Last night Jeff took me out for a fabulous dinner at David Burke's Fromagerie. Our luck, live music was playing and it was super. Jeff and I always plan date nights, but this one was more special. Upscale restaurant, dressed fancy and terrific food. The only damper were the contractions. For four hours I contracted. Now trust me, it didn't slow down my eating, but it was uncomfortable. We headed straight to bed when we arrived home, but nothing stopped. I was awoken at 3 in the morning with Pain, but after an hour, we were back to sleep. This morning doctor's appointment went really well, but definitely confirmed that I should continue baby prepping. While the LPN was listening to the heartbeat, I had a pretty heavy contraction, and that calmed my nerves because we were able to hear how she reacts during crunch time in the womb. After my exam, I was 1 cm dialated, and she felt everything was going according to schedule. Therefore, I am hoping I won't be in a 30 hour labor. My body seems to be doing all the right things.
Now, time to go upstairs and put the baby's bumper set on the crib. Once that is on, there won't be much more to do in the nursery. We are going to pack the hospital suitcase and enjoy the rest of the ride.
Tonight we are sleeping at my parents' house because we are having an Open House WEEKEND. UGG! I hate the idea, but this is the last time I am having an open house until late summer, early fall. By then, the house will be sold:) Right now, I like the direction of life. God continues to bless our businesses and we continue to try and grow as employers, people and a couple.
Be well today and enjoy the Friday we all waited for.
Showing posts with label real estate. Show all posts
Showing posts with label real estate. Show all posts
Friday, May 2, 2008
Monday, March 10, 2008
Take Action, We Did!
Yesterday's post should really have gotten some of you thinking. I wanted to share some valuable information with you today to help you take action.
When Jeff and I wanted to take action after educating ourselves we did exactly what I mentioned yesterday. We found someone doing what we wanted to be doing. We met locally with two real estate investors and just asked them as many questions as possible until they got sick of us. After digesting that information, we found a real estate coach who really put us on the right track.
In the meantime you might say we were straddling. We are both consultants working for ourselves, but we view the consulting as our separate jobs. We view our other endeavors as preparation for our dream. Remember our dream is to have endless time to raise our girls and have money working for us.
This fall our consulting set itself on a great path, so we decided to take our next step toward that dream. We had spent plenty of time on real estate and we are waiting to watch it grow for a year. Now we were ready to learn how to start up and build a business. As mentioned yesterday, we asked ourselves the hard questions, so we could match ourselves to a business. Being pregnant and in the midst of adoption the abvious answer was an online baby store. We have to learn about these products anyway, why not research and buy the best products for our customers as well. Do you see what's coming?
Yes we went and got ourselves another coach.Thanks to her, our store has had a smooth and successful start. Little Baby Headquarters
Our coach taught us more in three, one hour sessions than we could have learned in a year of seminars and books. Her name is Cindy Shebley. Her contact info. is www.clovercity.com.
Be sure to tell her that Cyndi and Jeff in NJ sent you, and she'll give you a phenominal deal. I can't express what an amazing help she has been to us. Cindy is a Business Consultant certified by eBay, she specializes in internet marketing and starting up online.
Your homework:
Read this blog.
Send a comment telling about where you are in your life (i.e. pregnant, quitting your job next month, selling products at craft fairs...whatever it is)
Call Cindy Shebley if you want advice from the best.
Tomorrow, lots more so get going!
When Jeff and I wanted to take action after educating ourselves we did exactly what I mentioned yesterday. We found someone doing what we wanted to be doing. We met locally with two real estate investors and just asked them as many questions as possible until they got sick of us. After digesting that information, we found a real estate coach who really put us on the right track.
In the meantime you might say we were straddling. We are both consultants working for ourselves, but we view the consulting as our separate jobs. We view our other endeavors as preparation for our dream. Remember our dream is to have endless time to raise our girls and have money working for us.
This fall our consulting set itself on a great path, so we decided to take our next step toward that dream. We had spent plenty of time on real estate and we are waiting to watch it grow for a year. Now we were ready to learn how to start up and build a business. As mentioned yesterday, we asked ourselves the hard questions, so we could match ourselves to a business. Being pregnant and in the midst of adoption the abvious answer was an online baby store. We have to learn about these products anyway, why not research and buy the best products for our customers as well. Do you see what's coming?
Yes we went and got ourselves another coach.Thanks to her, our store has had a smooth and successful start. Little Baby Headquarters
Our coach taught us more in three, one hour sessions than we could have learned in a year of seminars and books. Her name is Cindy Shebley. Her contact info. is www.clovercity.com.
Be sure to tell her that Cyndi and Jeff in NJ sent you, and she'll give you a phenominal deal. I can't express what an amazing help she has been to us. Cindy is a Business Consultant certified by eBay, she specializes in internet marketing and starting up online.
Your homework:
Read this blog.
Send a comment telling about where you are in your life (i.e. pregnant, quitting your job next month, selling products at craft fairs...whatever it is)
Call Cindy Shebley if you want advice from the best.
Tomorrow, lots more so get going!
