Draw – 40 'fore Forty

Day 170

I woke just before 7 am and started the day. After a yummy coffee I dived into French. It was a terrible practice. I had my worst timed run. After getting only 3 answers right, the timer ran out. Ouch. I continued to struggle through the timed levels for about 20 minutes.

Hubby waddled off to work and we got to working out, reluctantly. I’ve really been struggling to want to do things the last few days. I just want to put my feet up and get my lazy on. Of course I won’t do that but… I really, really want to. Wifey and I got through the workout in just over 30 minutes. A solid run.

Then it was time for the Doodlewash – September 2019 prompt; 18. Spoons. I found a photo of spoons on Pinterest to reference. I don’t like using yellow pencils, although I love the colour, so I changed the yellow to orange.

All challenge drawings can be found here…
Doodlewash – September 2019 on Three Peas, One Pod

The afternoon was a lovely mix of creatives. I did a little singing and guitar. I spent some time writing, just a little more work on a short story. Then I finally wrote an ‘About Me’ for this blog. It’s pretty basic. I have stories to tell but that isn’t the place for them.

” Hi! I’m Tilly Collins. Thanks for joining me on my life changing journey to 40.

I haven’t been very good to myself over the years. I have suffered from depression since I was young and that has overshadowed every decision I have made. I made poor choices regarding my health, not caring if I lived or died. I wasn’t motivated, I wasn’t creative, I wasn’t passionate about life. I was just existing for 37 years.

It took me a couple of years to form a life changing plan and it is a work in progress. To keep myself accountable I created this blog. The goal; to post every day and have something to post about. It’s an honest record of my learning, growing and changing.

I currently live on the East Coast of Australia with my husband (‘hubby’). We were married in September 2006 after two years of dating. We don’t have children but we do have an adorable little dog (‘Homer’.) We are also in a relationship with a girl (‘wifey’) from the USA. She has been part of our lives since 2012 and spends a couple of months living with us, twice a year.

The future will be filled with indulging in arts, crafts, photography, writing, music, house renovations and learning to be the best person I can be.

I hope my journey will inspire and encourage you in some way. We’re all in this together.”

“You never fail until you stop trying” Albert Einstein

Hubby has one more day at work, so that means one more day of work for me too. I don’t think I’ll get round to painting but I will definitely make up for the lack of work in that area when my watercolours arrive.

The big thing left to do on the to do list is attempt number four at fingerless gloves for hubby. If I can just get the colour transition right, I could get them finished really quick. Fingers crossed.

I hope you’ve had a fulfilling day.

Tilly

Day 169

I woke up around 6.30 am and figured that was enough sleep. I started the day with some Good Mythical Morning episodes on Youtube. Then quickly moved on to French as the family started their day. I am doing the timed practice runs until next week when I start a new topic.

Once hubby had slipped away to work, I threw off my blanket and got ready to workout. I sound more excited about it than I actually was. In fact, I didn’t want to do it at all. Luckily working out is a habit that I enjoy, so I did it anyway. Wifey joined me and 30 minutes later we had finished another solid workout.

Then it was time to tackle the Doodlewash – September 2019 prompt; 17. Gemstone. I didn’t want to do this topic (this is sounding like the theme of the day) but I found a great ‘how to’ by the team at Tombow. I couldn’t get my brain around the wing detail so I went rogue and made my own wings.

Once I had put the pencils down I started work on the weekly Food Plan and guess what? I didn’t want to do that either. It always seems to take me too long to work out which ingredients can be used for multiple meals. I have included two vegetarian meals.

Beef and Chorizo Casserole : Monday
Healthier One-Pan Chicken Stroganoff : Tuesday
Vegetarian Chilli Beans : Wednesday
Shopping Night / Pizza : Thursday
Peking Noodles : Friday
Chicken Schnitzel + Caesar Salad (burgers) : Saturday
Spinach and Ricotta Zucchini Cannelloni : Sunday

The afternoon was a mix of housework, singing and too many projects floating around my brain.

Since I’ve started blogging I have had four ‘blog award’ nominations and while I’m thrilled that people find my blog inspirational, I’ve felt a little shy about posting the awards. I have started working on the process though. Thank you; Eilidh Horder, Mel @ Decor Craft Design, 3 Sisters Abroad.

One last thing before I sign off, my lovely wifey has started blogging. It will be a collection of random thoughts that will make you laugh, cry and think (or whatever direction she plans on taking it.)

Check it out at: >> Imawander <<

I hope your day has been filled with new beginnings, old friends and big smiles.

Tilly

Day 168

I woke up before hubby left for work but the morning seems like it was years ago and I barely remember it. Once hubby had pounced off to work, it was time for a workout. Wifey joined me for today’s workout and we got through 30 minutes before I had even noticed.

With the inspiration of a good workout under my belt I attempted the Doodlewash – September 2019 prompt; 15. Stairs. I wanted to draw stairs with pot plants on them and set out to find a good reference photo. I used these stairs from 5 Great Staircase Decorating Ideas.

I added more colour to the pot plants and less colour to the walls. I was not happy with how it turned out but didn’t really know how to improve it. So I gave up on it. Hmph.

After a long lunch, a shower and a big heaping of depression, I thought I would attempt another of the Doodlewash prompts; 16. Eyes.

I really enjoyed the first time I drew eyes so I felt optimistic that I could produce something I would like. By the time I had finished drawing the eyes, I wanted to add a tear drop to the sketch to represent how I was feeling at the time. Round two of drawing was not a success.

By late afternoon I had given up on the day. I tried. That’s something.

