O/T - Time for a fun thread!

I do believe it's that time again! For our new members, every once in a while we have fun threads. These threads are designed to either help us deal with our Uc, take our minds off Uc or just get to know each other better.

So today's fun thread is going to be (and yes it's a repeat to our veteran members but it's fun anyway!):



What are your hobbies? What do you enjoy in your spare time?

I am an avid reader. I love to read horror/suspense/murder/mystery books. I always have my nose in a book. It helps me take my mind off things and like I tell my daughter (who is just now starting to enjoy reading), books can take you anywhere in the world you would like to go. Another passion of mine is riding with my husband on his Harley. I absolutely love to ride! Sometimes we take the bike out and just get lost. We have found some pretty interesting places by doing this. I'm also a crafter. I can't do as much as I would like because of the arthritis in my hands but when they don't bother me I like to knit, crochet, needlepoint or punch point. There is nothing more then having something beautiful created with your own hands.

Ok, time for you to share....tell us what you enjoy. It can be anything really.

I like to travel and exercise. I love time for me and shut the world out and just do what makes me happy, like, a nice walk outside where I can be thankful and greatful for what I have. I get connected with GOD and I cry tears of joy. I pray a lot and this makes me feel a lot better! I cry a lot and this helps release my angry and sadness, it's ok to "let it out" I love to ride bikes or my boyfriends harley. I love to camp. I love to meet new people. I like to be uplifted and inspired "Joel Osteen" knocks it out of the park every week! I like to be helpful and I like to give. I like to have company over and this year will be our first Christmas at our new place. I'm excited about it because it's something my boyfriend has always wanted and I enjoy his family. I like that I'm maybe 40 but I'm maturing all the time. I'm breaking down walls and losing the "hard" side of myself and letting people in and saying what's on my mind. I like movies and sitting down with my favorite meal and I enjoy and pepsi every now and again with my pizza or chinese food...ahhh. I admire people who do what I wish I could do or want to do. I'm not that creative but I appreciate those who are, who take the time to make somethng on their own. I like gear heads and people who are blue collared because I know they work hard for their money and labor long in hot or cold weather. I appreciate those that have little and give a lot. I apprecaite a true spirit and funny personality.

I'm a very crafty person. I've been sewing like crazy for the past 2 years. Right now though I'm taking a break since my husband and I just recently moved states and are trying to build our savings back up. People at my new job like everyone else who has seen my sewing projects say that I should sell my stuff.

This is a nice change of pace.....thinking about the joy in our lives instead of the misery of UC.  OK, hobbies and passtimes.

I love to read.  Some historical stuff; Cokie Roberts books about the Founding Mothers were terrific.  I do throw in a good "bodice ripper" every now and then, too.  Currently I'm reading Eat, Pray, Love.  Having some trouble with it, 'cause I find it self-indulgent, but I'm almost done. 

I'm also a reality TV junkie; though not anything where someone hopes to find the love of their lives on national television!  And absolutely NO Jersey Shore or Real Housewives from anywhere! 

Sewing and quilting are also hobbies of mine.  I am in the process of converting my mother's bedroom (she passed away in January) into my sewing room.  I figure it's a fitting tribute to the person who taught me how to sew when I was 10.  My husband calls it my "Nan Cave"...LOL

Hubby and I like to cook together, and I have a 2 year old Australian Shepherd, Jiji, who enjoys sharing long walks with me. 

And, finally, I have 2 grown sons whose lives I like to stick my nose into.

I am a huge reader with medical thrillers, romantic suspense, and regular old mysteries leading the pack and jockeying for space on my bookshelves. When I have time, I like to play around with beads making jewelry, ornaments and other things. I also enjoy camping with my family - hubby and two boys ages 11 and 8. As long as we take our pop-camper with a/c, it all good!

This is a nice change.  We all try to get our UC under control so we can do and enjoy just the things we are speaking of here!  I have a horse of which I enjoy riding and grooming.  I also have 3 dogs (1 lab 8yrs, 1 boston 1 yr and a brand new 12 week old boston I got less than a week ago).  I suppose I love my animals.  I have two grown children and 1 granddaughter who just turned 1 of which I am completely enjoying.  I enjoy the out of doors - enjoy snowmobiling in the winter time.  I am also a big lover of crafts.  You name the craft I probably have the supplies.  I also have alot of unfinished projects which is typical.  I am currently active with learning how to quilt and just invested in a new machine which I am attempting to learn how to use.  I enjoy reading some in my spare time and love my Kindle as I don't have to carry the books.  I enjoy meeting new people and now that my children are grown and am 50 I am interested in seeing new places and travel.  There are just sooo many things I like to do and never seem to have enough time!

I am an avid golfer, and play two or three times a week.
I love to be outside in the sunshine, and it keeps me moving.
While we play we listen to music on ipod speakers, drink a few beers (or a good bourbon) and even smoke a cigar once in while (Blondies). I play for fun, and also for nurturing business relationships (which always beats a day in the office).

