Just an Epic Life
Just an Epic Life
Road Trip Reflections: Sedona's Red Rocks and Travel Hacks
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Driving home from Sedona provides the perfect backdrop for a candid conversation about travel hacks, relationship dynamics, and how we approach the end of vacations differently. We explore unexpected money-saving strategies and innovative business techniques while sharing embarrassing personal stories against the stunning red rock landscape.
• Our $27 charcuterie board appetizer became lunch for three days, saving hundreds on dining expenses
• The "mad-at-you key" - Keslie's insurance policy for when Nick inevitably irritates her on vacation
• How vacation ending blues manifest differently - Nick gets grumpy while Keslie sees regular life as an extension of vacation
• Professional insights on using AI to stage listing photos, resulting in immediate market activity for stagnant properties
• Ear fatigue is real - our karaoke night averaged 97 decibels and left lasting effects
• Embarrassing moments - from running into screen doors to pants explosions in the classroom
• The excitement of using AI in real estate without believing it will "take over the world"
If you have topic suggestions or want to be a guest on our podcast, message us! Tell us where you're going to be, and if it's somewhere epic, we might come meet you for a conversation.
Recorded 6/6/25
Welcome to Sedona Road Trip
Speaker 1Well , hello and welcome back to another episode of Just an Epic Life . We thought it would be epic to podcast while driving home from Sedona . So some time management . You're gonna be looking at the back of our heads unless I turn around to talk to you . Otherwise you'll get to see the epic drive which is exiting the Red Rock country and hopefully you can see how gorgeous this is .
Speaker 1Right here we are leaving the Arabella Hotel Motel . We decided it was called Really nice property . Actually I really enjoyed it and they had activities . They had water fill stations , which I know sounds like so dumb , but I drink so much water so I'd rather enjoy that . There is that for an option , and I do believe that we had the very best room in the whole place because we had an epic view of , hopefully , what you can see right here , which is the Smart Rocks . So , yeah , so it's been a long time since we've podcasted and we've been brainstorming all the things that we could , you know , chat about and he hit go . So I didn't have time to do it and I'm still going to do it .
Speaker 2You want to talk briefly about the charcuterie .
Speaker 1Oh my gosh , All right , travel hack . Hold on , we can edit this out later . No , we won't .
Speaker 2Oh , okay , what are you doing ? Um ,
Charcuterie Board Travel Hack
Speaker 2well , I'll talk about the charcuterie while you chat . Gpt Perfect , all right . Uh , so on our first day we did something unplanned , but now it's going to be in our arsenal of travel hacks . We went to a restaurant the first night it was . You know , we don't always eat out , but usually one meal per day we eat out , and we got an appetizer because we knew we were going to go to dinner somewhere else . So we went to Oak Creek Brewery so I could get a pint of beer , and I mean , yes , they had a cocktail as well , but we went for the beer and while we were there , we had the appetizer of a charcuterie board spread . By the way fun fact there's a mobile home park right there .
Speaker 1Oh , we went to it . Yeah , and we can also bring the RV here . Yeah , I guess it isn't that close .
Speaker 2Yeah , totally right there we got the charcuterie . It was like a $20 , maybe $27 . It was designed probably for a table of eight .
Speaker 1I think it said like four , which I mean keep going with your hack , talk for it .
Speaker 2So we ate some of it because it was our appetizer . And then we boxed it up and our box weighed like over a pound Easy , like with all the meats and cheeses and jams , and it was great . And then for the rest of the trip , for the next three days , that was like our lunch .
Speaker 1Yeah , luckily we had a refrigerator in the room and I will say I said to Nick yesterday , the container in which they gave it to us in made all the difference . So it might be worth traveling with , maybe some disposable Like airtight . Airtight , yeah , that's a good idea . Yeah , just one or two . I mean , we already bring stuff like that .
Speaker 2So so , yeah , that was a fun hack that we're going to continue , because we're always like a meats and cheeses type of lunch anyway , sometimes like peanut butter , because usually we do the light breakfast that the hotel provides sometimes and then we eat out for a dinner so to be able to have the charcuterie for the lunch that's great .
