Kicking the Bucket List with One New Thing a Week

I Must Confess | Mystery Case | One New Thing

I Must Confess One New Thing | Agent Mystery Case

 

I’m back hosting I Must Confess again this week, even though it’s a public holiday here in Perth today to commemorate Anzac Day. A public holiday that has me scratching my head. You see there are no further official commemorations planned, they all took place on Anzac Day (Saturday) which was also a public holiday.

 

I’m not sure why WA decided to declare today a public holiday, when the rest of the country chose not to but I’m certainly not complaining. Not one bit.

 

I have a rare day off with my little family under the one roof (another rarity). My eldest daughter is home safely from Greece, hubby is back from his latest trip to sea and my two social butterfly youngest daughters have been told to cancel all their catching up with friends plans. We even have interstate family coming for a quick visit.

 

The bonus day off also gives me a chance to add to my One New Thing list, which interestingly is the prompt for this week’s confession.

 

kings park | Perth | War Memorial | Agent Mystery Case

 

I must confess, after two years of successfully attempting one new thing a week, I’ve become a little lax in my endeavours and find myself looking for easy ways to get my one new thing over with and out of the way.

 

As such, I fear my challenge has lost its real meaning, which was initially to get me out of the mother and wife rut I’d found myself in and to be a bit more fun, relaxed and spontaneous in my approach to life, especially around my three girls while attempting something new each week.

 

Lately I’ve been guilty of playing the uptight cop, where my girls are concerned, especially with hubby away at sea so often. Being the part-time single parent with no support, even with my girls now 14, 15 & 16 (yes I had three under three), there just never seems to be enough time in the day to do more than the essentials.

 

My health issues and energy levels come into play here as well. My focus has been on running a super tight ship on the home front, which hasn’t left much time for fun and relaxed mum to make an appearance lately.

 

If I’m honest, I had a complete week recently where thanks to health issues and hubby away, I was barely coping. I basically decided that getting the girls fed and to school was my main priority and anything else was a bonus. There were bonuses that week and my girls were a huge help but it was no fun. Not for me. Not for my girls.

 

Thankfully those barely coping moments aren’t a regular occurrence and I’m able to give myself some much needed time out to get back on track, when they do. It was during this cabin fever down time that I took a good look at my One New Thing a week project.

 

Agent Mystery Case | one-new-thing-a-week blog banner

 

I certainly don’t want to win any mother of the year awards but I would like to be a more approachable and relaxed mum. I was thinking a renewed effort for this challenge might help with that but I wasn’t keen to add rules or specifics or make things too hard. Who needs more pressure?! Not me.

 

Basically I was wanting to up my game and get back to having FUN. Lots of fun, not just for myself but my family as well. You could say, this time round, it’s all about the fun factor and learning to not let my ongoing health issues or the lack of energy side of things constantly drag me and everyone around me down.

 

I was hoping to find a hint of the old more spontaneous side of me. The crazy fun loving clown in me that somehow lost my juggling balls myself along the way to becoming a wife and more importantly a mother, juggling work and family commitments instead.

 

While being spontaneous, going with the flow and taking on opportunities that fly my way is a great way forward, I also think once in a while it would be great to pull off something a little more involved from my blogging bucket list as well as putting together a personal bucket list as well.

 

people in a queue boarding on the plane

 

But how do you go about putting together a bucket list without it feeling like a list of clichés?!

 

I tried once and failed. It was in the lead up to my 40th and I suppose my heart just wasn’t in it at the time. It ended up feeling forced and much like a mid-life crisis list. Who in their right mind has time for that?!

 

I was pulling bucket list objectives out of nowhere. It wasn’t me. Not one bit.

 

What is me….is crazy ideas. Well ideas in general. Ask anyone, I’m always bursting full of ideas. Yes a lot of them are on the crazy side for me but the majority of them have merit and potential for a lot of fun. A whole lot of crazy fun. Of course the budget doesn’t always stretch to accommodate all my ideas but I’m learning to get creative and pick and choose my battles.

 

I thought putting a few of my crazy ideas on paper might actually help me find some order and a better way forward. I’m resolved that I’m just not going to pull everything off and will be giving some of my ideas away via an e-book entitled ’52 blogging ideas you will want to steal and call your own’. Now there’s a crazy idea!

