I thought I’d post something fun today to help lighten the mood on my blog. ;) I was really excited when I found out that Disney/Pixar was making another Toy Story. I love both of the movies and I’m just as excited to see the third one. (I also really want to see both Toy Story movies in the theater come October 2.) Anyway, here’s the teaser for Toy Story 3. :D
I haven’t been very good at updating my blog lately. There are a few reasons for this. The first and foremost is that I feel like my life is really depressing right now and I don’t want to turn my blog into a pity fest. However, because it has been over a week since I’ve posted anything, I thought I’d post something. I just don’t know what. … You’re probably wondering why I feel like my life is really depressing right now so maybe I should just share a little bit of what’s going on.
Right now, it just feels like the floor is being dug out from underneath Corey and me. Even though Froyo’s doing really well because the store keeps exceeding its expectations and everyone loves our product, the future looks very dim for our small store. Our build-out cost almost double what it was estimated at and because Froyo was closed for a week and a half between locations, our coffers were drained. We’re having trouble paying for the smallest of bills. (We’re even putting our own money into the business to keep it going, which isn’t helping us financially since we barely have enough to meet our own financial needs.)
Corey asked the contractor why there’s such a huge difference in the estimate and the actual cost of the build-out and he said, “That’s just what it cost to build everything.” During the construction process, Corey was keeping tabs on everything to make sure our budget was being met. There were even a couple of extra things we approved the cost for so we expected to be over by about $5,000. But, when we got the bill, it felt like the oxygen had been sucked from the room.
Because we can’t afford to pay the build-out costs, our contractor and the sub-contractors want to put a lien on the property. The lien doesn’t really do anything to us, except prevent us from collecting the money that was part of our rental agreement with our building management company. The contract has a lien provision and unless the contractors and sub-contractors are willing to sign a lien waiver, the money is untouchable. This money won’t solve all our problems, but it would help us until we could figure out a more permanent solution.
Before we moved to the new location, we had an investor lined up to help Froyo grow and expand. And, because we knew that something could happen to change the investor’s mind, we even had a bank as a backup plan. Because the build-out costs were so much higher than estimated, the investor pulled out because it was more than they wanted to invest and it changed the “risk factor” involved with the investment. The bank also fell through because we no longer qualify for an express loan. The bank needs to draw up new documentation and go through the underwriting process again, which will take up to three months, but no less than two months.
We’re in the process of trying to find a new investor. We have a couple of promising leads, but we’re worried it’s not going to be in time to save Froyo because the contractor, sub-contractors, and anyone else we owe money to are getting antsy. Corey and I just found out that our sign company is taking down our signage today. Part of the build-out costs covered the signs, which haven’t been paid yet. As of this afternoon, Froyo may not have any signs left, which will hurt the store dramatically. But, we’re trying to work our way around it.
Froyo will succeed if we can get an investor in time. Like I said earlier, the store is exceeding expectations and doing really well sales-wise. It seems so unfair and tragic that the store may fail because of our build-out costs, even though the store itself is doing well.
Right now, we’re doing a lot of praying. We’re praying that Froyo will succeed and that the hearts of the people we’re in debt to will be softened to give us more time. We’re trying to have faith and hope that something will come through before it’s too late. And, we’re trying to put our trust in the Lord and allow Him to direct our lives in the direction that’s best for us. We’re also trying to realize and understand that the direction He knows is best for us may not coincide with the way we think things should work out.
Anyway, now you know what’s going on and why we’re so stressed. If you know anyone that may want to invest in a small business that has a lot of potential (if it could just get through this storm), please tell them to contact Corey. Also, we’d appreciate it if you remember us in your prayers.
Last month, my sister-in-law Jamie suggested that the Blaser girls have a monthly girls’ night out to strengthen our relationships. I wasn’t able to attend the first one because it was in Logan and I had no way to get there since Corey needed the car.
Shortly after the first girls’ night out, I saw this cute invitation on my mother-in-law’s blog.
