Tag Archives: learning

Oct31

Easy Tips For Improved Cooking Skills 

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Easy Tips For Improved Cooking Skills 

Knowing how to cook is a basic, fundamental skill that we all need to have. The pandemic has been tough on everyone, but many people have gone out of their way to get creative. Some have headed outside and created a garden packed with new flowers and veggies. Others have turned their hand to DIY and revamped their entire houses.

Then, there are those who turned to cooking. With the pandemic ending and lock downs lifting, people are choosing to Google ‘bakery course near me’ to improve their cooking skills that they learned while they were unable to go out and see people. Cooking is an amazing skill to have – it’s science and a little bit of magic all rolled together. Learning to bake a beautiful loaf of bread or cook the perfect roast chicken dinner? It’s all part of the fun.

If you want to improve your cooking skills, you can, and we’ve got some tips for you below to continue building your skill set:

Shop Well:

You can’t cook delicious meals without delicious ingredients, right? Ingredients that are fresh and vibrant in taste and color can help you to make transformative foods. Even the most basic dishes can become five star meals when you choose the right ingredients, and that’s the best place to start.

Get Equipped:

Can you cook the perfect fried egg if your pans are scratched to pieces? Of course not. If you want to make cooking a hobby of yours, then you need to equip yourself with the right tools. The right pans, the best knives, new kitchen scales, and the right cutlery can ensure that your cooking becomes something better than you ever thought it could be. The best quality equipment will help you to bring those recipes out properly.

Prepare Beforehand:

Be prepared. You need to get yourself set up by weighing and measuring all of your ingredients before you even get started. Warm up the oven early, and get into the habit of preparing your ingredients before you do anything else. This will make the whole process easier on you when you want to improve the current skills you have.

And, remember, part of the prep work before making anything involves reading the recipe thoroughly! When you are just beginning to take cooking more seriously inspect the recipe carefully no matter how easy it might seem. From pasta sauce to a diet-friendly edibles recipe, you don’t want to realize you don’t have some necessary ingredients halfway through the process!

Have A Tasting Spoon:

When you cook, you need to taste. You’ll see the best chefs tasting as they go and they do this for a good reason. Tasting will help you to tell whether you have seasoned enough and it can help you to avoid plating up a dish that really doesn’t taste great. Of course, you need to keep this spoon separate from the rest of the cooking utensils you use!

Use the tips above to make the next meal you prepare even better. Happy cooking!

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Oct21

One Year Duolingo Streak!

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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

Jun10

Handy Skills In Life We Really Oughta Know!

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Handy Skills In Life We Really Oughta Know!

There are a lot of skills in life our parents had in spades, but we don’t have in the slightest! There are many essential skills that every human should have because these days there is a higher likelihood of emergencies in the home and outside than our parents ever had to contend with! So, here are a few things that everybody should know:

How to Turn Off the Water:

A burst pipe in your property is one of the worst things that can happen. You may be living in a rental or your own home, but would you know what to do if there was flooding? The first thing to do is to turn off the water at the mains!

Change a Tire:

If you are in the middle of nowhere and get a flat while on a trip, you need to learn how to change a tire. Changing a tire is not difficult, and can only take a couple of minutes. It’s also worth knowing how to jump-start a car.

Know How to Manage Your Personal Finances:

Financial management is something that a lot of people lack, but learning how to create a budget, saving money, and learning to invest in the right things in life will reap dividends in the long run. So many people are in debt these days, and learning how to manage your finances properly can make a significant difference to your quality of life.

Know How to Read a Map:

These days, we rely so much on Google Maps that if we were without our phones, we would be lost, literally and figuratively! If you ever find yourself lost and your GPS fails on you, do you know how to find the north star and which way is east or west?

Know the Basics of Repairing a Car:

This can save us a lot of money over time! Learning how to fix the basics in our car and keeping it maintained by topping up the oil and the water can make our car go much longer before it needs to head to the repair shop.

Know How to Sew:

Skills like sewing a button onto a coat is going to be a lifesaver, especially as it’s something that happens all too regularly. The basic sewing skills are easy enough to pick up but there are plenty of other benefits to sewing, such as teaching focus and building your confidence.

