Spotless

Well, my business is up and running. OK, up and jogging. We're maybe at a steady trot.

I only have 2.5 clients right now, and a couple of possibilites. But - I just got my new business cell phone complete with phone number with the correct area code so as not to confuse people. I also just received my beautiful business cards (with the old number of course...) along with note cards to leave my clients. I'm in the process of designing a flier and will start harassing people in the tri-county area door-to-door once they're complete.

So, we're trotting, but soon we'll be running. Soon I won't feel so scared about paying bills. Soon I'll finally be able to start putting some money back into the savings account instead of the other way around. Soon my schedule will be full and I'll be making much more than I did in a traditional office job but I'll have the flexibility to vacation when I want and listen to my iPod all day. So, I hope soon gets here soon!

My Decision

I have decided to start my own house cleaning business. I've already placed an ad in the paper and have 2 clients ready to go. A designer friend is creating business cards, letter head, etc. for me. The only problem: I don't have a name settled yet. At first I was just going to clean houses. But I realized that with my organizational obsession and my marketing background, I wanted to go all out - invoices, Christmas cards, separate phone number. So I need a name. Not cutesy or a play-on-words, but classy and professional. Any suggestions? I've received Classy Cleaning or Cleaning with Class as suggestions - do you like either of those? I don't want to incorporate my name or in any other way use a fly-by-night sounding name. My target audience is working professionals who don't have the time to clean house themselves. Any thoughts? Additionally, I'm looking for a slogan to go along with this name. Thanks in advance for any help.

What Should I Do?

No, seriously - what should I do? I have been unemployed for a month now, and I have no leads. No interviews. No nothing. I've been considering lots of alternative options, and it's time I put them down "on paper" to view the pros and cons.

When I graduated with a BA in English, I chose not to go into the education department for my master's because I thought it was stereotypical for a woman to teach. I just didn't wanna and I resented everyone for asking me what I was going to do with my degree. When I was a junior in college I got a to-die-for internship with Southern Living magazine because I knew I wanted to go into publishing. I thought I was set after that internship, but that didn't turn out to be true, and because of one very negative, very vocal person who never actually worked with me, I could never put it on a resume. It was all pretty much for nothing.

After I graduated, I had a hard time finding work mostly because my fiance and I lived 2 hours apart and we didn't know where we were going to live after the wedding - so I didn't know where to find a job. I finally moved to Tuscaloosa where he lived, and I found a good job there - in publishing. My career was off to a fine start. But when he graduated and was offered a job 2 hours away, I had to quit. He was going to be the main bread winner, so it would be stupid for us to stay because of my job.

I spent 3 months being unemployed before I found another job in publishing - but this time the title was marketing. I didn't know anything about marketing, but this company didn't know the difference. They were pretty stupid. And bad at business, because less than a year later they had to lay off about 1/5 of the company, and I was included.

Because the COO of that company often used a particular temp service, she referred me there and told me they would take care of me. She was right - one week later I was earning almost double in a great job. It was temporary, but my superiors praised me constantly and were actively trying to hire me permanently. The one problem - it was a failing bank. Despite all their efforts, they had to let me go 6 months later, and after 2 more temporary assignments in a different department (about 2 weeks long each), the bank failed. It has now been sold to a bank from North Carolina, and all my friends are scared for their jobs. I can kiss all those contacts goodbye.

So, here I sit feeling more and more worthless every day. Career-wise, I want a fulfilling job that pays a decent amount and gives me a decent amount of freedom (read, I never want to clock the hell in again). But most importantly, I don't want to work when I have small children. If I have to go back to work once all my children are in school, that is one thing, but I am quite adamant about raising my own babies. Talk about a cross roads.

Some of the options we've discussed include me honing my photography skills and slowly growing a business (I blogged about this); going back to school for my master's in education (same hours and holidays as future children); getting my realtor's license (a dream I once looked into about a year ago); and starting a business of another sort (we've discussed several).

Photography: It is a hobby right now - nothing more. I would need to take classes, purchase equipment, etc. It would take a long time to grow this into a profitable business. Big risk of failure, I suppose. Also, lots of work on weekends.

Back to school: This might be my best option, but I would have to find a job in the meantime and take night classes. That doesn't sound so bad, but stupid me who didn't want to do the 5th year program (one year) might be looking at 3 years of classes due to No Child Left Behind requirements. I have applied for admission to a school here and am waiting on their official evaluation of my transcript to see which hoops I'll have to jump through. Long term, this would be a good option because I could teach once my children are of school age. Short term, I don't know how I would pay the bills. I can't take out a student loan because the law school student loan is like another mortgage payment and we don't need more payments. My biggest issue here is the thought of taking 3 years of classes, teaching 1 or 2 years and then taking off possibly up to 10 years while I have children and wait until the youngest is in school before beginning again.

