365 Days of French

Bonjour mes amis!  Today, I am celebrating a giant milestone that I set in my personal goals... I have successfully hit 365 days of learning French!!!

Ok so if we're being technical, my one year anniversary was actually last Thursday since I first started using Duolingo on February 16th last year.  But my app thought that I skipped a few days, so it "froze" those.  Today, I officially hit the 365 day mark!

I am so proud of myself.  I studied French every single day for an entire year.  Even on the days that my app "froze" my progress, I still studied it.  (A few of those days were Disney days and since we're night owls, I did a few of the lessons after midnight... But I also did a lesson the following day- even though the app had already counted it!)

I feel like I've made great progress over the past year.  They changed the overall layout of the app a few months ago.  So with the new update, I'm starting Unit 9 of French Foundations 1.  There are 17 units in this section, so I've still got a ways to go.  I did stop with learning new content over the busy holiday season, but I'm getting ready to dive back into new material.  (I feel like I haven't soaked in the most recent lessons as well, so I've been doing a lot of review and challenges to get more familiar with it.)

Overall, I think that I'm still in territory that I learned back in high school French.  But it's been so long that I'm still remembering everything.  The grammar is getting a bit more complicated too, so I've wanted to wait until I could really focus on learning it.

I'm also hoping to start integrating vocabulary flash cards and my text books into my learning.  I also haven't physically written anything down in French yet, so I also need to start practicing that.  The other thing that I'd like to work on is using the symbols to indicate accents more.  I haven't been using them since my phone autocorrects a lot of it for me.  I know where most of them go, but I haven't been typing them into the app, so I need to get much more familiar with that!

I'm also considering downloading Babbel to accommodate Duolingo.  I know that they are rival apps, but I really just want to learn French.  I've heard that Babbel is much more conversational, so I'm thinking that combining the two might help me progress faster.  But I'm very happy with how I've been learning French from Duolingo so far!

I just found out a few weeks ago that my father-in-law Rick is using Duolingo to learn Spanish!  He must have heard about it from me, because Eliot's family hadn't heard of it when I was using it during our California trip last March.  I'm glad he's also learning a new language.  I'm trying to convince Eliot to do it with me.  But since he's dyslexic, he has a hard time reading to begin with.  He keeps joking that he's barely got a grip on the English language, but I bet he could do it if he really wanted to.  At this point, Eliot is stuck listening to me babble to myself in French pretty often anyways!

It's been a great year of learning French.  On to the next 365 days!!!  °o°

Four Weeks Of Duolingo

It's been exactly four weeks since I first started re-learning French on Duolingo.  I'm so proud of myself and all I've accomplished that I had to check back in today!  I'm happy to report that I've kept my streak alive and that I've studied French every single day for the past 28 days; well... I guess it's 29 days including today!

Photo Source

I'm especially proud of myself since I made time to do it while we were at Disneyland earlier this month.  I realized on the flight out to California that it was a lot harder to concentrate in a public place than I thought it would be.  I had to make time to do my daily lessons outside of Disney, and that pretty much meant that I had to get up early enough to do it before we left for the park each morning.  But I still did it!

Photo from my Duolingo app

I've also achieved a bunch of milestones within the app.  I've leveled up from bronze, to silver, to gold to sapphire to the ruby league.  Basically, you have to be in the top 10 of your "competition" (fellow app users and language learners) to reach the next level each week.  This past week, I've started trying to complete my daily quests.  Plus, there are also other achievements you can unlock in order to earn more gems.  I've been getting a bunch of those and earning more gems through that!

Photo from my Duolingo app

Even though I started using the app more than halfway through the month of February, I was still able to complete the monthly challenge!  I was literally finishing it the last day of the month.  After we arrived in Anaheim, we had some quiet time.  Elissa was talking to her friend on the phone.  Eliot was playing a video game and Rick was watching him.  And I went into Eliot's and my bedroom, curled up in the side chair and studied French for about 30-45 minutes until I'd completed enough lessons to earn the rest of the points I needed!  Then, I received my February badge!

Photo from my Duolingo app

This month, I'm way ahead of the curve.  I actually earned March's badge on Monday, March 14th... less than halfway through the month!  I was really excited about that!

Photo from my Duolingo app

I have been doing well working my way through all of the Unit 1 Lessons.  I've almost completed a few of the first ones.  You basically study the same material over and over until you master reading it, writing it, listening to it and speaking it.  It's easy to take your time to focus on mastering the pronunciation of each word.  And I'm shocked at how well I can understand the app when it's speaking quickly to me!

