This August I’m profiled in our local Skirt Magazine for their “Five Things on My Life List” column. I was nervous about agreeing to do this only because I had never thought about my “life list.” After some contemplation, I thought it would be a healthy process to go through. Thanks to my family, I have led a very full-filled life and have been fortunate enough to experience a number of things at a young age. I was having a hard time pin pointing specific things I wanted to do before I kicked the bucket – and what it came down to was that I wanted more of the life that I’m already leading. On a plane ride I committed myself to writing a list of things I wanted more of in my life. I wanted more travel, more entertaining, more cooking, more civic work, more friendships, more dancing…

And for the sake of the magazine, I came up with five specific things to publish.

Five Things On My Life List:

• Learn how to play Happy Birthday on the accordion.
• Spend an evening dancing in every European country.
• Make the perfect paella.
• Find a straight man as good as my gays.
• Leave a legacy as large as my grandmother’s.

Personally, I yet to make the perfect paella. My family serves this dish almost every year at Christmas. This past year my sister and mom mastered perfection – it was delicious. I hope to be able to do it on my own at some point in my life. Hopefully I have many years to work on this list. For now, you can read my Dad’s published recipe on North Florida Paella.