Elf on the Shelf

This could be the original elf on the shelf as far as I know. Mom always had this little guy in the kitchen.

He has been repaired more times than you can count including again last night.

Juiced Nutrition update and an ugly incident

This blog is where I post my thoughts, my story, my travels, etc. I have shied away from writing about my business because I didn't want this place to be about promotion.

But my business has become my life and my life is impacted by my business.

So the honestly the business is doing really, really poorly.

People say it is the weather...time of year...holidays...etc. While those may be partially true, it seems that the business itself is not catching on. There are nearly 1,000 tenants in the three buildings that the business is located in yet rarely does a resident drop in. Emails and promotions to the residents have fallen like an overnight snow.

Hours go by between customers. So far there has not been a day without at least one customer but I am anticipating the day when there are zero customers.

I have done social media - Facebook and Instagram - including running ads on both platforms. Also running ad on Yelp which I wasn't aware that I had done. Ironically, I believe the Yelp ad has brought in a few customers but they have mostly been out-of-towners so not likely to return.

One Yelp customer did come in several times before leaving town. And another Yelp customer who was visiting town did bring her parents who live in the neighborhood back to the store. These customers give the illusion that the idea of the store is not crazy but to say they are few and far between is even an exaggeration.

The simple fact that friends I have known for a long time and who have been supportive in words but have not been supportive in deeds seems to indicate that the idea of the store was misguided.

The initial idea of the store was to provide protein shakes for pre- and post-workout nutrition. The majority of customers are not coming from nor going to a workout or class. So the initial idea was wrong. The marketing has shifted to providing a healthy and nutritional whole food ingredient meal source.

The location is potentially a problem because there are no other retail stores nearby or within eye-shot. The location along the Midtown Greenway could be an advantage in the spring and summer but that is just speculation (though the choice of location was based on this).

Another problem I face is that my mother's passing right before the store opened has greatly impacted my enthusiasm. My mom was always my champion even when she questioned what I was doing. I always knew she had my back and could be supportive in her way. That support is gone and there really isn't anything or anyone to replace that.

It sometimes help me to write out my thoughts so I may continue to do this here.

Today's post was prompted by an incident that just happened as I was walking home from the coffee shop. The incident was  unrelated to the business.

First all, I patronize a local coffee shop-bakery and am honestly pissed off that the owners have not come to my store but I still support their business. As I was walking home in my now usual funk, I coughed and a man 50 yards ahead of me turned around and yelled at me, "What the fuck, you fucking gay homo!" -- or something like that.

I was dumbstruck. What on earth was that!? Was he crazy? Did he mistake me for someone else? He kept rambling on about my probably wanting to break the law and I deserved it and that he was crazy and that I was crazy and that he was a musician and that he apologized and that I deserved it and that I looked liked someone he knew and that I deserved it.

I am not a violent person and I had no desire to do anything other than leave and crawl away.

Christmas Eve lanterns

Each year a small group gathers at Martha's for Christmas Eve. Martha shares her polish heritage Christmas Eve traditions and foods.

This year Kelly and Elliot brought Chinese lanterns to light and launch. It was truly magical to see them float away on a cold, calm night.

Martha releases her lantern with much trepidation. As it floats off to the west, you can see a previous one as a tiny dot of light in the distance.

Elliot releases a lantern. It floats directly up before moving off to the west with the others.

Kelly releases as a neighbor shouts out asking where we got these.

Marlin is the first to release. We are all amazed at how far they go before we cannot see them any longer.

It is cold!

Everyone (my family) expects that it is always cold in Minnesota. That is, of course, not true. But today is definitely not helping with the myth.

It was -10 at my house this morning (got to -11 before sunrise). And it was -18 at the airport.

There wasn't any wind to speak of so the three block walk to work wasn't too bad.

I was able to do the boiling water trick again!

Frankie therapy

I think Frankie is having some discomfort from arthritis.

He spends part of the day in the upstairs bathroom sink or the top of the toilet tank. He spends the other part of the day on the heated bathroom floor.

It is his version of hot and cold therapy.

The sparkle of a winter morning. Near zero temps....crispy, crackly, shiny.

Cozumel

I've put the Cozumel photos on Shutterfly. Hopefully this works. Cozumel photos

Was joined this year by Dave again, Jill who hasn't been down since my 50th birthday and new folks, Jay and Penny (Jill's brother and sister-in-law) and Jill's dad, Dave. That made two Dave's.

The Taylor's had a last minute cancellation. They were very much missed.

For the first time we went to watch the swimming to cycling transition of the Cozumel Ironman, it was awesome.

We hit all the good spots... Casa Denis and Martin the best waiter ever, Casa Mission, the east coast beaches and fresh fish, shopping, snorkeling, Chankanaab and more.