Peggy Jaeger's Blog - Posts Tagged "hobbies"
The benefit of having hobbies…
Some people I know who shall forever and always remain nameless, still consider my writing a hobby.
Yeah…I know. I’m surprised they’re still breathing, too.
Anyway. Writing, as you know, is like oxygen to me. I need to write in order to live, much the way I need oxygen in order to survive. It’s not a hobby, but a necessary facet of my life. A hobby, on the other hand, is nice, but I don’t need to have one to live.
awriter
This got me to thinking, though, that having a hobby is a…good thing, to quote Martha Stewart. Hobbies distract us from the mundane aspects of our work lives; they bring us a little fun in a day that can be fun-less and soul-sucking. Hobbies can clear our minds of the detritus and negative energy our work can bring, and focus us instead on something positive and enriching.
hobbies
Now, my writing gives me all those positive things I just mentioned. But it’s still not a hobby. Nor, is it in reality, work. Not for me. Writing is as necessary to me as water is to the balance of nature and all living things. Writing centers me; keeps my mind sharp, my memory intact. Writing makes me smile and laugh. Of course, when I’m writing something sad it can also make me weep and wail. Well, maybe not wail…but you get the premise. A hobby doesn’t do that. A hobby doesn’t make you sweat and toil, worry and wallow when you aren’t getting the thought you want just right, or the dialogue as tight as you can and still convey the essence of the words. A hobby doesn’t make you bleed emotions and rip your heart into shreds. A hobby doesn’t make you feel immortal or powerful or omnipotent.
So, don’t call my writing a hobby, because it’s not. It’s a…vocation; a calling; a mission. But it’s not a hobby.
New release 3 WISHES (A Candy Hearts Romance)perf5.000x8.000.indd
Valentine’s Day is chocolatier Chloe San Valentino’s favorite day of the year. Not only is it the busiest day in her candy shop, Caramelle de Chloe, but it’s also her birthday. Chloe’s got a birthday wish list for the perfect man she pulls out every year: he’d fall in love with her in a heartbeat, he’d be someone who cares about people, and he’d have one blue eye and one green eye, just like her. So far, Chloe’s fantasy man hasn’t materialized, despite the matchmaking efforts of her big, close-knit Italian family. But this year for her 30th birthday, she just might get her three wishes.
Get it here: Amazon // The Wild Rose Press // Nook// Kobo //
Tweet Me// Read Me// Visit Me// Picture Me //Pin Me//Friend Me//Google+Me//
to see the actual graphics visit me at http://peggyjaeger.com
Yeah…I know. I’m surprised they’re still breathing, too.
Anyway. Writing, as you know, is like oxygen to me. I need to write in order to live, much the way I need oxygen in order to survive. It’s not a hobby, but a necessary facet of my life. A hobby, on the other hand, is nice, but I don’t need to have one to live.
awriter
This got me to thinking, though, that having a hobby is a…good thing, to quote Martha Stewart. Hobbies distract us from the mundane aspects of our work lives; they bring us a little fun in a day that can be fun-less and soul-sucking. Hobbies can clear our minds of the detritus and negative energy our work can bring, and focus us instead on something positive and enriching.
hobbies
Now, my writing gives me all those positive things I just mentioned. But it’s still not a hobby. Nor, is it in reality, work. Not for me. Writing is as necessary to me as water is to the balance of nature and all living things. Writing centers me; keeps my mind sharp, my memory intact. Writing makes me smile and laugh. Of course, when I’m writing something sad it can also make me weep and wail. Well, maybe not wail…but you get the premise. A hobby doesn’t do that. A hobby doesn’t make you sweat and toil, worry and wallow when you aren’t getting the thought you want just right, or the dialogue as tight as you can and still convey the essence of the words. A hobby doesn’t make you bleed emotions and rip your heart into shreds. A hobby doesn’t make you feel immortal or powerful or omnipotent.
So, don’t call my writing a hobby, because it’s not. It’s a…vocation; a calling; a mission. But it’s not a hobby.
New release 3 WISHES (A Candy Hearts Romance)perf5.000x8.000.indd
Valentine’s Day is chocolatier Chloe San Valentino’s favorite day of the year. Not only is it the busiest day in her candy shop, Caramelle de Chloe, but it’s also her birthday. Chloe’s got a birthday wish list for the perfect man she pulls out every year: he’d fall in love with her in a heartbeat, he’d be someone who cares about people, and he’d have one blue eye and one green eye, just like her. So far, Chloe’s fantasy man hasn’t materialized, despite the matchmaking efforts of her big, close-knit Italian family. But this year for her 30th birthday, she just might get her three wishes.
Get it here: Amazon // The Wild Rose Press // Nook// Kobo //
Tweet Me// Read Me// Visit Me// Picture Me //Pin Me//Friend Me//Google+Me//
to see the actual graphics visit me at http://peggyjaeger.com
https://peggyjaeger.com/2017/08/18/di...
you'll need to click on this link to see the great craft pictures:
https://peggyjaeger.com/2017/08/18/di...
and that I bake? A lot? More about those things in a bit….
Today’s topic is what I do to recharge. By definition, recharge means: to regain one’s strength and energy by resting and relaxing for a time; or return to a normal state of mind or strength after a period of physical or mental exertion.
By virtue of those definitions, something must be done for a person to need to break away from to rest and regain their momentum.
yeah…not me. I’ve said this multiple, ad nauseum times: Writing is my oxygen. Without doing it, like without breathing, I would die. So I really have never come to a place in my life where I felt the need or desire to walk away from it for a while to reenergize my brain.
