2. Fam dinners and the Miss K bringing diamond art for us to work on together. =)
3. Sarah tagging me in this happy post - Leslie is back as Aaron Burr on Broadway, and the tickets are flyyying!
Happy Easter weekend ahead!
Hello and Happy Wednesday, friends! Our Jury Trial for today is going, but they did not need a record for voir dire - praise the Lord! lol So I'm finishing up this list I started yesterday, inspired by the Netflix movie and by reading a couple other blogs on this topic...
As I'm writing this on 4-16-2025, my "Life List" includes 62 new items and 38 that I've already completed - (to give me a sense of momentum and accomplishment, all things that would have genuinely been included)!!
In random order...
1. Eat delicious pizza and pasta in Italy!
2. Celebrate a milestone birthday with Mon Ami Gabi brunch in Vegas
3. A fun professional photoshoot with close friends!
4. See the Grand Canyon; Visit Muir Woods in California
5. Own the world’s cutest Pom puppies (#bestgirlfranz)
6. Help my niece and nephews with resumes, college visits, and college applications; Watch them graduate high school
7. Zipline over Niagara Falls; See those waterfalls up close
8. Complete my dissertation; Earn my PhD!
9. Start my own podcast (or co-host it with a friend)
10. Be present for the actual birth of my niece
11. Walk/Run a Half-Marathon (x5)
12. Walk the stage at CCU Graduation for my Master's (5-9-25)
13. Finish a Full Marathon!! (4-27-2025)
14. Try out a few and choose my favorite bakery in France =)
15. Earn my RPR (225 wpm) and my OK and TX CSR
16. Ride in a fancy limo (JSB, Kristin's bday)
17. Accept Jesus as my Lord and Savior! ❤
18. Ride in a helicopter (Niagara Falls, Canada)
19. Start a Friday Night Dinner group to practice hosting skills and initiating deeper conversations with friends
20. Lead/facilitate grief counseling groups
21. Mentor/tutor a younger woman
22. Learn to play Clair de Lune on the piano; re-learn Amazing Grace
23. CHA Homecoming; Graduate Valedictorian (2002)
24. See the Hollywood sign and shop Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills
25. Lose 100 pounds consecutively (4-29-25)
26. Professional headshots to celebrate college graduation
27. See Celine Dion in concert!
28. Eat pineapple and attend a luau in Hawaii
29. Vacation in Hawaii as an adult!
30. See Hamilton on Broadway! (preferably later this year with Leslie Odom, Jr.)
31. Officially/legally adopt embryos through Nightlight
32. Lord willing, become pregnant via embryo transfer
33. One way or another, become a Mom!! ❤
34. Tour the Hearst Castle
35. Visit/tour the 9/11 Memorial Museum
36. Walk the stage for my doctoral diploma
37. Visit all four Disney World parks in one day!
38. See the view from the top of the Eiffel Tower
39. Visit the National Cathedral in Washington D.C.; be there for Cherry Blossom Festival season
40. Speak/lead a session at an AACC conference
41. Lead a Bible study group
42. Author a Bible study for women; speak at a Christian women's conference
43. Share my testimony and major life lessons with a group
44. Share the gospel and lead someone to Christ
45. Become an LPC-Candidate
46. Become a Licensed Professional Counselor in Oklahoma
47. Get licensed to practice virtually with Texas and Colorado clients
48. Become an LPC-Supervisor
49. Open a private counseling/coaching practice; Try walk-and-talk therapy
50. Take a short course in cake decorating, photography/photo editing, self-defense, sign language, flower arranging, oil painting
51. Train/learn to perform assessments (ADHD, autism, bipolar, etc.)
52. Complete EMDR and EFT therapy trainings
53. Record my own audiobook =)
54. Be a guest on a podcast I love
55. Teach courses at Colorado Christian University!
56. Counsel and create a safety plan with a suicidal client
57. Be brave/assertive/tactful, but reach out directly to any man I'm genuinely drawn to and excited about in real life or online dating - (ongoing goal, but so far, I have a 100% success rate here, maybe minus the tactful part in my early adulthood. lol) *success in being assertive and honest when I feel something deeply, not in my feelings ever being reciprocated - in case that wasn’t totally obvious