Knowing How to Be in Your Own Company:

We all rely on the internet and social media to be our friends, but if we took the opportunity to learn to thrive in our own company we would learn so much about ourselves. We shouldn’t rely on others to entertain ourselves. When we start to look after ourselves we display signs of resilience.

While you may be able to look after your health well enough how many of these do you really know how to do? No better time than the present to learn!

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Apr19

175 Day Duolingo Streak!

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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

Mar12

Projects To Work On As A Family

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Projects To Work On As A Family

A project that you work on as a family is a wonderful bonding experience that encourages team work and improving communication skills. Projects can bring siblings closer together and help teach new things to your children. In this post, we are going to look at a few projects both big and small that will create lasting memories with your loved ones. Let’s get started:

Make Something Grow:

Now is the perfect time to start thinking about a family gardening project. It will get you out into the sunshine after a long winter indoors and you will get to enjoy the fruits (and veggies!) of your labor all spring and summer long. If you can’t all agree on what should get planted or not, each family member could be assigned with their own plot of the garden to grow what they would like.

Build A Home:

One of the ultimate family projects would have to be building a home. It is not only an exciting project but will be a great exercise in learning how to compromise when planning out each room because everyone is going to have an opinion. Have family meetings to determine the “must haves” and “nice to haves”. You can also look for inspiration together. Browse on Pinterest, binge watch HGTV, or even enter a search for “home builder in cincinnati” (or your local area) to see completed projects. You never know where you will find exactly what you are looking for!

When you have a solid idea of what you want your build to turn out like as well as your budget, consult with Toronto home builders or the experts in your area to turn your dream home into a reality.

Plan A Trip:

When it’s safer to travel again, a vacation or weekend getaway will be like the light at the end of the tunnel of this pandemic for your family. Once you agree on a location, things like restaurants and activities will have to be determined. Have each of your family members plan their ideal vacation day and do your best to make it happen. With ample time to plan, you can book your airport transportation in advance as well as find the best restaurants, activities, and local hot spots to make it the best trip ever.

Art Projects:

You don’t have to be good at art to have fun doing it and a family paint or craft night will help get you in touch with your creative sides. Paint along with Bob Ross or look for inspiration for canvas art on Pinterest. Or, maybe you could all learn a skill together like macrame, woodworking, or pottery. Creating some artwork as a family could even turn into a home decorating project next!

Learn A New Language:

Learning a different language is so beneficial and it’s a cool project to work on as a family because you will always have someone to practice with. Sign up for some classes at the library or your local community center. You can also practice on Duolingo together. Foreign film movie nights and trying to cook some of the food that is traditional to the language you are learning is a must too.

The COVID-19 pandemic is not over yet and the ideas above will give you something exciting and meaningful to do together as a family. Have fun!

Mar10

Learning A New Hobby? Remember These Tips!

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Learning A New Hobby? Remember These Tips!

When bringing a new practice, hobby, or discipline into our lives, we can often go through the ‘honeymoon period’ where everything seems awesome and we’re excited to learn more and more. Of course, many of us find that starting out can sometimes be quite difficult, especially when we meet a challenge we’re not prepared to deal with, or if we have a long period of training that seems to be progressing slowly.

But that’s fine, after all, Rome isn’t built in a day, and we can’t expect to be perfect at our new practice within the span of a week. For that reason, it’s important to be prepared for this process and, instead, focus on what matters – setting up your passion as properly as we can. This can prevent us from getting bored and moving onto the next new thing, which often leaves us with endless practices that have been given up on which you might come to regret later.

If you’re getting into a new hobby or practice, focus on these three efforts to keep yourself grounded, too:

Keep Cultivating Your Inspiration:

Keep cultivating your inspiration if you can. It really does make a difference in the long run. For example, when hoping to play guitar, you might focus on listening to the great acoustic players such as Don Ross or Anton Dufour. This way, you can more easily feel a sense of kinship with the beauty of your craft, have an ideal to work towards, and more easily shrug off the difficulties on the journey to competence.

Focus On Your Possible Route Forward:

Focusing on your possible route forward can help you more readily stage your learning and practice habits. It’s better to give yourself a set amount of time to practice each day and set mini-goals for yourself rather than try to take too much on at once. This helps you to enjoy the process of learning rather than forcing yourself to become an expert at once and, unfortunately, too many people choose this latter option. Remember, the journey should be just as enjoyable as the destination.

