What DO we do with our spare time w/o chyyyldrun?? Hehe

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myrna minkoff
"I hear people say "I used to write but then I had kids"


whenever i tell people i am a cellist, or they see me with my case on the bus, they always say how much they love the cello. sometimes they say they used to play an instrument in high school or whatever, but then they had kids. or sometimes i'll suggest they take up an instrument, or knitting, or painting, or whatever, and it's always the same story: "i don't know when i'd have time with the kids." kind of sad, really.

i have a friend/music mentor, a very beautiful, avante-garde cellist, and she has a teenage son, and she told me the first 4-5 years of the kid's life she hardly touched her cello at all. then when the kid started school she got back into playing.

i can't imagine not playing for 5 years.

It's such a tragedy. I play oboe/flute, and while I don't do it much these days (head injury = no oboe playing for a time) I desperately want to get back into it and find a good orchestra to play with. But the idea of quitting forever just saddens me. Hearing someone say "Oh I used to play instrument X in high school but then I had kids" just makes me inordinately sad. Why would you stop doing it? One of my initial reasons to be CF (though I didn't know about CFness at the time, I was only I think fifteen) was because if I got pregnant I'd have to stop playing the oboe and there was no way that was going to happen!

I mean, don't people sing their kids to sleep sometimes? Why not play instruments to lull them instead?
Just the idea of giving up something so central to my being in order to have children seems so impossible. I'd never want that.

like michaela, i am also a full time student
in my free time, i think about my personal engineering project and research. i'm not much of a doer; my new year resolution involves working hard to realize my imagination
i also paint on the weekend, at nearby art gallery. my favorite is acrylic painting.
i love hiking too. nothing beats the feeling of being out in the wilderness.

but the easiest thing to do is of course procrastinating! just do nothing, relax, and smile...

spread meme, not genes

to my uterus: Y U NO GET THE FUCK OUT FROM MY BODY?

many breeders (especially moos) seem to think their everry waking moment should be about their offspring.

i have a friend with a 6 year old (we were friends before she sprogged) and once we talked about how we both took french in HS and college, and that we really needed a refresher. a few years ago i looked into some intermediate courses in french, and mentioned them to her. i thought she would be into going with me, as that way we have someone to practice with. she makes more money than i do so i knew the cost wouldn't be a problem. she said she had to check with her husband, and then came back with "he doesnt think he'll be able to watch snotleigh while i'm in class, so thanks, but i can't." i ended up taking intro to spanish with mr. minkoff instead.

i was dumbfounded by her choice of words: he's not "watching" the kid - he's the father, for dog's sake. and he can't be home with the kid alone, one night a week, for 8 weeks so his wife (who works full time i might add) can do something for herself? really? i pretty much stopped asking her to do anything after that. now i hardly ever see her.

Without the children.....it's all about ME baby!!!!!!

-Call in "sick" at work and spend the entire day sleeping shagging, eating, and smoking dubes with the guy I am seeing.:biggrin2

-Go on last minute vacations at a whim whenever I want, my next one is a cruise to the Eastern Caribbean

-Am currently training for a half-marathon this May

-Shop, shop, SHOP for what I want (Pandora charms, Tiffany's jewelry, Nine West shoes) and spa retreats

-Try new delicacies at different restaurants without some screaming brat yelling how he/she doesn't like it.

-Planning to take a year off and travel around the world

My idiot colleague told me I was gonna grow up alone without children, I said GOOD!!!!!!!!:drkbddy I'll be the old broad out on the dance floor shaking her tailfeather at seniors events!

I go to school (getting masters/phd), work two jobs, and devote all my leftover time to studying and my puppy:emoheart He's actually 69 months (i see what you did there) but I still call him my baby because he is little (30 lbs).

Oh. This summer, I'm hoping to take a trans-Canadian train adventure. Thinking about moving there to escape the madness that has consumed the US of A.

What don't I do? haha

I am a full-time public school teacher, and I usually stay late after the school day ends to work on lesson plans. I play guitar in a punk rock band, and I'm also the principal clarinetist of a local community concert band. On the weekends, I go to bars to see my friends' bands and sometimes I go on dates as I am single at the moment.

I've been a member of a gym for the past year and I'm looking into taking martial arts. When the weather is nicer, I go on runs or long walks.

I want to save up for a nice vacation this summer and I'm thinking of visiting Italy, Ireland, France, or Japan.

