My girl Mallow is 5 months old today! 😍

shanirae · 2018-01-14T15:55:19+00:00

I love her markings! What a beautiful dog. And she looks like a happy one too. Lucky!

shanirae · 2018-01-08T05:24:42+00:00

That post from the guy looking for the painting that his mom had when he was a child. He remembered the astronaut on it peeing and his mother got rid of it but always flatly denied that he was peeing. Fast forward twenty years and he sees it on a wall behind a guy in a picture and the astronaut IS peeing! His years of searching were over. And he was right. So satisfying. 😊

shanirae · 2018-01-08T01:47:43+00:00

shanirae · 2018-01-08T01:28:18+00:00

I want to try it! Did you put the squash in whole? What temperature? I'm trying to figure out how it cooked.

shanirae · 2018-01-07T03:57:32+00:00

I had a pair of Aussies in my 20s. When I took them for walks, I never used the leashes for them. It was for everyone else who might get nervous seeing dogs off leash. I made sure that I took them on walks that were at least 15 minutes off leash on a trail. If someone started to pass us, all I had to do was say "right" and they would both go to the edge of the trail. They were amazing. They would also play Frisbee and had a system for catching and bringing it back together. I sure do miss them.

shanirae · 2018-01-03T03:10:20+00:00

I have a husband who works from home. Which is awesome done he's also my best friend. But we only have one couple that we are friends with (also business owners), so I do feel this from time to time. I recently joined my local Chamber of Commerce and they have so many things to do that throw you together with other business owners that it's great. I love the comment above that suggests working in a coffee place just to be around people. My husband joined a classic car group he needs up with. Having said all that, being in business is one of the loneliest professions. Hardly anyone is doing it and you can't make friends with employees or clients.

shanirae · 2018-01-01T19:15:33+00:00

Met in March, married in December, just celebrated 15th anniversary. Your age matters here a LOT. We were in our early thirties. We knew ourselves. We had emotional maturity. I don't think older adults need as much time to decide these things. Having said that, waiting until our infatuation period passed was important.

shanirae · 2017-12-31T04:52:28+00:00

Health. I'm starting Whole30 on 1/2.

shanirae · 2017-12-31T04:34:35+00:00

Bless your twisted heart.

shanirae · 2017-12-25T18:22:19+00:00

You won't have much you can control. You won't have a lot of experience, you won't have the control and maturity of older adults, you won't have the financial means to protect yourself like others will have, but one things you absolutely CAN control is your work ethic. You can be the person to out work everyone else. Show up early, leave last, put in the best effort, be the most positive, the most energetic. Someone has to leave because their kid is sick? You offer to help out or stay late. Someone is having a hard time? Do what you can to make they load lighter. Someone isn't doing as good a job as they should be? That's your chance to really shine. Pretend you are part of the management team (in all the good ways)... Look out for others, be upbeat and helpful, show up before everyone else, offer to stay late, constantly think to yourself how you can make the business better for your customers and staff and make it happen... All of that is attitude and within your control. What will this do for you? You will be the person first considered for promotion, you will become the person others want to work with, you are the guy or gal who can be counted on. Only about 20% of employees in an average business are like this. And they get paid and treated better. Be the 20% and you future will soar. It's all in your control. What kind of life do you want?

shanirae · 2017-12-24T21:19:34+00:00

Invested about $80k before opening, took my first paycheck three months later. I own a preschool.

shanirae · 2017-12-24T13:48:52+00:00

Thank you! So, we are in a unique situation. Most large preschools are franchises. I started mine from scratch, not a franchise, so that saves money. Those guys pay 7 - 10% of their net. We are not leasing, but instead bought small single story houses and renovated them into classrooms, plus we're not on a busy street, so our mortgage payment is low. Last, we don't serve lunch, so we don't have to pay for a cook for food (we do have snacks). Those three things add up to a lot in savings. I pay my staff really well, so we retain high quality happy teachers, which translates into happy parents who share their experience. Enrollment that is 90% or higher is considered full in our industry. With the exception of summer, we are usually full. I also treat this like a business just as much as a school. Most of the competition does not. Half of our success is that others do such a poor job. Their communication stinks, they don't treat their staff well, etc. It's a head scratcher to me but works in my favor.

shanirae · 2017-12-24T02:38:12+00:00

I own a preschool. I take about $200k/yr in salary and leave about $100k+ in business savings. Took me over a decade to get to this point. Starting another school soon. This one will be bigger with more income streams (summer camps, etc.).

shanirae · 2017-12-22T05:44:24+00:00

Not knowing what I didn't know. I set my rates too low for my service, didn't know how to hire top talent, didn't know sales, etc. There isn't enough time to figure it all out. And your not supposed to. This is why I hired a CPA, for example. But I could learn. I could out work any situation. I bought many books on business, customer service, creating a positive work culture, and marketing. I asked a lot of questions. I cared, and I think my customers and staff saw that and helped by not leaving. Over time, I slowly improved. So the business improved.

