The List: 32 While 32

This is my 32nd year. I have decided to create a list again, but this time it will include 32 things I want to do over the next 362 days. Look back at my previous list here. I did not  complete everything on my list but I did have fun with everything I did do. I have more friends on board holding me accountable this time around. I actually was able to complete an item on my list today (12/20/2015). More than anything this is a list that reminds me to seek new experiences and enjoy life. You only hit 32 once so living it up is a must. I encourage you to join me in this challenge. Create a list (any length you choose). Check off the items as you complete them. Have fun. Take Pictures/ videos.

I will be updating as I complete items. I'm excited and looking forward to this year and all the joys it will bring. Follow me on twitter and instagram as well under the hashtag #32while32.

32 While 32 List (Dec. 17, 2015- Dec. 17, 2016)

1. Sail across ocean in Los Angeles 

2. See and Walk across the San Francisco bridge 

3. Volunteer 32 hours various places

4. Learn to knit an item

5. Read at least 32 books

6. Donate to 3 charities

7. Take dad on a trip

8. Test drive a BMW

9. Add decor to apt. walls

10. Photo shoot (as photographer) 12/20/15

11. Photo shoot (as photographed)

12. Host a themed dinner party

13. Start an IRA

14. Take a massage class?

15. Finish the crochet quilt 

16. Recite poetry live

17. Speak in front of 100+ people

18. Maintain blog (post biweekly)

19. Write 32 pages of my novel

20. Take a yoga class

21. Write 32 poems in April

22. Participate in a flash mob 

23. Participate in at least two fun themed marathons

24. Go to a drive in movie

25. Learn to play chess

26. Go camping

27. Give someone flowers for no reason

28. Visit Wine vineyard 

29. Take a cooking class

30.  Leave and/ or mail 32 random letters of inspiration for people to find (bulletin board, library book, etc.)

31. Keep a gratitude journal

32. Be spontaneous 

30 While 30 Update

Send Me Mail
I started the P.O Box in an effort to reach out to my Youtube subscribers and a way to direct order track for my crochet business. Send me mail!

Online Crochet Website
In November I kicked started the online crochet website J Renee Crochet. I have had a few orders since it opened. I was also able to offer some holiday discounts. The crochet website will continue to grow within this new year. I'm glad that in 2014 I was able to get my feet wet in starting the business. I have future aspirations of doing craft shows or salon shows.

Passport
I was beyond excited applying for my passport. Even though I had printed the application in October, took the passport picture in early December, I finally applied during the last week of 2014. I missed by birthday deadline by twelve days. But it's in commute now. I am looking forward to receiving it soon.

Hosting a Dinner Party
I hosted a Friendsgiving event with a few friends right before Thanksgiving. It was catered with traditional Thanksgiving foods. We had cauliflower au gratin, turkey, cranberry sensation, quinoa and broccoli casserole. It was delicious. I shared a pretty awesome announce and we just fellowshipped. A few of my friends I hadn't seen in weeks so we got an opportunity to catch up.

Visiting New Places
I visited a lot of new places. I do not think I documented all the places I went. I did document at least 30. Below will be a picture collage of some of the awesome venues and eateries I visited.

The places are in random order.

Babalu

This is a restaurant in the midtown area of my hometown. They serve tacos and tapas. The atmosphere is nice and they play music overhead. When you order guacamole they come and prepare it at your table. Typing this and thinking about it makes me want to go back like NOW. I ordered three tacos on soft corn tortillas. I got the chicken and I got the shrimp. They looked mini but they filled me up.


Volunteering
Each volunteer experience I participated in was fun. The Ghouls at Grassmere was a Halloween event. Parents brought their little ones dressed up in costumes. Some of the parents dressed up as well. It was really adorable. I was feeling baby fever when i saw all the little ones and kept hearing them say, Trick or treat and thank you.

During the Harvest Day event we were able to show the kids how to play some of the wooden toys from way back in the day. Some of the toys I actually had a chance to play with when I was younger, but the kids of today had no idea about those toys. It was volunteering but I was having fun seeing the smile on the kids faces. I had a chance to meet a lady who was part of the exhibit who offered to teach me to knit for free. Unfortunately I didn't get a chance to go back to the event a second day to take her up on that offer.


