Help Lisa Reverse Murphy's Law

Hi! If you don’t already know me, 

I'm Lisa and I'm in a bit of a pickle, to put it lightly. This past summer I began an adventure...moving from Minneapolis to Seattle, a dream 10 years in the making. The friend who traveled with me on the road trip out here has changed my name in her phone to "Murphy's Law" as a result of the crazy scenarios we found ourselves in, including, but not limited to:

And those are only the highlights from getting here. During the last few months in Seattle I've also had preliminary job offers not be finalized, my cell phone has died, a nanny job that I started was pulled out from under me after a month when one of the parents chose to scale back at work in order to be home instead, and I had to reschedule a job interview to take a trip to the ER at Swedish Hospital instead for brain scans, xrays, and a tetanus shot after a bad fall resulting in a concussion and a new scar on my face.

The best part of this journey is that my friends and family have supported me as best they can through every moment...and for every horrible thing that has happened, wonderful surprises have also been around some of these crazy corners. I received a MAJOR discount on the rental car charges, my entire summer was booked practically back to back with house/pet-sitting jobs, and old friends in Seattle have been incredibly hospitable and generous as I navigate this season of searching for jobs and a new place to call home in this great city.

As a career nanny, I am used to the search for a great family taking some time, usually 2 or 3 months, but this Covid-affected world has changed this industry and is continuing to change it right before my eyes. Families are choosing daycare over in-home care now that vaccines are approved for children. The current barrage of layoffs means families are reconsidering how their budgets for childcare are spent, and many are choosing not to offer a living wage if they decide to hire a nanny. I have also had to suspend my search for an apartment since I do not have a regular income at this time and am using what I do earn on side jobs to pay for hotel rooms and Airbnbs between house/pet-sitting jobs which have been miraculously booking at the most critical moments. Sadly, not having an apartment means I am still on the hook to pay for the storage of my U-Boxes which hold all of my furniture, collected art, not to mention my winter gear since I did not expect to see the changing of the season before I found a job and apartment.

This month has been the first month that I have not been able to pay my monthly bills: cell phone, U-Box storage, renters insurance, and health insurance. I've canceled every streaming service, subscription, and any other non-crucial service I had been paying for before this journey started, and have been pretty proud of myself for staying on top of it all for this long. But it's time to ask for help.

Since the nanny jobs I'm currently interviewing for are not starting until January, February, and even March of 2023, I would like to book a long-term stay at an Airbnb or Vrbo of some sort until I'm able to start my apartment search again. I'd like to pay what I owe to keep my U-Boxes off of Storage Wars. And I'd like to continue paying my insurance costs, so my medications are still covered until I can establish care here in Seattle.

If you are able and willing to contribute any amount to this and/or share my GoFundMe link with your friends, family, and social networks, I would be extremely and eternally grateful. If your donations surpass my needs, I will be donating the difference to Beacon Food Forest and Clothesline at the West Seattle Food Bank, two organizations that have been integral to my survival here in Seattle.