As you can see, it's January 2024. Thank you for subscribing! Please encourage two friends to subscribe too! It's free, monthly, and I try to keep it short. That's what you can get me for Christmas, two additional subscribers. Also, if you like this newsletter you can give me actual money for Christmas.

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• December 2023 recap
• Blog posts you may have missed
• Four thoughts, basically on getting what I want
• January plans
• 2024 goals

December 2023 Recap

Oh what fun December was! Some months back, a gentleman friend of mine seemed to be wanting to get closer to me? [Redacted so he's not all, "Ohhh you wrote about me on your website."] We would try to go do things, but I am a planner and he very much is not. He said he doesn't like plans, because he never knows what could come up. That he's had more fun not planning.

So, I took a note out of his book and tried that. I get it now! Still, my life requires a lot of planning. So many dinners, trips, hotel stays, meetings. But I'm not opposed to randomly inviting friends over. Randomly going to events. Pulling up at the bar and just seeing what happens. Accepting last minute invitations. My next step is to learn how to text friends and ask what they are doing. But that feels like begging to me, because if you wanted me there you would take the time to text me and invite me.

Started off on the Nice List at Sazerac House's holiday market.

The holiday spirits at Mayor Cantrell's Deck the (Gallier) Hall had me dangerously close to the Naughty List!

Had friends over for gumbo, cementing my Nice List status (gumbo ain't cheap). You can't tell looking at me, but the previous night my stove caught fire and I had to do the gumbo and the roux on a hotplate. My God.

My best friend Jenny bought me a new-to-me stove! And it inspired me to make my kitchen my dream kitchen! Well as close to my dream kitchen as possible. I would love if Lowe's would sponsor me...

Greta Sushi omakase for my friend Mary's birthday! Không say không về!

Celebration in the Oaks with my best friend! Thanks to one of my favorite people and one of my favorite organizations!

Christmas with the Herberts.

Saints game with two besties! Thanks, Trey!

Jingle and Jester at the Eliza Jane with my bestie Danielle.

Chicken and Champagne Christmas Pop-Up.

The Cigar Church Covenant House benefit.

Joey's Christmas party, the most magical gathering of Black people (and the rest of y'all, too).

The Times-Picayune Doll and Toy Fund event.

Blueberry bread pudding with limoncello glaze and butter pecan ice cream, from 3rd Block Depot in the W French Quarter.

Screening of Jon Batiste's Netflix film, with my forever First Lady Michelle Obama opening the evening!

Making My List

I finally wrote my list of 300 Things I Want. My friend Jasminne told me to do that forever ago, but I never got around to it. It's crazy, that even the things I had no plans of pursuing, like a bigger purse that's also designer, a new stove and working oven, I'm getting. So many people, including the Lord Himself in Habakkuk 2:2-3, have said that it's important to WRITE what you want. And it works every time.

Similarly, Big Sean fine ass talked about the book Ask and It Is Given. They talk about taking your list of things to do and putting the things you will actually do on one side, and the stuff you'd like to do but would like to outsource to God on the other. In the words of Sean Don himself, "Oh God."

Remembering I Get What I Want

If I want to see someone, I see them. If I want to date someone, I date them. If I want to live a certain type of life, I live it. This always happens and I'm so thankful! The only time it doesn't work is when I'm too focused on it. When I just chill and let it come to me, it comes. I'm literally living the life I always wanted, and then some!

New Levels, New Devils

I used to always wish I'd be invited to all these fancy affairs, to dinner, to hotels, vacations, all that stuff. I never bothered saying I wanted to have someone to go with me. Never said that I wanted to have the disposable income to afford getting my hair done, getting gowns, shoes, makeup, car maintenance, etc. People say be careful what you pray for, and yeah yeah whatever. But I will say to think of what else you'll need to pray for to be able to really enjoy what you wanted.

I won't go into detail here, but if you catch me in real life I can tell you about the time this amazing man came (back) into my life and I should've thought about these two things. Important things, Lord! I probably shouldn't mention one of those things to the Lord... 

Accepting Megan for Megan

I used to be upset that I never had a girl gang, that everyone has these friend groups and I'm just never included. Also I used to be upset that other girls just get whatever they want from men. Vacations, handbags, dinner, assorted meats. But I realize, that's just not me. And that's OK because God will send whatever is right for me.

This has always been the case, and I see it more as I get older.

As for the friend group stuff, maybe it's that I'm an only child and only grandchild but I just don't know how to do it. Also I guess it would help if I were in the group chats. Years ago I was in a group Google Chat, but I wasn't good at it. I was kicked out of a Facebook couponing group for inactivity. I just... maybe I'm supposed to fly solo or just get to know friends individually. I am pretty good at that.

With men, I just don't know how to do it. I know women who enjoy assorted meats from men and even get money and stuff from them. And be outside with them! In the daytime! Maybe I'm too used to doing everything on my own? Maybe that's too much like using people? I realized I am a relationship girl and that the whole hot girl lifestyle isn't for me. Because of that, I realize God will not send me the bare minimum like I see the other girls get. If I want anything, He's making it so I have to have it all.

So I'm trusting the Lord to make it really clear and just send me a man who wants to provide assorted meats to me only; who will take care of me and Franklin; a man I can send out fishing and hunting with a Thermos of gumbo; one who will let me cook for sports watch parties and make punch that's so delicious but full of booze that we'll encourage his friends to sleep in the guest room and on the pullout sofas. A MUTUALLY PERMANENT PLUS ONE.

Because, again, I get invited to all this cool stuff and I just hate asking people to go with me because it very much feels like rejection when I'm turned down. I ask girls and sometimes they can go. I ask boys and sometimes they can go. The other night, no one could go so I even went to the cigar bar looking for anyone who wanted to go. BUT I JUST DON'T WANT TO FUCKING ASK ANYONE EVER AGAIN I JUST WANT IT TO BE UNDERSTOOD.

Look how adorable I was when I was trying to get someone to literally just be my plus one at a free dinner with drinks. Like... It's cool though, I got to eat and drink way more and I met lots of other nice people that night.

January Plans

Of course, my January is already filled with so many great things! Being in New Orleans, starting January 6 it will be lots of king cake and booze and merrymaking! So far on my calendar, I have a Twelfth Night party (Lord send me an Uber or Lyft gift card), trip to Pasco County Florida, Alpha Kappa Alpha Day at the New Orleans City Council (they are honoring my late grandmother who started that tradition), ummm I think that's it so far? I know I have something on the 17th, but I have no clue what it is.

OH! And I'm being honored by the New Orleans Tourism and Culture Fund on the 13th! Tickets are $500, and Imma be mad as hell if I find out you bought one to support me. Please just send that money to me instead, and I'll dance on your table or whatever it is you want (within reason).

2024 Goals

Of course some goals I can't list here. Discretion and whatnot, never letting the right hand know what the left hand is doing, making my next move my best move like a chess move or whatever. But overall I'll say that I want to get even more of what I want, and to continue to understand what I want.

When I actually understand what I want, I'm better equipped to ask for it and ultimately get it. I would love to...

• Get a literary agent and join a speakers' bureau
• Take a man I can claim in the streets without looking stupid to stay with me in February at the Eliza Jane hotel for my stay and for dinner at Couvant.
• Make money in all sorts of ways that don't involve me being tethered to an office outside my house.
• Go on lots of dates, to learn more about what I want and don't.
• Get a fence before the Mother's Day second line or even just have the Mother's Day second line not pass in front my house.
• Go back to my dentist/orthodontist or just get a new one. Mine is just so far away. But with enough money, I can get my car back legal and be fine riding around Jefferson Parish.
• Get my car back legal so I can go to Gretna, Westwego, etc.
• Have new lights on my car because I can't see at night.
• Go on a trip to Korea, Thailand or Canada with Franklin
• Finally take Franklin to Legoland NYC
• Go on solo vacations to Chicago, Philadelphia, New York, Birmingham, Trinidad
• Try the whole group vacation thing.
• Go on a baecation
• Maybe go back to school...
• Do whatever I did in 2016/2017 to become a size 4. It couldn't just be breastfeeding...
• Have friends over weekly. At least one friend every week.
• Become the go-to house.
• Get multiple projectors and projector screens, an above-range microwave one of those shower caddy hangy things, a soap saver
• Refinish the hardwood floors
• Grow my hair to the small of my back.

This was longer than I planned. See you later this month! If you like this, you can share it!