year old girl. . .Georgia I was so emotional all day, and I REALLY wanted to make you feel special, the plan was for you to wake up and look out your window to see the trampoline daddy and I picked up for you. . .but when we got home there was some farming stuff that came up and dad went out to help someone. . .and in a year like this, that's what you do. . your dad and I felt terrible that we couldn't have the present ready for you in the morning, so the new plan was to have it ready for you after school. . .but more of the same happened and it wasn't set up yet. . . so there would be no present for you to open on your big day. . .man did we ever feel like dorks. . . I did manage to make your requested birthday meal, hamburgers on the bbq. . but they were cold, cause I was having "one of those days" and even though daddy couldn't come in for supper and it was just you, me, Leo, Oz and momak (grandma), you were still so thankful . .. because that's how you are. God gave you a heart that is so kind it makes me want to cry. You took the time to notice every single little detail the boys put into their homemade cards. . .and you looked them in the eyes and genuinely thanked them, their eyes shine when you walk in the room my dear. .. not only because you are so imaginative and goofy and fun. . but because they feel loved when they are around you. . .you amaze me.

There are a few things you should know about the seven year old Georgia. . .you care intensely about truth, about doing what's right. When you see someone being treated unfairly at school it breaks your heart and you distress about how you can help them. . .your insight into the reasons behind the way people act is wisdom beyond your years and I'm astounded that you feel just as sorry for the bully as you do for the victim, even when the victim is you. You love to laugh and have a wildly goofy side that you keep well hidden until someone really gets to know you. And even though you care deeply about others. . you have a strength and resolve in you that allows you to march to the beat of your own drum, you won't be swayed to follow the crowd, even if it means you spend recess all by yourself. . .I am so proud of you. . .

Georgia, when you were born I was 26 years old. Having you was a turning point in my life, God took the opportunity to literally touch your mommy's heart and melt away some stubborn hard layers that had built up. You see when I was a little girl, I also cared very much about truth, but as time went on I began to care far too much about how other people saw me. . .and I began to try and please people and avoid hurting them even if it meant going against what I knew was right in my own heart. It took your mom a long time to learn that doing what people wanted her to do so they wouldn't be mad, sad, or disappointed wasn't really being kind. . .kindness is never rooted in fear. . .true kindness can only be rooted in love. . . as I grew into a young lady and met your dad. . I had learned some very hard lessons about being true to who I was instead of being a people pleaser. . .but when you came along I think God knew that it was His chance to touch my heart. . .you awoke in me a powerful resolve to become the kind of person that you would be proud to call mom. . .in the hospital I cried and cried and cried. The nurses thought something was wrong with me. . .and when they asked what the matter was. . all I could answer was that "I am just soooooo happy!" In the very moment I saw you, I made a decision to confront all the things I had let slip in my life and start over. To care only about being true, to doing what was right. . especially when nobody was looking. . .to not only hold myself accountable for what I did on the outside but for also what was going on in my head. . . so that someday you would have a mommy that was worth looking up to. When I think about you I am filled with warmth, I know this is a journey we are both on together as mother and daughter. . .and I don't know if I will ever become what I hope to, but know that I love you with everything that I am. I pray for wisdom in raising you all the time. . I desperately want to spare you some of the pain I walked through in my life. . .so sometimes I'm hard on you when I see things that remind me of myself. . I know you aren't me. . and that's awesome(!). . I will never judge you for your mistakes. . .(believe me!). . .my greatest ambition is to be the best mom to you that I'm capable of being. .. someday when you read this, I hope you don't think your mom is a big geeky dork, but even if that's the case. . I can take it as long as at the very least you see that when you were 7 years old. . your mom and dad loved you more than they could bear. . .we talk endlessly about you honey, we smile, we laugh, and I think your dad won't ever recover from the ache he feels when he thinks of anyone ever hurting you. . .

Seven year old Georgia. .. I will miss you terribly.

But to my Eight year old Georgia. . .I can hardly wait to see what this year brings:)

Love,

Mom

 

 

Techy Blechy:(

Feeling very OLD right now. . .not because I just turned 34 last week. . but because IT TOOK ME ALL FREAKING DAY to figure out how to get my blog back after I sent it into the internet abyss. . .?? It literally took me HOURS (it's too embarrassing to tell you how many) to figure out how to change my sidebar graphics. . links and winks and tags and bags and hags and I'M A DORK A LORK. Am I 118 years old at heart or what??

