Sunday, October 18, 2009

Boring

Laying in bed sick can get incredibly boring! I'm able to do a lot more now, but I still have to spend a significant part of my day resting/recovering and that can get old. Being in the house a lot has forced me to be creative with things to pass the time. It's good to have FUN when you're suffering. I'm not the craftiest, stay-stay-at-home-making-goodies-in-the-kitchen kind of person. I'm more of a go-out-and-do-active-fun-stuff kind of girl, but being sick and stuck at home has helped me find new talents! And finding new talents is good for your brain according to Martha Beck. She says...
In his fascinating book The Talent Code, Daniel Coyle describes how the brain reacts when a person develops a new skill. Performing an action involves firing an electrical signal through a neural pathway; each time this happens, it thickens the myelin sheath that surrounds nerve fibers like the rubber coating on electrical wires. The thicker the myelin sheath around a neural pathway, the more easily and effectively we use it. Heavily myelinated pathways equal mad skills.
When I first got sick I was mad I couldn't do all the things I used to, and I was not loving the idea of having to find new talents, but thankfully I have awesome friends that showed me that you can do creative crafty stuff at home that isn't super cheesy or difficult. (Love you girls!) I thought this post might also be useful to my stay-at-home mom friends and my friends who are caretakers to a sick spouse. (Thanks for all your awesome 'pass-the-time' ideas!) Here are some fun stuff you can do while you're stuck at home.

1. Halloween Decorations: We painted pumpkins this year which is really fun! You can paint them with a spooky theme or a fall-ish theme.


I got this other idea from my girl Mary Ann. (She's my crafty idol). Some spooky decor...


Here is a website she sent me with fun Halloween treat ideas...
www.ourbestbites.com
Go to the website to get details on how to do it. All you need is some mason jars, mod-podge, and tissue paper.


2. Like I said, I'm not the craftiest person, but I love making stuff and being creative. Here are some things my friends have made. Some of them have even made it profitable to be stuck at home. Scanning etsy.com can inspire you with all kinds of creative ideas!

3. Knitting sounds so grannyish (not that there's anything wrong with granny's) but it is so relaxing. (This was another great idea from my friend MA). I promise it's really easy! You can buy kits, yarn, and flowers at Michael's craft store. It's really inexpensive.


In addition to these crafty projects, here are some other activities that may help you pass the time (and have some fun).

4. You can try out Netflix. The movies come straight to your door if you can't get out. You can get TV shows and watch some right away on your computer. (I recommend The West Wing- 7 awesome seasons. I love Gilmore Girls and the new show Community is hilarious.)

5. Start a book club. I loved the last book club I was in. It doesn't take a ton of effort, it's a one hour a month commitment to meet up, and it really passes the time. It got me passionate about reading and gave me new ideas of books to read while I was taking time out in bed. Connect with other readers on GoodReads

6. Become an activist. Find something you're passionate about. Read, research and get the word out through blogging, Facebook, email about how to help. Even if you're not mobile or physically capable of helping, you can do a lot from your home to help.

7. Serve. Try to find one person a day you can serve. I know it may seem difficult when you're sick and/or stranded, but you can still serve from your home. Even if it's just a phone call, note, or donation. You can do important loving acts of service. Early during my illness I felt inspired to pray everyday and ask "Who needs me to today?". I'm grateful for that inspiration, the opportunity to serve has in so many ways carried me through the most difficult days. Everyone can use a little love. I'm so grateful for the phone calls, card, emails, gifts of money, and packages that my sweet friends and fam sent me while I was extremely ill. I will never forget your examples of service!

P.S. I'm always looking for new ideas so please share if you have any!

10 comments:

Mrs. B said...

OMG Em, is that your niece?! That picture is sooo cute! I've been wanting to learn how to knit. Maybe I'll just try to teach myself...even though I'm pretty much the least crafty person I know.

Devin, Abby, and Grady said...

Cute decorations Em!

Benjamin said...

It's cool how your illness has allowed you to explore these new interests that otherwise you probably wouldn't have gotten into. Great post Em. You are one talented woman.

Lindsey Sharp said...

EM that really is such a good idea to post about ideas I feel llike everyone is looking for things that use there talents and creative side! me and Morgan LOVE netfix! what took us so long to sign up! you have always been good at serving others even when you are not feeling good! and your hat model is DARLING!!!

Ricki said...

Thanks for the ideas and nice work! I try to be crafty, but sometimes my vision exceeds my skillz.

Love Netflix! If I want a whole season though I usually put it on my library cue so I can get all of it at once. I'm considering getting into the LOST craze (or is that over now?). Do you have an opinion about LOST?

Here's a tip: cjane and NieNie. Or any blog that you think you might like to read from beginning to end. Like reading a book, except you don't ever really know how it all ends. It's fun. :)

Jen Bowen said...

I love all the spooky bottles. I'll have to try something like that next year. Another idea for how to serve while at home in bed is to do indexing. It's a great way to participate in family history work and help others in their efforts to find family members. Anyone can volunteer and the training is all done online. To get into it a person needs to go to the website: http://www.familysearch.org/eng/indexing/frameset_indexing.asp or google "family search indexing" and it should be the first option to come up.

heidijogoody said...

I love it all. You are so amazing Em

Tiffany Hortin said...

Thanks for all of the info. It is good to hear other ideas of crafts you can do while stuck at home. I love you positive you are about life. I love ya girl. From an old friend.

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