Hey new friend! I'm Kelsey, a writer, podcaster, and goal-setting enthusiast gal from Austin, Texas now living in the Arizona desert with my husband, Chris, and our three kids.

In this space I write about living intentionally, setting goals, parenting, and taking your creative passions seriously, among other things. Some of my favorite topics to write about are personal finances (including our efforts in debt reduction), raising our kids, my experience as a full time working mother and pursuing creative work. Writing this blog, and the creative endeavors it has inspired me to pursue, helped me to take a big leap in April of 2018 when I quit my full time job to pursue writing and podcasting, and have more flexibility while my kids are young.

In April of 2021 I started recording my written posts and created a podcast where you can listen to new posts. Find RISING*SHINING on most podcast platforms. I adore the medium of audio, as you might have noticed, and also co-host The Girl Next Door Podcast, a show that feels like sitting down, talking, and laughing with your best girl friend. And for a few years Chris and I had a podcast called Matrimoney (pronounced like matrimony) about life, marriage and our money. 

I always hope that my writing will offer my readers encouragement, practical ideas, and honesty. I love hearing a reader or listener respond with, “Oh me too!” to something I’ve written. Motherhood – and life! – can feel isolating yet my experience has been the more I share and connect with people the more I find that we’re all in it together. When you stop by here, I hope you’ll have that feeling too.

Inspired by years of writing about my personal goals, I created a workshop to guide participants in crafting their own goals for the year that fit their personalities and season of life. Your Year to Shine runs every year starting in mid-December. On the Your Year to Shine page you can read more about the workshop and sign up to know when the next registration opens.

I love to connect with readers; that's what makes this a community! If you leave a question in the comments I'll do my best to respond quickly. I also love to get your emails at hello(at)risingshining(dot)com and to see you on Instagram.

Thanks so much for stopping by!