Hobbies and stuff

How many of you have dozens of interests that pull at your time? Lots of things you'd like to learn to do better, things you genuinely enjoy doing?

Okay, I might not have dozens, but I have a bunch. Cooking for one. I have a cooking blog here that I haven't updated in months. I blame it on school. And that's partially true: I don't have time to cook and bake as much as I did, and I certainly don't have a lot of time to experiment with food, and by the time I've cooked whatever it is we're going to eat, I don't have the willpower to make myself photograph it: I'm hungry, the kitchen's a mess, and often the last thing I want to do is worry about plating my food for a photo.
I do enjoy the writing; but I find the pressure to post often difficult to deal with.

Sewing is another one. When I moved into my house, I met my neighbor and she asked if I quilted. I never had, but had been interested in it ever since my sister-in-law's best friend gave her a beautiful quilt for her baby shower. So I borrowed my mom's 50-year-old Viking and started quilting. That same summer I made a skirt. I have to admit, the planning part is my favorite. I'm addicted to fabric and love picking out beautiful fabrics and envisioning the final project. Since I started, I've finished a skirt, 4 aprons, two quilts, 1 quilt top, and lots of unfinished quilt squares. I have loads of fabric waiting for me to start the projects...including fabric for a second Christmas quilt (if I ever finish the first one...), a tree skirt, an everyday quilt, some aprons...yeah. Lots and lots. Like I said: I love fabric.

Photography is my major one. I love photography. I like to think I have a good eye, as well. My dad started teaching me photography skills when I was about 12. I think. He had an old 35 mm camera and taught me how to focus and expose. He taught me the rule of thirds. He has always been encouraging and regularly points out photos I've taken that he finds especially lovely. I love it. A few years ago, I bought a dSLR camera, an entry-level Canon Rebel. I was so excited; and I'd told my husband that that was one of the conditions of getting pregnant: I had to have a good camera to take photos of our children! (Our baby girl followed a couple of years later.) I've acquired three nice prime lenses since we bought the camera, as well as a nicer flash unit. I now have dreams of upgrading my camera body to something a little bit more suitable to my needs. But how to justify the expense?

My main reason for writing all of this is to ponder the question: when do we do these hobbies? I have to admit, education/reading is another hobby of mine, and as a graduate student, a major time constraint. But I love it. With graduate school, I have deadlines, and I always think: after I'm done, I'll have time for other interests. But will I?

I really doubt it. The only way I can think of is to make time for them. Maybe once I can start getting the other things I should be doing under control (things like cooking dinner each day and keeping a clean house, those things on my lists I referenced earlier), maybe I can find a way to dedicate time to these extracurricular hobbies. I think all the hobbies I've listed are at least productive. It's all about starting slowly, right? We accomplish resolutions by starting with small bites. Hopefully, I'll small bite myself into more of these hobbies sooner, rather than later.