Confiming my conviction

Last night I attended a Pampered Chef Party, not something I would normally do but it was to raise money for breast cancer and I am all about protecting the future of my boobies. Pampered Chef, just like every other cooking store, tries to cover a little of everything. They have some interesting stone ware baking pieces but other than that I am not impressed by the tools they recommend for bakers and I am not convinced of the quality for the price.
I did buy a couple of pieces and when I get them home I will test them out and let you know how they worked out. But what this party really did was confirm my conviction to open my store. Everyone I talk to "gets it," which has to mean that I am explaining it well and that my passion and love for it translates. I hear the warnings from everyone, the choruses of "you'll work 24/7" and "you won't make any money for years" and the loveliest of them "there is no way to open a mom and pop type store in this economy." I refuse to hear those chants, well maybe I don't refuse to hear them but rather absorb and put in the effort to not let them be my downfall. I don't mind the notion of working 24/7, I grew up in a family business and some of my best memories were working hard all weekend long right next to my parents. I would love that to be the future of my life and my future families.
Today, life is good.
I have an interview, for a company that no longer has a job open for me, on Thursday because the hiring manager was impressed with my resume and with the feedback from the recruiter. And I had a phone interview this past Tuesday that went really well and should be hearing back from them sometime next week. Maybe my future is looking up..remember, getting a job is the sticking point for me getting money to start my store.
Wish me luck!

One last note.. I knew that Pampered Chef and I were not in the same league when they baked a boxed chocolate cake with store bought frosting in the microwave..it was alright but by no means delicious and certainly not something that I would encourage CraftBakers to do...if you need a cake in 8 minutes, go to your local bakery and support a struggling business...

hiccuping my way to success?

he's back...

I don't know what I think about. I feel like my head exploded this weekend.

Time to get my head back in the game and focus on the real american dream I am trying to live. Wish me luck!

the sign says OCCUPADO

I've been too busy for the last few days to even think about my store let along blog about thinking about my store. It's a dream and it's my dream and I have to remind myself of it every day. But the past few days have been all about surviving..dreaming is a luxury.

On the flip side...I have ascertained that time is a luxury of unemployment and homemade bread is a luxury of time.

The promise to myself for the week is to NOT apologize for things I have no control of, no part in, or should not be apologized for.

found kindness

Today I did not a thing to further my desire to live the american dream. For some reason I decided that I had to fix my best friend this week. I have spent a few days at her house trying to get her to clean it up. An organized home allows for organized thoughts.

My big contribution, beyond being the annoying voice/presence, was laundry. I took 3 loads a day from her house, washed, folded, and returned them; waiting patiently as she put them away as to avoid her usual MO of leaving them in piles for months on end.

I really do believe that your house is a reflection of your mind. This particular friend is someone who buries her head and avoids facing problems head on. She procrastinates and talks about big dreams but rarely takes action necessary to accomplish them unless extremely prodded. I hope that this is enough prodding.

Now, where is my prodder to keep me focused on my dream?

One day at a time...

So while my goal is to get this American Dream rolling I realize that patience is a requirement. There are hoops to jump through, people to satisfy, plans to be set. It's a daunting task by any measure so I promise to myself to take it one day at a time and never lose sight.
I would like to say that 1 mini goal will be accomplished every day but it's going to be more like 1 mini goal a week. Originally, the idea was to opening doors in December 2009, but the bigger the gap grows between former job and future employment the further that date gets pushed. Funny that no one wants to loan the unemployed big sums of money for a risky venture, go figure!

The good news? Accepting that the American Dream is the sum of my life not just the ability to open the doors of a store. Yesterday I decided to take control and make a friend of mine claim her best life and start the process of getting her house in order. I will be going back for more today.

Another part of the American Dream is networking, connecting and feeling valued. Yesterday I reconnected with someone I hadn't seen or talked to in probably 8 years but someone that was a big part of my childhood and that felt awesome.

The ex that I thought hated me, but who bought a condo next to mine while we were dating, decided to loan me a pool key to his complex so I could beat the heat. Guess he doesn't hate me, we haven't seen each other yet but one step at a time. I just hope that the 6 months between breaking up and trying to be friends has allowed my broken heart to heal. I really was genuinely in love with this person and my heart was so broken.

Frustration

Having a big dream is a great epiphany but not being able to work out the details to make your dream a reality is frustrating.

In my previous blog I mentioned that the company I had worked for for the last four years left the US and took my job with them. The funny thing is, if I still had that job a bank would be willing to loan me to the money to start my store. If I could find another similar type job the same thing would be true, of course that would mean I would have little time to actually run the store. The irony is that I have all the time in the world to create an amazing store right now. I have the passion, vision, and time just not the money.

The job hunt continues but for today's goal is to visit the local unemployment office and figure out if I can become a Project Management Professional with the help of the State of California....

Dreaming the American Dream

In October, 2008 I was laid off from a great job with a big international company. The company decided it was going to leave the sandbox and take all of its toys to play in China's, and other developing countries, sandboxes.

Can I blame them? Of course not!

The American Dream has amazingly held steadfast through generations. We want to be free, have a roof over our heads, money in the bank, 2.3 children, domesticated animals, loving partners, and the ability to do something for work that we love! Did I love my last job? Love might be too strong, I enjoyed it at times and loathed it at others but overall I was pretty happy.

Losing it has made me look at what my American Dream should look like.

I am not married, at 33, I do not have 2.3 children, but I do have a roof over my head complete with two mortgages, HOA fees, and property taxes, and I have some domesticated (or somewhat) domesticated animals roaming around the joint. I no longer have any money in the bank and I need to remedy that.

So how do I take control of my American Dream? In December I decided that my American Dream should include owning and running a small boutique store in the neighborhood I live in. Exciting dream for sure, something I would be great at, but there are more hurdles than accomplishments to report.

I am starting this blog to talk about my road to Workforce Recovery! The path I have to take to open my store and live my american dream. Who knows, maybe love will find me along the way too!

So hang in there with me. It might be a bumpy road but it will be the story of one woman's desire to find the modern version of the classic American Dream.

PS - In the process I hope to learn more about HTML, and how to make this blog more visually appealing (did I mention I have been in marketing for 10 years?)...

You can follow me on Twitter - @offthecuff76