Tag Archives: duolingo

Dec4

1500 Day Duolingo Streak!!

Posted on by
Standard
1500 Day Duolingo Streak!!

Howdy!!! As most of you know, I thrive on having a strict routine. It brings me a lot of comfort to know ahead of time what my day is going to look like and I rarely stray far from it outside of the weekend. Knowing that I live for a good schedule, it should not come as a surprise that there is nothing more pleasing to me than a good streak. No, not running naked through the neighborhood, but doing something regularly and tracking the days! My most recent accomplishment for a streak happened this past weekend when I hit 1500 days in a row on Duolingo:

IMG_1952

I always say that if I had a super power, I would want to be fluent in every language in the world. I would love to be able to communicate with people in any language that they are most comfortable with! While I am not there yet lol, I have to say that Duolingo has been a great asset. For over FOUR YEARS now, I have woken up every morning and completed at least one practice session of French. It comes as naturally as my daily early morning Facebook check and I have never forgotten or faltered. Probably because the owl would blow up my phone if I did!

Because of massive time restraints, I don’t get to work on Spanish, Italian, German, and Czech as often as I would like. However, I am always pleased with my recollection when I can squeeze in a multilingual practice. And, I am extremely happy with how my French has advanced over time. I have studied French literally since high school and it has been my dream for as long as I can remember to go to France. Will I ever get there? Who’s to say? But I love that I would feel comfortable with my communication if Johnny and I treat ourselves to a very belated honeymoon. 😀

Thanks to the handy Duolingo app, I get to start my mornings off right with something I enjoy so much. I can’t wait till my next milestone!

Which languages do you speak? Which languages would you like to learn? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Mar27

1250 Day Duolingo Streak

Posted on by
Standard
1250 Day Duolingo Streak

Hello!! I have been using Duolingo for so long that I don’t really think about it anymore. It is a staple in my morning routine of wake up, check Facebook, check my email, and practice a French lesson before starting my day. And, as often as I can, I try to do lessons in Spanish, Italian, German, and Czech too. This past weekend, I achieved a milestone streak of 1250 days of completing a lesson on Duolingo and I couldn’t believe it. That’s almost three and a half years!!

image_123986672(1)

HUZZAH!!!

In case you haven’t noticed, I am a very routine oriented person and it works beautifully for me. Once something that I am committed to becomes part of my schedule, I do everything in my power to keep it going. Duolingo is a perfect example of that because I love to learn new things – especially languages. Learning French is a goal that I have been working on since high school and I am thrilled to still be going strong with it. Although I wish I could practice my other languages more, I don’t have all of the time in the world in the morning and when I get home from work, I just want to sit lol.

Despite not practicing the other languages I am just okay at, I have noticed a better understanding when I hear them spoken. For example, Johnny has been sick with a nasty virus for the past handful of days. When I am sick, I turn to my comfort shows of anime and reality TV. Johnny, on the other hand, is a history buff and has been watching tons of WWII movies and documentaries. Whenever I am around and French or German is being spoken, he always calls me in to translate and I have a very high success rate! It is rare that I have the opportunity to put my language knowledge to the test and I was reveling in it. It made me feel so good that there were a few things in the programs Johnny was watching that he needed my assistance for. That seriously never happens!

I am so proud of my 1250 Day Duolingo Streak and can still barely believe my own eyes about it. It seems like just yesterday I downloaded the app and it has, without a doubt, been a fantastic tool to use. I can’t wait to get to a 1500 day streak – my next big milestone!

Do you use Duolingo? What language(s) are you learning? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Oct21

One Year Duolingo Streak!

Posted on by
Standard
One Year Duolingo Streak!

Hi! This has been a year of very exciting milestones for yours truly. I recently achieved a 1,000 day streak of writing in a row on lifewithlilred and, today, I have reached one full year of daily practice on Duolingo! Every day, I have been working on my French, Spanish, Italian, Czech, and German and I am amazed at the progress that I have made in all of them. If you can’t tell, I am a woman who thrives with a routine and it is so exciting to see my hard work continue to pay off.

