We've been pushing forward on the bookstore idea pretty hard. We've got the market research survey up online and are already receiving responses. Some of the responses have been quite enlightening and surprising. Some of them, not so surprising but identify a particular hazard we will have to deal with in running the store.
I'm already establishing guidelines in my head about what used media we will accept, what condition it must be in, and how we will establish the store credit for it. We have great ideas about what we want to offer, how we want to offer it, and how we want things to work. I think we can really pull it off if we can get the funding. Big guy and I are determined and very excited about this. It's really been all we've discussed for a while. I really want this to work. I'm also thrilled that he seems passionate about doing this.
Big Guy is truly the love of my life, but he will be the first to say that there's very little he cares about enough to fight for. I'm the fighter in the house. I throw myself into everything with a sort of passionate madness that Big Guy just doesn't seem to have. This, however, has lit a fire in him. It's encouraging for me to see because I always worried that he didn't have anything he liked to do that he "loved". I LOVE writing and teaching. When things get difficult and hard to do, I can hold on to my love for both htose things to get past the rough paches and continue on working at them. Big Guy didn't have that in any of his jobs, which meant that when things got tough, he got angry, sullen and bitter. It made me sad.
And if we can pull this off, he's going to need that love and passion. We're going to have to work hard to make this take off. On the bright side, if we can get this to work, this will free us from other bosses. I'd love to get the store going and have it reach a point where we become a staple of life around town. Perhaps we can get it to a point where life isn't a struggle anymore. The hard thing, for me at least, is this dream means putting off the homesteading dream because everything is going to have to be poured into the business. All our energy, any extra money, and our lives for a long time are going to be at the whim of the retail store gods. The place we're considering has an apartment upstairs but no yard space to speak of. I'll be able to plant very little, if I can plant anything at all. There definitely would not be room for chickens. I also recognize that, should the bookstore fail, it will effectively kill our ability to do the homesteading.
This really has to work. I know we have the drive, I know we can push it out.... I just hope it takes off.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Bookstore Plans and Dreams
Life is full of surprises. I think (though I am not sure) that thisis a good thing. Life changes and moves and very rarely do things ever stay the same. I am convinced that most of our lives occur for a reason even if we are never truly sure what that reason is. Our life has been moving non-stop and keeping up with the plans we are attempting is never an easy task.
Big Guy, as you know, was laid off in November. After much twisting, turning, and scrambling (and with the much needed and much appreciated help of friends and family) we made it through the holiday season, got our financials sorted out, and are continuing to march forward. I told Big Guy, though, that he needed to figure out what he wanted to do and where he wanted to go from here. To that end, we've started to look at putting the bookstore in order.
This is exciting and nerve-wracking. We've always talked about doing this, but more of a "when we win the lottery" type thing. Never very seriously. Now, we've got the business registered as an LLC and we are moving forward with a business plan and trying to get funding. I have no idea if we're going to be able to pull this off, but I would really like to. I don't even want to end up a nation-wide franchise. I just want a nice, cozy little book store that we can share with friends and family. I know the ultimate goal would be to make money on it, but we also want to do what we enjoy.
If we can do this, it would be a great opportunity for Big Guy to do something he loves. I could still teach on a free schedule, and when I'm not teaching, I can work in the book store. Little Guy can still be homeschooled and still get hands on experience with math and reading. So, we'll bust our butts getting this put together, hopefully give us a chance to move out of where we are and into a better place. I just have to keep reminding myself that everything happens for a reason and, for better or for worse, this is happening too.
Big Guy, as you know, was laid off in November. After much twisting, turning, and scrambling (and with the much needed and much appreciated help of friends and family) we made it through the holiday season, got our financials sorted out, and are continuing to march forward. I told Big Guy, though, that he needed to figure out what he wanted to do and where he wanted to go from here. To that end, we've started to look at putting the bookstore in order.
This is exciting and nerve-wracking. We've always talked about doing this, but more of a "when we win the lottery" type thing. Never very seriously. Now, we've got the business registered as an LLC and we are moving forward with a business plan and trying to get funding. I have no idea if we're going to be able to pull this off, but I would really like to. I don't even want to end up a nation-wide franchise. I just want a nice, cozy little book store that we can share with friends and family. I know the ultimate goal would be to make money on it, but we also want to do what we enjoy.
If we can do this, it would be a great opportunity for Big Guy to do something he loves. I could still teach on a free schedule, and when I'm not teaching, I can work in the book store. Little Guy can still be homeschooled and still get hands on experience with math and reading. So, we'll bust our butts getting this put together, hopefully give us a chance to move out of where we are and into a better place. I just have to keep reminding myself that everything happens for a reason and, for better or for worse, this is happening too.