Photo from my Duolingo app

Something else that's been helping is reading the Duolingo stories.  They're interactive where you have to fill in the blank, select the correct responses, or assess what is happening in the conversation.  (This is similar to how the lessons are done, but in the context of a story.)  I just started reading the stories this past week since they were part of two of my daily quests.  So far, I've only read 4 stories, but I've unlocked 20 of them!

Photo from my Duolingo app

It's hard to believe it was a month ago that I downloaded the app.  I'm really happy with how far I've come in only four weeks.  This afternoon, I achieved my 1st Legendary Level where I mastered one of my lessons!  I haven't even broken my textbooks out yet.  (Although, I'm planning to use them to coincide with my Duolingo lessons.)

Photo from my Duolingo app

Cheers to working on goals, learning things and broadening my horizons!!!  °o°

Je Parle Français

Bonjour!  I'm back with another post that I hadn't planned on writing, but that I realized I needed to release into the world.  Earlier today, I took a giant leap forward in reaching one the of the personal goals that I've had set for myself and I'm super proud.

For years, I've wanted to re-learn French.  It's literally been on my annual personal goal list for as long as I started actually writing them down (at least since 2015... but probably before that).  I've had two college ruled five subject notebooks set aside to use for re-learning French (and learning Italian) for years.  

I loved learning French in high school and it was one of my favorite subjects.  I always thought it was so cool to speak in another language.  At my high school, you could pick between French and Spanish.  I chose French because it made more sense to me when Maine is so close to Canada.  (We have a lot of French Canadian speakers visit in the summer.)  While I originally took French because two years of foreign language was required for the college track, I fell in love with it.

It's amazing how much I still remember even though high school French was forever ago.  To this day, I can still remember more than I give myself credit for.  I took three years of French in high school and I was pretty good by the end of it.  I could read it and write it very well, and I was pretty confident with speaking it, even though I was a bit self-conscious about it. 

My junior year of high school, I traveled to France on our high school French trip.  Most of the people that we encountered in France also spoke English, but there were a few people in more remote towns that didn't.  It was great to communicate with them through the French that I knew.  Most of the people we spoke to were friendly about us trying- even if they responded to us in English.  And I'll never forget when my friends volunteered me to ask the information desk for directions at the Louvre.

By my third French class, I was having dreams in French.  My teacher told me that was a good thing.  I was really proud of myself and how well I understood it.  

Then came freshman year of college.  Someone who was close to me at the time made me doubt everything.  His mother had lived in New Orleans and she knew how to speak French fluently.  He had also taken French in high school, and he had something to say about everything when I spoke it.  My pronunciation was wrong, I wasn't using the correct accents, etc.  It bothered me more than I should have let it.  

I had wanted to continue my French learning and education, but our college didn't offer it as a technology school.  I thought about taking it at one of our sister schools, but their schedules didn't line up with ours.  In the end, I couldn't find a class, so I gave up.

Photo from my Duolingo app

After college (and after I rid myself of that person's opinions) I looked into my heart and I knew that I wanted to pursue learning French again. 

I've wanted to take adult education French classes since I got out of college, but my schedule never allowed for it.  The language classes were always at night, when I was working at the furniture store or the chiropractic office.

In April of 2020, when the world was shutting down and going into quarantine due to the coronavirus pandemic, I bought three French textbooks on Amazon.  The first two were the same textbooks that we used to learn French in high school, and the third one was the last one in that collection.

You might recall that I signed up for classes on uDemy in April of 2020 as well.  Most of them were crafting classes, but one of them was French.  While I still I haven't had time to get into them, that is part of my whole "balance" word of the year for 2022 plan.

Photo from my Duolingo app

The past few weeks, I've also seen an increasing number of advertisements for the language app Duolingo.  Downloading it has been on my mind more each time I see one.  The other day, I read a Facebook post from someone I follow saying how she's been using Duolingo daily for the past 6 months and that she can now comprehend small phrases in French.  She's been reading a book and she now understands most of what one of the characters is saying.  That got me thinking about how when I watch shows with French characters, I understand bits of it.  It also reminded me of how much more I understand when watching Beauty and the Beast.  (There's a joke in the "Belle" song from the 2017 live action movie that always cracks me up.)

Which brings me to today.  This afternoon, I finally stopped what I was doing and I downloaded Duolingo.  The first thing they have you to is set up your profile.  Since I know a little bit of French, my first task was to take a simple test to see what stage I was at.  That way, the app wouldn't start me at the very beginning, but a little bit into it.

Photo from my Duolingo app

The goal of the app is to get onto streaks.  Each day, you do one lesson where you study the language for 10 minutes, and you get a point towards your streak.  I've already done two, and I'm planning to do another one before bed.  This is the perfect way to take a few minutes for myself when I wake up or as I'm going to bed.  It's also a great way to pass time when you're waiting for someone to go on a rollercoaster... a situation that I'm going to find myself in during our trip to Disneyland in a few days.  I'm so excited that I can be learning French while waiting for Eliot instead of mindlessly scrolling on Facebook or Instagram!

