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PinkMobilePhone's Summer List (not a bucket list, I'm not dying, just a list)

1) Enter a writing or poetry competition. Sure, I’m a writer, I self-publish my own books, but I’ve never actually entered a writing competition.

2) Re-learn Fur Elise on the piano by heart.

3) Have my photo taken with a celebrity I have not already spoken to. (Even if it’s a minor celebrity).

4) Lose weight. How much is undetermined as of yet, but I need to lose weight.

5) Play french skipping with the kids. (I have never french skipped since I was in primary school).

6) Teach my son Jason to ride his bike without stabilisers properly.

7) Visit somewhere I have never been before.

8) Read at least 2 books by other authors and review them.

9) Thoroughly deep clean my kitchen.

10) Have a picnic.

11) Have a water gun fight with my kids.

12) Bake a cake.

13) Jump on a trampoline.

13) Eat in a restaurant.

14) Mow the lawn. I’m not even kidding, it currently resembles the Amazon rainforest. ACHIEVED

15) See if I can remember how to do a crab. (You know, when you bend over backwards).

16) Have a cooking session with each of my three oldest kids.

17) Play in a ball pool ACHIEVED

18) Roll down a hill

19) Grow and paint my nails

20) Stargaze

21) Visit a beach.

For now, that will do. I may add to my list as the summer goes on, but that’s it for the moment. You will note a lot of these things you might not expect a 31 year old mother to be doing - playing in ball pools and bouncing on trampolines for example. I disagree. I think staying young at heart is the only way to truly live, and in recent years I’ve left my silly “young” side behind. It’s time to bring it back. You only live once, and who cares if the neighbours look at me funny for rolling down a hill, right?

I want to enjoy my life whilst I’m still on this earth, and I want my kids to look back on their childhood summers fondly, having had a good time with their mum, and not think of me as just writing all the time. Sure, writing is great, but I want to LIVE a bit as well.

I sure hope it's sunny this summer, or my bucket list is kind of shot to hell haha! Bring it on!
(edited 8 years ago)

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Thanks for sharing this with the community, this made my day and I'm sure everyone else will appreciate it too!
Can I just ask, how long does it take you to write a book on average? :redface:
Original post by bassbabe
Can I just ask, how long does it take you to write a book on average? :redface:


From start to finish, including editing and rewrites and proof-reading, around 7 months for a full novel of about 120,000 words. That's if I'm working pretty hard. That's how long it too me to write my last novel.

That being said, I've been working on my new novella now for about 2 months and I'm only 30,000 words into it, so I'm being a bit slow for this one. I've had a busy couple of months.
Original post by Pimped Butterfly
Thanks for sharing this with the community, this made my day and I'm sure everyone else will appreciate it too!


You're welcome. I hope rolling down a hill turns out as entertaining to blog about as I'd like it to be lol.
Reply 5
Original post by PinkMobilePhone
1) Enter a writing or poetry competition. Sure, I’m a writer, I self-publish my own books, but I’ve never actually entered a writing competition.

2) Re-learn Fur Elise on the piano by heart.

3) Have my photo taken with a celebrity I have not already spoken to. (Even if it’s a minor celebrity).

4) Lose weight. How much is undetermined as of yet, but I need to lose weight.

5) Play french skipping with the kids. (I have never french skipped since I was in primary school).

6) Teach my son Jason to ride his bike without stabilisers properly.

7) Visit somewhere I have never been before.

8) Read at least 2 books by other authors and review them.

9) Thoroughly deep clean my kitchen.

10) Have a picnic.

11) Have a water gun fight with my kids.

12) Bake a cake.

13) Jump on a trampoline.

13) Eat in a restaurant.

14) Mow the lawn. I’m not even kidding, it currently resembles the Amazon rainforest.

15) See if I can remember how to do a crab. (You know, when you bend over backwards).

16) Have a cooking session with each of my three oldest kids.

17) Play in a ball pool

18) Roll down a hill

19) Grow and paint my nails

20) Stargaze

21) Visit a beach.

For now, that will do. I may add to my list as the summer goes on, but that’s it for the moment. You will note a lot of these things you might not expect a 31 year old mother to be doing - playing in ball pools and bouncing on trampolines for example. I disagree. I think staying young at heart is the only way to truly live, and in recent years I’ve left my silly “young” side behind. It’s time to bring it back. You only live once, and who cares if the neighbours look at me funny for rolling down a hill, right?

I want to enjoy my life whilst I’m still on this earth, and I want my kids to look back on their childhood summers fondly, having had a good time with their mum, and not think of me as just writing all the time. Sure, writing is great, but I want to LIVE a bit as well.

I sure hope it's sunny this summer, or my bucket list is kind of shot to hell haha! Bring it on!


Everyone is dying though. Slowly but surely and some people will drop dead tomorrow, so in reality every plan you make is a bucket list.
Original post by Lulu24
Everyone is dying though. Slowly but surely and some people will drop dead tomorrow, so in reality every plan you make is a bucket list.


It's not quite the same thing though. If people were making a real bucket list, it would be on the assumption that these are things we'll never get to do again. So things like picnics, baking a cake, or reading would probably not be big enough to qualify.

This is more like a list of things you want to do this summer. Calling it a bucket list just because everyone is dying is a bit like planning your funeral already. I'd rather just call it a summer list, it's less morbid and seems more appropriate to me, but if others want to call it a bucket list, and if the organisers want to call it a bucket list challenge, then that's up to them of course.
Reply 7
Original post by PinkMobilePhone
It's not quite the same thing though. If people were making a real bucket list, it would be on the assumption that these are things we'll never get to do again. So things like picnics, baking a cake, or reading would probably not be big enough to qualify.

