I didn’t really make any New Year’s Resolutions this year. In part, because we were traveling on December 30th & 31st, and I just didn’t have the time to get alone, sit quietly, and articulate my hopes and goals for the coming year before January 1st struck. And in part because I’m not convinced that I do a very good job with New Years Resolutions.
Don’t get me wrong — I can’t help but approach a new year with that “fresh slate” feeling, full of dreams and ideas of how things might look if I would make some key changes and commitments. But sometimes, when I write out grand-sounding “Resolutions,” I become rather all-or-nothing about them. And then, somewhere around January 20th or February 17th or April 5th…when it becomes apparent that I have not attained the goals I was shooting for, I tend to give up completely.
So this year, rather than a list of resolutions, my approach is simply to implement a few small changes in a couple areas.
One of those areas is my lifelong tendency to dabble.
The truth: I am a dabbler.
I love to research and I genuinely enjoy attempting new things that intrigue me. But it seems that I often jump from one thing to another, especially in the realm of hobbies. I learn just enough to feel like I’ve made progress and then it’s on to the next thing. I end up feeling a bit like a “jack of all trades, master of none” when it comes to hobbies.
Some things I’ve dabbled in:
- knitting (I believe I’ve completed about 3 items — all baby hats)
- sewing (one pair of pajama pants and one backpack completed)
- photography (took a photography class and played around)
- baking bread (one fall season of learning, er…attempting, to bake bread)
- computer programming (barely stuck my toe in the water there)
- writing (wrote magazine articles ages ago…then let it go)
- learning Adobe Illustrator (lots of playing around, but little lasting knowledge)
- gardening (one summer wherein I was mostly defeated by the local bunnies)
While each of these little hobbies have been enjoyable in their own ways, I regret that I haven’t stuck with any of them long-term. I don’t regret the time I’ve spent with them — they are all good skills to have.
But I decided that this year, I want to spend some time going a little deeper in a few of them. I want to bring a bit more focus to my hobbying.
What am I hoping to gain?
First, I’m hoping to become a bit more proficient in a few hobbies. I don’t need to be a professional, but it would be nice to feel some level competency in the things I really enjoy.
Second, I want to discover which of those hobbies I would truly enjoy long-term. I believe that along the way, I might realize that some of them were nice to learn, but I don’t want to invest hours and hours into them over the long haul.
And third, I might come to the conclusion that for me, hobby dabbling is just more fun. And that’s okay too.
But for now, I’ve decided that each month, I’ll focus more deeply than usual on one of my hobbies. I’ve given myself permission to continue with a hobby for multiple months if I end up having tons of fun with it. But the bottom line is that I want to dedicate a good chunk of time to one hobby each month.
January’s hobby?
Knitting.
My husband, Chad, had asked for a knitted scarf for Christmas. Since he made the request in December, you might well imagine that…well…it didn’t exactly happen in time for Christmas. But we still have a few cold months left, so I dove into knitting last week:

I finished the scarf last night, but don’t have a picture of the final product to show you. However, Chad is very pleased with it. And I’m pleased that I have another project, and some more knitting experience under my belt. Now on to the next knitting project!
How do you approach hobbies? Are you a dabbler like me, or do you have a few that you remain committed to?









1. Big Mama’s soup. I had a friend over for lunch this week and in my search for just the right new recipe to
4. Online shopping. Christmas shopping is pretty much done. I have a few stocking-stuffers to pick up, and am awaiting the arrival of one or two more packages. But it’s mostly done. And it’s all thanks to online shopping. I think I’ve only purchased two gifts in actual stores — you know, the kind you drive to, walk around, and carry bags out of? Most of the time, I just wait for Mr. UPS Man to bring the Christmas gifts to my door. And I love it.










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