This app has opened a whole new world.  In my mind, I've always seen myself as having to set aside time to re-learn French.  I've seen myself sitting in a more formal setting at the kitchen table with my textbooks, notebook, French dictionary and laptop surrounding me.  With the Duolingo app, my textbook is literally in my pocket.  I can take my phone anywhere with me.  And you can do it in small bursts of 10 minutes at a time, or you can keep doing multiple 10 minute sessions.  It's totally flexible!

Photo from my Duolingo app

The best part is that I've already passed my first lessons with flying colors.  It's all coming back to me.  I can read it, I can understand the app speaking it and I can still write it.  I've started to repeat the phrases so I get more confident speaking it.  I've even caught myself muttering a few phrases this afternoon when I haven't been on the app.  And most important, I feel confident about it.  

Today is the start of another wonderful chapter!  I'm finally re-learning French and I feel amazing about it!  Je m'appelle Melissa et je parle français!!!  °o°

Quest of Learning

Well friends, it appears as though I've gone down another rabbit hole... I just spent most of my afternoon exploring other online courses available on uDemy and now I find myself enrolled in seven more!  Just under two weeks ago, I wrote a post about signing up for two online classes through uDemy.  Since then, I've periodically looked on their website for other classes to take.  My wishlist has been growing ever since.

I'm really excited to have another way of learning.  I've always loved taking all of my in person adult education classes.  Since no one is taking any classes in person right now, this is another new way to explore.  I love getting new knowledge of crafting techniques and learning new skills.  My favorite part is that I can do them when I have time to.  That's the beauty of online classes- websites like uDemy and Skillshare offer you a way to take an online class, at home, on your own schedule.

Last night, I realized that uDemy was having another sale on classes starting at only $10.99.  Thus, I started to browse on my cell phone before bed and I found a few that I wanted to take.  Today, I went onto my laptop and really dove in.  I put a ton of classes on my wishlist, and then picked my top seven classes that were on sale to purchase.  

This is what I ended up purchasing for classes:

Mixed Media Painting Workshop - I've always been fascinated by different painting techniques.  I'm really excited to explore this some more!

Abstract Techniques Revealed to Create Large Modern Art - I've been wanting to learn how to create larger works of art as well.  I think these two painting classes will be fun!

Resin Geode Basics - Eliot and I have already taken a few resin geode classes in person and I've loved those so much!  I saw this class and decided it would be fun to potentially learn some more new techniques.  I really want to start making these- once I can go back to Michael's to purchase supplies.

Creativity and Relaxation Through Quilling - I've always been fascinated by 3D paper art.  Quilling is a technique of curling paper to create designs and I've wanted to learn this skill for a while now.  I'm thinking that this will be a relaxing craft to do if these weeks of "social distancing" turn into months.

Learn Calligraphy with Crayola Markers - My Grammie gave me a few calligraphy pens back when I was in high school.  At the time, I wasn't really into it.  However, over the years and through studying text and design, I've grown to appreciate the art.  I begged my parents for a few Crayoligraphy sets for Christmas a few years ago.  (Crayoligraphy is the art of calligraphy but with using Crayola markers!)  I was so excited when I saw them waiting for me on Christmas morning!  Of course, I've been super busy and still haven't used any of it yet.  This class will be the perfect addition to my sets.

How to Create Blogger Blogs - I wanted to explore a few classes that weren't just for creative fun.  I was curious if they had classes on blogging and I was excited when this popped up.  I'm pretty familiar with Blogger as I've used it all these years.  However, if there are new things I can learn to make my blog better, I'm all for it!

French for Beginners - It dawned on me this afternoon that there might be language classes on uDemy.  I've never been able to take an adult education language class because they always fell on days when I was working.  Plus, I've already taken three years of French in high school and I was pretty good by the end of it.  What I really need is a good refresh and I'm hoping this will get me back into it.  (Re-learning French has been on my personal goal list for the past few years, so I'm really going to try!)  I also found another French class that has six class sections.  The same instructor also teaches five sections of Italian, so I might move on to those after I finish this class!  I've always wanted to learn Italian too!

As you can see, I'm continuing on my quest of learning!  The greatest part was that I got all of those classes for under $80 and I saved $195 from the regular price!!!  All of my classes were only $10.99 except for one at $11.99 and another at $12.99.  (They were regularly priced from $24.99 to $49.99.)  I usually pay anywhere from about $40-$65 for one adult education class, so I thought this was a great deal!

