We're talking about fun here at the Quotations site this week. I know that for me, having a little fun every day just makes everything else seem to go so much better. Whether I'm hiding in a corner of the office enjoying a Kit-Kat and a few songs on the iPod, or out on the town on Saturday night - fun is truly the icing on the cake.

So Dear Readers - share with us what you do for fun and tell us how it keep you sane![font:Comic Sans MS][/font]

Hmmm...fun...

We used to go to Disneyland with annual passes. They got too expensive but now they offer a payment plan (with no interest) which makes it fit our monthly budget. We might get them again. It was so pleasant to walk around and see the colorful sights and hear the tinkling music. Everyone is so happy there.

For now, my guilty pleasure is going out to dinner with my family. Or watching a movie together. I love my Celtic Thunder DVD and will watch that music video. My favorite food indulgence: Chips! Or crisps, if you're in England. I will run away to Laguna Beach to sit on the grassy knolls overlooking the blue Pacific Ocean. My favorite spot. I like to meditate there.

Visiting my mom, aunt, uncle and sisters always makes me happy.

And, lately it is posting on this forum! Everyone is so nice here!

Arrrrrggghhhh!!! This is something I definitely have not paid enough attention to. I know that it's necessary to de-stress and relax. I make sure I take care of myself in that way. But I really don't have much that I do that is purely for fun.

I do watch the soaps, but part of that is because I write romance and confessions. When I'm reading, I read as a writer. For everything I do, there's a practical reason motivating me.

Recently I was thinking that maybe--for me--that I need to change the definition of "fun" since I'm not the going out dancing etc type. And other things like vacations on sandy beaches hold no appeal for me. LOL.

I just added "have more fun" to my list of life long goals on 43 Things and guess what more than 1100 people on the site have a similiar goal. I am not alone. LOL.

I LOVE kitkats!!
Fun... We love when we can go spend a week at DisneyWorld but that's gotten a bit expensive, but we love day trips (Baltimore harbor or strolling around DC), large flea markets, we love our "movie nights" once a month we pick a theme and rent movies from the $1 video store and stay up all night Friday or Sat. watching movies together. I usually fall alseep first, but it's still fun.

Leah --

As a writer I do the exact same thing. I read as a writer but you what - for me that's fun! It's fun to see how another writer uses a technique or writes herself out of a corner.

The way I define 'fun' is anything that doesn't tax my energy and makes me feel happier for having done it. And that's harder to do than it sounds!

Lori --

The payment plan for Disney saved it for us. And you know I find that I actually have to force myself to have fun these days. It's like I dread doing something that I KNOW will be fun, yet once I start doing it I'm so glad I went through with it.

I've read about this thing called "Negative Pleasure" and I think I do that a lot - it's when a person gets so used to not being happy or having fun that to actually be happy and to have fun feels wrong ...

We humans are so complex in a ding dong sort of way! HAHA!

Hey. That sounds familiar. One of my sisters just doesn't allow herself to enjoy anything. And she tends to burst everyone else's happy bubble. I wonder if she suffers from negative pleasure syndrome.

I definitely don't suffer from that! I totally allow myself to revel in the pleasure of the moment whether it is enjoying an ice cream cone or basking in the warm sun!

I've had a lot of heartache and I do all I can to avoid anything unpleasant now. Every little joy is a gift to treasure. I collect them like daisies!

Start making a list of all the wonderful little things in your day. A great cup of coffee (mmmm), the smell of the ocean (ahhh), your favorite song (ohhh) and just really engage all of your senses. Smell, touch, taste, sight, sound...

Some of us have to relearn how to experience with our whole selves. And then, there is spiritual enjoyment which you can tap whenever you express gratitude and appreciation for all things.

Every day can be such a sublime experience! It takes practice at first, but you will walk around on clouds once you get it.

Lori --

I love how you put that -- "experience our whole selves". What a nice way to think of fun. And I used to be one of those people who never allowed myself to have fun - or anyone else around me.

I think, looking back now, that it was because I found it so exhausting. To me, fun was just another obligation piled on top of too many others.

Now it's a requirement and one that I still have to enforce but am always glad at the result which for me is stress relief!

PGL