Speaker 1Yeah , it's really good , and I truly think people could easily spend $200 a day eating out and okay . So if you remove any beverages , maybe a little less , but honestly , I think it's so expensive to eat out these days so it kills me . So we did bring some of our own stuff .
Speaker 2Yeah , you grilled up like four chicken breasts and sliced it up before it came here . Yeah , we ate off the chicken breasts we brought protein shakes yeah . Yeah , she always does protein shakes in her coffee . Yeah , in lieu of a coffee creamer yeah , so she was able to do that . All right , so you have a list what's going on .
Speaker 1Well , I just chat to you about what people want to hear about in podcasts , so it gave me many different topics .
Speaker 2I think the top of the list is to see the back of people's heads as they drive down the road . For sure , but if you are listening on your audio things like through your Apple Podcasts or Spotify or Amazon Music , you're not getting to look at the back of their heads , you're just getting to listen to the docile sounds of other voices . Oh my gosh , and you should go watch the YouTube so that you can laugh about it .
Speaker 1So just for funsies , I'm going to read the list Popular true crimes . I'm no good at that .
Speaker 2I'm not telling a story she didn't kill me yet yeah . Although , can we talk
The Mad-at-You Hotel Key
Speaker 2about the key ? We have a new name for the extra key Kesley doesn't usually keep a hotel key with her . She trusts one of us Isaiah or me , or Liliana . Liliana always has her hotel key in her phone . She always has it , but she trusts other people to have the hotel key .
Speaker 1I just don't see the need . I'm always with somebody .
Speaker 2It's weird that I run back to the hotel or go back to the hotel by myself , but she grabbed it the first day and her exact words were I need this just in case I get mad at you , that way I can come back to the hotel .
Speaker 1So we now call it the mad at you key , it's the mad at you key . So , by the way , I kept it , just in case I still need it . I don't think it will work . Okay , all right . So number two For the record .
Speaker 2She did not get mad at me until this morning , when you know the last 30 minutes of vacation blues when I'm trying to get a few things done and pack through them before 11 o'clock checkout . By the way , 11 o'clock checkout , that's for the birds
Vacation Ending Blues Discussion
Speaker 2.
Speaker 1It's for the birds Also . This is a great topic we could cover , check it . Yeah , like vacation ending blues , like it's a serious so I don't have this Like I literally look forward to the end of vacation because I'm going to go back to reality and I , I do something most people don't do and I work almost through the entire vacation . It's . I'll answer the phone . I certainly will take calls from my team . Um , I check email . I negotiate contracts .
Speaker 2Negotiate contracts like I , I most literally work where there are so many of your clients have no idea you're on vacation . Oh , actually , just in operating normal mode . Yeah , well , and so by the way , if you're watching , I hope you can see how seriously this is gorgeous and if you haven't been to sonoma , get your butt up here .
Speaker 1It really is cool , uh , and it looks best when it's cloudy .
Speaker 2Oh yeah , I mean , the sun is nice , we love Arizona sun , but seeing the red rocks in the cloudy , not gloomy , away from the dark sunlight , the red rocks just become even more vibrant without the whitewash of the sun . Yeah , yes , Okaywash of the sun .
Speaker 1Yeah , yes .
Speaker 2Okay , so the blues .
Speaker 1Yeah , so , uh , I really do work , and things I've learned is , um , it's not normal . Uh , there are a few agents that I know who , when they're on vacation , they work or they don't take vacations . Well , that doesn't work for me , so vacations are a necessary evil to my life and , uh , I don't know , I just I work the whole time . Nick , however , is like I'm on vacation . He was conditioned as a teacher that he does not work after june . Yeah , after june , after may , and so he's , he's in june already and he's like I'm not working . And , by the way , he's in June already and he's like I'm not working .
Speaker 2And , by the way , he's working harder than probably ever and he does not love working on vacation and I'm just like Well , I also had a major project finish on Tuesday . The start date of this vacation was the cleaning day before photos for this flip that I just finished , and I don't have an active flip right now , so it's like a little . Let's call it a weekend between . Yeah .