If you're bored out of your mind and you need something to do during this time "socially distancing" yourself at home, consider checking out both uDemy and Skillshare and take an online class to pass the time!  Come join me on my quest of learning!!! °o°

*** Please Note: If you click on the links above and purchase a class, I might get a small commission or credit that I can use for a future class.  I'm honestly not sure how it works, but these are links they gave me to share with my friends! ***

Entering Quarantine

Well, it's official... as of yesterday afternoon, Maine's Governor Janet Mills issued a shelter in place order and as of 12:01 this morning we've joined the other states in an "official" quarantine.  I've been feeling a lot of feelings... but mostly I'm feeling relief that it's finally official.  (It feels like Eliot's parents in CA have been at home forever...)  I'm hopeful that this means people will stay home unless they absolutely have to leave their house.  And a bit selfishly, I'm also hopeful that this will allow the store shelves to be replenished.  (Anyone else in need of TP?)  But most of all, I'm hopeful that this will help stop the spread of the virus and our healthcare system from being overrun.

On the down side, Eliot still has to go to work.  His company is considered "essential" as they make small electrical components for pace makers.  He, as an engineer, could do at least 90% of his work from his computer at home, but his company wants them all there.  I'm terrified that he's going to get sick.  I'm so scared of him bringing it home to me.  I'm also very upset that this means I really won't be able to go home to see my parents or Nana at all for who knows how long.  Every single time Eliot walks through the front door, he's bringing home God only knows what.  It's upsetting, annoying, hurtful, confusing, depressing and most of all incredibly frustrating.

But, at the same time, I'm so thankful that he's still able to work.  We're blessed that he is still bringing money home.  Small businesses are really struggling and we're no exception to that.  Obviously, no one is traveling so my travel agent job isn't bringing in any money right now.  Another depressing side effect is that no one needs mouse ears for non-existent Disney trips.  Happily Ever Hatter has had a few sales, but we're definitely behind where I'd like to be and we're not bringing in what we need to.

On the plus side, Eliot's been able to work on some new designs for his own Etsy shop Snowblade Creations.  He's had the business card holders for a while now, but he's been working on a few new designs for other things people can use at home.  We figure that if everyone is going to be spending more time at home, they could use a little bit of Disney magic to brighten their day!  We've spent the past few days printing samples of these new products.  We're hoping to get them completed and listed online in the next week or so!  I'll be sure to post about it on here so you can see them!

Obviously, I've been on a bit of a rollercoaster emotion wise.  I think we're all going through a lot of emotions.  I don't consider myself to be a control freak, but I definitely like to be more in control than I am right now.  It's a lot and I'm learning that I just need to ride the waves of my emotions as they come.  I need to acknowledge them and own them and allow myself to feel them.  As I said before, we're all in this together.  We're all feeling a lot of feelings.  And we'll all get through this.  Somehow.

As for my everyday life, my everyday lifestyle hasn't actually changed much at all.  I work from home and don't leave the house that often anyways.  The biggest difference for me is that I'm a little more paranoid about leaving the house.  The only time I have left the house (since the weekend before last) was to get groceries.  Eliot and I went shopping last Tuesday morning, and again Sunday afternoon to get a few more things.

In fact, I really don't have a reason to leave the house at all at this point... especially as my sewing class hasn't been happening since we had the first one.  We were going to be postponed for two weeks, but we got an email from my instructor last night that the soonest we'd start is when school is "supposed" to go back in session on April 27th.  I highly doubt the kids will go back to school though.  If they aren't in school, we aren't having class.  On top of that, we were only supposed to have one more class after the week of the 27th to begin with.  I'm pretty bummed because the 8 week spring session of my sewing class probably won't happen at all at this point, but I'm hoping I can get myself set up to work on a few projects at home.  (Hello beautiful tote bags and valences!!!)  Plus, this will make the fall session of class that much sweeter!

As of right now, Maine's shelter in place is supposed to go through April 8th.  I'm sure we'll know more once we see how the curve looks with everyone staying home.  I know the top health officials are saying this could last months.  I'm going into it expecting "social-distancing" to last at least through April and May.

I'm not making any big plans for the next few weeks.  However, I am going into this with a lot of ideas to keep me busy.  I certainly won't be bored!  Even if we don't have many orders to work on, Eliot and I have at least 40 sets of sample ears that we're in various stages of working on.  Those will keep me very busy.  Plus, creating new designs is very relaxing and rewarding for me.  It will help keep me calm and focused.

In addition, Eliot and I still have a ton of small projects, cleaning and organizing that we're working on in our house.  Eliot's parents just bought a ton of plastic storage containers for us and his sister Elissa who had to move off of the University of New England campus last week.  We ended up with all of the extra containers so we've got a lot of stuff to work with.  Plus, we still have a lot of painting that we started and never finished the touch ups.  I'm hoping to get working on all of those as soon as I can.  I'd love to have a few projects get finished.  I guess this is the silver lining of being stuck at home... that I'll have more time to work on the house!

