But I’m bored and the idea of an adventure - even a dumb "scavenger hunt" around the house - sounds intriguing today.

This "A New Adventure Every Day" book is small and cute with little flowers on it and the words "541 simple ways to live with pizzazz" spelled out in a curvy little wave. After I finished retching, I opened the book and started reading the introduction by author and "life coach" David Silberkleit called, "Adventure Redefined:"

"Traditionally, adventure has been defined as something primarily done by thrillseekers. Only people with the courage to risk life and limb have been worthy of an adventurous label. This book is for everyone else."

As my idea of an adventure consists of trying a triple mocha instead of a double, I am officially "everyone else." I read on to the first of four principles of everyday adventure:

"1. You are responsible for your own adventure; it’s not up to a tour guide or anyone else to provide it. When you accept this fact, you break down the wall that normally separates mere mortals from the adventurers on the pages of adventure magazines."

I accept this fact and read on to the odd story of how adventure guru Silberkleit (who holds six different pilot’s licenses, is a certified scuba diver and ski instructor, an avid rock climber and has ridden his bike through 13 different countries, damn him) came to write this book. Suffice it to say, the story ends thusly:

"You are holding this book because I was adventurous enough to ask a woman at a concession stand, at a convention that might as well have been anywhere in the world, where she had gotten her banana."

With bananas on the brain, I flip through the adventurous chapters: "Adventures on the Homefront," "The Adventure of Relationships," "A World of Adventure Within Your Body" (yikes!), "Career Adventures," "Adventures with (and without) Money" and "The Adventure of Nature."

Most of these adventures are so cheesy, they curdle (No. 36: "Give your cat her own submarine," No. 459: "Be a cloud farmer," No. 483: "Be the wind throughout your day.") It’s kind of fun just to chuckle at those, but I also found some adventures I’ve already mastered like No. 21: "Give each appliance a name and a personality."

And then there are a few choice adventures that look worth trying either now or when the snow melts. Here are excerpts from some of my favorites:

9. Bury a time capsule in the wall of your house. Load it with items that matter to you, such as an article from the daily newspaper, a picture of yourself, something you’ve made or written, and anything else that you would want to send to a future generation.

29. Go on a survival mission in you own kitchen. Eat your way through your food pantry and your freezer and don’t buy any more food until you exhaust everything that you squirreled away in your home.

82. Stop at every lemonade stand. Any child in front of a house with a sign is an opportunity to reminisce about your own childhood. It’s also an opportunity to stop and meet more people who live in your town.

95. Take the backroads. Don’t just jump on the highway and take the quickest route to the mall.

136. Make your birthday an adventure for your parents. Call each one of them and thank them for bringing you into the world. Acknowledge them both for the specific traits they each gave you.

166. Write down everything for which you need to forgive yourself and then burn it, bury it, or float it down a river.

175. Have a hobby budget. Earmark 3 percent of your annual salary for something you absolutely love, with no agenda and no expectations other than to indulge yourself.

244. Spend $10 in the spice aisle at the supermarket. Get to know the flavor of coriander seeds, cumin and cardamom.

525. Have a friend blindfold you on a drive to the beach and walk you right up to the water’s edge. Remove the blindfold so that your first sight is the ocean waves. Burn that image into your mind so you can readily recreate the peaceful wonder of the ocean anytime you like.

And my absolute favorite adventure: