AMANDA'S BASKETS: Plans Continued...(Oh, And An Inchie)

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Plans Continued...(Oh, And An Inchie)

Sixth in my Ornament Doodle Series

I've talked about inchies before...they are tiny one-inch square pieces of artwork. I swap inchies six times a year at Roses On My Table. (It's free to join and there are several swap areas. The only cost is mailing. If you're interested, check it out.)

The theme this month is Winter Wonderland. I decided to use a snowman as my central idea. I have also just 'discovered' gel pens, especially metallic ones so I used them to embellish my snowman scene. Unfortunately, the metallic effect doesn't show up well in the photo but in real life the sparkle is there. Here's a picture of the inchie as well as the envelope I made to store it in...

So, back to your plans for 2013. Any ideas pop into your mind while you were daydreaming? You have taken some time to daydream, haven't you? You are worth it, you know...

When you think about things you want to do this year, don't limit yourself. Think about all aspects of your life.

Health, for instance. That could include improving your eating habits. Not necessarily to lose weight. Although that is something that most of us want to do. (Well, I know I do but maybe I shouldn't assume that you do!!!)

Back to eating, that could go in all different directions from eating healthier, to eating local produce, to growing your own food, to learning how be a better cook, to meal planning, to...on and on.

Perhaps exercise on a regular basis is something you would like to do. It could be anything from walking to training for a marathon.

Just think of all the areas: Family life, professional life, time with children, reading, simplifying your life, decluttering your home, budgeting your finances, learning something new, spending time on a hobby, etc.

Actually, you could get bogged down with all the possibilities. I would suggest that you work on the number of goals that feel right to you. And be sure to include things that you not only want to do, but that will bring you joy while doing.

So, back to daydreaming. Really. Take some time to sit in your favorite chair, relax and just dream. Who knows, maybe something unexpected will show up and and completely surprise you. Just like the word 'success' in my journal page from last week!

Thanks for dropping in...

Enjoy your evening...

See you tomorrow...

CRAFTING IDEAS

I am always looking for a small piece of paper to write down something which will later be disposed of. I decided to use some of the scrap paper of which I have a ton. I mostly use the paper for glueing projects. I decided to cut the paper into a small size. (Six pieces from a piece of copy paper.). But just having them sitting on my desk would get messy without a container. So, using a cardboard box, I cut it down to size and using a hot glue gun I glued the ends together. Using a picture from a magazine cut into pieces and stick craft glue, I glued the pieces to the box inside and out. I also used some decorative tape for the outside edges. And to finish the top corners which were not covered, I used straight pins with colorful tops. Looks nice and works well.

MAGAZINE IDEAS

(New) One article in the Farmer's Almanac 2024 is a list of trends. One I knew about is the trend to downsize in just about every area. Another trend that I was surprised about was called ''The Human Library' which offers people on loan to talk about specific subjects. Finally, more folks are adding pets to their family and as a result, stores are adding more pet food, toys and medication to their offerings. There's also a nice garden article which suggests mixing vegetables and flowers together for success.

RECIPE IDEAS

Have you every made Cherry Dump Cake. It calls for 2 cans of Cherry Pie Filling (21 ounces), a white cake mix, 1/4 -1/2 cup butter, melted & 1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans. In a 9 by 13 pan, spread both cans of cherry pie filling. Add the melted butter to the cake mix and break apart the resulting mixture and crumble it evenly over the pie filling. Sprinkle the pecans evenly over the mixture. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 35 - 45 minutes until the topping is golden brown. Serve with vanilla ice cream. Fast, easy and very delicious.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

What if you want to establish better habits, then decide what habit you want to work on. Again, try an easier one first for that good feeling of success. Let's consider more exercise. Start small. Don't try to run a marathon right away. Set the amount of time, the type of exercise and when to do it to begin making sure that it is within your reach. If it works for you each week add a bit more. Walking is one of the best ways to get good overall movement but there are many exercise videos on YouTube of varying lengths and difficulty to check out. Change your exercise routines to eliminate getting bored. For hardcore exercise with weights, give yourself a day in-between to recover. Even on days you would rather not exercise, do it and see if you feel better. It takes an average of 66 days to establish a habit. Just think 66 days to establish a good habit for a lifetime. Sounds like a good thing to me...how about you?