Well, here we are.  At the end of October.  What a month it was! As the title of this blog indicates, it was a month of emotions for me.  Elated, surprised, excited, apprehensive, incredibly sad, concerned, motivated… I could go on.  Crazy, right??

I started off the month feeling very motivated and excited, especially with my biz.  I scheduled 2 in-person vendor events: one in Colorado Springs and one in Castle Rock. I’d never done anything remotely like this, but I knew I had to branch out of my comfort zone to meet new people.  To sum up both experiences, I will use 1 word: interesting.  The demographic of the people who showed up in the Springs was much older than I expected; not really my target audience, so to speak.  I made it a point to meet the other vendors around me, and to learn from them.  They were so helpful, and gave me a lot of insight that I can use going forward.  I even met a woman who wants to share a booth with me in the future: she has a boutique in the Springs (aptly named “Paige&Co”), but doesn’t carry anything like ZYIA.  I also learned that the attendance was nowhere close to where it had been in previous years, so there’s that.  The event in Castle Rock was REALLY slow, but the people I met were definitely more of “my people,” and everyone was super nice.  To sum it up, I am very proud of myself for getting out there and doing these events.  I got 37 new contacts, which was my goal.  I am looking to do 1 or 2 more in November–gotta keep moving forward and learning, right??

That excitement and motivation was quickly replaced by anger and extreme sadness when I found out that one of my Cupcake Cartel triathlon teammates (Courtney, who is pictured above) was struck from behind while riding her bike in FL. And the redneck asshole that hit her left the scene of the accident!!!! Who the fuck does that??!! She was only 33, and had so much ahead of her.  I later learned that she died instantly, so thank God she didn’t suffer.  As I’m sure you guys can understand, this tragedy rocked my world.  It came on the heels of another tragedy that happened in May, only 5 minutes from my house, on a road that I ride every time I head out the door.  I cannot wrap my head around how these things keep happening. And right before I started writing this, my friend posted on IG that a driver struck a group of cyclists in TX.  All of them are currently in ICU.  Even if you aren’t the religious type, please say a prayer for them.  All I can say for sure is that this shit has GOT TO STOP.  Another friend of mine (Triny Willerton) started an amazing foundation a few years ago called “It Could Be Me.”  If you are so inclined, look it up and volunteer.  Let’s make our elected officials recognize these tragedies for what they are–NOT accidents.  But here’s my bottom line: I refuse to live my life in fear.  I will continue to do what I can to stay safe out there.  I am not going to just ride inside on my trainer because people suck.  I much prefer to die doing something I love, something that brings me a lot of peace, versus dying in cancer hell.   

And now that we’re almost in November (I wrote this on Halloween night), I’m feeling motivated as hell.  This is the best time of year for small business owners, and I intend to knock it out of the park!  November is my Customer Appreciation Month, and as a part of that celebration, I will have some fantastic Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals.  If you want in, pls comment “VIP” on this blog, or send me a message, and I will put you on my First to Know list.  Only people on that list will have access to the deals, so don’t miss out!  

As always, thanks for reading.  xo