Struggles...

So we did it. J dropped us off and left.  He'll be back next week but so typical of him.  It's happened before. I guess it forces me to get used to the situation as Giuli also needs to as well.  I'm exhausted, overwhelmed, and not accustomed to the humidity and hour difference but soon we both will be.  We enjoyed some time at the pool today and I promised her we'd go again tomorrow.  Maybe we'll do it earlier.  I honestly don't plan on going anywhere tomorrow.  Maybe I'll see what the school list is and start getting some of the supplies needed for school.  I've already spent so much at Walmart in 3 days.  We've been living on frozen foods but at least it's not fast food.  Can't stand it anymore.  It's 7:50 and I'm trying to get her back on schedule.  I got her to sleep in her room last night.  Well, some of the night at least.  It's a work in progress. Hopefully, tonight she'll sleep the entire night in her room.  Fingers crossed. 

Tonight is the LIVE workshop

Get started today!  Click on the photo below to sign up and learn more about this opportunity!  

Can you say NUTS...

Seriously feeling like that lately.  Things have been so crazy here.  We have so much going on and I'm trying to stay connected to my online business.  Sometimes it's hard so I give myself some grace about it.  Not many people can handle a full-time job, side gig, my secret adventure, and still, be a full-time wife and mom.  Things are changing.  They are scary.  The time crunch is here.  With that.  Have a great night :)

Trying new things...

 So I'm trying another blog but just not feeling it.  Maybe it's everything that's going on around me that interfering with my positive energy lately.  I'm not a quitter.  It took me 19 years to finally bring home my little girl and if that's not a commitment, I don't know what is.  I've been working on my online business for a little over a year.  I have a few buyers and some buyers that were refunded.  I need to turn it around for myself.  I know this isn't the best time to worry about all this and in about a month or so, I'll be able to focus better to grow my business.  Maybe I need to give up the other blog.  I love this blog.  It's my memoir of years of struggling to bring my daughter into this world.  It's years of living with a husband only home part-time (although he's been home a really long time now and I need some serious alone time).   Here is a pic of my family and me.  

My Family

Catching up...

It's been a long time since I posted.  Lots of things have happened.  We got through the holidays with a visit to J's family.  It was really nice to see everyone on the holiday.  They gave Giuli a birthday party.  And yes, she is pretty spoiled but I'm not sorry about that.  She's now a 5-year-old and she'll be starting Kindergarten in the fall.  Crazy how 5 years have gone by so quickly.  I'm still working on my new business venture and hope and pray each day that I'm doing the right thing.  I finally got a buyer that didn't refund and seems rather excited to do this.  I think she'll do a really good job too. J is having his surgery next Tuesday.  I'm having anxiety over it.  I know it's routine but you never know what could happen.  I'm just going to keep praying about it and know that G-d is looking out for us.  We are hoping to finally get the house together, sell, and move to GA before Giuli starts school.  We'll see how it goes.  One step at a time, right? 

Medical issues....still!

J is still recovering from Covid.  Still has the A-fib.  Still scared his heart is going to just stop beating.  Last night, G was in bed and crying.  She wanted Daddy to stay with her.  She was scared because of Daddy's heart.  She was crying her eyes out and so scared.  It broke my heart to realize she was scared of what's happening to him.  I assured her that Daddy was going to be ok.  J came in and hugged her and said the same thing.  She finally went to sleep.  My poor little girl.  Too young to think of these things.  I just want to protect her from the world sometimes.  J is going to go to the Mayo Clinic and have a consult there.  I guess a second opinion would be a good idea before going through surgery on an organ you can't live without.

Medical problems...

