40 before 40: 100 days in...

Today is a quarter of the way through my 40 before 40 year, and I'm feeling pretty positive! Lots of things have been done, or are well on the way, and other things have been planned into the year. I'm loving having a mix of challenges and some easier things for enjoyment too... I thought you'd like an update on how I'm doing. To make it a little easier to read I will put the completed tasks in blue, the started tasks in green and the 'not yet' ones in yellow...

1. Read 40 books - I am well on the way with this challenge and had read 34 books by the end of April, so this challenge should be completed in May. I have been blogging about them over on my other blog. Here's the link if you fancy a read.
2. Read the whole Bible cover to cover - hmm, this one has been started but needs a good input of time and priority given to it!
3. Join a book club - At the beginning of the year I joined Bookish Mamas, which is a Facebook-based book club. It was originally aimed at mums, but lots of people on there aren't mums now. It's exposing me to books that I wouldn't naturally read, and gives the pleasure of a monthly discussion about the book. 
4. Go to a weekend Bible Conference - In April I attended the Hillsong Colour Conference in Wembley, London, with my sisters, cousin and friend. It was an amazing weekend, with great singing, Bible teaching and time to be me. It was just so refreshing! I have already booked to go again next year and am looking forward to it!
5. See a musical on stage
6. 40 dates with Steve - We have had a few but need to up our game and be much more intentional!
7. Find 40 geocaches - I have found 3 geocaches so far. Need to get out and about more!!
8. Walk 400 miles - So far I have walked 312.79 miles! This month I am also walking a marathon to raise money for British Heart Foundation: if you'd like to sponsor me please use this link (all donations greatly appreciated) https://mymarathon18.everydayhero.com/uk/rebecca-dennis 
9. Send 40 letters/postcards - I have written 1 letter so far! Better get writing...
10. Finish a cross stitch - I am working on a Little Miss and Mr Men cross stitch that I started about 7 years ago before our Little Miss was born! I am determined to get it finished now...
11. Decorate our bedroom - Planned for the autumn after Caleb has started school!
12. Share meals with 40 different friends 
13. Eat a meal in a Michelin star restaurant
14. Cook a new recipe every month - This has been going well and I have enjoyed the challenge of a new recipe. May's recipe was a lovely Crunchy Tuna and Broccoli Pasta Bake from the Delicious magazine. (https://www.deliciousmagazine.co.uk/recipes/crunchy-melty-tuna-and-broccoli-pasta-bake/)
15. Cook on a fire pit - We got a fire pit as a Christmas present and have been looking forward to some warmer weather to use it. I know that a true 'forest school' family would have been sitting around it in the January snow, but we wanted warmer weather to try it out for the first time!! Last weekend gave us that opportunity and we enjoyed sausages and marshmallows cooked on it. Looking forward to a summer of fire-cooked food!
16. Grow something from scratch - Caleb and I have started attending an allotment playgroup on a Friday and we have been planting and digging and watering and weeding. A few weeks ago we planted beans which are now sprouting and ready for planting into the ground. I have also planted some tomato and strawberry seeds in hanging baskets so am hopeful that I will have something to eat later in the year!
17. Try a new food
18. Make bread from scratch
19. Go for afternoon high tea
20. Go to a Christmas Market - Planned for November/December!
21. Learn to play Clair de Lune on the piano - hmm... this is not an easy piece!
22. Do 40 Random Acts Of Kindness - I signed up to do #40acts during Lent and this was a great challenge. Due to ill health I didn't manage to do all 40 acts during the season so I will continue and get them done this year.
23. Learn to take a decent photograph with my camera
24. Have a family portrait done
25. Go glamping - Booked for October!!
26. Learn a cookery skill
27. See the Northern Lights
28. Complete couch to 5k - I have completed Step 1 of downloading the app! Now I just need to get started, but it will be after May as I am doing the #mymarathon this month for British Heart Foundation.
29. Climb a mountain
30. Get my bmi into healthy zone - On 18th April I bravely walked into my first Weight Watchers meeting having decided that I needed some help to achieve this challenge. Over the past month I have lost 7lbs (half a stone), clothes are fitting better and my resting heart rate has dropped from an average of 67bpm to an average of 59bpm! And according to the NHS BMI calculator I am no longer obese, just overweight! Looking forward to losing more weight and getting healthier in the process.
31. Have a 40th birthday party - Planned for March 2019!
32. Raise £400 for charity - This month I am doing #mymarathon for British Heart Foundation. So far I have raised £149.53, but more sponsorship has been promised and is trickling in. Back in March I also asked for donations to BHF instead of birthday gifts and raised an additional £85. I am over halfway to my target!
33. Complete 40 calligraphy pieces - I have done 2 completed pieces and am currently working on 2 cards. I've not had that much time to do calligraphy recently, but am trying to get back into sitting at my desk. (Check out my Facebook page for more designs: https://www.facebook.com/meandmyinkpot/)
34. Sleep under the stars
35. Revisit favourite city/place
36. Visit a new place - On 6th May we visited Coventry; we attended the 50th anniversary of Tearfund at the cathedral. Before having children I worked for Tearfund for seven years. It is a great charity and does amazing work.  Back to Coventry... what a beautiful pair of cathedrals; the old derelict building which was destroyed in the war and the new striking building built overlooking the old. Coventry as a city seems to be pretty normal, but the area around the cathedrals is very pretty.
37. Plant a tree
38. Do something I loved as a child
39. Learn a new craft skill - I started doing modern calligraphy last year, but I am now learning the more formal 'Classic Copperplate' calligraphy. This is much harder work than I had imagined, but the lettering is beautiful! Must keep practising! 
40. Volunteer for something - I am currently volunteering at my children's school and am going in a reading with a class of children each week. This is one of the highlights of my week and such a great opportunity to keep children reading!

