A few of my favorite ‘spooky season’ Midjourney art projects.

You may have a business plan but do you have an entrepreneurship plan? Many of us start businesses to do something we love, only to become business owners in the process. Now we’re performing business functions like marketing, bookkeeping, dealing with contracts, providing customer service… How much of that entrepreneurial freedom are we keeping for ourselves and the pursuit of the dreams that brought us here?

Quick, straightforward outline of one person’s experience as a small to mid-sized business architect. We’ll cover what this term actually means, what kind of results this role can achieve, and get to know some of the nuances in mind as we build a sustainable, efficient enterprise.

What started as a LinkedIn post about how this neuroatypical planner broke through self-judgment and planned a nurturing birthday week is now this blog, complete with a rant-y bit at the end about hustle culture and adaption.

I woke up sick this morning and felt guilty about calling out of work at my new job. I sat down to write and see if I could figure out where this self-abuse stems from. This article doesn’t solve my cold or the fact that my brain wouldn’t work today even if I forced it to — it did give me insight into another option, though: Taking the advice I would give others in this situation.

This month (September, 2021) will be my third spending freeze of the year. I’ve refined my process such that having an instruction manual will be helpful in future. If you’ve ever wanted to try a spending freeze or simply want to refresh your relationship with money, this is worth a try. Step-by-step instructions with prompts, activities, and plans.

May - June saw explosive growth in the garden, where we are growing tomatoes, peppers, corn, squash, melons, green beans, peas, sugar snap peas, collard greens, romaine lettuce, arugula, bowl lettuce, basil, dill, and sunflowers. Read on and check out our photos, lessons learned, and what we’re looking forward to next!

How we built our 2020 East Tennessee Garden! Our DIY fence + trellises, chosen plants, and lessons learned as we continue to grow.

This is my catalogue of outfits from the #May30x30 spring capsule wardrobe challenge, originally posted to Instagram.

Small businesses, entrepreneurs, freelancers, artists, makers, and performers have seen their businesses all but disappear during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic. In this blog post, I go into detail about the CARES Act, recently passed in Congress, that provides emergency funding options for small businesses and all individuals whose primary compensation comes from self-employed work. Download my one-page quick start guide to funding eligibility, preparation, and application to keep your business running today!

Employers are still keeping employees at work and considering furlough, layoffs, and other “solutions” to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that leave employees jobless or without income. Instead of waiting for the axe to fall, I’ve put together a guide to help you proactively advocate for yourself and your team members to work from home. Apps, steps, considerations, and step-by-step “How to Telework” guidance from my six years as a remote worker, manager, and leader.

Coronavirus (COVID-19) and voluntary self-quarantine have inspired me to reflect on my privilege. In this post, I dig into how our privilege (known or unawares) impacts our ability to respond to a pandemic, for socioeconomic fallout to community access to testing and treatment. Knowing your privilege is the first step to deploying it for the common good. Read on and identify your own privilege, then devise a plan for how you can best contribute to flattening the pandemic curve.

I’ll get straight to the point: I’m taking the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic very seriously. In this blog post, I’m breaking down how I’m creating peace of mind during this time, including herbal recipes for antiviral + immunostimulating tonics, fundamentals of my “sick kit” (which does not include hoarding commercially available supplies), common-sense lifestyle changes, and how I’m taking care of my mental health as our world gets a little hysteric (rightfully so). I’d love to hear how you are responding to this pandemic in the comments!

I had the opportunity to tour my local Goodwill-Industries in Knoxville, TN. Director of Marketing Erin Rosalina gave me the lay of the land, the building, and the mission driving Goodwill's community impact. If you've ever donated to Goodwill, shopped secondhand, or wondered what they're doing behind those enormous thrift shops, this article explains everything.

Heading to brunch on Saturday morning resulted in a life-altering encounter with a homeless individual in downtown Knoxville.

As I get out of my car, I start loading up with my backpack with my back and driver doors open.

"I'm coming up behind you." I've now tuned in clearly to what the hollering is about.

Read on for the full story.

This morning, I awoke in the moody dawn light to a strong rain pounding on our metal roof.

I’d gratefully awaited this rain that wasn’t expected until next week, and new the morning would be especially lovely. I was not disappointed, and it was as if in the few minutes before the rain tapered off and I dressed to run outside that new flowers sprouted in my impromptu ‘garden.’

Read one for a detailed exploration of my unruly wild natives patch!

Gallow the Greyt is a retired racing greyhound from Abernathy Kennels at Derby Lane, but first and foremost, he's my boy. We've been together for five years, and in this post, I share his adoption story and a few important details about greyhound adoption. 

At the recommendation of a friend, I gave All The Birds in the Sky a read - and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Written by trans author Charlie Jane and published in the fast-growing speculative-fiction genre, this sci-fi/fantasy mash-up gave me plenty of think about and many moments to enjoy. However, I'm completely honest in my review and share my reasons for opinion in this post. 

