Montreal Smoked Meat-athon

Finished Day 3 of Conference on a real high note. Pumped is a good word. This year was so different than last...of course, it was on Day 2 last year that I got the call that Dad had entered the hospital and technically he didn't come back out until he died. Last year is done and finished though and nothing can undo it, so we face forward. The speakers this year were phenomenal, mainly because they knew what they were talking about and they weren't busy trying to sell us something. The first lady, Denise Walters (who I couldn't find a good link for) wrote the Ten Steps to Success and has been a Direct Selling Queen for years. Her methods were simple and empowering, and not once did she talk down to us, or did her sessions feel rehearsed and scripted. Very neat lady. Broke for lunch - again, different from last year in Calgary, is the hotel actually made the effort to use Epicure products in our lunches! The day before was the new stuff (and that's all I'll say) and yesterday was an Asian theme with our Thai, Teriyaki and such on display. I thought it was all good, but some people didn't like it. Anyway, the afternoon speaker was Ellyn Spragins who wrote Letters to My Younger self, featuring such ladies as Sylvie Rochette, founder and President of Epicure Selections. We all learned how to put pen to paper and started to write a letter to my younger self, but I was never sure which self I should address it to. Going to continue to work on that when I get home. We then got the pleasure of listening to several people's letters, including my unit leader. Very powerful stuff, indeed. Finally ended the day with both Sylvie and Amelia (the CEO and Sylvie's daughter) discussing the future of the company and just inspiring us all to do and be our very best. My favourite quotes were: "I'm not a rat and there is no race" "It's only failing if you fall down and refuse to get back up" "You only have control over how you choose to show up" - my personal favourite! Wrapped up around 6, where several of us decided to head out for dinner. Many of the other ladies were heading out either Sunday or Monday, so it was a nice chance to get together for one last gab session and to compare notes. We heard Dunn's was packed, so Krista lead the way to Reuben's on St. Catherine's (but not the one downstairs...apparently that is important). We decided to split an array of appies from the menu - which was perfect. A little bite of each and we all left satisfied. Potato Latkes with apple sauce and sour cream Smoked meat Chop Chop on Poutine. (YUMMO!) Smoked sausage with rye and mustard - best sausage I've had in ages. Onion rings with BBQ sauce And finally, smoked meat spring rolls. Decadent!! So, all alone tonight, after my run and shower, I decided to check out Dunn's for a comparison. I will say their smoked meat was way more flavourful than Reuben's. I decided on the Reuben Sandwich with fries, coleslaw and the best pickle EVER. Still drooling thinking about it! I am STUFFED! At least my breakfast was healthy!

Bonne nuit,