I do love a list and in equal measure I love a fun project.
I have had reasonable success in the past at birthday lists. At ages 27, 28, 29 and 30 I made a list of (the same number of things as my age e.g. 27 things at 27) things to do. Most have been a combination of mostly-fun and some-serious-ness. If you'd like to see what I mean my 29 list was a particular favourite!
Last year (aged 31) I took a break from this. Over the last few weeks leading up to my 32nd birthday I toyed with the idea of a new list for this year. 32 seemed an awfully high number of things to come up with and commit to doing so I made a shorter list. A list of projects and ideas that have recently been rolling around in my head. And that list is here...
- Celebrate the 22nd of every month with some me time or pampering of some kind
- Celebrate G on the 20th of every month
- Celebrate Mr Mischief on the 10th of every month
- Do a “less 365” (find something to throw or give away for each day of the year – do not necessarily have to this daily but do need to do 365 things over the year)
- Take part in a 30 days of Lists project
- Have a child-free night with my husband
- Document our special Christmas ornaments
- Have a family “date” once a month with proper planned out things to do (try to include Rhett sometimes and try to have no technology i.e. phones)
- Make our 1 weekday at home each week more sacred – less rushing, more time to enjoy Mr Mischief's company
- Give something each month e.g. RAK day, Ninja Bake, Operation Christmas Child
- Get Rhett out of the garden (for a walk) more often
- Find relaxation methods that work and encourage better sleep
And here's a little background behind the items on the list...
- The point of the top 3 is to find a way to celebrate our little family on a small-scale but regular basis. Not just waiting for holiday's and birthday's to acknowledge each other. The reason behind the dates being they are our birthday dates. I have a separate small list of ideas for things to do here - things such as baking for that person, cooking their favourite meal, letting them pick a day trip etc.
- A Less 365 project has been at the back of my mind for a wee while - we have WAY too much stuff and after 2 moves in 6 months I feel every unused and unwanted object weighing on our house and energy. It's time to do something about that!
- 30 days of lists looks awesome and good fun!
- Hubby and I haven't had a child-free night together since Mr Mischief came into our lives. That may not seem like a big deal to some people but with no family close by we don't have anyone to offer him a sleepover. We may have some opportunities come up over the next year and think it will be good for all of us.
- I love journalling Christmas and through that I have started to document our special ornaments but I'd like to make a mini album to keep with the decorations that tells the story behind all the important ones. I think this will be awesome to pass on through generations with the ornaments so they can read the stories!
- Family "Date" - another way to celebrate each other and spend quality time. We often go out and do things all together (especially at weekends) but mostly this is on a whim. It will be great to actually plan ahead and come up with ideas of what we can do together to have fun.
- With my new job I'm working more hours and Mr Mischief and I have 1 day off in the week together - lately that day has ended up being a rush of errands and all the jobs that are being missed the rest of the week. I want to get some jobs and errands done but also spend some relaxed, quality time with Mr Mischief - especially with the holiday season approaching!
- I've had such fun taking part in Operation Christmas Child and RAK day the last couple of years. And this year for the first time I took part in the Sisterhood Ninja Bake. I'd love to find something similar for each month of the year to participate in!
- I've put a lot of focus on our wee family in this list and it's so important to include our gorgeous dog in here. He hasn't been getting enough excursions lately and it's time to take him on more adventures.
- My sleeping patterns have been really up and down lately. If I get woken in the night (by storms, wobbles or Mr Mischief) I REALLY struggle to get back to sleep so I'd like to develop some techniques to help me relax.
Phew there you have it! Wish me luck!
