No 1) The bigger house

We bought our first home in 2009 and it was a lovely little house, in a lovely neighbourhood in a lovely town. 

Sounds fabulous doesn't it?

And it was. But we also out grew it.

It was the home where I first brought home my baby son, where I first worked out about having a garden and looking after plants, and painted walls. And having to take responsibility for getting things fixed rather than call the landlord or the letting agent!

But as we wanted to have another child we knew we needed more space and so it was time to look elsewhere. And it meant to get a bigger space we needed to move from the lovely road, the lovely town.

As with all house hunts, we saw some humdingers, we saw some good ones we missed out on and then we fell upon what I thought was ideal. My husband wasn't as convinced on first sight as I was, I just could see us there, but our son seemed more satisfied -the big open plan sitting/dining room offering the perfect place to drive his toy car around! Sold!

Well a bit of negotiation, a few viewings, a check over with a builder, but yes sold and we moved quickly. Sale agreed on July 16th and we moved in on Sept 21st. 

And, what of the lovely old surroundings? Swapped for lovelier surroundings. A really nice road, friendly neighbours and embracing village life. And filling my house with even more clutter? Yep, we've spread out somewhat!

So number one on the list - ticked off!

The List

I know, I've been slacking but trust me I've had some good reasons - you'll find out more in a bit. 

But the six month mark has now passed so it's time to put up the list which I started compiling in August 2012. But now it's time for regular updates - well and actually doing the list:

1) Move to a bigger house
2) Have a baby brother or sister for Joshie 
3) Get the holiday scrapbooks up to date
4) Learn to play the piano
5) Finish writing a book - any of them!
6) Loose weight - attempt to be under 11 stone!
7) Fit in my wedding dress
8) Do an assault course
9) Have a pampering day
10) Win the lottery - preferably big but a small win will do
11) Make something for the house
12) Cook a roast dinner
13) Get upto 400 followers on twitter
14) Play netball again - even if just once!
15) Watch five live sports you've never seen
16) Read five classic novels
17) Knit a scarf for someone who loves you and will wear it!
18) Eat 10 foods I've never eaten before
19) Keep a plant alive
20) Go and eat/drink in the university refectory
21) Learn some sign language
22) Finish 'This book will change your life'
23) Go to Jane Austen's house
24) Change my passport
25) Get Josh a passport
26) Get a tattoo
27) Get a family portrait done
28) Walk the amount of steps equivalent to the hours I'll be alive
29) Learn Hello and Goodbye in ten languages
30) Have a weekend away
31) Try a new sport
32) Get rid of the clutter and be ruthless over things we don't need!
33)
34)
35)
36)
37)
38)
39)
40)

Yes er shamefully still gaps. People have suggested things to me - like do a bungee jump, but I've done that. This isn't meant to be a list of all the things you should do before you reach 40, more what things can I do which are a bit out there, a bit stretching (ok you'll argue some but bear with me!) and some I need to do in the next six months. So suggestions for the last ones - be my guest!

Oh and comments on what's on the list, suggestions etc, also welcome!