I've also been working on a list of ideas of things to do while under quarantine.  I'll be sharing those here over the next few days so you'll have some fun ideas of how to spend your time!  I've seen way too many people online complaining about being bored so I'm here to help.  I've always got some creative idea up my sleeve!

So... now we've officially entered quarantine.  It's going to be a lot of highs and lows but I'm keeping my faith that we'll get through this stronger than before.  Keep your chin up friends.  This won't be forever.  We can do this and we got this.  °o°

Getting My Learning On Through Online Classes

Well, something good has come out of navigating the uncharted waters that we're all going through.  Last night, I finally did something that I've been talking about doing for a few years now- I signed up for some online classes that I've been interested in.

I've talked about taking other in person adult education classes over the past few years while living here in Maine.  Some of my favorite classes so far have been sewing, resin ink, resin geodes and acrylic paint pouring.  When I lived in Massachusetts, I took many classes including cake decorating, jewelry making, chocolate making, silk-scarf painting, spa night, soap making, doing makeup and working with polymer clay.  There aren't as many options available here in Maine.  I get excited every time the new class schedules come out.  (I've been known to stalk the adult ed websites.)  Sometimes, there are fun new class options and other times I'm left feeling a little disappointed.

That's the beauty of online classes.  Websites like uDemy and Skillshare offer you a way to take an online class, at home, on your own schedule.  I've been considering it for a while now; I just never jumped in.  Last night, I went onto uDemy and signed up for a few classes that I've wanted to take for years.  (You read that correctly... years.)

Back in 2014, I wrote my first Blog and Disney Goals post.  That's when I first shared my desire to take a class on storyboarding.  While I didn't sign up for the class that I'd originally planned to, I found Learn to Storyboard for Film or Animation and I signed up for that class instead.  I've always been fascinated with that part of making a film so what better way to explore that more than with a class on it!

The other class that I've wanted to take forever was a Theme Park Design class.  This one requires a little bit of a backstory...

As you know, I've always dreamed of becoming an Imagineer.  When I got to choose a senior design project for my interior design degree, I wanted to design a theme park or at least a resort, but my professor told me that was too big and too ambitious.  Instead, I opted to design a small cruise ship.  I could still design hotel rooms, a restaurant, bar, etc. without the project becoming overwhelming.  (Hindsight is 20/20 and I'm thankful that I was talked out of the bigger design.)  I enjoyed the cruise ship project, but I've always had the dream to design something bigger lingering at the back of my mind.

Then, when I graduated from college, it was August of 2008 and the economy was plummeting at an alarming speed.  (Sound familiar?)  I spent months trying to get a good job that I actually enjoyed.  During my many days of job hunting, I started to do research about online classes to take to diversify.  I was terrified that I'd never get an interior design job.  (Who wanted to hire an interior designer when the economy was crap?)  I found classes for wedding planning, landscape architecture and more.  One day, I stumbled across Steve Alcorn's Theme Park Design book and his website.  It was then that I discovered he taught theme park design classes online.

The problem was that the class I found was like $300-$400.  A broke, right-out-of-college kid couldn't afford it, so I put a pin in it for the time being.  This class sat on my Christmas Wish List for many years before I totally set the idea aside.  Recently, I've had a growing desire to explore that path again.  Will I become a Theme Park Designer or Imagineer?  No, but I love theme parks and design and it will be a fun way to learn more.  Eliot and I still talk about things we'd love to design for Disney and I have this wonderful little corner of the internet that's a perfect spot to share some of our ideas.

Thus, I find myself enrolled in both Theme Park Design and Learn to Storyboard.  And the best news of all was that both of these classes were on sale for a St. Patrick's Day promotion!  They were on sale for $12.99 each.  I'm getting hours of education in two classes for less than $26.  That's a deal if I ever saw one!!!

I'm hoping to make myself a schedule so I can set aside time to do each of these classes during a specific time each week.  I love how my Tuesdays are dedicated to my sewing class and that I can look forward to it each week.  I'm hoping scheduling them will keep me on track and it will also give me breaks throughout the week!

If you're bored and trying to find something to do during these next few weeks while stuck "socially distancing" at home, consider checking out uDemy and Skillshare to take a class and pass the time!  There are tons of different classes to choose from depending on what interests you... and you don't even have to get off your couch! °o°

*** Please Note: If you click on the links above and purchase a class, I might get a small commission or credit that I can use for a future class.  I'm honestly not sure how it works, but these are links they gave me to share with my friends! ***

Keep Moving Forward

Well, we're at the end of March.  Looking back now, it's gone by pretty quickly.  But in the middle of it, it's been a rough few weeks.  Lately, I can't seem to catch a break!

