My 40 before 40 List and making it happen

Having turned 32 last week it's reminded me how fast time flies by, it feels like only yesterday I was celebrating my 30th in the South of France with family and friends. I was pregnant at the time with my youngest who is now nearly 19months old and it feels like our feet have not touched the ground since he came on the scene.

Having always had itchy feet and following on from my father's passion to travel I managed to fit a whole lot of living into my life before turning 30 including celebrating New Years in more than 4 different countries and travelling to 25 countries as well as learning to drive, having a family, taking a cargo ship from Africa to the UK and loads in between. Although things did slow down slightly after having kids and traipsing around Europe with a backpack working at hostels as I went along was not so much an option anymore, now things need to be planned and thought out far more in advance. I do think putting pen to paper and making plans is the first step to realising them, so I have curated my 40 before 40 list, one or two of things I have already done post 30 and others are sightly wishful thinking as it would only happen if finances allowed, but we can all dream right?

My 30th was spent in Paris and the French Riveria 

Fitness and Outdoors and outdoor experiences

1. Climb Snowdonia, Wales Tallest peak
2. Canoe down the river Wye - DONE
3. Take a picture of the sunrise and sunset on the same day
4. Try Paddleboarding - DONE
5. Do a long-distance walk like Hadrians Wall
6. Do a treetop Zip Line adventure - DONE
7. Surf an Artificial wave - DONE
8. Go Hiking in Yosemite
9. Do a long-distance bike ride
10. Start a campfire without a match or a lighter - DONE
11. Take part in the Bog Snorkelling Championships in Wales
12. Go Wild Camping - DONE (Wild camped on the shores of a loch on Scotland)
13. Rope swing into a river or lake - DONE
14. Find a four-leaf clover
15. Take the family Geocaching - DONE

Learning and cultural experiences

16. Learn to sail a keelboat
17. Have a basic conversation on a foreign language
18. Complete Forest School Assistant training
19. Take the kids to the Opera or Ballet - DONE
20. Watch tennis live at Wimbledon
21. See a movie at a drive-in
22. Participate in a Flash Mob
23. Swim at the thermal rooftop spa pool in Bath

Share the love and giving back

24. Raise £250 for charity - DONE
25. Volunteer time to a charity and cause I believe in - DONE
26. Buy Coffee/lunch for someone who really needs it - DONE
27. Take my mother for an indulgent 3 course meal and say Thank-you for everything. DONE
28. Adopt a pet from the animal shelter - DONE
29. Plant a family tree together - DONE

Travel and seeing the world

30. Ride the Orient Express
31. Go skateboarding at Venice Beach
32. Take the Skybus to the Isles of Scilly- DONE
33. Spend a night in a Treehouse
34. Buy a camper van - DONE
35. Eat a Danish pastry in Denmark
36. Spend a night on Mont St-Michel, France
37. Visit the set of The Hobbit in New Zealand
38. Ride the bullet train
39. Touch a Redwood - DONE
40. Take a picture crossing Abbey Road Zebra crossing with the kids

There are two more things I really want to do but feel these may only become possible when the children are older as they will appreciate it more 1. Walk the Camino Santiago and 2. Take the Trans-Siberian railway - these will be on my list of things to do before I'm 50.

I always use to think that you make your own luck and to an extent that is certainly true although there also has to be a combination of being in the right place at the right time as well as taking an educated risk and I have found at times jumping in at the deep end has certainly reaped amazing rewards for myself in terms of friendships and life experiences.

A few of the things on my list are very doable on a small to zero budget such as geocaching with the family while others will require luck more than anything such as finding a four-leaf clover although some, however, will take a considerable amount of savings such as my dream to hike through Yosemite national park in the US or ride the Orient Express (I am passionate about trains and train travel so this really would be a dream come true), even if we saved for a few years I would probably fall short on some of these excursions.

Me wild camping in Scotland a few years back

One of my favourite travel-inspired films Eat Pray Love she mentions this story - “There's a wonderful old Italian joke about a poor man who goes to church every day and prays before the statue of a great saint, begging, "Dear saint-please, please, please...give me the grace to win the lottery." This lament goes on for months. Finally, the exasperated statue comes to life, looks down at the begging man and says in weary disgust, "My son-please, please, please...buy a ticket."

That has stuck in mind ever since, I don't believe in waste but I also believe in taking a chance, even though I am not one for gambling at all I do think instead of having that bar of chocolate one or twice a week why not buy myself the chance of a life-changing win from the lottery? The only problem is I have a mind like a sieve these days and always forget to pop into my local corner shop in time for the draw and then I lose the enthusiasm to wait another week and plus with the cost going from £1 to £2 with fewer chances of winning has left me a little uninspired.

So when Lottoland invited me to try out their easy solution to this problem I was quite excited to give it a whirl. It's basically a website where you can purchase your Euromillions tickets online any time of the day but also have the opportunity to take part in Lotteries from all over the world including ones you would normally not have access too such as The Swedish Lottery, French Lotto, Polish Lotto and some with as little as 80p to enter with just as high jackpots and equal chances of winning. It also means that there is one happening every day of the week so if you want a quick flutter without having to wait days you can.

I have often thought what I would do if I had a huge windfall as I am not a very materialistic person at all. I know I would still work because that gives me purpose but it would certainly take the daily stress away and allow even more family time. I know I would also donate a large proportion to charities and random acts of kindness as well as being able to finish my bucket list with ease. What would you do if you won the lottery?


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