Because I have six years of experience of being taught French in high school and college, it will always be my best language in terms of speaking, reading, and comprehension. Unfortunately, I’m not really sure how speaking my other four languages would go because I haven’t had the opportunity to interact with anyone who speaks them – especially in COVID times because Johnny and I haven’t been able to travel for our honeymoon like we wanted.

That’s not to say that I haven’t noticed big improvements, though. I am always tickled when Johnny and I are watching a TV show or movie and one of my five languages is being spoken. More often than not, I can get the basic gist of what is being said and it makes me feel very proud of myself. Now, the next challenge will be figuring out which language to start learning next!

For the longest time, I have answered the “What would your super power be?” question with being fluent in every language. It has been a time consuming task to achieve this without being bitten by a radioactive spider but learning on Duolingo every day brings me one step closer to that dream. 🙂

Which language should I learn next? Which languages can you speak? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Aug17

A Force Of Habit

Posted on by
Standard
A Force Of Habit

Hello! In case you haven’t realized by now, I am the type of gal who loves organizing, planning, check lists, and schedules. I thrive on structure. Meanwhile, Johnny is definitely more spontaneous so the combination balances out nicely! I run two businesses, which means that my days need to run like a fine tuned machine so that I can get everything done with time to relax in the evening.

While it takes an average of sixty-six days for a person to form a new habit, it probably takes me a week or less because I take a lot of pleasure in penciling things into my schedule. There is also nothing better than a super long streak of doing something daily! There are a handful of habits that I have formed that I truly don’t think I could live without now. In fact, it pains me to think of not doing the following every day:

Skin Care Routine:

My days start and end with a skin care routine that I have customized to best fit my skin type. With the stresses that sometimes come with being self employed, self care is extremely important to me. Sometimes, this takes form in trying out a new face mask but it mostly means using products on my face and body that make me feel good. This includes using a delicious smelling body wash from Bath & Body Works, a refreshing gel moisturizer, Vitamin C serum, and body lotion every day.

Writing:

Once I have completed my morning hygiene routine, it is time to write! My fast approaching 1,000 post streak of daily writing would probably not be possible if I didn’t get up extra early every day to complete this task before I need to leave for work. While I always enjoy adding new things to my schedule, I like checking them off of my mental to do list even more! I feel amazing every time I finish a new blog post and my countdown gets one day closer to 1,000.

Practice Learning Languages:

Other than reading, learning new languages is one of my favorite hobbies. I am currently on a three hundred day streak on Duolingo for practicing French, Italian, Spanish, German, and Czech every day. Whenever I get asked what I would want my super power to be if I had one, I always reply with being fluent in every language in the world. Unfortunately, I am not going to get bit by a super learned spider for this to happen automatically so I try to do it myself. It makes me proud to learn new words and phrases every day and I have made an insane amount of progress from practicing these five different languages daily.

Push Ups:

When Johnny and I first started dating almost two years ago, we were hit head on by a car. It was so scary and I actually ended up being hospitalized for injuries to my cervical spine. I was left with a lot of nerve damage in my upper body from the accident, which resulted in my arms and torso becoming weaker than it already was!

To help ease the nerve pain that I was experiencing at the end of every day, I began to do push ups to tone and strengthen my upper body several months ago. I started out with only doing twenty-five, which was really hard. However, I graduated to now doing fifty! If I’m feeling saucy, I sometimes do fifty more. These daily mini workouts have made a noticeable improvement in the upper body pain that I have to deal with and I am excited to continue increasing how many push ups I do. 🙂

All of the above have become a true force of habit for me and my day would not feel complete without doing them. Here’s to continuing to check all of them off my mental to do list every day!