But. .. enough of my griping. . I promised some sweet momma jewelry and that's what I'm gonna deliver! Take a gander at this awesomeness that represents all the "peas in your pod";)

 

Isn't she funky and beautiful and organic? How crunchie of me eh? As in granola. . or granny-ola. .. what-ev. .. you can find her at a cute little shop called the vintage pearl on-line of course:) I'm sooooo going to order one. . once I figure out how many peas are going to be in my pod of course. .. hmmmm?

There is also some local magical goodness to be found over at Hilary Druxman, in our very own Winnipeg! I'm loving her charm bracelet. .. thinking of getting the kids initials engraved in the weathered silver disks. . .oh decisions decisions. ..maybe I am getting old? That's cool. Might as well go pick up some velcro shoes and my purple velvet walking outfit. Sweet.

 

Today I met with the Women's Enterprise Center and I think it went really well. . .we will see:) So I'm gearing up for some serious Gorping (making energy bars in my newly inspected basement, Cha!) I also got word that all my ingredient bins arrived somewhere? And I need a customs broker? O.k. . .better figure that out too! It's a good thing I'm not worried about looking stupid. . .that's all I can say. . .During this adventure I've gotten to be quite the pro at seeking out people who know about "stuff" and picking their brains apart. . .it might just be my greatest strength?! . . .Hey. . everyone's good a something;)

. . .and for the record. . I fell face first off the Dukan Diet. ..(into a bag of chips. . .I won't go into detail)  I should've known better. .WHY?? Colleen why?? Back to good old Clean Eating and moving my tired tired body. . .It was always you Clean Eating.. ..it was always you. .. .

signing out. .. trying to be mighty. . .

 

 

Manly enough to carry your baba's:)

Yup. . .seeding is underway! Thank you Lord. Although, with 4 little ones at home, 2 of which have to get up for school tomorrow, we can no longer go for ride-alongs with daddy late into the night. . .my goal this week is to get a two-way radio set up in the house so I can hear all the guys chatting and joking and dealing with all the challenges that inevitably show up during the day. . .makes me feel much more connected. . .I do miss being part of the action. . .my next goal this week is to bake up some yummy treats to keep the guys energized. .. maybe some gorp bars will show up:)

. . off topic, but totally cool. . .is this manly diaper bag I found on-line. . .Grant cringes every time I make him carry the diaper bag. . .he'd pretty much rather carry all the kids perched on his head than don my bright green "vintage" RE-PURPOSED samsonite luggage turned diaper bag that I got such a great deal on ($20) at Old House Revival. . .so I Googled "Daddy Diaper Bags" and this puppy showed up. .. I LOVE.

 
He's called the PETUNIA PICKLE BOTTOM JOURNEY PACK. . .yeah, not the manliest of names. . but his masculine lines make up for it non? You can see more details here! Although my Samsonite wonder is looking a tad tired after probably 40 decades of carrying some flight attendants essentials. . and 7 years of my leaky bottles, breast pumps and dirty diapers. .. don't know if I can justify the price. . .$159 bucks.  ..one can dream though. . .:)

This week I'll be kicking it cleaning my kitchen to get ready for inspection on the 26th! Whoot. Yeee Ha!

. . .getting excited:)

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!

:)

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.

A birthday, the search for the googley eyed poop, and flight of the prego

Well. ..it was an eventful week/weekend around these parts, there was a birthday,(mine, I turned 33 on the 25th) (sob), but before that we had two rather funny "incidents". . .unfortunately they might have proven that in my 33 years, I have indeed not gotten wiser:)