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Moving forward by going back
A few posts back, I had mentioned that Jeff and I have adjusted our whole philosophy on life, work and money in late 2006. Last January I left my W-2 job in a school district primarily to be home and get my mom back on her feet after a short illness. Once her health leveled out, Jeff and I decided it was time for me to start working as a real estate investor from home. From January to March I researched investment markets, interviewed realtors, property managers, and insurance agents. At the end of March we chose a market and traveled for our first visit to view some homes. That was a disaster. Shortly after, we returned to view more homes...even worse. It was back to the drawing board. With the help of our real estate coach, we found a viable market. In May we traveled to the town, viewed about 15 properties and placed a bid on a nice two-family. We quickly closed on the property in June, and on the same day we went looking for more properties. It took us three more trips to find the second match, but in September we found one. In October, we closed on our second investment property; a very nice four-family house. Since that closing, I have been focusing my energy on managing the properties and the property manager. Jeff and I took our time educating ourselves, so we could make all the right moves in our first real estate endeavors. After long discussions, we also agreed that we should spend the same amount of time getting the properties to perform as we expected. That brings me up to today. If the properties do well on paper, we will consider new properties in the fall. Until then, I am learning how to; read property reports, deal with city offices about warnings, obtain commercial refuse contracts and electrical problems.
The explanation above is the very reason, I have been free to explore our next adventure which we will discuss tomorrow. Good luck to all of you who want to become real estate investors. The work is hard but the benefits are great!
See you tomorrow!
The explanation above is the very reason, I have been free to explore our next adventure which we will discuss tomorrow. Good luck to all of you who want to become real estate investors. The work is hard but the benefits are great!
See you tomorrow!
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Getting Business Going
In the beginning, I promised to walk you through these past 2- 3 years. When we found out that parenthood would come later than we thought, we quickly put a plan in place to invest in ourselves, our future and our children's future. Here are more steps that got us there.
As our June 3rd due date nears, I am feeling more pressure to get things off the ground. This morning Jeff and I had to spend two unexpected hours dealing with issues and contracts for the real estate rental properties that we bought last year. As a couple, it was easier than to doing it on my own. If you feel the urge to leap into being an entrepreneur, it is comforting to do it along side a friend, family member or spouse. We know when we talk business that we must keep our eyes set on the long term goals: passing on wealth to our biological child (Sophia) and our adopted daughter (Mei Li). Without that goal in mind, I think it would have been tempting to throw in the towel a long time ago.
I mentioned a few days back that we read a lot and attended many seminars. After about 6 months to a year, we bought our first 2 investment properties. Nothing can totally prepare you for bad tenants or broken furnaces, but I must say, the time we took reading and learning from a coach prepared us for a lot. The houses cover themselves, but the cash flow is lower than we wanted. Therefore, our next step in real estate is to get these two properties performing financially before we invest in another.
Simultaneously, we are focusing a lot of energy into the eBay store Little Baby Headquarters. We completely realize how hard retail is, but we have a plan that will hopefully get us going faster than expected. First we chose a niche. The store provides services and products to assist families through pregnancy up through having a toddler the age of five. Second, we hope to stock our store with well-rated items for safety, ease of use and price. Now a days, it's expensive to buy unexpected items and we wish to build a store where people can come and find new, reasonably priced items that carry a respected name in the industry.
Yes, life is busy, but we hope to be up and running better before baby comes. I'd rather be frazzled now than later.
So many moms these days are double tasking, even before baby's arrival. How do you all do it?
If you have tips about preparing for a child while working, please feel free to share.
As our June 3rd due date nears, I am feeling more pressure to get things off the ground. This morning Jeff and I had to spend two unexpected hours dealing with issues and contracts for the real estate rental properties that we bought last year. As a couple, it was easier than to doing it on my own. If you feel the urge to leap into being an entrepreneur, it is comforting to do it along side a friend, family member or spouse. We know when we talk business that we must keep our eyes set on the long term goals: passing on wealth to our biological child (Sophia) and our adopted daughter (Mei Li). Without that goal in mind, I think it would have been tempting to throw in the towel a long time ago.
I mentioned a few days back that we read a lot and attended many seminars. After about 6 months to a year, we bought our first 2 investment properties. Nothing can totally prepare you for bad tenants or broken furnaces, but I must say, the time we took reading and learning from a coach prepared us for a lot. The houses cover themselves, but the cash flow is lower than we wanted. Therefore, our next step in real estate is to get these two properties performing financially before we invest in another.
Simultaneously, we are focusing a lot of energy into the eBay store Little Baby Headquarters. We completely realize how hard retail is, but we have a plan that will hopefully get us going faster than expected. First we chose a niche. The store provides services and products to assist families through pregnancy up through having a toddler the age of five. Second, we hope to stock our store with well-rated items for safety, ease of use and price. Now a days, it's expensive to buy unexpected items and we wish to build a store where people can come and find new, reasonably priced items that carry a respected name in the industry.
Yes, life is busy, but we hope to be up and running better before baby comes. I'd rather be frazzled now than later.
So many moms these days are double tasking, even before baby's arrival. How do you all do it?
If you have tips about preparing for a child while working, please feel free to share.
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