Tuesday, October 9, 2007

Wondering...

I haven't written in a long time. I spent the month of September essentially living at the studio, teaching around 20 hours a week and finally knocked out all of my observation hours. I have 6 more self practice hours to meet my goal of completing 135 hours by October 15, which will leave me with 40 self practice and 20 apprentice teaching to complete after Lily comes. Once I complete these 6, I am going to stop until she arrives. My body is tired.

My website is essentially up. I need to add a few things yet, but you can view it at www.pilatesformommies.net if you want to check it out. I met with a small business adviser a month or so ago, it was the most frustrating, unproductive 2 hours of my life ever. He kept telling me that I should start a clothing line, and buy ad space in the magazines they give away for free at Kroger. Um, no, and...no. I have thought about eventually having a line of workout clothes for pregnant women, because, lets face it, they are impossible to find and when you do, they are ugly. But not until much farther down the road. I don't want to take out a huge loan right now! Plus- buying ad space in free publications would most certainly not target women who are going to pay $15 to come to a fitness class.

I contacted my old boss to see if there was a possibility of me coming back in some form or fashion at the beginning of the new year. I haven't heard back from her yet, which is making me nervous. Her kids might be on fall break though, in which case she might not be working. '

I'm having a hard time going back and forth between thinking I need to be working more than I will when I'm teaching, and the idea of putting Lily in daycare. Quite honestly, the thought terrifies the crap out of me. We don't know anyone with kids in daycare in our area, and we keep hearing stories of kids getting abused, neglected, or forgotten at childcare facilities. Plus, I want to be the one to teach her how to read and write and count like my mom did for me. But there is still a part of me that wants to work...can I hold off on that until she starts school? Can I provide her the social interactions she needs until then? If I do keep her home with me until she's 5, am I going to be comfortable letting her go to a public school? These are the questions I'm struggling with right now.

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

It's been a week- this is frustrating

So I know I'm slacking. It's been a week since I've updated. But I've been really really busy between teaching and I'm not sure what else right now, but trust me, I've been busy. Started my website over the weekend, hoping to have it up sometime soon, probably will take a few more weeks though.

I'm having a hard time- I'm really frustrated. Everyone I pitch Pilates for Mommies too loves the idea, wants to work with me, but doesn't have the space or has worked with prenatal programs before that haven't been successful. Chris is really encouraging, but still, it's hard not to really question the whole concept. I really thought it would be easier than this- Pregnant women need to exercise. Why is it so hard to reach them to tell them about the program?!?!?!?!?

I've been really busy with Next Big Nashville stuff too, I'm excited at how that's coming together. I honestly don't know if I'll put up another entry this week or not, i"m out of pocket until Friday though so don't expect one sooner than that.

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

I've missed a few days....sorry!

Wow. Time flys. So, here's what's been keeping me busy:

Friday: Honestly don't remember what I did Friday morning, I think it was working on Next Big Nashville Stuff trying to get it organized. At around 11, I set out to the public library, list in hand, looking for all of the do-it-yourself website design materials I could find. After checking out 6 -2+inch thick books, I came home and promptly bought myself the domain www.pilatesformommies.net. How is it that all the pregnancy & maternity related domain names in the dot com realm are bought, but not a single one has information up???? Squatters. Ugh. Anyway, after a few hours of reseach, I learned that my fabulous iMac was already equipped with the software I needed, and knew how to use. iWeb is my friend :) I created a fun page holder, complete with a link to email me, while I plan out the site. I have an entire day this week reserved to do just that.

Saturday I taught, and worked on VIP stuff for NBN. OH! That's what I did Friday morning- VIP list stuff. Anyway, we had a lovely dinner with Chris parents on Saturday night, and a quiet evening at home watching the 2nd Bourne movie. I haven't seen the first, but Chris visited all of the movie stores in town and was unable to find a copy of it for rent. Didn't seem to matter much though, I still enjoyed it.

Sunday I was sick. Was awake most of the night unable to breathe or get comfortable, and woke up feeling miserable. Summer cold, brought on by the insane amount of air conditioning required to keep the oven that is my body comfortable.

