AMANDA'S BASKETS: Surprises...

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Surprises...

Want to know what I've been doing today? Here's a hint...(or four)...

Yep...shoveling!!! Our one to three inches turned into a lot more...more like ten!!! Topped off with a layer of sleet. Ah, winter, how I love thee! Actually, I really do enjoy winter...including the shoveling. But ask me again tomorrow after I clean off the car and get it out of the driveway. Oh how I love 4 wheel drive!!!

Here's the seventh and last of my Ornament Doodle Series...

I'm now working on egg shaped ornament doodles.   They really have become a relaxing, therapeutic evening ritual.

So, this week I asked you to daydream about things you would like to do this year.   Any surprises? Well, I had one...came right out of the blue and I'm not sure what to do with it, quite frankly.   It was definitely not something I had in mind...not at all.

How about you?   Did something come up and hit you upside the head and say...'hey, here I am...take a look at me'...metaphorically speaking?   Well, don't dismiss it out-of-hand.   There may be something there of great importance in your life that you just haven't figured out yet.    Take some time and examine it...dream about it...look at it from all angles...wonder about it...why did it surface now?   That's what I'm doing.   I hope you will too.

Keep up with the daydreaming. Think about those things you would like to do this year. If you want, jot down some of the ideas that surface. But remember, you don't need to make any decisions right now.

Thanks for spending some time here...

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?