I passed by a sign for a United Church nearby last week that was advertising their sermon - "The choice of good and great" - and I found that VERY thought provoking. Like new-self-help-book-title provoking.
I know there's a book on getting from Good to Great (Jim Collins) - but what about just asking yourself - why am I choosing good? Why am I not choosing great? There are so many times when we know the difference - I think about it every time I put my pillow cases away without ironing them.
My mom irons her pillow cases. She doesn't like to sleep on a wrinkled pillow case, and she loves the look of a fresh-pressed pillow case on a newly made bed. It's enough reason for her to choose GREAT. For me, it's not enough of a reason - not when I don't mind having my nearly wrinkle free pillow cases on my newly made bed (tip: fold them as neatly as possible as soon as they're out of the dryer).
Great isn't always best. But it's always a choice. Are you conscious of when you're choosing good over great? Or great over good? Should we all try swapping it around every now and then?
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Communications
Living far from friends - and close to other friends - has revealed some interesting things about how we communicate.
The biggest challenge I am finding right now is communicating with those close to me! Especially with KT. She and I have always been in contact since she moved to Winnipeg 5+ years ago - but mostly over email with the occasional marathon phone conversation. Now that we're both local - we could talk to each other on the phone for short bits every couple of days or when making plans... Instead, by default - we still find that we're emailing each other - because that's how we always send quick messages. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that we shouldn't email - but more often than not lately - I'm ending my emails to her with "I guess I could have just called you..." It's always a second thought - not my first thought. I feel like I need to be retrained!!
Communicating with those at home is going well - for the most part, I'm still communicating with my friends/family "at home" in the same ways we were, like I'm still in London. And conveniently enough, I can call some of my maternity leave mamas over my lunch - which is now nap time thanks to the time difference. Some of those in London, we're still working out the kinks, but a couple of us have found the groove - either through email updates or through regular Skype dates. Hopefully MR and I can start connecting more - it's hard to replace grabbing dinner together after we've both worked late via something technology... ;)
Thank goodness for technology though! I am so thankful to all these various ways that we can communicate - iChat, texting, Skype, Facebook, Twitter, email, phone, telegraphs, Morse code...
The biggest challenge I am finding right now is communicating with those close to me! Especially with KT. She and I have always been in contact since she moved to Winnipeg 5+ years ago - but mostly over email with the occasional marathon phone conversation. Now that we're both local - we could talk to each other on the phone for short bits every couple of days or when making plans... Instead, by default - we still find that we're emailing each other - because that's how we always send quick messages. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that we shouldn't email - but more often than not lately - I'm ending my emails to her with "I guess I could have just called you..." It's always a second thought - not my first thought. I feel like I need to be retrained!!
Communicating with those at home is going well - for the most part, I'm still communicating with my friends/family "at home" in the same ways we were, like I'm still in London. And conveniently enough, I can call some of my maternity leave mamas over my lunch - which is now nap time thanks to the time difference. Some of those in London, we're still working out the kinks, but a couple of us have found the groove - either through email updates or through regular Skype dates. Hopefully MR and I can start connecting more - it's hard to replace grabbing dinner together after we've both worked late via something technology... ;)
Thank goodness for technology though! I am so thankful to all these various ways that we can communicate - iChat, texting, Skype, Facebook, Twitter, email, phone, telegraphs, Morse code...
Saturday, June 26, 2010
My birthday
For my birthday I had one thing that I wanted: mocha cake.
I probably the whole world, mocha cake is my favourite dessert. A good fluffy, fresh white cake with lots of mocha icing. For my 30th birthday my sister bought me a mocha cake - now, she made a mistake when ordering it and instead of ordering enough for 30, she ordered enough for 60! Not that we minded... We all had cake at the party, and for breakfast, and for lunch, and then we froze some and had it later too... (Frozen mocha cake is also REALLY good).
But please note - if it's not a Dutch mocha cake, it is NOT in this category of excellence. Sorry, Italian bakers, you do some good mocha-like stuff - but you like to add little zests of this or that - and it takes away from the beauty for me.
(I told you, I love it)
Anyway, when I was preparing to leave London, my aunt and uncle (SS and LS) told me that there's a Dutch shop in Winnipeg that I have to go find. So, when KT asked me what I wanted to do for my birthday - I knew the answer - find The Bake Oven. On their site it said that they were open until 8 (perfect!) and I called and they had "mocha logs" (I didn't know what these were - but sounded like it was in the category). Looked like we were set.
Now before we continue on the mocha-hunt, let's pause for a minute and talk about why my aunt and uncle wanted me to find the Dutch store. The original owner of the Bake Oven was from the same village as LS in The Netherlands - and they had even helped each other immigrate to Canada. (Tons of these stories in all Dutch-Canadian families). Here's what SS wrote to me about the Bake Oven:
Marten Posthumus, who along with his wife, originally started the bake shop, grew up in the same village as LS. He now seems to be more or less retired and his son (s)? have taken over.
Beside being a baker he is a phenomenal pen-and-ink artist who has drawn many, many buildings in Winnipeg which are no longer there. In 2000 he also published a small book with stories and places of his childhood with appropriate drawings on every page. And besides that, he is a very engaging and likeable fellow to talk to.
The bake shop is now called THE BAKE OVEN and is apparently a great place to visit, have a coffee and buy Dutch specialities.
www.bakeoven.ca
So - after 1/2 a day of work and 1/2 a day of video chats with my best friend and my family - I met up with KT and we went and found the Bake Oven...
Setting my sights on mocha...
And finally...
Unfortunately - the two teens in the store weren't interested in my family history... So, I'll have to go back and see if I can meet any of Marten's family and connect them back to mine.
It was a great Dutch store - they had A LOT of cooking ingredients, meats, and desserts. They didn't have as big of a bulk droppe selection as Mike's Meat Market in London, but how often are my parents going to be here making use of it anyway... I also bought my self a yellow clompen key chain (wooden shoe) and a Friesan flag shopping bag (area where my dad's from).
After that - we went to a fondue restaurant - another "classic birthday" treat of mine. It was yummy! And, was of course - followed up with more mocha cake...since it wasn't really "mocha cake" I'd gotten, but a mocha log...remember? So... these are actually small cookies (like a digestive) with icing on top - not a full piece of cake. I had eaten the first one in the car, because I couldn't wait... (That's what birthday's are for - making up your own rules!)
It was a great birthday! Thanks so much to KT for taking me to the Bake Oven (it's FAR from my apartment!) and out for dinner! She rocks. And of course, thanks to the Bake Oven for making some delicious Dutch mocha. And to LS for helping them come to Canada to share their Dutch mocha with me, decades later... ;)
I probably the whole world, mocha cake is my favourite dessert. A good fluffy, fresh white cake with lots of mocha icing. For my 30th birthday my sister bought me a mocha cake - now, she made a mistake when ordering it and instead of ordering enough for 30, she ordered enough for 60! Not that we minded... We all had cake at the party, and for breakfast, and for lunch, and then we froze some and had it later too... (Frozen mocha cake is also REALLY good).
But please note - if it's not a Dutch mocha cake, it is NOT in this category of excellence. Sorry, Italian bakers, you do some good mocha-like stuff - but you like to add little zests of this or that - and it takes away from the beauty for me.
(I told you, I love it)
Anyway, when I was preparing to leave London, my aunt and uncle (SS and LS) told me that there's a Dutch shop in Winnipeg that I have to go find. So, when KT asked me what I wanted to do for my birthday - I knew the answer - find The Bake Oven. On their site it said that they were open until 8 (perfect!) and I called and they had "mocha logs" (I didn't know what these were - but sounded like it was in the category). Looked like we were set.
Now before we continue on the mocha-hunt, let's pause for a minute and talk about why my aunt and uncle wanted me to find the Dutch store. The original owner of the Bake Oven was from the same village as LS in The Netherlands - and they had even helped each other immigrate to Canada. (Tons of these stories in all Dutch-Canadian families). Here's what SS wrote to me about the Bake Oven:
Marten Posthumus, who along with his wife, originally started the bake shop, grew up in the same village as LS. He now seems to be more or less retired and his son (s)? have taken over.
Beside being a baker he is a phenomenal pen-and-ink artist who has drawn many, many buildings in Winnipeg which are no longer there. In 2000 he also published a small book with stories and places of his childhood with appropriate drawings on every page. And besides that, he is a very engaging and likeable fellow to talk to.
The bake shop is now called THE BAKE OVEN and is apparently a great place to visit, have a coffee and buy Dutch specialities.
www.bakeoven.ca
So - after 1/2 a day of work and 1/2 a day of video chats with my best friend and my family - I met up with KT and we went and found the Bake Oven...
Setting my sights on mocha...
And finally...
Unfortunately - the two teens in the store weren't interested in my family history... So, I'll have to go back and see if I can meet any of Marten's family and connect them back to mine.
It was a great Dutch store - they had A LOT of cooking ingredients, meats, and desserts. They didn't have as big of a bulk droppe selection as Mike's Meat Market in London, but how often are my parents going to be here making use of it anyway... I also bought my self a yellow clompen key chain (wooden shoe) and a Friesan flag shopping bag (area where my dad's from).
After that - we went to a fondue restaurant - another "classic birthday" treat of mine. It was yummy! And, was of course - followed up with more mocha cake...since it wasn't really "mocha cake" I'd gotten, but a mocha log...remember? So... these are actually small cookies (like a digestive) with icing on top - not a full piece of cake. I had eaten the first one in the car, because I couldn't wait... (That's what birthday's are for - making up your own rules!)
It was a great birthday! Thanks so much to KT for taking me to the Bake Oven (it's FAR from my apartment!) and out for dinner! She rocks. And of course, thanks to the Bake Oven for making some delicious Dutch mocha. And to LS for helping them come to Canada to share their Dutch mocha with me, decades later... ;)
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Uh-oh!
My life has been really busy lately - so my apologies about not posting anything lately! (You know it's bad when your aunt sends you a note checking if there are technical difficulties with the site... No worries SS - it's ALL me, no system failures here!)
So, what have I been doing?
- celebrated my 33rd birthday
- had breakfast with my cousins
- had my first visitor from Ontario
- attended my first conference for work
- survived my first work conference
I'll do a separate post for my birthday - there are pictures and a good story.
After thinking about it for weeks and then talking about it - I finally met up with my cousin MM and his wife LM - and their two kids BM and EM. It was great to see them again - and to notice the growth in their kids since January! We had a great time over breakfast - and I got to pass along a gift from BM and EM's Oma to EM. It was HILARIOUS!!!
So, my aunt B (their Oma) sent along a gift with me. It was labelled nicely, and for anyone who knows my aunt B, that's not a surprise. For some reason, I thought it was a blanket... But it was an outfit that my cousin NS wore when she was little. Well, NS wasn't nearly as little as EM is! Check this picture out:
The "soakers" (bottoms of the outfit) are almost twice as big as her head!!! Oh, it was so cute. EM is such a tiny baby. She'll have to wait until she's 7 to wear this outfit!
I had a great time with DS from Toronto. She was in Calgary for work for two weeks - so decided that since she was "so close" she'd just come by Winnipeg over the weekend. She and I met through KT - my friend in Winnipeg I've known since high school. So, it was great for the three of us to have the weekend together. I don't think we've been together for at least 4 years!!! I've seen KT and I've seen DS - but not together.
