Deleted
Joined: Oct 12, 2024 7:21:36 GMT -5
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on May 30, 2015 11:23:57 GMT -5
In one week I am done with my certification CE credits & then it is time to 'create my life'. My IRL friends have given me a challenge to find a hobby in the next 30 days & I am accountable to report back to them! I don't have any hobbies today & I don't want something that includes a lot of sitting (knitting/quilting are off the table). I need a little light exercise to start, but not mountain climbing Help me with ideas please! What do you do for a hobby that you enjoy?
|
|
Apple
Junior Associate
Always travel with a sense of humor
Joined: Dec 17, 2010 15:51:04 GMT -5
Posts: 9,938
Mini-Profile Name Color: dc0e29
|
Post by Apple on May 30, 2015 12:33:53 GMT -5
Photography. Can do it while doing all kinds of other things-- going to a museum, hiking a trail, watching birds/insects, walking around a city, farmer's market, etc. It can be inexpensive (cell phone or point and shoot camera), or very, very expensive (thousands on lenses, gear, camera bodies, printing...) Can be done inside or outside, and in all kinds of weather, day or night. Can be done solo or as a group.
Four of us went to the Portland Saturday Market recently (three of us students and the instructor), and we all came back with very different photographs (turned in five to "tell a story").
My mom gardens (she keeps the knitting, sewing, and crocheting for when it's too cold or hot to work outside).
My son does theater, both with the school, and local community theater ("plays in the park").
This area has amazing opportunity for outdoor hobbies/sports-- kayaking, rock climbing, mountain biking, windsurfing, kite boarding, skiing, snowboarding, fishing, rock hounding, trail hiking, swimming, geocaching, etc.
Has there been anything where you thought "that looks fun, wish I could do it/learn it"?
|
|
Lizard Queen
Senior Associate
103/2024
Joined: Jan 17, 2011 22:19:13 GMT -5
Posts: 14,659
|
Post by Lizard Queen on May 30, 2015 13:03:12 GMT -5
Do you enjoy sports? Artsy stuff? Cooking? Socializing? Building things? It's so hard to suggest hobbies without knowing your basic interests.
Right now, I don't have any hobbies (which is a problem, I know). I used to enjoy artsy stuff, so dance classes, playing music, theater, designing and decorating. Also, yoga, tennis, bike riding, golfing and bowling. I'd love to learn to build stuff, but never got around to it. I've been learning to cook more, but it is just a chore to me.
|
|
Deleted
Joined: Oct 12, 2024 7:21:36 GMT -5
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on May 30, 2015 13:11:37 GMT -5
Chickens. Just. Chickens.
Ok, not really just that. I have my horses and I like to read, watch movies and do yard work and garden. The kids hobbies and trying to keep them engaged in things keeps me pretty busy too.
I miss hiking. I used to do that a lot, but I haven't much for the past few years because it's hard with a little kid.
I put together that coop from a kit and it was really fun, but I was thinking I could probably make something a lot nicer from scratch. I'm thinking I might attempt a little building project this Summer. It's something the kids would be able to help out with too.
|
|
steph08
Junior Associate
Joined: Jan 3, 2011 13:06:01 GMT -5
Posts: 5,508
|
Post by steph08 on May 30, 2015 13:35:57 GMT -5
Running and reading, but not at the same time. I could do audiobooks at the same time, but I save those for driving to work.
