Organizing Summer Fun When Everyone is Bored - Water Spoons

  
Everyone is bored and you are brain dead when trying to come up with something fun to do. We were taught this game by some dear friends and we have played it with our kids and their friends, our foster daughters and their friends, and more! It's always good for a laugh!

Water spoons was originally a drinking game, but we do the watered down version (argh!).

It's like regular spoons except:
- the loser has to drink a glass of water
- if you say water in any language, you have to drink a glass of water
- if you point at someone else, you have to drink a glass of water
- if you burp out loud, you have to put your hand on your head and everyone does the same, and the last one to do this drinks a glass of water
- you can only go to the bathroom if you win a hand of spoons.

We use juice glasses and only fill them half-way.

When you need a quick, easy way to fill up time, water spoons is a fun choice. It's especially fun when your teenagers bring friends home, and they're a little awkward. This game is a great ice breaker!

More on summer fun: 
Organizing Summer Fun When Everyone is Bored: Outdoor or Indoor Decathlon
Organizing Summer Fun - 10 Free (or Nearly Free) Activities for Kids
Organizing Summer Fun - 50 Ideas for Your Summer Bucket List

The Pefect Solution to Organizing Your House Cleaning! :)

My daughter Sara sent this to me a couple of years ago. Thought it's worth repeating. Hope you enjoy it!!

How to clean the house:

1. Open a new file on your computer.

2. Name it " Housework ."

3. Send it to the RECYCLE BIN.

4. Empty the RECYCLE BIN.

5. Your computer will ask you, " Are you sure you want to delete Housework permanently ?"

6. Calmly answer, "Yes," and press mouse button firmly.

7. Feel better? Works for me! :)

More on cleaning:
Spring Cleaning with Vinegar
The Health and Mental Health Benefits of Spring Cleaning
Three Steps to Clever Cleaning

Donate Your Bikes to Youth Bike-Refurbishing Programs

With spring approaching (hopefully!) our thoughts turn to the outdoors, and for some, biking. There are many programs across the country that teach young people how to refurbish bikes and gain biking skills. To find such a program near you, go to I Bike.  These organizations will accept your donations of bikes and parts.

These organizations cover "a range of programs involving young people and bicycles: teaching young people cycling skills, a vocation, personal management, business management and community consciousness, and giving them self-esteem, while promoting bicycling and diverting good bicycles from the land fill." 

If you have some bikes you're no longer using, put them to good use by donating to one of these programs. If you don't find one of these programs on the list at I Bike, call a local bike shop to see if they know of a similar program near you.


More on donating:

Donating Business Clothing for Job Interviews

Get Organized Month 2009 - Decluttering Your Electronics

Tackle the Clutter before Christmas

 

The Secret of Not Having to Clean Every Day

I had some much-needed time off during the last of July. I celebrated my birthday and got royally spoiled by my husband: flowers, a card and a salmon dinner he cooked himself. And a day to read - such luxury I don't often get. :) And to top it off, one of my daughters surprised me with a visit!

I also spoke at the National Gift Basket Convention on "Leaving an Intentional Legacy" about planning your time around your passions, priorities and gifts so you are doing what you are designed to do. Busy, but a very interesting and enlightening experience!!

Our five foster daughters came back on the evening of the 29th and we've already been to the emergency room twice! Back to reality!

On to my funny little blog for today:

The Secret of Not Having to Clean Every Day

I read recently about a way not to clean each day: get some get well cards and put them on your mantel so that when friends drop by they'll think you've been sick! LOL!

 

Organizing Some Fun

Happy Memorial Day!

I was trying to think of some fun for today. We have some limitations: one of our foster daughters has a sprained ankle and another needs to do a bunch of reading before tomorrow (what? procrastination? one word: her.choice! LOL) So we can't do anything that involves walking, which eliminates almost everything.

The reader was planning to come downstairs and read for about four hours straight. Sprained ankle offered to read at the same time. So we are all going to read - to me that's luxurious!

But I'm going to change it a little. After about 2 hours, we are going to go on a progressive fast food lunch. Sounds nutritious doesn't it? We'll give each girl $6 and go to various fast food establishments where they can spend their money. The only catch is that they can only buy one item at each place and they don't know where we are going until we get to each place!

This is my plan: MacDonalds, Taco Bell, Sheetz (gas station), Burger King, and the dollar store. Sounds horrifying, doesn't it? A teenager's dream meal!! I guess I could add a grocery store on the list and make them buy a piece of fruit. One word: not.going.to.happen. 

Then we'll come back and continue our reading time.

Yesterday we did a flip a coin adventure. Flip the coin once: heads = go straight; tails = turn. If tails, flip again to see which direction to turn. Heads = right; tails = left. We go about three blocks between flips so we're not just going in circles. Sometimes we start a little distance from our house, so we're in new territory. 

Yesterday we ended up in some beautiful areas where we had never been - fun! 


What creative fun have you invented?


More on fun:

Organizing Your Fun Time

Organizing An Intentional Summer for Your Children

In a Winter Rut? Here's How to Climb Out!