Because I was sick, I sort of took Monday off- I was supposed to teach two lovely ladies, but canceled on them both to recover. I ended up working on NBN stuff for a few hours in the morning, took at nice hour and a half long nap, and left to run some errands. As I walked out of the house, I realized that the sky was blue- after weeks of having a gross haze over the city, the nights' thunderstorm seemed to have cleared it off a bit. So, I grabbed my camera, and added city scape photography to my agenda for the afternoon. There is a hill just north of my house with a spectacular city view- when the sky isn't gross, so I was excited to go take some pictures. Unfortunately, the sky was still gross over the city. Looking north, away from the city, it was a pretty blue, but a haze still clouded the buildings in the skyline.

I did climb up to the top of Love Circle and take a few pictures from there, it wasn't horrible but not what I was hoping for. I spent the rest of the afternoon at starbucks, nursing my drink and reading "20 Things You Must Know About Music Online" (http://www.newmusicstrategies.com/ebook). It has a lot of great information for bands building themselves a web presence, but beyond that, for businesses building a web presence. I recommend it if you do anything business related on the internet.

This morning started out early- I popped the tire on Chris's car last night so he had to take it in to get it repaired, so I was on the computer working by 7am. It's 9:30, and I have updated the NBN website with all the bio information I've received, I've prepared and submitted another program proposal to a Pilates studio that I think would be a great fit, and I've written my morning pages. I have crossed everything off my to-do list for the day, other than working my way through "Making a Name for Yourself" which I am going to dive into right now...

Thursday, August 16, 2007

5 hours is too long to go without eating

I just finished eating a very good lunch. Not quite as good as I was hoping, but good, and cheap. There is a local deli that has a sandwich called a "Gobblin' Goat"- it's sliced turkey with goat cheese, served on grilled ciabatta or sour dough bread. I bought the ingredients to make it myself- total they all cost about $9, which is enough for 4+ sandwiches- $9 is also what the deli charges for the sandwich. Anyway- mine was good, not quite as good as theirs, but for the price difference I'm okay with that. I ate breakfast at a little after 7 though, and it's 1 now, that was way too long to go without eating.

I met with Jason this morning and am excited to dive into working on his administrative stuff. I got IWork '08 yesterday, and I've spent the morning getting to know the software. It's great so far. I made new planner pages- I am on a lifelong quest to find the perfect organizational system for me, and I've made vast strides this year. We'll see how these work- if they do I'll share how they're organized. Planner systems cost too much to buy, in my opinion, when none will perfectly fit what I need. That is what spreadsheet programs are for- to take a good idea and tweak it.

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

It's 2pm- why have I been awake for 9 hours already?

Well, it's been another day. But, I will start with yesterday as that's how this is supposed to go.

Yesterday I had to catch up from the weekend and being gone monday- so I went grocery shopping. And I canned. 2.5 pints of tomatoes, 2 more pints of pickles. With the tomatoes I made spaghetti sauce. Yummy. That pretty much shot my day though- I read the new chapter of The Artist's Way, did last week's exercises, and one chapter from Making a Name for Yourself. I'm having a heck of a time trying to concentrate though- especially when I'm at home.

I went to the studio at 4:30 and did two hours of self practice, no one showed up for my class so I took the time to get together more information to send out to businesses. Glad I did- I got three responses today and we are going to be listed in the next issue of Nashville Parent. WOOHOO!

Today, I started the day out bright and early at 6am at the studio, did an hour of self practice, then taught for an hour followed by another hour of self practice. Then I went to the dr., where I found out not only is my blood pressure still high- it's actually going up. So, they don't want me to lay on my back anymore at all. Which is fine, except that is how I have to position myself in order to do any self practice hours. We'll work out something at the studio, just not sure what yet. It'll help me tap my creative juices though.

Finally, the other great things that happened today were that Jason finally emailed me the stuff so I can start working with him, and I had an amazing lunch with a fellow Pilates teacher who is leaving a part time PA job that I may be able to snag! And I received my last paycheck from EMI (unused vacation pay) which was not in our budget, so I am feeling really good.

Good enough to go take a nap now :)

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

A Day Off

Yesterday, I took my first day off and went and visited a friend from high school. We met in Marion, IL which is about half way between, and had a fabulous time! She's 19 weeks pregnant, so we talked a lot about babies and stuff. It was nice to have a day off, especially after having teacher training all weekend.

So far today, I've knocked a boatload of things off of my to do list. Yay me!