 

52 Blog Ideas | You will want to steal and call your own | Agent Mystery Case

 

Travel is definitely on the top of the list but jumping out of a perfectly good plane isn’t ever going to be my one new thing.

 

One New Thing highlights so far

 

Meet and greet with Craig Mclachlan on stage with the Rocky Horror Show

Salsa dancing on the beach

Starting a blog

Snorkeling at Rottnest Island

Threw my first of hopefully many blogging catch ups

Adopting and falling in love with Pepsi the cat

 

Nothing really that impressive but after more than two years of attempting new things each and every week, there’s a lot more to the list. I’m just not sure anyone other than myself would see them as highlights. Like starting and finishing a 6000 piece jigsaw puzzle. Two new things that were just over a year apart, that probably seem rather lame to most people.

 

jigsaw2

 

 

Up until our move to Perth, we’d never been in the one place long enough for me to finish a massive jigsaw puzzle. My last attempt was a 5000 piece, when the girls were much younger and more of a hindrance rather than a help when it came to puzzles. It was 3/4 complete when we relocated at short notice and it somehow ended up in Mr C’s hands the bin.

 

When we moved to Perth, hubby gifted me the 6000 piece jigsaw for my 40th, more than a little while ago now. Possibly attempting to make up for the error of his binning my expensive 5000 piece puzzle ways, hoping that he might eventually hear the end of it.

 

Only I didn’t commence puzzle proceedings or forgiveness until we knew Mr C’s employment was moving from contract to permanent, meaning we would no longer be needing to relocate and throw jigsaws out at a moment’s notice. Another first!

 

While I’m glad after 22 moves around the country, we can finally call Perth our home, I’m also hoping that we have one final move in us. On top of my bucket list this coming year, is finally selling our NSW property and building our dream home. It’s been a dream of ours for as long as I can remember and hopefully we are now closer than ever to pulling this one off.

 

New construction home framing against sky

 

This week’s one new thing is small in comparison but should be a whole lot of fun for my entire family. Stay tuned, possibly over on Instagram because you know me… photos or it didn’t happen.

 

 

Now it’s over to you! 

 

One New Thing – Tell me about the last time you tried something new and/or stepped outside your comfort zone?  Otherwise, why not put something new on the agenda and blog about it. I can’t wait to hear your confessions!

 

The Rules… are fairly relaxed regardless of whether Kirsty from My Home Truths is away or not but posted below just in case you would like to case them….

 

I Must Confess

– I Must Confess is a link up that runs every Monday and remains live for the whole week.

– You can link up something old or new, we’re not fussy around here.

– Feel free to go with the prompt for the week or add your own confession, whatever suits.

– Please go forth and share the comment love – it is bloggy crack after all!

– We’re always open to suggestions for the weekly prompt!

 

Next week’s prompt – I must confess is heading over to Living My Imperfect Life next week and you will need to confess all those Embarrassing Songs from your iPod.

 



 

 

What are your thoughts on buckets lists and do you have one of your own?

If you were going to attempt one new thing a week, what would your list look like?

Do you have any suggestions for mine?

 

About Mystery Case 462 Articles
Follow Raychael aka Mystery Case on her mystery adventures 'casing' people, products and places to bring you her worth casing favourites.

46 Comments

    • I’m still in two minds about creating a list or just going with the flow and the opportunities that present themselves to me. I was thinking once a month, if funds permit, I should try one of those cheap experience deals from livingsocial or one of the other online deals places.

  1. One new thing a week is a BIG ASK! But then again, I guess they could be small things. Like sampling new foods (or even just new spices, super food items etc), or it could be wearing something a little out of your comfort zone, driving a different way to do a standard task, learning to do something like a handstand, parting your hair on a different side, brushing your teeth with the other hand. I guess anything that removes us from our comfort zones is an exercise in growth.
    Great linky idea!
    Leanne @ Deep Fried Fruit
    PS The above “little things” is a technique I use with clients to help expand the mind and the possibilities.

