The Joys of Reading

Oh Christmas break... that glorious time in which I can read a book for the sheer joy of reading it rather than to glean ideas for a research paper or as required reading for a class. Dad gave me a book by S. Truett Cathy for Christmas. He came and spoke at Harding awhile back as part of the American Studies Distinguished Lecture Series and I found what he had to say very interesting. He was a witty old man; the type that made you feel comfortable and wish he was your grandpa. He was selling books after his speech but I didn't have any money with me so I asked for some of them for Christmas. "How Did You Do It, Truett?" (Copyright 2007) is the story of how he made Chick-fil-A into such a successful business. It's a short read - only 95 pages with pretty big font - but I found the following passages of interest:

"When we're fully committed to something, we're not likely to give up or be discouraged...When you're fully committed, you see strange and unusual things happen that otherwise wouldn't if you were not committed. That's been a key to my life, a key to success. When you're fully committed, you're not likely to fail."
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"Closing on Sunday turned out to be the best business decision I ever made. We generate more sales in our restaurants in six days than many other chains do in seven. So I tell our customers, 'You eat with us six days a week, and I'll give you permission to eat somewhere else on Sundays'."
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"We gradually become a part of those people we associate with, whether good or bad. If you want to be a great preacher, you associate with other great preachers, and something rubs off on you. If you want to be a great businessman, you associate with other great businessmen, and something rubs off on you. For instance my sons have been associated with me all of their lives, and look at them. Both of them are going bald."

Let Me Rephrase That

*another humorous email from my Uncle Bill*

Judy Wallman, a professional genealogical researcher, discovered that Stephen Dion the leader of Canada's Liberal Party great-great uncle, Robert Dion, was hanged for horse stealing and train robbery in Quebec in 1889.
The only known photograph of Dion shows him standing on the gallows. On the back of the picture is this inscription:"Robert Dion; horse thief, sent to Quebec Provincial Prison 1883, escaped 1887, robbed the Canadian Pacific Railway six times. Caught by Pinkerton detectives, convicted, and hanged in 1889."
Judy e-mailed Stephen Dion for comments. Dion's staff sent back the following biographical sketch:
"Robert Dion was a famous horseman in Quebec. His business empire grew to include acquisition of valuable equestrian assets and intimate dealings with the Canadian Pacific Railroad. Beginning in 1883, he devoted several years of his life to service at a government facility, finally taking leave in 1887 to resume his dealings with the railroad. Subsequently, he was a key player in a vital investigation run by the renowned Pinkerton Detective Agency. In 1889, Dion passed away during an important civic function held in his honour, when the platform on which he was standing collapsed."

I'm the Mom, That's Why

Check out this link for an excellent rendition of the William Tell Overture. This lady has got some talent and a great sense of humor!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMhuAtyFCrw

Jewels from Papa

I found these quotes saved on my laptop. Both were made (by my tall but gentle grandfather who wouldn't hurt a fly) when looking at a picture of a guy he didn't find all that attractive...

"He's pretty in two ways. Pretty ugly. And pretty apt to stay that way" - Papa

"I've seen better lookin' heads on cabbage" - Papa

Oh Papa, you crack me up!

Fondue and Family Time

Well I got over missing Matt the other night and had a nice pork chop dinner and then decorated cookies. It was so much fun! There's pictures of the puns and hilarity that ensued on Facebook.

Christmas Eve I got to sleep in and Dale got home from work early. We did the gift thing and I got some really great stuff. And I love watching my family's reaction to the presents I got them... it makes me smile! After that we started the long but delicious process of a fondue dinner. We had 2 pots of regular oil and then a pot of beef broth w/ mushrooms and onions. For food we had: beef, pork, shrimp, salmon, onions, peppers, mozza sticks, and jalepeno poppers (the latter 2 have to go in their own pot because they are battered and chunks of batter fall off into the oil). For dipping sauces we had: marinara, seafood cocktail, orange ginger, teriyaki, thai, sweet & sour, BBQ, and ranch. MMMMMMMM good! To let our dinner digest, we then played the game of Life. I ended up 3rd (which is better than the last place I've been getting in all other family games as of late). I was a married college-grad-turned-Superstar making $70 000 and living in a mobile home with twins. Oh my! It was fun to play though... I don't think I've played that game since Jr. High or maybe early High school. Then we busted out the grapes, bananas and strawberries for a chocolate fondue... MMMMMM that was tasty too! Fondues = very high on my favorite meal list right now! Dale took Ev to his mom's and then brought me here to Dad's. I visited with him for a bit over a cup of hot chocolate and then went to bed.

Today was a good day too. Did the gifts thing with Dad this morning and then used my Best Buy gift card he got me to buy the camera I wanted online. It should be here by the 5th :) I could have gone to the store to get it but they are having a sale that ends on the 4th and I don't know if I'll be in the city shopping before then so I might as well order it now. Also, I got a web-only deal that if you buy a camera you can have an 8 GB memory card for only $9.99! Now THAT'S a sweet deal. Went to Uncle Bill & Aunt Norma's for the rest of the day. Uncle Don & Aunt Linda are out from Ontario and my cousin (their son) Brett is out from Victoria. After a little gift exchange with all them, Brett & I played with Aunt Norma's new Wii. Dallas joined in when she got home from her bf Matt's house and Dad even came downstairs for a couple tennis matches and a quick game of baseball. Then we had a big dinner with everyone. Matt, Dallas, Brett & I just chilled on the couches downstairs and watched 3 episodes of Season 1 How I Met Your Mother. Came home and sang a few Christmas songs with Dad and now I'm chatting online to my boy.

