I may just be taking myself too seriously

I borrowed a book from the library, Blogging for Dummies, just to see what I could learn. No, I don't kid myself into thinking I could make a career out of this blogging thing. But I do find it amazing the wide array of crazy things you can borrow (for free!) from the library at any given time (in addition to the blogging book, I currently have at home a crock pot cookbook, Spanish cd's, preschooler books and many more). So I spontaneously grabbed this one off the shelf last week.

Anyhow, skimming the book didn't teach me a whole lot, but I did finally figure out how I could allow readers to sign up to have an email sent to their inbox when I post new content. You know, for those of you who feel that subscribing to a reader is useless because you still have to check there. I added it to the sidebar, but just in case that's not obvious enough, you can also click here: Subscribe to Time for a Change by Email.

Okay, enough of my self-promotion moment.

How Did I Leave Project 50/50 Off My List??!

I don't know why I didn't include this one in my last post, except that it's not a regular blog that I follow, but rather I get my updates via Facebook. My friend Vince Yanez (who gives tons of his own updates of sorts via Facebook) introduced me to Project 50/50, and if you're looking for something inspirational, check it out. Shay Kelley began a journey in January of this year in her blue Ford pickup, with a goal of traveling to all 50 states in 50 weeks, going door to door to collect at least 200 cans of food to donate each week, and along the way, interviewing people and taking pictures to tell their stories. Her own story? She lost her job in marketing and had her car stolen in the same week, found herself homeless, thought her life needed direction and purpose, and set off to help other homeless people across the country. No, I'm not ready to devote an entire year to that kind of volunteerism, but it does remind me that every person makes a difference. Pretty cool, huh?

By the way, this hobby search of mine, I think it's really because I'm not working right now, and so it seems like a good time to start something new. Yes, blogging could certainly count as a hobby, and especially with the amount of time that I've spent on it this week. But I can't blog about nothing, and the thing I like about all the other blogs on my list is that they were formed around one central (bigger) purpose. What can I say, I like to be inspired.

But really, since this was about changing the things that I didn't like about myself, the hobby part of it boils down to this: I want to be an artist. I want to be able to create beauty and share it with others. I wish I had the kind of talent and creativity that I see in my friends. I want to be able to draw, paint, sculpt, write, photograph, tell stories and make music. I want to do all of those things, and yet I want to devote my time to none of those things. I'm not sure what I'm looking for, but I know that I'm still looking.

Photography, Sex, Food? Those Sound Like Great Hobbies!

In thinking about a "hobby" to help me with the list of things that I wanted to change over this year, I started reflecting on some really cool things that I have recently discovered online. I'll try not go into detail about ones that you probably already know about, like The Julie/Julia Project, or hobbies that definitely don't interest me, like 365 Days of Trash or The Year of Living Biblically, or ones that just aren't appropriate for me like The Year of Yes. But here's a list of other inspiring people who found a hobby and started a yearly (or longer) project:

Jonathan Wilson of jawsnap photography is the husband of one of my co-workers. He started his One/Day Project with the goal of taking one unique photo every day for a year and uploading it to his website. He's now in Year 3 of the Project, and takes some of the most amazing photos. I mean, who else do you know that can make pesto look sexy? Jonathan is also the photographer who took these amazing photos (and many, many more) at Brody's first birthday party.

Cathleen Cherry is one of Chris's college friends, and I am very happy to now claim her as one of my own. Cathleen says Jonathan's One/Day Project was one of her inspirations for her weekly blog Chez Cerise, which was one of my inspirations for starting my own blog. Since I introduced her to Jonathan's work, I like to think it comes around full circle. But unlike my little blog, Cathleen is like a real writer. She's smart, funny, passionate, and inspiring, and she tells a great story. Really, check out Easter Sunrise, Sonoita circa 1977. Or Carnitas Kid. Or her impassioned plea, How to Make a Civilization Flourish.

1000 Awesome Things is a blog by a guy named Neil Pasricha, and is all about finding joy in the little things in life, like #995 Finding money you didn't even know you lost, or #585 Figuring out the plot twist just before they reveal it. He posts a new AWESOME thing every weekday. Most inspiring? He started this after his best friend committed suicide, and when he and his wife started going their separate ways. It was his attempt to "get things back on track by talking about one simple, universal little joy every single day — like snow days, bakery air, or popping bubble wrap."

The Happiness Project is also awesome because it's kind of EXACTLY what I am doing with this blog, Time for a Change. Okay, not quite exactly, since Gretchen Rubin had a far more organized approach, as she spent a year "test-driving the wisdom of the ages, the current scientific studies, and the lessons from popular culture about how to be happy." But it started with identifying what made her happy and what didn't, and taking small, concrete steps in her daily life to change. Seriously, watch this video: The days are long, but the years are short. The blog includes tips, quotes, interviews and helpful advice like act the way you want to feel. Another one of my favorites is her description of a fight with her husband, and how the Happiness Project didn't prevent her outburst of anger, but it did help her to overcome it more quickly. A lot of good, useful info packed into that one post.

And then there's a different kind of happiness project, 365 Nights: A Memoir of Intimacy. Have you heard of this one? Charla Muller decided to give her husband Brad an unusual gift for his 40th birthday: a promise to have sex with him every day for a year. Actually, don't bother to check out the blog, it's really little more than an uninteresting description of her current speaking engagements. Because there are audiences everywhere that want to ask, "Really? Everyday? No, really, every day???" And I can't claim to have actually read the book, but seriously, it's an interesting, umm, hobby to consider.

And just to round out my list with a "green" blog, I recently came across one that I enjoy. At the beginning of 2009, Angela Barton pledged to join The Compact (a group based in San Fransisco that  makes an effort to counteract US consumer culture by going beyond recycling and buying nothing new). This meant borrowing or buying used only, with a few exceptions like food, medicine, personal care items, socks and underwear. She has been documenting her story on My year without spending, and includes pictures and stories from other people that have inspired her, like The Frugal Girl's Food Waste Fridays (pictures documenting any food wasted that week), the Meatless Monday initiative, or the girl who made her prom dress out of Starburst wrappers. Seriously. (And by the way, The Frugal Girl is in itself a very interesting blog, including, among other things, her weekly grocery/meal plans, and some great looking recipes I plan to try out.

Just slightly off topic, I feel like I would be a little remiss if I didn't include a wonderful book on this list, Barbara Kingsolver's Animal Vegetable Miracle: A Year of Food Life, which documents her family's attempt to eat only home-grown, or when unavailable, locally grown food for a year. If you've never read Kingsolver, you should, and I found the book very informative and inspiring, even if I still haven't started my own home garden. Maybe one day.

I don't know if any of this has brought me closer to finding my own hobby just yet. Unless surfing the Internet counts, of course. I may just have to give up that "Spend less time on the computer" goal.

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All right, anyone getting tired of all my links lately? Can you tell I'm having a lot of fun with them? (If you don't know what I'm talking about, click on any of the words that are printed in bold green and it'll take you to the related website. See? Fun!)