I've still been dealing with some health issues.  My sinus problems have hit an all time high.  Though my nose isn't stuff up, I still can't hear in my right ear.  I went back to the walk-in-clinic and they prescribed me Flonase.  That seemed to help drain my sinuses, but then I had a terrible cough when it all drained into my chest.  I stopped taking it a few days ago and I'm feeling much better.  Yet, my ear is still clogged and feels like it needs to pop but I'm hoping that'll end very soon... more on that below.

We've hit a rough patch with our business between me being sick and dealing with some issues with another shop.  Everything seems to be resolved now, but it's left Eliot and I scrambling a little.  Thankfully, we're almost caught up.  We're even ahead of schedule with printing at least!  It's just been a bit discouraging.  I don't really want to re-hash it, but we definitely hit a low and it left me very angry, upset and hurt.  There have been some bright lights in between the hard spots though!  

I've been having a lot of fun in my adult education classes.  I finally started working on my flannel pyjama pants in my sewing class last week!  In the past week, I've cut my first pattern, the fabric and started sewing the pants together today!  Last week, I also finished my Beauty and the Beast tote bag from last semester.  I only had a few more steps to finalize it.  I'm so happy with out how it turned out!  I've already bought a few more fabrics to make more tote bags with!

I also finished my resin geode from a few weeks ago.  I absolutely love how it turned out!  It's so sparkly!  I can't wait to go to class to make another one in a few days.  I've got Eliot signed up to do it with me and I'm so excited!  I think I might make a pink one this time!  I've also started to buy a few supplies so I can make some at home!

In between working on mouse ears, we've kept busy watching San Jose Sharks games.  We haven't had a good run lately; we've lost 6 games in a row.  But they were the 3rd team in the league to clinch a playoff spot, so I'm not in panic mode... yet.  I'm sure they'll get it together.  They've been plagued with injuries and sickness the past few weeks.  Hopefully they get it out of the way before the playoffs start!

When I haven't felt like doing anything, I've been watching Quantico on Netflix and getting sucked into a world that's not my own.  Eliot and I finished the first season together, and watched the first few episodes of the second.  Then, I watched a few more without him.  I was waiting for him to catch up, but he said he's so confused he's going to have to re-watch it.  He gave me his blessing to continue without him, so I'll probably watch that here and there when I need to take a break!  My sickness has left me pretty exhausted, so it's been good to relax here and there throughout the day.

Last week, I went home to visit Mom, Dad and Nana for a quick overnight trip.  Nana had been in the hospital for a few days (she's ok!) and I really wanted to get home to see everyone.  Eliot and I mailed out a ton of orders on Wednesday so I was able to scoot home Thursday and Friday to visit with them!  I'm also planning to go back the last few days of tax season to help Mom and Dad out.

This past weekend my brother Jeremy came to visit us.  He had an event he was going to in Portland on Sunday, so he drove up Friday night and stayed with us.  Saturday, we went to IHOP for breakfast before heading to the Maine Mall to window shop.  We grabbed snacks and Ralph Breaks the Internet at Walmart.  Then, we got pizza at one of Jeremy's favorite Maine restaurants, came home to watch the Celtics game and then watched Ralph Breaks the Internet- which is really good!  It was a nice relaxing weekend and good to see Jeremy!

And we've got a lot of good things coming up!  Tonight, Eliot and I are on our way to California to see a few San Jose Sharks home games and to visit Eliot's Dad.  (Please pop ear!)  This will actually be my first time seeing one of their regular season games at the Tank!  I'm also really excited because we'll be there to see them play the Vegas Golden Knights and the Calgary Flames.  Both of those teams and the Sharks are the top three teams in the Pacific Division, so they're really important games.  Hopefully, the guys will have a good run while we're there and to finish off the regular season!

While we're out in California, we're also planning to go to the Sharks open practice, the Pro Shop at their training ice and the Sharks Store.  It will be a very hockey filled trip and I'm excited to experience these new things!  In addition, Eliot and I made a list of his favorite restaurants that he wants to visit.  I'm looking forward to warmer weather and the sunshine!  It'll be a quick trip, but I'm sure it'll be a fun one!  When we get home to Maine on Monday, it'll be April!  Hopefully March will end on a good note!  °o°

Creativity in Silence

Hi Friends.  I thought I'd drop by for a quick hello.  I'm still sick.  This past trip to Disney really did me in.  I've spent a good part of the past week in bed or on the couch.  I'm usually up for a few hours before I have to go back to bed to take a nap.  One day last week, I was up for 4 hours before taking a 4 hour nap.  It was awful.  Thankfully, my awake hours before napping are spreading themselves out farther.

