Goal # 12 – Cook Christmas dinner

I have always loved cooking so wanted to give myself a bit of a cooking challenge as part of my 30 list, and I thought taking on the challenge of cooking a full Christmas dinner for me, my mum, my brother and sister-in-law would be a suitable goal.

As I am a vegetarian, my mum sorted the turkey, but I made a chestnut roast from scratch for myself and also took care of the carrot and turnip, sprouts, parsnips, roast potatoes, yorkshire pudding, stuffing and bread sauce!

I have to admit, the night before I almost chickened out and asked my mum if she would do it (after all, people had been looking forward to this meal for a year and I didn’t want to let them down!), but I decided to give it a shot and, actually, it was easier than I thought! The hardest part was planning all the timings for everything the day before, to make sure everything would be ready at the right time. And the good news was, everyone enjoyed it and ate (almost) every bit (it was a huge meal)!

Unfortunately, everyone was so busy tucking in I only remember afterwards I should have taken a photo … Ah well, maybe next year 🙂

Goal #3 – Have a bath with candles and champagne

Having a bath with candles and champagne is probably the simplest and most easily achievable goal on my list, however it is something I always read about and think “aah that would be lovely” but then never make time for.

I also think, for many of us, our days often pass by as a routine-filled blur, simply filling up time between the next big event, such as a birthday, holiday or Christmas. However, I think it’s good to break out of the routine once in a while and add some fun to your life by making a standard day special and making the usual unusual, so I liked the idea of having something on my list which involved treating myself or having a bit of luxury for no reason at all! And this one seemed to fit the bill.

Yesterday I ticked the third thing off my list (three things in less than two weeks yey!) by treating myself to a relaxing bath. I had actually prepared for this one over a week in advance when, as part of a birthday shopping spree, I bought myself a lovely Lush bubble bar (Rose Jam – which smells amazing) and a Marilyn hair mask. I also spent about 20 minutes in the supermarket deliberating which champagne to buy before purchasing a little bottle. And all the preparation paid off as I relaxed in my bath complete with face mask, hair mask, bubbles, candles (Yankee candles’ Vanilla Cupcake – the best smell in the world!) and a glass of champagne. Lovely!

Here’s an update on the list so far:

1. Start a blog

2. Learn how to play chess

3. Have a bath with candles and champagne

4. Watch the sunrise – I’m still trying my hardest (three attempts so far) as yet with no success!

5. Read War and Peace – 143 pages read, about 800 more to go …

6. Raise £130 for charity 

7. See a Shakespeare play at the Globe Theatre

8. Visit another city by myself 

9. Run a 5K in less than 30 minutes

10. See the Northern Lights

11. Knit something

12. Create my own ice cream flavour 

13. Create my own perfume 

14. Do a night-time sponsored walk for charity

15. Have a moonlit picnic

16. Take part in National Novel Writing Month

17. Do a parachute jump

18. Win a competition

19. Have a 12 hour DVD-athon

20. Read the Bible all the way through – 52 pages in!

21. Sponsor a child in a developing country

22. Watch 50 of the top films of all time 

23. Read the top 10 of the Guardian‘s 100 greatest novels of all time – One watched so far (Bambi)

24. Reach my target weight

25. Plan some extremely amazing 30th birthday celebrations

26. Go to the Opera

27. Go on a long bike ride

28. Cook a Christmas dinner

29. Learn how to make candles 

30. Go to an ice bar