The Shape of Things to Come…

THIS IS A SHORT POST TODAY!  NEW POST IS COMING AFTER THIS ONE!

The way that this world today is mind-boggling.  Never would anyone imagine that a little thing like a virus would stop the world as we know it.   

Two weeks ago, I was contemplating this stuff I had to do for my business, my home (spring cleaning), and time. 

I am not here to talk about the world and what COVID-19 is doing to it.  Unless you decided along time ago (as in 5-20 years) to isolate yourself from the world, to which congratulations are in order and live in a cave somewhere off the coast of The Caribbean on an island, I am here to talk about a different shape of things to come.

(c) 2020 by Pixistock.com

I am talking about this blog.  I have hinted this on the My Ambiance Life blog, and it is finally getting ready to roost. First off, the current blog of At Home with Tricia's Baskets will change names once again (hopefully this will be a permanent name-next time will be in the art of deleting it).  The reason has to do with how this blog was set up, and how it functions as of now. 

First off, I did a major scramble when Longaberger first closed its doors for what I thought was a permanent thing.  Anyone who has been following this blog for quite a while knows that I used to be a home consultant for the company, and the first thing I did after naming this blog was to get rid of anything remoting related to any sales on this blog.  I only left a couple that highly mentions Longaberger and any of its past products. I was not ashamed of selling for the company, I did not want to keep explaining to potential clients that the company was no longer in business, and I could not take their order if that was the end goal for that person.

I would like to invite you to look at the New Longaberger website, and the company will be run by Rachel Longaberger Stukey, another daughter of Dave.  When Tami was running the company, Rachel was behind the scenes running the Longaberger Foundation and attending the convention for consultants.   The company has a new owner, and currently, there are no consultants, only the website and QVC, that are selling the products.  As I stated in the past post, when the company starts requesting for consultant again, I will not be part of the salesforce.  I had my run, and I am working on my own company, P. Lynne Designs.

Second, The name will not reflect my name at all.  I know, shocking.  It will not contain the word, “baskets” in it either.  The name of the new blog is called, “Home Prep”.  It will be on the WordPress platform and it will talk about the home and family. 

Finally, the travel portion of the blog will have a new blog.  It is tentatively named D’Princesses Travel Blog.  You know what that means, Disney Travel first, the rest of the world and cruises later.  It will all be there.

This time, I will not be removing posts from the blog.  I realized that it was a big mistake.  I will not be changing the blog name on the old blog.  I am keeping the name, At Home with Tricia's Baskets and there will be a link to the old blog as well on the new one.  I fact, I will have a link to all of my blogs and websites on all of my blogs when I change, as well as affiliates. 

Here are the topics I have on Home Prep:

1. Organization:  This has been a running theme since I was writing in Simply Organized Crafts.  In this category, you will find:
1. Home-closet, kitchen, bedroom, and craft room (which was previously covered in my craft blog, P. Lynne Designs) are the main subjects.
2. Work-time management, office organization (which may be different than The home office)
2. Time management- Believe it or not, time management is part of home organization, and once you divide your time into manageable pieces, your life will be easier to manage as well.
3. Decoration:  Once you have organized your home, it is time to decorate, and not just any decoration will do, it must be on a budget. I am not talking about only Dollar Tree, but there are some really good deals in Target, Ikea, and even Pottery Barn, if you know where to look. There are also projects to make ordinary-looking items look like you spent thousands of dollars, when you only spent a fraction on creating them.

There is so much more.  These are only the major parts of the new blog.

New Name, Same Blog: Home Prep With Tricia

OK, you may have wondered where I have been for the past, oh say, a month or two, maybe three.  I have been thinking.  It all started when I changed this blog’s name from Tricia’s Baskets, home of all things Longaberger, including the products, sales, and whatnot, to At Home with Tricia's Baskets. I had said all this time that the name was a way to transition from the decorating with Longaberger feel about this blog to other brands, decorating with what you have, Ikea, organization, and traveling to name a few.  Well, it is time to abandon Tricia’s Baskets for real this time.  It all started with a journey, a Disney Journey. 

Planning for a change-Photo by
DarkWorkX for Pixabay

Back in September, I believe it was, I set out to talk about how to go from “I’m Going to Disney World with my family” to “We are getting ready to ride Dumbo”.  Let me tell you what a failure that was, and I very rarely admit to failure.  It was a total disaster on my part.  I will write about it later, but the problems stemmed from failure to inform a family member until the last minute and feeling guilty about it to enforce the money paying schedule to members who were paying, to finally swallowing my pride, and calling Disney World reservations to cancel the trip in October.  This to me was no way to do any type of prep, both in the home or getting ready for a trip.

