See if this link works to look at pictures! http://s570.photobucket.com/albums/ss143/lisavestal1/China%20March%202009%201%20of%202/
Highlights:
(not China) Tokyo - Shibuya District
China was amazing to see. It is definitely a different culture, and I'm glad we got to see it. We started off with a 1 day layover in Tokyo, and then "China" started with Hong Kong. After a couple of days, we crossed the border into China and visited factories, local restaurants, and malls of Schenzen, Dongguan, and Gaungzhou. We visited a furniture company, Valspar, V-tech, a toy company, small kitchen appliances company, and a gas appliance company. We took a 2 hour train back to Hong Kong where we visited the Hong Kong Science park which helps new technology ideas get started into businesses. We took a ferry to Macau island which is a huge gambling city (just like Vegas). All in all, we did a few touristy things - we took a Gondola ride up to a Big Budda statue on a mountain, visisted many markets and shops, walked along Hong Kong's "Avenue of the Stars" (Chinese stars that is), saw the laser show, and stayed in fancy hotels (for cheap). But the best part was the amount of non-touristy things we got to do - spend a whole day with South China University students, local restaurants, Science Park, universities, manufacturing facility tours, and driving through the streets of non-metropolitan China. It was a really great trip, but we are glad to be home!
Pictures will follow. I could only upload 250 at a time, so this is the first batch. It's late, so I'll load the second batch another day. I know there's a lot...maybe you can scan. I tried to put descriptions on some so you know what you're looking at. Enjoy!
This will be a non-value added post again. However, we are getting ready to leave the country for a bit. Going to Tokyo, Hong Kong, and China! Be back end of March. The blog will be a good place to load pictures for everyone to see when we get back. Hopefully that will be the jumpstart to keep me updating more regularly.
There is no other news. Cyrus continues to keep the chocolate store running smoothly. He has really become an excellent little entreprenuer and store manager! We still have two employees, plus my sister-in-law, Erin. We are assuming an "intern" for the next few months that wants to learn about chocolate and cooking, with an intent to "hire" when summer comes. She seems very excited about learning! We will lose Jen in the fall to college. I continue to struggle keeping up with the accounting (Quickbooks) and it's killing me!
As for me, I am still in school (MBA at TCU) which is the main reason for lack of blogging. I will take two tests the week of May 5, take a 3-week ethics course, then a 1-weekend simulation course..........AND...........THEN..............BE.................DONE. I expect to throw some kind of huge party when that happens (end of June). I am pumped about getting back some free time!
Okay, time to finish work then pack. Zàijiàn (Goodbye) for now!
Wow, it's been a while. I'm really sorry for no updates lately. We have been swamped. I have new pictures of the house...just give me a couple days to get them downloaded and I will post them. I haven't forgotten about this blog!!
We finally bought a new camera dock and were able to take some pictures of the store. Here they are!
Front of store:
Our Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory in Southlake Town Square is now open for business! I will try to post some pictures very soon...we've just been REALLY busy. But it is really fun and we love it there! Come by and see us, but first check our website for coupons under "Special Offers" (although if you forget the coupon and just mention it, we'll still let you get the deal!).
Please feel free to let us know what you think about products, prices, things we should sell but don't, the feel of the place, the cleanliness of the place, the friendliness of the staff, etc. We would like to see more customers so we're open to any improvement ideas!
We really THANK EVERYONE for all of the ideas, support, and discussions over the past 6 months about the store. Thanks for being excited with us!
The proud owners,
Lisa, Cyrus, and Taylor Vestal
Just wanted to show a couple more pictures. Here are more recent ones of the house. Cyrus and Taylor got A LOT of work done, but now that the store is opening soon, I don't know what is going to happen! But it's sure lookin good...
Here are two pictures of the inside of the store! These are a few days old so it already looks different even today! The tile was put in just after we snapped the pictures. The opening day keeps changing with construction and furniture delays, but right now, we are 99% sure we won't open until next Saturday. We are getting trained on the cash registers this Thursday (and Friday for some) and will be setting up the store next week to open on Saturday. I'll keep you updated on here with Grand Opening info.
