What new thing, hobby or activity enhanced your life in 2024?

[bookmarket]

I was stuck in a rut this past year and didn't do much beyond work or holidays with family and DH.

I've a few things Is like to do in 2025 - probably my list is too big. If you started something new in 2024, what went well for you?

Reformer Pilates - I'm still very much a beginner and overweight, but feel stronger for it and enjoy doing something for me.

Crochet! Always wanted to learn but couldn’t get my head around it. Then my friend came over and taught me and I’ve been obsessed since! It’s very therapeutic

Trying and failing at couch to 5k. I got to about 10 minutes of running and then started hating it - but realised that going out for a ten minute run every other evening was a significant improvement on nothing at all. So I stuck to that. I’ll never run a marathon but my fitness is definitely improving.

I went back to lyengar yoga ( hadn’t been in 5 years). I only go once a week and don’t practise in between 🙈. It was significant starting to leave baby for 2hours at a time ( at 10 months )
First few times I also got emotional at beginning of class - think it was connecting with body and having wave of relaxation.
I also make most of journey- I Bring an insulated cup of tea and chocolate bar to enjoy on way home- even being in car byself with no one interrupting is lovely.

Hope you find something you enjoy

Pottery, started on 8th March at a (now) friends house in her studio, by May had my own wheel and by August my own kiln.

Wow! Thats impressive. It’s pottery for me too. Absolutely love it .

She is all 3. At first she did not enhance my senior girl's life, but now they're fine.

The most demanding, high needs, but also most entertaining cat I have ever met in my life. Confident to the point of delusion. Hyperactive. Affectionate. Bolshy. Nips for attention. Allergic to everything except turkey, including fish, chicken, grass pollen and most collars. Its extremely hard to find a reliable supplier of wet cat food made of only turkey and nothing else, except wellness core, which is £18 for 12 servings. Not 12 days. 12 servings. Bearing in mind she has the metabolism of a teenage competetive athlete, which she is, and is still thin.

She also hunts and gathers. By gathers I mean she opens food waste bins and comes home with strips of bacon in her mouth. Christmas and New Years has been a bonanza.

I got very lucky on the kiln on FB marketplace.

I love Iyengar @Snowyymum but there isn't any near me.

For me it's tennis. I always wanted to play as a kid, but we couldn't afford lessons so I'm not great at it. I've been playing two or three times a week which gives me the combination of enjoyment of the game and helps with fitness and agility, but also it's quite social too.

Outdoor swimming and scuba diving. Also tried kayaking but that was limited due to times. Will
pick that up again in the spring :)

Longer ago than 2024 but Couch 2 5K for me too.

Aqua yoga - Good exercise and I made new Good friends.

Taking ecstasy really enhanced 2924 for me.

I joined a choir in January and I absolutely love it!

Pilates. Not new for me as I've been doing it for years, but losing weight and doing it more than once a week has been a game changer for my Pilates practice. Crystal bowl meditation has also really helped me find centre and balance. I didn't realise before how much fitness contributed to good mental health. That's what I learned last year. The effort is worthwhile.

I love Duolingo. They now offer maths and music courses too, so might add one of those in the new year.

Rug making, specifically the proggy/clippy technique. It is a traditional craft and many people remember their grannies/nanas doing it.
It's very accessible and there are loads of online guides. Here's an example.

Going to the gym to do weights in my 50s. I go in the morning 3 times a week to a weights class. It's changed my shape, I'm stronger, it's helped my stupidly high blood pressure.

That's another thing, digging the blood pressure monitor out to realise my blood pressure was stupidly high, now on meds.

Getting my varicose veins done privately, wish I'd done it 5 years ago, would have been so much quicker and easier to recover. But my legs don't ache anymore!

Using the free plant identifier on my iPhone.

I'm outdoors every day and every time I see a wildflower, plant or tree I can't recall the name of, I take a photo and then find out what it is.

I've become obsessed with it! Such a simple thing but I've learnt lots about native plants.

Starting yoga to ease my menopausal aches and pains. It's lovely and relaxing and it fits nicely into a busy family week.

I moved to a new town. It’s changed our lives a lot more than I imagined. New friends, new social life, the house is bigger to relax in with a beautiful garden.
I felt stuck in a rut in our tiny previous house.

Getting a Peleton bike. I do regular rides as well as the weights classes and it’s the longest I’ve stuck to any exercise. I look forward to workouts! I feel stronger and more toned than ever.

Book club and couch to 5k through a running club.

Got an allotment after 5 years on a waiting list (actually got the plot late winter 23 so my first growing year 24) I spent hours and hours there, and grew SO much... my freezer is still full of veg and home made sauces, I had lots of great advice from experiences plot holders and it is my lovely head space place.

It's also hard physical work which is good for me!

Ceilidh dancing.