|
|
Apple
Junior Associate
Always travel with a sense of humor
Joined: Dec 17, 2010 15:51:04 GMT -5
Posts: 9,938
Mini-Profile Name Color: dc0e29
|
Post by Apple on May 30, 2015 13:37:14 GMT -5
Oh, I love ceramics too (pottery wheel, glazing with raku firing). But, I try to avoid spending a bunch of time on hobbies that makes "stuff" that isn't consumable and takes up too much room
|
|
debthaven
Senior Associate
Joined: Apr 7, 2015 15:26:39 GMT -5
Posts: 10,617
|
Post by debthaven on May 30, 2015 13:59:14 GMT -5
DH and I do amateur theater (which includes singing and dancing). It's a TON of fun, and we have met a bunch of wonderful people. There are several pros in our troupe but they are NOT AT ALL pretentious, and we have a lot of fun together. The people could not be warmer, more encouraging, more helpful, etc. I had a monologue last play, I COULD NOT manage to learn my lines. One of the pros dragged me into the bathroom and said, we're not leaving until you know your lines. And I learned them! She also made about 8 photocopies of my monologue so I could stick them all over the house. This is a drop-dead gorgeous, much younger, professional actress (who generally gets cast as DH's wife or GF LOL).
We've been with the troupe for 3 years now. Most years we meet 1X a week until about 6 weeks before the play, when we meet 2X a week. This past year we met 2X a week until 2 months before the play, when we met 3X a week. That was A LOT, too much, but this year's play had a HUGE cast.
The other thing I LOVE LOVE LOVE to do is sing. You CANNOT be unhappy when you sing! (That has actually been proven scientifically). So what about joining a choir?!
The Musical Director of our theater troupe has an a cappella group that I am just DYING to join. But she limits it to 8 people. I'm next on the list, but unless somebody moves away or I kill one of them off, that's unlikely to happen in the near future. That group is part of our troupe, but they also do other things.
The other thing I do is a book club. I really don't love it though. We generally talk about the book for 15m and then it becomes a coffee klatch, and I hate that. But 2 of my best friends are in it too, so at least this way I see them at least one evening a month. I tried to quit twice but was always railroaded into staying. We'll see what happens next year. The theater is definitely more important to me.
I had another very close friend who moved away several years ago ... we were "exercise buddies". We spent several years at the local gym, then we went biking or hiking in the forest together. I miss her so much! Neither of us loved exercising so it was so much easier to do it together.
I hope these suggestions help!
RockIt, I would REALLY encourage you to step outside of your "comfort zone" and try to do something you have always wanted to do. I acted and sang in MS and HS and college, then stopped. After DH's accident I desperately needed some "fun". So I wrote to the anonymous contact email for the theater troupe, asking for info. I got a reply within minutes, Hi Debthaven, it's J!!! J was the principal of the English school my kids had gone to on Wednesdays for years. She had recently retired and become President of the troupe. I set up an audition for their next play, and she said, we need men! Would Mr Debthaven audition too?!
The rest is history LOL!
|
|
Deleted
Joined: Oct 12, 2024 7:21:36 GMT -5
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on May 30, 2015 14:00:54 GMT -5
Bicycling and other workout activities take up a lot of my spare time since retirement. I knit while watching TV in the evenings. Since I make chemo caps for the local hospital (they accept preemie caps, too), there's a ready-made supply for my work and it's tax-deductible, too!
I've also stayed active in Toastmasters. It keeps my public speaking skills sharp and gets me out of the house.
|
|
resolution
Junior Associate
Joined: Dec 20, 2010 13:09:56 GMT -5
Posts: 7,244
Mini-Profile Name Color: 305b2b
|
Post by resolution on May 30, 2015 14:12:53 GMT -5
Cooking would be a decent hobby that can contribute to a healthful lifestyle. Also you could start off gardening right now with just a few plants and see how you like it, then use the fresh produce in the cooking.
If you don't like cooking but have an interest in gardening, you could plant flowers and do some flower arrangements.
If you don't like cooking or gardening but like to drink, you could do some home brewing, make wine or mead, or home made liquors.
Drama club or ballroom dance classes would be active hobbies.
Woodworking or refinishing old furniture are also pretty popular hobbies.
|
|
debthaven
Senior Associate
Joined: Apr 7, 2015 15:26:39 GMT -5
Posts: 10,617
|
Post by debthaven on May 30, 2015 14:26:57 GMT -5
I've also stayed active in Toastmasters. It keeps my public speaking skills sharp and gets me out of the house.
