Good news, everyone! I'm back with a long overdue blog post. I TOAD you I would be!
Alright! Now that you hate me, let's get started on my version of "What I did over my summer vacation that wasn't actually a vacation because I also worked the whole time."
1.) Became a Handyman
The biggest project I had was fixing up my sister's front porch. There were a lot of rotting floor boards (graciously left behind by the previous owner) and they really needed to get replaced. My dad and I teamed up to tackle this together: he, the Great Handyman and me, the Initially-Clueless-But-Eager-to-Learn Assistant. The dog supervised. I gained a lot of experience on this project, with minimal blood loss as an added bonus. AND I got to use power tools. The drill and I are BFFs; the electric screwdriver my mortal enemy. Hammers are fine. Once we finished replacing the necessary boards, my sister and brother-in-law gave everything a fresh coat of paint. The final result was a porch worthy of HGTV.
I also learned how to mix cement and fixed some stairs and a retaining wall. So... yeah. I'm pretty much a Master at this point.
2.) Painted with Yarn
This is a GREAT idea for anyone who loves to crochet. My sister discovered the idea on Pinterest, where someone had made several crochet flowers and put them in a frame.
"You should make this!" I said.
"YOU should make this!" She countered.
*Hrrrgghhh* I replied.
Now, I'm the type of person who can't just copy what someone else does, which I guess is good because stealing and plagiarism are bad. So I thought to myself, "How can I make this my own?? I know! I'll make a flower SCENE where the flowers are flowers and the sky is flowers and the grass is flowers hahaha I'm so creative!"
So that is what I did, and I gave it to her for her birthday.
If you enjoy crochet, definitely give this a try! Make your own yarn painting! (But don't make it too many layers or it won't fit in the frame. Mine just fit.)
3.) Became an Expert Yogi
Well that's a lie. But I have been practicing every day (or almost every day) and seriously, I cannot promote this enough. The level of positivity you feel afterwards is MIND BLOWING. Clear your mind, find some inner peace, and learn to contort your body into bizarre poses that for some reason make you love yourself. I can do the crow pose!
Just google it. Then take some time to bask in the awesomeness of yours truly, who can hold this pose for slightly over 3 Mississippis.
4.) 日本語を勉強しました。("Studied Japanese")
Well, technically this started about 6 months ago, but yeah! I've been studying Japanese! Can you believe I was inspired by a Deadpool T-shirt I saw at the mall? (Everything about me is weird.) I had studied Japanese as an elective in college and then... progressively forgot most of it. Then one day, I was at the mall and I saw this graphic Tee with a picture of Deadpool and デドプール ("Deadpool") underneath. And I thought to myself,
"Wow, I remember how to read this! I miss Japanese, I want to start practicing again."
So yes! It's been about 6 months now and 毎日日本語を勉強します。楽しい！("I study Japanese everyday. It's fun!") Still at the beginner level (or maybe advanced beginner?) but I really enjoy it. Who knows, maybe at some point I'll animate something in Japanese!
Okay guys, that's it. That's all she wrote. No animation this time, but I did make that flower picture and the adorable frog at the beginning of this post, so be happy. :)
Until next time...
じゃあね。
ニコール