Yep, it was a good Christmas :)

Home Sweet Home

My complete exhaustion from 2 days of traveling and a whole semester of busyness and stress, combined with some rather icy roads in Edmonton led me to believe that staying home Sunday morning and getting some rest was in order, despite missing out on church. I slept in a little and then woke up in time to see Mom's reaction to the new dining room table that Sandra (her partner from It's A Crock Country Store) had given her for Christmas. Mom was out that morning doing a consultation for a show home with Sandra and Dale & Evan had set it up while she was gone. At first she was too busy talking to notice the new table and then she stopped mid-stride and mid-sentence and for one of the few times in her life was speechless. It was marvelous. Oh how I wish I woulda been at a better angle to get a picture of her face.

Once she recovered from the shock, we had a big brunch on the new table. Bacon and eggs and Dale's famous french toast. Then we played Yahtzee (I got last place) and then I had a shower and went to town with Mom to get a couple groceries and got to drive our new car...2008 Impala SS... HOTT! Then we started baking. We baked butter tarts and pecan tarts and got the dough ready for gingerbreads and sugar cookies. We then had a nice big dinner with roast & the works and started playing Rummoli. Dan stopped by to say hi and have a visit with the fam before he disappeared to Thailand for 3 weeks. It was good to see him again. When Dan left we started baking cookies. After Operation Cookie Sheet was completed and the missing pan was found, we had a blast cutting out the shapes and getting flour all over each other and fighting with the rolling pin. It was by far the funnest (yes, funnest) sugar cookie baking experience ever. Then we finished up our game of Rummoli (which I also got last place in... it was not my day for games I guess). It was the perfect day of family stuff.

Yesterday Dale had to work and Mom and I took Evan back to his Mom's cuz he had hockey practice and then I got my hair done. I got bold and changed colors! Pics soon to come on FB and maybe one on here... Then we ran errands and just chilled at home. I went over and visited with the neighbors for a little bit and got to play with their little 1.5 year old daughter Faith before she went to bed. Stayed up late chatting online and adding pics to FB of the baking adventures.

Today was some more errands with Mom and then wrapping presents. We're gonna decorate coookies since we have Evan again now (Dale brought him home after work). I'm looking forward to it but I'm missing Matt a lot tonight...

I made a goal for myself to BE where I am over the break and enjoy the time at home. Allison, I remember talking to you about this before... it seems when you're at school you just can't wait to get home but when you're at home, you miss people like crazy. I told myself I was not going to complain about missing people over the break but just enjoy the time at home. And don't get me wrong, I am enjoying it A LOT. It was just hard when I was texting with Matt earlier and he was going snowmobiling this afternoon (which he wanted to do with me over Thanksgiving but there wasn't enough snow). And then he's going out with some friends from high school tonight and he said he wished I was there too...

However, I am off to enjoy the time with my family since it is so short and I will have a whole semester (and probably a lifetime...) to be with Matt. *Did I just say that?*

Pork chop dinner here I come! :)

Happy Trails

After celebrating Nikki's birthday Thursday night and then packing and cleaning, Friday morning we left for the airport. I dropped Nikki off and made my way towards Ft. Worth. Between some hilarious text messages (thanks Dan!) and some good tunes, the drive actually didn't seem that bad. Traffic didn't get bed till about Bedford/Hurst and the 820 was pretty slow going but other than that it was great. Luckily I got there before rush hour so that helped. Nana let me do some laundry at her house and I'll even have clean towels to pick up on my way back through! Visited with them and went to bed early. They took me to Uncle Lyle & Aunt Carrie's for a short visit and then Uncle Lyle took me to the airport. My flight was delayed but I wasn't too worried. I read my book and watched the cute antics of a little girl that looked quite similar to my cousin Karli. Read a little more on the flight from Dallas to Albequerque where we briefly touched down to let some passengers off and a few more came on. I made friends with a Southwest flight attendant named Keith and we chatted most the way from Albequerque to Phoenix. He was super cool and we're even facebook friends now haha. I was too early to check in for my WestJet flight to Edmonton so I took advantage of the wireless and checked FB/email/chatted on MSN. Went to check in and there was a slight glitch with something regarding payment for the flight so while I waited to hear back from Mom I talked with the WJ ticket agents. The one, Lori, was running on the conveyor belt like a treadmill and then actually got out from behind the counter and did some cartwheels. They were totally bored but so was I so it was a good combo. They even gave me this little rubber pencil topper shaped like a plane and signed it for me. I guess it was a good day for run-ins with airline employees (and it helps that Mom is one so I kinda know their lingo)! My flight to Edmonton was a few minutes late leaving but nothing compared to some passengers who were trying to get to Calgary. Going through customs didn't take too long but waiting for my bags took some time since there were 3 flights that came in around the same time on the same carousel. Oh well, I made it through that last customs guy and through the double doors to see Mom, Dale, Evan and even Phil & Jon waiting for me! It was a happy reunion and despite my complete exhaustion, I ended up staying up excitedly chatting with Mom & Dale until almost 2. Wow, it was good to be home!

My first 2 days at home have been great but I shall save the description of that for another post... there's pics on FB tho!