I am going to be 36 next month. That’s not really a big deal to me; age doesn’t really bother me very much at all. Well, not until my knees or ankles start failing me when I’ve tried to run. Besides, I still feel and think like my 24 year old self. (My brain age is 24 – I don’t think I ever really matured or changed beyond that and I doubt I ever will!)

But 40 seems like a much bigger number than anything beginning with 3, and there are so many things I still want to do with and in my life. So I thought I would write a list that I can attempt to check off over the next 4 years, before I turn the big Four Zero.

I don’t doubt that I will not have the chance to do them all. Most of them are family and home based things that I know are achievable. But I’ve definitely put far too many in there that involve travel, especially for someone who’s eldest child is going to start school in less than a year, and who is spending most available pennies on a whole house renovation. We’ll see how many of those I can tick off…

Anyway, here’s the list. It’s And here’s to not being 40 quite yet!!!

1. Move into our new house.

We bought this house in April 2017 and waited far too long for a building warrant. Work is well underway now though, and we should be in within a few months. I’m more than slightly excited about that!

2. Do a first aid course.

I have been meaning to do a first aid course since my biggest was born, 4 and a half years ago. And I still haven’t. I feel like I really need to remedy this, because my littlest is a crazy climber. We had our first big fall and bump a few days before Christmas resulting in a trip to A&E. I want to be able to not panic, and know what to do when his climbing results in another bump.

3. Visit family and friends more often.

We’ve had a few very close losses in the past year, and that has really made me think about spending the time we have more thoughtfully.

4. Cook more.

That’ll be more exciting when we finally move house and have a brand shiny new kitchen!

5. Take the kids to Florida.

6. Sort the garden out, when we move.

Having never had a garden before, I have a steep learning curve ahead of me. I expect to be a master gardener within the next few years.

7. Make the photobooks I’ve been promising myself I’ll make.

One for each year. Yes, I have a few to catch up on, but I’ve already made a start on 2014…

8. Exercise more regularly.

That won’t be difficult. More than none shouldn’t be too big a change. I’m going back to bootcamp though, for definite. ASAP. I want to feel a bit better about myself again and I know that this is the way to get there.

9. Climb a hill with the kids.

10. Visit Shetland.

My sister and her husband moved there a few months ago, so we have no excuse really.

11. Do something thoughtful for a friend.

12. Take the kids to see the reindeer in Aviemore.

13. Start regularly cooking Sunday dinners.

They don’t need to be roasts, but I really want them to be good hearty Sunday dinners with everyone eating together.

14. Take a campervan trip.

One of the best times of my whole life was a campervan trip with my husband. It was in New Zealand and it was a bit of our honeymoon, and I know it would be very different with kids. But I absolutely loved it and would love to do another one somewhere else. Even here, in Scotland!

15. Do tough mudder again.

(Or something similar). I did tough mudder Scotland about 6 months before I became pregnant with the little lady. It was an amazing atmosphere and I absolutely loved it. I’d love to do it again.

16. Take some more alone time.

Even if it’s just having a bath. I feel like I’ve lost myself a little bit in the past year or so, ever since baby boy was born. I never used to like being alone, and I still love to be around people, especially my family and the big and little loves of my life. But I do crave time by myself a little bit these days. I mostly take it in the toilet for now…

17. Learn how to make a nice bouquet of flowers.

Ideally they’d be grown in the garden but that might be taking it too far.

18. Go on a weekend break with friends.

19. Paint my nails more frequently.

I have a bag full of nail polishes and I really want to use them more often. I might even get better at nail painting in the process. And so they don’t look like this.

20. Continue to do stuff with the kids.

Even after the little lady starts school. I know that life is only going to get busier, but I want to make sure that we still have lots of family fun.

21. Have time just me and the little lady once a month.

Doesn’t matter what we do. Just spend some time together.

22. Grow some vegetables with the kids.

23. Go to Legoland.

24. Somehow learn how to organise myself.

Whether it’s with lists, a good app, bullet journals, getting my shopping delivered, making weekly plans for EVERYTHING. I don’t know. But I know that I really need to get my shit together.

25. Visit the Eden Project.

This has been on my list for a long time. I think we’re going in 2018.

26. Do Veganuary.

Or maybe have a few purely vegetarian days every week. I’ll aim for 2 to start with and see how that goes. It shouldn’t be too difficult as we don’t eat meat all the time anyway.

27. Take a holiday, just me and my husband.

I like my husband an awful lot. And I love spending time with him. We don’t get very much quality time just the two of us now, except between the kids bedtime and ours, so I’d love to have a few days, just the two of us. After the house is done when we won’t be traipsing round tile shops and bathroom shops and IKEA and fireplace shops and flooring shops. (Although those are kinda fun…)

28. Go on more picnics.

I love a picnic. I just need to get back to my old, more prepared, self.

29. Visit Montana.

30. Crochet some socks.

I can crochet. Reasonably well. I just don’t do it anymore because there are always other things to be done. I really enjoy it though, and I’d like to get back into it again.

31. Learn how to cook an excellent roast.

32. Get away from the city at least once a month.

Even for a few hours. I love living in the middle of the city. I love everything about it. But I love the quiet and the serenity when I’m at the beach or in a forest or next to a loch. It’s good for the soul. And it makes me feel like I can breathe again.

33. Be more charitable.

I haven’t worked out yet what this will entail. But I want to make sure it incorporates my kids too. I want them to grow up with a sense of what the world is like for other people. I don’t want them to grow up only knowing their own privilege.

34. Visit Japan.

35. Bake more often.

With the kids, but also without them.

36. Make some clothes for the kids.

I’ll aim for one thing for each of them for the moment and see how that goes. I’ll probably try to crochet a hoodie, or even a hat. Just something. I made these dragon costumes for the kids at Halloween and really enjoyed it. Using a sewing machine was much quicker than my usual crochet efforts, so I may try to make something with that! (Halloween costumes don’t count for this one.)

37. Go to a festival as a family.

38. Learn to knit.

Basically just because I really want to.

39. Host Christmas.

For the first time. This one’s a bit scary. But it’s totally doable.

40. Have a big birthday party that’s all about me.

I haven’t had one since I was a kid. Unless you count our wedding… (I have my fingers crossed that this will be the last thing I complete on my 40 before 40 list!)