Friday, August 10, 2007

A Good Day

Yesterday that is. Today, not so much at this point, but yesterday was good. I had a client (my first "real" client) in my pilates class for pregnant/post pregnant women, and I heard from a member of the editorial staff at Radiant- they are interested in my series if/when I choose to write it. Which makes maintaining this blog all that more important. I didn't, however, do my "morning pages" which I feel a bit guilty about. And I haven't done any of the to-do's for this week from The Artist's Way, so I should work on that.

Today, so far, I've sprained my ankle, been visited by Jehovah's Witnesses, spent two hours sewing a bumper cover from faulty directions, and found out that it's going to cost $40-$50 to complete the bumper I was making for Lily's crib...to save money. Yeah. Apperantly, flame retardant foam is not cheap. So not cheap in fact, that we are going back to plan "A" which is to just buy a bumper. The cover (which I completed yesterday) we'll just keep around for once she ruins the one we buy.

Oh- the other thing I did yesterday that makes me feel very accomplished- I put details into my business plan, along with the word "deadline." Now I need to go back and actually pick dates.

Thursday, August 9, 2007

I have a plan!

So, since it's hard for me to blog about the day at the end of it, I think I'm just going to be resolved to blog the next day about what happened the day before.

Yesterday I had another early morning- 6 & 8 am classes which went great, then I went to the coffee shop to kill some time until I met up with our friend Jason. During that time, I laid out a rough outline of what by business plan was going to look like.

Met with Jason, very excited about that, he's putting together this huge festival here in town next month, and I'm going to help him out with some of the administrative stuff.

Anyway, after that, went and got lunch with Chris at the pizza place, came home, got sick from the pizza, and laid down for a glorious 2 hour nap. When I woke up, I pulled out my plan outline, and put some meat into it. My plan is broken up into 5 phases. I still have to put a timeline and budget with it, but at minimum, it looks like it's going to take about 5 years to get to the point where I could consider opening my own studio. But, now that I have everything out on paper, I can go into each phase, create the timeline and projected costs/profits, and get into the nitty gritty of what needs to be done without my mind going in 500 different directions. I'm really excited about it!

Tuesday, August 7, 2007

Untitled

No title for today- I just ate an AMAZING lunch, cooked by yours truly, on the grill, all by herself! It was a grilled chicken and eggplant pita, with FRESH tomato sauce (I made it while the stuff on the grill was cooking). I think I may try to write a lunch time cookbook. Add it to my list of creative endeavors for the next three months.

I finished "A Girl's Guide to Starting Your Own Business" while I was eating, and, seriously, I feel like I should go buy the book just to support the authors (I got it from the library). It is so full of useful information! I took good notes while I was reading, so I don't really anticipate needing to go back to it for much, so I probably won't buy it, but it is really good! The resources that it provides you with alone are worth the price of the book.

Someone is signed up for my class on Saturday morning. This is very exciting to me- it proves that I'm not insane, and a Pilates class geared toward Pregnant women is needed in Nashville, and I'm fulfilling a need.

The rest of my day is going to be spent canning tomatoes, and possibly, if I have time, making bumpers for the crib at church and for Lily's crib. Tomorrow I am meeting with a friend that is putting together a big weekend music festival, I'm going to be helping him out with some stuff, so between my classes and meeting with him tomorrow I plan to outline my business and marketing plans. Therefore, I'm taking the rest of today to think about them. And make notes, in between jars of tomato sauce.

Monday, August 6, 2007

It's a Monday...

I'm sitting at the studio, with the sun in my eyes. That's the problem with too many windows. They are beautiful and give us this nice open feel, but when you sit at the computer you wish you had sun glasses on. Oh well, this is why I don't work at the front desk.

You may have noticed I didn't blog on Saturday or Sunday. This is because, although it's contrary to everything I've read about starting my own business, I don't want to work on Saturday and Sunday other than the teaching & teacher training I have to do. I didn't read any of my business books, didn't make any lists. It was a little bit liberating and I think that I am excited to dive back into it today precisely because I didn't overdo it on the weekend.

In addition to the business books I'm reading, I'm also reading The Artist's Way. I have read only week 1, but I'm really enjoying it. I have an idea for a children's book, and I'm going to see if I can get on the list to do an art exhibit at church sometime next year with my photos. I guess maybe I should talk to Chris about that first, he may want to be involved to, but regardless he'll be supportive. I'm excited about my children's book idea, it requires me to go back to Radnor to take more pictures in the near future (this week, today even, would be best) but it is just so stinking hot here!

