Tag: hobbies

Shari On Hobbies

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Shari On Hobbies

What do macramé, cake decorating, oil painting, and guitar lessons have in common? They are all hobbies that I have wanted to learn but haven’t had the opportunity to jump into yet. The key word of that sentence being yet! Like most people, the lack of extra time, access to quality lessons, and infinite “fun” money for materials are the main barriers to entry when trying something new and adding to my hobby repertoire.

Let’s break that down… it takes a significant amount of TIME to learn a new skill (especially if it is something that you have never done before). Plus you have to actually practice what you learn with consistency and repetition. For example, years ago I learned how to knit but never knit more than a scarf. After Christmas last year my friend sent me links to needles and yarn along with a step by step video link that she had followed and then, I was off and running! I made probably 20 knit wool hats over the course of January and February this year (not kidding)! I was able to learn and then practice (a lot)! I still have so much to learn about knitting but it was so fun to make hats and headbands and gift them to family and friends.

Another huge factor when trying a new hobby is access to training RESOURCES like quality lessons and/or FREE step-by-step instructions! Another example I have of this is the most recent hobby I’ve picked up: photography. I’ve always loved taking pictures and may (or may not) currently have over 20K photos on my iPhone (embarrassing)! My main reason to learn photography is to capture landscapes, specifically mountain landscapes at sunset with that epic alpine glow. I bought a nice basic camera that a friend suggested (she also let me check out hers) and I began to practice. I also downloaded an app called Udemy and searched by “photography” and filtered the search to “free courses”. Sure enough I had 8+ hours of photography basics training and I spent an entire Saturday educating myself. We have access to so many free online training resources. Hop on google or YouTube and start searching!

The final factor when looking into a hobby is what MATERIALS do you need and how expensive this new investment is going to be and the impact on your budget. This is something I am currently figuring out with gardening… picking out seeds, starts, soil, gloves, etc. There are so many factors when planning out your garden and they all start to add up. Same with any hobby really, it all tends to add up. If you are truly interested in starting and committing to a hobby, research the time and resources first… be logical about what you can commit to and then (when you are sure you can commit) start saving for the materials needed to build your hobby out over time. Also birthdays are a great time to ask for things too, ha!  

Have fun! Hobbies can be a useful and great way to manage stress. Not to mention, they can be a creative outlet for our minds. April is ‘Stress Awareness Month’ and honestly, anything that can help us de-stress is worth the time and investment.

What hobbies are you into? Let me know in the comments below!

Guest Blogger Allyson: “Tie Dying for my Life”

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Guest Blogger Allyson: “Tie Dying for my Life”

If you told me 6 months ago that I would be spending my evenings tie dying clothing in a shower in the middle of a global pandemic, I would have looked at you like you were crazy – yet here we are.

This wasn’t how 2020 was supposed to go. 

I was a creature of impeccable habit. I woke up at the same time, ate the same foods, worked the same job, wrote the same lists; I wore my militant discipline almost as a badge of honor, thwarting it over people to show them that you really could accomplish anything with the right amount of regulation and control. 

2019 brought me the devastating loss of my father. We knew it was coming; there was no medical hope or miracle in the world that could have saved him. Before he passed, I was spiraling. My methodical means of coping were no longer an option when I was faced with something so utterly out of my control. I couldn’t craft a thoughtful list of how to save a life. 

Some may argue that death shouldn’t bring you anything but sorrow and pain, but this pivotal moment in my life inspired me to break free from who I was before. If anything should motivate you to live your life (and I mean truly live it, not some imposter-of-an-existence that I was in), it should be the lesson that, as George Strait once said, “I’m here for a good time, not a long time.” Your life can get cut short in an instant, and I was not going to waste another moment of it not doing the things that brought me joy. I was going to travel, see the world, eat the food – anything and everything my dad would have wanted for me. Then the pandemic hit.

This wasn’t how 2020 was supposed to go.

I had grand plans for this year and in what felt like an instant, the world stopped. Work slowed, gyms closed, travel was not an option; then the depression and anxiety hit. I had just managed to start digging myself out of the deep hole I had been living in for the past couple of years with my renewed enthusiasm and zest for life, and here I was again; dangerously flirting with reuniting with it. I honestly didn’t even know what to do with myself, especially since I couldn’t even go back to my “normal” way of life. How does one plan their life anymore when there isn’t a plan? I didn’t have a handbook on how to navigate my life during a pandemic. 

At the root of it all, I had to remember what I promised myself I would – life is short and I cannot spend my days wishing I had taken the leap to do the things that make me happy. I needed a creative outlet, and what started as an activity to keep me busy at home turned into what I can lovingly call a small business. If you hadn’t gathered earlier, I am a meticulous, almost-robotic (at times) person, so the idea of trying something that I am not already an expert at completely frightened me. But, for the first time in a long time, I was excited about something, and I needed to keep that positive momentum going for my mental health and survival. People don’t always like to admit this, but I will – I value the opinions of other people (yup, I DO care what people think of me), so the notion of sharing this new venture with my community was a huge change for me to take – but I did it, because if I hadn’t, I would have regretted it.

You may call it tie dying, but I call it tie dying for my life. 

This wasn’t how 2020 was supposed to go.

But maybe –

This was exactly how 2020 was supposed to go.

You can find Allyson on Instagram at @upcycledstylefinds and on Etsy!

Allyson is a fabulous and fierce friend of Shari and Kendall. She went to WWU with them and is currently an active member of the Bellingham community. Allyson lives with her husband, Tyler, and precious pup, Luna. Kendall and Shari adore her because she is always quick with her wit and loving with her friends.