What I do, in essence, though, is take breaks during the day for the other things that I love to do: cooking is one. Making things is another. Let me ‘splain.
I love to bake. Thankfully, my husband likes to eat the things I bake. Most days, items like this sit under domed glass on my kitchen counter, waiting for him to snack on:
Those are my banana walnut muffins. The picture doesn’t do them justice about how big they are. Trust me: for the normal person they would not be a snack but a meal. For hubby though, who likes to graze, they are a snack. When I get stuck on dialogue or a plot point isn’t moving along the way I want it to, I go from my office to the kitchen and bake for an hour or so. Usually, that time away from the laptop, consciously writing, commands my unconscious brain to deal with the problem. Problem gets solved and I’ve got baked goods as the outcome.
Win-Win!
The other things I do are along the crafty spectrum. I love to decoupage and restore old “things.” The things I love to restore the most are old trunks and steamer trunks. Here’s a project I did last year:
If you look super close you will see the cover of my first book SKATER’s WALTZ on there! Yeah, I”m not too conceited! ( sarcasm added). I also have my second and third book covers There’s No Place like Home, First Impressions )on the other side of the trunk! Yeah… I know.
I also paint. I’m not great at it, but it is very relaxing. One of the newest things I’ve been painting are those canvass produce bags you are now required to bring to most supermarkets to cut down on the throwaway plastic bags filling our landfills for the next 10,000 years. Since I’ve been writing a new food series — WILL COOK FOR LOVE — it seemed appropriate to give these away at book signings to people who want the books. Clever marketing tool meets relaxing hobby.
Win-Win, again!
Now, I realize that my way of de-stressing isn’t exactly what other authors do. Let’s be honest, what I do sounds more like work to some people!!! Visit some of these authors to find out what they do to re-charge, energize, and how they cope with the stressors of life when they aren’t writing.
1.
Recharge? What is That? – Robin Michaela
2.
Rejuvenating My Weary Soul
3.
Taking Time to Recharge
4.
Struggling to Decompress with the Overwhelm
5.
Batteries On Low
6.
Karaoke, Anyone?
7.
Not the Energizer Bunny
8.
Jumper Cables for the Mind
9.
Conquering Burnout: Napping is Nice
10.
Relaxing. . . or Trying To – Valerie Ullmer
11.
You Can’t Pour From an Empty Jar
12.
Batteries Dead-Recharge Needed Henderson
13.
Did you know I’m crafty. . . . #MFRWAuthors
https://peggyjaeger.com/2017/08/18/di...
and that I bake? A lot? More about those things in a bit….
Today’s topic is what I do to recharge. By definition, recharge means: to regain one’s strength and energy by resting and relaxing for a time; or return to a normal state of mind or strength after a period of physical or mental exertion.
By virtue of those definitions, something must be done for a person to need to break away from to rest and regain their momentum.
yeah…not me. I’ve said this multiple, ad nauseum times: Writing is my oxygen. Without doing it, like without breathing, I would die. So I really have never come to a place in my life where I felt the need or desire to walk away from it for a while to reenergize my brain.
What I do, in essence, though, is take breaks during the day for the other things that I love to do: cooking is one. Making things is another. Let me ‘splain.
I love to bake. Thankfully, my husband likes to eat the things I bake. Most days, items like this sit under domed glass on my kitchen counter, waiting for him to snack on:
Those are my banana walnut muffins. The picture doesn’t do them justice about how big they are. Trust me: for the normal person they would not be a snack but a meal. For hubby though, who likes to graze, they are a snack. When I get stuck on dialogue or a plot point isn’t moving along the way I want it to, I go from my office to the kitchen and bake for an hour or so. Usually, that time away from the laptop, consciously writing, commands my unconscious brain to deal with the problem. Problem gets solved and I’ve got baked goods as the outcome.
Win-Win!
The other things I do are along the crafty spectrum. I love to decoupage and restore old “things.” The things I love to restore the most are old trunks and steamer trunks. Here’s a project I did last year:
If you look super close you will see the cover of my first book SKATER’s WALTZ on there! Yeah, I”m not too conceited! ( sarcasm added). I also have my second and third book covers There’s No Place like Home, First Impressions )on the other side of the trunk! Yeah… I know.
I also paint. I’m not great at it, but it is very relaxing. One of the newest things I’ve been painting are those canvass produce bags you are now required to bring to most supermarkets to cut down on the throwaway plastic bags filling our landfills for the next 10,000 years. Since I’ve been writing a new food series — WILL COOK FOR LOVE — it seemed appropriate to give these away at book signings to people who want the books. Clever marketing tool meets relaxing hobby.
Win-Win, again!
Now, I realize that my way of de-stressing isn’t exactly what other authors do. Let’s be honest, what I do sounds more like work to some people!!! Visit some of these authors to find out what they do to re-charge, energize, and how they cope with the stressors of life when they aren’t writing.
1.
Recharge? What is That? – Robin Michaela
2.
Rejuvenating My Weary Soul
3.
Taking Time to Recharge
4.
Struggling to Decompress with the Overwhelm
5.
Batteries On Low
6.
Karaoke, Anyone?
7.
Not the Energizer Bunny
8.
Jumper Cables for the Mind
9.
Conquering Burnout: Napping is Nice
10.
Relaxing. . . or Trying To – Valerie Ullmer
11.
You Can’t Pour From an Empty Jar
12.
Batteries Dead-Recharge Needed Henderson
13.
Did you know I’m crafty. . . . #MFRWAuthors
