Tag Archives: swimming

Heat Wave Hobbies

Posted on

It’s hot. 

Okay. Let me rephrase that. It’s FREAKING hot.

If you, like me, are in the northeast, you know very well that we are boiling right now. And if you are out in the desert sands of the midwest, you are just absolutely getting scorched this summer.

Let’s be honest, it’s so hot that you are lathering up your body with sun screen even to sit in the house, because you truly, honestly believe that the sun is on a mission to do nothing but scold your skin. 

The easiest way to get through a heat wave may be to sit in front of your brand new air conditioner and breathe with your tongue hanging out like a puppy dog, but it’s certainly not the most productive or more importantly-the most fun way. So I came up with a list of hobbies to help you get through your heat wave woes!  These may not be the most extreme hobbies–but they’ll definitely keep you calm, cool, and comfortable while the sun burns a hole into the earth for five straight days. 

10 HEAT WAVE HOBBIES WORTH HOARDING

1. Learn a New Instrument. While you pump up the AC, take a shot at tuning up a guitar, taking your heat wave frustrations out on a set of drums, or teaching yourself a  folk favorite on  simply a pair of spoons!

2. Make a home movie. Sure, you can lounge and watch YouTube clips all day, but why not take some time to get creative and make your own?

3. Card Games. Any. There are hundreds: Black Jack, Texas Hold ‘Em, War, Slap Jack, Egyptian Rat Scree, Rummy. The options are endless. My favorite is Cards Against Humanity. It’s the grown up version of Apples to Apples and it will keep you and your friends laughing all day long.

4. Heads Up! If you happen to have a smart phone, and somehow managed to make it into your 20’s and beyond without purchasing a single board game, download this game. Ellen Degeneres came up with it and features the charade like game on her show weekly.  While your acting out verbs, humming along your favorite tunes, and doing your best British accent, you’ll completely forget just how freaking hot it really is.

5. Crochet, Knit, Sew. While you’re ducking out of the heat, get started on your winter wardrobe. Knit a new hat. Crochet a blanket, or sew some patches over the holes in your pants! By the time the heatwave is over, you’ll be set with enough ammunition to survive he ice age.

6. Go Swimming at the pool. If you have the courage to brave the heat, at least be smart about it. Head to the NEAREST pool and cannon ball in. Then don’t get out again until you have to go home.

For kicks and giggles–my favorite pool scene ever–from the flick The Sand Lot

7. Build a fort. Sure, it seems a little childish–but who says we can’t act like children once in a while. Gather all your blankets, your pillows, and your other building utensils and get your indoor igloo going! 

8. Edit Photos. Wonder what those photos from your last vacation to the Grand Canyon,  New Mexico, or Utah would look like if you added an HDR filter? Added a bit more red? Or intensified the vibrancy?Go ahead and give it a try. By the end of the day you’ll have an entire second scrapbook of memories.

IMG_8504

9. Take a Class at the GYM–not just YOUR Gym, but ANY gym. To avoid the risk of drowning in a puddle of your own sweat by running outside, hit a gym and see what classes they have to offer for the day!  Look into rebounding, PoundFIT, Pole Dancing, Zumba, Hula Hooping and more!

Screen Shot 2013-07-18 at 11.29.38 AM

10. Have a Smoothie or Ice Cream Sundae Party. There’s no reason to tough out the heat alone and starved. Invite your besties over and cool off together with your favorite smoothie and ice cream recipes. Then double hobby it up by throwing in a game of Cards Against Humanity or a few rounds of Heads Up!

And because I remember eating an banana split ice cream sundae every time I watched this as a kid, thought I’d take you back to the good ole days with the theme song of one of the best TV shows ever:

Stay cool at their friends and share your the hobbies you think are worth hoarding during a heat wave!

The Hobby Hoarder Goes Kaboom…I mean…Does Stand Up…Paddle Boarding

Posted on

Looking back at the video–I now have a really thorough understanding of why it was so difficult for me. How terrible can someone’s form be? Look at me all hunched over–like I am ready fall flat on my face–which I do. But what do you do when you fall down? You get back up–and that’s exactly what I did. And after managing to get back up on my feet, I took in the view, paddled against and with the current, and smiled brightly. For once, the water felt like home.

_______________________________________________________________________________________

Manhattan Kayak Company
Pier 66
http://www.manhattankayak.com

The Hobby Hoarder Gets Jazzy with It: Jazz/Modern/Contemporary Dance

Posted on

All Choreography in video: © Joi Anissa Favor. All Rights Reserved.

Every time I try a new physical activity, I wonder how I was ever a Division 1 Varsity athlete. Between my lack of strength, my inability to follow choreographed dance steps, and my flexibility deficiency, one would think I never played sports in my life–let alone went to college for them.

As a young girl, I took ballet, but never danced my way into any other classes. I left the studio to play baseball with the boys. Over time, I continued to add more and more sports to my list including soccer, basketball, tennis, softball, and field hockey. How I even survived playing sports astounds me. Sophomore year of high school I broke both hands (not at the same time) during my spring softball season, and during field hockey camp right before college I went flying through a goal cage head first. So it doesn’t surprise me that last night I had trouble figuring out how to put my right foot over my left foot and vis versa.

As I looked at the other women in the class, I noted that I was clearly the outcast in my athletic shorts and t–while they sported leotards. Note: Add leotard to the budget. I sweated profusely through the stretching and core work, struggled through the early warm-up dance moves (in which I moved so slowly, I could be called a geriatric patient) and thought to myself–don’t leave–don’t leave: This isn’t like zumba where there’s fifty other people to hide behind. You gotta commit to this Libs…COMMIT!

And so I did.

And not before long, I was gathering the steps, following Joi, our instructor, and moving–semi-smoothly across the floor. Shaking my booty, and getting all groovy–all while singing the Will Smith tune in my head with my own words:

“Na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na Getting Jazzzzzzzy with it.”

By the end, I told the girls that I was just hustling them–and that I was truly a professional 😉

____________________________________________________________________________________

Williamsburg Movement & Arts Center
347 Grand Street
Brooklyn New York

Check out my Coach and Dance Partners
Joi Anissa Favor; Lindsey Springer; Nicky Giuland 

Check out the Facebook Page

And FourSquare

And Yelp