Category Archives: Life

Exploring the world on a fixed budget

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I love to travel. My dream has always been to work 6 months, travel 6 months, and still have a home base. This tends to be a lot for most people to comprehend and was even difficult for my husband to digest when I first met him. But he is slowly coming around. Although, I have not actualized my travel dreams yet, we have done our fair share of traveling. I really have no complaints. Fortunately, Mathew is a great traveler too; perhaps it’s genetic.

It seems like I have always lived on limited budget and needed to shop for economical ways of traveling to support my habit. As my role as a domestic engineer has evolved, so has my role as a travel coordinator. This is okay as I have several tools in my travel chest, which have grown over the years with internet access. I’ve never been a fan of travel agents, but with the internet there is very little need for them now except if you do not have the time or inclination to coordinate your travel plans. I find that there is always an investment when you travel – whether it be time or money. The more time you invest in research and coordinating the trip, the less money you will spend on the journey itself. But if you do not have the time, you might need to spend more money.  Not a hard and fast rule, but it tends to work out that way.

The most important advice I can give you in finding affordable travel arrangements is to do a lot of research and to start early. If possible, start at least 2-3 months, if not more, before you want to travel. This is probably the most valuable advice I can offer. There are many search engines out there nowadays but one of my first and favorites is still Travelocity (my husband prefers Expedia). You can program alerts, so if there is a price change for a desired trip you will receive an email alert. Another thing I like about Travelocity is that the price they give you includes all taxes and fees, so you know the real cost of the flight. When I first started using Travelocity, they were able to get better prices than if you booked directly from the airlines, but this is no longer the case. I know people love Expedia but I have never found their prices could beat Travelocity. I now use Kayak and compare it to Travelocity. Kayak offers more options, allows you to refine your search, and is very user friendly. However, once I find the flights I want, I go directly to the airlines to book it, as it tends to save us a few dollars.  Another helpful hint is that, airlines generally release new sales early on Tuesdays, and if other carriers match existing sales, they will do so by the end of business on Tuesday. Therefore, Tuesday is one the best days to start looking for a flight.

Our favorite airline is JetBlue. They have retained some semblance of customer service; where as other airlines have discarded the idea. The seats are comfortable; they have cable TV (which is lovely during long flights) and still offer some free snacks. I love the Blue Chips. One really nice option with JetBlue is that if you book the flight and the price is reduced before you fly, you can call them and they will give you a credit for the difference. You do have to continue to watch fares, which costs time, but it could save you quite a bit of money, especially if you are booking flights for several people.

What do you do to save money on travel? Please share and I will too.

Dear Cesar Millan,

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In May, we rescued a 2-year-old lab mix. The dog warden found him wandering the streets in February and brought him to the local humane society. Therefore, no one knows what his story is. He was in bad shape, very thin, lost most of his hair on his back and tail. He was neutered in March, which set him back and he lost more weight. When we met him in May, his hair had grown back and wasn’t noticeably thin, a real handsome guy. He was very calm and my son was able to walk him, even though the dog weighed 10 pounds more than my 8-year-old son.

Dylan for the most part is amazing, a very calm and relaxed dog. He even allows my son to hang on him while he is eating and sleeping. He acts as if he doesn’t notice him there. He is a quick learner and responds well to commands; it often only takes two requests. Unfortunately, Dylan suffers from separation anxiety and it appears to be getting worse.

The first 2 months, he was very calm and relaxed and had no noticeable problem being crated. One day he pried the roof off his crate while I was out. Since we were letting him sleep with my son at night, we decided to see if he could handle being in the house while we were away. He was fine for a month and then randomly started to eliminate in the house. It did not matter if he eliminated before we left, or if he was home alone for an hour or 5 hours, it was random – until it was every time and then he started to eliminate randomly at night. Dylan has amazing control over his bowels, he can hold them for 15 hours – not because he was not walked or had the opportunity, he just doesn’t go. On the other hand, he can go three times in an hour, he actually marks with poo and pee during hikes.

When we are home, he loves his crate. He tends to hang out in there for most of the day, of his own accord. Due to the elimination issue, we secured the crate so he cannot escape and he sleeps in the crate at night and is crated when we leave the house.  For the most part, he goes in on his own, but then gets very anxious, whines, pants and salivates a lot. One day my son thought Dylan peed in his crate there was so much liquid in the crate.  Some days he deals better than others.

We have watched your program, read books, talked to trainers and feel we have a good idea how to work with him. Before he is crated, I take him out in hopes that he will eliminate, walk him, run with him, play Frisbee, to help burn off some energy. However, lately he just wants to go back in the house, he does not want to walk or play. I have a bone that I stuff treats in for him to eat while we are away. We only give him attention when he is calm. When I get home, some days he has moved the crate across the kitchen floor – more than five feet. When he is calm, I let him out, bring him outside but he still doesn’t want to play outside, he just wants to get back into the house. When I let him back into the house, he runs back into the crate and starts eating the treats hidden in the bone.

This is where I left Dylan in the crate.

Although we have worked with him daily, giving him exercise, only responding to him when he is calm, showing him that we are the pack leaders, he is still very anxious and is hurting himself while he is crated. He has wounds on his head and nose. Please help us Cesar Millan, Dylan needs you.

This is where I found it when I got home

Thank you,                                                                                                                             The Biltonen Family