SUNDAY: awesome church service, then we headed to St. Vital park with a bag of cheeseburgers and a ball, fun times. . .we headed for home and decided to play around with Grant's training kite (the ones those snow boarders and surfers use for getting wicked air on their jumps. . .) but this was just a TEST kite, to learn how to control it in the wind before graduating to bigger ones that could really get you flying (ahem). . yeah, so Grant is playing around and having so much fun that he insists I try, I might add at this point that I'm wearing my dress from church still, and our friend has now pulled onto the yard and he is standing beside me watching. . .I grab onto the control bar and WOOF. . .faster than snot, I'm supermanning across the yard, as in LIFT OFF!!! Crap. . I'm pregnant with number 4 and dangling from a blasted kite whizzing across the yard. . .I don't know why I hung on, I just panicked and went all eagle claw, as I'm frantically figuring out where/when to let go to do the least amount of damage to my body, my thought process promptly ends because the wind changed and slammed me into the ground and proceeded to drag my poor self across the yard, needless to say my dress was not where it was supposed to be and all I can think about as I'm being dragged across the yard on my back is. . ohhhh our friend got more of a show than he bargained for today. . how embarrassing. . .at least my embarrassment seemed to numb the pain of road rash from my butt to my shoulder. . .dang. .. pregnant ladies should not fly kites. .. are you seeing the lack of wisdom in my life? Dork.

MONDAY: the kids and I are having a quiet afternoon making crafts, and looking forward to a nice relaxing movie night with popcorn. . .UNTIL, we hear Leo utter a scream. We all look up and he appears to be fine. . .except Georgia notices that there is a rather large (as in the size of a dime) googly eye missing. Ummm. . Leo where's the Googly eye I ask. .. he smiles and points to his nose, then starts to panic when he saw the look of horror on my face. . .crud. . .I knew our long-weekend was ruined. . .blood was coming out his nostril, and I couldn't see any sign of that darn Google eye. . so we headed to St. Pierre hospital. . where they verified that it was indeed up there, they then proceeded to push it further up in their attempts to remove it. . .this included Leo being cocooned in a sheet and so began his immediate distrust/hatred for any "medical looking" staff in uniform. . .(this becomes relevant later!). . .we are then sent to the Children's Hospital in Winnipeg. . .6 hours later, no nap, no food, no answers, the xray comes up empty (cause the eye is plastic. .. not metal. ..come on people. . .I tried to tell ya. .. by the end of this horribly long episode of waiting with 3 small and 1 very irate child, I'm further distressed as the medical staff quiz me on why my son is so aggressive. .."is he usually like this?". . .blah blah. . "does he often exhibit this type of behavior??". .. ummm. .. o.k. fine, Leo had gained himself the reputation by the end of our visit as "the boy who hits". . give me a break? No this is not usually how he acts when I cocoon him at home and shove blunt steel instruments up into his sinuses. . .I don't know what could be wrong. . .hmmm. . .he must have a "condition". . hey I know. . .why don't you diagnose him with something so you can prescribe him drugs. . .that should do the trick.. .oh please. ..he's 2, has a dime sized google eye up his nose, no nap, no food, and has been tackled and prodded by nurses and doctors intermittently for the last 7 hours. .. it's so weird he wants to punch you. . .I'm sooooo sorry???

Ahem. .. so there we go. .. by the end, I'm told that the eye is too far up to get down, and if I see puss and blood coming out of his nostril to come back. .. .until then I should be sifting through his diapers looking for a big fat Google eyed poop staring back at me. .. happy birthday to me:)

Yes, Yes. .. I am thankful for our medical system. . don't get me wrong. . . .gak!

history repeating itself. . .

I should know better, I really should. . .this is the reason I loathed my own mother when I was little. . .her insistence on practicing her haircutting skills on us kids. . .Ella had poker straight hair so she got off pretty easy, me on the other hand had the more frizzy "enthusiastic" variety. . .it so wasn't cool mom. . .I love you, but the evidence speaks for itself. .. don't believe me. . .see exhibit A

EXHIBIT A

A mushroom cut gone bad. . ..although, I'm not sure a mushroom cut could ever be successful?? Was I teased? Ohhhhhh you bet I was. .. Did I get over it? Somewhat. .. Did I learn from my experience?

APPARENTLY NOT. .. BECAUSE I'VE INFLICTED THIS SAME DISGRACE ON MY DAUGHTER. . but there is one strange difference. .. where I was painfully aware of my botched haircut. . .she is somehow oblivious. . she even likes it?? While I was moaning and groaning and apologizing to her profusely she looked at me like I was crazy. . .."mom. . the reason I laughed at myself in the mirror is because I LIKE IT SOOOO MUCH!"

What?? Great. . .now I have to convince her to visit the hairdresser with me and explain that perhaps a very drunk, unpracticed, Edward Scissor hands type of monster broke into our house and attacked my poor daughter. .. yeahhhhhh... . that's how it happened alright. . .Edward under the mind altering effects of alcohol is definitely to blame. . .not her undeservedly overconfident mom. . ..

