Tomorrow we officially return to normalcy when Nia will be back at school and today I'm sharing my annual list of what I'm looking forward to this year...
2) Our 1st Disney cruise in a few weeks. We debated adding Disney World, but have settled on just the cruise so we feel as relaxed as possible when we return. The kids have no idea that we're going although I've slipped up a couple times discussing it, but Uka reigned me in by shooting daggers with his eyes. Oops!
3) Getting Grayson ready for preschool - We've started registration and while I miss the free program Nia was at in Jersey City, I'm glad that we're in close proximity to some outstanding private schools. It's hard to believe that this time next year I will officially be able to say that I have both kids in school. While I'm unsure if he and Nia will end up at the same school (one drop off would be awesome!), I'm taking into account how different his little personality and learning style is from his sister.
4) Blogging conferences including my first Mom 2.0 Summit experience - I enter contests all. the. time. and had recently told Uka I think I was due to win something when I got the notice that I was one of the pairs who won a ticket to the May conference along with my friend Amanda of Prim & Propah, a fellow Boston-area blogger who I met at BlogHer. It seems like Florida is *the* hot spot for 2017 blogging conferences with Mom 2.0 in Orlando as well as Blogalicious (Miami!) and BlogHer (also in Orlando). With our Disney cruise, that's waaaay more Florida than I'd care to experience (I honestly considered boycotting the state after all the nonsense that tends to come out of it), but for the sake of family vacation and conferences I'm willing to suck it up.
5) Continuing to grow Trifecta Media Group - my sisters and I are excited for our 2017 projects and with my sights set on having both kids in school this fall I'm looking forward to our expansion and public launch.
6) A healthier me - Organizing my family's health files, mine is by far the fattest, and I'm tired of being in and out of doctor offices. I'm hoping to get to the root of some of my issues and focus on taking better care of myself including regular workouts and eating a more balanced diet.
7) Keeping Nigeria on my mind - While we sadly didn't make it back last month as planned, Uka and I are finding more ways to connect our family to Nigerian culture via online learning and teaching our children through discussions and books. There are some fantastic children's programs available as well as language tools so we can finally learn Igbo as family so that when the time comes for us to visit we are prepared. We haven't been back since 2011.
8) (Finally!) redesigning my website - my birthday and Christmas gifts were to finally get my site in order. I've done a few refreshes so far including updating our images from our Third Eye Chic Studio fall family photoshoot, but there's so much more to do! 2016 was the least I've blogged since starting my blog in 2009, but it also was a year of substantial partnerships and opportunities. It feeds into what I shared in my Blogalicious 2016 session that moving from behind the screen is crucial. Harlem Lovebirds has been an amazing vehicle for some exciting opportunities and I am excited to pick up the pace especially since we're back in a major city.
9) Reading more - This is carried over from 2016 and still remains a goal. I'm constantly interrupted and it takes me forever to finish a book - when I finally sit down to read since I'm in constant motion I actually fall asleep pretty quickly 90% of the time. Sad, I know. For now I'm not gonna beat myself up for this but will give myself some grace, reading when I can and finding the snippets useful in some way (I don't read fiction and am big on self-help so please send your recommendations my way!).
10) My 15th college reunion - It really does seem like I *just* graduated from Wellesley College, but each time I'm back on campus, which was a lot in in 2016, I'm quickly reminded of my age! It will be so good to see my classmates and feel reinvigorated as I always do when I return to campus. I'm also excited about looking for ways to continue to connect to the college and have my sights on auditing classes in the next few years (Art History especially!).
What are you looking forward to this year?
P.S. Check out last year's list here!
