I’m alive, really!

 I haven’t written since January?

Oh my god. First things first, if we’re not friends on Facebook, leave me a note with your name or link to your page…I’m on FB WAY more than I’m on OD. 

So it looks like last time I wrote we were looking for a new location for our shop…so much has changed since then I didn’t even know where to begin. Maybe I’ll just start with the fact that I’m now the owner of our shop. Also, obviously, we did find a new location and we love it…best landlord ever, reasonable rent, it’s cozy and we’re making it our own and we really love it.

The story of ownership is a long, long story, with lots of drama, tears, fights, harassment, and now, a lawsuit. The shortest way possible to describe it is that we got really fed up (the owner’s husband was in control of everything, including the finances. We somehow had no money ever, to pay the rent or even to get paid ourselves on time). A series of events followed that, including a two day strike where we all didn’t show up to work, until finally the owner said she would leave and let us take over. Her husband didn’t like that- all of the drama has been with him, and it’s been nearly a daily thing for over a month. I’m so ready for it to be over. I’m so ready for this court date to come and go. The guy is insane (he literally has holes in his brain due to his medical condition). The equipment and everything else was bought by our landlord, who was trying to help us out to get rid of him. So he has been paid for everything- and is now demanding money for his "stolen equipment". Supposedly he also has 15 felony charges against us…

He’s going to get torn apart during this court case. Our landlord has a whole team of attorneys, everything has been documented, we have proof of him threatening us multiple times…

However! The business aspect of things is going great. We’re still working on getting our banner, cards, etc… but we’re still getting new clients and our previous clients are so thrilled about the direction that the business is going in. Some of them have been clients for over 20 years and were getting really frustrated with watching things go deeper and deeper into the ground. It just really needed some new life and a fresh outlook, and we’re really proud of ourselves. I’m going to be starting classes next week to get even better at grooming. The girl who is going to teach me has said she’s already very impressed by my grooming, especially since most of my training came from Petsmart. She wants to help me get certified as a master groomer, which would be so great.

In other non-business news…there really isn’t any. I literally have no free time anymore. A couple of hours here and there but for the most part, I don’t have any "days off", there’s always something that needs to be done. That’s mostly just because we took the business over so fast that we’re learning as we go, every step of the way. 

The few times I have been able to go out, I’ve danced my ass off and partied hard. I’m also starting to lovelovelove my town. I mean, I already really liked it, that’s why I moved here. But now I’m getting to know people, I’m a "regular" at a few shops and am becoming friends with the employees since I see them nearly every day, and I just really love the sense of community around here. I can totally picture myself raising kids here and staying for a good long time.

Also, Jonathan lives here now and it’s nice having him close 🙂 

Ok, I have to go get ready to do some errands. I just realized it’s been ages since I’ve even let you guys know I’m alive.