It’s 2026, and I find myself starting a blog like it’s 2015.
I’m Timberley. Depending on when you met me, you might know me as the girl demoing vibrating exercise machines, the one selling both cordless and cell phones at Radio Shack, or the urban cyclist who rode—self-supported—seven hundred miles from Atlanta to Virginia Beach just to see if I could. Or, maybe you knew me at the Apple Store, where I spent my days translating “Techie Talk” into human language for people who just wanted their devices to work.
Life at the Edge of the Map
Today, my world has shrunk and expanded all at once. I live on an island, a private stretch of land off the coast of Georgia. The only way on or off is the state ferry or a personal boat. Out here, there is no “quick trip” to the store. There is no last-minute babysitter. It’s just me, my husband, and our two daughters—five and two—navigating a life that is as beautiful as it is demanding.
The QA Mindset: Finding the Breaking Point
Living here made me the poster child for parenting without a safety net. It also forced me to look at my career as a Software Quality Assurance Engineer through a completely different lens. For years, I’ve been the one behind the scenes of big tech projects. I’ve stress-tested wallets, verified deposits, and managed the high-velocity digital traffic of live sporting events. My brain is wired to find the breaking point. In QA we call this the “edge case” which is something coded wrong that causes a system to crash or a user to give up in frustration.
A Natural Instinct for the Digital Age
When the world shifted in 2020 and everyone was thrown into virtual school and digital dependence, I didn’t feel the panic most did. My previous jobs and a natural intuition for technology meant that I already spoke the language. While the rest of the world was struggling to understand the tools in their hands, I was already looking at how to make them bend to my family’s will.
Turning My Home into a Lab
I realized then that my home had become my most important test environment, and this was my time to shine. I noticed how easily technology can start to feel like an intruder or a “digital babysitter.” I saw how even educational tools could create friction if they didn’t align with our actual life. I knew I didn’t want our home to be a place of unmanaged consumption and endless scrolling. I wanted tech to be a system for creativity, learning, and connection—a system to be optimized.
Building Quietly and Learning Out Loud
I created The Curated Tech Lab because I believe technology should support your real life, not compete with it. In our house, quiet, uninterrupted work time is a myth, and our schedules are as fluid as the ocean around us. But when you apply a QA mindset to your home, you stop being overwhelmed and start managing your family tech with confidence.
Currently, I’m building this space quietly in the background while I practice QA automation— studying Playwright and JavaScript to stay competitive in this changing market. I’ll be “learning out loud,” sharing the technical hurdles of code alongside the practical ways I’ve curated a digital environment that actually works.
Technology is changing faster than we can keep up, and most of us are just winging it. Being intentional matters, even if it’s not perfect—and you don’t have to do it alone.
Welcome to the lab. Let’s get this party started.