Sweet Delilah is a Staffie mix and has the sweet temperament of the breed

Wheels mean freedom!

Having Lucy to get around in has made a profound difference to my life. And although it’s not like I am traipsing all over the place or taking road trips (yet!), just knowing that I can hop in the car to go to the store without it being a mission, is huge. Of course, when I start making payments at the end of the month, it might not feel quite so good! So in the meantime…

Jacob the night before he went over the rainbow bridge

I had my first cancellation recently. It was a bit of shock but not the homeowners fault, so I had to suck it up. And it actually worked out, as these things do. As usual, Ryan stepped in and I spent the week there. And the timing was really fortuitous. On the Friday, he and his two roommates were gone so I was house sitting and taking care of Jacob, the kitty. He has had some serious health issues over the last year from when we think he was trapped in a garage and his tail caught under the garage door. His tail was amputated and he had major stomach surgery. We thought he had fully recovered. But not enough and on Saturday morning, with me sitting with him on the bed, he went over the rainbow bridge. I am sooo glad the house sit cancelled and I was able to be there with him. I have nightmares thinking about if he had been on his own. So all things happen for a reason.

Now I am at a lovely house in Carlsbad with two wonderful dogs. But it’s interesting. During this time, I’ve turned down two house sits. Both I had weird feelings about as I applied and after conversations and face-to-face meetings with the home owners, I knew my gut instincts about the situations were spot on. Sometimes there is just a disconnect between me the sitter and the homeowner. And now I am learning, that no matter how perfectly the sit would fit a) the timeframe and b) the location, I must trust my gut. I’ve only had one sit, and fortunately a very short one, that I didn’t listen and although the time and place weren’t bad, it wasn’t a comfortable feeling being there.

Internal Debate

I’ve also had a debate going with myself about whether I should stay in the States after my booking in June or go somewhere else, like Europe or Belize. There are pros and cons to both, but the stay option won. And it’s basically because of finances. Being in an area I know, I’m not as likely to be inclined to go out exploring, which is expensive. If I’m somewhere new, I will want to get out and about to see and discover the area. But on my very limited budget, doing that is not an option, so for now I will stay around California, with maybe a couple of summer sits in Washington and/or Montana. Which I can now drive too, so it would include a road trip!

My financial situation is always an issue, one that I am working on changing, with this course I am taking. It’s actually a challenge and I am learning so much about online marketing with funnels. It’s called the ClickFunnels 30 Day Challenge. Well, the 30 days is up tomorrow and I am way behind. But it’s not an issue, I’ll just keep plugging away. It is a very condensed course and for me, I need more of the details spelled out, so am also doing a parallel video course, in order to understand it all better. But I am banking on this to make bank in the future!

One of the main components of the course and the marketing is storytelling. Starting with an authentic backstory. So I took that literally and started back in 2010 when the shit really hit the fan, started a podcast and another blog called “My Inappropriate Life.” Surprisingly, this has been the most amazing part of the course.

At the beginning of the project, I promised myself that I would do everything as required and not skip anything and as this was one of the very first assignments, I took it to heart and publishing the story has been very freeing me. I’ve always been reticent about disclosing/exposing my troubles and problems (myself!) I’ve faced. But I thought, “F**k it, what do I have to lose?” Through the process, I’ve been able to identify stuff that is really important to me, stuff that is just not worth spending any energy on and listening to what my gut and heart are telling me.

I think by opening up has made some people uncomfortable, as it shatters the image of myself that I have projected for years. Oh well…

Originally published at www.grannytravels.com.