So J spent 10 days in the hospital with Covid.  Wish they would have started some treatment but I guess suffering is what the Dr's and the state want.  He apparently went into afib a few times but they neglected to tell him about it.  When he looks back, he realizes now what happened was the afib.  But even when discharged from the hospital, it was never mentioned on the discharge papers or by any Dr or nurse.  They basically dumped him out by the ambulance bay.  And why like that is what I'd like to know.  It all seemed to be a huge stigma and punishment.  You didn't get the Covid vaccine and do as you were told to do, so now you are going to be treated like a piece of crap.  He got lectured longer about getting the vaccine than his current medical problems.  Now he has to have surgery to correct the heart problem.  So pissed about that right now.  He will be ok.  I just want our lives to go back to normal.  

My Girl is Home...

 What a day it was.  Got up at 4:30am to get ready.  Airport, through security, the pump went off so needed a pat-down.  Got breakfast, (smart move since I didn't get another chance to eat), gate, plane, take-off, land, run through the airport to find Grandparents and G.  Check her in and luggage, go back through security and same crap with a pat-down only now I have G and that's another level of panic.  But she did great for the most part.  Oh and I had the super heavy, I can't manage car seat with me to take on the plane.   A very nice passenger helped me get it on the plane.  Then we buckled and took off.  Now, after we landed I waited till everyone was off.  No flight attendant helped.  Told G to stay in the isle till I got back.  Took the seat off and the flight attendant said I can't return and why was I.  I told her I'm getting my child.  Sorry they were too stupid to see me dragging a car seat with nothing else off the plane.  They were rather busy laughing and talking.  Oh well.  Got G and made it out the jet bridge.  Then, strapped the car seat to my new 4 wheel helper.  G then strapped herself in and we made our way through the airport.  Got to the luggage and found it.  Called the car service and went on to the Chicago broken streets where everything went bad.  Note to self.  G can't be in the seat at this point.  Butt dialed J, my sister, and the driver.  Sweat from parts of my body I didn't know would sweat.  But, we were on our way home.  Got home, relaxed for a little, and then went to get G her COVID test.  What a day but my girl is now home and we are loving it.  

August 2021 = Covid

So it's been a hard month.  J brought Covid home from his trip.  Diagnosed on 8/3 and I got diagnosed on 8/5.  By Sunday, Jim was admitted to the hospital and put on oxygen.  I tried to take care of our very healthy 4-year-old, work my job, and take care of myself.  By 8/13 I arranged for my daughter to go stay with her Aunt, Uncle, and Grandparents.  She's been there ever since.  I miss her like crazy and want her to come home.  Jim is home now, but still having some heart issues so driving to get her is out of the question.  As of now, I'm taking a flight on Monday to go bring her home the same day.  I'm nervous, worried about problems with the airline, getting through security going, and coming home.  It's a lot to think about for one day of travel.  But my baby will be home.  I've had some insecurities come up lately too.  I know it's crazy.  But a long time ago, my best friend made comments that stung and still come up sometimes in my head.  I gave birth to her, I love her and I know in my heart that she loves me but after she was born, for the longest time, I doubted that she loved me.  My MIL made a comment.  It was an innocent comment but it brought back those doubts.  I don't blame my MIL for saying anything.  Well, I do blame her for carrying a scissor around with her so she can cut my daughter's hair the first chance she gets.  Trying to let it go but next time she goes to their house, I'm making it clear that cutting any piece of hair is off-limits.  It's not her place and I don't understand why she keeps doing it.  Anyway, I'm excited for her to come home.  

COVID....

 So hubby goes away from mid-July and returns on July 30th.  On July 31 he gets a call from his HR department telling him he came in close contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID.  If he got word the day before he wouldn't have come home.  Now, he's home, isolating in our bedroom.  Fever comes and goes along with body aches.  Since we didn't know till Saturday afternoon, lots of snuggles with the little one, and we slept in the same bed, touched the same things, etc.  Now I'm starting to feel ill but I'm also very stressed.  The little one is home for 2 weeks and I'm still trying to work full time.  haha on me. And I'm sleeping on the couch (kind of comfy) but does it matter at this point.  I'm fully exhausted and coughing a lot.   A little pressure on my chest comes and goes.  I need prayers that we will get through this.  I know the survival rate is 99% so I keep reminding myself of that.  