What is something your day wouldn’t be complete without? How long does it take for something to become a habit for you? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Aug6

Rest Of Summer Goals

Posted on by
Standard
Rest Of Summer Goals

Hi! Can you believe we are already in August? I feel like July flew by! When the month of August arrives, I always feel like summer is about to be over when, in reality, we still have a good month and a half left. There is still much I want to do in that time, including the following:

Let’s Go To The Movies:

The first movie I saw in theaters since several months prior to the start of the pandemic was Demon Slayer The Movie and it was excellent. Sadly, I haven’t been to a movie since seeing it in May and that definitely needs to change. When Johnny and I first started dating, we were always going on dates to the movies and there is plenty to pick from this summer – especially if you’re a horror fan like us. I am dying to see A Quiet Place 2, The Conjuring 3, and Don’t Breathe 2. A few weeks ago, Johnny and I watched Don’t Breathe because he had never seen it and it is just in time for the sequel’s release later this month. 😀

Fun In The Sun:

I love being able to use the pool at my apartment community and, despite making an effort to go weekly, it still doesn’t feel like enough! There is nothing better than taking a dip on a hot summer day and I just know I will regret not using the pool more often once it closes for the year. To remedy this, I plan on visiting the pool at least two times a week so I can make up for lost time when it wasn’t open last year.

More Pictures, Please:

One of my favorite types of posts to create for lifewithlilred are Outfit Of The Days. It is so much fun to me to style outfits, come up with an idea for a photo shoot, and selecting the perfect pics for my blog. It’s basically just me pretending to be on America’s Next Top Model and I live for it lol. It would be a shame to not take advantage of the beautiful weather and shoot some more summer looks so I am hoping to do another handful of photo shoots before the weather turns. Then, keep it posted for my all time favorite: FALL FASHION!!!

Every Day I’m Hustlin’:

I am on the verge of a 1,000 day writing streak on WordPress and am quickly approaching a year in a row of practicing five languages on Duolingo. I am incredibly proud of this and won’t stop even after I have reached these landmark achievements. It is so exciting to get one step closer to my goals every day and who knows? We just might have to do a 1,000th post extravaganza on lifewithlilred with a giveaway! What do you think? 🙂

Here’s to sunny days and lots of fun for all this August!!

What are your goals for the rest of the summer? Do you have any exciting plans? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jun3

On Fire!

Posted on by
Standard
On Fire!

Hi! Once I give myself a goal, I try my darnedest to stick to it – especially when it comes to my blog and practicing five different languages on Duolingo. I am proud to say that I have accomplished a two hundred and twenty day streak on Duolingo since my last update and I cannot wait until I hit one full year of daily practicing. I also reached a major milestone on WordPress, when a notification let me know that I am on an eight hundred and ninety day streak for posting on lifewithlilred. Woah!!!

When I am on the Duolingo app, the streak counter updates every day once I complete one lesson, so I always know where I stand. However, I have never received a notification for days of writing on WordPress and was blown away when my writing streak was announced. I never really thought about how many days straight I had been blogging on lifewithlilred and felt so proud of myself when I was able to put an actual number to it – which amounts to two years and a hundred and sixty days.

For eight hundred and ninety days, I have wrote before work and on the weekend and have been true to my goal of daily blogging. And, since the pandemic, I have made good on practicing with Duo every day too! These habits have become so ingrained in me and, now, I can’t imagine a day without my morning writing sessions and language learning. Writing and trying my hand at different languages have always been my favorite hobbies and it feels so good to accomplish such big milestones on the things that I am most passionate about.

I am very much looking forward to hitting a one year streak on Duo and a one thousand day streak on WordPress and I don’t plan on stopping there! Here’s to countless more days for all of us to reach our goals – I know we can do it. ❤

Do you have any goals for yourself? How do you stay motivated to achieve your goals? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Featured Image By: imgur

Apr19

175 Day Duolingo Streak!

Posted on by
Standard
175 Day Duolingo Streak!

