The A La Carte

(aka rebuilding, refining, and starting over… all at once)

t’s been a minute.

And honestly? That tracks. Life hasn’t exactly been “sit down and write a thoughtful blog post” kind of calm lately. It’s been more… put out fires, keep things moving, circle back later.

So here we are. Circling back.

Life update… because that’s where everything starts

The biggest shift? The breakup (and it wasn’t over the Superbowl results).

We didn’t talk for a while. Now we are again. It’s… okay. We’re not dating, just seeing how things go. Which is a very “figure it out as you go” place to be. Not good, not bad. Just real life.

Health-wise, not my favorite season. I’ve started the process of actually going back to the doctor (look at me go), with more appointments coming up. Carpal tunnel has entered the chat, which is super fun when your entire job revolves around being on a computer.

So that’s a thing.

On the home front, we had a full-on reset moment. My niece was out of town, and my sister, her boyfriend, and I spent two full days tackling her room. And when I say tackling… I mean we can see the floor again.

Progress.

It’s the first domino in what will probably be a full house reset. One space at a time.

Also, my mom is back from her “frostbird” era (not quite snowbird, but close enough), which means Buckeye is living his absolute best life being spoiled by Nana and Papa while I’m out here…

dogsitting.

A lot.

Business… aka organized chaos

Business right now is… a little chaotic.

Which is ironic, considering I literally build systems and organization for other people all day.

I’ve hit that point where I know I need to bring on another admin to contract with. I even want to sit down and map out exactly what I need.

But I’m too busy… to do the thing that would make me less busy.

Classic.

Most of my work right now is real estate admin, but I’m starting to branch back out into other industries again, which feels good. Needed, honestly.

And then there’s the wildcard in all of this: dog sitting.

I sat down and mapped out my year, and I currently have 93 days booked.

Ninety. Three.

That’s over a quarter of my year.

At this point it’s not just a side thing, it’s a whole category of life.

The part where I say the quiet thing out loud

I’m done tolerating being an afterthought.

In relationships, in business, in life.

I’m not a back burner item. And I don’t want to be squeezed in when it’s convenient. I’d rather not be on the list at all than be last on it.

That realization didn’t come out of nowhere. It came from living through it.

And I think that’s where a lot of this season is coming from… just getting really honest about what is and isn’t working.

The in-between phase (aka where I am right now)

Right now, I’m trying to figure out health and finances at the same time… which feels a little like needing one to fix the other.

I’m also looking at my business and realizing I’ve been running it in patchwork mode.

Putting out fires.
Filling gaps.
Making it work.

But not actually building it the way I would for a client.

Which is… mildly offensive to my own skillset, if we’re being honest.

So that’s the shift.

What’s next

I’m focusing on getting my business back together.

Not just functioning. Not just getting by. Actually structured.

Systems.
Efficiency.
Support.

Because working 12–14 hour days isn’t the goal. That’s a symptom of something not working the way it should.

Balance right now doesn’t look like a perfect routine or aesthetic morning schedule. It looks like:

• working smarter instead of longer
• putting systems in place that actually support me
• and not running myself into the ground to keep everything afloat

In life, it feels like starting over.

In business, it feels like rebuilding and refining.

But the truth is… they’re not separate.

Business is life. Life is business. And when one is off, the other feels it.

So we reset.

One room at a time.
One system at a time.
One decision at a time.

And we go from there.