We saw Love Happens with Jennifer Aniston and Aaron Eckhart. I really enjoyed the movie. I thought it was very funny, cute, and I even cried during one part of the movie. My favorite character was Rocky, the parrot. I just laughed and laughed because of the hilarity in the situations surrounding the bird.
After the movie, we went to the Cheesecake Factory. The food was so-so, but the dessert was heavenly, which kind of makes up for me finding out my slice of carrot cake had 1590 calories in it after I ate it! 8O
At first when I found out the Cheesecake Factory was the chosen eating location, I was a little leery. Cheesecake and counting calories don’t mix and I’m not a cheesecake fan anyway. I decided to go online to look over the menu, so I could find a healthy/healthier option. I saw the club sandwich and saw that I could have a salad rather than fries so I decided that’s what I’d order.
The club had turkey, bacon, lettuce, tomato, and mayonnaise on a toasted white bread. I ordered it without the mayonnaise and decided it was okay to keep the bacon since one slice is about 220 calories and I’d make sure I’d eat no more than two slices. About five minutes after I had ordered the sandwich, our waiter told me they were out of turkey. I didn’t want to try to find something else that I didn’t think would have too many calories so I just told him to give it to me without the turkey and make it a BLT.
While we were looking at the desserts, the cheesecake held no interest for me. I saw a goblet of fresh strawberries, which is what I should’ve ordered, but I decided that a slice of carrot cake wouldn’t hurt just this once. Normally, carrot cake has around 300 calories per slice and 300 calories wouldn’t have undone my day/week/month/year. ;) It was so good, and I realized how much I’ve missed eating carrot cake or other really yummy baked goods.
After I got home, I decided to enter my food items in my online calorie tracker, like I always do after I eat something. This calorie tracker has information for most national food chains, which is really nice. Unfortunately, it didn’t have anything for the Cheesecake Factory so I did a Google search for calorie information. That’s when the floor fell out from under me. Not only did I find out that my one piece of cake had 1590 calories, a mere 110 calories less than my daily target, but my sandwich also supposedly had 1100 calories in it. 8O I’ve decided to never frequent the Cheesecake Factory again unless I’m trying to gain some weight.
I learned a few things from this outing. First, just because something may seem like it will be low in calories doesn’t mean it actually is. Second, check calorie information before I go somewhere. Third, if I can’t find calorie information, don’t go even if it means missing out on something. Fourth, it’s okay to splurge every once in a while; I just can’t let it become a habit. Fifth, learn from my mistakes and get back on the horse!
Anyway, even though I ate the entire week’s worth of calories in one meal, I had a good time. It was fun to see the movie with my mother-in-law and two sisters-in-law. It was fun to talk while eating dinner and to just spend time together. I look forward to next month’s gathering and, hopefully, we’ll choose a more healthy restaurant. ;)
The grand opening party for Froyo was last Saturday. It was a lot of fun and a huge success! :D
We decorated the lobby with lime green and orange sherbet colored balloons. :D Between 12:00 pm and 2:00 pm, when someone walked into Froyo, I greeted them and donned them with a lei. Everyone got a free kid’s size frozen yogurt with one topping. The adults also got a free goody bag that contained a free 8-oz. frozen yogurt coupon, Froyo pen, a toy for the kiddies, and a free fish taco coupon from Rubio’s. We also gave away a free Froyo T-shirt, which you can see in the picture on the left and middle (click to enlarge).
We had as many people show up to the grand opening as we normally get during an entire day. Corey and I knew about half the people that came in. Last Friday, we met one of our sales benchmarks and then exceeded that benchmark by almost a third on Saturday, even with the two hours of free frozen yogurt.
The grand opening was a lot of fun and a lot of hard work. We enjoyed seeing our family and friends, and thank all those that came for supporting us! :D
The newest trailer for New Moon was shown during the MTV VMAs. After seeing this trailer, I’m so excited to see this movie! It looks like it’s going to be so good! :D Hopefully, it doesn’t disappoint.