Those looking to accomplish new tasks before they turn the milestone age will want to check out my 50 Before Fifty list of tasks to complete in the fields of personal goals, activities to try, travel experiences to have and work goals in my 40s.
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Today I turn 43 years old and in 7 short years I will be 50! When I was 35, I wrote up a list of items I wanted like to complete before the next milestone age and titled it 40 Before Forty. I put tried to think of some specific items to visit , activities to try, crafts to attempt and some other open ended ideas that are left up to interpretation in the 7 years ahead. Please cheer me on as I try to complete this 50 Before Fifty list of small tasks before February 22, 2032.
Completed Tasks:
- Pull off a surprise. DONE! We gifted my oldest a phone for her 12th birthday, something we were adamant to her that wouldn’t happen until she was older. She screamed with excitement upon opening a large box to discover her smaller phone inside and it was so fun to see the surprise on her face!
- Partner with a brand for a hosted adventure. DONE! We were happy to be hosted by TreeTop Quest of Philadelphia and took our girls and a few friends zip lining high in the trees outside of Philly. Learn more about your awesome adventure over on this post!
- Go on a tour to see or do something new. DONE! The first Memorial Day after the list was launched, we went on a Dolphin Tour in Delaware by my parents new house and even saw a whale while on the trip!
- Vacation in a new city. DONE! We visited St. Pete Beach Florida November 2025 and had a great time. See more about that trip on this post and see it in action on my instagram reel!
- Take the kids to a Broadway show. DONE! Gave the girls Wicked tickets for Christmas in 2025 and we were able to go the first week of January 2026! It was great timing as my youngest was singing some Wicked songs for her school choir so it was a big hit in our house!
- Embroider something and wear it. I tried my hand at this reverse applique technique and love the outcome for my new team spirit gear!
- Redo the girls’ bedrooms. We redid my tween daughters’ bedrooms summer of ’25, the first of which I documented and shared here!
- Try DIY screen printing. I’ve seen people do this with vinyl as a stencil and I was finally able to give it a try thanks to a great kit from Pigskins and Pigtails!
In Progress Tasks:
- Read (or reread) 20 classic books. CURRENTLY READ 4 out of 20 – You already know that I’ve regained a love of reading the past few years sharing my favorite books but besides hitting my yearly goals, I want to add in some of the class novels we all supposedly read or should read on the list. Things like To Kill A Mockingbird are on it but I also am considering Lord of the Rings, The Secret Garden or Jane Eyre. Leave a comment if you have a succession for this task and you favorite classic book!
- Design and hit 500 listings for my etsy shop. As of my last update February 2026, I have designed 373 items in the 7 years I’ve had my shop.
- Celebrate blogging for 20 years. I’m still blogging! If my calculations are correct, this will happen on October 30, 2030.
Not Yet Completed Tasks:
- Order room service. When I used to travel a lot for work, we used to get dinner in the room sometimes after a long day at a trade show, but it’s been at least 15 years since I’ve ordered in!
- Take another anniversary trip. Universal Studios was super fun to celebrate our 10th but we should do another one soon! Maybe our 15th anniversary?
- Visit an outdoor national park with the kids. Derek isn’t a big lover of the outdoors with his allergies but my kids are pretty adventurous so I’m betting they’d enjoy it!
- Visit a unique tourist attraction.
- Watch the sunset in a beautiful place.
- Watch the sunrise in a beautiful place.
- Add more insta pot and crock pot recipes to the mix. You know I loved the recipe attempts for my 40th but I definitely need more quick meal plans!
- Drink expensive champagne. Hoping it’s paired with a fun reason and location for this task!
- Make pasta from scratch. It always looks so fun with the eggs in the flour thing!
- Make my own bread. I didn’t get on this bandwagon during the pandemic but it’s never too late to start!
- Bake a pie from scratch. I personally am not a pie lover but the rest of the family is so I’d give this a whirl for them!
- Find a new vegetable I like to eat.
- Find a new fish I like to eat.
- Grow a new vegetable in our garden. Last year I grew garlic which was a hit, but this year I think I’d like to try and grow some broccoli!
- Stay up late for a good reason. Friends and family will tell you I’m usually the first to leave as I just like to be home and asleep at a good time. While I’m very much a morning person, it would be fun to be up later if I’m having a good time and it’s for a good reason!
- Take the kids to a professional hockey game. They’ve been to a bunch of different sporting events and enjoy the activity so I feel like this is next on the list!
- Grow a bouquet of flowers from seed. We have the room for a flower garden, just have to figure out to how to keep the bunnies from eating it!
- Take a nap outside. Betting this will be on a beach, but we’ll see!
- Go snow tubing. I’m not a huge fan of the cold, but I know the kids would have a good time with this one.
- Go on a unique date night.
- Digitize our childhood videos/photos. Has anyone ever tried one of those digitizing services? Or knows what equipment I need at home to make this happen?
- Improve my sports photography skills. I’ll probably need a new lens but I don’t want to spend a ton! I have 2 active athletes and I love to capture them doing what they love! I have a Canon 80d so any recommendations on a lens that isn’t a million dollars that’s good for an amateur sports photographer?
- Take a class or workshop to do something new. Maybe a new craft? Maybe something with blogging or web? Maybe something I do on behalf of a new client?
- Volunteer for a charitable cause.
- Try wood burning. I’ve never done it but it looks cool! This would be fun for a Christmas holiday craft, like what my friend Vanessa made one year that she shared on these pages.
- Finish a crossword puzzle. I’d also need to attempt DOING a crossword so maybe I need to get a crossword puzzle book to practice more?
- Have a spa day. More than just a single massage.
- Finish our basement. We redid our kitchen a few years back so the next big project space will be our unfinished basement. The photo above was when we moved in and since the flooring and part of the walls have been torn out to add a French drain so the space is a lot more gloomy than what you see here.
- Complete a physical challenge. Race? Gym attendance? Not sure yet!
- Add weight training to my exercise routine. I joined the gym with classes July of last year but I need to add more visits to the power weight lifting class to achieve this goal.
- Have my makeup done professionally. I haven’t had mine done since my wedding!
- Grow out my old blond highlights. This is a work in progress. I haven’t dyed my hair since May 2024, but they say it’s about 2 years to totally grow out.
- Get a professional headshot done. By “professional” I just mean not me and a tripod.
- Learn a new makeup or beauty technique. Going grey and being over 40 brings lots of opportunity to add some subtle beauty changes in this decade.
- Do something scary.
- Start a new family tradition.
- Get a better sense of clothes that fit my body. I’m only 5 ft 3 inches and have a short torso so I’d love to finally learn how to find clothes that properly fit my shape vs just grabbing things I see in store. Am I actually petite height? Who knows! Help, fashionistas!
- Gain 2 new long term clients. For my personal income? For my blog life? With my social media accounts?
- Work with a nationally recognized brand.
Check back as I’ll be updating this post as I cross things off the list or leave a comment if you have a suggestion to make one happen!
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