When I'm home, I goof around on the Internet, draw, watch movies, work on crafts to decorate my apartment, and hang out with my cat.

____________________________________________________________________

I hang out with my dog and two cats. Okay, mostly just the one cat because he's so needy! I read, read, read... every day! I couldn't imagine not spending any time reading. I keep my Kindle with me at all times too, just in case I need to get a quick fix.

I also enjoy taking pictures. Sometimes it ends up just being photos of my cars, but whatever! I have also been taking guitar lessons for the past year. It's hard, but I've always wanted to learn so I'm not giving up. I also have to learn something new in French every day. Sometimes I will even take a French class, if I'm feeling up to it. If not, I'll just do some online exercises/tests.

My hubby and I are keen on traveling too. We've already got one trip planned for this year so far... LONDON! It will be his first time in Europe. I hope he likes it... we usually do a sun/sand (just got back from Hawaii) vacation wink

I don't have too much energy anymore. just glad to be able to sleep to when I want to (more or less). Dont have little bastards ruining my fish tanks. (I've heard a few stories around work now).
I used to homebrew but I don't think I have the energy to last the day for that one anymore. There was nothing more satisfying then to put a freshly pitched beer to 'bed' in its dedicated fridge. I miss that terribly.

Just glad not to have to deal with kid shit, whiney high pitched squeels and whatnot. Granted, it is normal kid stuff, but I do NOT want to hear it.

two cents ¢¢

CERTIFIED HOSEHEAD!!!

people (especially women) do not give ONE DAMN about what they inflict on children and I defy anyone to prove me wrong

Dysfunctional relationships almost always have a child. The more dysfunctional, the more children.

The selfish wants of adults outweigh the needs of the child.

Some mistakes cannot be fixed, but some mistakes can be 'fixed'.

People who say they sleep like a baby usually don't have one. Leo J. Burke

Adoption agencies have strict criteria (usually). Breeders, whose combined IQ's would barely hit triple digits, have none.

We like good, upscale restaurants and go to them all dressed up on weekends.

I play musical instruments, and am going to start practicing some works of Franz Liszt. His music is beautiful, and my fingers could use the workout.

Shopping is good. Max Mara is my friend, and fits me beautifully

We work on making our house a welcoming home for our friends and family, and they never bring their kids

Photography.

Late night sex with DH

Sleeping in most of all.....followed by my morning coffee that I like to have in peace and solitude and a nice mushroom omelet.

Imagine having some brat jump in your bed when you're hungover after a night out drinking with your friends?? This is why I could never have a kid, I'd serve a life sentence for skinning the little fucker alive and hanging it outside my porch by its ears.

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Sorceress
We make our own porno movies, starring us :yeah We do it in broad daylight in the privacy of our home, unless one of our friends has consented to record us at their house . . .

Rock on. Gotta love having the space, privacy, and freedom to have the sex life you want.

We certainly don't restrict bedroom activities to the bedroom, to say the very least! And yep, an active sex life is one of my fave perks of being childfree.

Others:
No need for filtering software on our computers, or worrying about some kiddie seeing something inappropriate online.

Meetups with like-minded friends at least twice a week.

Staying out late on weekends, if we're so inclined. And we often are.

Reading tons and tons of books. We even read to each other.

Video games. No worry about game ratings or who's home.

Owning erotic art, and not having to worry about kiddies seeing it.

Flexibility for our work schedules...no messing around with daycare or school pickups. If we need to work extra hours or different schedules than usual, it's just a matter of talking to each other about it. Occasionally my summer work takes me away for weeks at a time, but it's amazing and fulfulling and pays the bills. And no one's stuck being a single parent.

Participating and finishing National Novel Writing Month, three times. Three complete novellas.

And there's so much more...but these are the biggies.

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Video games: Yup, good old video games. In a sense, I feel spoiled because I have a Wii and all the DS systems along with a GBA SP. Although my oldest DS has been given to my niece. My favorite games vary, mainly Pokemon, Animal Crossing, Mario and recently, the LoZ games (just got Majora's Mask and Ocarina of Time on my Wii, yay!). I count myself as a gamer but not a hardcore asshole kind.

I would have gotten Majora's Mask and Ocarina of Time on my Wii if they were modified to be used with the Wii controller. Since they aren't it is easier just to use an N64 emulator on my computer. I don't believe in sitting down when I play non-PC video games.

Gamer here.

BioShock, not BioShock II-the PC version is CRAP!

