To the men who thought they could break me—
you tried, didn’t you?
Tried to bend me,
shut me down,
make me small.
And yeah—
maybe it worked for a minute.
But look at me.
I’m still here.
I’m still standing.
You never won.
I’ve gone toe-to-toe with giants.
Six-foot-five,
full of muscle and ego,
thinking size makes them God.
I’ve thrown their rage down the stairs.
I’ve swung the bat like a warning shot.
Facts.
That’s only two of them—
but trust me,
I’ve fought plenty more.
Too many boyfriends to count.
Too many wrong hands on me,
wrong words in my ear.
And I wonder sometimes—
did I like the pain?
Did I crave the chaos?
Masochist, sadist—
labels don’t matter.
Because now?
I’m just tired.
Tired of wasting years
on men who were never mine.
Tired of mistaking cages for comfort.
So I pray.
I pray that God sends me my person.
My one.
My soul’s twin flame—
if that even exists.
Soulmate.
Sounds pretty, doesn’t it?
But I’ve had cellmates, not soulmates.
Prisons, not forever.
But maybe—
just maybe—
this prison season ends with love.
I’ve been building a life,
brick after stubborn brick,
refusing to quit,
refusing to die in the rubble.
I swore I’d do it on my own—
but the roadblocks keep coming.
Maybe that’s God’s way of saying,
“You were never meant to build it alone.”
Still—
I don’t want to wait.
I don’t want to waste.
I’ve lost too much time already.
So if destiny’s listening,
if God’s got my name written down—
send him.
Send the man carved from my missing piece.
Send the one who doesn’t break me,
but builds me.
Because hear me clear—
I am ready.
I am waiting.
And this time,
I will not settle.
-
2025 Colorado Springs, CO -
2025 Colorado Springs, CO Lately, I keep hearing a song called “McArthur,” and every time I hear it, it makes me think about one question:
What am I going to pass on when I’m gone?
Not just money. Not just belongings. Not just things that can be packed into boxes.
What knowledge will I leave behind?
That question means something to me because I spend a huge amount of my life reading, researching, writing, studying, questioning things, developing ideas, and trying to understand how life works. I have collected books that I think are amazing. I have journals filled with thoughts. I have business plans, research, unfinished ideas, lessons I’ve learned, and books I’ve written myself.
And someday, I want all of it to mean something beyond me.
Leaving Trails of Knowledge
I like the idea of leaving trails of knowledge throughout my life.
A trail means someone else can find it and follow it.
Maybe they don’t follow every step I took. Maybe they disagree with some of my conclusions. Maybe something I researched leads them to an entirely different discovery.
That’s okay.
The point is that I left something for them to find.
I want my journals to tell the story of how I thought, questioned, struggled, learned, changed, dreamed, and planned.
I want my business plans to show that ideas don’t have to stay ideas. They can be studied, developed, tested, improved, and eventually turned into something real.
I want my books to carry pieces of my mind into places I may never personally reach.
And I want my research to help someone else begin further down the road instead of having to start completely from the beginning.
My Library Is Part of My Legacy
Books are incredibly important to me.
When you build a personal library, you aren’t simply collecting paper and ink. You’re collecting perspectives, lessons, warnings, discoveries, strategies, histories, questions, and possibilities.
Some books can change the direction of a person’s entire life.
Eventually, I would love to release a list of the books in my personal library—the books I’ve read, studied, kept, highlighted, returned to, or considered important enough to own.
But I don’t want to stop with a reading list.
I want to organize my research too.
What did I study?
What did I discover?
Which books taught me the most?
Which ideas changed my thinking?
What questions are still unanswered?
What should another person study next?
Imagine being able to hand someone not simply a bookshelf, but a roadmap through it.
What I Hope My Daughter Receives
More than anything, I hope my daughter eventually receives everything of mine that matters.
My books.
My writing.
My journals.
My research.
My business plans.
My unfinished ideas.
My lessons.
My mistakes.
My discoveries.
And the pieces of me that aren’t contained in possessions.
I hope she can someday open something I wrote years earlier and think, Now I understand why Mom kept this.
I hope there are things she can learn from me long after a conversation with me is no longer possible.
That may be one of the greatest forms of inheritance I can imagine.
Knowledge Should Keep Moving
I also don’t believe everything I’ve learned should disappear into a closet somewhere.
There are people struggling to build better lives who simply haven’t been exposed to the information, books, strategies, opportunities, or ways of thinking that could help them.
I want some of what I’ve collected to eventually reach those people.
But there’s an important part to that:
You have to be willing to study.
Knowledge sitting on a shelf doesn’t change a life.
Knowledge that is read, questioned, tested, practiced, and applied can.