  2. The last year I have been doing lots of new things. I do like a bucket list and nice to have some biggies or small things to do before we kick it. Not sure what mine are at the moment a small one is get some sleep. 🙂

  3. I go through stages doing jigsaw puzzles (but never attempted 5000) as I find it therapeutic. Many people don’t like the idea of change and therefore their kids don’t either. I think it is important we teach kids that change can be good and not a scary task.

    • I find them therapeutic as well. I think the 22 moves have made change part of my comfort zone, so I’m more ill at ease when things aren’t changing. This is the longest we’ve been in the one place since we married and I tend to want to redecorate or move furniture every 6 to 12 months as a result.

  4. Speaking from current experience, bucket lists can be annoying and not as fun as they seem! I’m currently in the process of trying to cheat my way through my list to get it done by 30! Not exactly the point of creating the list, but I’m so over it!

  5. I haven’t ever done the bucket list thing. And I’m ashamed to admit what mine would be… (what 47 year old woman hasn’t ever been in love FFS?!) Anyhoo, I’ve linked up an old post today.

  6. embracing brave this year means that I pretend to try new things occasionally, and sometimes follow through, but it is never an easy thing to do, good on you for having a go!

    • Most of the time they are super small things, like trying a new food. Starting the blog, certainly has opened up more opportunity to do new things. Most weeks now, something interesting like an event invite arrives in my inbox and makes things easy.

  7. I have two things; I booked a ticket for the Little Blog Big Workshop in Adelaide in June and am so totally nervous! Turning up to an event where I don’t know anyone is so far out of my comfort zone. In terms of bucket list, I’m DJing my first ever set at a club night for the first time in a couple of weeks and I’ve got no idea what I’m doing. No. IDEA. ARGH.

  8. I think after 22 moves and the snorkeling and all the other things on your list you definitely deserve a break. Although, the e-book does sound like a great idea! xo

  9. I thought about creating a 30 by 30 list but put it in the too hard basket. I don’t have a bucket list either, but if I did it would probably involve travel.

    • When it feels like work or a chore it kind of takes the fun out of it for me. I’m still in two minds about starting an actual list myself. I think I’m just best to go with the flow and look for easy opportunities to try something new each week. Keep it simple and occasionally do something more impressive.

  10. When I first started my blog I created a 30 by 30 list and most of the stuff on there was pretty ambitious. I don’t think I even managed half of it by 30, but the things I did manage were pretty awesome to tick off, such as going overseas and getting pregnant. So in that regard I still call it a win. And in the almost 3 years since I’ve kept ticking things off that list so I’m pretty happy.

    I was actually thinking while reading this post that I might create myself a 40 by 40 list, but I think 40 things is too many, unless I really sit and think about it and make it a realistic list. I think that’s the thing, most of it has to be realistic, with a few big things thrown in to give me some motivation and something to dream about! I think I have to give it a bit more thought and see what I come up with.

    I think you’ve been doing an awesome job, goodness knows you’ve had so much to deal with lately, but you have kept a positive attitude and that is really inspiring!

      • It’s actually rather hilarious and I’m having a whole lot of fun with it. Not sure when it will be ready for publication but I was thinking it might make an interesting blog Christmas gift.

    • Thanks Kylie, how is everything going on the study and home front? Have been thinking about you. Rather envious that you’ve managed to pull everything off. Hope it is going well.

      40 by 40 sounds like hard work to me. As soon as it sounds like work or a chore, it loses me. I was thinking, when the budget permits, I wouldn’t mind casing one of those livingsocial deals for my one new thing. They have beauty, hair and some interesting experiences up for grabs each week. I could even look for freebies as well and include this side of things with the giveaway linky each week.

      I just need to keep things positive and moving.

  11. I’m so glad that everyone is back home, but not that you’re not coping. I too need to calm the farm, get over the small stuff and be FUN! All those moves… wow. Such a great ebook concept. My one thing is to transfer all the energy I put into my personal blog and channel it into my business… imagine the possibilities? x

    • Coping much better now, just a really bad week where the health side of things impacted my physical limitations and I needed to take a massive step back.

      I’ve been thinking much the same myself with the blog as opposed to my business. A stunt double or clone would also come in handy.

