Getting More (Pop) Cultural

I've decided that Ricky and I don't DO enough. Our boring lives consist of working, eating, watching TV, and sleeping. We read, it's true, but we don't see movies, we don't go to any local events (partially because we live in the most boring place on earth that doesn't HAVE any local events), we don't participate in hobbies. We need to get off the couch and DO SOME STUFF.

So I thought about ways we could increase our activity level and I've come up with a few things I'd like to try. Number one, which doesn't really involve getting up off the couch, is a subscription to Netflix. Part of the reason we don't see movies is that it's really freakin' expensive. I blew $40 on his birthday this year to take us to a movie and get some snacks! We don't have that kind of cash. BUT, with a Netflix subscription, we can get almost any movie we want to see, delivered to us, for a lot less than it would cost for even one of us to see it in the theater. I can wait for stuff to come out on DVD, no problem. I've even thought of doing some sort of movie project, like watching all the Oscar winners or something. I like stuff like that.

Secondly, I've decided I want to go to the Renaissance Festival next February/March. We live in a small town, which doesn't have much going on in the way of cultural events, but there are some larger metropolitan areas south of us, one of which features the Florida Renaissance Festival every year! I went to the Ohio Ren Faire a few times when I was in junior high and high school, and I really enjoyed it. I'm not the kind of gal who would dress up and participate (welllll....get enough mead in me and I might), but I'm the kind of nerd who would really enjoy herself spending a weekend in the Middle Ages. It's twenty bucks a person just to get in (i.e., not counting food, drink, shows, and souvenirs), but if we save with a goal in mind, we can afford it easily. Although there isn't one super close to us, it's only about an hour and a half drive away, which is not bad (we live in a looooong state...it could be eight hours away!).

Third, and this is something I've thought about for a while, I'd like to try geocaching or letterboxing. This is where you use a GPS system to find hidden locations where people who have been there before leave messages and stuff. It sounds kind of lame when you spell it out like that, but I think it would be fun. Kind of like a treasure hunt! I have a friend from college who has just tried it and she raves about it. If my husband won't join me (he's allergic to the outdoors), maybe I'll get some of my local friends to try it with me!

Fourth, I'd like to get into some kind of hobby. Maybe try knitting or get back into cross-stitching. I cook a little, but I don't want to have a bunch of food that we won't eat sitting around just for a few hours of occupation. I've seen a lot of bloggers who knit and quilt. These are hobbies I've never been that much into, but I'm starting to become interested. Hopefully, they don't go the way of the beading mania I indulged in a few years ago...I spent a BUNCH of money on supplies, but gave up after a short while. I'm not very craft-y. I'm impatient and easily discouraged, but I'm better about that than I used to be, so I'd like to try some sort of craft again soon.

Anyone have any other ideas to get us out and about and keep us amused?