I can’t promise anyone that reading a particular book will make them successful. I can’t guarantee that my research will give someone the answers to life.
What I can do is leave behind the information that helped me think deeper—and encourage the next person to keep going.
Maybe That’s What Legacy Really Is
I’ve been thinking that legacy doesn’t have to begin after someone dies.
You build it while you’re alive.
Every journal you keep.
Every lesson you document.
Every book you write.
Every person you teach.
Every mistake you explain so somebody else doesn’t have to repeat it.
Every piece of useful knowledge you organize instead of allowing it to disappear.
Those things become breadcrumbs.
And enough breadcrumbs eventually become a trail.
So when I think about what I want to pass on, I don’t only think about possessions.
I want to pass on knowledge.
I want to leave my daughter a library of who I was and what I learned.
I want to leave other people resources they can use to educate themselves and build better lives.
And I want to leave enough trails behind that someone who genuinely wants to learn can pick one up and keep walking.
Because maybe the most valuable thing we can leave behind isn’t simply what we accumulated during our lives.
Maybe it’s what we learned—and took the time to pass on. -
2025 Colorado Springs, CO My beautiful daughter,
There is something I hope you will always know, no matter how much time passes or how complicated life becomes:
I deeply love and adore you.
Being your mom is something I carry in my heart every single day. There are so many things I wish I could go back and change, so many moments I wish had happened differently, and so much time I wish we could have spent together. I can’t rewrite those years. What I can do is show you who I am today.
I am not the same person I was when you were younger.
I have grown. I have learned. I have changed. I’ve had to look at myself, my choices, my mistakes, my strengths, and the kind of woman and mother I want to be going forward.
And that is why I have one important request:
Please get to know me for yourself.
You may hear other people’s opinions about me. You may have memories and feelings of your own, too, and I respect that. I don’t want you to ignore your experiences or blindly believe me—or anyone else. I want you to ask questions, observe, think independently, and make up your own mind about who I am today.
Give me the opportunity to earn your trust through my actions.
I don’t expect us to magically make up for years of lost time overnight. We can start small. A phone call. A conversation. Coffee. Lunch. A walk. An afternoon together. We can build something one experience at a time.
I want to know the woman you’ve become.
I want to know what makes you laugh. I want to know your dreams, your opinions, your favorite things, what you’re learning, what you’re afraid of, what you’re proud of, and what kind of future you imagine for yourself.
I want to listen to you.
And I want us to teach each other.
There are things I’ve learned through life that I would love to share with you—not because I expect you to live exactly as I would, but because mothers are supposed to pass down what they’ve learned and help their children become even stronger.
But I know you have things to teach me, too. You have lived a life and developed a perspective that I haven’t experienced. I want to hear it. I want to learn about your world instead of assuming I already understand it.
Most importantly, I want quality time with you. Not because anyone says we should have a relationship, but because I genuinely want to know my daughter.
I also know that loving you means respecting the fact that you are your own person. You get to make your own decisions, establish your own boundaries, and decide what kind of relationship you are comfortable building with me.
I will always want to protect you. That instinct doesn’t disappear just because you’ve grown up. But protecting you also means respecting your independence and wanting you to become capable of protecting yourself, trusting your judgment, recognizing danger, setting boundaries, and building a life that belongs to you.
I don’t want to promise you that I’ll be a perfect mom.
Instead, I want the opportunity to show you that I can be a good one.
Let me prove that with consistency, patience, honesty, love, and time.
You will never be required to be perfect for me. You don’t have to impress me. You don’t have to have everything figured out. I simply want the opportunity to know you—and for you to have the opportunity to know me as the woman I am now.
Whatever has happened in our past, you will always be my daughter.
And I will always love you.
If you’re willing, please give me a call.
We don’t have to figure everything out in one conversation.
We can simply start with hello.
I love you.
I adore you.
And I hope someday you will give me the opportunity to show you just how much.
Love always,
Mom
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2025 Colorado Springs, CO Looking for a woman of any age to work with.
Searching for a Tech Genius: Maybe I’m Looking for You
I’m putting out a very specific call.
I’m searching for a tech genius.
Man or woman. Self-taught or formally educated. Programmer, cybersecurity professional, AI enthusiast, engineer, researcher, data expert, privacy nerd, systems thinker—or maybe someone whose abilities don’t fit neatly into a job title.
I care less about the title behind your name and more about what you actually know, what you can build, how you think, and what kind of person you are when nobody is watching.
I have ideas.
A lot of them.
Some are projects I want to build. Some are problems I want to investigate. Others are concepts that need someone with serious technical ability sitting on the other side of the table.
But I’m not simply looking to hire somebody who knows computers.
I’m looking for an ally.
Intelligence Gets My Attention. Character Keeps It.
You can be brilliant and still not be the person I’m looking for.
