Tuesday, November 9, 2021
Welcome to my Reading Tuesday’s B.R.E.A.T.H.S. blog. I had planned on continuing my limitless reading journey today, but I have received another notice from the IRS regarding the status of my nonprofit paperwork that has shifted my focus. I will return to my regular B.R.E.A.T.H.S. blog when the paperwork is complete and our tax exempt status is accepted. Until then, I will be posting some updates, wordless days, and still planning on going LIVE at my art studio on two social media platforms, Facebook & Instagram, 11/11/2021, this Thursday 12:00 PST. Please follow me to see what I will be painting to add to my Autumn collection.
October 12, 2021 – Intuition is Calling
I was about a month and a half into driving around the United States for the third time in a year when I had a bunch of signs that I needed to shift plans. About 7am, I woke up in Phoenix, AZ, and my plan was to continue on to a list of National Parks as I just visited over 60 (average two a day), but my intuition was pulling my attention somewhere else. I opened my laptop, looked at my email and traveling mailbox for news from the IRS about my nonprofit paperwork, and did not find anything. I searched through my voicemails and still did not find any news, so I decided to give them a call and left a message. As I was waiting for them to return my call, I found an email from the University of Phoenix letting me know my Hawaii graduation was being put on hold. This information prompted me to call friends and family to notify them in order to make travel adjustments.
IRS is calling
After I was off the phone with my family and friends, the IRS called me back. They were a little surprised to hear from me as they said they have been trying to reach me and were about to close my nonprofit paperwork. I was in shock. I asked them when they tried to reach me and how they could get me the information I needed to continue. They were polite and gave me a fax number to exchange paperwork quickly (the federal government does not trust email). They gave me a two week extension to get everything completed. I was relieved. I now had to get back to my home base in Oregon to focus on the paperwork and get my nonprofit off the ground. My travels to National Parks and Hawaiian graduation are on hold.
Car Troubles #1
After being on the phone a couple hours with my laptop and electric cooler plugged in my car, my battery (2.5 years old) decided to take a dump, which was to be expected with the age and the inconsideration of all my electric plugs draining on the poor thing. I called AAA for the second time in a week to help me out. This time, it took them over two hours to arrive. Unbothered, I was thankful for the moderate weather in Phoenix. Plus, the extra time allowed me to plan my next moves. The first move, replacing the battery.
Car Troubles #2
The previous week, AAA brought gas and helped me unlock my car while visiting Texas. That time, I got out of the car while it was running and low on gas, to snap a picture of the Waco Mammoth National Monument sign, and somehow locked myself out in the near 100 degree temperatures. Thankfully, I was able to walk to the visitor center for water, seating, shade, and bathroom. After an hour and a half wait, AAA arrived to unlock my car. During that wait time, I watched YouTube videos on how to program my keyless entry, which I have never done in the 11 years I have owned my car. I guess that was a positive shift from a negative experience.
Car Troubles #3
I decided I would drive from Phoenix, AZ, to Portland, OR, about 22 hours straight, and take a nap as long as I needed about halfway. After mapping the fastest route (through Nevada), I was on my way about 8pm. Somewhere along the way, I missed an exit, and ended up driving through California instead. I am not sure how much more time I added to my trip, but that definitely shifted me into exhaustion.
About 5am, I decided it was time to pull over and nap. At about 8am, I woke up to the sound of air brakes and started back on my drive to homebase, which was still twelve hours away. When I was less than an hour away, my car hit something quite solid while cruising in the left lane of the I-5 freeway in Wilsonville, OR. My car quickly shifted into the right lanes and slowly crept to the side of the road. It was dark and rainy out, and all I could think about was my warm bed that was so close. I couldn’t see any damage, but I knew something was bad and drove the car off the nearest exit into a lighted parking lot. When I got out, I saw the left rear tire was blown. WOW. So many thoughts poured into my mind. I thanked my angels for saving me, again!
First, I was so happy to be unscathed, safe, and alive. Secondly, my tires were less than a month old, and if I had not replaced them, I probably wouldn’t be here now. Thirdly, since I was driving around the country, my intuition told me to buy the roadside tire warranty (which I have never done before), so that brand new tire was going to be easily replaced free to low cost. Fourthly, I called AAA (third time in a week, they are truly a blessing), they were there in ten minutes and finished helping me within a half hour of calling! The tow guy told me that four other cars were pulled over at the same place my car was damaged. Jeezo peezo, in spite of all the chaos and car troubles, I felt super lucky and blessed. I called the Oregon state highway patrol to report the road hazard and get a case number for insurance purposes. I was finally, safely on my way home.
October 13 through November 18 – 2nd & 3rd IRS Notices
Once I returned back to homebase, I was able to focus on the second response from the IRS (first was in July). After a few weeks of making corrections, I resubmitted the paperwork. A few weeks later, I received my third notice from the IRS stating it was my final chance to get the paperwork correct or I will have to start over. For the last month, I have been searching online and visiting local libraries to research information on getting all my legal paperwork corrected so that we can move forward with building our business. Please send us prayers, positive energy, good vibes, and lots of love!
Thank you for reading,
Dr. Jaime Brainerd, E.d.D.
What an eventful trip! I am glad you are safely back home and good luck with your IRS paperwork!
Wow. That almost sounds like the vacation from hell we were on one year when it took us 4 days to get from Huntington Beach, CA to San Francisco. The car had to be towed 3 times until finally in Fresno we dropped it off at a dealership and rented a car to go home. Glad you made it safely through all your experiences. Visiting from the Ultimate Blog Challenge.
