Last year I published a post regarding my first year as being a single mom. I was still struggling emotionally, was depressed, and wasn’t sure what I was supposed to be doing.
A lot has changed since then.
It’s been too long since I’ve done a life update type post, so here is what’s been going on!
Working From Home
I’m going to come flat out and admit that working at home is not quite what I thought it would be…..but it is great.
At first the main goal of working from home was to earn more money but what really has happened is that I am spending so much more time with my girls. I thought I’d keep my 9-5 to schedule and go full force working from home, but I’ve realized what is so great about this transition is that I don’t have to take my kids to the babysitter every day.
In December I was worried about my income being too low so I thought maybe I should work part time for my Dad to earn a little extra cash. Then all of a sudden work started to pick up and I think I’m too early in the game to be doubting myself. (But it’s really hard not too.)
In the past few weeks I’ve been contacted by a couple of major media outlets – one being a very popular woman’s magazine. I don’t want to jinx myself just yet so I’ll give you the details once I see the articles published. Either way I’m just happy to have been contacted.
And, I’m discovering new opportunities every day, which is fantastic.
Even though things haven’t went how I had initially planned, they are seeming to work themselves out and I feel really content with my life right now.
Doing More of What I Love
You guys probably know by now that my main interest is houses – or making ugly houses pretty.
Well I don’t have the funds to do that right now so I’ve been taking it out on my furniture. I have refurbished almost every single piece of wood furniture I own.
I’ve also thought about finding cheap, ugly furniture on Craigslist or Facebook Garage Sales and refinishing and selling. Essentially I would be flipping furniture to fund a flip house 😉
Spending Time With Awesome People
Another thing that has changed is that I have a boyfriend now, which is really awkward for me to be even typing the word…..boyfriend. Everything in that area is and has been going extremely well. I’ll leave it at that now just because I feel so weird talking about it 😉
And, my ex best friend brother who I had written off? We’ve been talking again and it feels so good not to hold a grudge against one of the people who knows me better than anyone in the world. He screwed up, he’s sorry, I forgive him. It felt like there was something missing without having him in my life. So, one day I sucked up my pride and asked him to go shooting with me. I could tell how happy he was and he jumped at the offer. Life is so much better when you aren’t holding anger inside.
Life is Good
It’s funny that nothing has went as I thought it would. Last year I cried almost every day and now? I feel the happiest I’ve ever been.
Things aren’t perfect. I’m not pulling thousands of dollars from working from home. My kids (or youngest kid I shall say) still rips through the house like a tornado and has plenty of three year old tantrums. I still forget to eat breakfast. I waste too much time browsing the internet. I probably don’t leave the house enough. But I’m perfectly content with my life and it feels so, so good.
Last year everyone was telling me to give it some time and I’ll feel better but I didn’t want to believe them. But I’m here to tell you if you’ve been through a rough time – divorce, break up, an unfulfilling job or whatever, things do get better!
Now that I’ve got my corny story out of the way, what’s been going on with you?
Glad to hear everything is going well! Good luck with the opportunity to work on a major magazine. It’s crazy how different one year is from the next. Hope you have continued success in your work and personal life.
Thank you!! It’s not actually work on a major magazine just an interview to be included in an article. Still exciting though!!
Oh my goodness, that puppy is ridiculously adorable. I want to steal it and take it home.
Congrats on the new relationship, the new work set up, and, hopefully, the new exposure, too. All great things, Alexa: well deserved, too.
Thanks you!! I wished I would have remembered what house training a puppy entailed before getting him, lol. He’s my new best friend, though.
I’m excited to hear more about the magazine thing. Sounds like you are doing well 🙂
Do you plan on going to FinCon14?
Yes, things are going pretty good! I really, really want to go to FinCon but I don’t know if it will happen. It’s hard to plan with the girls. I guess I’ll just have to see when the time comes….hopefully
I’m so glad to hear things have improves so much over a year. You’ve been dedicated to changing your life and it shows! I hope this year is even better!
I am so happy for you that your life is in a better place than it was a year ago. Congrats on being contacted by two publications, that is a really big deal.
See!! Things do get better Alexa. I’ve been there myself. I am so happy to read about your news but I’m also happy to read about you and your brother. Very proud of you! Isn’t it funny how things turned out? Keep it up, glad to hear you are doing great.
Sounds like things are going really well for you! Excited to see what you accomplish this year and where life takes you. This caught my eye -> “I’ve also thought about finding cheap, ugly furniture on Craigslist or Facebook Garage Sales and refinishing and selling. Essentially I would be flipping furniture to fund a flip house.” One of my parent’s neighbors does this full-time. Seriously, her garage is filled with furniture and in the Summer you will see her outside dawn to dusk refinishing furniture in the front yard and garage and selling it. Not a bad idea to bring in some extra income and would probably be a nice way to mix up your income so you aren’t staring at a screen all day.
Wow, this is so awesome to read Alexa! The coolest part about all of this is that none of it just happened. You MADE it all happen, which is so badass! I can’t wait to hear all about how business is booming over the course of the year. You deserve it.
I’ve always wanted to refurbish a piece of furniture! I like DIY projects and have seen a lot of shabby chic looking stuff. Seems to be all the rage right now. I would love to get a nice dresser. Would love to see your other projects.
Hey Alexa…that was an AWSOME update!!! 🙂
I’m so happy for you and glad things are going your way. It is indeed so well deserved!
Take care and my best to all.
Lyle
Glad to hear you’re doing well! And Martin is adorable!
The girls are getting big! Am so excited to hear that things are going well.
Things aren’t how you planned but they sound pretty good! I think it’s great that you are spending more time with the girls. In the end, that’s what counts, not making more money or anything else.
Alexa, I’m SO happy that all is going so well for you!! I really think a lot of your success, Alexa, is because you chose to make changes with the things in your life that you weren’t happy with instead of just sitting around whining about it all. You chose to change your career, your living situation (i.e. getting the mobile home and educating yourself on real estate), your relationship with your brother, etc. I am so happy for you, and thankful that I have a great blogging buddy in you who inspires me often. You deserve every bit of this new and improved life, my friend!
That puppy is adorable!
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