It’s 2:19 am in Michigan and I’m in a sleeping bag in an airstream. How did I get here? I wasn’t supposed to be in Michigan until tomorrow (later today). An impromptu night drive instead of an early morning one seemed more appealing. So frantic packing and tying up loose ends followed by 6 hours of driving (including a few stops) in a Prius with four humans and a lot of bags and we are here, ready for tomorrow’s adventures.
year of fun
HAVE FUN. EVERY DAY. SIMPLE BUT DAUNTING.
Author Archives: yearoffunsarah
Day 289: Some More Dog Love
I’ve written quite a few posts about my dog, and I think it is obvious that I not only love her but also feel connected to her in a way I did not know you could feel about dogs. I realized that while I’ve written about playing games with her, camping, walking, even resting when sick, I’ve never written about just petting her.
Every morning, I take a moment to pet her, scratch her ears and rub under her chin. It is a calming moment before leaving home to tackle the stresses of the workday. I tell her to “be good” while I’m gone and sometimes I tell her how pretty she is. What can I say? I am in love.
Day 288: Ombré
I know it’s not very new anymore, but I’ve been noticing a lot of different ombré hair colors out there. I’ve successfully maintained long hair for about the past year and a half so, rather than do something drastic with the cut, I thought it might be fun to make a color change. I asked for a nicely blended ombré that still had a big color difference from top to bottom. I’m super happy with it, though I think it could still be a little darker on top…
Day 287: Active Me
Life is different as an active person. I spent a little time reflecting upon the changes I’ve undergone from last summer to this summer. Last summer I walked with a cane. This summer I’ve been hiking, biking, and walked 3.1 miles to raise money and awareness for the Arthritis Foundation. Last summer, after a long day at work, I would most likely have sat on the couch watching tv all evening. Tonight, instead, the hubs and I cooked and ate dinner, picked up around the house and went through a couple “junk drawers” in preparation for our upcoming Iowa garage sale. Then I practiced the dulcimer. We did not turn the tv on all night. (Well, until 9:00 when reruns of How I Met Your Mother come on for an hour).
At the end of the day, I feel so much better having participated in and accomplished all of these things than I ever did “resting” on the couch. While it may still be necessary from time-to-time, resting on the couch is not actually all that restful when done in large doses. I’m loving what feels like a new life!
Day 286: Bikes, Part Two
Ok. More about the bikes. Mine is a Schwinn Legacy Cruiser. That just means it looks vintage but isn’t. Cruisers have one speed and sit low enough that both feet can touch the ground. The hubs got a hybrid which means it rides well on streets and mountains. His is also a Schwinn and green. We look like quite the pair on our lemon yellow and grass green bikes.
Today we took them out for the first official ride. I am planning on using mine to ride to work, a little over one and a half miles away from our place. I really don’t want to ride on Irving Park (pretty busy four-lane street) even though it is the most direct route, so we tested out the more bike friendly, back road way. It was a lot harder than I thought it would be, not the Chicago city streets, but the physical effort. When my RA is more active, I become less active. This often causes my RA to become even more active and thus a vicious cycle of increasing amounts of pain and increasing time of rest. So as much as I try to work out when I can, I often feel out of shape. The bike ride did nothing to dissuade that. It was hard. I was panting and sweaty. It was actually kind of gross. But also freeing and fun. I think I might just need more practice before I can feel good about riding to work, otherwise I’ll look a total mess all day. I’m definitely looking forward to facing this new challenge on my new, bright yellow friend!
year of fun 