QWEDO Inc.

Dear Friends,

The Q-WE-DO barbecue take out will be Saturday, June 1 with pickup hours between 11 am and 1 pm.  April and I received so many comments, notes, emails, etc from many of you about our last competition two weeks ago and we want to thank you all!  Earning 3rd place overall in a tough field exceeded our expectation. The past couple of weeks have been a whirlwind.  Son-in-law Stephen graduated from MTSU last week and our son Matthew graduated today from Powell High School.

Yes, it was an emotional time.  Matt is our youngest…and he’ll be attending MTSU in the Fall on an academic scholarship with plans to study music.  So later in the year, our home will be quiet — with the exception of Molly and Maximus the terriers of the Q-WE-DO team.  I have so much I want to write and say…but my mind is experiencing a traffic jam of emotions and thoughts.  It was special having our whole family under one roof this weekend.  It’s time like these when it’s crystal clear that the love of a family is life’s greatest blessing.  

We’ve added a new item this month — April’s Whoopie Pies. April and I have spent a lot of time in Maine over the years and whoopie pies are quite famous up there.  After trial and error and dozens of whoopie pies created, I think she’s perfected it. We hope to hear from you soon with your barbecue “fix”. In the meantime, here’s a quick snapshot of the family. 

And now…here’s the menu!

Pulled Pork – $11 per pound  (Buy 4 pounds pulled pork, get 1 pound free)

Beef Brisket

    Chopped – $9 per pound

    Sliced – $13 per pound

Pork Ribs – $20 per slab

Only 20 slabs of ribs offered. First come first served.

Smoked Turkey Breast – $12 per pound

Only 10 pounds of turkey offered. First come first served.

Delectable Whoopie Pies *** NEW ***  2 for $5

Smoked Bologna – $12 per chub

Q-WE-DO Sauce – $5 per bottle

All meats will be vacuum sealed. Call us at 789.1581(April) or 947.8705 (home) or 235.5176 (Q-Line).  We hope to hear from all of you soon!

Special #1:  Order 4 pounds of pulled pork, receive 1 pound of pulled pork free.

Special #2:  Refer someone to QWEDO BBQ and if they place an order, you will receive a free rack of ribs on your order. 

We must have all order requests by Thursday May 30th at 5:00 PM.

Love to all,

When I was three-years-old, I was diagnosed with a severe hearing loss. Doctors and audiology professionals told my parents success and achievement would be difficult with a severe disability. Growing up, I allowed my hearing loss to control me by allowing it to affect how I perceived things and lived my life.

In the business world—especially in sales—hearing a client talk can be difficult in noisy environments. One of my greatest challenges is showing that it’s not my brain that’s lacking—it’s my ears. The difference between the two is life changing. Emotional, psychological, and developmental scars resulting from hearing loss can be debilitating. I’m thankful for the encouragement from my parents to help me face my hearing loss “dead on” years ago. Technology has improved greatly since the 1960s. When I was about eight-years-old, I wore a harness—shaped like a woman’s bra—with a pocket that contained my hearing aid. The instrument at that time was the shape of a deck of playing cards. A two-foot cord would connect the device to a receiver positioned just outside my ear canal.

As a youngster wearing that contraption, I became a charter member of the “not cool and geek club.” Being excluded and picked on mercilessly on playgrounds triggered a lot of anger, bitterness, resentment, and hurt. As a child, it was easy to feel those things, but maturity has taught me valuable lessons about people, tolerance, sensitivity, and judgmental attitudes.

On January 6, 2010, I had a “life-changing moment.” My audiologist introduced me to Phonak which is a company that manufactures digital hearing devices. I remember the day I received my new hearing aids at 45-years-old. I felt as though I had a new lease on life and busied myself with trying to “catch up” on everything I had missed out on over the years. New sounds were introduced to me. I could hear the little sounds people so often don’t think about—a paper wad hitting a wastebasket, nose whistles, and a car muffler down the street. Those noises you don’t think about—I was hearing them for the first time.

I noticed our refrigerator is very loud. The jingle of the ice cream truck is irritating (but I can hear it a block away!). I can hear the chime on the dog collars as they trot on our walks. The real kicker? I wear a Bluetooth device that connects the television and radio wirelessly to my hearing aid. I can now watch TV with the sound on “mute,” yet crystal clear with stereo sound in my ears. For years, I only watched two television stations—ESPN and Food Network. These channels are visual and very little dialogue is required to understand the shows. Any television program in the past required the sound to be turned high, and even then I would only understand every 7^th or 8^thword. Watching programs in closed captioning was an irritating daily ritual for me.