I, too, love to read. This seems to be a common interest...perhaps it's because we have so many opportunities to do it. :) I love reading historical fiction. Currently reading Pompeii by Robert Harris. My favorite book I have read in the last year has been "Water for Elephants". I am so excited it is being made into a movie. I also just got hooked on Michael Connelly's books as they are fast reads.

I also love to cook, but it's not as enjoyable anymore as I can't eat many things anymore. This past weekend, I cooked for my sister's baby shower. I made 6 different quiches, homemade caesar salad dressing (no raw eggs) and three different types of cupcakes with frosting. Fortunately, I had a friend help me make them as I couldn't taste a single dish. She assured me they all tasted delicious.

I also love learning about history and traveling to places rich in history and culture. I use to knit, but I haven't done that in a while.

I would say my main hobby is my horse.. I'm going to try this mounted drill team thing that meets on Tuesday evenings and Thursday evenings and if I decide to join we will perform at the Rodeo here in town next May.. woo hoo! The practices are starting tomorrow at 5pm if I can get my butt over to the rodeo grounds... I'm also into making natural Soy Candles... Pretty fun to make them in the winter when it's rainy or too cold to ride and it makes my house smell SOOOOO GOOOOOOD!!!

I dont know if I have any hobbies per say. I think Ive been so wrapped up in my family that I might have neglected my own interests, ykwim?

There are plenty of things I like doing tho...

I too enjoy reading, but Im more the Jane Austen, Bronte, etc type of reader. I am well into that kind of brit lit. I just finished Villette by Charlotte Bronte and altho it was so long I was so sad to have to finish it. I love the characters in their books. Charlotte Bronte is my fave of the Bronte sisters. Anyway...

I love photography. Have since I was about 9 years old. I dont have the equipment tho... Im hoping to remedy that one day.

I do like exercising, but am taking a conciencious break to regain focus and my strength back.

I really enjoy cooking, but I enjoy eating more. Im currently on scd and thats been interesting. Its been kind of fun finding what I can tolerate right now and looking up recipes and stuff for it. Can be a challenge too.... Which I dont mind.

Our family does like being out doors. We love camping, but dont do it enough. We love walking and hiking, spending days at the beach either sunbathing, swimming or just exploring

A big part of my life is my faith and my God. In fact this is the biggest part of who I am, I think. Bigger then UC, thats for sure!!

I am a huge music fan. I used to play drums, when I had more time and a practice space, but still enjoy going to catch as many live shows as I can. Music has always brought me a lot of joy and gotten me through a lot of frustration with UC.

My black and tan coonhound is another joy of mine--she just turned 10. She's been a trusty companion over the years and I enjoy taking her to the dog beach at Lake Michigan. I know you all will appreciate this--my dog has colitis too!

I also play a lot of poker with my friends. A great way to socialize, compete, listen to music and hang with a great group of guys.

My fiance and I are getting married next summer, so we have been having fun starting the plan to our big day--not to mention our life together.

Last but not least, I love the NFL football and the Bears (it's a love/hate). I'm getting ready to start our co-ed flag football league this fall, which is a blast.

Post Edited (crapshooter) : 9/14/2010 5:59:40 AM (GMT-6)

I'm also an avid reader and since I see there are others in this thread who enjoy reading, I

thought I would mention a novel that has as its protagonist a woman with UC.  It may be a bit of a busman's holiday and, in all honesty, it might be frustrating to read because she seems to have a relatively moderate case and there's a somewhat upbeat resolution, at least temporarily, of her disease toward the end of the book, but it seems like there isn't much literature out there that understands, even just a little bit, the trials of UC.

 

But I really enjoyed the book for many reasons, not just the UC part.  You think at first that it's just kind of a chick-lit novel, and slowly it reaches you that it's about the isolation that comes with grief and loss of all kinds.  The book is "American Fuji", by Sara Backer.

I have dabbled in so many hobbies over the years....I love learning new skills, so sometimes one activity will somehow introduce me to another, and I'll go off on that for several years. It's not that I've "dropped" the first activity, I just love to learn new things!
Stuff I love to do but am able to only do rarely, when the opportunity arises: sailing, canoeing, fishing (Durango - I used to tie flies!), horseback riding.... at various times I've done a lot of sewing, everything from clothing to handbags to quilts (my mother-in-law taught me to hand quilt)... and for years I hand-caned chair seats!
We have bought two houses and have done most of the renovations; our present home has taken much of the past 10 years, and I'm good at spackling drywall, installing insulation, and painting (especially cutting in windows.) Now that my kids are older and the house is mostly done, I like to read, do crosswords, knit, and garden.... and this year I'm consciously devoting free time to enjoy my younger son in his Senior year of high school, anticipating that he'll be off in college next year.
Obviously music is a big part of my life, but as my work is music-related, I can't really call it a hobby - !

I'd be interested in reading "American Fuji" - ! Haven't read the girl/dragon/etc books yet, but of all things my MOTHER likes them, because she was able to understand some of the Swedish words and phrases, from her childhood. So.... one is in my "to read" stack. I've been on a Barbara Delinsky/Anne Rivers Siddons/Martha Grimes kick for my summer pleasure reading.