This is more like a list of things you want to do this summer. Calling it a bucket list just because everyone is dying is a bit like planning your funeral already. I'd rather just call it a summer list, it's less morbid and seems more appropriate to me, but if others want to call it a bucket list, and if the organisers want to call it a bucket list challenge, then that's up to them of course.


Oh i understand. I'm just saying we're all dying.
Original post by Lulu24
Oh i understand. I'm just saying we're all dying.


I have a phobia of death. So I avoid thinking about it more than I have to... but yes, I know we are, though hopefully not yet.
Reply 9
Original post by Pimped Butterfly
Thanks for sharing this with the community, this made my day and I'm sure everyone else will appreciate it too!


Lold
Original post by Depleted
Lold


Good evening. Welcome to PMP's summer list blog. Pull up a chair, grab a pina colada, and don't forget to take the piss out of someone for no good reason because that's obligatory on TSR.
Tomorrow I am starting the first of my list ideas, which is, in fact, number 17 on the list. Otherwise known as play in a ball pool.
It's my youngest son's 2nd birthday tomorrow, and yes, that means ball pool!
Day 1 of PMP's Summer List

Number 17 - Play in a ball pool

Mission Completed



That's my little cutie pie who made number 17 possible by kindly turning 2 today. You will note I'm clinging to him for dear life, lest I should be enveloped by the balls. Honestly I did fear I might not make it out again alive, but I'm happy to report I made it out in one piece.

I do think I am due a hefty batch of kudos for today actually, because not only did I nail the ball pool thing, I even made it into the bouncy castle!



boo-ya!
Well I've been at HorrorCon over the weekend. I could have had my photo taken with a celebrity there, with the likes of Tom Savini and so on, but I did not as I was busy with my table.

https://www.facebook.com/mickshaw16/videos/867808573306823/

You can see my table at 1.11 and 3.12 if you don't blink, and the celebs are on the video as well somewhere near the metal barrier, with red tables I think, but I'm not counting it. So number 3 on my list still has to be fulfilled.

I have more cons this summer though, so we shall see.

In the meantime number 9 (thoroughly deep clean my kitchen) is looking as though it's going to be a mammoth task! Seriously not looking forward to that one!
Okay, so I'm currently working on number 8 - read at least 2 books by other authors and review them.

The book I am currently reading is this one :

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00M1C1B2G?keywords=The%20Mansion&qid=1436963629&ref_=sr_1_1&sr=8-1



I was gifted a copy by the author in exchange for an honest review. I've read six chapters so far. I'm gonna be honest, so far I'm struggling with it a little. It has some good reviews, so I feel as though I'm being kind of harsh, but the characters just aren't acting the way you would expect them to act. Really amazing incredible things are happening, and they're so matter of fact about it all. If I were in their situation I'd be way more surprised than these kids are.

I wonder if I should pass this one over to my daughter to read and review instead. As an adult, I wonder if my suspension of disbelief is just too specific.

It's okay...but it's not wowing me. I might plough on with it and see what I think when I get to the end. It's a YA book not an adult's book, so maybe I'm being too critical.
Original post by PinkMobilePhone
Day 1 of PMP's Summer List

Number 17 - Play in a ball pool

Mission Completed



That's my little cutie pie who made number 17 possible by kindly turning 2 today. You will note I'm clinging to him for dear life, lest I should be enveloped by the balls. Honestly I did fear I might not make it out again alive, but I'm happy to report I made it out in one piece.

I do think I am due a hefty batch of kudos for today actually, because not only did I nail the ball pool thing, I even made it into the bouncy castle!



boo-ya!


You look a bit like my aunt, who is also a writer

Edit: obviously a younger version, my aunt is ancient
(edited 8 years ago)
Original post by BloodandThunder
You look a bit like my aunt, who is also a writer

Edit: obviously a younger version, my aunt is ancient


Depends if you consider 31 ancient lol. I feel a hundred some days lol.
Okay, number 14. Mow the lawn.

Y'all ready for this?

Let's get ready to rhumble!







Done the front extra bit



even did the next door neighbour's front extra bit!





blumming side bit is the bane of my existence



but you can't stop me now!



front extra bit done and front garden done (strimming not included, that comes later)



side bit done



Feeling epic!

(edited 8 years ago)
I've been inactive with this blog for 4 weeks now. There's a reason for this. My family was thrown into disarray when my dear aunt passed away on 28th July. This hit me pretty hard as we were close. She was a beautiful person with a beautiful soul, and she was only 64 so not particularly old (in fact she was my mother's younger sister).

Suffice to say I haven't really felt up to actively posting about things on a summer list, even though some of these things have been done. I've french-skipped with the children, and I've eaten in a restaurant, and I've star-gazed (I saw the Perseids meteor shower a few nights ago, which was beautiful).

I don't have photos of myself doing these things, because I was too busy actually taking part in them.

Tomorrow I will be travelling down to Chelmsford, which is more than 3 hours drive from my home, for the funeral of my lovely aunt. It feels surreal.

I may get back to this thread, or indeed I may decide that living life is more important than updating a blog for the sake of winning some money, but in the meantime, here's to my aunt Marjana. Gone but never forgotten.

11884104_10153506564793080_1980907470346164020_o.jpg
Sorry to hear about your loss PMP.

Good thread, and all the best.

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