That January evening, I watched a program on television with my new technology. Ironically, it was a rerun of Always Sunny in Philadelphia, a crude yet hilarious program on Comedy Central. I was laughing hysterically as I heard a punch line for the very first time in my life. No more fake laughing and silently wondering what I missed. I laughed the “snot coming out of my nose” laugh and giggled with slobber on my chin.

For the first time, I could really, really hear what YOU hear…and hear what I SAW.

I can tell you from my experiences that a hearing loss is harder on the mind than on the ears. Trust me when I tell you this—when you’ve made up your mind to live your life to the best of your ability, the obstacles that are in your way become easier to overcome. It becomes a matter of choice because every day of your life may offer limitless challenges. Believing in yourself will get you through any loss and past your embarrassments.

I am blessed. I am thankful. I am empowered.

I love Mondays.

I admit it. I love Mondays. I love the fresh start of a new week. I love the anticipation of what is to come. I love what I do.

How lucky am I?

It used to be that I couldn’t wait for Friday because the frustration of the week was just about over.  I enjoy Fridays more nowadays because by then I’ve pushed myself to the edge of the plank and I am anxious to spend a quiet weekend with quality family time. The difference is that I don’t live for Fridays. And instead of surging tension on Sunday night, I begin to get excited all over again.

Monday is coming! Monday is coming!

I may be 48 years old, but I am “locked in” on a constant stream of learning. Life is so much more rewarding when you love what you do. There are too many people I know who are living a “turtle shell” life.  They’ll stick their neck out and look around but when the first sign of adversity (or criticism) appears, they will retreat into their shell completely.

Please don’t let negativity pull you down. There are always going to be people who can’t see what you see. There will always be circumstances that shape your thinking and slowly begin to cause you to lose that drive and determination you may have once had. The key though, is to never give up and do what you feel is right. Constantly reinvent yourself and what you do. If you come across someone who doesn’t believe or share the same vision you have, be reminded that God gave YOU the vision to fulfill a certain purpose. Sometimes others just don’t see the same thing because God gave them a different vision to pursue.

Live out your dreams and stay focused.

Its Monday….let’s go get it!

HB

Dear Tribe,

This past week I was in Minnesota – specifically the Twin Cities area with a side trip towards St. Cloud (about 90 minutes north). Now y’all know that my real job is the pest control industry, but amazingly 4 of the largest pest control companies in the United States are actually based in Minnesota!  My only guess is that the season is so short up there that very few entrepreneurs would venture into that field. I’ve made 3 trips up there in the past 9 months and can tell you that the weather is extreme on both ends.

Summertime can be brutally hot and extremely muggy (after all there are more than 12,000 lakes in the state creating a habitat of mugginess and mosquitoes and while Minnesota is called the Land of 10,000 Lakes, they are being modest about the actual number) and winters are bone chilling cold.  This week their forecast calls or a high of -7 with a low of -12.  Compare that to my friends in Grand Forks, ND where their high temperature will be -12 with a low of -25!  I was in Grand Forks back in October and the temperature was 19 degrees whereas here in Powell, it was a balmy and sunny 67!

Skiing and ice hockey is big business in Minnesota.  Traveling through the state, I noticed a huge “ramp” by the freeway so I had to investigate. It was actually a ski jump at a small resort where daredevils can take a flying leap (like the ski jumping events in the Olympics).  Of course, I asked the ski jump coach to snap a picture of me in front of this jump platform.

Tempted to take a flying leap!

Then the coach offered me a free jumping lesson but unfortunately I was in route to the airport and really wanted to get home in one piece.  Your top speed as you descend the ramp will approach 52 MPH with your airborne experience nearing 85 meters!  Chuckling, I imagined myself flailing my arms wildly and screaming like a banshee in cartoonish fashion.  Talk about a You Tube video going viral!

Minnesota is a fascinating place. The largest shopping mall, The Mall of America, is located in Minneapolis.  With over 500 individual stores, it would take a shopper 3 full days to try on a single clothing item from each store. My friend, Dave Anderson of Famous Dave’s is from there and the birth place of Spam (the food, not the emails) is Austin, Minnesota.  This is where you’ll find the Spam Museum and their “Spambassadors” will enthusiastically educate you about its history.

After spending a week in Minnesota, I did add one item to the growing bucket list.  To drive my car across a frozen lake.

This week, I am off to Grand Rapids, Michigan which at one time was the Furniture Capital of the United States.  It now bills itself as the Office Furniture Capital and was the first city to add fluoride to its drinking water.

In closing, don’t forget about the QWEDO Super Bowl Fiesta!  Pickup hours are Saturday, February 2nd from 11 am – 1 pm. Pulled pork, brisket, ribs, chicken and bologna are on the menu.