Some of my favorite TV shows include:
24
Grey’s Anatomy
The Office
Brothers and Sisters
I was just as sad as anyone when I found out they were not going to come on this season, or possibly they would come on, but in an unexpected, inconsistent manner. I had my withdrawals every now and then, but it really didn’t affect my life that much. You see, I didn’t feel like I was “missing something” because there was nothing to miss! It turns out, it was actually making my life better.
Do I learn anything from those shows that I can apply to real life, or that will make me smarter? No. They are purely about situations I will never be in, relationships that are unreal and overdramatic, and beautiful people that don’t ever exist in masses like that together. Maybe once in a blue moon I would see something that made me think about my own life and come to some conclusion…but this was really rare.
That’s why, when the shows came back on recently, and I once again found myself glued to the T.V., I realized what a relaxing break it was to not “have a show to catch” (and I have DVR, yet the time commitment still builds up). I’m convinced I was 10 times more productive during the period when the shows were not on than I am now. I say this because I hope everyone realized what I did. Without so much T.V., you can take the time to have nice quiet evenings at home (listening to the radio or music or heaven forbid, read a book), talking to your spouse, walking the dogs, cooking a longer supper, working on a scrapbook or homework with a clear mind (not distracted by the T.V. story line), or getting some other things done during the week that you won’t have to find time to do on the weekend. When I think back on these times, it makes me happy and feel relaxed. I hope that others out there were able to take advantage of the writer’s strike and enjoy their life for the other things in it, even if only for a little while. I have made it my goal to try to keep the house like that more often, because its just … well, pleasant. We’ve also tried to cut back on our shows, which we’ve been pretty successful at from the list you saw above (although new shows are becoming very tempting).
This all said, I still can’t wait until tomorrow night when we see Merideth work closely with her ex-boyfriend, whom she obviously still loves, to develop a new and unprecedented surgery to save the live of a supposedly terminally ill man with a large tumor in the middle of his brain, who will wake up only to realize he was “out of his mind” when he married his new wife (and provoked a bear cub)!
Finally, I have been able to take the time to upload my pictures from our annual Sister Trip. This year we met in Grapevine at the Gaylord Texan the weekend of April 11th. It was so nice, fresh, and relaxing. The four Walter sisters (Mary Jo, Rita, Florence, and Marguerite) met up on Thursday, and mom, Pam, and myself joined them Friday evening. We shopped a lot Saturday morning, and then Valerie joined us at lunch time. Also joining us at lunch time was Julie and their newest baby, sweet little Helen. Sherry and Heather joined us Saturday evening for dinner at Esparza's, and we split up to go our separate ways on Sunday. The weekend was full of silliness, laughter, sweetness, and tears (but in a healthy way). We missed other "sisters" who couldn't come due to health reasons, distance, busy lives, and being close to giving birth :). I am lucky to have such a beautiful, smart, caring, and loving family...and I learn something new from them every time they are around! Enjoy the pictures!
My pictures can be downloaded or printed from kodak gallery at:
http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=7w109yj.32ul9zo3&x=0&y=-qhecbs&localeid=en_US
Valerie's pictures can be downloaded or printed from snapfish at:http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=222168187/a=127926427_127993499/t_=127926427
I couldn't resist posting these pictures of our nieces (yes, they are twin's - Cy's sister Shawn's kids). Shawn has deemed these their Rock Star pictures (taken Easter weekend). Carson is blue, Jordan in yellow. They are really hamming in the last picture! Posing like movie stars!!
They are too cute!
Our trip to Reno was great! We saw our newphews, Holden and David, for the first time in 2 years. They are 5 and 3 years old. Katie and Moo Moo came with us, and we just played all weekend. Poor Holden skinned his nose at school the day we arrived and had a giant strawberry on his face. Even worse, poor David fell off the slide at school a couple of days before we arrived, and come to find out, he broke his leg!! A 3 year old with a broken leg is a sad thing. :( He couldn't run around, but I enjoyed carrying a baby around! Here is a slide show of pictures. Or you can go to the kodakgallery files to download a photo or order a print:
http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=7w109yj.a0hst1lv&x=0&y=qj2yxp&localeid=en_US
Last weekend, for Easter, we went up to Gainesville. Easter Sunday was also my (Lisa's) birthday! This won't happen again for like 200 years.
