Sunday, July 1, 2012

Hobbies!

Hobby:  An activity done regularly in one's leisure time for pleasure.

If you ask most people they would tell you that my hobbies are Facebook and my kids.  And, to some degree, I think there is some truth to that (really, with the Facebook thing, more than some truth, it is my guilty pleasure!)  And I do love my kids, and would often choose to spend time with them over doing most other things. 

One of the things that I've realized this summer is that I do have hobbies outside of my kids and Facebook, but I just so rarely have leisure time that they often get neglected.  With the move to the new house (which results in some additional time in the day), and some time off from work (that I am really taking as time off and not thinking/ planning for the upcoming year...this is a move I will likely regret in about two weeks, but for now it is awesome!)  I have had some extra time in the last week.  And my 'old' hobbies have resurfaced... and they are sooo much fun.

I have spent the last two weeks doing needlepoint and reading books (AND hanging with my kids and trolling around Facebook, I mean I need to stay on top of all of my favorite things!).  I know, not hobbies that are overly exciting, but fun all the same and I am REALLY enjoying myself.

I picked out a needlepoint kit last year for Girly Girl's room.  It is a smaller kit that is a picture of koi fish that I promised her I would make for her room.  I started it last summer, but I didn't get very far.  In fact, I thought that I was going to have to give up needlepoint because my eyesight keeps deteriorating and it just seemed hard last summer (in hindsight, lots of things were hard last summer in the eyesight department- should have been a predictor of the fall eye appointment that was so disappointing).  This summer I realized that the key to needlepoint for me in my current eye situation is light (and when I say light, I mean like a 100 light bulb pointed directly at the canvas).  So... I have been working away and I think (hope) that I will be able to finish it before school starts!  What has been fun about this project is that I have gotten to teach a whole bunch of kids about needlepoint!  Kids just haven't seen people doing crafts like that- and so when I needlepoint at Little Man's swim lessons or on my couch when the kids have friends over playing- everyone is super interested and checks it out.  It's been fun to do a little teaching about something that seems like it is a lost art.

Books.  Well, what can I say?  I love to read.  Always have.  This summer I've found myself branching out a bit more.  Reading a little more non-fiction than in the past, a little more fiction out of my normal historical stuff.  And it has been fun.  I checked 5 books out of the library last week.  I didn't read all of them, but I skimmed them, read what I wanted, and I traded them in for seven new books today.  Something about getting older, something about not having a lot of time, has driven me to only read what I REALLY want to read, and not wasting time on books that aren't that interesting to me (and before anyone asks, no I have not read Shades of Grey... not avoiding it, just hasn't been available at the library and I'm too cheap to buy it). 

And although I left it off the list at the beginning of this post, I guess blogging counts as a hobby that I often don't have time for but really enjoy.  I miss writing.  I miss the outlet.  So, this is a fun summer distraction (although this post is coming out a bit choppy and disjointed.. must be out of practice). 

Anyway, I am enjoying my hobbies this summer.  And I'm hoping that I can hang on to them a little bit more during the school year this year as well (hey, a girl can dream, right?!?)

Good night.  I'm off to finish one of my new books.  :)
C

PS  This is post one for the July blogging challenge.  I am going to give it a shot.  I tried this in January, and although I didn't end up posting every day, I did end up posting way more often, so I figure it is a good idea.  HOWEVER, the theme is kids.  And today I did not (directly) blog about my kids.  Tomorrow is another day.  :)