I always wanted to

And so it began – 5 August 2015

Yesterday I promised that I would complete three challenges on the first day.  I thought it would be easy as there are some easy ones on the list but somehow the day took over and at 10 o’clock I’d only managed to complete one.  So I had my work cut out if I was going to make it – but in the end with a bit of help I managed to complete 3 challenges and start work on some of the others.

Send a book around the World.  I wanted to make sure the book had a fully year to make it as far as possible.  So which book?  Well that as the hard part.  I wanted something that lots of people might like to read but I couldn’t find anything that would fit the bill.  So in the end I chose four books so hopefully there’s something for everyone.  Then I had to write a note and decide where to leave them.

My chosen books and the note I left inside them

My chosen books and the note I left inside them

Finally I decided to donate them to a charity shop.  My note asked whoever bought the books to donate it to charity when they’ve finished and to let me know what they thought about the book, how much they paid for it (so it count’s in money I raise for charity) and where they have left it.

The books start their journey at the Children's Society

Books start their journey at the Children’s Society

Although this completes my first challenge I’ve decided to keep it going so will donate every book I read this year to a different charity shop with the same note and see how many get picked up.

Write a Will: By 10 o’clock and with only one challenge complete I was beginning to worry about saying I would manage 3 in one day.  I’d planned to send a message in a bottle but it’s not as easy as it sounds but we’ll get to that when I finally do it.  So with not much of the day left I decided to write my Will.  I’ve thought about doing it for years but never got round to it and although I know you can get Will w

riting kits I’m not sure where I would have got one at 10 o’clock at night when I’d had a drink.  And then I remembered as a member of UNISON I can have my Will drafted for my by Thomson’s Solicitors at no charge.  So 5 minutes later I found the website and set about writing my Will and that’s it done.  However having drank best part of a bottle of Prosecco and a couple of Hot Shot Mojito’s at Mambo’s Wine and Dine I’m not sure how pleased people will be with the results but I think I got it right.

Hot Shot Mojito with the wonderful Joanne Weightman

Hot Shot Mojito time with the wonderful Joanne Weightman

Become an organ donor. My eldest son, Danny, tells me I can’t be an organ donor until I’ve actually given someone another part of my body but I don’t agree.  Becoming an organ donor is about committing to giving your organs to someone when you die.  So with about 10 minutes left I went on line to see if I could register that way and yes you can.  So I am now officially an organ donor though my card won’t arrive for a few days.  it’s so easy to do, all you have to do is click here, I don’t know why I didn’t do it earlier.

I know I started with easy challenges but just one day in and it’s three down and 47 to go and if you want to know more about what they are click on the links below

I always wanted to

I’d be crazy to

Making a difference

Categories: I always wanted to, Making a difference | Tags: | 1 Comment

Love, Laugh and Live Life

Today’s the day!  It’s time to stop making plans and start living life.  I’ve chosen my 5iftyby5ifty and by the end of today I will have completed not 1, not 2 but at least 3 things on the list. So check out the full list here and see if you can guess what I’ve got planned for today.

£5,000 up for grabs!! Not all today but I still need a charity to raise money for over the next year.  I need ideas for something local, something that will really make a difference or something that struggles for support.  So please let me have your thoughts.

Motto for the day: Love who you’re with (friends, family, work colleagues, anyone really), Laugh at least 8 times today (go on you know you want to) and Live Life to the full

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Stop Making Plans and get busy Living Life

In 21 days I will be 49 which means in just 387 days I will be fifty.  It can’t be true.  I can’t be nearly 50.  I haven’t decided what I want to do when I grow up.  I haven’t done all the things I dreamed about when I was a kid.  It turns out John Lennon was right “Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans”.

Or in my case life is what happened when I was busy doing other things. Don’t get me wrong, many of those things were important.  I’ve raised two sons, got a good job and own my own home (ok so I’ve got a mortgage but one day it will be mine).  I’ve swam with dolphins, seen the pyramids and changed the law but I haven’t exactly set the world on fire.  When I was kid I believed I could fix the world (thanks for that one Mam) but now I know that isn’t true.  But I still believe I can make a difference because we all can if we try.  So today I’m setting myself two challenges:

Challenge 1: By 5 August 2015 (the day I’m 49) find 5iftyby5ifty.  That’s 50 thing’s I will do before I’m 50.  I don’t know what these things will be yet but they must all be something I’ve dreamed of doing, something that makes a difference to others or something that’s just a little bit crazy or wild.  I’m not rich so they won’t be things that cost a fortune (unless anyone has some spare cash they want to donate) and I have Multiple Sclerosis so I won’t be running any marathons or climbing any mountains but hopefully with the help of my friends and family I will come up with a list that will be exciting and challenging.

Challenge 2: And this is the hard one.  By 5 August 2016, when I reach the big 50 I hope I will have completed everything on my list.  To do it I will have to average one thing every week (that gives me a two week break) so it could be hard going.  I could add things to the list I’ve already done but that would be cheating so I’ll be starting from scratch and hope to write about what I do on this website.

Over the next week I’ll add new pages and use social media to ask people help create my list.  I don’t know if many people will be interested but maybe I’ll get some ideas.  I don’t know if anyone will read what I have to say but by the time I’m 50 I hope I’ll be able to say I stopped making plans and got busy living life.

Categories: I always wanted to, I'd be crazy to, Making a difference | Tags: , , | Leave a comment

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