New Book

I decided to write another book similar to the first one that you can see on the homepage of my website. As with the first book I would like to share some of what I have written. This book will be about Gratitude. I haven’t come up with a name yet, but I am almost done writing. This has been a wonderful process, just like the first, in reminding me about the importance of gratitude. Nothing I have accomplished in this life have I done completely by myself, even though I like to do a lot of things as much as I can on my own. But there are so many people and resources along the way that have influenced me and helped to get to where I am now. I am reminded in writing this book to be grateful and to say thank you. I am sharing today a brief section about where and how I have gained some of the skills that I have. Very little of my education has come from formal schooling beyond High School. Hopefully it will give you some ideas of where to go to find information and education.

This first one is education I did receive from a college, but it was a distance learning program and didn’t have any “college credit” associated with it. When my kids were little, I wanted to learn how to sew better.  I thought at one point I wanted to be a seamstress for a living.  I wanted to learn basic sewing principles and techniques as well as how to make my own patterns.  I looked online and found a course offered through a university in Arizona.  The class was in hard copy book form for the majority of the work, and the tests were given online.  The final was submitted through the mail in picture form.  It was a good class.  The things I learned in this class allowed me to make my daughters some dresses completely from scratch, I made so many shorts for all my kids, as well as pajama pants and fleece jackets.  I still make my own dresses and on occasion I make skirts, pants, and as well.  The things I learned in that class have stuck with me, and I am grateful to have found the class online, as I searched for a while to find one that wasn’t in person, and for the knowledge that it gave me to both make clothing, as well as know I didn’t want to do that for a living. But the things I learned have stuck with me, and helped me in my business as I have ventured into fabric panels for home décor and quilting.

I love to cook, but I haven’t always liked to eat super healthy.  When I started to get in better shape, I decided I needed to learn to cook better so that I could make healthier meals for our family, as well as make things taste good.  I didn’t take online or book courses for this, I decided there was enough free information just on the TV.  I love watching cooking shows, and shows like America’s Test Kitchen and Cooks Country were really great helps.  I liked those as well because they had the science behind why things worked and why they tasted better.  I’m definitely not a gourmet cook even now, but as I watched those shows with the intent to understand and apply what I was learning, my ability to make better tasting food increased, and the kids now say that I am a good cook and they like almost everything I make.  That’s a huge win! I also like that we eat a lot healthier when I cook at home as compared to fast food, or boxed foods.  Now, there are so many videos online with recipes that make finding good, healthy food recipes easy, and make learning how to cook easy and inexpensive. 

Painting is a new found love of mine.  New as in the last 6 or 7 years.  This was not something even on my radar until I took my daughters to an art class offered by a friend.  They came home with some awesome art that I decided I wanted to try.  The art teacher created a series of lessons online called Createful Christmas and I decided to try it.  Fortunately, they turned out fairly good initially, because I liked it and kept going.  I decided I liked watercolor more than acrylics so I started to search the internet for online courses.  There are a ton of free courses, as well as many very reasonably priced sites that offer lessons for a monthly fee, usually $10 or less.  I also picked up books about watercolor techniques at the library and our local bookstores.  I have learned so much, but I think the thing I love about painting more than anything, is how relaxing it is for me.  I can be up-tight and frustrated with life and sit down and paint, and it all just melts away.  I am grateful for that initial class my kids took and the inspiration it was to me. I am grateful for the many resources on the internet and you tube where people are willing to share their talents with the world, and I am grateful to be able to try something new.

This is just a short synopsis of one of the chapters in my coming book. I hope that you looked at the ways you have been educated throughout your life. Getting any type of knowledge is important, we should never stop learning. So, whether it’s a college education, or a crazy mashup of a variety of other sources, or a combination of both, learning should never end. I hope you take time to look at your knowledge, and be grateful for the sources, whatever they are, that have helped you get where you are today. I would love to hear about something you have learned recently.