Half-Life 2

Fallout 3, Fallout: NV

Star Trek: Bridge Commander

MASS EFFECT :jump

Can't wait until Bioshock: Infinite. I should be able to afford a kick ass computer by then.

I'm playing Bioshock now and I love it! I have Bioshock 2 and plan on getting Infinite. I'm also all about Left 4 Dead and Mortal Kombat. I'm working on Call of Duty. I'm not too great at FPS.

I'm about to attend TAFE (college to you Americans) for a few years to obtain my Advanced Diploma of Applied Fashion Design and Technology. After that I'll be working towards getting a Bachelor's degree in the same field.

In my spare time I like to do the following.

Sewing and dressmaking.
Painting and drawing with Photoshop.
Building and creating in Second Life.
Taking photos with my Pentax DSLR.
Shopping in boutiques and vintage stores.
Listening to music (post-punk, industrial, techno, new romantic, musique concrete, krautrock, jazz, etc.)
Creating punk, techno and industrial music on Ableton Live, Steinberg Cubase and Propellerhead Reason.
Playing guitar, bass guitar, piano, synthesizer and violin.
Reading (JG Ballard, 1984, Brave New World, Lord of the Flies, fashion books, etc.)
Collecting dresses, jewelry and perfumes.
Make-up and hair dyes.
Spoiling my kittehs.
Playing my Xbox. (Mass Effect 1 & 2, GTA IV, Bioshock 1 & 2, Fallout 3, etc.)
Movies (arthouse, Italian giallo, indie, etc.)
Snarking on Bratfree.

"Sewing and dressmaking."


lonecretin, that is something i would love to learn. i knit and crochet (mostly simple patterns) but i would like to take some sewing classes. none of my friends sew well, so can i ask you what kind of sewing machine you would recommend for a beginner with no clue what she's doing?

I love this thread! Life without kids is good =) I currently work full time and go to school full time, so I don't have a ton of free time at the moment. I love horseback riding and try to ride as often as I can. Unfortunately I had to sell my horse a few years ago due to financial reasons, but my friends with horses let me borrow theirs. My husband loves going shooting and has recently gotten me into it, too. It's super fun and I just got a new rifle (probably couldn't afford to spend money on this hobby if we had kids!) Aside from those things, work, and school, I don't do much except relax with my husband and our two dogs. I do like to snuggle up on the couch with a blanket and a good book though. I love just chilling and having quiet time. Couldn't imagine having a life where I have to come home from work and deal with the noise and mess of kids.

Once I'm out of school and have a job that pays more, I hope to have a horse again and be able to travel!

I also recently installed TF2 since it is now FREE TO PLAY!!!! hankyou Valve!!

I just play against bots, though.

I also see how many creative ways I can burn my hands using hot glass (I am a flameworker, and I make glass beads).

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myrna minkoff
"Sewing and dressmaking."


lonecretin, that is something i would love to learn. i knit and crochet (mostly simple patterns) but i would like to take some sewing classes. none of my friends sew well, so can i ask you what kind of sewing machine you would recommend for a beginner with no clue what she's doing?

I personally only use my Janome MyStyle 28, purchased a decade ago. Not too complicated and has a decent range of stitches. I've hardly used other machines, so I'm not sure about how they perform, but that's the one I've stuck to for all this time.

Have a look on eBay or just Google "sewing machines for beginners". They're worth a shot!

Great responses here and I am happy to add mine:

My husband and I love to go hiking - and I do mean HIKING. Try taking a crotchmaggot with you on a 15 mile hike - that just ain't gonna work. Besides, being able to observe wildlife without worrying that a kyd will screech and chase it away (such as baby deer). Then we have the feral hog problem here in Florida - well, the adult ones can and will attack little kyds so kyds and hiking in this state is not the most clever idea.

Let's see, we can do lovies time any time we want and not have to yell at the kids to stay in their rooms! LOL

I also do scrapbooking which requires time and concentration. We both love to read which requires quiet time. Walks along the beach. Working out at the YMCA. I do pen-palling. I'm a writer which also requires silence and solitude at times.

That's all I can think of right now.

What do I do with my spare time? Whatever I want!

I might sleep in, go shopping, read, or watch tv. I enjoy quiet hobbies and solitude, which can also be added to my list of 967,412 reasons I won't have kyds. If I had kyds, I would have actually been driven insane to the point where I'd need to be institutionalized from the lack of quiet time.

thanks, lonecretein! hankyou