Leo also fell prey to my snip happy mood. ..apparently short bangs on a shag is bad bad news. ..  good thing Grant is so busy on the fields. . .so far he has only been able to roll his eyes at me in passing;)

The head shaving ceremony is nigh anyways. ..although poor Georgia will have to suffer a few more days. . .poor kid. ..

 

Good riddings Wednesday. ..

 

Sorry. . I should know better than to use words like tomorrow in regards to when I have the best intentions to post again. . .my Wednesday, which I was sooooo sure was going to rock. . .didn't end up rocking AT ALL. My Leo. . .my lion. . my GIANT PAIN IN THE BUTT.. . errrr. . .enthusiastic little floor dancer? He killed my motivation for the day. . . .Yeah. . .I walked into the local hardware store (full of hope and purpose and love) to figure out what kind of shatter proof industrial lights I would need for my commercial kitchen. .. Leo decides he's a screaming banchee floor dancer. If you've never been privy to the floor dance it's easy. . .just lie down and move your legs in a walking motion at lightening speed. Your head stays in one place while your freaky little self goes in circles mopping up mud puddles from strangers boots with your new cute sweater jacket. It's truly awesome. . .this little routine played itself out in 2 other public places that day. .. sorry Big Way.. . .sorry Credit Union. . .sorry unsuspecting innocent bystanders. . who may have been appalled/offended by my son or exposed to my crazy frazzled big eyed stare. . .. I'M SO FREAKING SORRY.

O.k.. . .on to better news. . as you can see from above. . my need to create is bursting out of me at kiddie craft time again. . .I may have to take some art lessons. .. it's like I was infected with some kind of virus. . .I can't stop thinking about making crud. Hmmm. .. .but I digress. . .

The Gorp news that I'm so excited about is a small but very important change to my recipe. And the weird thing about this is the timing. The shelf life had already started when I got the call from the packaging company that the film I had been using to conduct the shelf life trials was no longer being made. .. it ceased to exist. Yet another hurdle in this already long road? ACK! Except that it was a blessing. .. (thanks God). .. I had just read a few articles about the dangers of soy. . now I'm not professing to know anything about this subject, but it had been bothering me in the pit of my stomach for a while. . .and more and more people are popping up with soy allergies. .. so I desperately wanted to find an alternative but felt like my hands were tied due to the shelf life already being started. .. until voila. . .no more film = a window for me to make some quick and dirty changes. .. or should I say quick and CLEAN. . .cause now my label is way clean:)

So I jumped at the opportunity and DID SOME MAJOR GOOGLING. .. MADE SOME PHONE CALLS, sat down with the laboratory technologist at the FDC and we finagled a solution. .. in the process I also managed to tweak the calories down from 280 to 270. .. and we increased the protein to 12 grams as well. .. I'M PUMPED:) So the solution was this. . omit soy crisps (which provided a ton of protein) and replace them with rice protein crisps and sprouted brown rice protein concentrate. Taaaa Daaaaa. Sweet.

So we are behind schedule AGAIN...but it's totally worth it. The branding is coming along. . me and the branding company finally got ourselves on the same page and pointed forward. . .hard to do. Communicating about creative issues and tastes all the while fighting/justifying internal perceptions concerning image, the meaning of color, and what information is the most important to communicate,and how is a perfect climate for wars between egos to flourish. I have to admit. .. mine needed some taming, which surprised me because I usually feel like I'm overly accommodating. .. guess the real deal comes out when you are challenged;)

Another page in the story of GORP is filled to the brim with not only challenges, but God's hand. .. I am terrified and excited all at the same time. . .the dream for this company is BIG. . .what I want it to accomplish is admittedly idealistic. .. but I fully believe there is room in this big world for that. Staff mission trips.  ..monthly trips to Main and Portage to distribute bars to the homeless. .. a future green clothing line. .. an energy drink. . .youth camps for troubled teens. . ..BIG STUFF, WORLD STUFF, GOD STUFF AND GOOD STUFF. I want this thing to be bigger than bars. . .that's the plan. .. and that's why I've given this company to God. . .I know I can't do this by my own power. All I can do is pray that I have the mental fortitude to keep on keeping on, tame the ego and seek Him in all things.

Here's to a better thursday;)

rock it.