While she was here, we went to the Exchange District for lunch and to roam around...we went to the casino to play bingo...we went out for dessert at Baked Expectations (DS and I had cheesecake - it was fabulous!). DS slept over, KT went home - she was coming down with something big and bad... On Sunday we went out for a walk... that lasted 9 hours... It was like the Giligan's Island of walks. :)
We went from the Provencher bridge up to North Point Douglas. It was an interesting tours. And at least this time we didn't get "as" lost as the other walking tour KT and I did. Here's a great shot of me being REALLY helpful! DS got a bug in her eye and KT was trying to help. I just wanted to get a photo to capture the moment... Yeah, it didn't go over well with either of them. LOL
So, that leaves me with my conference. I got a chance to meet the field staff who my entire job is focused on. It was great to meet people - put faces to names... And it was overall a fabulous event. This past week has felt like three weeks! Since I'm now "local" I stayed at my apartment and just met everyone each morning at the hotel. On the first day, I brought a bag and then for the night event, didn't want to take it with me... So my colleague SH said, "Just leave it in the closet" you can grab it tomorrow..." well... That happened EACH day! Here's what I had to carry home on the last day:
At the end of our conference, our final guest speaker was Clara Hughes - the Olympic cyclist/speed skater. Wow. Was she ever impressive! She is so down to earth and fun. And her presentation was very articulate and expressive... you thought you were reliving the race with her. It was a fabulous presentation. All of the attendees were impressed - afterwards people were still talking with her and getting photos for almost two hours. I grabbed a picture with her before her speech:
Phew! I got through it all!!! I'll write another post later about my birthday - this one was jam-packed enough!
So, what have I been doing?
- celebrated my 33rd birthday
- had breakfast with my cousins
- had my first visitor from Ontario
- attended my first conference for work
- survived my first work conference
I'll do a separate post for my birthday - there are pictures and a good story.
After thinking about it for weeks and then talking about it - I finally met up with my cousin MM and his wife LM - and their two kids BM and EM. It was great to see them again - and to notice the growth in their kids since January! We had a great time over breakfast - and I got to pass along a gift from BM and EM's Oma to EM. It was HILARIOUS!!!
So, my aunt B (their Oma) sent along a gift with me. It was labelled nicely, and for anyone who knows my aunt B, that's not a surprise. For some reason, I thought it was a blanket... But it was an outfit that my cousin NS wore when she was little. Well, NS wasn't nearly as little as EM is! Check this picture out:
The "soakers" (bottoms of the outfit) are almost twice as big as her head!!! Oh, it was so cute. EM is such a tiny baby. She'll have to wait until she's 7 to wear this outfit!
I had a great time with DS from Toronto. She was in Calgary for work for two weeks - so decided that since she was "so close" she'd just come by Winnipeg over the weekend. She and I met through KT - my friend in Winnipeg I've known since high school. So, it was great for the three of us to have the weekend together. I don't think we've been together for at least 4 years!!! I've seen KT and I've seen DS - but not together.
While she was here, we went to the Exchange District for lunch and to roam around...we went to the casino to play bingo...we went out for dessert at Baked Expectations (DS and I had cheesecake - it was fabulous!). DS slept over, KT went home - she was coming down with something big and bad... On Sunday we went out for a walk... that lasted 9 hours... It was like the Giligan's Island of walks. :)
We went from the Provencher bridge up to North Point Douglas. It was an interesting tours. And at least this time we didn't get "as" lost as the other walking tour KT and I did. Here's a great shot of me being REALLY helpful! DS got a bug in her eye and KT was trying to help. I just wanted to get a photo to capture the moment... Yeah, it didn't go over well with either of them. LOL
So, that leaves me with my conference. I got a chance to meet the field staff who my entire job is focused on. It was great to meet people - put faces to names... And it was overall a fabulous event. This past week has felt like three weeks! Since I'm now "local" I stayed at my apartment and just met everyone each morning at the hotel. On the first day, I brought a bag and then for the night event, didn't want to take it with me... So my colleague SH said, "Just leave it in the closet" you can grab it tomorrow..." well... That happened EACH day! Here's what I had to carry home on the last day:
At the end of our conference, our final guest speaker was Clara Hughes - the Olympic cyclist/speed skater. Wow. Was she ever impressive! She is so down to earth and fun. And her presentation was very articulate and expressive... you thought you were reliving the race with her. It was a fabulous presentation. All of the attendees were impressed - afterwards people were still talking with her and getting photos for almost two hours. I grabbed a picture with her before her speech:
Phew! I got through it all!!! I'll write another post later about my birthday - this one was jam-packed enough!
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Blueberries
So, I don't know if it's true or not, but I feel like most people really like blueberries.
They're on the bottom of the "berry chain" for me.