4. Go to a weekend Bible conference

10. Finish a cross stitch

15. Cooking on a fire pit

36. Visit a new place

40 before 40: The List

In March 2019 I will be turning 40; I'm not quite sure that I feel ready to be that old, but according to my birthday certificate it is definitely true! And the following year Steve will be joining me. We've decided to both do a serious of 40 challenges.

So, in the next 400 days I am hoping to do all of these challenges. I will give you regular updates as I go.

I'd also love any help I can get so if you want to join me or help me in one of the challenges then please get in touch!

1. Read 40 books in 2018
2. Read the whole Bible cover to cover
3. Join a book club
4. Go to a weekend Bible Conference
5. See a musical on stage
6. 40 dates with Steve
7. Find 40 geocaches
8. Walk 400 miles
9. Send 40 letters/postcards
10. Finish a cross stitch
11. Decorate our bedroom
12. Share meals with 40 different friends
13. Eat a meal in a Michelin star restaurant
14. Cook a new recipe every month
15. Cook on a fire pit
16. Grow some food from scratch
17. Try a new food
18. Make bread from scratch
19. Go for afternoon high tea
20. Go to a Christmas Market
21. Learn to play Clair de Lune on the piano
22. Do 40 Random Acts Of Kindness
23. Learn to take a decent photograph with my camera
24. Have a family portrait done
25. Go glamping
26. Learn a cookery skill
27. See the Northern Lights
28. Complete couch to 5k
29. Climb a mountain
30. Get my bmi into healthy zone
31. Raise £400 for charity
32. Complete 40 calligraphy pieces
33. Sleep under the stars
34. Revisit favourite city/place
35. Visit a new city/place
36. Plant a tree
37. Do something I loved as a child
38. Learn a new craft skill
39. Volunteer for something
40. Have a 40th birthday party

2018: thoughts and challenges

It's Epiphany today; the day that is set aside in the church calendar to remember the visit of the Wise Men to a toddler Jesus. It's also the day that I feel that I am coming out of the festive season and am ready to look forward to the coming year. I don't really do specific resolutions, but I love the idea of new beginnings. So, here are my thoughts on 2018.

Bible Verse and Word:

This year's Bible verse is:

"The joy of the Lord is my strength." Nehemiah 8:10

My word of the year is joy. What is joy? Is it the same as happiness or different? Over the year I am planning on digging a bit deeper into this word and what the Bible has to say about it. I'm also excited about doing some linguistic work and looking at joy in the original languages (שִׂמְחָה [simchah] in Hebrew and χαρά [chara] in Greek).

No-spend January (and more?)

A challenge that I have set myself for the beginning of the year is to stop spending money! I am trying to declutter and simplify my life, family and house, and one way of doing this is to restrict what comes into the house. Obviously I can spend money on essentials, such as food and fuel!

I have already had two opportunities come up: 

• first, the book club which I have joined has set a book to read which I don't own. Normally I would pop onto Amazon and buy a copy which would arrive next day. But I couldn't do that this time and I was floored! Until someone suggested a radical solution called 'a library' - you know, that building which lends out books for free (unless you incur a fine for late return). Perfect! And what a reminder to me that I don't always need to spend money.
• secondly, I need a radiator key to bleed a couple of radiators which don't seem to be working very efficiently. Again, I turn to the internet and spot a key which costs a couple of pounds... But I don't do it and ask on Facebook for someone to lend (or give) me one. Instead I get an offer of someone to come round and do it all for me, and in return I offer my husband's services to have a quick look at a child's bike which needs repairing. No money spent and two people have receive help.

I am actually quite excited about finding ways around my 'no-spend' January! Any tips to help me?

40 before 40

My big plan for 2018 links in with a challenge that I am setting myself. In March 2019 I will be turning 40 and Steve and I have decided that it'd be a great idea to have a '40before40' list of 40 things I need to do or achieve before my birthday. I am in the process of compiling a list and will share it at the end of the month when the final list is decided, but there are some exciting things finding their way onto that list... What would you put on your list?