I recently read Nick Offerman’s book “Paddle Your Own Canoe.” Offerman plays the greatest mustache in TV, Ron Swanson on Parks and Rec. Between him and Amy Poeler the show is one of the best things on T.V. today.

I wouldn’t say I recommend it. It’s good but not “can’t put it down good.” But he did some great words of wisdom.

“Figure out what you love to do, then figure out how to get paid to do it.”

“Always maintain the attitude of a student. When a person thinks they have finished learning, that is when bitterness and disappointment can set in.”

“There is nothing that man or woman can do to improve on nature. Your true self, no matter how much you dislike that self’s lack of cheekbones, is the most beautiful version of you.”

“The best outfit you can wear is confidence.”

and my favorite

“Let your Freak Flag Fly.”

He also at one point talked about how it is okay to make mistakes, just don’t make the same mistake twice. In our wonderful world of social media you don’t often see people sharing their mistakes though. We get so used to showing people happy and hipster we are today and we are embarrassed of the imperfect person in us who just doesn’t always have it all together.

I am learning to learn from my own mistakes, even to laugh at them. I want to do things right. But laughing is a much better use of my time anyway.

So I am sharing some mistakes I made that I am choosing to view as opportunities for improvement, or for you to laugh at. Either or.

I don’t have a lot of chances to practice my hand lettering so I have taken to making notes pretty or in this case, personalizing a birthday card for my father-in-law. This one turned out okay. I was proud of what I did in three minutes with a ball point pen.

A few days later I was in class and trying to make my notes more interesting. I don’t claimed to be a great speller. I am a photographer and a designer so prefer to focus on furthering those skills. But this misprint… was quiet bad. 

I love to bake. And cook. Thanks to my parents good teaching I am usually decent at it. My mother-in-laws banana bread recipe has become one of my staples.

After making banana bread several times I decided to try my hand a “regular bread” (I don’t know what else to call it). I have seen my dad do it million times, so it can;t be that hard… Wrong. It tasted good but it was not pretty at all.

On the bright side. I have yet to kill the easiest plant to keep alive. You have no idea the joy these succulents have given me and now they have bloomed. Side note, the capabilities of the iPhone camera amaze me.