Hello! The last time I gave an update on my Duolingo progress, I had just achieved a one hundred day streak and I finally received my badge for adding seventy-five more days to it. I am so pleased with my progress and am proud of myself for continuing to practice five different languages every day for close to half a year. I am leaving previous goals in the dust and I feel like my skills in French, Spanish, Italian, German, and Czech are improving tenfold.

Thanks to Johnny gifting me Duolingo Plus for Christmas, practicing every day has become an exciting thing rather than an inconvenience because Plus gives you unlimited life. This is so handy on especially tough lessons and I don’t think I would have made it to a one hundred seventy-five day streak without it. I will most definitely be renewing my Plus subscription at the end of the year and highly recommend it.

Other than writing, learning languages is my favorite hobby and I feel good about committing myself even more to it. Similarly to how I feel after I finish a blog post for the day, I feel accomplished every time I complete my language lessons and it has really helped me shake away the pandemic boredom blahs. It’s hard to feel like there is “nothing” to do when I can go on Duolingo and learn brand new words and phrases in multiple different languages!

While I am over the moon with my one seventy-five day streak, I am nowhere close to being done yet because I will not be satisfied until I have a full year’s worth of days on my streak counter. I am almost halfway there and cannot wait to see the results of my hard work after one full year of practicing five languages. Great success!

Have you made progress on your pandemic hobbies? What is your favorite hobby? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Feb6

Hurray! 100 Day Duolingo Streak

Posted on by
Standard
Hurray! 100 Day Duolingo Streak

Hello! One of my favorite hobbies is learning new languages and I practice French, Italian, Spanish, German, and Czech on Duolingo. Pre-pandemic, I was lucky if I could get a four or five day streak of practice going with a busy work and social schedule. Now, I am proud to say that I am on an over ONE HUNDRED day streak of practicing all five languages and I am honestly blown away by it. I also don’t plan on stopping any time soon!

For the past one hundred plus days, I have been dedicated to doing one to two lessons per language daily with Duo and it’s exciting for me because I can definitely tell that I have made great improvements. I consider myself to be quite fluent in French (I took it throughout high school and college) and I think I have made huge gains, as I can understand a majority of the French shows and movies I watch without subtitles now. I have found that my Spanish and Italian is much smoother and my vocabulary in both German and Czech has made good progress too.

I know people have talked about their hobbies to NO END during the COVID-19 pandemic but it is just so cool to me to notice substantial gains from just one hundred days of practicing for a half hour. Everything from work to social lives seems to be on a stand still right now with not much to look forward to. However, I look forward to working on my languages every day now so my skill set can continue to blossom.

Learning a different language opens up a whole new world. New friendships, new skills, new entertainment, new dream locations to travel to. Duolingo is a free app and if you find yourself overwhelmed by all of the free time we now have, then I highly recommend giving it a download. You can even treat yourself to Duolingo Plus, which will give you unlimited hearts! Learning something new is exhilarating and incorporating Duolingo into your life could be just what you need to shake some blahs away until things get back to normal. ❤

Do you know a different language? How do you practice? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jan14

3 Things That Keep Me Sane

Posted on by
Standard
3 Things That Keep Me Sane

Hello! Throughout the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, Johnny and I have essentially just been in our apartment other than work and groceries. No one is saying that it is not monotonous AF but it is for the best and we will continue doing our part in keeping ourselves and loved ones safe. With continuous days at home, it can be hard to work up the motivation to do much of anything. But, setting goals has always helped me move forward with what I want to accomplish and completing these three tasks every day has kept me from going totally stir crazy:

Writing Every Morning:

Whether it be on a work day or the weekend, as soon as I take my morning shower and ready myself for the day, I sit at the computer and prepare a scheduled post to publish. I never thought that I would be able to keep daily content coming when there is literally nothing to do. I have surprised myself and think that I am even better at my craft now because I have learned to draw inspiration from all of the little things that now make up my day.

