A year gone.....

A year gone....

         It has been an entire year since I have written a blog. So much has been happening. So many new things come and gone. A big move, my kid starting school, trying to start a new business, a new car. I'll just go through month by month.
        August 16: We made the big move from Hawaii to South Carolina. It was a struggle. I had to leave poor Diesal in Hawaii with my neighbor because it was too hot to fly him the day of. Which I was so graciously informed by the airline 4 hours BEFORE my flight. Giving me 2 hours to run around like crazy trying to figure out what to do. All the while, Zack being on the east coast already. I found a dog hotel in Seattle who flew him to St. Louis and my most excellent mother took him in. Once we got to Beaufort, I had to set up all of our utilities and get Mara ready to go to school. She turned 3 at the end of the month....ridiculous! Kids grow so fast!
        September 16: She started going to pre-school at Hobbit Hill Preschool. She loves it there! They are kind of expensive, but Zack felt that her education foundation was of most importance. The school has a baby room and a toddler room for families with younger children. That is convenient! So while she technically wasn't quite old enough for pre-school, the toddler room definitely prepared her for that! 
My parents came to visit for Labor day weekend. They were only here for a few days, but they got to see where I live and sleep on air mattresses because all of our furniture wasn't here yet. My sister Michelle surprised me! That was awesome. Zack was a drill instructor so he wasn't around at all. They had him running around from 4 in the morning to 10 at night! We hardly saw him at all that first few months.
        October: Mid month our stuff got here the day the governor of the state issued a coast wide evacuation for the hurricane that was about to hit. Matthew I think it was. We headed up to Charlotte North Carolina to stay with Aunt Julie. She was nice to take us in. We were there for 6 days. When we got back to Beaufort, the power was still out and I had a house full of boxes to unpack in the dark. A lot of those boxes had random things and just got shoved into closets. A week or so later, Aunt Julie ran her first Iron Man. So we drove up and stayed with Aunt Deanne. Grandma was there too! That was cool. Julie did really well!! At the end of the month, my dad came to visit for just a few days on his way to visit another friend of his. Still it was nice because he got to spend Maddox's first birthday with him, which I thought was nice! The kids were pirates for Halloween.
        November-July: Zack's first platton graduated and we were able to go home to visit my mom. We were home for 3 weeks. I was happy to see my pooch, Diesal. He had been staying with mom until we had a chance to come and get him. It was so cold! Our first winter with actual cold weather in 3 or 4 years. Thanksgiving was nice. As usual, food and family. Saw uncle Bruce. Haven't seen him in a long time. I must have been like 15 last time I saw him! On the way back to SC, we stopped in Nashville and stayed with my friend Michelle whom I've known for 10 years. She is the cutest first generation Irish girl you ever did meet! Anyways, that was nice. Zack started up his second platoon mid December. I hate the drill instructor thing! It is so horrible. Kids never get to see Dad and I'm doing a lot by myself. But nevertheless, I try as hard as I can to be that supportive wife and do as much as I can to help him out. When he works 19 hour days, the less he has to do when he gets home the better! About half way through his second cycle, he bumped into the coach of the shooting team he was on out in Hawaii....WHICH HE LOVED!....That guy put in a word to his command to help him go on quota and be on the shooting team. Again, that's what he wants to do. Christmas they gave him off as long as he worked 2 duty nights in a row. That was nice. Getting to spend Christmas with him. The kids sure loved it! So after that cycle graduated, he was able to check into the weapons battalion and do that. He left in April for the summer competitions. Easter we went to a friend of mine's house. He came home for 2 days in May and got to spend Mother's Day with me. We went to a restaurant out here that has super awesome tacos! For 4th of July, we drove up to Quantico Virginia to stay with him for a few days! That was so nice! We met some of his friends and got to see where he had been staying. A week or so after that he came home.
       August: Ok, an entire year has happened here. As you have read, lots going on. Now that we've come full circle here. Mara is actually in official pre-school. She is learning and growing and becoming her own little girl. It's crazy! She is so nice and beautiful. I just love how she is growing. We visited Missouri for about 2 and a half weeks. A good friend of mine got married and I ran a 5k! I don't run I hate running! But my mother assured me that we wouldn't actually run on account of the fact that it was inflatable. An entire 5k of bouncy house type obstacles....THAT WAS SO FUN! I'm totally gonna try to do it again next year! As usual we visited WildWood and mom's many friends. Seriously, that woman has more friends than I do! She is amazing that one! We had Mara's 4th!!!! birthday party there! Seriously! What is going on! It was troll themed and she was so happy! 
      September-Now: Well the weather is finally starting to cool off. Gotta love that! I got to whip out my boots! That's exciting! Well to me anyway. Zack's mom moved to Missouri to inevitably be closer to us when Zack gets out of the military. Which is cool because that's where we plan to go! They bought a house and they are officially moved! I'm way excited for them! My mom and sister helped her out so much and I am so grateful that my mom and mother in law get a long so well! Maddox will be 2 this Friday! We are gonna try to do a truck theme. He really likes cars, trucks, and pretty much anything with wheels. I just can't believe it.
     Okay, now that you're all caught up. Let's talk about what I've gotten into. For this past year, I have been trying really hard to break into the internet marketing world. It is hard, and I'm not entirely sure what I need to do. I have tried a bunch of programs free and not free that just don't seem to work. I understand the gyst, but it's the details that get me. Anyways, a year gone and I'm still working on it. A YEAR! I have had no luck. As I said, I've tried the affiliate marketing, running links through my own website, nothing seems to work. I'm not entirely worried about it, but I do need to get something accomplished. 
         I heard from a friend of mine that Amazon offers an affiliate program! That is absolutely perfect for me because Amazon and I are good buddies! I get everything off of there! I already have an established re pore with them. Over the last year, I have tried to start my own business called Scrubs and Rubs. I make lotions(rubs) and scrubs and all things skin care. It is really fun and I enjoy it a lot! I work with natural butters and essential oils. My mom says that I might have trouble considering I'm competing against companies like bath and body works. Well while that is true, I didn't stop. I went onto Etsy and got myself a little shop.  

https://www.etsy.com/shop/ScrubsandRubsShop

I have several admirers and a lot of people interested to learn more, but no one taking that extra step to buy. When I came across this affiliate program, I was quite excited. I thought it would be a good way to monetize my blog, promote my business, and help amazon sell some of things I myself have bought to build this business.  The next step is to figure out how it all works, and I'm all set. 
So as you can see I've been on a long journey but I still see the light at the end of the tunnel and I will continue to try my hardest to succeed at what I love.