19 in 2019 - March Update

Marching along with this year's goals

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Goal #8: Go on a Celebrate Your Life retreat
I reserved my room for the retreat in June/July.

Goal #12: Learn my Enneagram

In enneagram lingo, it turns out I'm Type 3 with a 2 wing. Some of the approach the enneagram takes rubs me the wrong way. But I watched a lot of videos and learned some things that I've already found helpful. My next step to make use of this personality typing is to discover some techniques that will help me alter one of my stubborn character flaws.


Goal #16: Use up my tea stash

I've continued having hot tea most mornings. The box of Peppermint tea has been used up. I've also used some stray bags, like Lipton's Orange Gardens, which smells wonderful. Bigelow's Cozy Chamomile is lovely in the evening. I've brewed some loose (not in teabags) English Berries & Cream Black Tea that my daughter gave me. It smells heavenly, but the flavor was bolder than teas I'm used to drinking.

Goal #17: Blog at least 25 weeks of #throwbackthursday posts of my 1997 - 2007 projects

I wrote three more posts in March, bringing my total to eleven thus far. I so enjoy revisiting these projects from long ago. This one brought a tear to my eye since my adopted grandmother is no longer alive.

Goal #18: Blog at least 10 of my Ladies of the Evening collection (mend as needed)

I managed to take photos of four more of my Ladies. I plan to edit the photos and blog about some in April.

Goal #19: Finish one of my eight courses

I became discouraged with  The Creative License by Danny Gregory, mainly because the print in the book is so so small that it impedes my learning. I may continue reading the book, but it will likely be a slow go. Also, I find that he has some annoying biases that bother me. He claims that drawing is the best art form for getting into the moment (flow), noticing the world around you in detail, and that keeping an art journal is the best way of recording what goes on in your life. I take issue with that point of view. I think it's a matter of personality and preferences. I believe it's what may be best for him and many other visual artists. But I find photography, especially macro photography, and then blogging give me the exact same benefits. It could be he's not the right teacher at the right time for me.

Anyway, I've found that learning to draw through reading isn't the most effective method for me to acquire this skill. So I switched gears and have begun drawing cartoon characters from tutorials I found online. I get a lot of pleasure from this.

Alternate Goal: Watch 50 movies/shows from my Netflix/Amazon queues

I watched ten movies/series in March, bringing my total to seventeen:

 8. Fyre: The Greatest Party that Never Happened

 9. Dumplin'

10. Call Me By My Name
11. Mozart in the Jungle (series)
12. The Leisure Seeker
13. Tidying Up with Marie Kondo (series)
14. Blue Jasmine
15. Kominsky Method (series)
16. Blue is the Warmest Color
17. To All the Boys I Loved Before

This was my favorite this month

Alternate Goal: Photo Editing and Organization

I started renaming files into a standard convention, sorting some images by theme, and editing old holiday photos. This is one of my favorite finds this month. It's a photo of Dale and me that was taken last July at my mother-in-law's 80th birthday party.

I've continued my quest to Whittle a Little. This month I discarded or found new homes for over 30 items. I took two boxes of donations to a thrift store. I've made a point of using my "good" art supplies instead of holding onto them for "important" projects. I found places to recycle 16 Styrofoam mini coolers and over 30 blue ice packets. I've also enjoyed the aroma from burning a couple more candles.

Final count:
     * I've completed five goals
     * I have 7 of my stated goals in progress
     * I have a good start on 3 of my alternate goals