"Every man dies. Not every man really lives"

...so said William Wallace.

I have a birthday coming up in a couple of weeks.

I'll be 42.

No grief.

I am enjoying my forties as much as my thirties

and life, while chugging along a bit too fast for my liking,

is pretty darn good.

(flickr.com)

But

(yeah, always that but)

it hit me today that, at 42 years of age,

I am about halfway to the current life expectancy

of an average Caucasian Australian woman.

Halfway.

HALFWAY.

HALFWAY?

Well, crap. Now that has put things in a different perspective.

I have had a pretty good 42 years

but with another 42 (give or take) left to go,

what more do I want to tick off the list in my life?

Take it for granted that I would like to see an end to

world poverty, war, famine and enviromental destruction.

It is also a given that I would like to see my kids grow up

to become happy, independent adults.

So what things would I like to do before I die?

My very own top 10 bucket list, in no particular order,

at this time in my life:

1 Share a white Christmas with my family

I have had 2 white Christmas' in my life, both in Finland.

Heck, I have even met the REAL Santa!

I might be Australian but I don't like the heat.

Give me a snowball fight anyday.

2 Own a bull mastiff

Big? Sure!

But so cute.
We love Staffies but we have also always loved these big guys.

(dognabbit.blogspot.com)



Hubby and I reckon that we probably wont get one now till the kids leave home.

Can't you just see two oldies prone to hip fractures walking one of these 70kg doggies?

3 Perfect my homemade coffee gelati

I will not be defeated by a frozen espresso.

4 Do a sightseeing safari in Africa

Seeing elephants, giraffes, hippos, lions, you name it,

in their natural environment?

Oh, man. It would be brilliant.

(Yes, I know that the hippo is one of the most aggressive and dangerous animals on earth

but I promise I wont try to pat one)

Plus I'd love to see the Grand Canyon, the Rockies, the Pyramids, Victoria Falls,

Taj Mahal, Great Wall of China, Antarctica, the Galapagos Islands

and just a couple of other places.

5 Learn to play the saxophone

...oh, and the guitar.

I have always loved the sax and for a long time have wanted to learn to play it.

My hubby, a big believer in pursuing your dreams,

bought me one for my 35th birthday.

*ahem*

Ashamed to admit that I have only had one lesson since then.

I will get back to it.

(spiritmag.com)

I have also always wanted to teach myself the guitar.

I learnt music for 10 years as a child

(and hey, I was also in the advanced recorder group at primary school)

so surely I can give it a good try.

6 Be taught how to walk in high heels by John Barrowman

...so says the gal got married in boots with a 1 inch "heel",

who doesn't own any high heels,

and doesn't really want to wear high heels.

But I have seen John Barrowman walk in heels

and according to his autobiography,

he's up for teaching someone how to do it.

(last.fm)

OK So really, if I was totally honest, I would just love to meet him.

(Oh, c'mon, at least something on your bucket list should involve a cute leading man!)

7 Watch every Audrey Hepburn movie

(themave.com)

and while I am at it, watch every movie directed by Alfred Hitchcock.

(and find every single cameo of him)

8 Write and illustrate a book

No idea if this will ever happen

but I have always wanted to write a children's book-

and illustrate it.

I haven't done art since I was 18 so it might be way out of my abilities to do that.

But I'd like to give it a try.

9 Revisit the Sistene Chapel

on my way to revisit Barcelona.

(angelsanddemonsofrome.com)

Apart from the few thousand other people sharing my personal space,

I have to say that the Sistene Chapel is one of the most beautiful things that I have ever, ever seen.

And one day in Barcelona wasn't enough.
I want to explore the city properly. It is beautiful, alive and colourful.

10 Try some amateur acting

I did a little in high school

but my personality isn't suited to being a performer.

I get lots of hot flushes when put in the spotlight.

But maybe I could give it a go at a local group.

Way outside my comfort zone.

But, hey, life is too short.

(verydemotivational.memebase.com)



So what is on your bucket list?