I left my beloved Baja California, Mexico and my dear friends there last week and drove across the country to the east coast. My Jeep was literally stuffed to the top and the dogs even had to share their space in the way-back.

After a FIVE HOUR WAIT to cross the border, I was on the road. I got to visit a good friend on the first night on the road, then had to get up super early to make it to Texas for a class the following day.

My nav system sent me down a bunch of gravel roads in the middle of the night in Texas. I was waiting for the horror movie to begin - can't you just imagine someone jumping out of the darkness with an ax or something? - but made it to my hotel safely.

The next day was a real highlight. I got to hang out with Terry Trahan and do some knifework and other personal defense training. I learned a lot, got some drills to practice, and got a gorgeous new knife. Terry and his lovely wife are totally awesome people and I had so much fun hanging out with them.

I slept in a bit the following day, got to stop by and visit my mom and stepfather en route for a bit, and then carried on.

It wasn't until the last day that I had an issue.

As I was heading out of the city on the freeway in the second to left lane, an 18 wheeler in front of me swerved - not really common behavior for that type of vehicle, particularly in traffic. We were both going around 65 mph. Suddenly a large white piece of metal flew up over the truck - I think it was the hood of a vehicle - and there was twisted metal all over the road. I dodged and managed to avoid the hood (or whatever it was) flying at me but due to traffic, couldn't completely avoid the metal in the road.

I have always cursed my tire pressure sensors because of how they go off every time it gets cold but I'll never do that again. My indicator light came on and it dinged and I watched the pressure in my tire begin to plummet.

I turned on my hazard lights and managed to cross 4 lanes of traffic and get onto a less busy highway before I was on the rim. And there I was breathing a huge sigh of gratitude that it hadn't been far worse. I was completely uninjured and so were the dogs, and that's all that was important.

I know how to change a tire, of course, but I wasn't too excited to do it on a busy highway, especially since I'd have to get two large dogs out of the back to access the jack. So, I used my roadside assistance and stayed put there on the side of the road.

My insurance company (shout out to Progressive Insurance) was fantastic and had someone there to change the tire for me in pretty short order. Fortunately, I had a full sized spare.

The entire delay took about two hours, making my arrival later than I'd planned. But I got to hug one of my beautiful daughters for the first time in a YEAR!!!!

I'm now settled in a tiny house (a legit tiny house) for a few months for a very different prepping experience. I've been prepping on the go for a few years now and I know that one of the major conflicts a lot of folks have is where to store all their preps. Hopefully my new experience will help me offer some better advice to those living in smsll spaces.

And that was my rather eventful week. 🙂

YOU GUYS ARE AMAZING

When I sat down to write this week about being demonetized, I was really apprehensive. I've always been the kind of person who doesn't like to ask for help or money.

The fact that so many of you felt that our work at The OP was worth your sponsorship has left us completely blown away and overwhelmed with gratitude.

If you missed that article, you can find out about what happened here.

We've gotten some opportunities offered to us from other advertisers and we have incredible things in the works for you.

Thank you again.

This week, I'm just trying to get organized in my tiny house. First things first, we've put away all the things from my Jeep and gotten settled in that way. I've done some minor grocery shopping but will be making a big Aldi's run later this week. I have some loft space I'm using for storage and I plan to stash a lot up there.

My daughter and I also share a storage unit here. I know that we all like having our supplies close at hand, but sometimes a cache elsewhere can be extremely valuable, especially if you have to leave your home. Our storage unit is well stocked with longer term items.

I've been scoping out the area on dog walks and found to my excitement there's a bubbling creek right across the road. It's always a bonus to find an extra water source, particularly when I'm limited to how much I can really store here. I don't have a yard,, just a little walkway, so I can't add a shed or any outdoor storage space.