It's my 50th year on this beautiful planet...

Hey... it's my 50th year on this beautiful planet and so to celebrate I'm going to dedicate my first blogspot of 2014 to the 50 things I would like to achieve over the next 12 months.

I've no doubt I may be slightly over-ambitious on some of the listed items but I seem to be one of those people who achieve their goals (when I set my mind to it) and 99% of the time I do tend to make things happen!..

I have to say my wife will be amused with this... she knows I hate lists! Anyhow, here goes (in no particular order);

1. Say 'hello', 'good morning/afternoon/evening' to as many people I meet... whether I know them or not!
2. Raise as much money as possible as patron for my charity 'Families for Children Adoption' (and you never know I might just get to meet ALL my fellow patrons at some stage during the year)
3. Walk my adorable 'labby' more (love you Flo)
4. Drink less coffee (no I'll rephrase that...) spend less time and money in coffee shops (sorry Costa, Coffee1 and Nero...) and whilst on the subject 'Starbucks' pay your UK taxes!
5. Avoid supermarkets and try to share my hard earned cash with my local community shops (Butchers, Bakers and Candlestick Makers watch out)
6. Revisit New York City as many time as possible!
7. Persuade 'Apple' to include a 'hashtag' key on their wireless keyboard... arrrrghhh!
8. Secure the publication rights and literary representation for my Bradley Baker series of books in the United States of America
9. And if its not too much to ask... the movie rights too :)
10. Succeed Daniel Craig as the next James Bond (I am jumping out of a plane from 15,000ft for charity... does that count?)
11. Have a family holiday
12. Complete my fifth Bradley Baker children's adventure book (only 84,000 words to go, so should be a steal!)
13. Invest more of my precious social media time to Twitter (to avoid the constant annoying advertising/gaming requests/spam on Facebook)
14. Make and paint the Escort Mk1 Airfix model that was given to me as a gift last Christmas.
15. Fix the downstairs loo!
16. Thank the primary school children/teachers/literacy co-ordinators/teaching assistants/parents/headteachers who constantly recommend my school visits to other primary school children/teachers/literacy co-ordinators/teaching assistants/parents/headteachers... these lovely peeps keep my diary full for two thirds of the year :)
17. Go back to a few of the friendly Waterstones and sign a few books... if they'll have me!
18. Wear a bow tie when the occasion suits.
19. Encourage my wife to take sneezing control therapy!
20. Not get too annoyed with my youngest daughter as she approaches her teenage years.
21. Take care of my new boots (I love my boots... did I tell you that I love my new boots?)
22. Get my tennis elbow fixed... or learn to play tennis!
23. On that subject... get healthier... exercise more!
24. Go to bed earlier (oops forgot, I'm an author... quality writing time at 2am)
25. Enjoy a city break in Europe with my closest friends to celebrate the big five 0
26. Take part in the 'Tough Mudders' challenge and run side by side with (or be dragged along by) my two fantastic sons and two stepsons... (and raise some money for Families for Children Adoption in the process).
27. Continue to love my two daughters with all my heart!
28. Fill as many Jack Daniels bottles as possible with 5p coins (two completed so far... each one holds £54.50 if you really want to know!)
29. Let my very very very talented illustrator know he is very very very talented at all times to ensure BB series continuity... all hail Abie Greyvenstein!
30. Visit my Mum and Dad in Yorkshire as many times as possible.
31. Have a beer with my one and only brother in a pub... on our own for at least an hour (and have some quality bro-time!).
32. Visit a new exciting part of the world (I'll let my wife choose).
33. Get rid of the petrol-guzzling V12 2.8 litre sports coupe (breaks my heart every time the petrol gauge dips... time to get more 'eco' man).
34. Walk through more of the open doors that are waiting for me in the literary world (create more time to concentrate and visualise to ensure this happens)
35. Continue to follow my mentor, who has inspired me for the last 15 years and never let me down (your advice and guidance is priceless... you know who you are J.C.)!
36. Keep my fingers, toes, legs and every other digit/limb/thing that can be manoeuvred into position, crossed... (a lot of seeds planted in 2013, it's time to see those little shoots appear).
37. Stop putting clothes in the wash bin that don't really need to go in there (just because I left them on the floor and they're a bit creased)!
38. Remove the huge meteor that is lodged in my 'Writing Shack' roof (put a new roof on the shed and recreate the special space that I can call mine, mine, mine.... sorry, slipped into a Finding Nemo moment there).
39. See how long I can grow my hair before the Peter Stringfellow quips kick in again!
40. Help two more schools publish their very own adventure books! (all the workshops are in the diary so this is going to be fun!)
41. Continue to refuse to buy anything from Amazon (UK tax issues revisited... slight double-standards on my part because my BB books are on there - message to my readers; "don't buy them from Amazon, there's plenty of other great places where you can get your hands on them.... support your local bookstore!")
42. Take the chance to apologise in advance for all my charity requests and the self promotion of my books on social media sites... I'm an author, it's what I do!
43. Rack my brain and do everything possible to remember the door I closed some time ago... what was it? (...think, think, think!)
44. Reduce my road rage to 0% tolerance (keep reminding myself that I'm the one driving the big RED van and they WILL get out of the way!)
45. Remember to show the maximum amount of enthusiasm when the wife and future daughter-in-law talk about the up-and-coming July wedding!
46. On the subject of future daughter-in-laws and her talented fiancé... thank you for producing little D Bear and allowing me to share what will be precious moments during 2014.
47. Reduce the clutter (from my desk and my life)
48. Welcome and endorse the positives... ignore and incubate the negatives!
49. Paint more Warhammer!!!! (therapeutic personified) and buy a house with a room big enough to build MY very own train set... thanks for the inspiration and nod of approval 'Rod Stewart'! (boys and our toys... we never grow up, speaking of which; did you know I'm fifty this year?)
50. Wish peace, love and good health to everyone... especially those very near and the ones I get the privilege to touch!

There's plenty more....

Love to all... have a great 2014!
DLJ