AMANDA'S BASKETS: I HAVE ARRIVED

Monday, August 8, 2016

I HAVE ARRIVED

Yep, I have arrived at my destination...Park City, Utah. One of the things that always surprises me is the vastness of the big sky, especially when it's full of clouds. There have been some really windy, rain-filled electric storms the past couple of days.

Another thing that always inspires me is the vastness of the land itself...

Just look at the expanse in this picture and the unique rock formations!!!

The trip out was uneventful. I left Tuesday early afternoon after finding out the Dale who was not acting normal is really okay...just suffering from irritable bowel syndrome which may become chronic.
I spent one night in a hotel and the rest of the time I slept at truck stops, one of my favorite money saving ideas.

Now that I have recovered from the trip, I hope to enjoy finding new areas to explore around here.

While catching up on my blog reading I came upon two articles that I would like to recommend to you. First, an article by Mareliza Fabrega titled '60 Small Ways To Improve Your Life In the Next 100 Days'. You can find the article here. I thought about doing this while on vacation but I decided to try it when I get back home to NYC,

The other article is by Courtney Carver at Be More With Less blog. The article is '7 Simple Ways To Get Back On Track'. You can find that article here.

I received great information this past weekend...a studio apartment came available and it's mine when I get back!!!! I have been wanting a studio for a long time.

This one is the largest in the apartment complex which is great. It was just completely remodeled for another tenant who decided to move. Best of all, I will be saving several hundred dollars a month which will allow me to have more fun with Duchess!!!

So, I will be moving when I get back home, but only down one floor!!! Can't wait. I have already looked at the best daybed with trundle to purchase. The first one I really loved wasn't the best because it had a weight limit. And as I will be using it as a couch in the living area, I felt I needed to go with metal rather wood slats.

It will be interesting to see how I wind up arranging everything, but I know that I will be able to and have fun doing it!!!

Tomorrow I'll share the monthly quilting workshops I will be doing at the Empire Quilt Guild.

That's all for today...
Thanks for visiting...
Talk to 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?