Realty: When I was unemployed during the summer of 2008, this is an option I considered. I read books, did research, polled friends in the business, etc. It seemed like a good idea, but the main problem was cash - we didn't have any. My husband's job was delayed indefinitely as soon as we unpacked the U-Haul, and we went into conservation mode. Neither of us earned any money for about 2 months, and I didn't for another month after that. Our credit cards were nearly maxed out and we simply couldn't put any money into any ventures. Now we're in a different situation - it took us about a year, but we paid off the cards, we have a good chunk in our savings account, and we might be able to swing this. Hopefully by the time I'd be licensed the housing market would be looking better.

Another business: We have also looked into all kinds of self-employment. We would both love to be self-employed. Being cooped up in an office where someone else calls the shots has never set well with either of us. We've looked into owning a few franchises. One seemed promising, but they wouldn't return my calls, so they're obviously not the kind of company I'd want to work with. Another seemed great, but it would be too expensive right now.

Last option: I was approached several weeks ago by a church friend who doesn't have a regular job - she cleans houses. She had too many and asked if I wanted to join her and clean the houses she didn't have time for. At the time I was so not into this option. Now, I am considering it. If I could get enough houses, the money would be great. She charges $30 an hour, but I would imagine most people paying to have their houses cleaned only have it done twice a month.

I don't have a clue.

I'm a Loser, Baby

I'm a total loser for not posting anything in such a long time. It's not that I haven't had anything going on. I have done another temp assignment for the same company I've been with off and on for 8 months. That bank failed the day after my last assignment ended, and after being taken over by the FDIC, it was purchased by another bank based in NC, so all my friends now feel that their jobs will disappear in a few month's time. That's probably true.

I am participating in a weight loss challenge with the girls from my Sunday school class. So far I've lost about 10 pounds (3 weeks in).

Last weekend we went to the beach with my mom, step dad, brother, and step brother. My sister went too, but we were there at different times.

All last week I had some dreadful summer cold. I lost my voice while at the beach. I had a terrible cough and was sort of miserable for a few days. Glad that's over.

My puppy is trained to the underground fence now. He is such a champ. He's also almost 50 pounds now. We almost can't pick him up now.

I don't have a job.

I will try to be better, but that's all I've got for now.

Lay-offs suck!

I just found out that my good friend at my old job was let go today. I've never even met her, as I worked at corporate headquarters and she worked in South Florida, but we spoke almost daily and worked together on numerous projects. She also went to bat for me more than once, trying to get my temp job to turn permanent. She was an SVP. I didn't expect her to be let go. Now I'm trying to find her on the Internet because all I have is her professional contact info. Lay-offs suck.

Unemployment Breeds Creativity

So I haven't blogged in a month... It's been a whirlwind for me. Quick update: I left my last job with tears and good-bye lunches. I was sad and disappointed. After a week of wishing I could permanently stay home, I got called for a temporary assignment with the same company I'd just left, but in a vastly different department. The job was horrible, the pay was horrible, and the coworkers were horrible. Two weeks later, it was over.

So here I am, unemployed again and being super productive at home. I am on top of all the chores, laundry is done, I feel relaxed that I don't have to drive in rush-hour traffic and come home to a pile of things to do.

During all this transition (there's a word I'm sick of) I have made a decision. Z and I would really love it if I could stay home once we have children. On the other hand, we'd really like to afford things. With all of my career changes lately, we've been thinking about the types of things I could do either once we have children or once the children are school-age. Going back to school for my masters in education was a topic, but I ultimately don't think that's for me. And we'd still have the problem of me working on someone else's schedule.

For a long time now, I have been very interested in photography. I want to learn more and practice more, with a quality camera. I have decided to pursue this now, while searching for a job and ultimately keeping a day job, until I am secure enough to make photography my career - children's portraits, family sessions, weddings, etc. I plan to do it all. Down the line I might even have a studio, who knows? What I do know is that I have been lacking a creative outlet since I left school and don't have opportunities to write (I know, that's what this blog was for...), and I need to be creative. I also need to quit working for companies that don't appreciate me or appropriately compensate me. That isn't to sound snobby, but it's a fact that for the past three years I've been largely underpaid, underappreciated and unhappy in my career choices. There was a brief 5-month window where I loved my job, but with this economy, I couldn't count on that, and I was laid off. I am ready to make success for myself.

I am weighing my options right now on which camera I should purchase. I've been asking photographer friends, researching different brands and styles, and comparing prices. Once I decide on the best I can afford, I will buy it and begin practicing. You'll probably see some of my early attempts at great art here, but I'll eventually start a separate photography blog. I guess we'll see.

Here's to stepping out on a limb, which I pretty much never do. Ever.

I got a puppy... and got laid off

Last Friday was an eventful day. From early morning to late at night it was chock-full of emotion. As soon as I got to work, I was called into my boss’s boss’s office – for most people, this would be scary, but I wasn’t scared because I thought this was a specific meeting I’d been anticipating. I was wrong. She started out with buttering me up and then she said that she wasn’t going to be able to keep me past June 12. If you’ll remember, I was only a temp, but since February I’ve been practically promised a permanent position. Then, just a few weeks ago I was told that although there’s a hiring freeze, they would extend my temp contract until the end of the year. And now I’m gone in 2 weeks? I cried. She cried. It was a total shock. After that news, I spent the rest of the day talking with my work friends (they’re all scared they’re next, and rightly so) and generally wondering what’s going to happen.

My crappy day was about to get a lot better though. That night, Z and I drove to Sylacauga to see some puppies for sale. We went looking for a white lab, but one of the chocolates stole our hearts and we picked him instead. On the way home, we named him Sam. One of my work friends who lives in my neighborhood had offered to loan us a dog house and some toys, etc., until we got prepared. So, she came over to visit with us for a while. After she left, we walked around the block a few times with Sam to tire him out (it was pretty late) and go to bed. Well, as you can imagine, he was awfully lonely in his “pen” and cried quite a bit.

Let me explain. We are going to be using an underground fence once Sam gets a little bigger. We also put up a chain link fence in one corner of the backyard for Sam to sleep and stay safe while he’s a baby. We call it a pen, but it is actually 30’ x 30’ and nicely shaded, etc. So I know the word “pen” sounds awful, but it’s a very nice area, trust me.

Anyway, that night, we knew he would cry all night because he was accustomed to sleeping with 13 roly-poly brothers and sisters and he was obviously lonely. So, we brought him up to the porch and we slept on the chaise lounges all night. Saturday dawned cool and clear – a beautiful day. We took a walk very early waiting for Tractor Supply to open so we could get Sam a collar, leash, food dish, etc. We have a great neighborhood for walking – it’s a quiet, older neighborhood, and it’s on a lake, so it isn’t all blocks but a very lovely view. Later we went to Tractor Supply where we pushed two buggies – one for the merchandise and one for the puppy to sleep in! Sam was a big hit there! Next we went to PetSmart to find “pig ears” (yuck) but he did not like that place – I think there were too many smells. We went home for a while and called around to find a vet because he was due for his first shots. Around 11:00 we found a vet and took Sam for his first visit, where he did very well despite the large, barking dogs in the waiting area. We went home and played with our puppy and ate lunch before taking our cars to get oil changes. We decided to put Sam in his pen during these errands because he’d been napping in the floorboard of the car all morning and we wanted to let him play in the grass. But, we were also very nervous to leave him there alone – he’d never been alone before. We both drove to Wal-Mart, dropped off one car, drove back home, waited 30 minutes, drove back, dropped off the other car, drove back home, waited 30 minutes, drove back and came home with both cars. Whew – Sam seemed to handle it OK.

That evening, our jerk neighbor kids began playing basketball around 10:00 (my mother would have had a fit if I’d done that. When was the last time you listened to someone playing basketball in the dead of the night, right beside the water? That crap is loud!), so we had to bring Sam on the porch because his pen kept getting a basketball bounced against it. Z and I watched Soprano’s while Sam napped on the porch. When the neighbors finally went inside, Z put Sam to bed. A little later, Z fell asleep on the couch (what a long day) and I checked e-mail and the like, listening to the silence. About an hour later, I woke Z up so he could get in the bed and I finally collapsed on the bed, utterly exhausted. Not 5 minutes later, Sam woke up and started crying (not yet able to fully bark) and whining. Trying not to wake Z, I crept out the door to go check on my baby. I went in his pen to sit with him and soothe him. After about 45 minutes he fell asleep at my feet. I literally tip-toed out of the pen and into the house. I slept on the couch for about 2 hours until I heard Sam wake up again and begin to cry. Exhausted, I put my shoes back on and went back outside. Although it was frustrating, it was also heart breaking because I knew he was scared and lonely. I was only outside for a few minutes when Z came out too. We visited with Sam for a while and then decided to tire him out by walking around the neighborhood again. It was about 3:30 a.m.

