LimeBerry - Coming Soon!

The opening is getting closer...the inside looks a million times different than it did when we first leased it. The boys are hard at work making sure everything is taken care of in order to open as quickly as possible. 

The last proposed opening date was July 1st. 

I don't know if that's going to happen or not, but fingers crossed! 

The Lime To My Berry

Well, uh, sorry to leave you all hanging there. I know a lot of you had some questions regarding our newest venture (if you missed our announcement last week you can read about it here) so I am back to answer them. 

Question: Do you have a location already? Where is it?

Answer: YES! We actually picked out our location months ago (more on that in a minute) and a few weeks ago construction started. To answer the question about location, it is located in West Salem. For those of you that are local, it is in the Westgate Shopping Center, right next to Great Harvest (rather convenient for a bread lover like me!). 

Question: When did all of this happen?

Answer: Honestly, the initial idea came up about 3 months ago. There were quite a few hurdles that we had to deal with which kept us from moving forward as quickly as we would have liked. Yes, we have learned a whole lot of patience during this process. There were actually times where we didn't think it was going to work out, but thankfully we stayed strong (oh, who am I kidding, Josh is the only one who stayed positive throughout the process) and in the end it worked out better than we could have imagined. 

Question: When will you be open?

Answer: Um, Josh? Seriously though it is up to how smoothly the rest of the process goes. Things are going great right now (knock on wood), but we are willing to bet that there may be unforeseen issues/inspections/hold ups that may push things back a bit. With all of that said, the most I am going to say is mid-July. Don't hold us to it. Either way, I will keep you all updated as the opening gets closer.

Question: Are you crazy?

Answer: Okay fine, no one really said that, but I am assuming that at least one person was thinking it so I figured I might as well ask it :)

For fun, here is a little sneak peek at the "before" of the location that I took right before we made our offer.

Hey - It's my diaper bag!

It feels so good to be able to share all of this with you! It has been so hard not saying anything. Thank you all for your support and encouraging words, we are holding on to every word because we most definitely need it. You people rock our socks off.

Hope this answers all the lingering questions...if not, leave us a message in the comments or send us an email, we are happy to answer!

A Thank You, Frozen Yogurt, And An Announcement!

Wow. You guys are amazing. You knocked our socks off (funny expression by the way). I honestly didn't actually expect anyone to make it through that entire post, and truthfully I didn't think I could be blessed even more than I already had been. See, there's me doubting again. I need to realize that I can't doubt God's power. Anyway, all of the encouragement we received after that last post really meant a lot to us. I am just sitting here with a goofy grin on my face because I am just so gosh darn happy. So, thank you. Seriously. You rock! Oh and to the anonymous person...love you too, just wish I knew who you were. Glad we are friends though ;)

Alright, I know you didn't come here to listen to my sappy ramblings. You will have to hold tight though, I have one last thing to show you before I reveal our newest venture. 

One thing I have been promising to show you is my parent's self-serve frozen yogurt shop. They opened LIMEberry last August and I must say that I certainly do appreciate having an endless supply of frozen yogurt and toppings at my fingertips. Oh, in case you were wondering my go to combination is: Reese's peanut butter yogurt on the bottom, chocolate and vanilla swirl on top, M&M's, Reese's peanut butter cups, oreos, and a pump of Reese's peanut butter sauce on top. Absolute perfection. What? You don't think that's healthy? Well, I'll have you know that peanut butter has protein and chocolate has antioxidants. See, I am healthier than you think.

Alright, back to the subject at hand. I finally got a few photos of their location and wanted to share them with you. Before they opened, they had given me the opportunity to help design the shop and was I ever ecstatic! Unfortunately I was rather pregnant at the time and so busy with work that I couldn't do as much as I would have liked. I did send them a mood board and then they would consult me on their choices (some that I approved and some that I didn't...sometimes they listened, sometimes they didn't). Basically I showed them my vision (which also came together by listening to what they had envisioned as well) and then let them choose things accordingly. Here is the mood board that I sent to them.