Our hometown, Gainesville, TX, is entered in a Hamburger Helper contest to help get some funding to create a Trolley for the historic town. I’m just enlisting your support to go vote for Gainesville! I’m not sure how you vote exactly (I think it just votes when you click on the link), but you could leave a comment. :)
The funny this is that I know almost MANY of those names listed to the right side that have left comments (high school mates, teachers, people from church, people I’ve babysat for, etc.). Gotta love small towns!
http://www.myhometownhelper.com/ViewProject.aspx?id=39148
___________________________
Dear Chamber Member:
Please help us get the trolley up & running with your vote of support! Just click on the link below and read our message.
The more votes we get, the better our chances of winning the grant. March 31, 2008 is the deadline to enter, so please forward this to all of your family, friends, or anyone who will be willing to help us with this project.
Sincerely,
John Broyles
Chamber Director
(Zoe)
Congratulations to our two friends who are engaged.
Joseph Finch proposed to "Dr." Dionne Smith - plan to wed in New Orleans in December.
AND...
Scott Hutchison proposed to Melissa Case - plan to wed in September.Here they are -- pictures from our trip.
Cyrus and Taylor ready to go make chocolate in the factory...
The Master Candymaker, Jim, whipping up a batch of "Aspen Cream"...
Cyrus separating marshmallows on a table...
On February 23, 2008, 6 of us hosted a baby shower for Jo & Mike Schilling's (Jo is my 1st cousin) soon to be born baby boy! Our hostess gift was a suped-up Graco Pack n' Play. The shower also created a great excuse for my sister, Pam, to come home to visit. From left to right are me, Pam, cousin Heather, mom Dianne, aunt Sherry, great-aunt Mary Jo, and mom-to-be, Jo. She is due towards the end of April.
See our cute little baby boy clothesline in the back? :)
All 4 of my pictures from the shower can be viewed from our website, or at this kodakgallery link (may need a free account to view pictures):
http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=7w109yj.28vq6opf&x=0&y=-w0wp3d .
We are back from Durango. I swear, I will try to upload pictures this weekend - from our trip, my cousin Jo's baby shower (it's her first!), and from when the Air Force Academy guys came to visit over Valentine's.
As we drove upon Durango at about 8:00 Sunday night, it appeared from the mountain pass and was a little bitty city of lights in the valley of the mountains. Durango was a really neat place. It is an old mining town stuck down in between the mountains, founded in 1880 because of the railroad. The historic downtown reminded me a lot of Gainesville, which was founded in 1850. I would say Durango's downtown was just a little more "country" or "miner-saloonish". I'm not sure if there's a word for that. Plus, it was surrounded on all sides by mountains!
Even more, it has the Animas river which runs right through town, and is used for competition rapid rafting in the summer. The scenery from this town is spectacular - snowy mountains with a river running down the base of them and historic buildings to complement.
Anyway, we didn't ride the famous Durango-Silverton train, but we saw it! We visited the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory that started the whole company there in Durango's downtown. We shopped the little shops and walked around the town to get some exercise (after eating all those calories!). We stayed in a condo a mile from down which had a perfect little sledding hill next to it. Cyrus and I made about 2 trips each -- we were dying trying to hike up the hill in that altitude! I got going pretty fast and it was fun. Cyrus aimed towards a little rock and got some air on his last jump. No pictures of this...sorry.
A neat story was our second night there, Cyrus and I went downtown to eat a nice dinner (Durango is FULL of local restaurants!). We missed our turn and drove past a corner in town with a little grassy area. There were two deer standing on the corner!! Then we U-turned to get back on track, and I was going to take a picture of the deer in town, but they were gone. I said, "they have to be somewhere close" and as we drove back into the downtown main street and parked, there they were!, in the middle of the road on the boulevard. This time there were 6 or more! They were just frozen there thinking "where are we?". They were so cute. Some people shewed them away and they just ran up the street, lost as could be. I guess they finally made it back to the mountain which was a couple of miles down the road. I might have some pictures of this if they turned out (it was dark).