In addition to complete exhaustion, I've had a head cold and sinus thing going on.  And the icing on top of this terrible cake, I have an ear infection and can't hear with my right ear at all.  It's been a week as of Wednesday since I woke up with no hearing.  It's like my ear never popped after we landed back in Maine.  I have that hearing underwater sensation that usually takes only a few hours to clear.  I'm pretty sure that my ears were good when I went to bed last Tuesday after we landed.  Then last Wednesday morning, I woke up sick, congested and couldn't hear.

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What's really disconcerting is that I'm supposed to be finished with my medication tomorrow and it hasn't changed.  I'm already planning to take the rest of my Amoxicillin until the bottle is empty but I'll probably only get an extra 2-3 doses.  This situation has me a little rattled.  My ear still hurts every once in a while and I'm afraid that I'm going to have to go back to the doctor to get more medicine.  I don't know.  The only good thing to come out of this is that I've enjoyed having quiet time at the house.  It's been a bit of an emotional week for me anyways.

Monday was an especially rough day.  We had a snow storm Sunday into Monday morning.  When I woke, there was something serene about the fresh snow covering everything in sight.  I was a bit concerned about Eliot commuting to work, but he was ok.  It was also my Papa's birthday and that was weighing heavily at the back of my mind.  He would have been 86 this year.  I still miss him terribly, but I'm glad he is no longer in pain.  And I know he's watching over all of us.

With my sickness and thoughts of Papa piling on top of me, I've decided to allow myself to have a relaxing week filled with reflection and quiet time.  I had grand plans of massive spring cleaning upon our return from Florida, but this is all I can manage right now.  Maybe the mood to clean will suddenly strike me, but today, I'm comfortable with taking some time to relax, rest, recuperate and simply be.  Plus, this quiet time has allowed me to take some time to explore my creative side.

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On Monday, I was browsing Pinterest while watching Supergirl when I stumbled across the blog of an art teacher who makes her own art inspired outfits.  I went down the rabbit hole looking at her handmade skirts, dresses, sweaters, bags, hair accessories, jewelry and more.  About 30 minutes later, I resurfaced with a ton of ideas for new outfits and new accessories for the Festival of the Arts next year.  I was so inspired!

On Tuesday, my sewing class started for the spring sesssion.  I love having time set aside to do something fun.  It's also a chance for me to get out and be social.  Being alone at home all the time can get lonely sometimes.  I didn't even sew this week.  I didn't have the supplies and pattern that I needed since I've been sick since our return from Florida.  (I had grand plans to drive up to Portland late last week to get them.)  I enjoyed catching up with the others and watching one of the other girls in class work on a pillow case.  I'm excited to see what new projects this session will bring!

On Wednesday, I had my Resin Geode class.  This is the class I told you about before that I've been counting down to.  Like I said before, I'm so excited about it that I've signed up to take it in two different locations!  I enjoyed myself so much.  We did most of the artwork side this week, ending the night with pouring our resin.  Next week, once the resin has set, we'll go in and add the fine details and the larger stones that need to be glued.  (I forgot to take a picture before I put my project on the shelf, but here's a photo of it sitting there.  I'll take another once it's done.  The other photos are pictures my teacher took while we were all in the process of making our geodes.)

I enjoyed my class so much that yesterday morning, I spent a bit of time researching supplies for resin geodes.  I've already added a bunch of stuff to my Amazon wish list, as well as my Etsy favorites.  I also made a list of things to check out at the local craft store.  I'm hoping to buy a few new supplies with our tax refund money.  I can see myself making a lot of acrylic pours and resin geodes in the future!  It's addicting!

Anyways, I'm hoping I'll get better soon.  This whole not being able to hear correctly is getting old, no matter how much I try to find the good in this situation.  I have a whole new appreciation for people who are hard of hearing.  It's really hard, especially when you're out in public.  In the meantime, I'm just taking everything one day at a time. °o°

Getting into the Creative Flow

Guys... don't look now, but I've dropped in here two days in a row and I've written 4 posts in the past week!  It's almost like I'm getting into the flow or something!  Speaking of getting into the flow, I've also been getting into the creative flow recently.  Not only am I feeling inspired to write, but I've branched out to learn new art techniques!

Learning new crafts and art techniques is something that I really enjoy.  I'm always on Pinterest or Instagram looking for new projects, artwork styles and techniques.  When I lived alone in my first apartment (Eliot was still finishing college), I loved taking adult education classes at night after work.  I took classes for jewelry making and polymer clay at a school near work.  I also took classes at the local school in my town.  I did cake decorating, soap making, homemade spa night, make up, making chocolate and even writing and publishing your own book.  (I've probably forgotten a few too.)  It was a really important part of my life.  I needed to have some time for myself to explore and learn.  I've really missed that since we left Massachusetts and moved to Maine.

