4mydadTony Fundraising challenge

Hello little blog,

Sorry it's been a while since I last wrote - lots of things have been going on, but the most exciting has been to do with my Fundraising Challenge, to help people with MS!

You may remember that I wrote about my New Big Goal, which was an awesome starting point! Things have taken a slightly different direction, in light of my bipolar diagnosis, so I thought I'd share a little update with you all.

The original plan was for me to raise £22K to help pay for a big Wheelchair Accessible Car (WAC), that would fit all of the family and my dad comfortably. Well, now that I am probably not going to be moving out of my parents house for some time (well, not until a lovely fella comes along and sweeps me off my feet 😉) we had a re-think about how best to spend the money raised - the big WAC would no longer fit the needs of everyone. So we decided on a new plan - my parents would get a much smaller WAC, that would fit both of their mobility issues and I will save for a family car myself.

My dad hasn't been on holiday for over 2 years now - he either has to go into respite care or have a live-in carer stay with him, which I hate, as i feel so sad having to leave him behind, while we all go off for a fun family holiday. So, some of the money raised is going to go on a lovely family holiday - for my dad and the entire family to enjoy!

Then we had the job of deciding what to do with the rest of the money raised. Well, I met a friend of a friend whose wife also has MS like my dad and she attends a therapy centre for people with MS! So, that is where the remainder of the money raised is going, The Berkshire MS Therapy Centre!

I have already had a couple of fundraising events to help 'kick start' the money raising efforts -
Firstly I held an online Facebook Auction - I asked all of my creative friends if they would be willing to donate any pieces for the auction - to say that I was blown away with their generosity is a total understatement!! The auction went really well and overall raise £264! I have decided to hold another auction in December, perfect timing for some unique Christmas Gifts!

Some of the items donated!

 Next fundraising event, was a pamper evening that I held at a local Hotel. It was a really nice evening, with lots of different stallholders from massage therapists, to nails and skincare products 😊 the only downside was that where I had been so ill for 3 months, all of the final organising was crammed into just a few weeks! It was def a big learning curve and I have already got plans for another similar event next year! That event raised £261 and that was only with a few people there - plus all of the money from selling jewellery that a friend and I had made (we're going into business together - more on that another day!!)

If you fancy checking out my progress, I have a Facebook group called 4mydadTony - I've been uploading my progress and sharing videos of my fitness progress - did I tell you that I have signed up for Reading Half Marathon next Spring!?! I have found a personal trainer who is going to help me on the running side of things - I've been building my fitness levels with HIIT classes, aqua fit and walk/jogs, but I still have a long way to go before I'm Half Marathon Ready! So excited though! 😄

Oh and before I go, I just thought I'd share one little thing extra that I've done recently - I pledged that when my fundraising pot reached £750, I would dye my hair rainbow colours! Well, with generous friends and the online auction, we smashed that goal and so I got a hidden rainbow - which I LOVE!

My next milestone is £2K - then I will get all of my hair rainbow coloured! 😄

My new BIG GOAL!

Hello little blog!

I am sooo excited about my latest challenge I decided to set myself, that I just had to share with you all!

One of the things that I have been encouraged to do since joining the Forever family is to set myself some goals!
To start off with I set myself the challenge to earn £200 in profits a month. I created a lovely dream-board so that I could have a visual reminder of what I am working for. It had things like new clothes (some of mine are older than Little Man and he'll be 9 in July!) new trainers and boots, plus things like family fun days out and saving up for our first family pet - a rescue dog or puppy! 😄

Although the motivation was sort of there, after a flying start in December, I had quite a quiet January and February. I didn't really have that burning desire to achieve those targets. It didn't really matter enough whether I hit them or not.

Well, over the course of one weekend back in February, all of that changed!
I went to a networking breakfast with my sponsor on the Friday at the Madejski Stadium in Reading. It was my first ever 'event' and I got talking to lots of different people, plus ran into a friend who I hadn't seen in ages (small world!!) it was really good fun!

One of the guest speakers was absolutely AMAZING! He spoke about how he set out to run a marathon to honour his father who had sadly passed away. He was just so inspirational and down to earth! I just got one of his books through the post today 'The Unnatural Networker' by Charlie Lawson - can't wait to start reading it!!

The very next day my sponsor and I headed off to a Success Event at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry! I HAD THE BEST DAY EVER!!!
Throughout the day we were given top tips and ideas to help us run our businesses, but by far the best bits of the day were getting to see the FBOs (Forever Business Owners) walking across the stage to receive their awards for all their hard work! There were people who had made it to Manager Level; there were people who were being recognised for their recruitment achievements; our top manager of the team I am part of was the number 8 business there!! Amazing day!
I also loved to hear the stories and journeys of some of the top FBOs in the UK - every story was unique, but all showed that with hard work and consistency, EVERYTHING is possible!

Well when I got home and started to process some of the information I had experienced over those two events, I suddenly realised what my WHY was! The reason WHY I needed to get up and do some work every single day! I couldn't believe that I hadn't thought of it before! My WHY was my DAD!!

For those of you who don't know, my dad has MS. He was diagnosed when I was around 16 years old (I just turned 36 😉) and he has been extremely lucky in that his MS has been very slow progressing.
The last few years has seen a dramatic change though; he's now wheelchair bound completely, is hoisted in and out of bed and has carers to help him morning and night.

