It's just a hobby

#23- List your top 5 hobbies and why you love them.


I am a dabbler in many things, a master of none.  I think, however, that I can come up with 5 hobbies.

1. Cooking: I like to cook.  It soothes me. I like to try at least one new recipe a week. Pinterest has been my downfall on this one...

2. Needle crafts (knitting, sewing, crocheting, stitchery, quilting, etc): My mom got me started sewing quilts at a young age, and I've loved that ever since.  I learned to crochet in college, I learned to knit last year, and I've been stitching for awhile.  I love the "mindlessness" of these hobbies, I can just let my hands go while my mind wanders elsewhere.

3. Photography: I do this one purely because I love to.  I like having nice pictures of things and people I love.

4. Reading: There is nothing in this world that quite equals curling up with a good book. It is an escape for the heart, mind, and soul.

5. Writing: I don't do this one nearly often enough anymore, but someday I would like to write a book.  Someday...

You are Special!

When I was growing up my mom had this really cool thing.  It looked like this:

Anytime one of us had a birthday, brought home a straight A report card, or did something really cool, we got to eat dinner on the "You are Special" plate. It was a pretty big honor. 

Well, I decided awhile back that I wanted to get one of these plates to use with my own kids.  My search began. I discovered that it is made by a company called Waechtersbach, and they are almost 100% out of stock... everywhere.  Anytime I could find one it was expensive. Like, really expensive.  I wasn't about to drop $50 on one plate.  Not. Going. To. Happen. 

So, I started looking for ways I could do this on a budget. That's when I stumbled upon this tutorial on Pinterest.  I was overjoyed.  Seriously, T-Bone and I did a little happy dance. He didn't know why we were dancing, but joined me in the jig anyway.  Anyway, back to my story.  I mulled the idea over a bit.  Tried to think of some ideas for how to decorate it.  And then I finally took the plunge.  I was at the black hole, otherwise known as Target, this week when I saw a square white porcelain plate.  Score!  I have square dishes.  I ran over to the office supply section and grabbed a pack of Sharpies (lame that I didn't have them on hand, I know), and tossed it all in the cart.  And then it proceeded to sit in my craft room for a week.  Well, tonight I finally took the plunge and decorated my "special" plate. I decided to keep it simple, and I think that paid off: