Hello, I’m Jess. I started this blog when everything in my life was changing. I needed a place to be honest, even if I didn’t have it all figured out.
I’ve been through a lot. I lost my mom while I was still working in hospitality. I was managing the front desk at a busy oceanfront resort, handling everything life threw my way but inside, something was unraveling. Her death hit me in a way I can’t fully explain. She had been a deeply depressed woman for most of her life, and that heaviness shaped a lot of my childhood. Even before she passed, there was this quiet whisper in me a voice that kept asking, Is this the life you really want? Is this all there is?
After she was gone, that whisper got louder.
I started thinking more and more about her sadness, her regrets, her emotional exhaustion and I couldn’t unsee it in myself. I held on for two more years, showing up every day, trying to power through. But deep down, I knew I couldn’t keep doing it. I couldn’t live a life that made me feel like I was drowning. Not when I knew what it had done to her. Not when I had two kids watching me, depending on me to show them what it looks like to live fully.
I left. Scared. Tired. Grieving. But ready for something different.
Right now, I’m making life work one step at a time. I’ve got three streams of income I’m building: gig driving, our family’s contracting business, and the books and coloring books I’ve self-published on Amazon. I’m also going give storage auctions a try soon and I’ve started taking courses on stock trading learning how to make my money work harder for me.
I don’t have it all figured out, but I’m not afraid to try. I’m creating a life with multiple streams of income, flexible freedom, and purpose behind every move. Slowly but surely, I’m carving out something that feels like mine.
I’m also working on my health. I’ve started keto and I’m focused on losing 30 pounds. My dream weight is 150, but honestly, it’s less about the number and more about feeling good in my skin. I want energy. I want to feel strong. I want to keep promises to myself, that’s what this journey is really about.
This blog is a mix of everything I’m walking through. The healing. The hustle. The hard days. The small wins. It’s not polished. It’s not perfect. It’s real life, mine.
And this space? It’s also my accountability. A place where I show up for myself. Where I say things out loud, not just for whoever might be reading, but for me. To remember where I started. To track the climb.
I crochet when I need to calm my mind. I’ve got a big heart, a loud mouth, and a lot of thoughts about how we’re all doing our best with what we’ve got. For the first time in a long time, I’m not trying to shrink myself to fit into anyone else’s idea of who I should be.
If you’re starting over, building something from scratch, or just trying to find your footing again, you are not alone.
This is my climb. And if you’re climbing too, I’m glad you’re here.
Up she goes.
Up we go.
In loving memory of my mom — whose quiet sadness became the loudest wake-up call of my life. I carry her story, but I’m writing a new ending. 💛