My April Adventures!

As we step into April, the world is in a surreal state with COVID-19 running out lives back to the safety of our homes for those who aren’t essential services and/or can’t work from home. I don’t want to talk too much about it on the other posts but as Adventures is more of a personal offering, its hard to not touch on it. I’ve been saying whenever I mention this that its important to stay positive and with that said, we look at the pros of the situation (despite all the bad) and that is we learn to appreciate and be grateful that we still have this blogging community to hide away from the surreal reality surrounding us.

Working From Home

There’s not much to say about working from home other than the fact that April was a crazy month. March was just adjusting to working at home and then April hit so hard because staff decrease and I had to work a 2 person workload. Luckily, I had some help as I slowly got the office set up with the printer and getting new cartridge and stuff that took longer than usual to arrive because of the current situation. I’m starting to realize how hard it is to work non-stop for such a long time. Luckily, April is over and my staff will go back up to almost normal so I can work through May, hopefully more peacefully!

Game Warp Podcast
(& Learning About Headliner)

Game Warp is slowly coming back to life as we settle through our direction and how the shows that we’d like to do in the coming while. Our latest podcast is a review discussion on Life Is Strange 2 which recently won the BAFTA Games Award for Best Performer in a Leading Role with its character of Sean Diaz. We did record this before the whole awards thing so its just a coincidence that we released it at the same time.

As I struggled through how to structure the audio podcasts to be more appealing, my wonderful co-host told me Headliner which is how I made this video. Learning about new things is one of the fun things about blogging and podcasting. Hopefully you like the podcast! Of course, you prefer the audio version, you can find us on Anchor and a ton of other platforms.

Right before this post went live, we released another episode for Game Warp as a list/discussion piece on Greatest Female Characters as well as listing our favorites.

Garden Coming Alive

View this post on Instagram

This might be an unusual time but we can still be grateful for the little things like the #garden coming alive. The #perennials are starting to peek out of the ground . #spring #gardening #sedum #rhubarb #greenonions #tulips #plants #backyardstroll

A post shared by Kim (@tranquildreams) on Apr 4, 2020 at 1:26pm PDT

I do have a bunch of pictures for another Instagram post but then I never go around to posting it up. The garden is indeed coming alive and much more vibrant than the beginning of April. Blueberry is starting to show signs of life along with raspberry and strawberry. The trees are coming back as well. Then we have the perennials especially the new ones last year in the bee garden are mostly all coming back! I promise to share pictures soon on Instagram!

Movies and Tea Podcast

Nothing like blogging more and recording more for podcasts during this time. Movies and Tea is releasing on a good schedule now as we are having a decent backlog! Its all thanks to my awesome co-host Elwood who gets all these shows edited and released, of course! Ang Lee season is almost over. Above is the penultimate episode of Ang Lee for Lust, Caution.

On other news, which I hoped to share with you all this time around, Movies and Tea Podcast will be on Youtube soon. Its a new avenue and will be done with Headliner in the audio format as well. The channel is set up but its mostly putting up all the archive episodes gradually. I’ll give an update in May for sure!

New Objectives

Everyone is trying to make the best of staying at home as something that they are tackling. I’m sure when you flip through your feed that you see a ton of your own friends tackling baking, cooking, entertaining others through music, streaming, etc. For myself, I’m more of an introvert and while I did say that I would stream if I got to work at home during this ordeal, things didn’t quite turn out that way, as explained in my “Working at Home” section above. However, I did set myself a new goal and that’s to pick one song to play on the piano really well (maybe not perfectly since I’m far from that) but be able to play it and sing at the same time. I’m mostly doing separate practicing right now: piano and singing done separately but soon, I might be able to start putting it together. The song that I picked is Encounter by Stefanie Sun, which is one of my favorite songs and I used to sing it well enough but singing is a tad rusty nowadays. Call it practice or whatever but its been really fun doing this.

Cute Kitty Pic

That’s it for this April Adventures!
What adventures, right? Shameless self-promotion is what this mostly consists of!
I’ll try my best to get a better routine down in May once I have more time!

Music Obsessions – Christmas Special 2019

Welcome to this year’s Christmas Special for Music Obsessions! We will be getting right down to business as we take a look at some Christmas song covers that I’ve found were pretty decent over the past month or so.

I’m going to not go and talk too much about any of these choices and just let you all listen to it and enjoy! Today’s a day to celebrate and probably not a lot of you are sitting by the computer or looking at the phone anyways. I just wanted to share some Christmas music and take it easy!

