My Final Ramblings For 2022
Firstly I wanted to take this opportunity to say a huge THANK YOU to all of you who found us, booked us & decided to stay. You are an amazing human.
I don’t even know where to begin with 2022… but I suppose the best place is to start at the beginning.
We started the year in Sharks Bay on a much needed family holiday for 10 days It was an epic way to bring in the new year around family & new friends. We managed a getaway at this time because I imagined that by December 2022 I would be super busy with work commitments so taking time off would be impossible…
I was right… But back at the time it didn’t look positive (ha ha).
When I started this business in November 2021 & by December I had only 1 booking & 30 people following me on my socials. 25 of these people were friends… I had a lot of work to do.
By February business seemed to pick up…. Trip came to stay for 9 days, He was our first overnighter.. & this was also the month we met Tilly… Who quickly found her way into all of our hearts. Living across the road from the cutest puppy in town had its perks.
Around this time I picked up work doing social media for Shambala. I am a very spiritual person who craves woman circles, breathwork & healing. So this partnership grew naturally & organically. I am lucky enough to do this work between my business hours.
After around March time word had got out that we offered overnight stays & that all Dogs that came into our care left out care happily exhausted. People were leaving positive reviews & I started feeling the benefits of all my hard work over the 4 months.
Unfortunately around this time too there were a bunch of online trolls/keyboard warriors who were trying to ambush my business. If I ever responded to posts on a facebook page with my business, these trolls would direct message them with horrible words about me. The problem is, Margaret River is a small town & people hear stories & think they know the truth & spread their version without doing their research. In March I removed myself from this page & only relied on paying for a few ads on facebook & knew I needed my own website so I didn’t have to rely on getting business from a page that saw me as a threat.
As it does, life went on… I kept doing what I was doing & slowly my business started picking up. My website was nearly ready…. I was soo lucky to come across Rach from EcoAngle Web who listened to all my ideas for my website & very quickly turned my ideas into what it is now.
In May I started my Puppy Adventure Group & it has become on of my most successful groups. 4 of the 5 Dogs that started from the first Group are still with me now. I have watched them grow from little fur puppies to confident & socialised Dogs.
Winter Vibes
Then winter hit & I really thought I would suffer with being such a summer girl & my work being out doors… But surprisingly I loved it. I loved the forest & exploring the waterfalls ith groups of Dogs, watching at such a close range how the seasons change our surroundings. If you blink, you miss it. But I didn’t miss it, I was there every day, with different groups of Dogs experiencing the change, with the season change.
A little of what was going on personally for me…
Even though my business was growing, in my personal life I felt huge sadness. I was grieving the loss of friendships, but for the first time in my life I didn’t run back to them & give them all my energy again to try fix ‘the problem’. I let it go without a fight because I was at a stage in my life that I had finally found something I was good at & that’s where all my spare time & energy went. Yes I know I “Just” care for Dogs but its so much more then that.
I get to be creative, work around my kids schedules, make a difference with animals, give back to the community by donating 10% of every Dog Service to FAWNA.Inc & just be in nature every single day. Healing!
North
We headed up North for the first time & fell in love with Gnaraloo. Nothing can quite describe the feeling of being in a place that is cut off from the outside world. We had the best time as a family in the sun, camping & knowing that our Dogs were in good hands.
South
When we returned at the end of August I found it hard to settle back in Margs. It felt like I couldn’t breath. It was overwhelming. A couple of weeks after getting back Ryan sent me a link to this house amongst the trees close to Nannup. I brought the kids & three Dogs out to come view it with me. It was exactly what I had seen in my first breathwork session & I felt like I was home. Without any hesitation we put an offer in, it was accepted the next day & 35 days later we were in our home amongst the trees.
Finally I would be able to breath here…
But it has come with its own challenges…
Our hope now is to rent out our beautiful home to someone locally. This will allow us to rent closer in town.
So if anyone knows of any rentals, or friends who have at least a 2 bedroom house they would like taken care of for a long period, please give them my details.
Honest truth…
Its harder running my business from here, its harder to ensure the kids can keep their same routines that they don’t want to lose (they really want to stay at their school), its harder on me when Ryan’s away… But when we are all here with no where else to be I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. I feel at peace here. But unfortunately our lifestyle right now is too busy to be so far out.
Lastly
I have soo many creative ideas for Gypsea Tails in 2023…. I really cant wait to share them all with you. I just need time, and time is something that isn’t readily available to me at this phase…. But don’t give up on me…. I will get there x
HAPPY NEW YEAR
Sending love and best wishes to you this year ahead. Don’t take it too seriously… Make time for those who you love, let go of those that don’t deserve you, find a healthy balance between life/work/friends/family, find gratitude whenever you can.
