What Do You Love Doing?

My fiance is always telling me a need a hobby... I have no time or money or energy for a hobby! My hobby is not having a hobby. I have way too much housework to do ;)

I love physical activity - walking/running, riding bike, Karate, swimming. I've been able to include my daughter in these mostly, and more so as she gets older.

Reading is something I've always loved, but yes it was hard to find time for reading while she was young.

I tend to choose things that take a lot of my time and then get tired of them a year later. I kept seahorses for a little more than a year and then sold them to someone that was wanting to get started with the hobby. I kept a hydroponic garden and then dismantled it when the time it was taking was just too great. I have given some of the equipment away and kept much of it so I can do it again when I want. I raised all sorts of animals through the years and sold them to pet stores. I have raised gardens and flowers and I love to read. I like learning new things and will spend some years concentrating on a certain period of history. I have studied and taking CLEP exams just for the heck of it. I sold real estate one year and life insurance a few times on the nights and weekends. I even started a correspondence law school program once, switched to paralegal and criminal justice and then switched to medical transcription.

Obviously, I don't know what I want either! LOL... Oh yeah...For 3 months once my mother watched the household for me while I delivered frozen foods for Schwan's and then after that sold used cars for the next 3 months.

I LOVE all the great things I've learned through my life. All the while I've kept my daycare going and homeschooled my children.

Never EVER lose sight of you as a person apart from being a wife and mother. You can wait until they are out of this stage or that. But I'm here to tell you at 44 with 4 daughters, 3 of them grown and one grandchild, sandwhiched between my youngest daughter and grandson and my mother too.. Life NEVER gets easier.

On top of all of this I LOVE movies, television and will find time to love my shows and still keep a good clean home. Get your kids involved with your hobbies when you can. Stay busy because idle hands are just no good.

I love reading, too, and always made time for it when my boys were babies & toddlers. Afternoon nap time was sacred in my house and when the boys were napping, I curled up in bed and read or slept. When my oldest outgrew naps, he still laid on his bed for "rest time," so I still got to read. Sometimes, we'd have a "read-fest" where he curled up on my bed with me. More often than not, he would read and I would sleep! It was great.

Good luck!

If you are talking about an hobby you can do someplace other than your home, the I DEFINITELY suggest dancing. I dance cuban salsa and LOVE IT. I go to class every Friday evening, after I put my son to bed, the class lasts 1,5 hours (so not too long), it's great exercise (my butt is very grateful!), it is exhilarating, fun and it is my entertainment too. If I like I can go with my group to the ballroom after class, but I don't have to. It's that "me-time" that I need and frankly I suggest, as it puts you in contact with your sensual, feminine, side and it's very social. Try it!

I love to crochet, make candles and make gifts baskets. A couple of my friends says that my work is beautiful and I should turn it into a business. So I did. I love my hobby/business. You find something that you will enjoy. It just going to take time. :)

Before kids, I did needlework but with babies around it was just too complex and I didn't want tiny needles lying around. When mine were around the ages of yours, I rediscovered knitting. I knit all the time now, it is the perfect hobby for me.

I have projects that are portable and can come along when the kids have a lesson or to waiting rooms; simple projects that I can knit for 3 minutes, get interrupted, and come back later and still know where I am and feel like another 3 minutes will be useful. I also have complicated projects for when I'm alone and can really concentrate. The feeling of accomplishment you get from making something beautiful and useful with your hands is wonderful.

Whatever you choose, your friend is absolutely right. Find something you love and nurture yourself in between nurturing your family, it makes for a much happier momma. It also will teach your kids, eventually, that momma is more than just that person who fetches and cleans for them.