Love to all.

I love Super Bowl Sunday! I love the pageantry of the day.  In our household, we’ll play the Andy Griffith stand up classic, “What it was, was football” and watch highlights of classic games of yesteryear.  I absolutely love the Star Spangled Banner and the lucky performer who is chosen to sing.  (THE best ever was Jennifer Hudson although Faith Hill is a close 2^nd).

While we don’t “do parties” at the Bryan house, we’ve been known to cook a big spread from time to time.  And this year’s Super Bowl Fiesta is no exception!  We are introducing a new item to the menu — the QWEDO Smoked Chicken Half.  This is where it all began — as a 12 year old, I won my very first BBQ competition by cooking chicken halves in a 4-H event.  The recipe is similar but it’s ramped up for flavor.  Rubbed with seasonings and marinated in a homemade concoction and smoked with hickory for 3 hours.  Then it’s char-grilled over hot flames and splashed with the QWEDO hot vinegar sauce.  A whole chicken half which includes the drumstick, thigh and breast meat.  DEELISH!

This year’s Super Bowl will be Sunday, February 3, 2013.  The pickup will be Saturday, February 2 from 11 am  – 1 pm.  Please check out our new website at www.QWEDOINC.com. All orders must be in no later than 5:00 PM, Thursday, January 31.                 

“I know you feel these are the worst of times, I do believe it’s true.
When people lock their doors and hide inside, rumor has it; it’s the end of paradise”— Styx

Kicking back on New Year’s Eve, I was listening to some 70′s tunes and the Styx classic “Best of Times”.  One line struck me as being both negative and true.   Negative in the feeling of hopelessness yet true in that putting your head in the sand and “giving up” — well, that’s the end of paradise.  The year 2012 has come and gone and 2013 is now here.

How was your year?  Mine is about to crank wide open as business owners are gearing up for a potential robust 2013.   But as entrepreneurs, we aren’t always happy as things could always be better.  We’re constantly searching for ways to improve an idea.  All of us are entrepreneurs in some fashion even though we may not own a business.  We may have a new proposition…a new venture…or simply a creative idea to make things better.

I can’t recall where I read this gem about setting goals, but it’s true…“When you write down very specific goals, your subconscious mind works to make them a reality.”  This is best explained by the Airport Public Address Theory.  As you wait at the gate or walk through the terminals, airports have one announcement after another:

“This is the last boarding call for United flight 232 to Chicago.  Paging Mr. Bryan, please report to gate B-12″

For the most part, this is white noise to the brain, but when your name or flight number is called your ears perk up!  This is our subconscious brain at work and it works exactly the same for goals.  Your mind is probably running wide open with ideas and solutions for 2013 so write them down.

On a more personal note, I have had a bucket list for several years with skydiving, ice fishing and hiking the Appalachian Trail being a few.  This past year, I was able to cross one thing off the list and that was “Hear Better”.  Many of you have known my struggles with hearing loss (over 93%) and my reliance on reading lips and observing cues (such as eyes).  In June, my family convinced me to upgrade to “super sonic” hearing.  For a while, I was experiencing difficulty with conversations and acted as though it didn’t matter (it really did, just too proud to admit it).  Thanks to their encouragement, an upgrade took place and now new sounds were introduced to me and life changed!

I guess sometimes when you make goals or a bucket list, completing them seems far from reality. But oftentimes, when you least expect it, the goal may find YOU.  Just be ready to respond when it does.  Write your goals and objectives….it works!  It’ll at least get your subconscious mind working continuously thinking about them.  I promise you some of those written goals will come true.

Let’s grab 2013 by the horns and make a statement!

HB

“I think that’s the only way you can be truly successful in this world. You have to acknowledge that it is from above. And you have to have confidence that even if you lose it all, things will be okay. You have to be willing to fail, and all the while work your tail off to succeed. You have to continue doing the work, believing in what you are doing, and most importantly, keeping your faith in who you are. Our confidence is not in the monetary success we have gained. It is in the One who made us and is there for us in good times and bad.” -Phil Robertson, The Duck Commander Family

Merry “post” Christmas and Happy “pre” New Year!  I hope all of y’all are enjoying this special time with the families and taking this time to reflect.  Many of you folks are in the “snow region” and currently under almost a feet of snow.  While I don’t watch much TV, I am a fan of “Duck Dynasty” which airs on the A&E channel. The preceding quote was by the patriarch of Duck Dynasty which puts everything in perspective – for me anyway.  Just felt compelled to share.  I’m looking forward to seeing everyone after the first of the year as I think 2013 is going to be special!

HB