AMANDA'S BASKETS: January 3: Setting goals

Monday, January 3, 2022

January 3: Setting goals

Nope! This isn't a picture from today. It's cold here...in the 30's from a high of mid 50's yesterday but no snow. So how is the New Year shaping up for you? I hope well and with optimism.

I am going to try something new for the first quarter of this year. Each month will bring a new word to think about. I found that the word for the year eventually got lost. Each week will bring a new theme to focus on. And each weekday will bring a new thought to consider during the day.

Also, the craft for the week will be described on the side with possible instructions. Sometime during the week, more likely toward the end, the craft will be the focus.

Not sure how this will work out, but I am excited to try.

So, this week I want to focus on goals. I don't know about you, but I am not great with resolutions. They seem to fade out within a few short weeks. However, I do like setting goals.

To start out thinking about what goals you would like to set, consider how the past year went. What was good? What did you enjoy? What was less than great? What went totally crosswise? Most of all, what lessons did you learn from these experiences?

By considering the past, you can build on what was great and take steps to turn around what wasn't so great. Take some time today to think about last year and what goals you may want to set for this year.

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?