Oh- my meeting on Saturday went really well- owner seems excited about me at the studio again which was a huge boon.

On my list today: Finish "A Girl's Guide..." clean oven, wash bed sheets & Lily's new stuff, go to radnor? take a nap! (My first class was scheduled for 6am today, and I didn't sleep so well last night- literally saw the clock EVERY hour. Ugh.

Friday, August 3, 2007

oops...

So I forgot to write yesterday. Oops. I guess it is kind of bad only one day in, but geez, I'm busy! It's crazy that my 4 hours of work per week are keeping me busier now then I was when I was at work from 8:30-5:30. But, that's because I can do whatever I want with my time now. Yesterday I organized Lily's room and hung up her name, which was fun. I also did some reading, right now it's, "A Girl's Guide to Starting Your Own Business," which is amazingly informative and a great resource. I hope to finish it by the end of the weekend.

I also had, what I thought, was a stroke of genius- I contacted Prenatal YOGA teachers to find out what they did to get word out about their classes, and I'm a bit discouraged by the answers I received. Only one studio in town offers classes, and the instructor has a very good relationship with the midwives at Vanderbilt, so that's where her students come from. The others that I contacted said that they couldn't get enough people to come to have a dedicated class just for pregnant women. Bugger. Today I'm going to visit a boutique in Berry Hill to drop off some brochures and talk to the owner, and I also posted info on two baby-boards online. Hopefully I'll get some sort of response.

This afternoon I get to go stand in line to renew my car tags (oh joy) but then, I'm having coffee with a friend from my old job and off to see John Mayer tonight.

Wednesday, August 1, 2007

A whole new career

Yesterday was my last day at my corporate job. Today is the first day of my new career as a Pilates instructor. The scope of what that exactly means changed drastically last night--- for the better, but still, who wants a huge chink in the chain their last day at the cushy secure job?

I thought I'd been hired at a studio (I had a contract stating that, silly me). The contract allows me to teach other places, but for the last 5 months as the studio owner and I have been planning my leap into the fitness world, she has been nothing but encouraging and supportive, so I really thought I would be working mostly for the studio, and possibly doing a few things on the side. More than anything I didn't want to start any competing classes. Well, found out last night that, because I want to do crazy things like market my class, and I ask the office manager questions like when do I get paid? or How did you decide I would be deemed an employee rather than an independent contractor? I am probably not going to be a real good long term fit with the studio. My contract obligates me to work there through 2008, but I think we established last night that unless something drastic changes, I will probobly be moving on then. I was pretty pissed about the whole thing last night, but now I'm excited.

I have until the 10th off, then I begin the last phase of my teacher training which I hope to basically finish by October, in plenty of time for Lily to make her appearance in November. I will be doing 6-8 hours of Pilates per day (teaching and self practice) in order to make that happen. So, for the next 10 days, I am busting my butt to get the house in order is much as possible. And, now, planning my business.

Today though, I ran some errands- car emissions, oil change, target- and I took a much needed nap. The last week has been immensely stressful for me, and I haven't been sleeping. Or eating much. Neither of those two things are good when you're 26 weeks pregnant.

Speaking of...one more week until I am officially in the third trimester!

Thursday, July 26, 2007

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Mostly, that's just it. I just want to scream. I am at work, it's noon, and I want to leave my desk and go to the Y and swim. But I can't, because my boss is having the scheduling day from hell. I'm an executive assistant (for 3 more days) and it has never been this bad. He started out completely booked from 9-5:30, but cancelled a 12-2 meeting to get some office time. Little good that did, because "emergancies" (i.e. poor planning or bad communication) has now eaten up the whole 2 hour period of time. Because I'm the gate keeper, I anticipate being at my desk now until about 2pm when he goes to another meeting. Maybe then I can go swimming!

The other frustration of my day is trying to find childcare for my daughter, and she's not even born yet! She's not going to be here until November, and already it's become a pain. I'm quitting my job to spend more time with her, but I still will need something 2 or 3 days a week so I can teach enough for us to make ends meet. The problem is most Mommy's Day Out programs don't accept infants until 6 months, and many require the kids to be older (10-18 months). And, they aren't open in the summer.

I grew up in a town of 500 people. I had a babysitter at my house, and I babysat for 3 kids all summer long. I wish I could do that here, but I don't know any teenagers. And I don't know who to trust! This is scary and frustrating! It does make me more thankful though that I don't have to worry about actually finding a daycare. The thought gives me the shivers.