I like painting. My walls!, i redo the colors all the time, it makes everything fresh and new. I also like cooking, trying out new techniques. Rollerblading. Throwing themed parties.

don't have any suggestions....just glad to know i'm not the only one that doesn't have a hobby! my mom used to tell me to get a hobby all the time. that was after i graduated college b/c before then you're just so focused on work & school. then you get out, start working, then what?!
and not that i have time/money to do any damn thing, but if i did & i could, i'd love to scrapbook & get all my pics together of my sweet boy. i'd LOVE to take a tap class, specifically a river dance/irish dance type of class. love to go see more concerts..man, i guess i do like a lot of things, just can't/don't do 'em! :)
i liked your question though! :) i feel the same

How old are your kids? I found that when my kids were very little, I had very little time or energy to pursue hobbies but did find enjoyment sharing certain types of activities with them (raising your kids is a great excuse for enjoying loads of children's books (and inventing loads of funny and silly voices for reading children's stories to them), building with blocks, doing art projects, singing silly songs and making up silly dances, etc. :-)). It's only been in the past year or so (my girls are 9YO now) that I've realized that I actually *can* start picking up some of my old hobbies again (drawing, needlework, reading something other than what I'm reading to my kids).
So I guess my suggestion is: 1) try different activities *with* your kids - it can have a two-fold purpose: a bonding activity with your kids AND a chance for you to test out some activities that you might decide to pursue further when they're older and you have a bit more time; 2) remember that the stage you're at now is just one of many seasons in life - you might feel that you've no time for hobbies now but that will change later in life.

I read a lot and am currently rereading Frankenstein on my NOOK (I keep it in my purse and pull it out whenever I'm not doing anything). I also like working on my fantasy novel and watching movies. Now that the pool's open I'll use that. I also love singing. and doodling. My sister, the kids, and I like doing arts and crafts together.

My oldest sister makes and decorates cakes (she made a Hobbit hole for my last birthday). My other sister makes jewelry (she works with silver, gold, and gems) and paints. I'm the only one with any musical talent, but I failed to inherit any cooking ability (the most I can do with an oven is make Ramen).

Spending time with my family. My children bring out so much joy in me. I also love volunteering at their schools. I love helping other children and watching mine interact with others.

I'm a bit of a study addict, so when I was looking after my little ones, and even after I returned to work part-time I completed a degree. I'm now considering my next degree (glutton for punish). I also love to scuba dive, but that takes me out to sea for practically a whole day which is difficult. I love to read and do it in bed before I go to sleep. I love to swim and do that with my children a lot. I also get addicted to websites like this and facebook. I need to wean myself off them as they take up so much time!

I like the idea of taking a dance class, or any other class from a local rec center that sparks your interest (maybe pick up a new instrument?) -- it's nice to have the excuse to leave the house and the kids behind.

For me, I took up writing children's poems and stories. Whether they're any good is yet to be determined.... but I love to do it! It works well with my busy lifestyle because all I need is a folded piece of paper with some ideas on it that I keep in my purse, and a pen. Any time I have more than two minutes of down time, I can work on it. And I can even work on it just in my head, with no tools at all! So if you're looking for a VERY low tech hobby, this might be for you. I use some of my illustrated stories for presents for my nieces, and print some of them out with photos of my kids to read to them, so even though publishing is a lofty dream, I can still use my work for something.

I agree that it's hard to find something to do for just ourselves, especially when we are so busy thinking of our families!

Things to do from home?
-Reading (I only have time for magazines because I'm constantly interrupted by my kids. Library for a book when I do have time.)
-Crafts
-Working out IN THE HOME
-Playing outside w/my boy ALL DAY :)
-Watching the cooking channel and trying new things to cook
-Making homemade greeting cards (fun)
-Putting pictures in photo albums
-blogging
-Dreaming up my next two family vacations then researching
-Emailing my friends all the time (only form of entertainment)
-Renting movies

when u want 'me' time, try collecting wine bottles or the labels. the labels are so pretty at times. collect enough and put on wall as a wall covering or frames. get a wall wine holder and display the wine bottles. i hate the taste of wines but im even thinking about collecting the labels and putting them on frames with a large matt background and giving as gifts to those who enjoy the wine tasting tours.