LIMEberry Board by MalMal3 on Polyvore.com




We were looking for a fun, modern, and clean looking frozen yogurt shop. At the time the concept of self-serve frozen yogurt was very new to Salem so we got to really run with our ideas. As you can see the color scheme was lime and hot pink (I am sure there is a technical name for the pink/purple they are using, but I'm too lazy to find that out). Alright, here are a couple of "after" photos of the space.

I think you can see the "vision" translated into the space. It definitely isn't exactly the same, they had to make some changes to the original vision to fit the budget and location, but I still had lots of fun helping out with the design of a commercial space. It definitely stretched me a lot, and while it was similar to designing homes in some ways, there were definitely a lot of differences. 


ANNOUNCEMENT, ANNOUNCEMENT, ANNOUNCEMENT!!!


I've made you all wait long enough. After many months of some serious planning we have partnered up to open up our own LIMEberry location! 


Seriously. I know. I am still in denial. Shock is a word I use often. If you asked me 6 months ago what we would be doing with our lives, this would definitely not be it. However, we are SO EXCITED about this new venture. 


To answer the question that I know a lot of you probably have....yes, Josh will still be doing real estate. Honestly, we both LOVE his career...but there is one part that we don't love. The income. When real estate is good, it's real good, but when real estate is not good...well, it means we may not see a dime for all of the work for months. Obviously things are going to be a bit insane around our household for awhile, but we still feel its the right decision. I will be husbandless a lot, but its a sacrifice we are ready to make for now. We have been blessed with a lot of family time lately, but we know it is time to change things up a bit. Family is still a priority, but Josh needs to be able to provide for us. So, things will most certainly not be easier for awhile, but there is no doubt in our minds that this is right. We are learning how to handle this new lifestyle and making a commitment to one another that we will still make time for lots of fun family time. 


Alright, now is when I open it up to you. If you have questions please ask. While we all know I try to be very open on here, when it comes to the business there is going to be a lot that I will have to keep under wraps. I hope you understand. Since it is such a big part of our lives I am sure it will find its way on here every once in awhile. If I get enough questions I'll do another post to answer all of them since I am guessing there will be others asking the same thing. 


Thank you all for your love, support, and prayers. We are excited and a bit apprehensive about this new stage in life, but can't wait to see where it leads us! 

You're Fired!

Ok, you are not really fired. I'm not fired either. Really I was just feeling the need to channel the Trump just then. The truth is my work and I had a mutual breakup today at 12:00 p.m. As I had mentioned in this post my job was ending in January. Since I no longer work for said employer, I will go ahead and reveal who my boss is (I know a lot of people already know, but this is for those of you who are not in the know). 

See that nice looking man there? That is Governor Ted Kulongoski, Oregon's 36th Governor. 

In May of 2009 I was right in the midst of a layoff and received a call from the governor's office asking if I would be interested in a position. Seriously, this was a dream come true for me. I had loved the job that I was at, but with it ending I had no idea where I would end up. I had always dreamed about working for the governor, but never in my wildest dreams thought it was possible. 

The job itself presented many challenges, but it was fun and most days I truly enjoyed going into work. My actual job title was public service representative, which basically means I answered the governor's phone line, welcomed his guests, and coordinated his proclamations. It was ironic that I answered phones all day since I pretty much shake at the idea of answering a phone. Oh and I also gave myself the title of bodyguard. Seriously, don't mess with anyone in my office, I am scary. 

Anyway, today marks the last day of Governor Kulongoski's administration and the beginning of Governor Kitzhaber's. For those of you that are not into Oregon politics, this is the first time in history that a governor has been elected for a third term (you can only serve two terms in a row, but can serve another term later on). I really think today is bittersweet. I am so over the moon excited that I get to stay at home with my baby, but sad that I will no longer be working with the governor. I am also having a difficult time adjusting to the idea that I no longer have to be on the lookout for jobs (I've caught myself looking for jobs twice this past week). I have been employed since I was 15 and a lot of that time I was working full-time, even throughout high school and college. So, just for the sake of it, here is a look back at my employment history.

