Author Archives: yearoffunsarah

Nov 29 2012
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Friends and Family, Fun for Couples, Games, Rheumatoid Arthritis

Day 66: Crossword Competition

I do my shot every week on Thursday in the evening and usually, after I’m done, I need something to distract myself from thinking too much about the possibility of side effects or how freaky it is that I just gave myself a shot while sitting at the dining room table. This week I decided to challenge the hubs to a crossword competition.

A crossword competition is when you print out a number of copies of a crossword from an online source (in this case, two) and then compete on who can finish fastest. This is something I’ve participated in at work, but decided to bring home. The puzzle we tackled was entitled “Abbreviated States,” though I cannot tell you why. We competed for about 20 minutes before we started giving each other answers. Eventually we were both so stuck, we decided to just work on it together, and we were victorious! Even though no one won, it was super fun. I highly suggest this game. You could play until someone wins on their own, or see who has to ask for help first, or just have fun competing knowing you might ultimately have to put your brains together to finish.

Nov 28 2012
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Chicago Specific Fun, Fun at Work, Solitary Fun

Day 65: My Moment of Zen

My place of work, aside from producing quality theatre, has some of the best views of the city. The second best location for gazing upon these views is the employee lunch room. (The best is the sixth floor bathrooms). Today, instead of obsessively checking my email, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for half an hour, I took in the view while eating. It was so calming–the city looked impressive but it was the lake that drew me in–and serene with the sun beginning to set (I ignored the totally depressing fact that it was 3pm and the sun was already setting). This is among the simplest fun I’ve had, yet one of the best because I was able to just relax and enjoy the day without stresses, worries, work or anything getting in the way. My moment of zen if you will. Here is my attempt to share it with you. #nofilter

Nov 27 2012
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Fun at Work, Reader Suggested Fun, Solitary Fun

Day 64: Playing Footsie

Suggested activity, “wear silly socks on a day when others can see them to see who talks about them.”

Well, since Elphaba ate one and a half pairs of my shoes, I don’t have many winter weather and work appropriate shoes left.  This morning, when I was at a loss at what to wear on my feet, I remembered this suggested activity and decided to go for it. I went to work with my feet looking like this.

At first, I felt a little embarrassed. Like when someone high up at the theater got out of his car the same time I did and I thought we might ride the elevator together with my socks. That did not end up happening, but I was ashamed of myself for feeling embarrassed–totally not in the spirit of this activity. So then I started trying to get people to notice them by sticking my feet out from under the desk, doing full body stretches, and getting up from my chair a lot.

After hours of no one saying anything, I finally declared, “Hey look at my socks! I’m wearing them for fun!” I then got the responses I wanted: positive comments, eye rolls and chuckles. It was definitely fun trying to get people to notice them, but maybe I need some even sillier socks for this activity to really work?

Nov 26 2012
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Guilty Pleasures, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Solitary Fun

Day 63: PJ Day

Guilty Pleasure Monday today brought some unexpected fun. At noon I was still in my pajamas and it occurred to me that it had been a long time since I was in pajamas at noon. When my health was poorer, I often wore pajamas for days, changing my clothes in to other pajamas. It was more comfortable and I just did not feel like putting the effort in to getting dressed. Today, I had a busy morning cleaning, doing laundry and working on a photo project. I just hadn’t gotten dressed yet.

So I decided to make it fun, to take back pajamas as a comfy indulgence rather than a utilitarian necessity. I continued the day in my pajamas, even walked the dog in them. In fact, I’m still wearing them now!

Nov 25 2012
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Around the House/DIY, Holiday Fun, Rheumatoid Arthritis

Day 62: Christmas Decorating Mania

Today has been the dedicated Christmas Decorating Day on the calendar for a few weeks now. In preparation, I shopped for some new items and ornaments and made a Christmas music playlist (favorite albums this year include Lady Antebellum’s On This Winter’s Night and a compilation called Holiday’s Rule featuring Fun., Rufus Wainwright, and The Shins). My plan: wreath, tree, other decor.

Wreath: very simple. We saved ours (fake) from last year in a wreath box.

Wreath and jingle bell holder both from Target.

Tree: The hubs put it together (fake and pre-lit) and that was, and probably forever will be, his contribution. Well other than putting the star on top and tolerating the Christmas music playing while he was watching the Bears. I fluffed the tree because it was looking a little skimpy but then I got started on the ornaments with bulbs trying to space them out and not have too many of the same color/shine next to each other. Then I just added ornaments all over. I love a totally FULL tree. This year, I also purchased a tree skirt meant for a mini tree, but I thought it would be perfect to just cover the plastic stem on our tree but not take up too much space beyond that (nor be too tempting for a certain puppy to eat).

Tree from Target. Topper from Macy’s. Ornaments from Target, West Elm, Foursided, Pottery Barn, home (Mom).

One Special Ornament: I bought a dog ornament that I thought looked a lot like Elphie, but just to take it to the next level, I colored on it with a permanent marker to add her black markings.

Upper Left: Before. Upper Right: After. Lower Level: Compare the two! Ornament from Pottery Barn.

Other Decor: This year, I took some advice from Young House Love’s book and put all of my decor items on a table together and then tried different combinations all over the house. This was so helpful in getting me out of the mind set that certain items “belong” in certain spaces.

Side Table. All items except the snow globe (Target) from Foursided. That candle smells like mistletoe!
 

Console Table. Reindeer card holder from Target.

Dining Table. Mercury votive holders from West Elm, mercury glass trees from Target, and Santa from Foursided in our usual bowl centerpiece surrounded by glass balls from Mom.

Bar Top. Santa from Foursided. Pine cone from Pottery Barn. The wine chiller is filled with fake cranberries from Target, a glass ornament from Mom, and wine corks.

Bathroom Shelf. Santa’s boots candle holders (I honestly do not remember where I got these. I’ve had them for so long) and December activity card from Walgreens.

Finally, I hung three larger ornaments on doorknobs throughout the house (all from Foursided) and then collapsed on the couch. I should have been taking more breaks because my feet are quite sore now, but I plan on resting, watching the Giants game, and admiring my decor from the couch for the rest of the night!

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