The one place he still struggles the most is having to  transfer using a plastic 'banana board' so that he can get in and out of the car. Then either I or my mum have to get his heavy wheelchair into the boot of the car (he's 6ft 4, so has an extra large wheelchair to accommodate his long legs, bless him!)
It's not the easiest task - much harder for mum who has mobility issues of her own and I worry a lot about her struggling with dad's wheelchair when I'm not there.

So, inspired by Charlie Lawson's story, I decided that I was going to raise money to buy my dad a WAC (Wheelchair Accessible Car) From all of the amazing people I had heard from that weekend, I knew that I was going to have to do something BIG if I was going to achieve this! So, I have set myself the challenge of running in a MARATHON in 2020!! Not only that, but I am going to run in the Reading Half Marathon in 2019!

This may not seem like a big deal to lots of you, but what you have to bear in mind is that currently I am a couch potato! I am 19stone 10 (horrifying to actually admit that!!) and wear size 24 clothes!
I like to see this as another step in my 'get fitter and feel better' challenge that I have embarked upon this year. Also if I don't reach my goal amount (around £22K - I'm not doing anything by halves me heehee!) at least I will be a damn sight fitter than I am now! 😄

I have already taken steps to get me going!
I have started making healthier choices in my food intake - I figure good 'fuel' will help me more than just eating whatever - celery and carrots are now my new 'best friends!' 😉
I have also booked myself an appointment to see a personal trainer, as with the spinal injury I got a few years back, I know I need to be careful with what training I do!

So, if you're local to me, don't be surprised to see me puffing (and probably sweating - sorry if TMI!!) to the lakes and back - prob 2-3 times a week!

Wish me luck! Hugs xxx

My new self-employed life!

Hello little blog, sorry I have been neglecting you again!
So much has been going on lately!

I made a huge decision at the end of November 2017 - I decided to take a leap of faith and stated running my own business in the Health and Wellbeing industry and I am LOVING it!!

I found the company because a family friend had encouraged my mum to start using one of the supplements and he came to do a products party at our house - I loved it so much and thought that I could do that, so I asked him to sign me up the very next day!! I think I gave him a bit of a shock to be honest, as I didn't even want to see the business plan or how it all worked (I know, I never do things like 'normal' people, heehee!)

I had my first planning meeting with my up-line manager at the beginning of December and then she helped my launch my business on the 8th December with my first products party!!

Since then I have been on a roller-coaster ride of highs, lows, huge learning curves and soooo much fun! I am most happy that I am finally earning my own money again!
The last 5 years have been really hard for me, having to rely on benefits! I have been in paid employment since the age of 16 and have absolutely HATED relying on 'hand outs!' it's made me feel like such a failure! I have to remind myself that I didn't plan on getting a divorce, plus the moment I felt well enough I found myself voluntary work - so it wasn't like I've sat on my bum doing nothing for the last 3 years!

I'm also enjoying learning again! As I've only ever been employed in jobs where you get handed a payslip at the end of the month, having to sort out all of my finances myself has been quite a challenge ;-) I am working on my 'love-hate' relationship that I have with Microsoft Excel - for the first 2 months, I was sat working out my calculations using the calculator on my mobile phone!! haha! I'm now onto simple equations ;-)
I'm also learning about Network Marketing - not something I ever thought I would be doing if I'm honest, but soooo much fun!
Lastly, I am learning about the wonderful world of Aloe Vera! My new love!

I am blessed to be working with the most amazing, supportive team you could ever wish for! Plus the love and support of my friends and family has seen me through the tougher times, when I was convinced I had made a big mistake taking on this new challenge!

What I'm loving the most is being my own boss!!
I choose when I work and what I'm going to read, watch and listen to each day to help me grow both my knowledge and skills, but also personal goals like working on my confidence and self-belief!
I can still do my voluntary work at the soup kitchen for the homeless and the session each week at my local library - not many paid jobs would be flexible enough for that to happen and there was no way I was going to stop doing them ;-)

I still need to work a little on getting a good work-life balance, but it is already so much better than when I first started back in December!
I try to work when the kids are at school and then again in the evenings when they have gone to bed. Then it leaves me time for them! I have managed to do the school runs AND even some morning ones!! (big achievement that one!)
I have time to meet friends for coffee! I could never do that back when I was a teacher!

All in all, I have to say, becoming self-employed really was the best decision I ever made!

If you want to find out more about what I do, please check out my website:
http://melissa-alwaysandforever.flp.com

Hope you're all enjoying the glorious sunshine we've been having lately - I think Spring has finally sprung now :-D

Hugs to all xxx

I don't have a broken elbow!!

Soooo happy right now!

I ended up having a little trip to minor injuries yesterday, as I managed to wallop my bad elbow on the sideboard and due t the amount of pain I was in, I feared the worst!

When I got to see the nurse for my assessment, she had a look back over my records to see the x-ray I had before Christmas and told me that I didn't have a fracture at all!

Apparently all x-rays get checked over by a specialist and even though bother the lady who did my x-ray and the nurse I saw in minor injuries had flagged me as having a broken arm, the specialist decided that I didn't!

Ecstatic doesn't come close to how happy I felt - I had a celebratory hot chocolate and marshmallows with the kids at bedtime 😄

The only thing is, that I have spent the last 3 weeks being overly careful as thought I had a fractured elbow. Wish someone could have told me the good news back then. 😕

My right arm is still sore, but I'll take injured soft tissue over a fractured elbow any time!!