This gave me an idea: Change the Name, again.

I know there are tons of information out there about preparing for something, like finance, Home buying, decorating, and travel, but in one place?  It is possible for me to entertain and to inform.  I have tackled this in the form of Simply Organized Crafts (Now Simply Organized Business on Facebook), where I covered these same topics, except travel, which was in the form of “Traveling to the Mouse’s House”, a blog about traveling to Disney World with a large family.  I really did not want to have 5 blogs also include My Ambiance Life, and P. Lynne Designs (which is becoming a selling website).  So out of the ashes comes Home Prep With Tricia.

Home Prep With Tricia is basically At Home with Tricia's Baskets and Tricia’s Baskets without the Longaberger products.  If you want to learn more about the blog’s purpose, you can read here.

The name is shorter for both me and you, but mainly for you.  I want you to remember the name, and the average human cannot remember a title any more than 4 words, and they have to be short and sweet.  The name gives purpose, even though there is some traveling sprinkled in there.  I will focus on budget decoration, budget organization, working inside the house (I refuse to say the “C” word (cleaning), and traveling.  It sounds like a lot, but really it isn’t.

come and relax a while -Pixabay

The platform is changing, and I have the groundwork for a WordPress platform, which is on the SiteGround hosting site, so that means that the blog is moving.  Yes, I know most people use Bluehost, but this comes highly recommended by one of my mentors, Renae Christine.  As a side note:  I do not recommend HostGator at all.  I had a really bad experience that I will and have talked about over on my other blog, My Ambiance Life.  This resulted in someone stealing my site, placing Malware on it, Google rejecting it, and HostGator not caring.  It was a terrible 5 months back in 2018. I also have some choice words for Google about Blogger, but they are mild in comparison to my choice words about HostGator, and I highly recommend the host site to someone who is just getting started with a website or blog, and they do not want something technical because WordPress can get very technical, and if you are not ready, then again, I recommend this website host. 

Well, I had said that this was going to be a “short and sweet” post.  The blog name will come when I switch over to the new platform.  I am typing after Midnight, Eastern standard time, so I do not have the time to set things up.  I will start placing this week, hopefully, no later than next week.  Once that is done, and the announcement of further changes and additions will be made on Home Prep With Tricia, and there will be some changes in the future as this blog grows in its new home.

In the meantime, thank you for being patient with me and this blog.  If you read my other blog, My Ambiance Life, I made the announcement of things to come on that blog as well.  Also, come and leave a comment or two.

Update....

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This is a short post to tell you that I am doing a new series that is exclusive to this blog.  If you can recall last year, I had a series that crossed paths with all three of the blogs.  I have something planned for the other two, and they will not match what I have for this series.

I will continue with the Disney series.  Right now, they are a bunch of questions I answered on Quora, and I love doing it.  I am not being paid to do it, and they are not sponsoring it.  It is something that I feel that I should share with my audience on my blog posts.

Until next time, be safe, and God bless you.

What should you never buy at Disney World?

I am answering another Quora question.  You may wonder why I answer this question and make them into whole posts for you to read?  It is simple, to answer your most burning questions.  You have the same questions as some of the people who are looking at planning for a vacation, and I may have the answer to that question.  To that end here is my answer and the in-depth look into why I said what I said. 

“I am really not sure. I say that to tell you that everyone is different with different tastes. To tell you what not to buy is like telling you not to breathe. I have some guidelines on your purchases that will help you with your purchases (you did not think I would leave you hanging with that answer, did you?). Keep in mind the following tips:

1. As much as the souvenirs are as a whole, never purchase anything that you think is not worth the money. This includes edible souvenirs. Not every cupcake is the same at WDW, nor worth the price you pay
2. Keep in mind your budget. Yes, it is your vacation, but you have to eat the rest of the time you are there, and you have to get home, and you need some money in case of emergencies (Hospital costs, rental car/own car needing immediate repairs, child drawing on the wall of the resort room, and bail money are examples that come to mind) So sorry, a Michael Kors bag from a Disney Springs boutique is a no go, unless you can get it with a credit or debit card, and you have plenty of money to get home.
3. Speaking of which, never buy anything that you cannot do a return on BEFORE you go home. There are many ways of returning something, and if shipping back something is a problem (such as you live outside of the United States, Japan, France, or Asian countries that have a Disney Park in them) do not purchase.
4. Do not purchase something just for the heck of it. I learned this the hard way. Back in 2004, I thought I might have a Disney pin collection. I do not like pins, but I bought a Mulan pin because I was advised to start off with one, and every time you come back to Disney World, I can trade for something better and build on my collection. I do not know where that pin is, and I feel like I wasted my money. For my next vacation there, I will not buy a pin, no matter how cute it is.”

