Have you played today?

When was the last time you truly played? I don’t mean playing with your kids although that could be considered playing if you were truly enjoying it while you played. That is one benefit of having children, you can rediscover some of what you enjoyed as a child. Going to Chuck E Cheese as a single adult may seem strange but if you go as a parent playing with their child, or an invitee to a birthday party then all possible social stigma and awkward feelings are removed. If you don’t have children there are still plenty of ways to get in touch with that child inside of you again.

The Sporting Side
Many of us played sports when we were children. Little league, soccer games, hockey, tennis matches, cheerleading are just a few of the ways children participate in sports. Besides the health benefits of physical activity, playing sports provides people of all ages with a social outlet as well. Some people prefer individual sports such as mountain biking or running. While these activities are done alone it is possible to join others while participating. Others prefer playing team sports. As an adult it may be difficult to find a team or league to join but it is not impossible. What makes it difficult is that some areas may not have many teams in that particular sport or existing leagues only accept registration by teams. In those cases, how do you find a team looking for players? Some resources for finding opportunities to play sports include:

• Sportsvite (http://www.sportsvite.com/)
• Craigslist (http://www.craigslist.org/) – Search for your particular sport of interest within the community section and “activity partners”
• Local parks and recreation departments
• Google search for your desired activity and geographic location (ie. Soccer, over 30 and San Francisco, CA)

Unusual Activities
Have you heard of geocaching? How about adventure racing? Did you ever play ultimate frisbee? Maybe you watched curling during the Olympics and wonder if it would be fun. If organized sports are not your thing why not try something different? All sorts of variations on obstacle courses, scavenger hunts and hide and seek are turning up around the country. A partial list of ideas includes:

• Geocaching – This activity involves using maps, compasses and sometimes GPS in a search to navigate to clues or particular checkpoints. Some involve more technology than others. Local REI stores sponsor events. (http://www.rei.com/) There is also a geocaching iPhone application which allows you to search for or navigate to geocaching events. For more information check out http://www.geocaching.com/.
• Urban Dare – If you have watched The Amazing Race on television you have an idea of what this is on the grand scale. Their website calls it “the adventure race that’s part photo hunt, part trivia and part dares”. 26 cities will host Urban Dare races in 2009. http://www.urbandare.com/
• Muddy Buddy – Muddy Buddy is coming to 9 locations in 2009. These events involve 2 person teams who alternate riding a bicycle or running sections of course with obstacles in between sections. Of course, lots of mud is involved. For more information see http://www.muddybuddy.com/.
• Curling – For most of us in suburbia, this is an unknown topic although I enjoyed watching the sport during the Olympics and found designated times reserved at a local ice rink. To find times and locations in your area, you may view the website for the US Curling Association which includes a list with links to local curling clubs at http://www.curlingrocks.net/.
  Ultimate Frisbee - This is a blend of Frisbee and miniature golf. Playing a game can be a cardiovascular workout as well as humorous. Websites to check out include http://www.upa.org/ and http://www.ultimatefrisbee.com/.

The possibilities are endless. Age shouldn't stop anyone. Most organized sports including tennis, soccer and basketball among others have leagues and divisions specific to age categories so a 40 year old does not have to keep up with a 19 year old. I play with two soccer teams on a weekly basis myself. It is my favorite stress relief all week. As I am now over 30 soreness is usually a side effect for a while after each game but it is so worth it! Get out there and have fun again!

What is your favorite way to play? Add your comments to share your ideas with others.

Only 363 days until Christmas 2009 - 5 ways to prepare

Only 363 days until Christmas day in 2009. There’s plenty of time to get ready!

Unlike the stores who mercilessly remind you Christmas is coming before Halloween has passed, I remind you of this fact so that you may prepare well in advance of next year’s holiday. If you were anything like me, this year came upon us too quickly. Of course, it is the same time every year but this year felt much more rushed and I didn’t accomplish much of what I wanted. For me the timing is especially tough because I attend college classes in addition to working full-time and mother to one teenager and two children under four years of age. This year my college courses ended on Dec. 14 which left me just ten days before Christmas to prepare without this additional distraction.

So, I remind myself, and everyone else, that next years holidays are about one year away. It is not too early to start preparing now. Here are some suggestions for a more peaceful preparation for next year’s festivities:

1. Pack the holiday decorations and cards in an organized fashion. Be sure to label them clearly.
If you require multiple plastic bins or boxes to pack up all of the holiday stuff, organize it for next year when you pack. Put all of the lights for the tree with the ornaments for the tree, separate from the lights for the house. Pack the holiday cards in a box with the holiday decorations you put up first around the house, maybe the holidays towels and figurines. If you have children under 10, wrap the breakable ornaments in a different colored tissue paper than the ornaments that are suitable for hanging by any age. (I learned this one the hard way!) Then, label the bins or boxes appropriately. Adding a number to represent the order in which you want the boxes brought in the house might be a good idea as well if you have lots of boxes.

2. Make a list of gift ideas to buy next year.
When you pull out the list next year revise as needed, in case someone bought or received something on your list for them during the year. Then, you are already ahead of the game as you have a list prepared for those Black Friday specials. Be sure to pack this with the holiday cards and other items you want to unpack soon after Thanksgiving.

3. Start a savings account or tuck away money in a special place for Christmas shopping.
If you put away $30 per month starting in January you will have over $300 in cash to spend on gifts next year. With some planning and regular contributions you might be able to accomplish all of your Christmas shopping with cash, thus avoiding paying interest for following months after paying for gifts with credit cards.

4. Add planned events (baking, holiday train ride, cutting down the Christmas tree) to your calendar/planner. If tickets need to be purchased in advance add the “tickets on sale” dates to your planner as well.
Don’t wait until the last minute to plan these activities. Last year I wanted to ride a local holiday train with lights. Unfortunately, I didn’t know that tickets sell out in October! So, this year I was prepared and bought tickets in October for a train ride on Dec. 21. For anyone who goes to music concerts, purchasing tickets months in advance is expected and similar rules apply to other special events.

5. Update your contact list throughout the year.
Maybe you shun the idea of pre-printed labels for addressing Christmas cards insisting that they be addressed by hand. I go back and forth on that one myself. However, things can be a lot less stressful if your address book is up to date before you ever start writing out Christmas cards. This year I received one e-mail from my aunt who still had two out-of-date addresses for me and was missing my current address where I have lived for two years. Yet, I see her at least once per month! When we receive Christmas cards, I compare the return address for each one against my address book and make updates as needed. For those of you who like the idea of using preprinted address labels but don’t know how, check out my blog in coming months as I will be posting instructions and tips for you.

As a child I was usually too busy playing with my new toys and other gifts when my mother packed everything up for next year. So I didn’t learn ways which I could improve next year’s experience based on how things were put away each year. With Christmas related items, I have special difficulty probably because I always think that I will have lots of time to do everything at my own pace such as writing out the holiday cards the weekend after Christmas and baking cookies the following week, etc. However, I haven’t had a peaceful or relaxing month before Christmas since I have had children. Ironically, at work I am very proactive and always file things based on how they will need to be retrieved later. Now, it’s time to apply the same principle to Christmas decorations. It just goes to show that we as people don’t always react the same way in similar situations. So, I am resolving to do better with this task in 2009. We shall see how things go next year.