A close up of my acrylic pour painting.

I probably mentioned that I started taking a sewing class in the fall of 2017.  It was time that I learned how to use the machine my parents bought me for my birthday.  (It had just been sitting there collecting dust.)  My Nana told me the best way to learn was to take a class, so when I found out that there was one during the day that worked with my all night work schedule, I immediately signed up.  And I've been taking it in the fall and spring ever since.  (Our instructor says she's running out of stuff to teach us!)

I've really enjoyed those few hours in sewing class on Tuesdays.  It's time for me to learn, be creative and spend some time laughing with the other girls in my class.  That class doesn't start back up until early March, and I already can't wait.  We're making pajama pants and aprons this semester!  Which reminds me; I need to go find some Disney flannel fabric at JoAnn's...

My painting from Beginner Acrylic Pour Painting.

In addition to sewing, this semester I've taken a few classes to learn techniques that I've been itching to learn from my time spent on Pinterest and Instagram.  I've been obsessed with abstract art and acrylic pour paintings for a while now.  (I can't tell you the number of pins I've saved of fluid acrylic artwork, techniques and videos.)  I was so excited to find an instructor who teaches classes for it at a few of the local schools!  So far, I've taken three of her classes and I'm already signed up for two more!

The first class I took was Beginner Acrylic Pour Painting.  This was everything that I've wanted to learn for so long.  We used the flip cup technique where you put all the paints in a cup and turn it over on the canvas.  It's easy and anyone can do it.  Our instructor taught us how to mix the paints and then we got to make our own pour painting!  All of our paintings came out incredible.  I used white, pink, teal, blue, and purple for mine because I wanted it to match the colors in my office.  I can't get over how awesome it looks and how easy it was.  (Fun fact, I just stopped typing long enough to admire it again.  It's here on my desk since I haven't hung it up yet!)  I absolutely love how it turned out!  And now all I want to do is make more of them.

A close up of my artwork from Resin Ink Frames.

The second class I took was Resin Ink Frames.  I hadn't really heard of this technique before I signed up for this class.  But I had heard of alcohol inks, and seen them on Pinterest.  I've also never worked with resin, and it's been an interest of mine for a long time as well.  This class combined both of those!  To describe it simply, you put resin in a sealed off frame, and then you add the alcohol inks.  The inks interact in the resin and you have no idea how it'll turn out until the resin cures.  I used blue, teal, pink, purple and white in my piece but the only colors that seeped into the resin were the blues, teals and white.  I still love how it turned out!  I think it'll look great in our master bedroom!  I'm thinking about taking this class again and trying it with pinks, purples and white to see how that turns out!

My wave painting from Acrylic Pour Painting 2.

This past Wednesday, I took Acrylic Pour Painting Part 2.  In this class, we learned how to create paintings using swipes instead of a flip cup pour.  Our instructor taught us about the different methods and then we each got to choose a few to try.  First, I tried the wave technique.  My wave looks a little like a blob wave, but I'm happy with how the colors finally blended.  (It took me a while to get it!)  Plus, the cells look awesome!  It'll probably live in our Nemo bathroom once it's done.  The second time, I tried a paper towel swipe where you drag a damp paper towel over the paints. I used pink, purple, blue, and mint with a base of black.  The black covered most of the canvas, but I liked how the colors poked out behind it.  After using the torch on it, I got some cool little cell spots that popped out.  One of the girls in my class said it reminded her of how fireworks look when they're falling in the sky.  I can definitely see that!  This one is also going to go in my office!  I love it!

My swipe painting from Acrylic Pour Painting 2.

I've had so much fun so far.  I really have; I can't wait to learn more!  I've got a few other classes that I've marked down on my calendar and I've already signed up for one more- in two different locations!  I've wanted to learn how to make resin geode paintings for a while too.  So when I found out it was also offered, I signed up at my local school and convinced Eliot to take it with me in Biddeford.  (It's right around the corner from where he works.)  My parents wanted to get us something for Valentine's Day so I asked my Mom to pay for a class that we could take together.  (She thought it was a great idea and she and Dad graciously paid for it yesterday afternoon!)  I'll check in again once I've taken those classes!  Yay for sparkly geode paintings!!!

I'm hoping to get a space set up at home so I can start making acrylic pour paintings and experimenting with resin.  I'm seriously dying to make more flip cup pours.  And I have a feeling that I'm going to be addicted to the geode painting too.  I'm sure we're going to have so much artwork it's not even going to be funny.  Who knows... maybe we'll have another new business to open up at some point in the future!  °o°