Number 11... posh black-tie do

I scrub up okay... apparently!

Weddings I have done, uni balls I have done... but an invitation to a black-tie do is a first.

My first proper 'grown-up' black-tie do was the cause of some quite considerable time scouring the internet for some sort of outfit that I could consider wearing for a very good friend's 40th birthday bash.

Being a 10-year-old tomboy at heart and a definite fan of relaxed clothing, this has caused a whole heap of fun and amusement for my friends. However, I managed to get dressed up while staying true to myself!

Number 10... becoming a dryathlete

For those of you who have known me a while, you'll know that I love a bit of a drink-up.

I'm not fussy... wine (any colour), lager (any make), cocktails (most types)! I'm at my happiest with good company and a drink in hand.

So, to give up my beloved friend for a whole month was, to some, never gonna happen. (Mentioning no names, Lyndon 'life partner' Hogg!)

But, I've done it. Raised a decent wodge of cash to support Cancer Research, not lost any weight, but enjoyed a distinct lack of fuzzy heads over the month.

Was it difficult? Sometimes, yes.

Did I miss my friend? At times yes, but not anywhere near as much as I thought I would.

Am I going back to my glass of delight? Most definitely!

Number 9... pony hacking in the New Forest

Sitting on a pony I have done. Sitting on a pony while it walks along a track I have done. Sitting on a pony while it is walking attached to a leading rein I have done. Sitting on a pony, controlling the pony myself and learning to do the up and down thing while the pony trots along I had not done until today.

This was an idea suggested and organised by my good horsey friend Jo Hatton who was very relieved to be included in my 40 New Things List doing something she loved and missed doing.

I had the old boy Billy who was a lovely plodder and didn't like having his bum sniffed by other horses and, weirdly, I found this activity far more daunting than the sky dive I did. Also, the risk of spooking the horses meant it was the quietest activity so far!

Halfway through, I began to relax and by the end I had a big grin on my face and was thoroughly enjoying it.

Big thanks to Jo for organising this as well as Paula and Sophie for their moral support and amusement at my nervous concentration!

Number 7 and number 8

Oh my, I've waited a while to have a go at my number 7 and number 8 for some time: a taster ski and snowboard session at our local ski centre. Just 20 mins for each session, but that was plenty of time for me to enjoy skiing, but totally LOVE snowboarding!

I ended up with a one-to-one ski session and learnt the obligatory plough as well as how uncomfortable ski boots are and that they make you walk like you've had a code brown accident in your pants.

In my snowboarding session I was in with a bunch of kids, but I made sure I was the first in the race to get my foot in the bindings and I made the best animal noise going down the slope... which I feel is important.

My ever-loving and patient family came along to support and laugh at me falling over (which did happen while attempting my first mini slope on a snowboard) and all came away with a bit of snowboarding envy... it may end up being a family obsession!

Big thanks to Dawn Allen for continually prodding me to have a go at snowboarding.

Number 6: 20km cycle ride

A scarily early start to number 6 on my list... up at 5.50am and leaving the house at 6.50! It was a 20km bike ride in Beaulieu organised by the fine folk at humanrace.co.uk http://humanrace.co.uk/events/cycletta/cycletta-new-forest

The early start was for my friends' kiddies to enter the scootathon organised and then it was the mummies' turn to go for glory.

We started right at the back of the pack and after an intial shock-to-the-system hill it was all jolly good fun!

We thought we'd get a time of 1hr 30mins, secretly hoped for a time of 1hr 20mins and unbelievably finished in 1hr 04mins and 57sec, joint 8th out of 95 in our category (novice!)

This was done on roads, on mountain bikes with a lot of roadbike-envy watching them going very fast downhill.

Big thanks to my racing partner Heather Olive and to our gorgeous hubbies and kiddies who cheered us on in the rain, although my Doubting Thomas husband decided we wouldn't finish as fast as we did and missed our triumphant finish due to having a wee and getting a cuppa!

Number 5... stand up paddle boarding in the sea!

So, I went along to my surf lesson (courtesy of the good guys down at Surf Steps in Boscombe: http://www.bournemouthsurfschool.co.uk/), but there was no surf to be seen.

However, we had the option of paddle boarding instead. This wasn't on my list as I have paddled boarded before... on a lake. Out at sea is a totally different experience and worthy of my list! http://www.bournemouthsurfschool.co.uk/sup.php

Lots of balance needed but, once standing up and relaxed, what an amazing experience. I'm looking forward to more surf (once I'm properly standing up it will be added to the 'done' section of my list), but if there is no surf I'm happy on a paddle board.

Number 4: The Kamikaze

I had the muddiest time ever achieving my fourth New Thing  For My 40th Year:

The Kamikaze is an 8-mile assault course run consisting of hills, more hills and yet more hills, all of an incline up which I've only ever walked (usually moaning and stopping to 'take in the view'). Not only that, on each lap of the course there were the following...

• Snake's Wedding: An entanglement of rope to navigate
• Kamikaze Slide: 10 meters of plastic and washing-up liquid in downhill fun!
• Bog Crossing: You will get muddy. Very muddy...
• Rope Climb: A hillside so steep it requires a rope to climb it
• River Run: You will get wet. Very wet...

And there's more. These items littered the finish straight:
• Japanese tunnels
• Barbed wire crawl
• 6-foot wall
• Electric box (owies on my arm)
• Grease wall

The most I'd ever run before was about 5 miles and, for the record, a 50-min jog around Bransgore the Friday before the race on Sunday really isn't anywhere near enough preparation.

However, with the emotional and sometimes physical support of my lovely friends Paula Holgate and Sophie Di Leo I got through it, completed the 2 laps, ran 8 miles for the first time and even found some of it hilarious!