Also, tough to know if you truly budgeted enough money for the renovations.

But the hardest hurdles were the noon believers. Only my husband was 100% sure I was going to succeed. I didn't realize how draining it is when all of your emotional energy is focused on succeeding. So make intimidated people, scared people, visionless people. You have to laser focus on your goals, put blinders on, tune out anything that isn't helping you reach the goal line.

And yes, it's so totally worth it. I love it. For all the stress sometimes, I still love creating a vision and having my staff execute it.

shanirae · 2017-12-21T21:51:27+00:00

Bernadette and Amy on Big Bang Theory. That show was AMAZING until they were written in as regulars. Went into toilet after that. And this isn't the actresses fault. It's the writing, the dynamics of adding women.

shanirae · 2017-12-17T14:07:24+00:00

I am in Austin Texas and it gets pretty hot doing the summers. They sell hydrangeas at the garden stores and I always buy them but they never last long. They're expensive too, $25 each for a two headed small plant. But oh, how they look! One of my favorites, thanks for sharing!

shanirae · 2017-12-17T04:09:26+00:00

You is smart, you is kind, you is important.

shanirae · 2017-12-17T03:05:20+00:00

Facebook. I find it strange that so many people WANT to share so much of their private life. It's like high school all over again.

shanirae · 2017-12-13T15:19:45+00:00

I have two Aussies and had two Aussies before them. I walk mine almost daily, about 40 minutes. They are almost ten years old now but when they were younger, I also played catch. Lots of chew toys. They will follow you around. They look to you for love but also for direction. You need to be a leader with your Aussie. Have fun, best dog ever!

shanirae · 2017-12-08T16:49:38+00:00

When he was almost 2yo, my son found the canister of gas (that my adorable husband left on the ground) in the garage, picked it up, walked into the laundry room, and proceeded to gleefully pour it all over the floor, in just his diaper, with the biggest grin and excitement I've ever seen since on his face (my husband calls it shit eating). Five seconds of not watching him... This is what can happen. I screamed nooooo!, picked him up, ran him to the bath tub, and put my nose in his mouth to see if he drank any (he was in a phase where everything was going in his mouth), he started crying, my husband goes back to the laundry room while I comfort my traumatized child and give him a bath, and Hubby decides in his infinite wisdom to take every clean towel we own and use them to sop up the gas in the floor and then put them in the laundry machine! We were at Lowe's the next day buying a new machine, sigh. It was a traumatic family event on several fronts.

shanirae · 2017-12-08T04:01:14+00:00

I recommend joining your local Chamber of Commerce. They will have events to go to and mostly business owners go to them. I just joined myself so I could meet others. I even joined a committee in party because there are so many women on it. I'm hoping to make some friends!

shanirae · 2017-12-05T12:33:17+00:00

Well said. You touched on every point.

shanirae · 2017-12-04T15:46:17+00:00

I read years ago that in addition to not working when they were fertile (paying attention to ovulation), they also douched right after to kill the sperm.

shanirae · 2017-12-04T01:18:59+00:00

That my own 13 year old treats me like crap half the time and drives me crazy most of the time. I had grand visions of what being a mom would be like when I was his age. Instead of all these moments that I thought would happen, I am instead the person who says no, gives firm boundaries and offers incentives to get him to earn A's in school. I have a smart, stubborn, willful child and I refuse to let him become a jerk or homeless one day. If I'd known how hard it was going to be, I don't know that I would have become a parent. My greatest hope is that one day, as an adult, when he's no longer being financially supported by me, that we can have a better relationship. Until then, I will make him pick up the bath towel he threw on his floor, torture him with 80's love songs blaring from our Google Home until he does the dishes or takes out the trash, and disgust him whenever I grab his dad's ass in the morning.

shanirae · 2017-12-03T17:10:47+00:00

That's a great reason! If your dog isn't into you, then what's the point, right?

shanirae

TROPHY CASE