5 posts tagged “fun”

I could not choose between which yellow dress photos to post, so I posted both. 

There is a yellow glow seeping in between the cracks of my heavy drapes. It is sunshine, beautiful honey colored sunshine. Warm and crisp, bright and soft. I have huge windows on my home, I threw open my heavy dust soaked drapes and let the light pour in. My kitties Loved rolling back and forth in the beams, eventually falling asleep in the sunshine which was next to the toasty wood stove. They were happy. So was I. 

 I was chatting with my friend Heartshapedsky yesterday on the phone, she gave me an idea. I think I might try it. She was telling me how effective her new hula hoop was in her workout routine. Yes, I said hula hoop. It is not your kmart $5 hula hoop, it is a custom made weighted hula hoop, made for a hula hoop dance class. How much fun does that sound like? I think of my days on the playground and in PE, hula hoop spinning around my tiny body, listening to the two balls  swirl around inside, I always got the kinked one, I was never fast enough to get one of the new pretty sparkle ones. I still worked it though! My other fave on the playground was hopscotch. Tossing a pebble out over the numbered squares Jumping out avoiding the square the pebble fell into, and picking it up on the way back to the beginning. I also loved wall ball, one of those big red bouncy balls being hit against a large wall of the school. I loved the echo sound the ball made every time it was hit. I loved riding bikes, and playing hide and go seek, and tag, monkey bars, swings,  and... I loved playing.

So I was thinking, why did I stop? What was the reason I stopped playing? Did I stop because it was no longer cool to play when I hit junior high? Because my body started to grow quickly and I stopped playing because it was painful? Because I had no friends to play with? The answer is Yes. All three. 

I am now nearly 36 years old and I struggle to work out. "Work out" has become a bad word for most of us. A chore. It is not fun (although Heartshapedsky would disagree, she loves it, but she is taking hula hoop classes) I was thinking what would my day look like if I did not set time aside to work out, but to play. 

9am-dishes

10am- laundry

11am- clean bathroom

12pm- lunch

1pm-Play!

 

What would happen if I set time aside to go out and play? To hopscotch on the sidewalk for twenty minutes, to hula hoop, jump rope while singing "Cinderella dressed in Yella..." Could I invite friends over to play? set up play dates? What would someone think driving by my house seeing grown women playing hopscotch and laughing like we were still 10 years old? Would they stop the car and join in? 

My shopping list:

- hula hoop

- jump rope with the plastic beads on it

- sidewalk chalk

I wanna play!

Okay, so they really were not frolicking in my forest, but they were playing in my mailbox!!!!
A little while ago, while trying to de-clutter my home, I sent a box of fabric I had collected to a lovely young artist in a faraway land. She sent me some of her native creatures my way. Let me just say.....
I want to live in SnuggleMuffins World!

She will send you things too if you visit her Etsy Store! It is a great way to fill your home with sweetness and joy!
If you just want to see her art, I mean world, here is her Flickr site too.
This is such a reward for thinning out my fabric stash!
I will take better photos of them, I think one will accompany me while I am out and about, I will take them on field trips. ;-)

Snugglemuffin,
THANK YOU SO MUCH! Mr. Lavender and I are Delighted to be a home for these magnificent creatures and drawings. The bookmark is holding my place in a new photography book, The prints are going to be framed an put up in my home, The heart hangs next to another heart on the knobs of my kitchen cabinets, the cabinet holding cookies and candy of course, The card is in my box of keep sakes, the stickers found their way onto my 3 year old niece's body, and the dolls are all around my home, on bookcases, couches, and tables. They add such a playful joyful energy to my home. I THANK you so much!!!!!
XO,
Lavender

We played, we were silly, and we laughed a lot.

My friend Todd Mchatton has finally done it! He has been drawing and writing songs and poems for kids for as long as I have known him! He has finally put all of these amazing characters into a Children's Book! I remember standing in his home on the beach years ago, looking at all of these great and silly creatures on pages of a sketch pad thinking "Wow! These NEED to be seen by Many!" He then sang a few songs accompanied by his oh so adorable preschool aged son. It really was a warm feeling. :-)

Grass Stained Twilight is a book of poetry, easily compared to Shel Silverstein. I do not have children, but I taught Preschool for over 5 years and would have LOVED this book in my classroom. I read some of the entries (there are MANY! YAY!) and I know certain kids whom I have know would have been so tickled by these! Deep Pockets reminds me of one child  I had to frisk before nap time, it seemed he had endless supplies of toys in his pockets and I used to joke about how deep his pockets must be to have all these toys in them! He would have been thrilled with this song! Haha!

So My friends, if you are tired of listening to the wiggles I urge you to go check out his site! Tell him what you think! He is SO super friendly and sweet and would appreciate every visit!
See what is blooming out of my friends head this week!        

And maybe buy the book for the kids! Or for the kid in you. :-)

Now Pass it on!

Child Like = splashing in this puddle no matter what age you are it is fun

Childish= see the reflection of somebodies shoes on the wire?
I am guilty of childish behavior, as are you. : ) (I tend to whine sometimes, believe it or not, that is hard for me to confess) Acting like a child throwing fits, whining, pouting, etc. not very attractive on an adult, I am guilty of all of them. Try to recognize it and phase it out, getting older does not mean you cannot play anymore, NO! Play! 
Here is a list to get started, if you do something that is not on the list, Add It! Child Like suggestions ALWAYS welcomed!




I strive to do something Child Like every day. Keep that sense of Play important in your life.
*bring sidewalk chalk on your walk and write inspirational or thought provoking quotes in your neighborhood
*Splash in puddles! The sound of your feet kitting the water and the joy of seeing all of those drops displaced into the air
*wear roller skates while you clean up the kitchen and do the dishes (mopping is hard, but it can be done)
*I wear brightly striped socks every day, sometimes they match, sometimes they do not
*tennis shoes with dresses
*your body is a canvas, have FUN with your clothes!
*sing along with the radio and dance wildly
*buy yourself those stickers you think are cute at Target, stick them everywhere a little Goo gone will remedy any changes of heart
*jump rope and try to do some tricks like you did when you were 10. Not only is it good exercise, but it is fun too
*bounce a ball, hear the hollowness inside as it hits the ground
*use dry erase markers and write funny things on your bathroom mirror, or inspirational things
*pick a bouquet of dandylions
*stop and look for 4 leaf clovers (I have quite a few)
*smell those flowers to see if they smell as good as they look
*swing on the swings at the park (but wait your turn)
*build castles in the sand
*buy childrens books even though you do not have children
*color with crayons, make a pattern of circles and color them each a different color. And go ahead and buy the big pack with the crayon sharpener in the back even though it never works as well as you want it to
*cartoons are not just for kids! It is comedy!
*dance at a concert or at the street fair, if the music makes your body want to move, then Move It! who cares what you look like, unless you dance like Elaine, never mind Even if you dance Like Elaine!

Try to do something fun every day, even if it is small. Let your inner child come out and play.