  12. I felt like the first half of this post was written by me (my thoughts/feelings), I think as mothers we always seem to look after kids and husband first. I used to be so fun, going out all the time, now we hardly eat out. One thing we have just started (about a month ago) is watching a movie every Wednesday night. After we had kids we hardly saw movies, so it’s now time to catch up on the last 5 years.

    • A movie night sounds fantastic. I think the trick is to keep things simple. Now that my girls are older, I’m hoping to make date night a regular thing. Not sure it will ever be a weekly thing though.

  13. 2013 was my ‘Out of my Comfort zone’ year. And I did it with a bang. Prior to 2013, I was introverted, hung around with 4 close friends and my partner till 2012. 2013, I decided to change it all and do things that scared me. That involved meeting new people, being more social, going on more dates, going on a solo holiday — and I don’t regret anything. Best decision ever.

    I have made a sort of bucket list — I’d done a 30 by 30 list and once I turned 30 (and completed 27 of those), I went on to a 35 by 35 list.

    I love the idea of One new thing a week but I’m afraid I’d run out of stuff to do or get lax because life gets in the way.

    • Sounds amazing Sanch. I think keeping my one new thing simple is the trick. Some weeks, it’s as easy as trying a new food. I’m lucky that a lot of great opportunities hit my inbox each week.

  14. Hopefully you guys can build your dream house soon 🙂

    I don’t think I’ll be doing puzzles anytime soon, Hayley would just try and eat them right now. Or throw them all over the floor.

    • We have a jigsaw going most holidays. Our adopted cat wasn’t too fond of how much attention it was getting and actually hopped up on the table and knocked the entire box on the floor, then proceeded to make a bed with what was left on the table. He woke the whole house up and had a look of it wasn’t me when we found him. If only it was on film. Would have been hilarious to watch.

  15. Starting this blog has thrown me completely into a world of daily learning and constantly feeling out of my comfort zone. There is so much I don’t know and am trying to learn in between parenting, working and my taxi duties! But I love it and it never feels like a chore but always feels like I am being naughty and spoiling myself when I get to write or participate in life online! Changing jobs has also been my new thing – it would have been easy to stay where I was and keep being stressed but I had to make a change and proud of myself for doing it too! Mel xx

    • Well done on making the change with your job and starting a blog. I think my challenge was starting to feel like a chore but I’m now looking forward to once again having a lot of fun with it.

  16. Well I think you are doing a great job is embracing new things – that list is a lot longer than mine at the moment. I have to admit having our dream home is on our list but I don’t expect it for quite sometime so I hope you get yours – and soon!!!

    • Thanks. Our dream home has been on the list for 20 years. It’s only now that we’ve stopped moving that I’m hopeful we can finally tick this one off. Still a little way off but so much closer than we’ve ever been.

  17. I see such exciting things for you in your future! When I was having treatment, my counsellor told me that she had one goal for the year (or the month, or the week or whatever) and it was always something achievable. That meant that every year she knew she’d really achieved something. I’ve tried to take that on board because there are so many things on my bucket list is never ending. I’m also a bit wary of planning too far in the future – 2 touches of cancer will do that to a person! This year, I’ve quit my job that I used to love but now I hate and have no job to go to. It’s terrifying and liberating at the same time. But it’s one more thing to cross off my list! I hope you had a glorious weekend en famille! xx

    • As you know I’m more than a bit wary of planning too far ahead myself but the universe this week has other ideas and I’m hoping to have some super exciting news to share soon.

      That would be terrifying to quit your job but you are opening the door to new things and that has to be a positive.

  18. I am doing a HUGE one new thing this week: flying to Europe!!! So excited but yes there are some butterflies in my tummy too! Glad to hear your girl is safely back from Greece. How hot/cold was it there? Still trying to work out which clothes to take! Oh and I’m impressed with your jigsaw efforts. I used to love doing 1000 piece jigsaws, have never tackled more pieces than that though. I don’t do them very often nowadays due to my shoulder injury 🙁

  19. I have to find my fun mum too. I have been such a cranky pants lately. I spent a couple of late nights at the holiday house doing a jigsaw puzzle, they are very addictive once you start 🙂

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