5-Minute Stress Relievers - Being Generous

 

Some Christmas Humor

Here's a Christmas laugh for you that my brother forwarded to me from an anonymous person:

"Good news is that I truly out did myself this year with my Christmas decorations. The bad news is that I had to take him down after 2 days. I had more people come screaming up to my house than ever. Great stories. But two things made me take it down.

First, the cops advised me that it would cause traffic accidents as they almost wrecked when they drove by.

Second, a 55 year old lady grabbed the 75 pound ladder almost killed herself putting it against my house and didn't realize it was fake until she climbed to the top (she was not happy). By the way, she was one of many people who attempted to do that. My yard couldn't take it either. I have more than a few tire tracks where people literally drove up my yard."

Five Health Benefits of Laughter

I'm going to be interviewed on Wednesday by a writer doing an article for Woman's Day magazine about quick stress-relievers for the upcoming holiday season. So this is what I've been thinking about the last couple of days. Here's a stress-reliever I particularly love.

Five Health Benefits of Laughter

"- It stimulates a mild to moderate cardiovascular workout

- It produces endorphins, which counteract the production of stress hormones

- It appears to optimize the immune system

- It reduces self-consciousness and boosts self-confidence

- It relaxes muscles and helps fight the chronic pain associated with muscle tension."
(Source: “Together, They Laugh The Stress Away,” by Sally Stich, Parade Magazine, April 21, 2002)

When our children were still at home, my husband would just burst out laughing several times a day! He had heard a speaker wax eloquently about how laughing was like a jog for your insides. We would all start laughing - how can you hear someone else laugh without joining in? Give it a try. :)

There are certain movies that make us laugh, Dennis the Menace being my favorite. We drag that out whenever we need a light moment.

Physical humor makes me laugh. I've included some examples below.

What makes you laugh? Subscribers click here to comment on the original blog.


These make me laugh:
CDC Warning: How to Avoid Getting the Swine Flu
The "Why Plan Ahead?" Awards - Too Funny!
Why I Didn't Make the Olympics
A Little Humor for the Weekend
Poor Planning Humor

CDC Warning: How to Avoid Getting the Swine Flu

My brother, who is in the medical field sent this CDC message along on how to avoid getting the Swine Flu:

Don't do this:

If you'd like to make a comment and receive this via email, use this link.

The "Why Plan Ahead?" Awards - Too Funny!

Just thought you might enjoy some organizing humor. The following nominees are tributes to the benefits of planning ahead! Thanks to my daughter, Sara, for passing these along. :)

And the winner is:

Oh, No! The Industrial-Strength Shower!!

As I was waiting in line for the showers at the gym this morning, I was hoping not to get the industrial-strength shower. Despite efforts to adjust the flow, it resembles a fire hose! But wouldn't you know it, when I was at the front of the line, guess which shower became available? Yep!

As I was being pounded, I did a little thinking about how efficient this shower really is. Its forceful flow provides you with a massage. It eliminates the need for a trip to the chiropractor. Forget the spa, as it exfoliates the top layer of your skin. And you get a shower thrown in for free!

Think how much time and money I saved just by taking an industrial-strength shower!

Never again will I dread the industrial-strength shower. I will pat myself on the back for saving so much time and money! Maybe I should start selling them on my site - the latest time management organizational tool!

A Little Halloween Humor

Happy Halloween! My brother Larry sent this to me:

A man is walking home alone late one foggy Halloween night, when behind him he hears:

BUMP BUMP BUMP

Walking faster, he looks back and through the fog he makes out the image of an upright casket banging its way down the middle of the street toward him.

BUMP BUMP BUMP

Terrified, the man begins to run toward his home, the casket bouncing quickly behind him.

FASTER FASTER BUMP BUMP BUMP

He runs up to his door, fumbles with his keys, opens the door, rushes in, slams and locks the door behind him. However, the casket crashes through his door, with the lid of the casket clapping

clappity BUMP clappity BUMP clappity BUMP

on his heels as the terrified man runs. Rushing upstairs to the bathroom, he locks himself in. His heart is pounding; his head is reeling; his breath is coming in sobbing gasps. With a loud crash the casket breaks down the door. Bumping and clapping toward him. The man screams and reaches for something, anything, but all he can find is a bottle of cough syrup. Desperate, he throws the cough syrup at the casket. and,


The coffin stops!

:-)

A Little College Humor

A friend sent this to me, and since we were talking about college yesterday, here goes:

At Penn State University, there were four sophomores taking chemistry and all of them had an "A" so far. These four friends were so confident that, the weekend before finals, they decided to visit some friends and have a big party.

They had a great time but, after all the hearty partying, they slept all day Sunday and didn't make it back to Penn State until early Monday morning. Rather than taking the final then, they decided that after the final they would explain to their professor why they missed it. They said that they visited friends but on the way back they had a flat tire. As a result, they missed the final.

The professor agreed they could make up the final the next day. The guys were excited and relieved. They studied that night for the exam.

The next day the Professor placed them in separate rooms and gave them a test booklet. They quickly answered the first problem worth 5 points. Cool, they thought! Each one in separate rooms, thinking this was going to be easy.... then they turned the page.