Trying new things...

So what I've realized on this journey is that it's always changing.  You have to push yourself all the time.  Keep at it.  Every day you must post.  I'm trying to keep up with 3x/day.  I redid my ad.  Some days I get results, some days I don't.  But I have to keep on trying and won't let that get me down.  I try to keep on being inspiring.  Try to engage more with the followers.  This is all the time.  Once I get buyers, it'll start to get easier.  My followers are growing.  It takes time to build up anything.  If it was easy, then everyone would do it.  

Friday accomplishments...

So I had today off.  I had some goals I wanted to accomplish.  I was determined to fix the window screen.  We have some other screens that need mending but I figured, let me try one and see how it goes.  Well, fixing a screen is really an easy thing to do.  I watched a youtube video and was able to remove the damaged screen.  I then cleaned it up a bit and went to the store.  I needed new screen materials, a new screen plunger, and a spline and spline tool.  Got it all.  The screen plunger didn't work well.  OK. off to Ace to see if they have them.  found them. With J's help, I got the screen plungers working.  I then laid out the screen, cut around it so it had some hanging over.  Used the spline tool to push the spline into the groove.  Then cut the excess off. Awesome, it was done...Wait...oops, I cut the screen.  Take it all apart and do it again only more careful when I cut the excess off.  And really the hardest part of all that was getting the screen back in the window.  But now it's done and I want to take care of the rest of the window..  The next thing I know, it's 3pm and the day is almost over.  So one screen fixed is what I  accomplished on my day off. YAY.   

Listening to the lessons...

Being an online entrepreneur is so new for me.  It's a new way of thinking.  I'm not an employee to myself.  I need to own my why, goals, failures, and successes.  It's a work in progress and if I keep at it, I'll succeed.  I might have failures along the way but in the end, I will succeed.  

Digital Business Blues....

 So it's not always sunshine and roses.  I'm trying to plan, listen to masterminds, learn, learn, learn.  Work on perfecting my messages.  Keep on posting.  Some drawbacks.  If you change anything on your page, you seem to get dinged by FB.  I just need to plug through it and keep on posting my message.  Keep on engaging and connecting with people that like and follow my page.  Sometimes it gets hard.  But I am determined to be successful.  

Bumps in the road...

So, I'm trying a new thing.  One of the coaches had a video about it.   I'm setting up duplicate ads for $2/day each.  I did one duplicate.  Did another duplicate with a small change. Did another duplicate with a different image.  This morning, it said I had 2 leads on that one.  So I decided to do another duplicate with another image.  Still waiting for the review to be approved by Facebook.  Got another lead on my main ad that's for $10/day.  Here's the issue.  I didn't get any emails for any of these leads which means these people signed up with someone else within the last 6 months. So I'm starting to feel defeated.  I'm still plugging away and refuse to stop now.  Online is the way of the future and I'm determined to win this battle.  I will find my successful ad.  I will find my niche and my dreams will come true.  All good things come to those who wait, right.  I'm praying each day for us to get through the hard times.   I know we will.  We have before and we will again.  I didn't work so hard for J to change his ways and for Giuli to come along only to give up when things get tough. 

Goals....

 So I'm reading up on how to build up my Facebook Business Page.  I need to set some goals.  I'm watching a webinar on Marketing my Business Page and they suggest coming up with a content calendar.  It's not a new term for me, just didn't think of applying it to my Business Page.  But now I will.  It's a great idea.  I need ideas to post 3x/day and have them ready because I'm busy with my day job.  So, step one is in the works.  Yay...

Leads....