We went skiing at "Purgatory" on Monday and Tuesday. I would have traded my $60 lift ticket for a massage at the hot springs spa down the road if Cyrus hadn't paid for both days up front. But I did ski the second day, and I did alright. It is fun, but I definitely don't desire to ski like Cyrus and Taylor do. They just go up the lift, down the mountain, and straight back to the lift. I like to take breaks (I took an hour long nap in the Powderhouse on a couch...it was awesome!). There was like a 1 hr blizzard on Monday, but the rest of the time, and especially Tuesday, the sun was shining on the fresh layer of snow, and the skiing conditions were great! Sorry - we forgot our camera both times.
We got home Wednesday night about midnight, and now I am back at work, and Cyrus is busy getting things ready for the store to open (this is his job now - LUCKY).
OH MY GOSH! That's all I can say. I keep waking up every day during training and asking "am I really here? Are we really doing this?". Yes, we are. We are 2 months away from opening up our chocolate store, and it is going to be awesome!
We spent all Monday afternoon SAMPLING every kind of chocolate and confectionary we wanted, out of the over 100 products! Ya'll, this was better than getting married. I mean, this was the most fun I've ever had...I was in HEAVEN!! This chocolate and all the fillings (nuts, creams, truffles, homemade marshmallow, etc.) are out of this world. And it was even more amazing after we toured the factory and saw how they were made.
And we did not just "tour" the factory, we WORKED in the factory all Tuesday morning. I have pictures but will have to wait until we get home to download them. We started in the kitchen, where the "master candymaker" was mixing cream for our "Aspen Cream" in a big vat (picture to come). We watched them move thick, gooey POUNDS of corn syrup into giant copper kettles, and watched caramel come to a boil in the kettles. Imagine cooking in your kitchen...times 20! Then we made our way over to the big stainless steel tables where they poured out chocolate or marshmallows and then cut them into little squares. This covered the entire table where they had to use bars on the edges to make a perfect layer of stuff. We actually got to pull apart cut marshmallows, rub them around in powdered sugar, and put them on a tray (picture to come). The kitchen cooks are very knowledgeable and skilled in candy making. There are so many temperatures, consistencies, measurements, and motions that have to be perfect to make perfect candy.
After the kitchen came the real fun! The next part of the factory had all of the candy assembly lines. For instance, we lined up toffee rectangles on a conveyor belt, that then went through a machine to get "enrobed" in chocolate. We dipped our entire hand in chocolate, and drizzled it onto a conveyor belt of chocolates to make the "signature" (picture to come). Crazy! Then we got too busy to take any more pictures. We moved on to the end of the assembly line where we boxed the little chocolate items coming off the line. We were supposed to grab 4 truffles in each hand and put them in a box...all while checking the item, top and bottom, for holes, tails, and defects....I don't think so. I could only get 2 in each hand. Those girls that do this all the time were laughing at us because they are just so fast at it.
The main thing is how surprising it is that so much is done by hand in this factory. It really makes for a very special product.
Anyway, we also worked with the truffle machine by lining up the shells for the machine to come down and insert the filling.
The amazing part was the "dipping" department where they were making clusters. When working with melted chocolate, you have to follow a procedure called "tempering". This has to do with working the choclate to the exact temperature while mixing it around on a cool table. The girls here do this by hand! They measure the temperature every little bit to see how close they are, and just literally play with the chocolate by mixing it with their fingers and using a spatula. They let us try this by making almond clusters. Cyrus and I both mixed the chocolate, added almonds, checked the temperature, added more warm chocolate if needed, or more almonds to cool, and then when it was ready, scooped a glob to put on the tray. We each had a thick layer of milk chocolate covering our entire left hand which we had to go wash off (and in my case, i took a huge lick first).
We went on to stand in the line and put individual assorted chocolates in a paper cup and then into their spot in an assorted package of chocolates (similar to Russell Stover's). I was only fast enough to do one, but the employees were required to do three!
It was just a crazy two days! The factory was surprisingly small. They are able to run multiple products down the same couple of assembly lines. For instance, after we were packaging the chocolate truffles, we walked towards the front of the line (maybe a 100 feet plus total) and there were already pink truffles coming down the line. I mean, there was hardly any changeover time.
The rest of the time in training has been spent discussing financials, marketing, promotions, customer service, inventory, ordering, etc. We have also practiced making fudge, and will learn how to make divinity, dip apples, and other stuff later this week. We are learning so much and we can't wait to get started!
I'll come back and add pictures when we get home. I'll write a separate post about Durango, CO itself, which is pretty cool.