Listed below are the many things that I did scratch off my list during 2014. There are a few things that I did not execute. I'm planning to add these items to my vision board/list for this year. It was great to do the list. It was a source of motivation for doing the things that I wanted to do.



1. Essence Festival 7/3/14 Essence blog post
2. Try sushi 4/12/14 and 12/6/14
3. Revive and Maintain a public blog 3/2014 Ongoing
4. Photo shoot
5. Get a passport  applied 12/29/14
6. Go zip lining 9/20/14
7. Go to a Heat game 3/24/14
8. 30 poems (NaPoWriMo2014) April/2014
9. Start Ira
10. Recite poem live
11. Start a P.O. Box 9/13/14
12. Try 30 new hairstyles (17 out of 30)*  messy bun, flat wist on both sides, style for peggy's b day, victory rolls, front bang, bun, new year's eve  
13. Travel to California
14. Host a dinner party Friendsgiving 11/23/14
15. Travel to Miami 3/24/14
16. Try 30 new recipes  (7 of 30) salmon, chicken salad, breakfast quesadilla
17. Make a scrapbook
18. Visit 30 new places w/in and outside of city (19 out of 30)*  zip line, african street festival, shakespeare in the park, italian lights festival, zoo, bar Louie's, Massage Envy, Babalu, the beauty shop, abuelos, Sips & Strokes
19. Spa day (massage/nails) 10/8/14
20. Donate $300 to a charity or non profit foundation 
21. 10 random acts of kindness Grocery store $20/ Make hair accessory for CanadianQueen nieces
22. Send 10 letters (friends and family) 
23. Read at least 10 books 
24. Complete a pinterest DIY project
25. Write 30 pages of my novel
26. Save $1,000 8/2014
27. Gain X lb.
28. Learn to knit
29. Start crochet website  11/7/14
30. Volunteer 10 hours to... various service projects   9/27 /14 (zoo) 8:30-2:30,  10/5/14  (NCT) 1:30-2:30 Ghouls at Grassmere 4:30-9:30 (zoo)

I'm thrilled about the new experiences set for 2015. Go along with me on this journey. Make your journey great as well. :-)

#30While30 Check out the Pinterest Board

Update #2 | 30 While 30

Here's my second update for my 30 while 30 list. These check ins remind me I need to get to doing. I still have quite a few things to check out off my list. I have a made a little progress.

New Hair Styles

I created the side twist bun, a curl mohawk, barrel roll mohawk, spiral curls, and bang styles. You can check out my tutorials on my Youtube Channel.


New Recipes

I made Shrimp crustless quiche and turley wrapped mini quiche.

New Places (food mainly)
I have been to a few different eateries since my last post. My colleague and I ventured to the Wild Wasabi one afternoon after I left work. I ordered the shrimp fried rice and a glass of plum wine. The wine tastes different than I remember, but it's been years since I tasted it.

I checked out a Cuban restaurant called Guanatamara with my work staff. I ordered the chicken breast with fried plantains. I need to try to cook those at home.

I went to Eggs and I with my thrifting group. This restaurant reminded me of IHOP. Mainly because it smells like syrup.

A Matter of Taste, a gluten free restaurant, was cozy and enjoyable place I visited with a few close friends. I ordered the half turkey brie and white bean chicken chili with a corn muffin.

Salsa, a Puerto Rican Restaurant, had the delicious plantain stuffed chicken breast with seasonal vegetables.

When I visited my sister back in June we went to an asian buffet that had should food too. I cannot remember the name of it.

In New Orleans we ate at Neyows and I ordered fish, potatoes, and seasonal vegetables.

On my first meet up with my thrifting group we went to a Goodwill near Lennox. It was fun of great finds. I definitely got lost in there for over two hours.

I used live Jazz music on the Cumberland back in June. The setting was nice. I really enjoyed when the sun started to go down because  it wasn't as hot anymore. The music was relaxing, and I enjoyed chatting with my friends.

