Buttercream Burnout To Backcountry Bliss

When Dreams Burn You Out Instead of Lifting You Up

If you’ve ever built a life you thought you wanted only to wake up one day exhausted, overwhelmed, and wondering how you got there, you’re not alone. I’ve lived that story down to the last piping bag.

For years, I poured everything into my dream: a cottage foods business that grew into Fun With Frosting, a full-blown cake shop that sparkled like edible glitter. I perfected every swirl, said yes to every order, and chased the version of success I thought I was supposed to want.

The shop was thriving.

I was falling apart.

I was working until my hands locked up, missing my kids grow up, and sleeping an hour a night on a cot in the office during the busy season, which lasted months.

My life looked successful from the outside…

But on the inside, I was bone-tired and burnt to a crisp.

One day, staring at a cake I didn’t even want to decorate, I realized something.

You can be grateful for a dream come true and still know it’s time to walk away.

After working for 23 years in a field I was once so passionate about, I walked away. Away from a thriving business that just didn’t suit me anymore.

Stepping into the Next Chapter

When burnout finally forced me to stop, I didn’t run toward another project.
I ran toward the trees.

We packed up our family, left buttercream and burnout behind, and stepped into the woods. I didn’t know what I was looking for. I just knew I couldn’t keep living the way I had been.

Somewhere between trail miles and quiet mornings, I felt something shift.

For the first time in a long time, I could breathe.

As we stood under the arch at Amicalola Falls, overstuffed packs strapped to our backs, my heart filled with something I hadn’t felt in a long time. Pure joy and freedom. Those first steps on the Appalachian Trail didn’t just mark the beginning of a hike.

They were the start of a new life. Even if I didn’t know what that life would look like yet.

I wasn’t just walking north. I was walking out of burnout and toward joy.

Out of Burnout, Into Joy

Hiking didn’t magically fix everything.
But it slowed me down.
Quieted my brain.
And made room for the joy I’d lost.

I used to spend my days buried in orders, deadlines, and perfectionism. Now I spend them exploring forests with my family. Messy, imperfect, joyful adventures that remind me we’re allowed to start over.

The decision to walk away opened up a whole new life I could never have imagined.

We spent a month on trail, before injury kicked us off. They say only one in four people finish a thru hike. With four in our group, two of them under the age of 10, the odds were never in our favor.

The plan was to heal and head back out, but that wasn’t in the cards. The doctor recommended an ankle fusion. Um… no thanks.

One month into a 6 month journey, we had no jobs, no house, and no clear next step. What do you do when you’re at an impasse?

You look up, take a breath, and follow the path that feels right.

That path led to a 26-foot travel trailer, an epic road trip west, camp hosting in Yellowstone, and eventually a season as a Yellowstone ranger.

Later, when life nudged us toward something steadier, I found myself at REI, helping beginners take their first steps outdoors.

Our lives have now changed again, but every detour taught me how to listen better: to my body, my family, and what I actually wanted from life.

If you’re dreaming of a big life change too, don’t rush it. Make a plan. We spent two years planning before we ever took that first step. Even though that plan blew up in our faces, the time we took preparing for it allowed us to continue on a different epic adventure.

Why This Matters For You

This isn’t just my story. It’s the reason Joyfully Lost exists.

You may not be trying to escape a cake shop. But maybe you’re trying to escape burnout, perfectionism, or the pressure to have everything figured out.

Maybe you just want to feel alive again. Perhaps you simply want the outdoors to feel less intimidating and more like a place you actually belong.

I’ve been where you are.
I’ve lived that overwhelm. Literally.

Now my role is simple:
To guide you toward confidence, joy, adventure….. and the freedom to get a little lost in the best possible way.

And if you’re here, reading this, maybe you’re ready to take your first step too.