I feel a great sense of accomplishment every time I complete a post during this pandemic because it really can be difficult. However, lifewithlilred has been dedicated to creating daily content for the past several years and not even COVID-19 can stop that! Starting my morning off with a goal already checked off of my to do list makes me feel ready to take on the rest of the day and keeps me motivated to do it again tomorrow.

Practice Languages:

One of my favorite hobbies is learning new languages and every day I practice French, Italian, Spanish, German, and Czech on Duolingo. In fact, I am on an over eighty day streak of daily practicing and I have never even come close to that before. This Christmas, Johnny got me Duolingo Plus to help me continue practicing my languages in a more efficient way and it has been awesome. No adds and unlimited hearts, baby!

I like to set aside at least an hour every day to work on learning new languages and I feel proud of the huge steps that I have taken in each one that I practice. I definitely feel like I have gotten better in all of them – particularly German and Czech and I never thought that would happen! I feel excited to learn more each day and I can’t wait to get to a one hundred day streak!

Read:

The last thing that I like to do every day is read. I have always been an avid reader and I enjoy it even more now because I feel like I can escape my apartment and join the characters from the book in their world. I try to read at least thirty to forty pages plus in whatever book I am working on each day. I love the feeling of excitement I get every time I crack a book open because I know I am going to be transported on an adventure. However, I love the sense of accomplishment I feel after finishing a book and starting a new one even more. 😀

I am currently reading a delightful book called Miss Benson’s Beetle by one of my favorite authors, Rachel Joyce. It has been a nice palette cleanser from the psychological thrillers that I have been reading so definitely be on the lookout for a Lil Red’s Book Club review of it soon!

Once I complete these three tasks every day, I give myself permission to play all of the video games or watch all of the Netflix that I want. Hey, everyone deserves a treat after accomplishing their daily goals, right? 🙂

Do you set daily goals for yourself? Have you improved on one of your hobbies during the pandemic? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Dec29

Holiday Haul: Boyfriend Edition

Posted on by
Standard
Holiday Haul: Boyfriend Edition

Hello! I am so happy that I got to celebrate another Christmas with my boyfriend, Johnny. He means the absolute world to me and I love him so much. After months of asking him if I could tell him what I got him for Christmas, we finally made a deal to open our presents to each other on the afternoon of the 24th. So, you could imagine my surprise when he came home from work on the 22nd and said we should open our gifts now!

Not only is he getting me a new game for the Nintendo Switch as well as a year’s subscription to Duolingo Plus, he also treated me to the following:

bfgift1bfgift

As soon as I opened my guillotine earrings, I gasped because I have had my eye on them for forever. In fact, I have at least five screenshots saved to remind myself to purchase them whenever they show up on my Facebook newsfeed. The first thing that came out of my mouth was “how did you know?!” because I can’t remember ever telling Johnny how much I liked them. He told me when he saw it on his Facebook he knew that I would love them and that made this gift as well as the matching necklace even more special. He knows me like the back of his hand. ❤

I am so excited to pick out a new game to play on the Switch because I have already beaten the Paper Mario game that Johnny got me for our one year anniversary. I will have to do some browsing before I make my choice but I am definitely thinking more Mario! And, finally, the subscription to Duolingo Plus really takes the cake because for one full year I won’t have to worry about running out of hearts while I practice French, Italian, Spanish, German, and Czech. It will be so handy and SO freaking appreciated and I plan on starting a new language to learn since I’ll have the extra cushion of unlimited hearts. I am currently debating between Swedish, Latin, or Greek!

My Johnny knows how to spoil me and I feel like the luckiest girl ever. Duolingo Plus is exactly what I wanted and a new game and jewelry are exactly what I needed even though I didn’t know it yet! Is he the best boyfriend ever or what? ❤

How do you and your SO celebrate the holidays? What is your favorite game for the Switch? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah