Hannah Olexy, Peer Advocate Specialist | March 2023
All I can say is “phew,” February flew by, and March is close behind…but we had some truly memorable moments in the last two months! Moonlit hosted 10 events so far and we still have two more to go to wrap up March! I will do my best to recap the highlights of both months.
February was the month of love and we celebrated by exploring love in its many forms. We loved our bodies by learning how to cook a healthy and delicious meal with Chef David from Pack’d Kitchen. We made healthy Buddha bowls. Together, we prepped ingredients to add to our bowls. I chose to put cucumbers, tomatoes, quinoa, chicken on mine. We allowed ourselves to open our hearts during Downtown Yoga’s Heart Opening yoga! I loved learning the different poses meant to open our hearts. We spread love around our community by painting words of love on rocks that we left in special places for people to find. I loved seeing everyone’s creation while we spent time creating, laughing, and joking at Meadow Creek Farm. These workshops are always very memorable. We explored love through our personal relationships during our Relationship and Dating Workshop with Cedar Ridge Counseling Center. We were able to explore the complexities of love while in the Moonlit Acres comfortable living room while Therapist Betsy made us feel welcomed to share, comfortable and allowed us to have fun. Before getting into the serious conversations of our love lives, we did a dancing ice breaker game that made all of us relax and laugh! I really got a lot out of this workshop, especially since we were able to lead the conversations from our own experiences and learn from one another.
We got to create a drawstring backpack by choosing any photo that we love and created these through sublimination! I created a Flyers-Eagles-76ers-Phillies bag! While each person took turns creating using the machine, which was led by Ashlie’s Atypical Creations, the rest of us got to relax with one another, play games and enjoy pizza—the impromptu game night and pizza made for a good Friday Night!
February turned into March before we knew it and we were back in another month full of new workshops and events. We celebrated this month through focusing on new beginnings, new experiences, and renewal—all with a hint of spring in the air!
We had a great time creating with our new friends from the National Art Society in the cool art room at South Carroll High School! We were excited to learn from these talented students, and art teacher, Lisa Katz, who walked us through the art project. Most of all, we loved being able to create, laugh and learn new techniques in the super cool art room!
This month, we had three guest-led events! This is something new that Moonlit is doing—partnering with guests to lead a peer-to-peer experience. We got back into the virtual world with Hannah Host – St Patrick’s Day Challenge! These virtual events allow us to be more accessible because people can join from wherever they are and see their friends! We did a fun scavenger hunt that had a St Patrick’s Day twist. Shout out to Josh for being the winner of the virtual St Patrick’s Day Challenge!
During Kelly’s Cooking Corner, Kelly took her previously virtual event live to the Moonlit Acres Kitchen! We learned all about cooking with anti-inflammatory ingredients and created a delicious Thai burger. What stood out to me the most was the way that Kelly organized the workshop so that we could all cook together as a team. We all got to take part in the creation of the burgers and then we all sat at the same table to enjoy a delicious, and healthy, family style meal!
We can’t wait to see how Brie’s, the owner of Puzzled Pet Treats and guest at Moonlit Acres, workshop goes this week! We will be making biodegradable bird feeders and learning how each material is healthy for wild birds.
We had a Shamrock of a good time (see what I did there?) at our Shamrocks and Shenanigans party! My favorite part was the “Minute to Win It” competitions—shout out to Kelly for winning! Kelly won a gift card that was donated to Moonlit Acres from Dick’s Sporting Goods! We also had some yummy burgers with special Irish cheese made out in the Moonlit yard by Chef David on the griddle.
We had a great time as always with our friends at Meadow Creek Farm, LLC & Calm Acres. This month, we celebrated the first day of Spring by making seed bombs out of recycled paper. We made these with wildflower seeds meant to welcome pollinators to our gardens. I loved how everyone chose their own colors and shapes and put their unique spin on the bombs. But my favorite part was that we all worked together to help each other out. We had so much fun and so many laughs.
Whew! And that’s all folks! We had a lot of great moments these past two months. I can’t wait to see what the next month brings!
“…my favorite part was that we all worked together to help each other out. We had so much fun and so many laughs….”