Technical ability matters, but so do integrity, loyalty, discretion, curiosity, reliability, and trustworthiness.
I want someone who understands that trust isn’t established because somebody says, “You can trust me.”
Trust is demonstrated.
Over time.
Through actions.
Through consistency.
Through what you do when something becomes difficult.
And that expectation goes both ways. If I expect you to earn my trust, I should be willing to earn yours.
What Could We Build Together?
I’m deliberately not publishing every project idea here.
That’s part of the reason I want to meet the right person first.
I’m interested in technology, AI, research, digital systems, privacy, information organization, automation, education, business, and unconventional ways of connecting knowledge to real-world problems.
I want someone who can hear an ambitious idea and say:
“Okay. How would we actually build that?”
I appreciate people who experiment, research obsessively, ask unusual questions, notice patterns, and aren’t intimidated by complicated problems.
I also want someone willing to tell me when an idea doesn’t make sense.
I don’t need a yes-person.
I need another brain in the room.
And I Could Be a Powerful Ally for You
This relationship shouldn’t be about what you can do for me.
I want to know what I can do for you.
Maybe you have incredible technical abilities but aren’t a natural writer.
I am.
Maybe you’re great at building things but struggle to explain why they matter.
Maybe you need someone who researches relentlessly, generates ideas, asks questions, documents what we’re learning, develops concepts, creates content, handles communication, or sees opportunities you don’t immediately notice.
Maybe you have your own project sitting in a notebook because you haven’t found the right person to help bring it into the world.
Bring your ideas too.
The right partnership isn’t one person extracting value from another.
It’s two capable people asking:
What becomes possible when we combine what you know with what I know?
There Are Boundaries
Trust and loyalty don’t mean blind obedience.
They don’t mean covering up wrongdoing.
They don’t mean breaking laws, violating someone’s privacy, accessing systems without authorization, or doing something unethical because one of us asked the other to.
Actually, I want the opposite.
If we’re going to build anything meaningful together, we should be able to protect each other from bad decisions.
Tell me no.
Challenge me.
Ask questions.
Make me explain myself.
And I’ll give you the same respect.
Confidentiality matters when we’re discussing legitimate private projects, intellectual property, business plans, unpublished research, prototypes, and personal information. But confidentiality should never be used to conceal something illegal or harmful.
That’s an important distinction.
I Will Be Selective
If people respond to this, I’m not choosing someone after one conversation.
I want to talk.
I want to ask questions.
I want to hear what you’ve built, what you’re fascinated by, what you believe technology is becoming, and what you want your life to look like five or ten years from now.
And you should question me just as much.
Ask about my ideas.
Ask what I expect from you.
Ask what I’m bringing to the table.
Ask what happens if we disagree.
Interview me while I’m interviewing you.
If there’s mutual respect, complementary abilities, shared principles, and genuine trust, maybe we start with one small project.
Then we see what happens.
Maybe You’re the Person I’m Looking For
You don’t have to be famous.
You don’t have to work for a giant technology company.
You don’t need twenty certifications hanging on your wall.
You might be a developer working quietly from your apartment.
You might be the person everyone calls when something technical seems impossible.
You might be a student who knows far more than people realize.
You might be an experienced professional looking for something different.
Or maybe you’re simply dangerously curious, exceptionally capable, ethical, and obsessed with figuring things out.
That’s the person I want to meet.
If you’re reading this and thinking, She’s describing me, introduce yourself.
Tell me what you know.
Tell me what you’ve built.
Tell me what you’re learning.
Tell me what kind of project would make you stay awake until 3:00 in the morning because you couldn’t stop thinking about it.
And most importantly:
Tell me what you believe makes someone worthy of your trust.
Because technical genius might get us started.
But character, mutual loyalty, and trust are what could allow us to build something worth remembering.
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2025 Colorado Springs, CO In search of the Right Woman in Law Enforcement
I’m looking for someone very specific.
I am in search of a woman police officer who looks like me—someone who may be struggling, rebuilding, or simply knows she is capable of something more.
I have some big ideas, and I’m looking for the right woman to potentially build a few projects with me.
This isn’t going to be an automatic partnership. I’ll be interviewing potential candidates, and you should be interviewing me too. I want both of us to decide whether our personalities, values, goals, boundaries, and working styles are a good fit.
If we both agree that they are, then we can get to work.
What I’m Looking For
Trust is going to matter.
Loyalty is going to matter.
Integrity is going to matter.
And confidentiality will be essential.
Some of the projects and ideas we discuss may need to remain private while they are being developed. Any confidentiality agreement would, of course, remain within the law, professional ethics, and applicable department policies. I am not asking anyone to conceal wrongdoing, misuse police authority, access restricted information, or disclose confidential law-enforcement information.
I want a partnership where we can challenge each other, learn from each other, and hold each other accountable.
There will be homework, research, assignments, and tasks that I give you.
And this isn’t a one-way street.
You will have things for me to do, too.
I don’t want someone who simply agrees with everything I say. I want someone who can think independently, communicate directly, protect appropriate boundaries, and tell me when she thinks I’m wrong.
Why I’m Doing This
I have several projects I want to explore, but before I start building them, I want to find the right person.
I’m interested in what happens when two women with very different experiences bring their knowledge, perspectives, strengths, and ideas together and actually put them to work.
Maybe you’re the woman I’m looking for.
Maybe you’re not.
That’s what the interviews are for.
If this sounds like you—or you know a woman police officer who might be interested—contact me through the Contact tab on this website.
Please understand that encrypted communication can improve privacy, but no communication system should be described as absolutely secure. Do not send classified, restricted, case-sensitive, departmental, or other protected information.
Tell me a little about yourself, why this caught your attention, and what you believe you could bring to a partnership like this.
If we both decide we’re the right fit, we’ll figure out what comes next together.
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2025 Colorado Springs, CO The Things I’m Using to Get My Life More Organized
I have become a little obsessed with organization lately.
Not the kind of organization where everything has to be perfect, colorless, minimalist, and worthy of a magazine cover. I mean organization that actually helps me think.
I have a lot of interests. I love writing, researching, reading, learning, creating, planning, and coming up with new ideas. The problem with having a brain full of ideas is that eventually you need somewhere to put all of them.
So I’ve been experimenting with different ways to organize my life, studies, business ideas, finances, projects, and everyday responsibilities.
And I’ve learned something important:
Organization isn’t about making your life look perfect. It’s about making your life easier to navigate.
Here are some of the things I’m using—and some that I recommend if you’re trying to create a better system for yourself too.
1. Notebooks for Different Parts of My Life
I still love a physical notebook.
There is something different about writing something down by hand. When I’m brainstorming, researching, planning, or trying to work through an idea, sometimes I need to get away from a screen.
Instead of putting everything into one giant notebook, I like the idea of having separate notebooks for different areas.
For example:
- Personal thoughts and journaling
- Business ideas
- Research
- Money and financial planning
- Blog ideas
- Education and studying
- Goals and future plans
A helpful tip is to grab notebooks in different sizes and colors. Smaller notebooks are easy to carry around for quick ideas, while larger ones give you more room for planning, journaling, or detailed notes. My favorite notebooks are the ones with colored tabs or dividers because they make it easier to separate sections and find information quickly.
You don’t need expensive notebooks either.
But if you’re someone who loves stationery, a notebook you actually enjoy opening can make you more likely to use it.
My notebook recommendations:
[https://amzn.to/3UwR3mT]2. Colored Folders
This is where things start getting interesting.
I’ve been experimenting with organizing information by color.
Instead of seeing a pile of identical folders, I can look at a color and immediately associate it with a particular category.
You can create your own color system.
For example:
Green: money, investing, business, or opportunities
Pink: personal or feminine energy
Blue: learning, information, or communication
Brown: permanent information, boundaries, or things that are solid
Yellow: ideas, creativity, or things that need attentionYour colors don’t have to mean what mine mean.
The point is to give information a visual identity.
Colored folders:
[https://amzn.to/3T4qhlk]3. Index Cards
Index cards might be one of the most underrated learning tools ever.
They’re inexpensive, portable, and incredibly flexible.
You can use them for:
- Flashcards
- Quotes
- Vocabulary
- Research notes
- Business ideas
- Questions
- Important facts
- Content ideas
- Reminders
- Book notes
I’ve also become interested in the Zettelkasten—or slip-box—method of knowledge management, where individual notes can eventually connect to other ideas.
An index card can hold one small idea.
Over time, hundreds of small ideas can become an incredible personal knowledge system.
Index cards I recommend:
https://amzn.to/45YJxnl4. Highlighters and Colored Pens
Color makes information easier for me to separate visually.
Instead of highlighting everything—which completely defeats the purpose—I like giving colors specific jobs.
One color might represent something I need to research.
Another might mean an action I need to take.
Another could represent money.
Another could identify an important idea I don’t want to forget.
Suddenly a page isn’t just words.
It’s information with signals.
Highlighters:
Colored pens:
https://amzn.to/4iU4d7r5. Sticky Notes
My brain doesn’t always give me ideas at convenient times.
That’s why I like having somewhere to capture something quickly.
Sticky notes are great for temporary information: something that needs to be moved, completed, organized, or transferred into a more permanent system.
I especially like using different sizes.
Tiny notes can mark pages.
Medium notes can hold reminders.