Keep in mind I am using souvenirs in my example. think about this when you purchase a vacation package, using a travel agent, or a paid event at Disney. You know what your family likes, and you know what you like. This is also a perfect way to be budget-friendly even on vacation.

Souvenir Prices and your Budget

Souvenirs and Returns

Way back when Disney was an exclusive company, you could get away with purchasing anything at the park.  Some of the things I have purchased in the past were:

1)       Stickers (because I was a crafter)

2)      Autograph books

3)     Towel (for my sister who was a teen with no money-who goes to Disney with no money, LOL).  She loves Tigger, and I thought that she would love it, along with the

4)     Big Stuffed Tigger. Hey, that’s what big sisters are for.

5)     Pin (see above)

6)     Mug (the airline broke it on the flight home)

There is nothing wrong with these purchases, except the pin at the time of purchase, but since that time, Disney has loosened up a bit, and now you can go to Target, Walmart, and your local Dollar Tree to get some of this stuff.  Only save your money for the exclusives, and only if it is worth the money. 

Please, do not purchase something because someone has one.  It may not be in your best taste, style, or budget.  Please teach your little ones especially if they are using their own money. 

Discount tickets:  Now this one has an exception:  If it is bought through your travel agent, go ahead and buy them.  I do not go through these holes in the walls type of places in Orlando.  Here is the reason why you do not buy discount tickets.  If you buy them, you are running the risk of not getting into the parks.  Sometimes, these so-called ticket centers may have bought tickets from someone with a day left on the ticket itself.  They then sell to you what may be a ticket the center says is a ticket that is the length of your stay.  They also may be stolen. 

Buy from a reliable travel agent, who buys only from Disney.  This goes for package deals as well.

These are the items that you should never buy at Disney and any place.

Disney is Forever Changing:

Disclaimer: P. Lynne Designs is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. 

I am once again answering a question from Quora.  This time, the question was “How do you Rank the Disney Theme Parks from Best to Worst?”  My answer was as follows:

“The best park by far is the Magic Kingdom. This is classic Disney, celebrating all things Mickey and the gang, Princesses, and classic rides. It is almost Disneyland’s Doppelganger.Next, is the Animal Kingdom. I love the way that the use of a non-Swahili term called Notazu (Not a Zoo, get it?). It is exactly that. You can see the animals at their finest, and I think they take better care of the animals than my city Zoo (which is the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium-sorry, shameless plug). the only I do not like about AK in Dinoland. It looks like an old carnival, but it works.Next, is Disney’s Hollywood Studios. They have toy Storyland, and they just opened Galaxy’s Edge, so the story is still out for me until I visit there. the reason is they had all the construction there for the longest, and I heard that it was hard to navigate there.Last is Epcot. I will not say that it is the worst park in terms of nothing to do., but much of the stuff is so dated, and it needs some TLC, but that will soon change with all the changes that are happening now and all that is to be completed by the 50th anniversary of the resort area.Construction seems to make things look bad, so that is the other reason why I rank the parks the way I did. First, it was the New Fantasyland a few years ago, then it was Downtown Disney, which not only it got an upgrade, but a name change to Disney Springs. That was completed 2 or 3 years ago. Next came Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and that was just completed. Now, like I said, is Epcot’s turn. The Animal Kingdom did get a little update in between Disney Springs and the start of Disney’s Hollywood Studios’ construction, with Pandora, replacing Camp Minnie Mickey, but it is all to keep us coming back and entertained.for this is the reason I ranked the parks the way I did.”

Photo By P. Lynne Designs

Before I get to my answer, I want to get you an update on my Disney trip series.  There has been a slight delay to get out in the next chapter.  We are still going so far, but I as far as writing the series, I did not want to push myself into a “give every detail” account of the trip because there are some things that are private and personal.  As I formulate my ideas, I will write it.  No worries.  For now, let me stick to my answer and I will move on from there. 

