The Pressing NEGATIVE Factors:
Everyone in America is feeling the pinch in some way or another. We own four houses that are rental properties. One house is in my name, and the other three are in my husband’s name. More than six months ago, we had several tenants simultaneously stop paying us rent (became squatters in our properties). Winning the lawsuits to remove them from our properties did not result in us receiving any of the lost monies. It resulted in us getting back our houses, and losing rental income. After nearly 6 months of having 3 houses empty (no one interested in renting at the price we required to cover our mortgage payments) our savings was depleted. We now (like many Americans) are in negotiations with the mortgage company to reduce the principal on said houses. The values of real estate have plummeted, resulting in many, many Americans paying mortgage payments on properties that are worth significantly less than what is owed on them. It is INDEED a scary time in America (economically speaking). There are more than 300 houses in foreclosure in the county where I live. Additionally, it doesn’t help that 4 million Americans are unemployed. My husband and I are self-employed and our clients’ have dwindled because they too are suffering difficult economic times. There is a domino effect that spreads the economic troubles down the line. Companies are not hiring OR they are firing employees. I personally, have signed up with three temporary employment agencies for part-time work making myself available to do any administrative work that will pay me the minimum amount that I need to survive every month. My problem is at my level I’m over-qualified and NO ONE wants to hire me, so temping at a lower level will at least help pay the bills.
Moreover, the experience of having my perfect credit marred with a 90 day late on my mortgage payment caused me a great deal of stress. Ultimately, I realize that it’s JUST bricks and mortar and not as important as my health, my marriage, my friends, and my family. I can always replace where I live, but I CANNOT replace those relationships that give my life meaning. Ironically, there really is nothing I can do about the house. Either the bank works with me, or I give them the house and say, “you keep it and sell it for significantly less than the mortgage.”
NOW for the Focus on Positiveness - My February Pause Moments
Valentine's Day –
Some impromptu dancing at my old studio (when my husband arrived some fun, artistic pictures were taken):
My gift for Valentine's was a teddy bear in a red hoodie. I put on my own red hoodie for pictures:
Impromptu Dancing After Church – (took more pictures with Andy, the Valentine's bear):
Working –
I've been working at the old house and my doggies hang out with me from mid-afternoon until bedtime while I'm working on the wedding dresses and veils that I’m selling. I've also researched writing gigs, contract, and free-lance jobs. I'm waiting to hear back on an interview for an office manager job for a local consulting firm.
My other good news? I sold a wedding dress! Not JUST a dress, but a headpiece and a veil too! I have about 40 wedding gowns left from my business and about 10 additional gowns that were from my personal collection. It will be nice to re-coop some of the money. The bride-to-be is SO happy!
I'm also re-designing my wedding site (actually I'm re-vamping the hierarchy for all 20 dot coms and their hosting). I'm also learning CSS, and brushing up my skills on PowerPoint Sheesh, I ACTUALLY spelled it pointe! HA, HA, HA!!!! I need to get my volunteer work done for the church tomorrow too.
Here are pictures of the piles of veils I'm working with at the moment.
I'm completely revamping my wedding site and I checked my inventory and I have nearly 50 gowns to sell. I thought I had 40??? SHEESH!
Still waiting for the down payment on the gown that I (supposedly) sold. I sewed the veil to the headpiece for the gown today.
If she doesn't buy, someone else will, right?
I’m still waiting to hear IF I got the job from my Friday interview. Meanwhile, I just continue putting out resumes and checking the on-line job search alerts. I still haven’t heard from the 3 ‘temp’ agencies that I signed up with, BUT my consultant cards came in so I can work on a mailing to local area businesses to drum up some work.
OH! I had an informational interview with an alumnus at my university yesterday. THAT was so COOL! She gave me some pointers on getting more experience and helping me to think about how to figure out niche when I decide to either get certified or go back to school to get my master's degree
Negotiations on Houses –
Negotiations are reaching a decision point (started in November). It is unfortunate that tenants skipped out on lease agreements 14 months prematurely leaving us with three empty houses. LOTS of people are in the same boat we are.
Snow and Music –
On the 18th I woke up to snow, feeling that my life at the moment was a SNOW GLOBE! Big, fat swirls of white snow swirling outside my window as I sat there typing on my laptop listening to classic music. Speaking of classical music...I wonder how many dancers mentally dance while listening to a classic piece of music. I have to FORCE myself to NOT mentally dance while listening to the music! LOL! So I require a mental change of focus so I can get back to the task at hand.
Writing –
I love to write. I started writing as a child. I write stories, poems, and songs. I'm also writing a book series for tweens. Other than my blog here, I also maintain 20 dot coms (for family, friends, myself, and clients) and eventually THIS blog will become embraceyourchild.com
Dancing -
I danced on the 13th, 15th, 18th, the 20th and the 24th
Pictures from that endeavor are as follows:
My husband loves this picture
I love this one because I look so happy and it's a cool action shot.
Look she's SMILING! :D Although I’m named smileywoman because of my positive personae and my love of smiley faces, I rarely smile when I dance because I’m so into the moment (I forget to smile).
Did I mention that I was HAPPY I danced! :)
Resting
Warming up
My FAVORITE! (in black and white)
My FAVORITE! (in color)
Why put off until tomorrow What you Can Do After a Day of Hard Work! :P
I didn't get to dance very much on Tuesday. When I was digging around in my wedding inventory I found an old Renaissance costume in aquamarine that I thought would be fun for a ballet photo shoot! :] So late last night I went to the studio and did some impromptu dancing in the gown.
A Weekend with No Clock to Punch! –
A nice lazing around day, no need to punch a clock, but I did wake up at 6:00 a.m. unable to go back to sleep. I feel so blessed with good things happening all of a sudden. It's a bit surreal that all these good things are flooding in (a bit scary, actually).
ABT’s Performance of Swan Lake –
A couple of days ago, my 11 year old step-grand daughter spent the night (went with me to the Kennedy Center on Sunday to see Swan Lake). We met up/sat with Sara Michelle's mom for lunch and then watched the performance together. Unfortunately, Sara had to sit with her Kirov Academy classmates during the performance.
ABT’s Swan Lake was AMAZING! The choreography, artistry and technique were a joy to behold. I was so overcome with emotion at the end that I almost cried! :D Saturday’s matinee performance of Odile/Odette was danced by Gillian Murphy. We say Sunday’s matinee performance which was danced by Michele Wiles, David Hallberg, and Marcelo Gomes.
-Michele was wonderful, precise, and technically brilliant.
-David Hallberg (the Prince) has feet and legs to die for!
-Marcelo Gomes (Rothbart) was deliciously evil and everyone LOVED him!!!
My Daughter –
In other news, I've been worried about my daughter...she has a cold and will have a c-section on the 9th. Her husband just got back from being away for weeks (military).
In closing, I continue to be hopeful about the future and no matter what happens, Mr. Smiley and I are truly a bonded-pair and will weather whatever terrible storm may occur with the bad economy and the threat of losing our houses hanging over our heads everyday. Yeah, that is a bit stressful...but I continue to focus.
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