Speaker 1The calm before the storm . That's what it really is . So he and prior to this trip he would get the blues . My mom gets them . I noticed it a couple of years ago when we traveled and she got the blues . By the way , it doesn't mean they get sad , in fact , the exact opposite happens , both with my mother and with my husband . My dear Nick is sitting next to me . They kind of get grumpy and it's like the whole world is against them . And so , do you do this ? I don't do this . I'm just like , okay , like my life . I kind of .
Speaker 2I think here's my difference , over 155% of the population would get end of vacation .
Speaker 1Absolutely over 100% . I think you're abnormal . So this is what I'm going to say . I think that I look at my normal life as an extension of vacation , right Like with vacation Sundays , right Like . Those are very important to us and I will say we haven't been protecting them nearly the same , and that's for another podcast and how things have been a little bit different the last couple months , but I don't know . I feel like last , what was it ? Two weekends , two weeks ago , the week before the kids' last day of school , and I was like , hey , do we all have time for lunch on a Friday afternoon ? And we did . So like I feel like I take advantage of those little moments because those little moments are big moments . So , yes , I absolutely think that more people get the vacation blues and it's because why they don't take vacations like we do .
Speaker 2I take vacations like we do , and I still get the blues .
Speaker 1Okay , you've got to change the way you look at things . Take advantage of the little moments . Okay , let me get back to this chat Number two of always popular Self-improvement and personal development . That's such a wide .
Speaker 2I'm a big fan of that .
Speaker 1That's such a wide variety of things , yeah , and yet , like I'm totally in a space of , I'm sick of listening to say crap , it's not crap , it's all great and instead of everything . Okay , number three health and wellness . You just had a great friend on facebook who went through a journey oh heck yeah , and uh didn't like the way she saw something and changed it and had a huge impact on her .
Speaker 2She had a very high , the highest moment of her career , and an incredibly low personal moment at the same time , because , as people were praising her , she was looking at the images that people had taken and she was not Pleased with them . Yeah , she was not pleased with them and , I feel , was not pleased with them , yeah , and I feel like we have those things that happen .
Speaker 1I get it and it . So I think health and wellness is huge . It's interesting how much stuff there is . There's all the drugs out there right now that can make you skinny , right , they make you stop eating , and I don't know what other side effects they have . I feel like it scares me . We all know what to do , right , eat less calories than what you burn and get to live that life and yet , easier said than done , focus on your intake , focus on your negativity , yeah , and , like I know , when I haven't been eating well , because my whole body feels sluggish . Okay , so , health and wellness . Number three All right . Number four money and finances . It says specifically in here budgeting , investing , side hustles , real estate and crypto . I dig the side hustles and the budgeting . I think , honestly , money and financing the number one thing people could do for themselves to help them get clarity is budgeting . I know that when we did that , it made a huge impact . Okay . Number five entrepreneurship and business All right . Startups , scaling , marketing , leadership stories .
Speaker 2So what's your goal through this list ? To inspire us for future topics or talk about them now , because there's no way we can get it .
Speaker 1No , we're never going to talk about all these now . I think it's just curious , right ? Okay , so here , highly engaging and relatable this is where I think it gets funny Relationships and dating .
Speaker 2We talked about the mad at you , that's relationships .
Speaker 1Yeah , also , we haven't dated any .
Speaker 2I haven't been on a first date since we .
Speaker 1You're never going on a first date again .
Speaker 2Alright , onwards Since 1998 . 1998 . That'll be 27 years .
Speaker 1Number seven Parenting and family Raising kids , mom , dad life , family dynamics we could definitely spend some time talking on that on
Karaoke Night and Ear Fatigue
Speaker 1another episode . Okay , number eight Pop culture and entertainment . Yeah , we suck at this one , I have no idea . Yeah , we could bring guests on for that kind of stuff .
Speaker 2I'm serious , the song that the whole bar was singing last night and you were singing along . I have no idea what that is .
Speaker 1Oh , my gosh , my god you know , and it's totally from when we were younger . Yeah , I did not , I listened to KZZP . Yeah , we were at karaoke at a bar last night and Nick , by the way , nick hates karaoke , hates it mostly because it's terrible . People sing terribly . The bar did not disappoint us . That's exactly what .