Friday, January 21, 2011
A simple Friday
One of my New Year's resolutions this year is to become more organized and manage time and money better. The rapidly changing schedule is making it more important than ever to do so. This month, I am working a split shift. I teach one class in the morning and one class at night. The week after next, however, my schedule changes for the next month. I'll teach mornings and afternoons, leaving my evenings free. I've been teaching nights for so long now, I'm not going to know what to do with myself. Big Guy will get to be home during the day with our little monkey.
If we can keep up the work we've been doing, we can survive just fine. Big Guy and I need to take an opportunity to sit down and figure out a plan for the next few months, like what we'll do if I don't get two classes. I've got a plan to save up money so that when the break hits, I'll be able to transfer over money to cover it. Things may be tight and sort of complicated, but luckily we have the communication skills to figure it out.
We're still looking at getting out of our current rental and, at this point, I am so done living here. I'm sure some of it is just basic impatience on my part, but living here has not been the best experience. This place had a purpose when we moved in, but that purpose has long since passed, and it's time for us to move to our new chapter of life. Our life has changed so much since we moved in that our needs in a place have changed as well. We're also not under pressure to move, which is a pleasant change. We have been looking for a good place to live, price-wise and also life-wise.
We're not going to be able to get the perfect place, but we'll be able to find something that will serve us well. And right now, Big Guy and I are in agreement that everything happens for a reason. Hopefully the purpose of all of this will become apparent soon.
Monday, January 17, 2011
Marriage: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
As Singing Through The Rain points out: being married isn't easy. Big Guy and I have been told that we are "retarded for each other". We snuggle, we kiss, we do almost everything together. We are very much in love and it takes work to keep us that way.
Back after Little Guy was born, our communication issues began to catch up with us. We realized rather rapidly that if we wanted our marriage to succeed and, more importantly, survive, we needed help. So we got it. We spent nearly a year in therapy learning to communicate better, learning tips and tricks to keep us on track, and in the end it was worth it. We both recognize the benefits that our therapy gave us. Our communication improved drastically and we began to recognize the ineffective ways we approached each other and dealt with problems.
This became immensely important when step-family issues reared their ugly heads. Had there been any cracks in our relationship, they would have turned into gaping holes when the shit hit the fan. We managed to survive and are still doing really well. But, it is a process of working at it every day and we try really hard to keep things good.
One of the keys, I believe, is working at it so that it doesn't seem like work. Like any job, regular maintenance can make things go smoothly. So, we go to bed together each night and cuddle before we fall asleep. We flirt with each other on a regular basis. We make it a point to find things we both like to do. We also tend to make decisions based on who needs the most right now. This month, I've needed a lot of support as I worked the split shift. He's been pretty good about working with me and not complaining. This weekend, it shifted as he came down with a nasty cold and I took care of him.
Do we still fight? Oh yes. Our fights tend not to last long though. Again, I attribute that to improved communication. Some days are worse than others, some days we stumble in our practices, but we both agree that our marriage is important and worth working at.
Back after Little Guy was born, our communication issues began to catch up with us. We realized rather rapidly that if we wanted our marriage to succeed and, more importantly, survive, we needed help. So we got it. We spent nearly a year in therapy learning to communicate better, learning tips and tricks to keep us on track, and in the end it was worth it. We both recognize the benefits that our therapy gave us. Our communication improved drastically and we began to recognize the ineffective ways we approached each other and dealt with problems.
This became immensely important when step-family issues reared their ugly heads. Had there been any cracks in our relationship, they would have turned into gaping holes when the shit hit the fan. We managed to survive and are still doing really well. But, it is a process of working at it every day and we try really hard to keep things good.
One of the keys, I believe, is working at it so that it doesn't seem like work. Like any job, regular maintenance can make things go smoothly. So, we go to bed together each night and cuddle before we fall asleep. We flirt with each other on a regular basis. We make it a point to find things we both like to do. We also tend to make decisions based on who needs the most right now. This month, I've needed a lot of support as I worked the split shift. He's been pretty good about working with me and not complaining. This weekend, it shifted as he came down with a nasty cold and I took care of him.
Do we still fight? Oh yes. Our fights tend not to last long though. Again, I attribute that to improved communication. Some days are worse than others, some days we stumble in our practices, but we both agree that our marriage is important and worth working at.
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