Large sticky notes can become mini brainstorming boards.
Sticky notes:
https://amzn.to/4if42Du6. A Planner
I have realized there is a big difference between having goals and scheduling the actions required to reach them.
“I want to build my business” isn’t a schedule.
“I will work on my website Tuesday from 10:00 a.m. until noon” is.
A planner forces ideas to meet reality.
I like having space for appointments, priorities, tasks, and notes instead of simply having a calendar.
Planner recommendation:
https://amzn.to/3TiuiCQ7. Storage That Makes Everything Visible
One thing I’ve learned about myself is that if something disappears into a giant drawer, I may forget it exists.
So I’m becoming a fan of storage systems where I can quickly see categories.
That might mean:
- File boxes
- Desktop organizers
- Clear storage bins
- Magazine holders
- Index-card boxes
- Drawer dividers
- Label makers
The goal isn’t to own more storage.
The goal is to give the things you already own a home.
Desk organizer:
https://amzn.to/4yMYxRFFile storage:
https://amzn.to/4xV92SHLabel maker:
https://amzn.to/4hg7igNMy Biggest Organization Lesson
I used to think organization meant becoming a naturally organized person.
Now I see it differently.
You don’t need to become organized. You need to build systems that make staying organized easier.
If papers always pile up somewhere, give them a designated place.
If you constantly forget ideas, create an idea-capture system.
If studying feels chaotic, create categories.
If your finances feel confusing, give money its own notebook or folder.
Pay attention to where your life repeatedly becomes messy.
That’s probably where you need a system.
I’m still experimenting, changing things, and figuring out what works for me.
And that’s part of the fun.
Your organization system doesn’t have to look like anyone else’s.
It just has to help you find what you need, remember what matters, and spend more of your energy actually living your life instead of constantly searching for it.
Affiliate Disclosure: I am an affiliate, which means I may earn a small commission if you purchase a product through one of the links I provide, at no additional cost to you. If you find this post valuable and choose to purchase a recommended product, please consider using my links as a token of appreciation. I only share products that I believe may be useful to my readers.
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2025 Colorado Springs, CO I’ve Been Hoarding Knowledge — But There’s a Reason
I have a confession to make.
I’ve been hoarding information.
Not useless information. Not random facts that disappear into a folder somewhere and never get looked at again.
I’m talking about helpful information that gives people power, protection, knowledge, options, and a better understanding of how to move through this world.
I collect systems.
I study processes.
I research strategies.
I save resources.
I connect dots.And somewhere along the way, all those separate pieces started becoming part of something much bigger.
My master plan.
I want to build an empire—but when I say empire, I don’t just mean money.
I mean an empire of knowledge, resources, education, systems, opportunities, protection, connection, and financial power.
Something that can help our people become smarter about the decisions they make and stronger in the lives they’re building.
I want to take what I’ve learned, what I’m still learning, and what I’ve spent countless hours researching and turn it into something useful.
Guides. Systems. Processes. Education. Businesses. Digital resources. Books. Coaching. Communities. And things I probably haven’t even thought of yet.
I don’t want all this knowledge to die inside my notebooks, computer files, bookmarks, and brain.
What I pass on, I want to pass down.
And I want to build something big enough to matter.
But here’s the truth:
Big visions require resources.
They require time. Money. Discipline. Support. Infrastructure. People who believe in the mission—and people willing to help build it.
So maybe this is also my unconventional invitation.
Would you be it for me?
Would you believe in this vision enough to stand beside me while I build it?
Would you provide for me financially so I have the space, resources, and freedom to turn all of this knowledge into the empire I know it could become?
Not just for me.
For our people.
For the people who need information but don’t know where to find it.
For the people who need systems because nobody ever taught them how to build one.
For the people who need protection because knowledge can sometimes be the difference between being vulnerable and being prepared.
For the people who deserve access to things that can help them become more capable, independent, financially powerful, and informed.
I have ideas.
I have information.
I have systems.
I have processes.
I have a ridiculous amount of research.
And I have a vision that keeps getting bigger.
Now I want someone who looks at all of that and doesn’t ask me to make myself smaller.
Someone who says:
Build it. I’ll help you.
Be mine.
There is no doubt in my mind about what I want to create.
I’m building something meant to outlive a moment.
Maybe even something meant to outlive me.
Knowledge is power.
Knowledge can be protection.
Systems turn knowledge into action.
And action is how an empire gets built.This is the master plan.
And I’m only getting started.
— Kayla (New Last Name)?
Challenge me, ask me about anything I’ve got a golden heart.
https://take.supersurvey.com/poll5853035x7DfE4D98-169
^ Here I’ll give you options
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2025 Colorado Springs, CO I’m Organizing My Life in Color—and It’s Changing How I See Everything 🌈
I recently started doing something new, and I am way more excited about it than I expected to be.