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

I wonder...

If anyone reads this.

If I will ever grow out of my awkward afraid-of-talking-too-much phase that I entered sometime after the age of 16 (because trust me, before then, I had no filter whatsoever.)

If I will ever settle on a career...my mom never did, maybe I'm genetically programed to jump around.

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

I had a bad day...but it's okay

Not so long ago, my husband gently told me to start a blog to complain about Nashville drivers because he was sick of hearing it. This blog isn't for that, but this one is going to be about it for a moment. Then I will move on.

I have no problem with talking on your cell phone while driving, if you can do both things at once. It's the people that can't that I have a problem with. JUST BECAUSE YOU'RE ON YOUR CELL PHONE DOESN'T EXEMPT YOU FROM USING TURN SIGNALS, DRIVING IN JUST 1 LANE AT A TIME, OR CHECKING FOR OTHER CARS BEFORE YOU SWITCH LANES.

Seriously.

On a brighter note, I swam .64 miles on my lunch break today, and I must say, I look quite funny in a swim suit. I have a maternity one, but it's all cute and doesn't scream "serious lap swimmer" so I decided to try my regular one-piece today. The one-piece fit just fine, as it should considering I still weigh 20lbs less now than I did when I bought it, but seriously- why can't I just have a cute round belly like it seems like everyone else has? Mine looks like a lopsided pillow. I think I"m going to go back to wearing the maternity one. It's a two piece and for whatever reason, I look much more normal in it.

Friday, July 20, 2007

I must look pregnant today

I had my 24 week checkup today, and I guess I must look pregnant now, even sitting down. There is a parking attendant at my OB's office in the morning, making sure only patients park there and not the employees of the various area hospitals. Usually he asks what dr you're seeing, if you're at the right building he lets you in, otherwise sends you to a different parking area. This morning he said "Good morning ma'am, drive right on in."

Thursday, July 19, 2007

I did it I did it I did it!

So, for 3 weeks, on my "To Do- High Priority" and "Goals for the Week" list I had "Write and Submit story for Radiant." I hadn't just not done it, I hadn't even worked on it. BUT! Today, I buckled down, took a break from my usual random Internet surfing that helps me pass the day, and wrote, edited, and submitted my story! Yippee! Personally, I think it's pretty good, but I won't be offended if it's not printed. It wasn't so much about getting printed this time, but just doing it. I keep saying I want to get back in writing, but what have I done? Nada. 2 years ago I got really passionate about writing about the AIDS Pandemic in Africa- I even set up interviews with various authorities on the issue around town. Did I ever do anything though? Nope. But now, I've done it! One step in the right direction. YAY ME!

Little joys...

So today is really just a typical Thursday. I had trouble sleeping last night, so I didn't want to get up this morning- in fact, when my alarm went off at 5 I reset it for 6, and when it went off at 6 I hit snooze until 7. By that time the dog needed to go out, so I had to get up (and I had to get ready for work.)

Having short hair again is really amazing. I spend more time preparing my lunches now then I do taking a shower, fixing my hair, and putting on make-up. And by "preparing my lunches" all I mean is pulling the food out of the fridge and getting it into my little insulated lunch carrier thing. It's not like I'm cooking anything.

Anyway- nothing really remarkable today except:

1) I almost didn't was my hands after using the restroom. "GROSS!!!!" you are probobly thinking. And you are right. But for whatever reason, I walked out of the stall and had the bathroom door open before I realized "Wait! I didn't wash my hands!" How do you forget something like that?

2) Even after packing the aforementioned lunch, I decided that I was in the mood for chinese. So, after my lunchtime workout at the Y, I stopped by Publix on my way back to the office to pick up some chicken and maybe bagel chips to go with it (I don't like fried rice or the noodly stuff). But, alas, the only options they had were spicey, which we all know I do not do. Then I noticed a little sign for their popcorn chicken: "Hand breaded throughout the day from only fresh white meat chicken breast." So I got an order, and, as a last minute addition, added a side of macaroni & cheese. Can I just tell you- the chicken was amazing- fresh & juicy tasting- not like any other commercially prepared fried chicken nuggets. And the macaroni. Oh the macaroni. It was as good as Grandma Marliss's, and if you don't know how good my Grandma Marliss cooks, you are missing out.