Well here we are at the end of another year and what a rollercoaster it has been. Its been hard for so many different reasons but my goodness it’s been a good one for me and my family.
We welcomed Harley into our family or rather Harley chose us to be his Humans, and by us of course I only mean Chunk my son. He slotted into the family as if he had always been here, Candy took a few days to adjust but he filled a bit of the gaping hole that Mollie had left. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to thank Reach Sled Dogs enough.
Self a Steam was launched and even though there has been a lot of long nights working, it has been amazing. I have loved every moment, from learning the legal requirements (assessments) and packaging to all the fun experiments figuring out the designs. I then attended a few fairs and Christmas Markets where I had the best time meeting other small business owners and of course my fantastic customers. Thanks to you and all your support, I am now working on a new more natural range, using Essential oils and natural clay colourants. As well as this I have got some new fragrance oils which I’m hoping will be amazing as Shower Steamers!
That next! Oh yes, I started learning British sign language towards the end of 2020 and in August this year I finished the course and passed! I really enjoy signing and hope to complete my level 2 at some point in the future. In the mean time I’ve been signing to my kids, Fina and Essie really enjoy trying to sign the alphabet while Chunk tells me he only signs when he is a baby and now he is too old 🤣
As most of you know the charity Home Start is very close to my heart and I owe a lot to them following the birth of my children. So when I was approached by one of the coordinators asking if I had any free time to help them I jumped at the chance. I completed my volunteer training with them at the start of December and I am very excited to be a peer support volunteer at one of their groups which starts in the New Year!
Surely there can’t be much else I hear you say, but oh yes there is! We finally moved house this September. Now I know that might not be a huge deal for some but for us it is. When the twins arrived at the end of 2018 our small house became even smaller and we started watching the market to see what we could afford and in what sort of areas. We have flipped back and forth between an old house that needs fixing up to ones that just need a lick of paint, or dare I say it a New Build. Then where do we live, work means we are exceptionally lucky and can pretty much choose where we want to go in the UK but then do we really want to move away from family, and my amazing friends 🤷🏻♀️My husband loves the sea and we have family in Weymouth so we seriously considered that for a while.
In the end we stayed in the sunny shire and moved just down the road. We viewed more houses than I can remember and put offers in a few houses but always ended up being outbid. The market after lockdowns was crazy, I read a report that said on average every house that went on the market had 20 people bidding for it. It was bonkers, we could view a house the day after it went on the market and within hours people had offered above the asking price.
Eight weeks after we sold our first home we were about to give up and resign ourselves to living in the small house for another few years until the market calmed down. When our estate agent called and told us about a house they were putting on the market the following week. After begging the current owners we were allowed to view it before they had took pictures and put in an offer. Our house never made it to the market, but I love it. We have room for the kids and even space outside but the best bits, I have a kitchen I can move in and my own space to make my products 😀
It has been a fantastic end to the year and I am so excited to bring you more products to help you stop and make time for you. Self a Steam is helping me to relax and make time for myself and my kids which is so important to me. I look forward to the adventure 2022 will bring. Wishing you all an amazing New Year!
Bye for now x
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