• Mail Depot clerk (this job lasted for many many years)
• Espresso Time barista (my parents were my bosses)
• Children's Ministries Assistant Supervisor
• Nanny
• Housecleaner
• Nordstrom intern
• Department of Administrative Services Receptionist
• Children's Ministries Coordinator
• Office of Economic Analysis Assistant
• Governor's Office Public Service Representative

I actually am quite convinced that I am missing a job or two, but apparently these were the ones that left lasting impressions. 

Well, time to start my new job (after a little celebration, of course)! I'll let you all know how being a stay at home mom and real estate assistant works out after I get my feet wet a little bit. Here goes nothing...

*Please note that I will not publish comments that obtain your personal views on politics. I am not posting this to hear how you feel about certain governor's or their policies, it's really just to tell you a little more about what I have been up to lately. Thanks for keeping this blog free from argument  :)

New Job!

I've got a new job. There, it's official. Most of my friends know what Josh and I do for a living and while we are open about Josh's job on this blog, we choose to keep my job on the dl (down low for those not in the know). Yeah I am so "cool" I use words that teenagers use. Poor Eden, I can already see her saying, "oh mom!" every time I even open up my mouth. I don't like to think that one day she will look at me like I am a psycopath. I choose to believe she is going to love me forever! Don't even say it...

Anyway, back to my job. I still don't feel comfortable talking about my job on here for safety reasons since I am still employed there through January, but I still wanted to announce my new position. As of a week ago, these two became my new bosses...

Aren't they the greatest looking bosses out there (with all due respect to my current manager...you are beautiful too!). Confused yet? Let me explain. See, since I can remember I have desired to be a stay at home mom. In fact it was definitely something Josh and I talked about before we were married because he had also hoped that once we chose to have children that I would get to be with them. Well, once it came down to it, the idea of me staying home just seemed like less of a possiblity. It seemed like such a feasible idea when we were first married, but that was before I had to support us both while Josh did real estate schooling and then started his first years as an agent. Although we both feel like Josh has grown as an agent by leaps and bounds, knowing that we would be living off of commission only was quite a frightening idea. Not only that, but my job has quite generous health benefits so we truly have had an easier life over the past couple of years. Okay, okay I am going off on a rabbit trail with no end in sight. Let me just come right out and say it, I am going to be a stay at home working mom! Not only do I get to hang out with Eden all day, but I will also get to work to help support our family. Now let me explain the working part of my new job.


We thought and prayed long and hard and realized that with a few sacrifices and some serious trust in God, I would be able to become Josh's assistant. The fact is, I go to work doing all of the things that I could be doing for him. I have worked as an assistant and absolutely love it. For me, its the chance to sit and organize all day which excites me to no end (I am really that easy to please). Josh was spending so much time getting himself organized, and doing a lot of secretarial duties that he didn't have as much time for his clients as well as time for family. Now, I get to do all of the administrative duties while he is out doing what he does best...selling houses. I actually started assisting him last week and so far it is going well. Yes, we do realize that we are going to be seeing a lot of each other now that I am working for him, but honestly we wouldn't have it any other way. We have had lots of talks about working together and how we can do it with as little conflict as possible and I truly think it is going to be fun. I will say working from home is not any easier than going out to work in the real world...it is just as busy or busier! Last week I caught myself saying, "Wow. We really need to hire a part-time babysitter!" It is amazing how much work taking care of a baby, a house, and working for Josh really is and yet I still wouldn't have it any other way.

Well, this was a long winded way to say...we are taking a giant leap of faith here and although I had a hard time letting go of that steady paycheck, I know it is what God wanted us to do. We are growing and bonding as a family and it is fun to be able to be involved in Josh's work. I am sure we will update as time passes to let you know how it is going. I will definitely be taking a break from being Josh's assistant when I return to work on December 1. Either way, I am excited to see what else God has in store for our family!

Oh and I have been keeping one bit of decor in our house a secret since we didn't know if I would truly be able to work from home until just recently. Look at my "new" desk (I have actually had it since June).

 

Well, thanks for to those of you who actually stuck around through this entire post! I know its a long one, but I had a lot to say (don't I always). Now off to tend to a baby, clean the house, and add some stuff to Josh's calendar....