Gratitude Journal Day 4

Today, I am grateful for my Cousin, Irene, who introduced me to my business. It has been so much fun working with her and seeing her on a regular basis. I have always been close to her, but being on her team and working together has been an entirely different experience, all for the good.

I am grateful today for Catholic Schools. My kids are getting a well rounded education with a Catholic flavor that I love, I love it when my kids come home singing church hymns and when they want to audition for the talent show using those songs. So sweet!!
Lastly, I am grateful for my baby birds. Yes, they are noisy, but they have been  fun companions and have taught my kids to love animals and to take care of them.

Gratitude Day 3

Today my Gratitude Journal includes:
My team of girls who have joined me thus far in my business. They are the greatest bunch of women. They are caring, giving, fun, positive and some of the most happy people, ever. I am ever so blessed to have them on my team!  My prayer is that they all grow personally, spiritually and financially along with me in our journey together! Go Team!

My 2nd entry is for my growing Ortley Beach, NJ team! Little by little, the leaders are popping up, forming a team of women (of course) who are helping others in different ways. Funny thing is, we have never even met it person.  They are dedicated, loving, concerned, forward thinking women! I am proud!! :)
My 3rd entry is for the family that has been created in NJ with the larger It Works team. What a great group of women and men they are!  I am proud to be a part of a family that works together for the betterment of all!  We are going far!!

Hooray for teams!!

Our Trip Bushkill Falls Part 2

Our trip to Bushkill Falls, Pa continued after the boys decided they wanted to take off on their own.

Letting them go gave us the chance to stop for a while and enjoy the scenery and take lots of pictures with the girls.

Oddly enough, there were not a lot of wildlife at the falls and even the birds were kind of quiet.  I did not want to see any bears, for sure, but a squirrel or deer would have been nice.
The whole trail took us about 2 1/2 hours and about half way through, we got to the bridal falls, the masterpiece of the park.

There were a lot of different kind of waterfalls including brooks and streams....

 

 
 On our walk back from the Bridal Falls, we chose to take the hiker's path back to the end of the trail. Bad move. My knees were hurting by the time we got the end and were begging for flatter ground! It will be the normal trail for us next time, for sure!

 The last two waterfalls were massive. the power of the water was just incredible, and the sunlight hitting the water was nothing short of magical looking!  What a beautiful end to a beautiful day!

 Over all, the trip was great and worth the $73 price tag for our family of 8. (We are really 9, but were missing our eldest Son.)  We can't wait to go back again. Hopefully, we will make it in the Spring. 

Loudly Yours,

Alicia

Our Trip to Bushkill Falls, Pa Part One

It's a ride out to PA for about an hour, give or take. Just a relatively short ride to see some of nature's beauty. We chose this time of the year to go to see the leaves and because October weather is usually so conducive to hiking. Just cold enough to keep you from sweating while you walk, but warm enough that you are not freezing. We tried to make this year's trip with most of our neighborhood gang, but as life has it at times, it did not work out completely, but we were able to spend the day with one of our neighbor families and it worked out great!  So, the largest family and one of the smallest of Mt Tabor sojourned together to the falls. We arrived around mid day and the sun peeked out from the clouds as soon as we arrived.  We piled out of the car, paid the fare and checked out the trails. We opted for the biggest route and got right to hiking. We quickly realized that the boys were not going to keep the pace we were moving, so we made a decision to let them run ahead. It was a good decision. We would have held them back and we would have heard complaints the whole way through. We took out time, stopping to take pictures at will. We got a lot of good ones!  It is ironic how serene the woods can be while at the same time have such brute strength in the power of the falls.

Loudly Yours,
Alicia

My Dinner with a Billionaire...in the making...

Yes, Billionaire.....with a B.
Seriously.
I did.
I made dinner and shortly dated a man who is now a Billionaire. Just made the connection yesterday, about 22 years later.
He was the last man I dated before I married my Husband.
I met him through a close friend I had from the gym.  I was Condo sitting her place and invited him over for dinner. No hanky panky, just dinner and maybe some snuggling. Alright, maybe a little more than that, but nothing rated R, if you get the picture.

I remember I made him Curry Chicken for dinner and took pains to make every ingredient just perfect. I was so excited to make everything look amazing. Candles on the table, table cloth, cloth napkins, lights down really low, dessert made.....just perfection. I knew he had money and I wanted to impress.

The door bell rang, my heart skipped a beat.  I ran to the door and slowed down as not to be out of breath. I answered the door and there he was, with a super smile and dressed casually, and with just the right balance of fashion and comfort. He had on great shoes, too.  I allowed him in and we headed to the kitchen to check on the food and he helped me up on the counter to get something I can't recall, but I remember we had a chuckle about how I was too short to reach that item I needed. He helped me bring some the food into the dining area and we drank some wine and chatted candidly about things going on in our lives.