 So yesterday, I got 3 leads.  Today, it says one lead and I didn't get an email to back that up.  I'm taking this one day at a time.  I will get there with perseverance.  I will get there if I put myself out there day after day.  I just need to keep on posting content, build up my followers and I'm sure I'll start getting leads and then buyers.  Each day that I post, I'm more confident in who I am and what I'm doing.  I can feel the difference in me if that makes sense.  I feel the changes and change is good.

Trying to be a success!

 I'm really trying to push myself harder.  I want this to succeed.  I know it can.  This isn't hard work.  Anyone can do this.  It's about what you want and how hard you will try to meet your goals and dreams.  I started this in January.  My business page was started in February.  My first likes ad was running in March and my conversion ads have been running end of March to now.  I'm getting leads.  Not a lot but some.  Eventually, someone will be interested and become a buyer.  I just need to keep on posting and getting more followers on my page.  As I post, I feel like my confidence builds up more and more.  It's so important for me to become confident.  For this business and myself.  

Anyone interested in finding out about this here is my Facebook business page and here is my website

My Facebook Business Page...

So I'm trying to think outside the box.  I'm trying to drive people to my website and now I'm trying to drive people to my business page.  Here is the link to My Business Page.  I started this journey in February.  I have about 490 likes/followers.  It's a start.  It takes some work but not something that is full-time.  I like this business and I believe it will work out.  This step-by-step training has taught me so much.  I'm learning to change my mindset which is so key when you have your own business.  You have no one to push you to the next level by yourself.  No one to answer to but yourself.  Every day I need to make the decision to do the work necessary or my page won't advance and I won't get any leads or buyers. 

Digital Business Opportunity...

I've mentioned my new adventure but haven't really given a lot of details out.  All I will say it's been a blessing to start this business.  It's a business I own.  I need to put in the work if I expect to get returns.  I need to build up a following if I'm to get trust with people.  I'll never steer anyone to do anything they don't want to.  It's simple.  If people want to have an online business then they need to have a source of money to start it up as you would any business.  I feel like people can't change the thinking that someone needs to pay for it for them.  Then it's not your business.  You just work for that business.  Owning something means changing your mindset from employee to owner.  It means taking responsibility for what you have to do every day.  It's not hard work but it does take work and time.  I've seen some people complain about the money they are being charged to get the training and coaching call.  The coach needs to be paid for her time.  They've earned it.  I feel lucky to have found this opportunity and this is why.  I have mentors and coaches available to help me, plus an entire community of people who will also help.  No one is alone on this journey.  I've met great people and feel I've made lifelong friends from this.  I'm just saying there is so much personal growth I've already accomplished in just a few short months.  I've learned so much from the training and still learning every day.   I know I can succeed.  I will succeed.

My new adventure needs help...

So I'm going to post here what I'm doing as well as on Facebook.  I'm starting an Online Digital Business using "Attraction Marketing".  In other words, I signed up, paid a small fee, and bought a product.  I then get amazing training to learn how to do the same thing.  I set up a business page, got lots of likes on my page (would like more followers), running my first conversion ad, etc.  I did it all myself with the help of my mentor. She's amazing by the way.  I work in advertising but know nothing about this stuff.  It's an amazing learning experience and I believe I can succeed.  I will succeed because I'm that hot-headed enough to not give up.  

The link to my business page is: https://www.facebook.com/alisonhfarina

The link to my website is: https://www.alison-farina.com

I hope you visit and join up.  If you want to start an online business to earn extra money, fund your retirement, or save for your kids' college, then take a chance and find out what it's all about.  This community is amazing.  I see the possibilities and no, I don't plan to bother my friends or family to join.  This is strictly for people that are interested and want to do this.  It's not for everyone. Some people have no interest and some don't have the drive.  It's also not a get-rich-quick scheme.  It's hard work that I hope will pay off in the end so I can pay our debts and not get a second job that'll take me away from my little girl.  And don't think I didn't think about it.   We have debts to pay back and since my husband was off for an entire year (thanks COVID) it has hurt us.  The measly money the government gave us was just a taste of what's needed to fix our debt. 