Learn Practical Skills:

It’s good to focus on the actual craft of a hobby or skill rather than the simple image it provides. Of course, you don’t have to be absolutely perfect at learning perspective in order to paint well and to enjoy yourself doing it, but you will gain a lot from the practice, and learning techniques is fun in itself! You might spend time learning how to read piano sheet music in order to learn more quickly and benefit from this highly practical skill, richly rewarding your practice sessions and lessons from then on. Or if you want to go fishing in the near future, doing some research into what a stick bait is and how to use it will help you develop your skill. The advice you’ll find on the David Hebeda website will also help you with boat fishing tips that can be a hobby game changer. The key is in your research and the more you research, the better! This way you won’t be standing next to a lake feeling like a complete beginner!

With this advice, we hope that you can get into learning and perfecting your new hobby with confidence. Can’t wait to see what you come up with!

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Mar1

Buying A Horse? Consider The Following

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Buying A Horse? Consider The Following

Often, the elegance of a horse attracts horse owners: it is the most common reason people have when starting a horse farm or purchasing a horse. The excitement of owning a horse may shift your focus from being a good owner, though, and you need to consider the time, effort, and essential care items before you make any decisions.

If you are a first-time owner, be sure to research and consult the experts before committing your resources extensively. For experienced owners, it may be a walk in the park. However, do not take anything for granted as every horse is unique, and you should treat it as so.

Time Commitment:

Brace yourself – taking care of a horse is quite involving so you will need to have extra time and then some to make sure all of its needs are met. It is a time-consuming task that needs constant and quality work so that you can learn and bond with your horse. You will need to take care of its nutrition (what and how to feed the horse), grooming, stables, riding, and vet check ups. It may seem like a complex maze that will scare you off. But you only need to learn the basics of horse-owning, and you will be good to go. However, you should always be willing to learn more about your horse.

Intelligence:

Every horse has a unique character that you need to learn and create a connection with. Horses usually know how to connect with the rider and the owner by clicking with your emotions. It will be easier to take the cues from the horse if you spend time with it. You also have to know how best to take care of the horse during the different seasons as required. Similarly, the horse can also play a significant role in maintaining your happy mood through equine therapy.

Beauty and Quality:

The beauty of a horse requires a stable of equal measure. You need to design and provide the horse with adequate necessities properly. It would be best if you used your interactions with the horse to consider the designs that will be most fitting. Get in touch with your “horse personality” and choose the best stable from your pole barn builders.

You can visit several horse farms or barns to familiarize yourself with styles that you might like. Remember, your stable is a safe space for your horse and it should be treated as such. When you work with equestrian professionals like Scotts of Thrapston, they will create a stable that has everything needed as well as being aesthetically pleasing. Have a list ready of your “must haves” before consulting with builders.

Safety:

You should always ensure that you provide a safe environment for your horse. Observe hygiene and good horse nutrition to keep them healthy and happy. You might also want to include natural remedies into their routine to boost hoof health, decrease anxiety, and reduce muscle inflammation. Be sure to rid the area of unnecessary clutter like blankets that may be harmful. To keep the horses fit, be sure to include riding in the green fields or the woods.

Horses are majestic and intelligent animals that need lots of love and care. Make sure you are willing to put in the time, effort, commitment, and passion for a joyful and healthy horse before going forward – they deserve it.

Featured Image By: Pexels

Feb24

Learning A New Craft In Lock Down

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Learning A New Craft In Lock Down

Hello! Life in lock down is, honestly, so boring at this point but the safety of ourselves, loved ones, and complete strangers is important and it makes all of the monotony worth it. If you have exhausted all of your ideas to keep you occupied at home, then it might be time to retire from your streaming services and try a new craft. There are so many amazing videos, kits, and how to guides out there to create something new and, today, we’re going to discuss a few of those options:

Knit Kits:

If you are interested in knitting, crochet, or macrame or would like to take the hobby up again, then there are so many websites that you can purchase kits from. Ranging in difficulty from beginner to intermediate and advanced, each kit provides you with the pattern, step by step guide, and materials needed for you to make a scarf, sweater, or blanket. Stitch & Story, We Are Knitters, and Wool And The Gang are all great websites to browse through for your next project! When the weather is nice, you could even host a social distanced knitting circle in your own backyard.