Silent Night – Boyce Avenue

Dueling Pianos Jingle Bells – Jon McLaughlin

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas – Voiceplay

Oh  Holy Night – Claire & Dave Crosby

You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch – Pentatonix

That’s it for this Music Obsession Christmas Special!
Merry Christmas everyone!!

My Weekly Adventures #35

Its been a month since the last Weekly Adventures! Because of the haul posts and the What’s Up 2017 post, I just didn’t think doing a Weekly Adventures would make sense (or maybe I was just resting). Whichever it is, we’re back and right on track. I am thinking of making these weekly again but just working out a structure. However, this month has been pretty busy, especially with the holidays and then the getting back into work and blog and all that awesome winter fun!

Holidays Recap

Christmas eve with family, after Christmas party with friends and then New Year’s Eve with my mom and close friends all shown above. As with most of our recent gatherings, its about seeing everyone and eating lots of food, drinking a little and playing games. Fun times and lots of good catch up with everyone was great. It was a busy holiday and in between with the days off was really just resting at home and binge watching TV series. That’s pretty much where all my Gilmore Girls binge watching started. If you  missed it, I’ve recapped Season 1 & 2 and you can find it here and here respectively.

Officially caught up with 2016 stuff, let’s move on to 2017!

Trying Out Something New

I’ve been working for fun on Youtube doing whatever videos. While gaming is really a lot of the other content going on in between the random unboxing videos that I link up here, I’ve been checking out visual novels. I did review two of them in 2016 which was on mobile so I didn’t bother to record it but this one somehow made me want to try it out so I ended up doing an entire reading of it and making a really crappy attempt at doing different voices. Its really silly so if you do listen to it, just go to like a part where there’s cute laughs because my husband cracked up at that so I figured that’s one of the good parts. I might do a few more of these but hey, if you like it, subscribe to my channel (or don’t, its up to you). I will be moving my gaming stuff to another channel that I want to start up with my husband. Its something we’re working on as well. And this will go back to a new movie segment and unboxing videos and random vlogs.

Grade 10 Piano: Introduction

In the “What’s Up 2017”, I talked about sharing my piano journey and putting absolutely more emphasis on it this year in order to do the exam in Autumn. Since I never had talked about my piano much, I figured it’d be nice to start off with a little introduction to what I’m preparing for the exam. I’m still on the fence on whether to record and share the progress. For the record, ever since I announced it on the 1st, I’ve already scheduled in piano practicing and actually did it which is already much better than last year where some weeks, I didn’t even get one session in which resulted in lack of improvement. All my fault and lack of time management but NaNoWriMo month has helped me with that a lot along with something else that I just started using and will talk about later.

My pieces that I’m preparing for are these:

• Prelude & Fugue in F-sharp major, BMV 858 
• Sonata in E major, op.14, no.1, 2nd & 3rd movements
• Nocturne in F-sharp major, op.15, no.2
• Arabesque No.1
• Rondo No.1, op.84
• Etude in E major, op.299, no.29
• Serenade, op.53, no.5
• And A LOT of technical tests…

Here you go! Prepare for some updates on this, it’ll be a fixed segment in My Weekly Adventures now.

Workout Update #1

Another fixed segment will be workout (instead of the old Weekly Workout roundups).

Its been hard to get in workouts but its happening. I’ve managed to get at least one session in. So far, this has been the hit one as I focus on my arms which is always the weakest link. I also did some yoga and some zumba routines as cardio.

Its starting to fit into the schedule now, which is great! I see only better progress! On the way to that 5 km, maybe even a 10km. 🙂

Friend’s Birthday and Games

This weekend was a lovely hangout for one of my friend’s birthday and like every year, we have some great food and played a ton of games. We started with Exploding Kitties the moved on to King of Tokyo, followed by Taboo. After a really good vocabulary workout, we went ahead with a very video game-y board game called Munchkins and ended the night with Dutch Blitz. It was a ton of fun. Have you played any of these games?

New App: Todoist

I love lists and every weekend, I make a super long to do list of chores and tasks, errands, groceries, blog posts to catch up on, any games for Game Warp and what to do, etc. I found this one through WordNerds video and its been actually doing quite good. When I first started, the list wasn’t separated by dates and whatnot and it got a little overwhelming but with some time delegation and moving things into daily to-do lists, it actually has made more motivated and less easily sidetracked.

Cute Kitty Pic

Upcoming:

• Recipes
• Baking Through Disney
• TV Binge & Movies

That’s it for the recap!
What’s up with you? What board games do you like? Any 2017 New Year Resolutions/Goals?