You may wonder why I post art I’m not happy with or why I share my bad moods. This blog is about my journey. The ups and the downs. I think it’s important to remember that it is okay to have bad days, it’s okay to be disappointed, it’s okay to not be perfect. The important part is to keep trying. Tomorrow I will try again.

I hope your day has been filled with success and happiness.

Tilly

Day 167

When I heard the car start up and hubby pulled away, headed for work, I KNEW it was time to be awake. I’m not sure how hubby managed to do his morning without making noise.

Once I was up, I jumped straight into a workout. It’s nice to be back to working out. I didn’t push too hard because I still have a cough lingering but I did workout for 30 minutes.

Next it was time for French. A big shout out to MJ Seal for commenting on yesterday’s post in French. I was excited when I knew what he had said without the help of Google translate. That was the inspiration I needed. I finished the ‘Family 2’ topic and did a few practice runs. Overall it was a solid practice. The next topic is ‘Restaurant’. I will start that next week.

I did the Doodlewash – September 2019 prompt; 14. Buttons. I wanted to draw a doll with button eyes but found it hard to find a picture to reference. I took inspiration from this doll on Pinterest. I sketched the doll sitting in what I felt was a natural position for a doll.

After lunch I got my guitar out and did some practising. I don’t think I’ll be able to play bar chords anytime soon, so I’m thankful for artists who write in the key of G. One great three chord song is by Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats – I Need Never Get Old.

Half way through the practice I decided I needed a pick. I didn’t want to get out from under the blanket to grab one from the guitar case, so I grabbed the closest thing possible, a tiny toy of ‘Primo English ham’. It worked well.

It’s Tuesday so that means it’s new Happy List Day. Most of the list was easy (recycled from last week). The purpose of the list is to do things that will make me feel happier if I do them. There is no punishment or bad feels for not doing the list. It is a happy list after all.

Happy List for the week ending 22 September 2019.

Make gold in WoW for sub
Paint
Start a knitting project
Write an ‘About Me’ page on 4440
Draw, 5 days
Write, 2 days
Play guitar, 3 days
Watch 1 world movie
Massage legs, 2 days
Drink 2 bottles of water, 5 days

It was a fairly productive day. I just need to work on things a little faster, so I can stuff more creativity into the awake hours.

I hope your day has been productive and peaceful.

Tilly

Day 166

We went to bed a bit late last night and all woke pretty late. I woke first and started the day with a couple of episodes of Good Mythical Morning.

Once hubby had rolled out of bed, we had a coffee and I sent him off to the store with a clothes shopping list. This is the first time I’ve had new clothes in years. Wifey funded the shopping spree, she is the best!!

I did the Doodlewash – September 2019 prompt; 13. Skin. I wasn’t sure how to tackle this topic. I don’t have the pencils for doing human skin yet and I’m loving colour too much to go back to lead only.

My next thought was snakeskin. While searching for the right snake, I happened upon a strawberry poison dart frog. I just loved the colours, so I tried that instead.

That was about all there was to my day. I have a smile on my face.

Today I reached 200 followers. I’d like to say a special thank you to all of you. Whether you comment, like or just briefly browse my posts, I appreciate the fact you are a part of my world. It has been very encouraging while making some big life changes. It’s also made my little world feel so much bigger. You are the best. Thank you at least 200 times!

I hope your world is filled with smiles. Big hugs if it isn’t.

Tilly

Day 165

I woke first and watched some Youtube videos. It was a nice start to a pretty relaxing day. The rest of the family woke around 9.30 am and I did the usual Sunday stuff in World of Warcraft until about 1 pm.

I started the afternoon with an art supplies shopping trip…online. There’ll be new paints, brushes, pencils, pens and a couple of fun art projects on their way soon. It’s very exciting. I’m really looking forward to using watercolour.

I did another Doodlewash – September 2019 prompt; 12. Laptop. I used a laptop photo on Pinterest as my inspiration. It wasn’t my favourite thing to draw.

That was my day. I hope your Sunday is relaxed, creative and blessed.

Tilly

Day 164

I had a fairly decent sleep and was ready to dive back into the art world… with colour.

After a slightly chocolatey coffee I started on the Doodlewash – September 2019 prompt; 10. Fruit. I found a neat drawing of a watermelon on Pinterest and made my version. I think mine is a little more rough around the edges but I had so much fun watching it develop. I used dark green, light green, red and black pencils.

While I was drawing I watched a ‘world movie’ called Mary and Max. I think it only qualifies as a world movie because it was on the world movie channel. It was based on a true story of an 8 year old girl in Australia becoming pen pals with a 44 year old man from New York. It follows their life long journey dealing with life as outcasts. It was moving.

After lunch I worked on another Doodlewash – September 2019 prompt; 11. Leaves. I am slightly obsessed with all things tropical, so I tackled a Monstera leaf. I used dark green, light green and dark blue pencils.

I took a break from drawing because the next Doodlewash prompt seems too hard. Can someone do it for me?

Instead I picked up my guitar and continued my practice of the song ‘Dearly Departed.’ I’m getting much closer to having it right. (As right as I can without being able to play some of the chords.)

After guitar practice, I did about 30 minutes of French. It was a fantastique practice. I worked through the ‘family 2’ topic and it was easy. Then I thought I might try some timed practice runs and had three perfect attempts. I even got questions about student/studying right.

That’s about it for the day. I feel weirdly disappointed and I’m not sure why.

I hope you’ve had a day filled with bright colours, beautiful songs and big smiles.

Happy weekend.

Tilly