Today I am officially in my mid thirties! It’s my birthday and I am 35! I love to have a to do list or a goals list so I have put together a 40 Before Forty list to motivate me to get some wishes, dreams and simple tasks complete!
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Back when I was six months from turning 30, I published a 30 before Thirty list on the blog. Since I only had 6 months to do it, I kept the tasks doable but ones that required motivation. This time around I have 5 years so I can think big and think small with this 40 Before Forty. Some are very specific things I want to do (example #24) while others (like #25) are general so it has flexibility to become whatever I want it to be.
The first half of my 30s, my body was dedicated to my daughters. I was an incubator then a food source and really I want my body back. You’ll see a theme that this second half is all about taking care of ME, as well as, building memories with my family.
- Go on an adults only vacation. DONE! My bestie Allie and I went to Savannah as a moms only trip! May 2018
- Take a family road trip someplace we’ve never been before. I’m taking suggestions!
- Renew and use my passport. It currently has my maiden name and an awful photo so it just needs all sorts of newness!
- Have a “YES” day with my kids. Within reason of course. And I wouldn’t tell them that was what was going on. I’m thinking I should do this sooner than later when they’re more sneaky and have bigger requests.
- Visit 3 new states. There isn’t many in the surrounding area that I haven’t vacationed at so this might be tricky.
- Officially stop biting my nails. Been doing this since pretty much forever so it will take a lot of will power!
- Host a multi course dinner party with food made from scratch. If you know me in real life, you know I’m not really a cook so this will be challenging for me to achieve!
- Learn HTML so I can fix blog problems myself. Shout out to Darice and all that she’s done for my blog! But it’s about time I learn more HTML!
- Read Gone with the Wind… again. I’m named after it so I was due to read it again and did so by January 2018!
- Upgrade my DSLR camera and/or lens. DONE! I must’ve been a good girl as Santa brought me a new Canon 80D! 12/2017
- Get finances in order and write a will. Update: Hubby has all our finances now in order but we still need to write our will!
- Have a tech free day. Would love to pair this with #1 or #2 but when you’re in social media for a living, it can be a challenge!
- Book a professional photoshoot session. DONE! We started getting our family Christmas card photos shot in 2018 and I haven’t looked back!
- Return to my pre-pregnancy weight. Who doesn’t wanna lose weight after having kids?
- Be fit enough to wear a bikini again. I’m actually not 100% sure I want to wear a bikini as a 40 year old but I do want to be fit enough that I COULD be comfortable wearing one if I had one.
- Go on a multi mile hike. Derek isn’t a hiker but I grew up completing many with my parents. Just feel like this long walk in the woods is due!
- Try a new hairstyle. DONE! This might be cheating but I did get to go to a Blow out bar and got beach waves done for the first time! I loved it!
- Try sushi. I’m not really a fish fan but I’m also not anti fish. Feel like I should at least TRY it and see if I like it!
- Learn what the different knives in my kitchen are used for. Ya know, that kitchen knife set you get when you’re getting married? Besides a bread knife, I’m not 100% sure when to use the different ones in there. Derek always goes for the biggest and I always choose the smallest for every task. Rachel Ray, help!
- Complete a physical challenge. DONE: I completed a 10 mile woman’s only race 10/2017
- Start a new family tradition. DONE! In 2018 we started a sister to sister gift exchange for the first to exchange birthday presents. Now they do it twice a year for their birthday and Christmas.
- Find a personal mantra. Creativity takes courage! A motto now hung in my craft room / office where I feel most creative!
- Watch the sunrise in a beautiful place. Currently we are up before sunrise all the time but I wouldn’t say I’m in a beautiful place.
- Binge watch a triology back to back to back. Derek votes Back to the Future but ugh that last one is tough to sit through!
- Do something scary. DONE. 10/2020 I started a family photography side hustle photographing friends and then friends of friends!
- Take a class to learn a new skill. DONE: Participated in a Paint and Sip experience with fellow NJ bloggers! 11/2017
- Pull off a big surprise! DONE! Disney World Vacation Reveal! 1/2018
- Create a beauty routine that includes moisturizing. How boring is this one? haha. But really, I can get such dry skin but HATE putting on moisturizing cream as I hate how it feels on my palms. Maybe I just need to find the right cream or just suffer through it but my body aches for this!
- Create a flossing routine. I just upped the boring factor!
- Perfect a new craft. DONE! I think I’m pretty versed in iron on vinyl now! See all the free SVG cut files I’ve designed that you can turn into t-shirts and fun vinyl crafts!
- Learn how to grill. I’m an impatient person when it comes to cooking which is really the root of why I’m not good at it. So grilling falls in that category. Ultimately if I at least learn how to turn the grill ON, this will be an improvement!
- Publish something. An e-book? An article on a high level blog? A print magazine feature?
- Try 50 new recipes. I know this sounds really ambitious and I hope that doesn’t end up being the case. But this is less than 1 new recipe a month. Surely I can add to our rotating recipe list in the next 5 years, right?
- Learn a new makeup technique. I have freckles so I’ve always found it hard to wear makeup but there’s still cool stuff I can do with my eyes, right? or maybe something with my nails since I’m hopefully kicking the nail biting habit.
- Volunteer my time somewhere. It’s been a long time since I’ve volunteered for something.
- Attend another blog conference. DONE! 10/2020 I attended the Toy Insider virtual holiday of play!
- Treat myself to an expensive experience or splurge item. DONE! I purchased a wide angle lens for the real estate photography I started doing for a local contractor.
- Complete 5 random acts of kindness. 3 out of 5 complete!
- Complete 5 random acts of mail!
- package #1 sent Box of Sunshine
- package #2 sent Booed our nieces with a printable from Dylbug
- package #3 Wintertime Blues
- package #4 Halloween baking kits
- Try a trendy new gym class. Not sure this will be achieved since I got a treadmill in 2020!
Follow me on instagram @spotofteadesigns for updates on my progress!
UPDATES ON THE PROGRESS OF MY LIST:
40 BEFORE FORTY: 3 years to go
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