Tag Archives: Skating

Goals/Vision/Dreams

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So while I’ve talked about not letting people steal your dreams/vision/goals, what are some of yours?  I think these are things people should talk about instead of the boring day to day.  Maybe you don’t want to talk about them and they are more private that’s fine I don’t want to pry.  I’m curious what makes people tick and what people are passionate about in life. Below are some questions you need to ask yourself about your dream or goal if your serious about obtaining it.

  1. Do you desire it with all your heart?
  2. Do you vividly imagine it all the time?
  3. Do you enthusiastically talk about it all the time?
  4. Do you fervently believe in your dream?
  5. Do you treat it like a matter of life + death?

I’ll share a huge dream I have had for years that I think is pretty cool.  I LOVE Christmas time and love family visiting during Christmas.  Its just a great time and once all the shopping is done you can really relax and visit with everyone by the fireplace sharing your favourite drink.  Mine will be rum and eggnog. I LOVE Eggnog! 

So my dream which we fully plan on making happen is to make sure our whole family comes over to our place and if people are unable to make it due to financial constraints we will make sure they are taken care of and flown/bus’ed/train’ed whatever it takes to make it to our place.  Gotta make sure the whole family is there.  Think of everyone arriving like in the movie The Family Stone, and the week starting off with such excitement. 

At some point there will be skating on our backyard rink which will have huge snow banks (this part of the dream could be altered due to Climate Change) surrounding the rink.  Part of the rink will have the kids playing a game of pick up hockey and the other part of the rink will have people just skating having a great time.  Of course there will be a huge fire pit with lots of seating around and loads of hot chocolate.  All the trees in the back will be covered with Christmas lights and will just be an amazing sight.  I can fully picture this as I write it.  I do vividly imagine it ;)

Inside the home will be many Christmas tree’s all decorated differently and decorations all over the house.  The fireplace will always be going in the evening and crackling fire will be heard through the house.  The whole house will just be comfortable and relaxing with lots to do.

As we get closer to Christmas we will help out with local charities and I even have a vision to create my own type of Santa’s Anonymous where we take say 5-10 families and really bless them with a Christmas they should have.  We will all donate gifts, gift cards for groceries, gift cards for whatever is really needed such as clothes, etc… and give these less fortunate people a Christmas they should be able to have.  I have no idea how much to give but maybe something like $5K per family or more depending on what our finances look like.  I think it’s important to give back and I have Shelly to really thank for opening my eyes to Santa’s Anonymous last year and inspiring me to do more with my time.

Christmas Day comes and there will be a huge Christmas tree filled with gifts for everyone but more importantly it will be a day to cherish family as we look back at the year past and reminisce about all the great times and spend time over some good food and treats.

So that’s just some of the major parts to this, I could go on about it but I’ll stop there.  This is something I’d love to come true and know without a doubt that we will achieve this.  Family is such a critical part of why we build what we do and will allow us to leave a legacy for our children.  It’s important to leave a legacy for your family and we will do that.

I ask again what are your dreams, goals or vision for your future?

backyard-rink-in-the-woods Tried to find a picture close enough to what I was thinking

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Works, Chad – The Grind, Kelly – ‘Round the Bend, Kim – In Desperate Need of Entertainment, Kyle – Teacher, Tinkerer, Farmer, Geek, Liam – In the Now, Brad – Kick Me Out Soon, Tammy – Tam I am, Erron – From The Inside Looking In, James – Feelings of White, Vlad – Analog Coast, Janine - Because

Christmas Dreaming

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I’ve always loved the Christmas Season.  It really is a magical time of year with the snow on the ground, and in Edmonton’s case A LOT of snow on the ground, and the smell of fireplaces in the air.  Right from when I could remember I’ve always liked decorating, eating Christmas baking (notice how I didn’t say baking), wrapping gifts, giving gifts, being with family and friends, and new this year giving back to the community.

The one thing I’ve always dreamed of during the Christmas season is to have everyone over for the Christmas weekend.  Just like you see in those movies like “The Family Stone” (MINUS Sarah Jessica Parker’s Character) and “Christmas Vacation”.  I want to have a big family and even better have a big house to hold everyone for the holiday.  There is just something special about having family arrive through the day to a house that smells like pine from the HUGE HUGE Christmas Tree in the living room.  If the family has to come in from far we will pay for the travel because it’s important to have family together regardless of cost.

At night the house will be all lit up and able to see for miles! :)   I’ll have a huge skating rink in the back yard so that everyone can skate, and if you don’t have skates we will have skates of all sizes for everyone!  There will be a fire pit near the rink so people can warm up or just sit by the fire and catch since the last time they saw each other.  The backyard will be lined with pine trees and all lit up as well and will be one of the most beautiful backyards you’ve ever seen.  I’ll even plow snow up so there is a small toboggan hill for the kids to slide down!

Christmas Eve will be like it has been for years where we just drink wine, play board games where the men will beat the women (that’s for you mom), and just sit around the floor to ceiling fireplace that will be roaring with warmth and have stockings for each and every person that is there, including the dog and cats.  Everyone will slowly trail off to bed and after Santa Clause has delivered his presents we all wake up bright and early to see what the big guy has left for everyone.  There will be no drawing of names, no gift exchange, EVERYONE will have gifts for everyone else.  The tree will be filled and you won’t even be able to touch the tree.  Now gifts are not everything so by the afternoon we will have been given names of families around the town we live in that are less fortunate and will deliver gifts to these houses.  I will have organized and arranged for all the gifts personally and everyone that shows up for the weekend will have a house to deliver to.  It will be the Guthrie’s way of giving back to those families in need.  After a great afternoon of giving back everyone will come back to the house and get ready for an amazing Christmas dinner.  It will be a feast like no other and everyone will be around a HUGE table laughing and just having a great time.

I could go on with so many more details but you get the picture.  I’ve thought about this a lot in the last 4-5 years and this will be a dream that will come true.  This is a dream that honestly without the business we are in would not be possible.  I can clearly see this dream, this vision for my future Christmas’s and almost brings a tear to my eye when I think about it because it means so much to me to do.  To be able to buy presents for everyone, fly people in that need to be flown in, buy presents and get them delivered for the less fortunate, have the house to hold everyone, skating rink in back yard, toboggan hill, etc… all of this (to the standard of my dream) would not be possible without this business.  With all that I’ve listed here in this blog post how can I say no to a business that will allow me to obtain this?  There is no turning back and no failure, there is only the future and moving ahead, staying true to this business and being core.

Merry Christmas and to you and yours this holiday season!

I’d love to hear what your dreams are for the Christmas holiday, Christmas season, or for your family in general.