Restoring Old Furniture:

A trip to the local Goodwill, Salvation Army, or even shopping online through Facebook Marketplace can give you access to all kinds of gently used furniture just begging for a makeover. You could repair, repaint, or reupholster new life into secondhand items and redo your entire living room. Not to mention, make some extra cash if you ever want to turn your craft into a side hustle. Don’t forget garage sale style apps as well as Poshmark if you would like to profit from your new hobby.

Building With LEGO:

My boyfriend and I absolutely love building with LEGO and, although it isn’t a craft per se, I just had to include it on this list. Did you know that a LEGO replica of Vincent Van Gogh’s Starry Night will soon be available for purchase? What about a botanical collection that boasts bouquets, bonsai trees, and succulents? LEGO is constantly adding new sets with unique pieces and colors and are always finding innovative ways to work surprises into each build, which makes it an exciting hobby to have.

You can showcase your creative side with LEGO through free building or incorporating different sets into your home decor. I would sure like to have a LEGO Starry Night hanging on my wall!

Homemade Products:

Making your own cleaning products, candles, and bath and body care can be a really fun hobby, makes great gifts, and helps save you money. Online guides will help you develop your new craft and you can even experiment with your own recipes once you have a better idea for the best ingredients and techniques. You will feel comforted in knowing exactly what is going into the products that you are using and, who knows, it could just turn into a side hustle in the future if you create something really good!

Don’t forget to check in with your local businesses and boutiques because some of the owners might be offering online workshops for homemaking different products or art. For example, the local specialty knitting shop in my area, Harps & Thistles, offers knitting kits too and it’s always cool to shop local. 🙂

Have you learned a new craft during the pandemic? How about improved on any old hobbies? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

 

Feb20

Enjoying The Kitchen As A Family

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Enjoying The Kitchen As A Family

The kitchen is often considered the heart of the home so why not get better acquainted with it during your next family night as opposed to the usual movies or games. Kitchens are meant to be used and enjoyed and creating a meal with your family gives you the opportunity to work as a team in a different activity while still spending quality time together. Who knows, you might just have a secret chef in your home! Try the following during your next family night for some good food and good fun:

Agree On A Menu:

If you are going to prepare an entire dinner with your family, then it is best to agree on a menu beforehand so you can pick up all of the necessary ingredients and save you from any surprise trips to the store. Is there going to be a cuisine style that should be adhered to? Is each person going to make their own dish or will tasks be delegated? Will there be enough options for people with dietary needs? All of this should come into consideration while preparing the menu to ensure that everything goes smoothly while cooking your meal.

Don’t forget to read your recipes carefully for instructions that you must complete beforehand or a crazy long cooking time so you can plan accordingly. It also doesn’t hurt to assign stations for everyone to work in so no one gets their toes stepped on and remember to tend to any professional fridge repairs that need done so all of your leftovers can keep!

Baking & Decorating:

If you’d rather move right onto dessert than try your hand at cooking a whole meal as a family, then that’s okay too! Baking and decorating desserts is fun for children and adults alike. You could even incorporate a competition element to the evening by offering a small prize for the best tasting (or decorated) dessert. Classic desserts are sure to please but there are plenty of creative updates on old favorites that you can try like cake pops and hot chocolate bombs. Making your own chocolate is also a great activity for those with a sweet tooth. 😀

Smoothies:

Going out for a hike with the family in the afternoon and returning home to make some smoothies seems like the perfect way to spend a spring day. Encourage everyone to make their own concoctions with a wide assortment of fruits and low fat yogurts to pick from. Smoothies are also great for sneaking in some veggies like spinach, kale, or carrots.

Slime & Play Dough:

Perhaps, you’d rather use your family time in the kitchen to whip up a few batches of slime or play dough together. If so, there are countless recipes online that you can follow for some colorful, creative fun made with ingredients in your own house. Your kids are sure to have a blast!

Retire your living room for family night and head to the kitchen instead for a more hands on, interactive evening. Creating in the kitchen as a family will encourage team work and help introduce children to different concepts in math like fractions and units of measurement. It’s just as educational as it is wholesome fun.

Feb6

Hurray! 100 Day Duolingo Streak

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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