1. Essence Festival 7/3/14 Essence blog post
2. Try sushi 4/12/14
3. Revive and Maintain a public blog 3/2014 Ongoing
4. Photo shoot
5. Get a passport
6. Go zip lining
7. Go to a Heat game 3/24/14
8. 30 poems (NaPoWriMo2014) April/2014
9. Start Ira
10. Recite poem live
11. Start a P.O. Box
12. Try 30 new hairstyles (17 out of 30)*
13. Travel to California
14. Host a dinner party
15. Travel to Miami 3/24/14
16. Try 30 new recipes  (4 of 30)
17. Make a scrapbook
18. Visit 30 new places w/in and outside of city (13 out of 30)*
19. Spa day (massage/nails)
20. Donate $300 to a charity or non profit foundation
21. 10 random acts of kindness
22. Send 10 letters (friends and family)
23. Read at least 10 books
24. Complete a pinterest DIY project
25. Write 30 pages of my novel
26. Save $1,000 8/2014
27. Gain X lb.
28. Learn to knit
29. Start crochet website
30. Volunteer 10 hours to... various service projects

#30While30 Check out the Pinterest Board

20th Annual Essence Music Festival

I had no clue what to expect before attending my first Essence Festival. It was a great time and I already plan to attend again next year. I arrived in New Orleans on Friday at 6:15 a.m. Below is a recap of the mini trip.

Day 1
During the day we attended the events at the convention center. There were tons of people everywhere. The day was filled with surprises and opportunities to meet celebs. We stood in several lines to collect freebies that were being given away. I took a photo with Lance Gross at the StateFarm booth. McDonald's was giving away mini strawberry smoothies, Monopoly games, reusable bags, and hosting an audience fashion show. The Coca Cola booth was having a big house party with a dance floor that was playing all the ole school feel good jams. We stood in line to get our free cans of coke with our names on it.

                            

Prince requested everyone wear purple so we dressed in our purple attire. When we entered the stadium Janelle Monae was on stage. She started singing one of my favorites, "Primetime". We hadn't even found our seats but I had stopped in he middle of the breezeway to start singing the song. In my mind, I was the back up singer.

Before the next performer came out Dougie Fresh had us jamming' to all the classic songs. Everybody across the packed stadium was rocking'. We stood in front of our seats and danced to every song. When Prince made it to the stage at 11:30, we were warmed up and ready for the funk.

It was my first time ever seeing Prince in concert. I was glad I got a chance to be in the building. At the end of his set, Prince left the stage, but no one moved. Everyone just started humming "Purple Rain". It was as if everyone was saying you can't perform without doing that song. After a continuous hum, Prince came back and gave us what we asked for. He had like four outros. Each time the audience wanted more. We he finally exited the stage at 1:30 We still looked at the stage wondering whether he was going to give us more or whether that was really the finale.

Day 2
We went back to the convention because there was still so much we had not done or seen. I got a chance to sit in on Stevie Harvey and Nichols launching their Act Like A Success program. They shared some motivating and encouraging tips for kick starting the dream or business venture.

When we left the convention center we made our way to Neyows Restaurant for some local New Orleans food. It was a cozy place right off from the French Quarters. The food was good. I ordered fish and potatoes.

We rode the trolley through the french Quarter area and walked around the area.

Day 3

I boarded my bus at 9 am to head back to reality.


Check out the vlogs from the trip on my youtube channel ibylvlogs.

Update #1 | 30 While 30

Chiming in for my first update on my 30 while 30 list. 

NaPoWriMo2014

At the end of April I completed the #NaPoWriMo 2014 challenge. I actually pinned 30 poems... one for each day. There were some days I had to play catch up. Some of the poems I posted on the blog, typed on my phone, or simply wrote on paper. I enjoyed it! Most of my inspiration was love and how it is complex, long, wide, and still difficult to understand.

New Hairstyles

On my Youtube Channel I started posting loc style tutorials for new styles I have been trying. Check out the playlist from the link above.  Here are a few pictures from the styles that I have done so far.

New Recipes

I found a recipe on Rule of Yum's Youtube channel. It was for a gluten free banana bread. I have never made banana bread and I'm always looking for great gluten free recipes. I think this recipe was a good one. The only issue was that I only had two bananas and I should have adjusted the other ingredients. I also didn't like the bananas I used. I'm looking forward to making this recipe again. I used xanthan gum (it's expensive) for the first time and gluten free flour mix.

I found a recipe on the Yummly app that I have made twice since I discovered it. The recipe was for baked mayonnaise chicken. I also revamped a parmesan green beans recipe that I had done before. It was delicious. Here's a quick picture that still makes me salivate.