My Recent Music Obsessions!

Music has been one of the many ways I’ve been keeping sane aside from the Pinterest therapy that I posted about yesterday!

Its been a while since I’ve posted about my music obsessions. This week, I’ve been really in that phase where I’ve been listening on repeat and/or watching some Youtube vids!

I just feel like this has been way overdue, don’t you?

Ready to get musical with me? Lets go!

First up, we have the single from OneRepublic called Love Runs Out.

I haven’t been a huge fan of OneRepublic until I heard Counting Stars.  Not that I thought they had bad songs because they are all very catchy but they just get on my nerves after a while.  Try turning on the radio and hearing Apologize every single time.  That really does kill any song.  Either way, this song is awesome: nice beat, cool lyrics.  I just can’t help but get all energized! 🙂 No matter how tired I am, I’ll get up and start dancing in my silly way. But  my only audience is my cat so it doesn’t matter 😉

By the way, how cool is that piano? I love it!

Next, we have the very awesome Alex Goot who I love and has a new album Wake Up Call coming out.  I’m so excited! I have it pre-ordered so its just a matter of waiting for it to be released and getting it in the mail.  Maybe he’ll have another tour..who knows? He’s posted up two songs from the album and they have been so fun.  Here’s the headline one since its the same name as the album.

I’m not so much a fan of the video but Alex is really talented and I find him just so amazing.  I like a lot of his music and he rarely has any misses.  Plus, he plays like a ton of instruments and he can pretty much cover a song all by himself.  I hope one day to at least be able to add on guitar and drums to my list of talents.  But I’ve also learned that getting older and learning anything takes so much more time and patience.

After that is a cover by Tiffany Alvord and Alex G of Problem by Ariana Grande. I’m not very familiar with the original but this one is so cute. And they make it kind of friendship and its pretty cool that way.

This one is newer so its a growing obsession 😉 I’m noticing a pattern.  Everything is just so happy to listen to!

Finally, I know you probably don’t have time for a million songs so this one is the most meaningful one, I think.  I saw these two young boys on Ellen Show and then went to search out the actual performance on Britain’s Got Talent. They are called Bars & Melody and the message is awesome, not to mention they are both very talented.

It has a whole bunch of talking in the beginning which is pretty funny with the judges but if you want to just hear their performance, it actually starts at 2:35.

Wasn’t it impressive? Talent comes in all ages, right? Thats the perfect example that some kids are great because he’s so young but he knows how to change something negative and let it out in a positive creative way and finding a way to help himself.  Bullying is an issue thats been brought up very frequently in the last few years (I find) and to hear it from someone young and actually going through it makes this song very genuine. It kind of brought tears to my eyes.

Those are my current music obsessions! I’m still very much in love with Chromeo’s Jealous (I Ain’t With It) but I already shared that HERE! I’ve been thinking that these Pinterest therapy and music obsessions post deserve their own spot on the menu.  I’ll have to figure that out 😉

What are your current music obsessions? 

Updates and New Year’s Goals!

2014 is just around the corner. In a few hours (in Montreal), I welcome a whole new year and I’m excited but as bad as 2013 was, I look back, reflect and realize that its actually been pretty good also.  We lose some but we also gain some, right? The little things that make my day better still shine through.

For Tranquil Dreams, its been an amazing year, if you missed my earlier post with the 2013 recap its HERE, reminding me that all the hard work and dedication I put into this is for something.  I’m not just talking to a empty space.

This year, there was a lot of additions to the blog.  I can still remember when my blog was just a place for me to write and I reflected using Daily Posts.  Posting back then was really hard but as things started to form, last year, I focused on movie reviews and book reviews.  Expanded to workout posts and personal/inspirational/music posts all wrapped into one on the weekend and even touched on TV series obsessions.  Although, my cooking project really didn’t get very far, I did explore the baking world a little bit more also. Plus, I even did vlogs and piano covers.

This year, I shared with you my New Year’s Resolutions/Goals! I did manage to accomplish a few and some are just about to be wrapped up within the next 2 weeks or so.

– Piano Harmony studies start right after my TESL and that course took a turn to surprise me, putting this back just a little.

– Piano Grade 10 prep is going well.  I should be able to do my exam next year for sure.  Just have 2 more pieces to memorize and some polishing of ear test skills

– TESL certificate should have been done before BUT it turns out there are 2 terms so now I’m stuck because I have 26 days to get the remaining 75% of my 2nd term done.  I have been working hard and I’m not going to give up.  I know I can do it!