Speaker 2What it was there were people that were okay , but then it just got . So I think if we had our ear plugs with us , it would have been more tolerable . Yeah , yeah , just just the ear plugs . That like dropped everything 10 decibels . The average last night was 97.1 decibels okay , now maxing out around 107 .
Speaker 1Okay , but tell people what that is in real person talk , because real person talk doesn't know what that means .
Speaker 2They have to chat GPT that . So if we I mean if , if we could , yeah , we'd google . You know what is the decibel of a lawnmower ? What is the decibel of a fighter fighter jet from 100 feet away ?
Speaker 1by the way , wait , hold on . If you have your earpods in your , your ear things in right now and you have them turned all the way up , it's too loud turn it down . Oh yeah , okay , but keep going uh .
Speaker 2Yeah . So I mean comfortable listening is in the 80 , 80 decibels . Uncomfortable listening starts around 90 . I'm not an audiologist , but just from my time with my handy dandy apps and being a choir teacher and helping people avoid , uh , ear fatigue and hearing loss , yeah , if , if you can stay below 92 , 93 , you'll be fine . Once you're be fine . Once you're at 97 , you're just uncomfortable . Anything above 100 , you're just . And it's like sunscreen . You can be out in the Sun with no sunscreen for like five hours . If the UV is a 1 or 2 I'm not a doctor , but if the UV is a 9 . Yes , my Lexus is saying pay attention , your Lexus . I was going to say my Lexus . Yes , which Ius is saying pay attention , okay , your Lexus .
Speaker 2I was going to say my Lexus , yes , which I get to drive on occasion , yeah so , but if the UV is a 9 or a 10 or an 11 , I mean , you're looking at , you know you can be in the sun for like 15 , 20 minutes without needing the assistance of sunscreen . Same thing with hearing loss . If you are in an environment that's like in the 80s , you're good to go . At the moment you're like at 94 . There's a certain amount of time that you can be there without causing loss and without causing ear fatigue . So Google that , talk to your doctors . Hearing loss is real .
Speaker 1And and ear fatigue is real . Yeah , like when we told Tara and her sisters about NASCAR and how their ear fatigue uh they under they . They said , oh my gosh , that's a real thing . That's how we feel for like a week . After we understand that now I still have ear fatigue from last night , I do too .
Speaker 2Yeah , and like , uh , similar to like , if you're doing elevation changes , like airplanes , where it's just everything is a little dull , yeah , ear fatigue is real , yeah .
Speaker 1Okay , so pop culture ? We suck at it . Speed limit got up to 55 now 11 .
Speaker 2It's a donut . It's like 35 .
Speaker 1Number nine Comedy Casual banter . Funny , takes everyday absurdities light and binge-worthy . So I read that and it made me think of a funny story . So I'm going to ask you about a funny story and I'm going to tell one of my most embarrassing moments right now . So make sure you put in the notes that they have to wait until this point or they're going to even see it , okay .
Speaker 1So you and I were hanging out at your parents house , we were teenagers and joey shows up , joey's next brother with friends , and so we went outside , we were out it must have been summertime . We were outside hanging out and joey must have sassed me at some point and I came flying through the backyard and ran into this room . Do you remember that ? Yes , oh my god , I thought I was going to die in that moment . I didn't need Joey's approval I still don't but man , oh man , did I feel like an idiot ? So , okay , I felt like I don't know , so small I will say . Your brother was gracious and laughed at me and laughed it off and then asked me if it was okay . But certainly I was like , oh , oh , but his friends they let you was gracious and laughed at me and laughed it off and then asked me if it was okay , but certainly I was like , oh , but his friends , they let you have it oh , rightfully so .
Speaker 1I would have done exactly the same thing . Did he mention that in the wedding speech ? I have no idea he might have , I don't remember . Sounds like something . Oh no , he was too busy talking about shooting you .
Speaker 2Yes , not with a real gun , it was a bb gun anyway , but the bb lodged right here in the top of my head yeah and I had to pop it like a pimple , like three days later , because I didn't .