After that, we tried the pen but Sam was just too sad, so Z slept on the couch while Sam slept on the porch. Our porch is right off of our living room, and all the windows were open, so Sam was OK with that arrangement.

That morning, I told Z he should stay home and rest while I went to church, but I left after the choir sang the anthem. I got home and we ate lunch and played with the puppy for a long time. Z cut grass which didn’t scare Sam at all. Around 6:00 that evening we took our inflatable boat out on the lake with Sam, thinking he’d have fun swimming, as labs love the water. But, as soon as we got out there I got scared wondering if swimming is completely instinctual or if there was a chance he’d sink… the lake was once a rock quarry and it’s unbelievably deep immediately off the shore, so if anybody’s sinking, there’s probably no finding them. So, like a scared mama I held him in the boat and he finally gave up and napped while Z and I paddled around.

After our boat trip, we went on a walk, eventually visiting my friend’s house to let her see how much Sam had grown in 2 days. We finally got home around 8:30 and fed Sam his dinner. (Each time we put him in the pen, we make sure to stay with him, talking, playing, whatever so that he doesn’t associate the pen with sadness or loneliness. We also feed him there so he’ll have something to look forward to when we walk towards the pen.) He was very sleepy, so he settled down immediately and we went inside so we could eat dinner too. We ate around 9:30 and I’ll be damned if at 10:00 those basketball jerks came outside again, slamming the ball into our privacy fence, yelling cuss words and waking up my baby. Sam started his psycho barking (yes, he learned how to bark rather quickly) and digging at the fence line trying to get at the ball. We were completely exhausted, frazzled and livid. I had to go to work the next day – I couldn’t stay up all night with a baby puppy! Furious with those neighbors, we brought Sam up to the porch again and he immediately fell asleep. It was around 11:00, way past my pre-puppy bedtime, and we just wanted to sleep, so Z volunteered to sleep on the couch again rather than risk moving Sam and waking him up. All three of us slept like logs.

Monday morning I got up at 5:00 for work, and went outside where Z was sitting with Sam. We played for a while, and then they went on a walk while I showered and got ready. Thankfully Z had Monday off work except for one mid-morning meeting, so he had almost all day to spend with Sam. When I left for work though, I started crying. My heart was breaking for this little puppy. What had we done? Why did we get a puppy to disrupt our lives when everything was so peaceful? How was I going to make it through the day sleep-deprived and guilty? Would Sam be OK while Z was gone for a few hours?

Z called me at work when he got back home. He said that Sam had been so upset while he was gone that he threw up his breakfast. However, that must have been the breaking point for him because after that, he acted so much calmer. He began entertaining himself with toys in the pen instead of frantically digging under the gate. He took a nap on some ice that Z poured on the porch, he played in the yard with Z. (Sam is also getting much better about not staying right under our feet. He ventures out into the yard without us. In short, my little baby is growing up!)

When I got home from work, I couldn’t believe my eyes. He was in the middle of his pen happily chewing a toy, not barking or crying. Amazing! After a quick trip to Wal-Mart to get him a new toy (now that we know what he likes) we played with him all evening, even letting him swim in the lake a little. After we ate dinner, we went on a very long walk where we visited with a nice neighbor. When we got back we fed Sam his dinner and sat with him for a while. When we went inside around 8:30 he didn’t make one peep.

Z had to leave on business that night, so I was on my own with the puppy. I got out the laptop so I could listen out for Sam and still look for jobs. Even when those mofos started playing ball again (Seriously? What are they, allergic to the sun?), Sam handled it with ease. He certainly woke up, but he just watched them without having an anxiety attack. Around 10:00 the sprinklers came on, and as these are pretty loud and make scary noises, I wasn’t surprised that Sam started crying a little. So, when the sprinklers in the backyard went off and I could walk outside, I went to go visit with him before I went to bed. I just sat with him in his pen, pointing out his water which he sometimes forgets to drink, playing fetch with him (he’s still learning the concept) and petting him. OK, I admit that I also sang lullabies to him, but he liked it! After about 30 minutes I went inside, and he – ready? – slept/stayed quiet until 6:00 this morning!

This morning I did everything to get ready for work except put on work clothes and then I went outside to play with Sam. I was so proud of him! We walked around the neighborhood a little until we saw a very large dog with no leash at which point I picked Sam up and went back home. He had breakfast and then I went inside to change. While I finished getting ready for work he did go psycho for about 10 minutes, but then he must have remembered his manners because by the time I left, he was completely fine! I’m such a proud mama!