Flexible Links
My Blogging Inspiration
Campaign for Unshaved
Snatch (CUSS) & Other Rants
Flexible Affiliations
|
| Sunday, July 1, 2007 |
Get a Hobby! |
Originally published on May 29, 2007.
 When I first became a stay at home mom, I was pretty overwhelmed with it. After a few months, I reached a good stretch where I felt somewhat in control (by that I mean I managed to shower when I wanted to and brush my teeth twice a day with at least a couple hours separating the brushes) only to give birth to my younger son (YS) and feel overwhelmed again. Now that YS is almost a year, my shower schedule is back on track. During these times of relative calm (moment here as I laugh thinking about YS dumping yogurt on his head and the dog's head today as I'm trying to get them to bed after their usual bedtime), I often feel a little...how do I say this...bored. I also know that I've heard quite a few other moms say the same thing. When PBN was looking for people to review the new book Get a Hobby! 101 All-Consuming Diversions for Any Lifestyle by Tina Barseghian, I was pretty excited to read it.
The book starts out with a foreword by neurologist Dr. Miguel Figueroo about the health benefits of a hobby. Basically, doing a hobby causes you to relax by allowing you to focus on something other than everyday stresses, while also allowing you to learn a skill in an area that you enjoy, simply because you enjoy it.
The foreword is followed by an introduction to the book by the author, which is then followed by a quiz to help identify which hobbies might be a good fit for you. I have to say that the quiz was a lot of fun. The author definitely has a good sense of humor. Here's my favorite question and the answers from it just to give you an idea:
The Last Time You Used a Paintbrush Was:
a) To create a replica of the Last Supper on my dining room wall.
b) To apply "Breathless Nights" to my toenails.
c)When I tripped over the one the contractor left in the hallway.
Needless to say, my answer was c! In addition to generating laughs, the quiz helps you to identify the traits that are relevant to selecting hobbies, so that you can look through the book for hobbies that have one or more of those traits in the heading. (My hobby personality is animal-loving, nurturing and independent.) Each hobby includes a brief overview, a history, resources, a project and sometimes a brief interview with someone who did the hobby. Everything is concise, well-organized, and easy to read. This was very helpful to me because, for example, I realized right away that Docenting was not a good fit since it required "a lot of free time". When I got to Dumpster Diving...well...I just had to read the history of it! This book is not heavy reading. It's written in a fun and light-hearted way. There is a whole smorgasbord of hobbies with some that I had knew of and others that I hadn't really thought of or still others that became more interesting to me once I read what about their history and what they entailed. Candle making is an example that is a lot more interesting now than it was before I read the book. I know what OS's preschool teachers are getting as gifts next Christmas!
One of the hobbies that I matched with was ant farming! If you've read my bio, you'll see that this wasn't a surprise to me. Another one I matched with was stained glass. I've always wanted to learn how to do it and have seriously looked into taking a class several times. The book though does say that the quiz is just a guide, so if there is something that is eye-catching to you like Ice Sculpture you should try it out. Also, sometimes you need to try out multiple hobbies before you find one you really like, unless you're one of those people who enjoys doing multiple hobbies at once in which case you should be set.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. My husband enjoyed flipping through it too. I think it would make a fun birthday present for a friend, particularly a friend who feels caught in a rut or is stressed out. This book would also be a great gift for someone who you are having trouble shopping for. Plus for their next present they will hopefully have a hobby and you can get them that great scrapbooking paper, kiln etc., that they would just love. I think the book would be great on a coffee table or quite frankly in a bathroom. The way it is written, you can just read one or two hobbies at a time. Like I said before, it's very easy to follow. Pretty much all the hobbies fit on two pages.
If you go to the PBN site at this location and leave a comment at the launch post or the mid-launch post, you will be entered in a drawing for a $100 gift certificate to Michael's. |
posted by Alex Elliot @ 9:42 PM
 |
|
|
|
|
My Profile
| Name: | Alex Elliot |
| Home: | MA, United States |
| About Me: | Professional Mom of two cats, a dog, an ant farm, and oh yeah...two boys: a 6 year old and a 3 year old. Also found in my house is my husband who is known on this blog as The Big Giraffe. |
| See my complete profile |
Flexible Media Appearances
The Morning Show with
Mike and Juliet, Fox TV, August 3, 2007
Flexible Feeds
More Flexible Parenting
Previous Posts
Archives
|