– So, I may not have finished editing my Nano 2012 novel but I did write 2013 novel that I’m much more proud of and will start editing that in 2014. Along with the fact that I actually have a fabulous novel idea that just popped up and I think I’ll start writing that one.

– My stress level was pretty much in check.  You all don’t know my boyfriend but I’m sure he has to agree that this year, I’ve been in check with my stress.  My moods have been more wobbly but I’ve managed to not get angry so often and let things irritate me so much and tried to keep positive as much as possible even in the most *seemingly* impossible situations.

– Saving money is one that been successful.  This year, I reached a good goal and I even managed to contribute to my RRSP during the Christmas season.  I have some nice announcements coming up related to this one soon-ish.

– Last one was working out and that has to be by biggest successful.  Go ahead and click on my Weekly workouts and you’ll see that I am not on my 43rd week of workout and holding strong despite all my injuries.  Forget 2-3 times, I managed to do 3-5 times in general.  I’ve been eating healthy to add to the mix so I’m ready to polish my new goal 🙂

2014 is a new year! One I’m very happy that its coming in a matter of hours.

Its time for some NEW GOALS/RESOLUTIONS! 🙂 As I wait for my best friend’s updates from Saskatoon and her new set of resolutions, I’ve been putting mine together.

In general this is what I want to live by:

As usual, I will keep a few uncompleted ones this year!

1) Finish TESL certificate (deadline: Jan 24th)

2) Grade 10 Piano exam (latest: Fall session)

3) Work out 3-5 times a week and maintain healhty eating habits

4) Keep up saving and not buy useless things!

5) Edit my Nano 2013 novel and write the novel I’ve have in my head.

6) Improve on my baking skills –> decorations and appearances

7) STAY POSITIVE!

and two final thoughts:

AND FINALLY!!

HAPPY 2014! I WISH YOU ALL THE VERY ABSOLUTE BEST!

HAVE LOTS OF FUN WITH FRIENDS AND FAMILY AND OODLES OF SUCCESS!

Thank you for everything this year and I hope that you all will come back to check out what I have in store for you in 2014.  You’ve made 2013 and my whole blogging experience fantastic and most days, I keep doing this because I know some of you really care.  Your comments, likes, visits, views, retweets, pins, follows (and whatever way there is) means the world to me! Hugs and kisses for all of you!

*raises a glass of champagne (or whatever you like)*

CHEERS! TO A GREAT 2014! HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Merry Christmas EVERYONE!

Merry Christmas to everyone! I’m giving you all a huge virtual hug on this beautiful holiday!

You all have been ever so supportive to me. Awards, comments, likes throughout the last few months and helped my little blog soar and made me feel very awesome! Especially during my Christmas month around here.  I work hard to bring you the best that I can and you all have rewarded me with little gestures.  Honestly, sometimes you all like the posts that I sometimes think will be horrible, for this, I want to give you all happy happy gifts!

For this, I’m going to give you all some nice treats that I’ve found while my many hours spent in front of the computer.  I aim to put smiles on everyone’s face!

First up, I’d like to introduce you to a very awesome piano and cello instrumental music group called The Piano Guys. You do very awesome covers.

Rudolph (with the awesome piano playing technique) with one of the members!

Following, I can’t leave out their other member with his cello and wonderful landscape playing Carol of the Bells!

After some wonderful music, I just heard on the radio that Santa is going to drop by Montreal a bit past 9pm.  How do we know that?

Through a little nifty tool called NORAD Santa Tracker.  You can check it out here: noradsanta.org/en/track.html

Maybe it’ll be useful to get the little ones in bed earlier…maybe for some in other time zones, this is already too late but there is always next year 🙂

I was going to end this off with something that I did, singing and piano.  But I will try to do something for tomorrow…I still have some baking and last minute wrapping of gifts before I need to leave in AN HOUR (picture my eyes bulging out and saying Oh my goodness!) for my boyfriend’s family dinner.

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!! HAVE A GREAT CHRISTMAS EVE!

 

Halloween Special!

Work has been really crazy on my end so I haven’t been able to get an actual Halloween movie review or bake or any of those things.

So here is a little something to share in the Halloween spirit.  Its the first time I ever recorded and shared with anyone my piano skills.  I did this really quickly to share with all of you.  Hope you enjoy it!

Its the Candyman Theme Song!

If there are any problems with the video, do tell me and I will fix up the problem.  If you like this, you can also tell me and give me suggestions. I’d love to share more piano covers once in a while.

Happy Halloween everyone!