Speaker 2I thought , I thought the bb just like grazed the top of my head . No , it like lodged in my flesh , uh , and I didn't know , I just thought no big deal . Then , a few days later , like I'm touching the scab , I'm like this is really Like it's just raised . And I go in the bathroom where there's like a mirror on the wall and a mirror in front , and I'm using the mirror and I'm like , oh my goodness , I can see the BB . So then I just popped it like a BB . I popped it like a pimple . The BB came out . Yeah , that was great .
Speaker 1Good times , good times , All right .
Speaker 2so I'm ready for One of my most embarrassing moments I don't have , those we don't run into screen doors like that do we ?
Speaker 1I mean , I have great moments .
Speaker 2I can tell you , one fun thing about being a choir teacher is I always had a ridiculous amount of tuxedo pants on hand at any moment . There was one time I believe that was like my third year teaching
Embarrassing Moments and AI Staging
Speaker 2and I was alone in the classroom . There wasn't anyone around , but I bent over to get something in my classroom and the entire seam of my pants , from crotch to halfway up the back , just like popped , exploded Like there was this gaping hole in my crotch and I'm just like , oh my goodness , what do I do ? And I'm like I'm a choir teacher , so I wear tuxedo pants Thursday and in every class period I got to tell them . So I didn't choose this this morning , but my pants exploded .
Speaker 1My pants exploded . Okay , alright , very good . Alright , okay , so niche , but growing , okay . So faith and Very good , all right , uh , okay , so niche , but uh , growing , okay . So faith and spirituality . Career and job strategy , work life balance I dig that , okay .
Speaker 1Technology and AI , travel and adventure , home design and DIY oh my gosh . Okay , talk , talk about the AI with your staging right now . Oh my gosh , we're totally taking our listing photos and dropping them into chat and asking them to stage . Now I will say chat is not perfect and for those of you who think that AI is going to take over the world , god bless you . I don't . I don't truly believe that . I think that AI is going to enhance some of our humanness , which I it excites me . So , anyways , we drop in listing photos , we kind of tell them what kind of price point that the home is in , and then I give a little bit of instruction as far as like color scheme and uh , then it will stage the photos . It is amazing . Now it's also terrible because sometimes it changes the total layout of the room . It moves the doors , it moves the windows , so it is not without error . It is just giving a refresh . Look to some of our listings in a market where days on market matter because they're up .
Speaker 2So and you saw instant success . How's that measure ?
Speaker 1uh , so we literally changed on four different listings that were kind of just sitting stagnant . They've been on the market at least a couple of weeks . We changed the photos . Um , we put all the staging , the ai staging photos , in the first five photos and immediately , like within a day or two , they were getting activity .
Speaker 1It's amazing and activity uh , showings and showing your process and uh , we are seeing more success , like on our team , like our team put , I think last week we put six in escrow , which is not what we're typically seeing in this market . I mean , our market is up a little bit and I'm listening to a lot of my peers whining and complaining about the market . So we're just hustling . So , yeah , we're just hustling . So yeah , well , I feel like now we're going to take , now , you know , end our beautiful drive .
Speaker 2So I'll pull off before I get on the 17 , which is in a half a mile .
Speaker 1Yeah , and then we can do another one . We can pick one of these topics and if we haven't said anything I mean if we said something that you'd love to hear us talk about or banter about tell us , we'll bring it up . Or if you're an expert in one of these things and you're like , hey , I would totally love to hang out with these guys and talk for 15 to 30 minutes about X , message us , call us , text us , tell us where you're going to be and we'll come meet you , and hopefully it's somewhere . Epic , yeah , tell us where you're gonna be and we'll come meet you , and hopefully it's somewhere epic .
Speaker 2Yeah , if you live somewhere , epic , we oughta come . Yeah , we sure do , and we'll absolutely do a conversation . Let me find an opportune spot to pull over on the other side of this on-ramp .
Speaker 1I'll go ahead and close us out . That sounds good . So until next time , enjoy an epic life . I'm like pausing , like they can see my face . We're ready , mm-hmm , now that you know where the hazard's at .
Speaker 2Now I know where the hazard's at it's okay , it's taking me multiple times . All right , this is the moment when I find out if we actually pressed record .
Speaker 1Okay , let's see Victory Yay .