Dungeons, faces and a small amendment

With Eddie away on an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico (as you do) at the weekend I was looking for a day out with the kids, and decided to do number 15, which was Chloë's request - a trip to York Museum. A drive and a bus ride later (and that sounds way quicker, simpler and more pleasant than it actually was) we were there and once in, I was so glad I'd put it on the list as Chlo was so excited to show me everything she'd seen on her school trip there last spring, as was Benjy. They loved the Victorian schoolroom and the dressing up section, I loved the old toys, Erin loved running in the opposite direction to the rest of us. I also loved this bit:

Later the same weekend I started on drawing faces. This was my first attempt. I was really impressed with myself until I showed Benjy and Chloë and they both concluded these were rubbish! Which I guess they are... but they're more than I could do this time last week.

An update on no chocolate week. It wasn't hard at all. I barely noticed it. I realise that I could challenge myself further by doing it again, for longer... but I'm not going to!

And lastly, I showed my 40to40 list to my father-in-law who suggested swapping one of my nights of reading instead of watching TV, to listening to classical music. This is a great idea. Not least because I'm usually ironing which does make reading rather tricky, but also because I'm often too tired to read, and because when I was ill at the start of my pregnancy with Erin and was too poorly to read, I started listening to classical music and really enjoyed it. So that's a small amendment to my list.

Educating myself (reluctantly)

I left it to Eddie to decide on a book that I should read, on a subject I've never had any interest in. Turns out there aren't really any subjects that I have no interest at all in - quite a relief to realise - but plenty that I would never want to read a book about. He narrowed it down to these four:

Absolutely none of them appeal. 'What's Left?' appeals even less than the other three. So that's the one I'll be reading. 

No chocolate!

Late last night (Monday) I realised I hadn't had any chocolate since Saturday so I thought, I'm two days in without realising it, I may as well do my week without chocolate now. I hadn't thought about, or noticed, not having had any chocolate, and in fact I'd only had a tiny bit on Saturday so it was almost three days without. I found myself thinking that I was pretty much three days in and I'd barely noticed so a week wouldn't be much of a challenge and that I should be doing it for a month instead. But now, knowing I have another 5 days of not allowing myself any, it's suddenly all I can think about!

Faces

Step 1 - get a book to show me how to draw faces. That's the easy bit. Going to buy the right pencils (yep - definitely procrastinating) before I get started. And maybe the right paper. And maybe an easel....

Happiness jars

Labelled and ready to go.

Number 17 done!

Decided to start with one that Benjy was interested in, in the hope that it might spark interest in the rest of them. Helped that it was a quick and easy one too. 

The list

Today is #40to40

Today is #40to40 - 40 weeks until my 40th birthday. Not wanting this momentous year to pass unmarked, I plan to celebrate it by setting myself some challenges to complete before the big 4-0. Some physical, some mental, some personal, all achievable. All a challenge in some way, but none that will make me feel stressed about having to do them. I've got a few ideas but am looking for more so if you have any, send them my way and maybe I'll add them to my list. I'm asking my children for their ideas too. I'll share the final list when it's done!