The 40 for 40 List

On the eve of my 40th Birthday, after a delicious dinner with a girl friend, I had a realisation… I was about to turn 40. I didn’t feel 40. I (hope I) didn’t look 40. But I was allowing and had allowed my life to turn me into 40. So, instead of becoming old before my time, I had a thought. Why didn’t I do 40 things over the next year that I’d never done before? 40 for 40. Time to break out from behind the walls I’d been layering up around me and do things that I’d often thought I’d like to do. They didn’t all have to be huge ground breaking things, some could be just for fun and take 10 minutes. Others could be big works of planning and preparation. But I must have never done them before. And I had to try and do all 40 of them on or by 19th November 2011. You can read all about how I got on by visiting the Blobby Archive and heading back to the start in November 2010…

This is the list of challenges I set myself:-

  1. Have Fireworks on my birthday Completed
  2. Run for 30 mins without stopping – Whoops…!
  3. Have a full body massage – Completed
  4. Have a Colonic – Completed
  5. Own a pair of brand new Designer Shoes (ie: Manolo / Louboutin etc) – Completed
  6. Go skinny dipping under the stars – Completed
  7. Do Karaoke and sing in public – Completed
  8. Have a professional beauty treatment once a month (excluding haircuts) – See Below – Completed
  9. Fall in love – Completed
  10. Go to a betting shop and place a bet on the horses (Grand National or Derby) – Completed
  11. Have dinner at The Ivy – Completed
  12. Ride on Horse back along a beach – Completed
  13. Take a surfing lesson – Completed
  14. Visit the Louvre – Completed
  15. Do something ‘cultural’ every month – museum, theatre, exhibition etc – See below – Completed
  16. Stay in a top London hotel for a night, just because… – Booked
  17. Watch the Godfather films – Completed
  18. Go skiing – Completed
  19. Do the Maze at Hampton Court – Completed
  20. Have a night at the opera in style – Completed
  21. Ride a giant rollercoaster – Completed
  22. Have a weekend in Milan – Completed
  23. Have a Hot Stone Massage – Completed
  24. Visit the London Aquarium – Completed
  25. Watch a Shakespeare play at the Globe Theatre – Completed
  26. Have a fancy ‘proper’ Afternoon Tea – Completed
  27. Learn to make my own Pasta – Completed
  28. Take a Yoga Class – Completed
  29. Go in a Floatation Tank – Completed
  30. Swing on a Flying Trapeze – Completed
  31. Go to a strip club – Completed
  32. Give a Male stranger my phone number, no talking first (he must be cute!) – Completed
  33. Say hello to 100 strangers on a bridge in one day – Completed
  34. Make a Photo board of the happy times from childhood till now – Completed
  35. Go Commando – Completed
  36. Fly a kite on a big hill – Completed
  37. Eat at a Michelin Starred Restaurant – Completed
  38. Slice and dice like a chef – Completed
  39. Be a tourist in my own town – Completed
  40. And this one shall remain secret for the year… – Ongoing!

Detailed Item 8. Have a professional beauty treatment once a month (excluding haircuts)

Dec Luxury Manicure & Pedicure – Completed
Jan Colonic – Completed (And as a bonus, lost 4lbs!)
Feb Facial – Completed
Mar Chocolate Body Wrap – Completed
Apr Organic Exfoliation & Full Body Massage – Completed
May Luxury Manicure & Pedicure – Completed
Jun Hot Cupping & Eastern Massage – Completed
Jul Floatation – Completed
Aug Facial – Completed
Sep Hot Stone Massage – Completed
Oct Laserlight Treatment – Completed
Nov Massage & Facial – Completed

Detailed Item 15. Do something ‘cultural’ every month – museum, theatre, exhibition etc

Dec John Williams Greatest Movie Music at The Barbican Completed + Visit the London Science Museum Completed
Jan Matthew Bourne’s Cinderella – Completed
Feb Chicago the Musical – Completed
Mar The Louvre, The Pompidou, Paris – Completed
Apr Shorditch House Literary Salon – Completed
May DaVinci’s The Last Supper, Milan – Completed
Jun Glee at the O2 – Completed
Jul Museum of Milton Keynes – Completed
Aug As You Like It Shakespeares Globe – Completed + The Lion King – Completed
Sept Les Miserables – Completed
Oct Matilda The Musical – Completed
Nov Ghost The Musical – Completed

First Published 20th Nov 2010

Updated 5th Dec ’10, 30th Jan, 6th March, 19th March, 30th April, 31st May, 12th June, 2nd Aug, 30th Aug, 1st Oct, 1st Nov, 19th Nov, 10th Dec ’11.


 
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