I’m organizing my life through color coding.
And when I say my life, I really mean my life.
My studies. My business. My productivity. My notes. My ideas. My priorities. Even people and relationships can have colors—not as labels for the people themselves, but as reminders of the kind of energy, attention, boundaries, or investment I associate with something.
It might sound a little strange at first.
But stay with me.
Because once I started thinking in color, I realized that color can become its own little language.
🎨 My Brain Apparently Likes Color
I’ve always loved writing, researching, learning, creating, and designing. The problem is that when you have a lot of interests, you can also end up with a lot of information.
Notes everywhere.
Ideas everywhere.
Things I want to research.
Things I need to do.
Business ideas.
Personal thoughts.
Important information.
Things that are urgent and things that absolutely are not urgent—but somehow everything starts looking equally important when it’s written in the same black ink.
That’s where color comes in.
Instead of simply highlighting something because it’s important, I’m beginning to ask:
What does this color mean?
I’m creating a visual language for myself.
And I’m using some of the feelings and associations we commonly have with colors as inspiration—not as rigid psychological rules, but as a starting point for building a system that makes sense to me.
💗 Pink: Feminine Energy
Pink represents feminine energy in my system.
It can remind me of femininity, warmth, compassion, softness, connection, and the women or ideas I want to support.
Pink doesn’t have to mean weak or delicate.
To me, there can be strength in pink.
It can represent being supportive while still being powerful.
And I really want to be pink for people.
I want to bring encouragement, warmth, creativity, and positive energy into people’s lives.
💚 Green: Invest Here
Green might be one of my favorite parts of this entire system.
Green means:
Invest in this.
That could mean actual money.
It could mean business.
It could mean something that has the potential to grow.
But investment isn’t always financial.
Sometimes something deserves your time.
Sometimes it deserves your energy.
Sometimes the investment is education.
Sometimes you’re investing in a relationship, an opportunity, a skill—or yourself.
Green also naturally makes me think of money, cash, banking, growth and, of course:
GO.
Green tells me:
This is worth putting something into.
And I want to be green for people, too.
I want the things I create and share to feel like something worth investing your time in.
🤎 Brown: Solid and True
Brown has become a really special color in my system.
Brown means solid and true.
It’s grounded.
It’s stable.
It’s a boundary.
It’s something established enough that I’m not constantly renegotiating it with myself.
Sometimes brown represents a line you simply do not cross.
I recently picked up the idea of using a dashed brown underline, and I love it.
Visually, it can tell me:
Pay attention. This is grounded. This matters. There is a boundary here.
I think we all need some brown in our lives.
Things we know.
Standards we keep.
Boundaries we protect.
Truths we don’t abandon just because today happens to be difficult.
I want to be some brown for you, too.
Something grounded.
Something useful.
Something you can come back to.
💙 But I Need a Little Blue
And then there’s blue.
I need a little blue in my life.
Blue makes me think of calm, clarity, trust, reflection, communication, and breathing room.
If green keeps telling me to go, blue reminds me that I don’t always have to.
Sometimes you need to think.
Sometimes you need to learn.
Sometimes you need to listen.
Sometimes you need a quiet afternoon where nobody needs anything from you.
Maybe that’s my blue.
And I’m realizing that if I’m going to spend my life giving out green, pink, and brown—growth, warmth, and groundedness—I’m going to need some blue coming back.
🧠 Color Coding Doesn’t Have to Be Complicated
If you want to try this yourself, don’t copy my system exactly.
That’s actually the fun part.
Create your own language.
Start with five or six colors and decide what each one means before you start highlighting everything in sight.
For example:
- 💗 Pink — Connection: relationships, compassion, femininity, encouragement
- 💚 Green — Investment: money, growth, business, opportunities, things worth your resources
- 🤎 Brown — Grounded: boundaries, principles, established facts, non-negotiables
- 💙 Blue — Clarity: learning, communication, reflection, calm, control
- 💛 Yellow — Inspiration: Cheerleader, Inspiration, optimism, things you want to remember, grabs attention and holds it
- ❤️ Red — Urgent: deadlines, warnings, immediate action, critical
You can create completely different meanings.
Maybe purple means business to you.
Maybe orange means people.
Maybe blue means studying.
Maybe green means health instead of money.
Your brain only needs to know what your colors mean.
Write yourself a little color key and keep it somewhere visible until you stop needing to look at it.
Then use the same system across your notebooks, planner, calendar, study materials, business notes, sticky notes, folders, or whatever else you’re trying to organize.
Eventually, you may start seeing the meaning before you even read the words.
That’s when color coding becomes more than highlighting.
It becomes information.