I've always wanted to do Toastmasters too, but a friend and I looked into it. It's far from both of us (we both live in the suburbs on opposite sides of Paris), it's on weeknights (duh lol). There are a TON of different groups, some only English, some only French, most bilingual, but we both got the impression that they were all competing with each other, and ended up not doing it. (I didn't do it mainly because of the practical issues, they are all on the "wrong" side of Paris from me, and the days I work, I get up at 6 am.)
There used to be a local Toastmasters but they appear to have imploded.
But it's something I'd like to do, at some point.
|
|
debthaven
Senior Associate
Joined: Apr 7, 2015 15:26:39 GMT -5
Posts: 10,617
|
Post by debthaven on May 30, 2015 14:28:34 GMT -5
And RockIt, congratulations on (almost) finishing your CE certification! Sorry, I should have started with that!
|
|
msventoux
Senior Member
Joined: Feb 12, 2011 22:32:37 GMT -5
Posts: 3,037
|
Post by msventoux on May 30, 2015 14:41:25 GMT -5
Geocaching. You use a GPS to find caches others have set up that have little trinkets and sign in logs in them...sort of a treasure hunt for adults. There's micro caches in cities and larger caches can be found in parks or out in the wilderness.
Do you have a dog? Get involved in obedience training, rally or scent work.
Genealogy. This can involve a lot of sitting as well, but you can also volunteer to photograph cemetery head stones. It sounds creepy but it can be interesting to see all the different types of headstones and what's written on them in the older plots.
Frisbee golf. It looks like fun, but my aim is horrible and I haven't tried it yet.
|
|
Deleted
Joined: Oct 12, 2024 7:21:36 GMT -5
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on May 30, 2015 15:53:14 GMT -5
In answer to my basic interests I like artistic things like drawing & painting & pottery & quilting. I also really enjoy reading good books. All of those are too sedentary and I need to find something that has a little bit of physical activity with it. I like debt's suggestion of the theater, but I can't sing at all (honestly, really terrible). I did volunteer for a kids theatrical training group and really enjoyed that. I did office stuff + coordination of events/seating for school performances. That was fun and maybe I need to look into that group again and see if they need help. Another friend suggested that my technical skills would be very useful for non-profits; but my skills are organizational/project management/technical strategies, which means computer work & not much movement. If I wanted to do that I'd just go back to work to be truthful. Maybe I can combine photography w/local history & gravestones like msventoux mentions & write human interest articles for the local paper. msventoux what is a good geocache group to join? That would definitely get me out of the house and walking around
|
|
flamingo
Well-Known Member
Joined: Dec 17, 2012 10:38:09 GMT -5
Posts: 1,961
Mini-Profile Name Color: 7c65d4
|
Post by flamingo on May 30, 2015 15:54:41 GMT -5
I'm a lot like Steph-I run/workout and I like to read. I've often thought about joining a bookclub, but so far there haven't been any that mesh with my schedule. Man, I'm boring! Someday, though, DH and I will find time to take ballroom dancing lessons. We probably would both suck at it, but it seems like it would be fun!
|
|
msventoux
Senior Member
Joined: Feb 12, 2011 22:32:37 GMT -5
Posts: 3,037
|
Post by msventoux on May 30, 2015 16:09:42 GMT -5
In answer to my basic interests I like artistic things like drawing & painting & pottery & quilting. I also really enjoy reading good books. All of those are too sedentary and I need to find something that has a little bit of physical activity with it. I like debt's suggestion of the theater, but I can't sing at all (honestly, really terrible). I did volunteer for a kids theatrical training group and really enjoyed that. I did office stuff + coordination of events/seating for school performances. That was fun and maybe I need to look into that group again and see if they need help. Another friend suggested that my technical skills would be very useful for non-profits; but my skills are organizational/project management/technical strategies, which means computer work & not much movement. If I wanted to do that I'd just go back to work to be truthful. Maybe I can combine photography w/local history & gravestones like msventoux mentions & write human interest articles for the local paper. msventoux what is a good geocache group to join? That would definitely get me out of the house and walking around Geocaching.com is the main website. You can create a free account, then search for caches in your area. I've never gone with anyone else, it's just been me and the dogs. But if you're interested in the social aspects we do have a geocaching club in our state and I know they have events and provide instructions and demos for beginners. I've also considered orienteering but haven't been able to make it to any of their beginners events locally.
