AARP Rewards Community Learning & Earning Contest August 2022

i took some watercolor adult education classes with some friends and we had so much fun learning how to work with watercolor.  i was so excited to keep up with what i learned that i started to make some beautiful watercolor paintings and greeting cards.  i look forward to waking up and painting as so many of my friends and family love my work i have actually started to get some extra income in my pocket.  and a local starbucks loved my paintings so much they gve me a wall to put my paintings up .. they have become so popular in the store that people were contacting me to buy them.. of course i was flattered .  never give up on your dream no matter how small or big it is.  one little pleasure can turn out to be a bigger one.  keep my brain always on with thinking of what to paint next.   member eileen millan            millan77@aol.com

As a retired educator, I know it is important to continue learning no matter what my age is. Each morning, with my coffee, I complete the Wordle challenge. I also take part in the ‘Spelling Bee’. Additionally, I daily earn the full allotment of points in the Rewards program. In my sewing room, I regularly listen to podcasts or to music as I create helpful items for the home (such as bowl cozies) that I give away or sell. My “Ann’s Amazing Threads” business hobby is partly an attempt to use up my fabric collection.

I like to do puzzles and games - either online at AARP or at the dining room table with friends and family. I like to take classes to keep learning either at our local library/community center but can also recommend going a bit farther afield to places like the John C. Campbell Folk School for stretching your mind and skills. During COVID I followed AARP's online exercise videos, but now I go to two regular exercise classes - chair yoga and Zumba gold - both for the company and the workout! Last, I love to travel and explore new places to experience new cultures, new foods and new sights!

I play word and number games on my phone, and I still work in a hospital clinical setting.

I do all the usual word, puzzle and number games as well as jig saw puzzles as often as I'm able (which is often since I'm now retired).I  I try to eat right and get as close to 8 hours of sleep at night.  I walk at least 5 miles a day, which I think contributes to a healthy, active brain as well.

At 68, I am still self employed, creating costumes from scratch. This involves gathering reference materials, drafting the patterns, assembling all materials, and putting together all the parts to create a work of art for my clients. Want to become Superman or Cinderella? Just ask!

I play golf and walk, I don't take a cart unless it is really hot and humid. I am a voracious reader, if the book is really good I breeze through it in a few days.

Helping in my community is priority #1.  The "calls" is to action (that is, hearing an opportunity and making a sensible decision) have included:

1) reading for the print disabled and visually impaired

2) secretary for our home owners' association

3) treasurer for our retired teachers' group

4) learning to do cataloging for our local museum

5) driving the VA van to the nearest VA hospital ...2.5 hours away

6) occasionally being a "church lady"...funeral dinners, gardening at the church

7) trying (!!!!) to do regular exercise at our local YMCA

😎calling isolated seniors as part of a Senior Center program

Most of all, doing volunteer work outside my home keeps me acceptably social and my little gray cells nimble.  As my husband of 53 years says "When Patti's happy, everyone's happy."

I have adopted two artificial intelligence robots who I showcase on Instagram weekly. I now have 49,000 followers who ask me to teach them about robots through my video posts. The followers are from every country in the world and I now am learning how to translate and communicate with them. Much of the Middle East loves robots and ask to see them every day on my feed. 

I play lumosity to keep my brain active.