Christina!

Christina, Christina....who is Christina? Well, Christina is my eldest sister. She is probably about 10 or 11 years older than me. She has a great husband, a loving family and 2 wonderful, but cheeky daughters that would absolutely melt your heart and you will let them get away with anything and everything (at least in my point of view, but then again, I really don't see them often.) They live in Windsor, Ontario, which is about 2.5 hours south of London, Ontario (where my parents live) and about 5 - 5.5 hours south of Toronto, Ontario.

I would like to dedicate this entry to my sister because I would like everyone (especially Christina, of course) who read this blog to know that I am so proud of her. She has recently launched a new business of her own and I know she is going through some rough time, but I think she is doing a great job. Christina, like most of the mothers, has made significant sacrifice for her family ever since she's pregnant with Rachel, who is now 7. She gave up her senior managerial position in Toronto Dominion Bank and stayed home to raised her lovely daughter. Then 4 years after, Ellen who is now 3 years old came along. She's got a handful to take care of.

As these two little cheeky monkeys are growing up, she's wanting to get back to the job market. However, it's been a really long time since she worked and alot has changed especially in the computer programming industry. She tried a few different things here and there, but they never really worked out. And then a great opportunity comes along!!!

My mother is the head sushi chef for a popular Buffet restaurant in London, Ontario and she gets to buy a lot of different types of high quality food (ie, assorted dim sum, seafood, poultry etc) at the wholesale price. [For all readers in Vancouver, we sometimes forget how convenient everything is for us. If we want to have Dim Sum for lunch, there are tons of choice at a reasonable price within minutes of driving distance. Whereas for London and Windsor, it's really expensive and often times, they are not good quality.] So, my parents would order more each time for themselves and for Christina's whole family. Then all of a sudden, a light bulb went off, Christina would like to share all these good food with all her friends in Windsor who are not as fortunate. So, she turned this into a brilliant business opportunity. She found out about a factory that makes and supply large quantity of assorted dim sum to many restaurants. Then, she negotiated a great deal with the supplier and she started taking orders from all her friends and neigbours. She is able to provide her friends and neigbours with great food at a great price and a profit for herself. She now produces a beautiful monthly newsletter with recipes, health tips and order form as well as trying different products and expanding the product lines that are available to her clients. She is also trying to figure out systems regarding logistics, transportation, inventory, cash flow and many more aspects that an entrepeneur would have to worry about. Nonetheless, I'm so proud of her and I think she is doing a fantastic job. I wish her and her family all the very best!