HALF A YEAR!

It's been a bumpy ride, and we are reaching the 26 week mark of being open. I can't believe we have made it through this winter. It was really harsh. It still gets cold, it is the middle of February still, and we have another month to go before the spring really hits. I have seen my sales drop from like near $20,000 to a little over half that a month. And I am only hoping that we get back to the $20's. Only because we opened in late August and our first full month was September. It was so close to $20,000 that month, and if we can do between $20-25,000 per month for the summer months, we will have a better chance of enduring the winter next year.

I am working on my contract on buying the house. That should hopefully be done by mid April. And we will hopefully be closing before mid June. That should get me my rebate check from the Government for the 10% stimulus package the President put out last year. And that money will go for my food trailer to park in the park across from the high school for lunches! That will totally make my winter soar! We will have an extra $2,000 a week from September - November and March - June! And then next summer, we can get going on a second trailer for the football and soccer games in the park or the riverfront property.

No word on expanding our current location yet. We have a lot to do to make it to that point. Financially, I have a lot of debt from the business mortgage, the equipment loan, my mom, and my property in West Texas. Not to mention the whole student loan thing, and just a bunch of other bills. Now I will have the house mortgage, and upkeep on that, plus all the property taxes every year. I can't anticipate doing any more property acquisitions for another couple years when I can pay down some of the debt I already have. The good news is, instead of paying the $500 a month rent on this house, I will be paying down it's mortgage and building equity in it. Not to mention, the economy is slowly getting better, which means the house will appreciate in value over the next couple years. By the time I put a new roof on it, and redo all the trim in the house, and perhaps remodel the upstairs a bit, I am expecting a 200% ROI for the house (ROI=Return on Investment).

This week hasn't been so bad. We have actually had a pretty seasonal week, no nasty weather, despite being a bit colder at night, and occasional snow flurry, we aren't doing badly. End of month is always difficult for me because I have to come up with the next month's rent by the first. But it all comes together in the end. That's the good thing about having faith. It all just seems to work out in the end. And it has taught me how to be very disciplined in my money management.

I've grown a lot over the past 6 months. But I haven't lost sight of all the goals I started with. And they are actually working out. This month has been a bit weird, as my car is becoming a bit of a nuisance as I now need a new battery, and a new tire for one that I replaced on my car. Fortunately I had a spare in the trunk, unfortunately, it hadn't been used in all the time I had the car so it was out of air. Fortunately, it was not leaking, and quite fortunately, it was not a monkey spare. So I have been putting that off a bit, before I had to replace it. And then there was the whole stupid seat belt ticket I got from the state trooper. The dork was an idiot and wrote on the ticket that I admitted to being guilty of not wearing my seat belt and so I called him a liar. Then the next day, I pull out of my driveway, and I get pulled over by ANOTHER state trooper, and he gives me another ticket, and asks me if I was the guy who called his friend a liar! What a bunch of crap! Now I am going to court in March over both tickets. Fighting both of them, of course.

So mom just told me that next week we will be in the 40's. And that will be all good! Snow will melt! And maybe we will pick up business a bit. I need to get up to about 85% - 90% of average. Then if we can get up to 130% by summer, we will be SET! It was really cool, these ladies came in today for lunch, and they prayed before they ate, and they prayed that our business would succeed! That was so cool. I'm not the only one praying for that now.

I should be off for now. It has been a long day, and tomorrow is payday. Saturday we have a team meeting, and I want to get some stuff done tomorrow if I can. I wake up sometimes too late to do all I want to do during the day, so tomorrow I am hoping to wake up at like 7 am. Goodnight! And thanks for all your prayers this winter, Jehovah Jireh!