Here's my list:
- Ripe, fresh Ontario strawberries, (better if hand picked and still warm from the sun - and served on fresh white bread with a little bit of sugar... but now I'm going too far)
- Raspberries (I prefer raspberries as an ingredient to the strawberry - like in my mixed drinks!)
- Blackberries - fresh - not after they've been frozen
- other berries I'm not thinking of...? (Cranberries aren't "real" berries to me - so I'm not going to include them, my mom would. She'd put cranberry sauce or lingonberry sauce on anything)
- Then, the blueberry.
Then again, I did always prefer Strawberry Shortcake to the Smurfs...
They're on the bottom of the "berry chain" for me.
Here's my list:
- Ripe, fresh Ontario strawberries, (better if hand picked and still warm from the sun - and served on fresh white bread with a little bit of sugar... but now I'm going too far)
- Raspberries (I prefer raspberries as an ingredient to the strawberry - like in my mixed drinks!)
- Blackberries - fresh - not after they've been frozen
- other berries I'm not thinking of...? (Cranberries aren't "real" berries to me - so I'm not going to include them, my mom would. She'd put cranberry sauce or lingonberry sauce on anything)
- Then, the blueberry.
Then again, I did always prefer Strawberry Shortcake to the Smurfs...
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Money plant update
Guess what??
Don - the gardener at work - came through!!! He brought me a money plant!!!
I saw him this week and I was in the middle of taking a drink of water and pointed to it and smiled - he says to me: "Now THAT'S a money plant. But you better not steal it!"
I love him.
I'll keep you updated if it begins to impact my finances.
Don - the gardener at work - came through!!! He brought me a money plant!!!
I saw him this week and I was in the middle of taking a drink of water and pointed to it and smiled - he says to me: "Now THAT'S a money plant. But you better not steal it!"
I love him.
I'll keep you updated if it begins to impact my finances.
Happy yard sale day!
I'd like to share a little family history...
When I was in grade five, my mom was a key player on the PTA at school. (She had 4 kids enrolled in the school and one alumni, so how could she NOT be involved...?) Anyway, they decided that for a fundraiser they would have a "Fun fair" - and the date chosen was my birthday. Not so great when you're the birthday girl and your mom is super caught up in the logistics of all this. Little did I know that it was going to become a trend throughout the following 20 years...
About every three years, my mom has a giant yard sale/fundraiser on my birthday weekend. It's quite comical, yet, sometimes annoying, when I'm trying to pull together a fun family weekend plan and it ends up that we're just all enlisted as volunteers to help out...
So, this year, my mom, being the awesome and wonderful mom that she is, decided - not this year. This year, I'm going to make sure we're not having a big fundraiser at the church on my daughter's birthday weekend. I love it when my mom gets all determined. And, true to her word, she got the church to agree to have it the weekend before my birthday. My mom was very proud of herself and thought that it was going to work out perfectly.
And then I moved away.
I would just like to make it public how much I love my mom for this effort and thoughtfulness.
Hope your big yard sale is very successful and fun mom!!
When I was in grade five, my mom was a key player on the PTA at school. (She had 4 kids enrolled in the school and one alumni, so how could she NOT be involved...?) Anyway, they decided that for a fundraiser they would have a "Fun fair" - and the date chosen was my birthday. Not so great when you're the birthday girl and your mom is super caught up in the logistics of all this. Little did I know that it was going to become a trend throughout the following 20 years...
About every three years, my mom has a giant yard sale/fundraiser on my birthday weekend. It's quite comical, yet, sometimes annoying, when I'm trying to pull together a fun family weekend plan and it ends up that we're just all enlisted as volunteers to help out...
So, this year, my mom, being the awesome and wonderful mom that she is, decided - not this year. This year, I'm going to make sure we're not having a big fundraiser at the church on my daughter's birthday weekend. I love it when my mom gets all determined. And, true to her word, she got the church to agree to have it the weekend before my birthday. My mom was very proud of herself and thought that it was going to work out perfectly.
And then I moved away.
I would just like to make it public how much I love my mom for this effort and thoughtfulness.
Hope your big yard sale is very successful and fun mom!!
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