Here’s to continuing this fabulous thing we like to call life and enjoying every bit of mommyhood, traveling, creating (without an ounce of creativity in my body), loving, and learning along the way.

THE LIST

1. Graduate from college AND enroll in graduate school AND start my teaching career.

2. Touch at least one of my student’s lives AND indulge in random acts of kindness–at least one per week. (Ongoing)

3. Become financially self-sufficient AND get Dallas involved in the sport of his choice (anything besides football).

4. Visit a castle OR visit an African country.

5. Start a stock portfolio. (Ongoing)

6. Attend a music festival.

7. Attend a Los Angeles Lakers game.

8. Learn to speak Spanish, fluently.

9. Finish a book every two months including a reread of some of my favorites like The Bible and The Giver AND read at least 10 banned books AND read The Hunger Games and The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo trilogies. (Ongoing)

10. Expand my cooking skill set. (Ongoing)

11. Visit London, Paris, and Italy (take gondola ride in Venice, preferably a romantic one).

12. Start a business or nonprofit. *Changed*

13. Teach Dallas to read fluently. *Changed* (Ongoing)

14. Develop and follow a workout plan. (Ongoing)

15. Take Dallas to Disney World in California and Florida AND visit New York and Vegas. (I have been to Vegas, but not as an adult.)

16. Maintain The Guide to Scholarships, my personal blog, AND launch Within Reach. (Ongoing)

17. Grow hair back fully and continue natural journey, meaning do NOT cut, color, or perm under any circumstances. (Ongoing)

18. Obtain my master’s degree. *Changed*

19. Write a short story OR write a collection of short stories OR write a picture book OR write a novel.

20. Buy a home. *Changed*

21. Try an exotic food I cannot pronounce.

22. See a Broadway musical AND visit an opera performance.

23. Spend New Year’s Eve in Times Square of New York City.

24. Drink out of a coconut in Hawaii.

25. Buy a piece of jewelry to later use as a meaningful family heirloom.

Be blessed and happy Sunday all!!

Wait. I mean hello there. Excusez-moi. Mi scuci. See, there it goes again. My native language and time clock are off tremendously since I’ve returned from Europe. Once again, it has been a while since my last post and I do apologize for the major delay. I was busy graduating from college and traveling the world, but now I’m back in the states and so ready to start the next chapter of my life. I am so grateful to God for everything I have accomplished so far (which isn’t much yet). Each day that goes by I am realizing just how great and amazing my God is; I am extremely blessed. So here is an update on THE LIST:

THE LIST

1. Graduate from college AND enroll in graduate school AND start my teaching career.

2. Change at least one of my student’s lives AND indulge in random acts of kindness–at least one per week. (ONGOING)

3. Become financially self-sufficient AND get Dallas involved in the sport of his choice (anything besides football).

4. Visit a castle OR visit an African country.

5. Start a stock portfolio. (ONGOING)

6. Attend a music festival.

7. Attend a Los Angeles Lakers game.

8. Learn to speak Spanish, fluently.

9. Finish a book every two months including a reread of some of my favorites like The Bible and The Giver AND read at least 10 banned books AND read The Hunger Games and The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo trilogies. (ONGOING)

10. Expand my cooking skill set. (ONGOING)

11. Visit London, Paris, and Italy.

12. Start a business. **Changed**

13. Run a marathon.

14. Develop and follow a workout plan. (ONGOING)

15. Take Dallas to Disney World in California and Florida AND visit New York and Vegas. (I’ve been to Vegas, but not as an adult.)

16. Maintain The Guide to Scholarships AND my personal blog.

17. Grow hair back fully and continue natural journey. (ONGOING)

18. Start a nonprofit OR be invited to join a nonprofit board.

19. Write a short story OR write a collection of short stories OR write a picture book OR write a novel.

20. Figure out what type of wine I actually like.

21. Try an exotic food I cannot pronounce.

22. See a Broadway musical AND visit an opera performance OR play.

23. Obtain my master’s degree. **Changed**

24. Drink out of a coconut in Hawaii.

25. Buy a piece of jewelry to later use as a meaningful family heirloom.

Progress has indeed been made since I started this journey FOUR months ago. Geez!! I think it may be time to either start a new list or make some additions to this one. Okay, just kidding. One list at a time. Notice that I did change two of the items on my list to reflect things that I actually want to accomplish before 25: #’s 12 and 23.

Lastly, I hope I’ve inspired a few of you to actually start a list of some sort or at least just jot down some goals. Wouldn’t be right if I didn’t thank my original inspiration: Tatiana Richards Hanebutte. She’s pretty amazing, so follow her blog at www.tatianainflux.com and follow her on twitter at @tatianarichards.

Be blessed and have a great day all.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups pomegranate juice
• 1 cup pear nectar
• 1/4 cup orange-flavored liqueur, such as Grand Marnier
• 1 bottle (750 ml) Champagne

Directions

1. In a large pitcher, combine pomegranate juice, pear nectar, and orange-flavored liqueur. Slowly add Champagne. Serve over ice.

*NOTE: Martha Steward uses Champagne in this punch, but other sparkling white wines, such as Prosecco, are equally festive and just as good.