On the second page was written.... For 95 points: Which tire? _________

Why I Didn't Make the Olympics

My friend Teresa sent this to me. It is really hilarious!

A Little Humor for the Weekend

A friend sent this to me from an unknown source:

POWER OUTAGE DURING A MAMMOGRAM

I actually kept my mammogram appointment. I was met with, "Hi! I'm Belinda!" This perky clipboard carrier smiled from ear to ear, tilted her head to one side and crooned, "All I need you to do is step into this room right here, strip to the waist, then slip on this gown. Everything clear?"

I'm thinking, "Belinda, try decaf. This ain't rocket science."

Belinda skipped away to prepare the chamber of horrors.

With the right side finished, Belinda flipped me (literally) to the left and said, "Hmmmm. Can you stand on your tippy toes and lean in a tad so we can get everything?"

"Fine," I answered. I was freezing, bruised, and out of air, so why not use the remaining circulation in my legs and neck and finish me off?

My body was in a holding pattern that defied gravity (with my other boob wedged between those two 4 inch pieces of square glass) when we heard, then felt a zap! Complete darkness and the power went off!

"Oh, maintenance is working. Bet they hit a snag." Belinda headed for the door.

"Excuse me! You're not leaving me in this vise alone are you?" I shouted.

Belinda kept going and said, "Oh, you fussy puppy...the door's wide open so you'll have the emergency hall lights. I'll be right back."

Before I could shout "NOOOO!" she disappeared.

And that's exactly how Bubba and Earl, maintenance men extraordinaire, found me, half-naked and part of me dangling from the Jaws of Life, and the other part smashed between glass!

After exchanging polite "Hi, how's it going" type greetings, Bubba (or possibly Earl) asked, to my utter disbelief, if I knew the power was off.

Trying to disguise my hysteria, I replied with as much calmness as possible "Uh, yes, yes I did thanks."

"You bet, take care" Bubba replied and waved good-bye as though I'd been standing in the line at the grocery store.

Two hours later, Belinda breezes in wearing a sheepish grin. Making no attempt to suppress her amusement, she said, "Oh I am sooo sorry!" The power came back on and I totally forgot about you! And silly me, I went to lunch. Are we upset?"

And that, Your Honor, is exactly how her head ended up between the clamps....

Poor Planning Humor

This has been around for years, and I was reminded of it when my daughter Sara sent it to me. Hope you get a laugh out of this, and your planning turns out better than this man's did.

Dear Sir,

I am writing in response to your request for addition information in block #3 of the accident reporting form. I put "Poor Planning" as the cause of my accident. You asked for a fuller explanation and I trust the following details will be sufficient.

I am a bricklayer by trade. On the day of the accident, I was working alone on the roof of a new six-story building. When I completed my work, I found I had some bricks left over which later were found to weigh 240 lbs. Rather than carry the bricks down by hand, I decided to lower them in a barrel by using a pulley which was attached to the side of the building at the sixth floor.

Securing the rope at ground level, I went up to the roof, swung the barrel out and loaded the bricks into it. Then I went down and untied the rope, holding it tightly to insure a slow descent of the 240 lbs of bricks.

You will note on the accident reporting form that my weight is 135 lbs. Due to my surprise at being jerked off the ground so suddenly, I lost my presence of mind and forgot to let go of the rope. Needless to say, I proceeded at a rapid rate up the side of the building.

In the vicinity of the third floor, I met the barrel which was now proceeding downward at an equally impressive speed. The explains the fractured skull, minor abrasions, and the broken collarbone, as listed in Section 3 of the accident reporting form.

Slowed only slightly, I continued my rapid ascent, not stopping until the fingers of my right hand were two knuckles deep into the pulley which I mentioned in Paragraph 2 of this correspondence. Fortunately by this time I had regained my presence of mind and was able to hold tightly to the rope, in spite of the excruciating pain I was now beginning to experience.

At approximately the same time, however, the barrel of bricks hit the ground, and the bottom fell out of the barrel. Now devoid of the weight of the bricks, the barrel weighed approximately 50 lbs. I refer you again to my weight. As you might imagine, I began a rapid descent down the side of the building.

In the vicinity of the third floor, I met the barrel coming up. This accounts for the two fractured ankles, broken tooth, and severe lacerations of my legs and lower body. Here my luck began to change slightly. The encounter with the barrel seemed to slow me enough to lessen my injuries when I fell into the pile of bricks and fortunately only three vertebrae were cracked.

I am sorry to report, however, as I lay there on the pile of bricks, in pain, unable to move and watching the empty barrel six stories above me, I again lost my composure and presence of mind and let go of the rope.

How to Clean the House

My daughter Sara sent this to me. Thought you'd enjoy it!!


How to clean the house:

1. Open a new file in your PC

2. Name it " Housework ."

3. Send it to the RECYCLE BIN.

4. Empty the RECYCLE BIN.

5. Your PC will ask you, " Are you sure you want to delete Housework permanently ?"

6. Calmly answer, "Yes," and press mouse button firmly.

7. Feel better? Works for me!