🌈 Organize According to Your Brain
I’m still developing my system.
I’m experimenting.
I’m changing colors.
I’m stealing good organization ideas when I see them. 😂
And I’m figuring out what actually works for my brain instead of worrying about whether I’m organizing things the “correct” way.
That’s something I’m starting to appreciate about organization:
The best organizational system isn’t necessarily the prettiest or most complicated one. It’s the one you’ll actually use.
So buy the ridiculous number of highlighters.
Get the colored pens.
Make a color key.
Underline something in dashed brown because apparently we’re doing that now.
And see what happens.
As for me?
I want to be your green, your pink, and your brown.
I want to give you things worth investing your time in.
I want this to be a warm, creative place where you feel welcome.
And I want to share things that are solid, grounded, and useful.
But I’m going to need a little blue. 💙
Sometimes I’ll be your yellow and cheer the blues up :* ; -P
— Kayla Hofer
~A better way, a better life, I’m better that way :> Let’s talk numbers sometime ; 0
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2025 Colorado Springs, CO I’m Giving This Blog Three Years
I made a decision.
I’m giving this blog three years.
Three years of writing. Three years of creating. Three years of experimenting, changing things, designing things, sharing things, and figuring out what I want this little corner of the internet to become.
I’m not promising myself that I’m going to post every single day.
I’m not creating some impossible schedule that turns something I love into another obligation.
I’m simply committing to being here.
I’m going to dedicate myself to this blog as much as I feel like it and as much as I want to.
And maybe that sounds like a strange commitment, but to me, it feels like freedom.
I Need Somewhere to Put My Thoughts
Part of the reason this blog matters to me right now is because I haven’t had a counselor.
I’ve been trying to get in with one for what feels like forever—somewhere around two and a half to three years—and I’m frustrated.
Really frustrated.
There are times when you just want someone to talk to. You want somewhere to take all the thoughts running through your head and sort through them.
I still want a counselor, and I don’t think a blog replaces professional counseling.
But while I’m waiting, I realized something:
I have always had writing.
Writing gives me somewhere to put things.
It gives me a way to take a thought that’s bouncing around in my head and turn it into something I can actually see.
Sometimes I might write something meaningful.
Sometimes I might write something ridiculous.
Sometimes I might research something for hours because I suddenly decided I absolutely need to understand it.
And sometimes I’m probably just going to tell you what country songs I’m listening to.
That’s the beauty of having a personal blog.
It doesn’t always have to fit neatly into a category.
I Love Creating Things
I love writing.
I love creating.
I love designing.
I love learning something interesting and then turning around and saying, “Okay, you have to hear about this.”
I’ve realized that sharing is actually a big part of who I am.
When I find something good, I want somebody else to know about it.
A good idea.
A song.
A book.
Something I learned.
Something that made my life easier.
Something beautiful.
Something completely random that sent me down a three-hour research rabbit hole.
I like sharing the good stuff.
And it doesn’t always have to be with my inner circle.
Sometimes I want to share it with everybody.
That’s what I want this blog to be.
So Why Three Years?
Because I want to give this a real chance.
It’s easy to get excited about something new.
The harder part is sticking around after the newness wears off.
I don’t want to look at this blog three months from now and decide it “didn’t work” because it didn’t become something huge overnight.
I want to see what happens when I give creativity some time.
Real time.
Three years gives me room to grow.
It gives my writing room to change.
It gives me permission to experiment.
Maybe I’ll look back at my first posts someday and cringe.
Actually, that’s probably going to happen. 😂
But I hope I’ll also be able to look back and see a record of who I was, what I was learning, what I loved, what I questioned, and how much I changed along the way.
And Here’s Something I Want You to Think About…
What’s a secret you can’t tell anyone?
Really think about it.
Because I’ve been thinking about secrets lately.
A secret that can never be spoken, written, laughed about, confessed, or shared with another human being sounds like a pretty lonely secret.
Maybe some things really do need to stay private.
But I also think there’s something powerful about having places where we can be a little more honest about being human.
Not reckless.
Not exposing every private detail of our lives.
Just real.
Maybe that’s another thing I want this blog to become.
A place where I don’t have to pretend I’ve figured everything out before I’m allowed to write about it.
Because I definitely haven’t figured everything out.
I’m learning as I go.
And you’re welcome to come along.
Three Years. Let’s See What Happens.
So that’s my commitment.
I’m giving this blog three years.
I’m going to write when I have something to say.
I’m going to create when I feel inspired.
I’m going to share the things I think are worth sharing.
And I’m going to allow this blog to grow alongside me instead of deciding ahead of time exactly what it has to become.
Maybe three years from now there will be thousands of people reading this.
Maybe there will be a small group of people who have been here almost from the beginning.
