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 that feels intentional without feeling overworked. A place where your eyes can land, then wander. Where things […]
Garden Like an Impressionist: If Monet Had a Hose (and a Spreadsheet) Read More »
Most travel advice starts with where to go and what to pack. But if you’re planning for more than just yourself, the who might matter even more than the where. If you’re doing any kind of group travel planning, you’ll quickly learn the dynamics of the group shape every detail. Planning a trip for a
Planning for People, Not Just Places Read More »
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 up feeling more scattered, not less. One recent morning, the realization finally clicked. As I often do on my
Rethinking Mind Maps: What Finally Made Them Work for My Brain Read More »
Part of the “Why and How I Started a Blog” series. I remember my dad talking about the many hats my Grandpa Munks had worn over the years: postman, landlord, cattleman, and many more. It wasn’t mockery. It was admiration. That stuck with me. It made me think that a well-lived life wasn’t defined by
The Pigeonhole Paradox Read More »
Part of the “Why and How I Started a Blog” series. Where This Blog Really Started This blog didn’t start with a niche. It was always meant to be a blog without one. It started with a brain that wouldn’t shut off. I wasn’t trying to go viral or sell anything. I simply needed a
The Whiteboard Squirrel Manifesto – A Blog Without a Niche Read More »
A Comfortable Way to Bring Smart Lighting Into Her Home My mom has always had a healthy respect for technology, the sort that comes with curiosity but also a desire for a familiar guide. During a recent visit to my house, she watched me ask Alexa to turn on the living room or dim the
Helping My Mom Set Up Her Philips Hue Lights Read More »
A Garden Meant for the In-Between Year I have always been the kind of person who plants a garden before the last moving box is unpacked. It is my way of learning a place, a small act of settling before the routines of life catch up. When we moved into this house, though, I stepped
How a Community Garden Plot Helped Me Understand the Value of Temporary Structure Read More »
Scattering the First Seeds I was in the garden scattering seed for a fall cover crop, a mix of buckwheat across the long flower bed that had worked hard all season. The motion was steady and familiar, a kind of moving meditation. I knew why I was doing it, to rest the soil, to feed
Groundcover as Connection: Notes on Self-Sustaining Systems Read More »
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 pooled, which corners baked dry, what the rabbits liked best. What I needed was a way to
The Digital Gardener: Companionship, Not Control Read More »
A structured gardening approach to dirt, blooms, and the occasional rabbit emergency I know the type — barefoot in the garden, flowing dress, maybe sipping herbal tea while gently patting soil around a seedling. That’s not my gardening approach. I’m out there in boots, bent over pulling on some weed or other, sweaty — far
My Gardening Approach: Not Exactly Barefoot in the Garden Read More »
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. I know myself. There’s a good chance this blog will evolve into something more over time. This part,
It Might Be Overkill Now…But Future Me Will Thank Me Read More »
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 is because I know myself. I have a long history of diving headfirst into new platforms, realizing halfway through that it’s not quite the
The Legal Stuff: Do I Need to Be an LLC? Read More »
More Than Just “Pick a Platform” Starting a blog is often painted as a quick-and-easy task: pick a platform, choose a name, start writing. But for me, how to start a blog wasn’t just a checklist. It was a layered process, equal parts introspection and exploration. I didn’t want to open a dashboard to an
How to Start a Blog: Planning, Personalizing, and Publishing Read More »
Let me start with a confession: I haven’t posted a single thing on this blog yet, even though I’ve been building a blog post queue for months. Not because I haven’t been working. Quite the opposite. I started writing months ago. The website is built. The drafts are written. The voice is clear. And yet
Why I Need a Blog Post Queue (and Maybe You Do Too) Read More »
