I’ve been thinking about hobbies lately. Is blogging a legitimate hobby? I mean, is it on par with something like oil painting or tennis or baseball or photography or coin collecting? I guess it probably is. Anyway, I’ve been thinking about taking up a new hobby. I was thinking this morning that I’d like to learn to do a lot of things well, to feel like I’m well-rounded and have at least basic mastery of a variety of tasks. I was also thinking about how when I don’t try something new for a while, I start becoming nervous or cynical about trying anything new. For example, I start thinking and saying things like “I’m just not a solo singer and never will be.” I may never be, but saying so sort of seals the deal in my head and limits me more than I want to be limited. I think trying a new, challenging hobby would be good for my self-image, creativity, and motivation to do the things I already think I should be working on.
I haven’t chosen a new hobby yet, partly because it’s really tricky to find something that’s appropriate for my stage of life. You know, something extremely inexpensive (it seems like just about any hobby can get expensive really quickly as your skill improves), something that I can do a little bit at a time (between requests for more cereal from the kids, for example), and not be too messy (or potentially messy…I’m imagining oil paint smeared on the carpet by the kids), and small space. I’d also like for it to have a somewhat social aspect, possibly involve some exercise, definitely creative, maybe a little on the brainy side to keep my head from atrophy, and be practical or service-oriented in some way so that I don’t feel like I’m wasting time. Here’s a brainstormed laundry list of ideas that do or do not fit the criteria mentioned above, collected from ideas I found in my brain and online:
Geneology–maybe start with FamilySearchIndexing.org
Reading–like all the books from a certain author, or a bunch of books in a genre (like biographies), join a book club
Sewing–I could learn to make clothes for my kids
Crocheting or Knitting–I have the needles and a bunch of yarn that my mom gave me, so I’d just have to find a pattern
Running–It’d be good for my heart and waistline, but tough to find a time for it and running shoes can be expensive
Drawing–sketching with pen or pencil
Interior decorating–or daydreaming or collaging about it
Cross-stitching
Embroidery, other needlepoint, plastic canvas
Jewelry making–seems on the expensive side though…
Painting–watercolor, oil, acrylic but maybe expensive and definitely messy (my artist sister says for watercolor painting a 1″ soft bristle brush, not a hog bristle brush or plastic one that comes in a kids box of paints, and a medium sized brush, and a liner brush, and that the Crayola or Prang box of cake kids paints are good enough to start with)
Collecting–stamps, coins, key chains (I used to do this), first edition books, sea shells
Cooking/baking–would incorporate a current task
Web design–I already kinda do this with Colin
Photography–classes, camera, and developing are expensive
Photo collecting–I saw an idea for a “photo archiving” idea that looked fun, like taking a picture of every fire engine in the city
Geocaching–I think this one would be really fun, and it could be a great family hobby since Colin’s interested in it too
Sculpting–clay, marble, playdough
Play an instrument–piano (I have books and a keyboard that needs batteries), drums, clarinet (Colin’s old one needs repair, but we have one), violin (I had a year of lessons in 4th grade), saxophone, harp, flute, harmonica (we have one of those, too)
Gardening–indoor/outdoor containers
Animals/pets–like fish or ants
Magic tricks
Juggling
Yo-Yo tricks
Making Videos
Team sports–volleyball (there’s an informal group at church), softball, soccer, rope jumping, basketball, paintball–I’ve never done any team sports at all, so this one might be especially good for me
Individual “sports”–gymnastics, ice skating, karate, yoga, pilates, weight lifting, golf, swimming
Bee keeping
Fishing
Hunting
Building models–cars, airplanes, bridges, buildings, etc.
Chess
Leaf/flower pressing
Bird watching, bird calls
Learning about local wildlife/plants
Paper making
Puppetry
Origami
Scrapbooking, journaling
Memorization–scriptures, quotes from famous people or about topics I like, great speeches, lists of presidents of the US, all the currencies of every country
Restaurant reviewing
Puzzles–picture puzzles, sudoku, cross words, logic puzzles
Movie reviewing
HAM radio
Learning about other cultures
Cheesemaking, Ice cream making, cookie baking
Tasting–cheese, chocolate, curry, fruits, ice cream, steak
Nutrition–learning about what’s best for your body to eat
Find out how things work
Woodworking–building picture frames, furniture
Opera expert-ing, or any other genre of music
Rock collecting or polishing
Balloon twisting
Weaving and rug making
basket-making
jet-sking, yachting, sailing, surfing, SCUBA diving, snorkling
botany, geology, antropology, archaeolgy, zoology
stargazing (astronomy)
Ballroom dancing, folk dance, latin dance, ballet, belly, tap, jazz, etc
Travel
Camping
Learning languages
Hiking, rock climbing
Bonzai tree pruning
Bowling
Cake decorating
Flower arranging
People watching
Window shopping
Gem-setting, gemology
That’s quite the list! I definitely classify blogging as a hobby. I’m also on the hunt for a new hobby. My husband just finished school, so I want to have a turn at a night class once a week or so. It would do me good to get out of the house and meet some grown-ups.
Hmmm…WOW! You make me feel tired just reading your list! I would love to see where you found the photo archiving (collection) idea. I am interested in that. About all I have time and resources for right now are photography and blogging…and kids…
But I figure if I can master all that during this stage, I can really stretch in a few years. Right???
I’m not planning on mastering all of these hobbies, it’s just a list of ideas for when I’m feeling energetic and bored. Please don’t be overwhelmed by it! I really like to make lists, and to have lots of choices when I’m ready to start, and that’s what inspired this one.
I found the photo archiving collection idea on an about.com comment about inexpensive hobbies. I pretty much paraphrased the entire idea from the comment in my list above, but I think if I were a photography hobbyist it would be fun to come up with a goal of things to photograph like that. It would get me out of the house and seeing things as part of a goal (kind of equivalent to the idea of reading all the books from the same author) and give me a feeling of achievement when I finish it. Wouldn’t it be cool to have a goal of photographing all the seven wonders of the world? Or taking a picture of every temple? Or every state capital building? Or every “Welcome to Your State” sign in your state? Or, on a smaller scale, every room in my house, only clean!? Or how about taking a series of pictures of things that are red, but in tons of different textures?
In the mean time, blogging and photography are definitely enough hobbies when paired with kids, Rachel. I just get restless sometimes and need to dream or stretch a little in order to remember that who I am isn’t stagnant. Taking care of kids and a home is more than enough to do (especially if you want to do it well), but I like to remind myself that I have choices about how I spend my time when I feel a little stuck. It’s too easy to think that what I am now is all I can be, and I think it’s good for me to think of how it felt when I was a little girl and thought I could do anything and everything with enough practice.
Bethany–I hope you don’t think I was saying that dreaming isn’t good. I certainly, CERTAINLY do my fair share! And I too would love to pick up many new hobbies. I loved the list. It really got me thinking about things I might like to do someday. I have always wanted to take a photography class, but my husband is gone at school till LATE usually, and really there aren’t many hobbies I can do at home with the kids unless they are on the computer where I can pick up and leave off pretty simple.
Thankfully, our ward enrichment just started a photography class 2 times a month that are FREE and taught by a sister in our ward who graduated from a naval photography school. I am very excited to be stretching here because I LOVE photography.
Good luck on all your to-do’s! May you someday master them all!!
As someone who has had much experience with geocaching, may I strongly strongly strongly recommend it. Dad and I really got into it, but everyone else in the family liked it too. It was a great way to get our family out of the house and spending time together. Mom and Dad would occasionally go on caching dates, and there were days when one of us kids would just spend time with Dad and take the day caching. I’m not exactly sure how well it would go over with your small kids, but I’ve seen families that made it work. It is really one of my favorite things to do with my family. Anyway, just a thought.
Love ya!