Maybe I’ll discover an entirely different reason for writing it.
I don’t know yet.
That’s kind of the point.
This is the beginning.
Let’s see where it goes.
— Kayla Hofer
P.S. If you’re reading this sometime in the future, I hope I kept my promise.
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2025 Colorado Springs, CO The Country Songs I Can’t Stop Listening to Right Now 🎶🤠
If there’s one thing about me, it’s that I love music—and lately, country music has been taking over my playlists.
Since this is only my second post on my new blog, I thought it would be fun to share something simple and personal: the songs I’m actually listening to right now. Not a carefully curated list of the “best” country songs, not a ranking based on charts—just the songs I keep coming back to.
Music has a funny way of attaching itself to different seasons of our lives. Sometimes we love a song because of the lyrics. Sometimes it’s the beat, the voice, or the story. And sometimes a song just hits for reasons we can’t completely explain.
So, if you were riding around with me and I handed you my current country playlist, these are some of the songs you’d hear.
🎵 “Country Song Came On” — Luke Bryan
Luke Bryan has always known how to make country music that’s simply fun to listen to. “Country Song Came On” is one of those songs I can put on when I want to turn the music up, relax, and enjoy myself.
It has that carefree country feeling that makes you want to sing along—even if you’re sitting in your car by yourself.
🔥 “She Knows It” — Luke Bryan
Another Luke Bryan song currently making my list is “She Knows It.”
There’s something about Luke Bryan’s confidence and personality that comes through in his music, and this is one of those songs that just has a great vibe. It’s playful, catchy, and definitely one I find myself wanting to hear again.
🖤 “McArthur” — HARDY, Eric Church & Morgan Wallen
Put HARDY, Eric Church, and Morgan Wallen together, and you already have my attention.
“McArthur” stands out because these artists each bring something different to country music. I love songs that have personality and storytelling behind them, and this collaboration has the kind of sound that makes you stop what you’re doing and actually listen.
It’s one of those songs that reminds me why I love country music in the first place: the stories matter.
🎨 “The Painter” — Cody Johnson
“The Painter” by Cody Johnson brings a completely different feeling to my playlist.
This one is beautiful.
I love country songs that can slow things down and make you think about love, relationships, and the people who add something meaningful to our lives. There’s a sincerity to Cody Johnson’s music that I really appreciate.
Some songs are made for blasting through the speakers.
Others are made for feeling.
“The Painter” is one of those songs.
🤫 “Don’t Tell on Me” — Jason Aldean
Jason Aldean has that unmistakable country-rock sound, and “Don’t Tell on Me” has found its way into my current rotation.
I like having variety in my playlists. I don’t want every song to sound or feel exactly the same. Sometimes I want something emotional, sometimes something thoughtful, and sometimes I just want a song with some attitude.
This one helps bring that attitude.
❤️ “Say So” — Dan + Shay
Dan + Shay know how to make a love song.
“Say So” gives my playlist that softer, romantic country-pop sound that I really enjoy. Their harmonies have always been one of the things that make their music stand out to me.
It’s the kind of song that changes the mood of the playlist for a few minutes and gives you a chance to slow down and just listen.
💔 “Everything He Couldn’t” — Chase Matthew
“Everything He Couldn’t” by Chase Matthew is another song I’ve been listening to lately.
Country music does relationships incredibly well because the songs often tell an entire story in just a few minutes. Love, heartbreak, regret, moving on, finding someone better—there’s usually a country song somewhere for whatever you’re feeling.
And this one definitely earned its place on my current playlist.
📱🔑👛 “Phone Keys Wallet” — Lainey Wilson
And then there’s Lainey Wilson.
“Phone Keys Wallet” is such a fun addition to this list because it has personality—and I love music with personality.
Lainey has created a style that feels completely her own. Her voice, her attitude, and the way she delivers a song make her instantly recognizable.
Plus, phone, keys, wallet is basically the mental checklist we all do before walking out the door. 😂
Why I Wanted to Share My Playlist
One of the things I want this blog to become is a place where I can write about all the different pieces of life that interest me.
Sometimes I might write about something I’ve researched or learned. Other times I may talk about life, personal growth, books, ideas, experiences, or something deeper that’s been on my mind.
And sometimes?
I just want to talk about the songs I have playing on repeat.
I think those little things tell you something about a person, too.
So consider this your first peek into the soundtrack playing behind this chapter of my life. 🎶
And because I want this blog to be more of a conversation than a place where I simply publish something and disappear, I want to hear from you:
What country song are you obsessed with right now?
And if there’s a song you think belongs on my playlist, tell me about it. I’m always looking for another great song to add.
Until next time,
Kayla Hofer ❤️
Turn it up, sing along, and never underestimate the power of a really good song.