|
|
mroped
Senior Member
Joined: Nov 17, 2014 17:36:56 GMT -5
Posts: 3,453
|
Post by mroped on May 30, 2015 16:36:16 GMT -5
Get in touch with Habitat For Humanity. They're all over the country and always have a project going on especially in bigger towns/cities. The good part about getting involved with them is that you don't realy need skills of any kind, you go whenever you have time and do whatever you can. Most of it is physical labor but there is always the need for someone to organize or keep track of things.
And there are always the soup kitchens and Big Brother/Big Sister programs. But these require a bit more of a commitment.
|
|
debthaven
Senior Associate
Joined: Apr 7, 2015 15:26:39 GMT -5
Posts: 10,617
|
Post by debthaven on May 30, 2015 16:57:16 GMT -5
RockIt, I know we alternate musicals with other plays. And even in the musicals, not everybody has to sing and dance. And there is always room for crew/stage hands/props.
The other thing I love about our troupe is that the director of one production can end up as crew of the next.
If you're interested, PLEASE contact them. You can go to a meeting or two and see what they have planned!
|
|
billisonboard
Community Leader
Joined: Dec 20, 2010 22:45:44 GMT -5
Posts: 38,233
|
Post by billisonboard on May 30, 2015 17:09:50 GMT -5
RockIt, I know we alternate musicals with other plays. And even in the musicals, not everybody has to sing and dance. And there is always room for crew/stage hands/props. The other thing I love about our troupe is that the director of one production can end up as crew of the next. If you're interested, PLEASE contact them. You can go to a meeting or two and see what they have planned! Our group never does musicals (I can't sing either). Involvement is play to play, although there is a pretty solid core.
|
|
Deleted
Joined: Oct 12, 2024 7:21:36 GMT -5
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on May 30, 2015 17:15:13 GMT -5
I wonder why I never thought of photography as a hobby? I take tons of pictures and framed some of them for the house. DH took me to the Cactus Garden when he lived in Phoenix. I love cacti although they really aren't an Alabama-type plant. Anyway, I have some great shots that are framed and in the basement.
Thanks for the suggestion. A good photographer is always welcome. When my son and daughter-in-law married, the photographer went out of business. So their wedding album consists of the pictures I took. While not as posed and professional, they are very good pictures.
Now I have a hobby besides gardening! Since I'm only allowed to transplant the plants and never touch them thereafter (black thumb), it is good to have a backup.
|
|
Robert not Bobby
Well-Known Member
Joined: Jan 29, 2013 17:45:55 GMT -5
Posts: 1,392
|
Post by Robert not Bobby on May 30, 2015 17:20:57 GMT -5
Playing guitar. I guess that is not a hobby. I like plants.
|
|
Cookies Galore
Senior Associate
I don't need no instructions to know how to rock
Joined: Dec 19, 2010 18:08:13 GMT -5
Posts: 10,892
|
Post by Cookies Galore on May 30, 2015 18:37:11 GMT -5
I run often. I sign up for at least one race a month, run with a local run club every week, and participate in festivities with the local running community. I average 15-20 miles a week.
I like food and drinks. I love to cook, bake, make cocktails, and drink wine. I like to read about food and beverages, and I like to go out for food and beverages.
|
|
Deleted
Joined: Oct 12, 2024 7:21:36 GMT -5
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on May 30, 2015 18:52:38 GMT -5
I like to make cocktails, but I don't think I should adopt it as an actual hobby. Spending a couple hours a day on that would be detrimental to my general well being
|
|
Deleted
Joined: Oct 12, 2024 7:21:36 GMT -5
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on May 30, 2015 19:22:09 GMT -5
I like to make cocktails, but I don't think I should adopt it as an actual hobby. Spending a couple hours a day on that would be detrimental to my general well being No, but wine tastings, etc. is a hobby of sorts.
I don't actually like wine, though, and I haven't heard of beer tasting as a hobby. Beer making, yes, but that's too much work for something I can buy at the convenience store.
|
|
teen persuasion
Senior Member
Joined: Dec 20, 2010 21:58:49 GMT -5
Posts: 4,162
|
Post by teen persuasion on May 30, 2015 19:32:12 GMT -5
I like to make cocktails, but I don't think I should adopt it as an actual hobby. Spending a couple hours a day on that would be detrimental to my general well being No, but wine tastings, etc. is a hobby of sorts.
I don't actually like wine, though, and I haven't heard of beer tasting as a hobby. Beer making, yes, but that's too much work for something I can buy at the convenience store.
There was a segment on the local news last night about the growing number of microbreweries in the city. One owner said he wasn't prepared for the volume of traffic he got when he opened, and had to cut his place's hours back until they'd built up enough beer to handle it. He didn't envision that "beer tourism" is a thing now.
|
|
Artemis Windsong
Senior Associate
The love in me salutes the love in you. M. Williamson
Joined: Dec 18, 2010 19:32:12 GMT -5
Posts: 12,401
Today's Mood: Twinkling
Location: Wishing Star
Favorite Drink: Fresh, clean cold bottled water.
|
Post by Artemis Windsong on May 30, 2015 20:48:18 GMT -5
Weight training. Tennis. Zumba. Yoga. Reading. Golf. Archery. Cooking. A lot of time and thought consumed in this activity. Finding recipes, buying groceries, planning meals, preparing meals. Then back to the 1st 3 activities to work it off.
Having fun. That is my lot in life. Everyone asks me if I had FUN!
I belong to a ladies club that has various groups in it. I lead the coffee group and attend the book group as well as lunch. There are several drinking groups. I don't use alcohol but I go to two groups because I like the people. The ladies have one drink of a new flavor martini and the other is a First Friday afternoon happy hour. I go to the jewelry making group, also.
|
|
billisonboard
Community Leader
Joined: Dec 20, 2010 22:45:44 GMT -5
Posts: 38,233
|
Post by billisonboard on May 31, 2015 0:01:29 GMT -5
... Beer making, yes, but that's too much work for something I can buy at the convenience store. What you can buy doesn't come closer to being what you can brew yourself.
|
|
quince
Senior Member
Joined: Sept 23, 2011 17:51:12 GMT -5
Posts: 2,699
|
Post by quince on May 31, 2015 1:20:24 GMT -5
Spinning, knitting, crocheting, weaving, sewing. Aikido. Programming. I enjoy baking, but only unhealthy things, so less of that. I do miss video games, but with the kid I can't justify spending the time I get to myself on video games: at least I have something to show for my hobbies, although dividing my time between the crafting ones means that the projects are completed rarely, which has the added benefit of me not having to figure out what to do with the finished product.
|
|
debthaven
Senior Associate
Joined: Apr 7, 2015 15:26:39 GMT -5
Posts: 10,617
|
Post by debthaven on May 31, 2015 3:01:22 GMT -5
Playing guitar. I guess that is not a hobby.
I consider that a hobby. :-)
|
|
cael
Junior Associate
Joined: Dec 20, 2010 9:12:36 GMT -5
Posts: 5,745
|
Post by cael on May 31, 2015 10:56:43 GMT -5
Knitting (a lot sometimes it's like a compulsion lol) Jogging Violin (2 orchestras, several other small things throughout the year) Hiking (when I have time) Canoeing (again, when we have time). I just like anything that gets me outside, so I'll take a walk, hike, sit at a park, go take photos somewhere, anything really. I miss the days when we had the time to hike in NH every other weekend.
|
|
Deleted
Joined: Oct 12, 2024 7:21:36 GMT -5
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on May 31, 2015 12:45:45 GMT -5
Gardening. Good for body and soul.
|
|