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...
- 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.
- 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!
- 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.
- 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!
- See a musical on stage
- 40 dates with Steve - We have had a few but need to up our game and be much more intentional!
- Find 40 geocaches - I have found 3 geocaches so far. Need to get out and about more!!
- 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
- Send 40 letters/postcards - I have written 1 letter so far! Better get writing...
- 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...
- Decorate our bedroom - Planned for the autumn after Caleb has started school!
- Share meals with 40 different friends
- Eat a meal in a Michelin star restaurant
- 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/)
- 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!
- 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!
- Try a new food
- Make bread from scratch
- Go for afternoon high tea
- Go to a Christmas Market - Planned for November/December!
- Learn to play Clair de Lune on the piano - hmm... this is not an easy piece!
- 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.
- Learn to take a decent photograph with my camera
- Have a family portrait done
- Go glamping - Booked for October!!
- Learn a cookery skill
- See the Northern Lights
- 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.
- Climb a mountain
- 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.
- Have a 40th birthday party - Planned for March 2019!
- 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!
- 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/)
- Sleep under the stars
- Revisit favourite city/place
- 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.
- Plant a tree
- Do something I loved as a child
- 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!
- 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!
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| 4. Go to a weekend Bible conference |
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| 10. Finish a cross stitch |
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| 15. Cooking on a fire pit |
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| 36. Visit a new place |