58. Recover from something I thought might kill me
59. Write the obituaries for Grandad and Babah; Give the eulogy and prayer at Babah's funeral service
60. Visit Yellowstone National Park
61. See Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran in concert!
62. Pray with people I love on hospital days (ongoing)
63. Find a church home I love and get involved - accomplished in the past, but definitely a current and future goal
64. Mentor/disciple someone wrestling with faith questions
65. Take Triston, Jace, and Kyndal for individual trips with me (one down, two to go)
66. Build a new construction home that I love
67. Confess hidden sin/repent and keep a clear conscience before God (ongoing clear conscience goal)
68. Visit Elafonisi Beach in Greece
69. Buy school supplies, pack awesome school lunches with handwritten notes, and go on school field trips with my child
70. Write and publish a memoir book I'm proud of
71. See the Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis) in Alaska
72. Ride the London Eye/ Millennium Wheel
73. See Wicked and Lion King on Broadway
74. Ride the High Roller in Vegas
75. Decorate a fantastic nursery room (for my own child)
76. Instruct/lead a meditative/therapeutic guided yoga class
77. Find true love (mutual yes to the 4 questions) & get married! ❤
78. Attend a Texas A&M football game at Kyle Field
79. Train for and run a sub-30 5k; Do a Color Run 5k for fun pics!
80. Give someone a $1000 tip
81. Attend the Olympics (summer or winter)
82. Take a live Peloton class with one of my favorite instructors
83. Take an Alaska cruise; Take a European cruise
84. Visit Goose Hill and have a real conversation with Donald Miller
85. Go for a writing-retreat weekend with a good friend
86. Attend a Captivating Retreat with John and Stasi Eldredge in Colorado
87. Pay off my home and any $$ owed to CCU in my 40s; live debt free from 50 forward
88. Get in the best shape of my life in my 40s
89. Host a dinner for friends and/or family at least once a month through my 50s and 60s
90. Go on a fun Disney cruise with my kids and/or families with kids I love
91. See OneRepublic, Garth Brooks, Maroon 5, Elton John, Christina Aguilera, Justin Timberlake, and Backstreet Boys in concert
92. Lead 77 people to Christ - going with a big number there, as it's genuinely the thing that matters more than anything else on this list, and I need to be far more proactive about it!! ❤
93. Live in a neighborhood with a great walking trail around a pond/lake
94. Maintain a healthy weight of 177 or below from age 45 and beyond (the plan is continued healthy weight loss progress and a possible pregnancy between now and then)
95. Train and complete 7 pull-ups, for the childhood me who struggled with the flexed-arm hang =)
96. Be a commencement speaker at a graduation ceremony
97. Tour Highclere Castle (Downton Abbey) in England
98. Take ballroom dance lessons with a man I love (ongoing, as I'd love to do this again with my future husband)
99. Visit the Hills of Aberfeldy in Scotland
100. Go to Heaven and start a brand new "Life List" after death! ❤
P.S. Some of these are long-term, well-established goals. Others are super random and may change as life moves forward. I keep thinking of more things already, and I like that this will keep me in a goal-oriented, growth mindset! I really may write a Heaven List eventually, as I have loads of ideas about things I'd like to see and do and people I'll wanna get to know when I arrive there! =) Outside of #92 and #77, whatever remains incomplete here can likely be completed in Heaven, so that's a lovely and freeing thought!
P.P.S. About #77, the four simple questions Alex's mom suggested to help her determine whether she's "found true love" from The Life List movie are:
Hello, and happy Marathon Monday!
This is my friend, Kristen, with her parents. She had her final chemotherapy treatment at MD Anderson last week - praising God for the progress she has made, and praying for her continued health journey!! ❤
On this "holy week" leading up to Easter, that is sooo worth celebrating! I also wanted to start this post off by reminding myself of truth and of the major themes in life - that our God is at work bringing life and hope and healing - that His power and goodness are what sustain us, and He is with us and for us, working all things together for our good and His glory! ❤
Okay. Less than two weeks to go till race day...
And all is not exactly well. My game plan was to conquer 20 miles on Sunday... look at me all fresh and ready to go the distance. That plan was thwarted by a random (and hopefully minor) injury to the top of my left foot.
The pain started Saturday on our way back to the car at the outlet mall...
Walking by some lovely, well-placed outdoor couches and chairs...
Me: There's no rush - we can sit down here for a minute if you need to.
Mom: Oh, I'm okay.
Me: Yeah... welllll, I need to sit down! lol
I wore some cute Sketchers sandals I hadn't worn in a while... they fit me well last year, but I had to hold my foot in just a slightly strange way to keep them on right this year. Anyway, the top of my left foot was suddenly in pain Saturday night... and I said out loud, "The last thing I need is a foot injury right now!"
After a mini-break, our car wasn't far, then I drove home and changed into flip flops and figured all was well. Sunday afternoon, I did my dynamic warm-ups and got everything prepared (body glide, sunscreen, energy chews, fresh shoes/socks, etc.) to do my final long training run at Central Park Sunday afternoon. And 5.5 miles into it, that same foot pain started up. I slowed down a bit, changed my socks and shoes, and tried to mentally push through it. "Pain does not exist in this dojo. Fear does not exist in this dojo." lol
Anyway, I came home and took some Advil, hobble-walked the big trash can down to the curb, blogged for a bit, then took it suuuper easy, elevating/massaging and icing/heating my foot while watching Brittany Runs a Marathon (something I thought of during those last 2 miles at The Station, an inspiring movie where the lead character gets injured fairly last minute after a long span of intense training, then ends up having to do a different race than the original one she had signed up for). Cried my way through the ending of that again - it's so well done! I'm sincerely hoping the injury and postponing things is not my story here, but I need to be extra careful over the next two weeks. I will say the movie was a reminder to me that I am determined to complete a marathon no matter what - I'd highly prefer two weeks from now to November! Please join me in praying that this is a very short-lived injury and that all will be well by race day so I can finish strong and healthy - that is still the goal and plan!! Obviously, time will tell (and either way, God will be good and kind, and I will be proud of the effort I've put into all this). Resting easy for now, and I may try a shorter walk on Wednesday or Thursday.
Okay - thanks for listening and for praying with/for me.
To lighten the mood a bit, here are some Monday Memes - enjoy! =)
Friday was the JSB pics, followed by The King of Kings (animated movie) at Warren Theater. Saturday was a Tulsa trip for Kyndal's volleyball tournament at the Titan Sports Complex, where Jeffrey Edward and Ellie Faye came to watch her 2:30 game!!
Yesterday was Triston's first JSB (Junior-Senior Banquet), aka CHA's version of prom, minus dancing. Mom and I joined him and several of his classmates at the Myriad Gardens downtown for a few pre-dinner photos! =)
Holden, Libby, Gavin, Athena, Worth, Karissa, Triston, and Kate!
And now, I'm off to MWC to ride with Mom to Tulsa to watch the Mini Miss K in another Volleyball tournament - fun!! ❤