2026: A rough start and a (hopefully) strong finish for The Longhair Lifestyle!

Candidly, this year got off to a rough start - I ended up at an urgent care on February 8th, Super Bowl Sunday, with crippling abdominal pain … and that is no exaggeration! A coughing fit from the flu set off a lifting-related injury I’d picked up during a week of hard manual labor back in September of 2025. While I was never able to get a CT (doctors are the only profession worse than lawyers), by process of elimination, it seems I had a severe abdominal strain, probably a torn internal oblique. Almost 8 months later - I’m nearly healed.

I don’t know exactly how I’ve managed to accomplish much of anything this year. In February, I couldn’t get off the couch without flipping onto my stomach and sliding off, butt-first. In March, I couldn’t walk more than 100 yards from my house. In April, I gained some mobility back, but was in constant pain. Around June, as my abs healed, my back began to have problems from months of overcompensation. It’s only been in the past week that I’ve been able to sleep through most of the night, go through most of the day pain-free, and do things like tie my shoes and play guitar while sitting, without being in pain.

I won’t go so far as to say I’m grateful for the experience; however, there is value in living through pain. Anyone who's read my book knows I don’t struggle with empathy, but this year has made it a whole lot easier to understand those who struggle with physical limitations and live their lives in constant pain and discomfort.

Despite all of this, The Longhair Lifestyle has trucked along, and so have I!

Buying a House and Moving the HQ

Heading into 2026, I knew it was going to be the year that Gretchen and I bought our first home. It simply made financial and logistical sense for us to own a house. Our lease was up in April (right when the market gets busy), so around January, I got us in touch with a local realtor, Lexie Pray, whom I knew of because she grew up in a town near my hometown and went to WSU at the same time as Gretchen and me.

And … she was fantastic! Our goalposts shifted a lot when we realized how competitive the market was in our price range. We went from having a lot of “musts” to maxing out our budget bidding on complete fixer-uppers and properties with substantial issues.

In hindsight, my poor physical condition probably spared me some serious headaches. It was particularly difficult to convince Gretchen I was capable of gutting and remodeling a house when I was struggling to walk and get in and out of chairs. Despite that, we still put some bids in on some questionable properties.

By pure luck, as much as anything else, we ended up buying a home in the incredible town of Buckley, WA, a house that was perfectly liveable without major renovations. We were outbid, but my experience with The Longhair Laborer gave me the confidence to waive every inspection under the sun, which was our saving grace.

The Farmhouse Remodel

Around the time we entered our purchase and sale agreement for the house in Buckley, I got the opportunity to remodel an old farmhouse back in my hometown, Ritzville, WA. When the project first came up, I wasn’t certain I’d be able to do it at all. I was still in severe pain and was waiting on an ultrasound appointment to determine whether or not I had a hernia. After the ultrasound ruled out the hernia, making it likely I actually had an abdominal strain, I figured there was no better form of rehab than a kitchen and bath remodel.

The trouble was, that kitchen and bath remodel turned into a much larger project. Upon demolishing the kitchen, it became apparent that the condition of the home would require substantial drywall repair throughout the house and the replacement of two old built-in wardrobes with closets. The project, which I’d hoped would only take a month, took around 240 hours of my time (not including the trips back and forth across Washington) and bled into the month of June.

Nonetheless, I got ‘er done. While I’m not certain the project was a net positive for my health, my general well-being did improve during that time.

Paintin’ a House

Having moved into my new home during the farmhouse remodel, but not yet having had a chance to live in it, I was ready to take a long break from being in Ritzville. But just when I had one foot out the door, a teacher at my former grade school asked me if I would paint her house. I just couldn’t say no!

After dealing with the chaos of the never-ending farmhouse remodel, it was incredibly refreshing to paint a house (and such a nice house too)! I did the whole thing by myself in two days. I was in and out fast - like a bank robbery - and finally headed back to Buckley!

Publishing the Ebook and Audiobook

My body needed a break, so when I got back to Buckley, I turned toward wrapping up a longstanding project, getting How to Succeed Without Being an *** available in audiobook and ebook format.

When I published my book back in May of 2025, I immediately realized I needed an audio version. It’s not just that audio is a popular medium. It’s also that my book can be challenging for some folks to read.

I use a lot of big words and complex sentence structures. I place emphasis on certain words using bold and italicized font. I make a lot of “aside” statements using parentheses and footnotes. Much of the intonation and emphasis that occurs in my mind as an author likely gets washed out in translation and doesn’t make it to the mind of the reader. An audiobook cuts out the middleman and solves that problem.

I actually recorded the entire thing in January of 2026 but, between the debilitating injury at the start of the year and the months of construction projects shortly thereafter, I couldn’t find the time or muster up the energy to get across the finish line. When I finally took the time to sit down and give it the attention it deserved, it probably took me less than 10 hours to get it published in both formats.

Published! Done Deal.

Niching Down The Longhair Lawyer

Now, all the while, I’d been working as a lawyer in the background. How I was able to write contracts or advise people on complex business transactions in the months of February and March, I will never know. In all seriousness, the constant pain had me operating at a diminished capacity. Nonetheless, I kept cruising along.

Around June, I started to reckon with something I’d known for a while. If my primary career pursuit was The Longhair Lifestyle’s mission - making the world realize anyone can be their own boss - I needed to substantially niche down my law practice.

My original model - taking on a wide variety of clients and focusing on “small” legal issues - was fine when I was just a lawyer. But as a construction contractor, I couldn’t afford to be regularly interrupted with small legal projects and standalone consultations - it just wasn’t a wise use of time. I decided I would niche down. These days, The Longhair Lawyer:

• Provides outside general counsel to small businesses in Washington State.

• Works as an independent contractor for service-based, retail, and wholesale businesses that typically have fewer than 5 owners, fewer than 20 employees, and a consistent need for legal representation.

• Works with growing businesses, with owners who are ambitious, inquisitive, and care deeply about their customers and employees.

So far, niching down is the best decision I’ve made for The Longhair Lawyer since putting an end to free consultations!

Enjoying Life so far This Year

As far as my primary hobby, backpacking, goes, this year is a total wash. Nonetheless, I still managed to enjoy myself so far this year.

There’s been a lot of concerts: Train & Barenaked Ladies, HonestAV, The Red Clay Strays, Cody Jinks & Five Finger Deathpunch.

There’s been a lot of baseball games: Mariners with the WSBA Business Law, Construction, and Solo and Small Practice Sections, as well as Gretchen’s company; Rainiers with the WSBA Solo and Small Practice Section and CougsFirst!

There’s been the usual - dogs, weddings, bachelor parties, and motors that don’t run.

Let’s not forget Buckley’s Log Show, Tuesday markets, and monthly car cruises!

Getting Involved in Buckley

As summer has come to a close, I’ve been seeking opportunities to get involved in Buckley. I love this community! So far, I enrolled The Longhair Laborer as a member of the Buckley Chamber of Commerce and The Longhair Lifestyle as a member of the Buckley Downtown Association. I look forward to volunteering with those groups and getting to know other local business owners.

Coming Soon: The Longhair Lyricist & a real estate business

The Longhair Lifestyle wouldn’t be what it is if it wasn’t rolling out something new! Four businesses isn’t nearly enough! That’s why, by the end of 2026, I’ll be rolling out 2 more!

The Longhair Lyricist - my debut as a singer-songwriter.

A real estate brokerage - name coming soon!

Stay tuned!