Things I'm Thinking About

Exploring how structure takes shape in everyday experiences and quiet realizations

Our original name for the blog was Can I Just Build a Spreadsheet First because that is how I organize my thoughts. It is something of a personal mantra, and because I actually hear myself say it out loud when I need to make sense of something, it became the natural starting point for capturing ideas that needed a place to land.

 

With time, I realized the spreadsheet is not the structure itself. It is the foundation that lets structure take shape. It is where ideas begin to sort and stretch, connecting and reshaping until they start to build on one another. What grew from that process, the space where those connections continue to evolve into something larger and more layered, was always present. Now it simply has its place at the front.

Welcome to Things I Am Thinking About.

An artist painting outdoors among soft flowering trees in early spring — an impressionist scene in nature.
Garden Like an Impressionist: If Monet Had a Hose (and a Spreadsheet)
Not a Blueprint — A Feeling I think about flower beds the way some people think about paintings. Not in the sense of perfect symmetry or high drama, more like mood, rhythm, and cohesion. I want a space...
A glowing light bulb in the dark with fluid golden and plum light swirling inside, symbolizing creative destruction and AI as transformation, not chaos.
Creative Destruction and AI: How Innovation Becomes Curated Creation
In AI in Context, I wrote about how every new technology finds its meaning in how we use it. This is the next layer of that idea, not just context but consequence. What happens when the tools that once...
Person writing on a pink clipboard with a soft unicorn pen — preparing to advocate for themselves in a healthcare setting
You Are the Constant: Advocating for Yourself in a Fast-Paced Healthcare World
The One Who’s Always There I’ve had blood drawn more times than I can count. Every time, it’s a different person holding the needle. The constant? Me. I’m there every single time. I’m the one who remembers...
Scales of justice next to a laptop, symbolizing blog legal structure and LLC decision-making.
The Legal Stuff: Do I Need to Be an LLC?
Still Thinking This Through: LLC or Not? Short answer: No. Longer answer: Maybe. Especially if money ever enters the picture. One of the reasons I’ve been poking at this legal-structure question...
Street art mural reading "Rock the Vote" in Las Vegas Arts District, with trees partially obscuring the wall
Vegas Arts District Pub Crawl: Your Walkable Afternoon of Good Beer & Great Vibes
Vegas is a city of dazzling extremes, but if your experience never leaves the Strip, you’re missing its soul. We found it on a Vegas Arts District pub crawl, a walkable afternoon filled with good...
A person holding black-framed eyeglasses, symbolizing clarity and perspective for AI in context
AI in Context: What Matters Isn’t the Tool, It’s How We Use It
People fear AI. Some of that fear is rational; some of it is not. The speed of change feels disorienting, and when the rules have not caught up, imagination fills in the blanks. I understand that instinct....
Chaotic colorful light waves transforming into calm, ordered lines – a blog rhythm reset
Blog Rhythm Reset: Realigning My Energy Without Starting Over
Part of the “Why and How I Started a Blog” series. Me and My Blog Had a Little Talk… I sat down to work on a post the other day and realized I was already tired, and I hadn’t even opened the draft. My...
A digital gardener’s workspace with a laptop, coffee mug, and potted plant on a glass table in the garden, symbolizing balance between technology and nature.
The Digital Gardener: Companionship, Not Control
A Familiar Practice, Seen Anew I wasn’t looking for a shortcut. I was looking for a way to think faster. After a year of watching the yard wake and fade, I already knew its temperament: where the water...
Silhouette of a head with swirling arrows radiating outward, symbolizing nonlinear thinking and mind map brainstorming.
Rethinking Mind Maps: What Finally Made Them Work for My Brain
I always wanted to love mind maps. The idea of rethinking mind maps—using them as creative, intuitive tools—should have been perfect for how my brain works. And yet, every time I tried using one, I ended...
Futuristic mirrored female faces representing current and future self
It Might Be Overkill Now...But Future Me Will Thank Me
The Next Step After Defining My Blog Philosophy Now that I had shaped my blog philosophy, the next step was planning the structure, figuring out where it would live and how much room it needed to grow....
Overhead view of envelopes and paper, representing early intentional planning habits.
From Instinct to Intentionality – How a Fourth-Grade Budget Taught Me to Think in Envelopes
Part Two of the Planning as Invitation series – stories that trace how structure evolved from instinct to intention to care. If you looked at my folders today—digital spreadsheets, color-coded itineraries,...
Books and camera on a table — a quiet moment of travel planning
I’m Not a Travel Agent (But I Plan Like One)
On planning with precision, managing with intention, and still leaving space to wander. Let’s Be Clear: I’m Not a Pro, Just a Planner I’m not a travel agent. I don’t get commissions from tour companies...
1 2 3 4

Prefer to browse by theme? → Browse the Threads

Built on frameworks, fueled by real life, and always open to being re-sorted.