New Places

I have visited four new places. I ate at Capital Grille in Memphis TN. I think it opened within the last few months. I found out that there are several locations in different cities.  I enjoyed the atmosphere and I definitely loved what I ordered. It was hands down the best salmon I have ever had!

Every month my friends and I get together for a ladies in the the city and in May we had a grown up tea party. I absolutely loved the concept. The place is called the Thistle Shop. Not only did we get the tea party experience but the restaurant was birthed from a ministry that supports and provides for women who have been victims of abusive relationships. I took a few snapshots of the food and the setting. I enjoyed the experience. We were served fresh fruit and they even had gluten free muffins. My friends had the scones. We ordered tea and I got the Strawberry Sage. We all got something different so that we could sample each other's tea. They brought the tea out in little teapots and we poured it into our teacups. The main meal was chicken salad and fresh fruit. For dessert I had a gluten free chocolate chip cookie/brownie. It was yummy. Who says gluten free isn't tasty!

At work we went to a Sounds baseball game. I'm not too sure if this really counts. I only went to this new place because of work. I wasn't even paying attention to the game. Nonetheless it was a new place, but I'm not much of a baseball fan. 

Lastly, as an end of the wrap up we had a get together aT one of my colleague's condo. It was quite fun which made me wonder why we all hadn't hung out more outside of work during the year. But any who I had a great time and I tried Riesling for the first time. Since then I've been wanting Plum wine. I had some once some years ago and I still remember the taste. I need to find me some.

       

1. Essence Festival
2. Try sushi 4/12/14
3. Revive and Maintain a public blog
4. Photo shoot
5. Get a passport
6. Go zip lining
7. Go to a Heat game 3/24/14
8. 30 poems (NaPoWriMo2014) April/2014
9. Start Ira
10. Recite poem live
11. Start a P.O. Box
12. Try 30 new hairstyles (5 out of 30)
13. Travel to California
14. Host a dinner party
15. Travel to Miami 3/24/14
16. Try 30 new recipes  (2 of 30)
17. Make a scrapbook
18. Visit 30 new places w/in and outside of city (4 out of 30)
19. Spa day (massage/nails)
20. Donate $300 to a charity or non profit foundation
21. 10 random acts of kindness
22. Send 10 letters (friends and family)
23. Read at least 10 books
24. Complete a pinterest DIY project
25. Write 30 pages of my novel
26. Save $1,000
27. Gain X lb.
28. Learn to knit
29. Start crochet website
30. Volunteer 10 hours to... various service projects

#30While30

Check out the Pinterest board I created 30While30

The List: 30 While 30

This is my 30th year. I have decided to join the 30 things list. I first created my list when there were two months before turning 30. Needless to say I didn't meet everything on my list. It was wishful thinking. So I decided to do a #30While30 list to document fun times and to create great experiences during my 30th year. More than anything this is a list that reminds me to seek new experiences and enjoy life. You only hit 30 once so living it up is a must. I encourage you to join me in this challenge. Create a list. Check off the items as you complete them. Have fun. Take Pictures.

I will be updating this post as I complete items. I'm excited and nervous. I know that once I press that send button there are going to be other people out there who will also know what I'm planning to do and in turn will be holding me accountable. I guess that adds more of a challenge. Have you done -the list (25before25, 30before30, 40before40, etc.)? Follow me on twitter and instagram as well under the hashtag #30while30.

1. Essence Festival
2. Try sushi 4/12/14
3. Revive and Maintain a public blog
4. Photo shoot
5. Get a passport
6. Go zip lining
7. Go to a Heat game 3/24/14
8. 30 poems (NaPoWriMo2014)
9. Start Ira
10. Recite poem live
11. Start a P.O. Box
12. Try 30 new hairstyles
13. Travel to California
14. Host a dinner party
15. Travel to Miami 3/24/14
16. Try 30 new recipes
17. Make a scrapbook
18. Visit 30 new places w/in and outside of city
19. Spa day (massage/nails)
20. Donate $300 to a charity or non profit foundation
21. 10 random acts of kindness
22. Send 10 letters (friends and family)
23. Read at least 10 books
24. Complete a pinterest DIY project
25. Write 30 pages of my novel
26. Save $1,000
27. Gain X lbs
28. Learn to knit
29. Start crochet website
30. Volunteer 10 hours to... various service projects

#30While30

Check out the Pinterest board I created 30while30