We sat at the dinner table and the conversation continued. I was pleased as punch that he liked the dinner and felt like such a success.
The evening continued at the kitchen where he helped me clean up the dishes (which impressed the heck out of me), then when we were done in the kitchen, we headed to the living room to watch a movie on the couch.

I have no idea what we watched and the night ended when he left to go home. I was not the one night stand kind of girl and I was not sure where this relationship was headed. So, I let him go.....and I never saw him again.

I heard from him after that. He called and we spoke....but he was just too busy to ever take my call as he was building his business....and build it he did.

He built it to the tune of 23 Billion (yes billion) dollars. Hmmmm. that is a lot of money.   A LOT of money.

Shortly after I realized that it was not going to work out with Mr. Got Rocks, I started dating my Hubby. I knew He was the man I was going to marry soon after we met, although I did not believe it at first. He did not own his own car, he was still living at home and worked retail. Not the worldly ideal; but what he does have is a Billion Dollar heart and that is what attracted me to him the most.  Do I regret me decision not to pursue Mr. Got Rocks? No. My children are treasures worth more than gold or riches and so is my dear husband.

It is interesting to think of what life might have been if I had kept on Mr. Got Rocks. It would be a super spoiled version of me. Not too sure I would want to be in the room with that.  It might not be too pretty. How knows? Maybe I would. I would like to think that I would have a heart big enough to share with a lot of people in need, with all of his money.  Maybe. Then again, I look to people who had nothing, and made all the difference in the world, like Blessed Mother Theresa.
This morning, when I woke up, I heard a whisper from God, telling me that He has blessed me with treasure beyond measure in my children and that they were more that all the riches in the world.

Yeah...what God said.

Loudly yours.

Alicia

Finally have a chance to breathe...

Doing work you love is hard, but when you love it as much as I do, it seems mostly effortless.  The only down side is that it takes up much of your time and life seems to fly by so very fast. Take for instance, my blog.  My diary to my family, today and tomorrow, and to the world (not that the whole world is interested, but that it is open to everyone in it who is curious enough to look)

 Summer is officially over, so there are a few things I want to jot down so I will not forget they ever happened.  This Summer, I had some changes in my life; one was to say good bye to my accompanist, Maddie, who went to Notre Dame University to bigger and better things than playing at our sweet little chapel in the woods....

(My apologies for the sideways movie clips, I just could not for the life of me, figure out how to change it.  If you know, you could leave me a comment or  link to see how! :) Thanks)

Here is one of our last pictures together.  She was a very, very sweet young lady, who did a great job providing music for our Masses every week. 

Another change in my life was that of work.  I am still dedicated to my wonderful Precious Metal position, but am beginning to feel a shift in the industry in the area of gold buying parties.  To create an excitement to my hostesses, I brought on It Works, Global on board as a sister business to create a stir, and it has.  I have been buying gold and silver and wrapping bodies all summer long. 

 

I have also cut 9 inches off my hair....

 

I

Enjoyed the kids in Children's Day, VBS, and on Open Mic Night.....

 

Of course there was our annual trip to the Shore and Casino Pier, then we spent some time at Tabor Lake....

Other highlights include the Baptism of Sonny where we got to see some old friends....

and finally, the beginning of school to get things back into order....

I 

I am still singing weekly at Mass and a Funeral or 2 every month as well as Weddings now and again.  I had a special treat when I got to see my Catholic Elementary School Principal, Sr. Ascenza, who I love very much. It wasn't the best picture, but you can see how happy we are to see each other. :)

 

Overall, it was a great Summer and I am happy that fall is here to bring on new adventures in our loud, crazy life!

Loudly yours.

Alicia

So lucky

Today I have been pondering how lucky I am to have a job that gives me the flexibility I need to be a Mom of 7 kids, that gives me the option to build other businesses and continue to follow my desires.

For instance, singing. It is a passion for me.  I think I would die inside if I lost the gift of singing.  I am lucky to have the ability to almost drop everything and sing at a Funeral Mass or Service. I have the privilege of singing every Sunday and get paid for it, something I have and would do for free.  I love that I get to pursue my deepest desire to continue developing my voice.  

I am grateful to my hubby who puts up with my singing career and is always there to be with the kids as I am unleashed to jog my vocal chords.  Same goes with my many business ventures.  From makeup to water units, to travel, to gold to my awesome wraps,  he is there for me and the return has been good, but it could not have been without his help, that is for sure. :)

I still have a bug in me that wants to go forward, though.  I want to have that chance to sing on Broadway, to record a legit CD that gets onto the charts, to travel all over the world, have a home in Ecuador and at the shore...I guess that is what keeps me going, searching for the perfect situation that will get me the things I dream of.  I just got a message from an Ambassador Executive from It Works.  I read of her success and I pray to be on the receiving line, right along with her in about a year from now.  I am putting it out there, as a prayer to God that He gets his Universe in motion to have those dreams come to be.

Loudly yours,
Alicia