Riding on another stellar recommendation from Didi, Monkey King, Faeire Queen by Zen Cho opened up another small pocket of the literary scene I'd long-forgotten from my childhood: Speculative Fiction. My story review is short and sweet but comprehensive, highlighting the important themes, narrative elements, and historical ties this story seamlessly interweaves. 

Dreamweaver

A tea crafted by ratio, scalable to any recipe size.

Dreamweaver is a floral, heavy tea that assists the Sandman in weighing you down for deep, restful sleep. Comprised of a collection of herbs, leaves, and flowers with varying properties, the primary effect of this brew is a smooth and seamless dream experience.

As someone who struggles with sleep, I find that there is not one cause but a slew of factors that can be remedied with herbs. A few common sleep disrupters:

Created by Lee Vosburgh and co-hosted by Caroline Joy, both of respective insta-fame for their curated wardrobes and crisp photos, this ‘challenge’ invites participants to curate an experimental capsule for just ten days. This season’s challenge start’s January 19, 2018 - I simply started early so I could choose my pieces and photograph them for the project. I implore you to give this a try if you’ve ever been curious about capsule wardrobes! 

Read on for my reflections on this season's 10 x 10 capsule challenge. 

Words don't always come out the way I intend and this has consequences. In this post, I share my experience of dealing with these consequences in a situation I never expected to encounter. Sometimes, we make mistakes. We make messes we can't clean up. And, we have to move on with grace. 

As a part of my 100 Days of Grace project, I am researching the qualities that tend to accompany true grace. Generosity. Lightness. Ease. Kindness.

To let an off-hand comment roll off your back. To let someone in as a lane is ending on the highway, when you know they may have rushed up just to cut the line. To not take it personally if someone doesn’t hold the door or greet you when you walk into a business.

Read on for inspiration, circumstances, and optional responses for imparting small kindnesses in your everyday life. 

For the first 100 days of 2018, I will pursue grace in all forms, explore its origins and exemplifications, and learn to embody it in my daily life. I have chosen the first seven of fourteen ways in which I will do this, and as I discover more about grace itself, the next seven will emerge. 

Read on for details on the 100 Days of... project, how to participate, and what I'll be doing for the first 100 days of 2018.

If you asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up at six years old, I would have told you straight: a writer. I'd already written plenty of short stories, including an illustrated children's book about my cat that was published in spiralbound and distributed to local children's libraries. At twelve, I established my pen-name: A. G. Stephens, who would someday author a slew of Young Adult fantasy and dystopian novels akin to Harry Potter and Scott Westerfield's Uglies series. 

Read on to learn about my journey to becoming a writer and what's up next. 

Wake up, breathe deep, prepare tea. 

Start with what type of tea to start your day. You can choose caffeine to get started straight away or start lighter with a white, oolong, or herbal to ease in. If none of those are your cup of tea, hot water with freshly squeezed lemon juice is the Ayurvedic morning tonic for the ages. 

My favorite morning tea: Dan Cong Honey Orchid

It needn't be perfect, simply warm.

I've been hiding behind "busy", "not feeling well", and "wanting some time alone."

Since June, I've resigned from the professional position I worked up to for three years, became a full-time photographer, sold my house, bought a school bus, packed everything Alhen and I owned into that bus, and moved to Tennessee. I'm writing from my temporary room in Alhen's mother's log cabin in the woods, staring out at the trees, surrounded by beauty and peace. 

I have been content to simply hide away here, quiet as a mouse, while we built our school bus and started new lives. 

Wake up between 6:15 - 7:15 am, depending on what time I went to bed the night before and what commitments I have that day. If the bed is empty, make it. If not, move quietly through the house until my other half stirs. Brush teeth, wash face, and pull my hair back gently will clips or a headband to keep it stable throughout the morning. If necessary, I run a bit of Aveda's Smooth Infusion through my dry curls, extending their shelf life a few hours before the humidity hits.

I'm greeted by all the fur paws, Gallow - Hobo - Princess Tiger Lily - Mini Cooper, all "starving" in their own opinion but content to start their morning outside. 

I can't remember when I first heard of "slow living", but I'm sure I wasn't interested back then. I was addicted to the "fast life". I was judging my self-worth based on engagement and going out of the my way to create moments for my externally-derived expectations that weren't what I truly wanted for my life. It wasn't until I began to notice my health suffering that I truly took an interest in slow living.

No matter how healthy I ate, how active I was, or how much I accomplished, stress was derailing my potential and too frequently putting me on the bench.

It's not my intent to get rid of my clocks or to quit my social life, but doing a deep dive into slow living has caused a reevaluation of my priorities. 

Menstruation is the only reason why babies exist. Without menstruation, there are no pregnancies, therefore no people. One of the best things I learned through the creation of this fundraiser was that in ancient human societies, women were worshiped for their blood magic and respected for their sacred ability to create life. I doubt anyone was laughing then. 

On May 28, 2016, Mahila Partnership held a fundraiser at the Station House. Our goal was to raise awareness and gather support for our programs that support women’s health and hygiene in Nepal, Haiti, and India.