Motivation from Pinterest

I have found Pinterest and its hold is strong, though I do forget about it for days or weeks at a time. However, I will say that when it comes to both writing and fitness, Pinterest does have some uses. Okay, for crafts, cleaning, cooking, art, decorating and many other areas too. In particular when looking at fitness and writing one can use the site to find motivation. I have two boards set up that I use in particular for this. I have one with words and sayings, many of which are for writing purposes, and the other one is fitness specific incorporating both motivation pins and some site links that caught my attention.

This helps in particular for people who appreciate visuals. Many of them incorporate both images and words to convey a message. Some are just text, in particular some writing ones, but most have imagery to a certain extent, even if it's just a very nice background.

Here are the links to my two boards and a couple samples of what I have pinned as part of the motivation for writing and fitness.


Writing Motivation

 https://www.pinterest.com/dawnembers/sayings-and-phrases/

Fitness Motivation

https://www.pinterest.com/dawnembers/fitness-and-such/

Do you use pinterest?
What is your favorite motivating pin?

Hero Up to Run Distance and Phoebe

Hi there. It has been a while and September is almost gone but I really wanted to get this post up before the month ended. I'm going to talk about jogging again because I've done a total of three 5k events so far and it's almost time for my 10k one (October 25th).

As a non-runner, the idea of paying money to run a course even when I can do it for free seemed odd at first. One of the runs in fact is in the area I do my long runs at every week. However, what makes the races great and the money worth spending is what those funds go to support. Every 5k this summer that I attended raised money for a cause or organization. The one this month, however, was my favorite and I already have plans for next year.

September 5th, I took part in Hero Up. It was a timed 5k and half marathon where participants got to dress up as super heroes in order to raise money to help fight against children's cancer. There was also a kid's run too. Even though I knew no one there, the whole atmosphere and event was awesome. From Hulk leading the event, many people dressed up like batman (most common outfit this year), all the way to the little baby superman, it was just a great few hours.

http://hero-up.org
http://hero-up.org/about/

My costume for the one this year was based off a character that my sister recommended: Huntress from Bird's of Prey. I based my costume on a couple images I found on pinterest and google, much like this one:

I hope to take part in the Half Marathon next year. Never thought I would run that far but for a cause like this one, it's worth the effort. While running doesn't seem like it would do much, the funds they can raise and the awareness are what make it a good reason to run. Which, brings me to the next set of links and similar topic that could use some promotion.

A wonderful couple that I associate with on a regular basis online had the recent misfortune of their child being diagnosed with Leukemia. Phoebe is only 5 and has a tough road ahead of her but the writing community of Writing.com have been showing their support for the family. Her story is public on Facebook.

Some links:
https://www.facebook.com/FriendsOfPhoebe?pnref=story
https://www.booster.com/friends-of-phoebe
http://www.gofundme.com/FriendsofPhoebe


Hopefully next year, things will be looking better and the money raised by the different organizations help make a big difference in the fight against children's cancer, on personal and global levels. Expect a post next year and a different hero. Maybe even a picture of me as I will Hero Up for September and the fight against children's cancer.

H is for Hobbies and Hobbits

Hehehe. Okay, most of the blog isn't about hobbits but I'll give you a picture just for the fun of it, plus it did start with an H. The rest of the topic is going to be hobbies for the A to Z Blog Challenge.

Fiction

Writing itself is a hobby for many. However there are other hobbies that le d a helping hand to both creative and technical writing.

Creative - There are other creative pursuits that can be done along with writing, such as art or music. I often find working on one hobby can help to inspire another. Sometimes writing makes me want to paint and listening to music often makes me want to write.

Physical - doing something physical, having a fitness hobby can also help one with writing. Inspiration can come from long walks.  Sometimes you sit too long when working on a novel, so taking a little time away to work  the body can actually make the writing better afterwards. Plus there are many activities that might aid in writing certain scenes. Actually handling a bow or riding a horse gives a different view than just imagining what the character might feel.

Characters can have hobbies too. They may not get to devote lots of times and chapters to a hobby depending on how it can move the story or not, but it's okay to give the character a hobby they enjoy. It helps to build them to more of a 3d individual than just the words on the page. Plus,  people can  relate to someone who has a hobby or two. Just don't get the facts of the hobby wrong for those with the same will be more than happy to point out the errors.

Fitness

Different physical activities can both help with fitness and be hobbies. All kinds in fact. It doesn't matter if you dance, lift weights, cycle or swim. Some may not like the idea of it as a hobby while others find it better to have that focus because they want to do something fun. If it's better for you to view fitness as work, then go for it.  If you like it as a fun hobby, that is fine too. Doesn't matter which type, as the label isn't dependent on doing a certain activity. They all can be viewed as a hobby plus they have the added benefits that fitness activities provide. I lift weights and attempt to jog for now and it's sort of a hobby, even if I don't name it as such most of the time. I have others that I hope to do in the future. One of my goals is to kayak, which takes upper body strength and who knows, maybe that could become a hobby if I like it.

An interesting response in forums discussing the high costs of some gyms and crossfit locations in particular have suggested viewing the fitness activity from the pov of it as a hobby. There are lots of hobbies that people pay many for because they enjoy them, whether it's music  lessons, supplies for building toy cars  or even plane tickets to travel to distant lands for an activity. So, makes sense that one can view a fitness activity in the realm of a hobby as well. Some may be too expensive for me,  but I don't spend a lot of money on my other hobbies either, one does what they can with their given budget but they still make what they enjoy work. Speaking of... I should be writing as later on I'm going to the gym to lift weights.

What are your hobbies?