OMG what sounds like the start of an awesome trip surely didn’t end up that way! I can’t imagine how frustrated you must be with the IRS and getting your paperwork in order. So glad you had AAA but more importantly, God was riding with you! Hugs and love from Lia and me.
Agreed, it is perfect time to make some positive changes! I will fix my website and continue the Back to Business blog very soon. Thank you for your comment and the advice on what to write next.
Sending lots of love and gratitude,
Jaime
Thank you for reading and commenting. I appreciate the encouraging words you left for me. I am working on making my website a better place to visit and really am grateful for the outpouring support from the internet community.
Sending lots of love and gratitude,
Jaime
Thank you for your kind words about my B.R.E.A.T.H.S. blog. I am grateful to know my words have touched your heart. Looking forward to writing more for you.
Sending lots of love and gratitude,
Jaime
Wow, thank you for the compliments. I am so thrilled to learn you are digging my blog and think it would be beneficial to others! Please do recommend to your friends!
Sending lots of love and gratitude,
Jaime
Hello, I am glad you found what you were seeking and it fulfilled your day. Many blessings in return. Thank you so much for stopping by and taking the time to leave a lovely message.
Sending lots of love and gratitude,
Jaime
Thank you for reading my blog and taking time to comment, I hope you will be back. I am glad the blog is helpful for you and I will definitely be putting this stuff in a book. Hope to connect again soon.
Sending lots of love and gratitude,
Jaime
Thank you, I aspire to write about each moment with as much truth as possible. I appreciate you taking time to make such a succinct yet sincere comment.
Sending lots of love and gratitude,
Jaime
If you are talking about my B.R.E.A.T.H.S. blog, for sure!
Sending lots of love and gratitude,
Jaime
I appreciate your comments and you have some interesting questions as well, I will have to think about them and get back to you.
Sending lots of love and gratitude,
Jaime
Hi, thank you for finding my blog and I am glad you have found it useful. I hope you will be back for more. Your compliments are greatly received.
Sending lots of love and gratitude,
Jaime
Thank you for taking the time to write to me. I truly appreciate your detailed compliments, they inspire me to create more for you!
Sending lots of love and gratitude,
Jaime
Hello, nice to have you back or just be a fun and familiar place to visit! Thank you for bookmarking. I am working on adding subscriptions to the blog. Hope to see you back soon!
Sending lots of love and gratitude,
Jaime
Hello friend, thank you for jumping in on the positive comments! I am so happy and grateful you stopped by for a visit. I am adding more content soon and hope to see you back!
Sending lots of love and gratitude,
Jaime
Awe, thank you for the kind words. I am so excited you enjoy my writing. Comments like yours really help keep the light glowing so that I can pass it on to more people.
Sending lots of love and gratitude,
Jaime
Thank you for your comments and question. I am focused on the writing and started the website about a year ago with little to no knowledge of building a blog or website. I had a friend get the theme ready and modify it for me, and I just added the content. I am currently working on getting the site more optimized and promoted. My next content will be going over how I have been creating this blog, building a nonprofit website, and then starting a new platform for my educational nonprofit. Hope to see you back!
Sending lots of love and gratitude,
Jaime
YUM!:p What a grand experience and great reward for everyone! You are most certainly welcome 😀 I am gearing up to create more content and would be grateful for you and your coworker to return.
Sending lots of love and gratitude,
Jaime
I am so grateful to read your comments and I am working on creating a subscription so that you can be alerted when new material is available. I am open to more techniques you would like discussed?
Sending lots of love and gratitude,
Jaime
Hi, Thank you for your question. I had to “lol.” I appreciate you considering my blog well-established. To me, it is still new, fresh, and difficult to maneuver on my own. I realized I wanted to get my writing out into the universe so I opted to start using WordPress and with a friend’s help, I got this blog up and running about a year ago.
I admire your daily journal writing routine, that will certainly assist you in maintaining a well-established blog. That is why I feel mine still has some work to do, I do not post daily (yet), but I am so happy and grateful my writing is reaching people like you. To answer your question about the amount of work it takes, to me writing is creating art and that doesn’t seem like work.
The work is in the website building, that is not my cup of tea. So, I have reached out for professional help with optimizing and promoting my blog. This is all part of the learning experience, I am embracing it, and so happy to share my steps of success or failure along the way. For new bloggers, I suggest starting with a site like GoDaddy that will assist you with all the tech stuff, and then grow from there.
Sending lots of love and gratitude,
Jaime
Ha, I wish I could read minds, or maybe not! Funny you mention writing a book, I am working on a couple! I appreciate your comment, suggestion, and compliments. I will definitely add more pics and perhaps videos to drive the message for a more optimized read. Glad you will be back for more!
Sending lots of love and gratitude,
Jaime
Hello, thank you for those valuable tips and compliments! I am a new blogger and still getting to know what things that interest people to write about. I will definitely add more images and link my YouTube for video clips. Currently, I am working with a website pro to optimize the site before I add more content and ways for people to subscribe. Hope you will be back to see the updates!
Sending lots of love and gratitude,
Jaime
I appreciate your compliment and words of encouragement, I take them to heart. I am working on optimizing the site for readers, subscribers, and ready to post new content soon. Hope to see you back again soon.
Sending lots of love and gratitude,
Jaime
We are a group of volunteers and opening a new scheme in our community.
Your site offered us with valuable information to work on. You’ve done an impressive
job and our entire community will be grateful to you.
Wow, I am humbled and so grateful to be able to help communities such as yours. Thank you for reaching out and letting me know my writing is valuable to others. Looking forward to writing more for your community.
Sending lots of love and gratitude,
Jaime
Yes! My Twitter is @drjaimebrainerd