Anyway, I hope all hs had a wonderful Mother's Day.  I did.  I'm blessed.

My new adventures...

I've been so busy building this business that I've been neglecting my blog. I'm loving this new project.  This new business that I'm setting up, I'm learning so much.  I gather some may not understand but the wealth of knowledge I'm getting is priceless to me.  I can't see the future but I'll do my best to go in the direction that gives me growth, takes me out of my comfort zone, and will possibly get me further in life.  I'm learning about Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn advertising.  Starting with Facebook for now but maybe I'll learn about the others too.  It's all at my fingertips, I just need to do it.   

Growing up....

 My daughter never ceases to amaze me.  We've been giving her melatonin for kids to help her get to sleep at night.  It's been a battle.  Melatonin has changed that.  She went to sleep without fuss last night, got up while I was getting ready.  She dressed herself with clothes she picked out.  And she was happy and smiling.  Amazing.  

Getting toddlers to eat...

So this is a big challenge in this house but things have been changing.  First off, I discovered melatonin for kids and it's a huge lifesaver.  G just wasn't going to sleep.  Kept getting up, fix my blankets, I'm thirsty, I have to potty, etc... Anyway, we tried this and it worked so well.  She went to bed on her own, slept all night and got up early without any fuss.  

Next issue is mealtime.  Every night same question, what's for dinner?  Next question, do I eat it?  I always say yes.  On the weekend we had tacos.  I thought she liked tacos but suddenly she wouldn't touch it.  I saw that they had these soft taco boats.  I thought, why not, maybe that's why she won't eat it.  It falls out of the shell and frustrates her.  Well, that was it.  She loved it.  Ate almost the entire taco.  I guess the secret is to just get in the head of the child.  At least this time it worked.

Thank you El Paseo for your taco boats :)

Cleaning up....

So I'm more motivated than ever to get out of this house.  I want G and us to live a normal life and I don't think that will ever happen in this state.  The leadership here feels mighty powerful and doesn't want to let that power go.  So we need to move to a place that G can meet and have friends over.  Go to school full time.  Have after school functions in person.  Places like that exist but not here so much.  Any excuse to shut it down, happens.  Last year was hard.  But now we are in a groove and I want out before they get another excuse to shut it down.  

This month, I'm working on the office.  I'm getting rid of G's current bed and replacing it with the daybed in the office.  It'll look much nicer than what she has right now.  Then it'll also be easier to start packing up things and throwing things out.  Just taking baby steps to get there.  Once this room is done, I think it'll be easier to do the rest.  

Changes....

2020 was one year for the records.  So much happened.   It'll be a year on March 23rd that I started WFH.  A week later my daughters daycare closed down.  I had to figure out how to work from home and take care of a toddler that didn't understand why she was home from daycare.   I really don't remember much from those 2 months except the drink I had to unwind every night.  But we made it through and Giuli returned to daycare in June.  Next issue was dinners.  We were eating junk food all the time and I knew we needed to stop that.  I started planning our meals out each week.  Made tomato basil and meat sauce on a  regular basis and try to keep jars in the freezer for meals.  Found easy recipes we love through website searches.  I'm making a new recipe book so we can easily have them on hand when we want them.  I try to plan for the following week by the weekend so I can stock up on what's needed and plan according.  All this has helped with our eating budgets.  We get at least 2 meals out of every one that I cook.  No 2020 was a hard year but it forced me to change.  I think these changes are for the better.  Makes me a better person and a mom.  

Jumping in with two feet...

OK.  I've done it now.  I signed the paperwork.  Purchased my product.  I'm waiting for the rest of the training to be unlocked.  Nervous but excited.  I really see the potential.  The potential to learn something new.  The potential to bring me out of my comfort zone and challenge myself.  These are things I really can't object to.  It'll help me grow as a person to do this. And who can argue with that?