What is my ranking of the parks?
Well the ranking of the parks (my ranking) goes like this: (Best to Worst)
• The Magic Kingdom (TMK)- As I said in my answer, this is classic Disney.  You cannot get any better than that, next to Disneyland, of course.  Yes, some of the rides are dated, but when you cannot get to Disneyland and looking for some nostalgia, this is the place to be.  In fact, The Magic Kingdom is probably the closest you will get to a “Disneyland” in Central Florida.  The difference between the two is

• Disneyland is older, has The Sleeping Beauty Castle.
• The Magic Kingdom is, of course, newer, has Cinderella’s Castle, and the “lands” are:
• Adventureland
• Fantasyland
• Frontierland
• Liberty Square
• Main Street USA
• Tomorrowland.

• Disney’s Animal Kingdom (DAK)-has the claim, “Notazu”, which is supposed to be an official Swahili word, which means, “Not a Zoo”.  For anyone who has Swahili as their native tongue already knows that it is not a word.  Yes, I can get Disney on that, but it is a minor thing.  Other than have the humor for making up words to a language that I know very few words to (does Lionel Richie’s song, “All Night Long” ring a bell, anyone?), the Animal Kingdom does a pretty good job in making sure that the animals are safe.  Yes, they have been criticized by conservationists and organizations like PETA, but this animal lover loves this park for all the right reasons, including having a conservation area.

• The “Lands are named
• 
  
• Oasis (Discovery Island and Pandora)
• Asia
• Africa
• Dinoland.
• The best part of DAK is Africa.  This is what the park was built on.  You have a safari ride, called Kilimanjaro Safari that takes you
• The worst part of DAK is Dinoland.  It looks like a carnival, and each time I go, I have that feeling of a carnival, and all its minions (oops, wrong characters).  You have your carnival games, Chester and Hester’s Dino-Rama, Primeval Whirl, which are part of those put/takedown carnival rides that I started hating as a teen, but yet, I am okay with these rides.

• Disney’s Hollywood Studios (DHS)- I actually should have ranked this park first and the reason is Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.  More one that in a moment.  I thought at first, for a Disney park, it was kind of boring, since I do not ride thrill rides as a whole, nor do I gravitate towards them. If someone from my family asks me to ride with them, maybe, but I am not really a thrill ride person.  However, if you are, this is perfect because Disney is considered a resort geared towards kids, but in the last 20 years of so, they have been really aiming towards the adults.  After all, it is the adults who pay for everything.

• The lands are named
• Animation Courtyard
• Commissary Lane
• Echo Lake
• Grand Avenue
• Hollywood Boulevard
• Pixar Place
• Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge
• Sunset Boulevard
• Toy Story Land
• The Worst part about DHS there are a few lands that have only one attraction there, and the rest are restaurants and shops.  They do have a few sideshows, which remind you of the Vaudeville acts.  One act I saw in 2004 had to do with the “Rule of 100 jokes”.  I cannot exactly remember the act itself, but one of the characters was named “Miss Bunny”.  The park is also one of the parks that do not grab you with “Disney sweetness”.  It is very rare that you will see the “fav 5”, even though Mickey is in a “Newsies” type number.  They may show up every now and then.
• The best part of the park is the new Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge (ST: GE).  For me personally, the jury is still out since I will not see it until December.  At that time, I will give a full report on all things Disney.  From what I can tell by the reviews given on YouTube, most people love ST: GE, but from the perspective of someone who is a Star Trek fan, I am finally warming up to the whole Star Wars saga, due to my brother being a Star Wars fan since the age of 7.  I hope to give a glowing report on the new land in DHS.

• Epcot (or Epcot Center as the new-old name suggests) (EC) is the worst park.  It is not bad in the sense of bad, but it is dated.  It is more dated than TMK.  I think that is why it is getting an almost total makeover.  This has been the park with the most problems in terms of appeal for both children and adults.  I have often called Epcot the “Education Center” because when parents take their children out of school for Walt Disney World, a teacher used to give them “homework” to do while on vacation.  Most of the homework would be conducted while at Epcot.  The Lands are

• Future World
• This land contains the rides, Fast Trek, which is Epcot’s answer to Autopodia in TMK’s Tomorrowland, and Mission Space, where you become part of an astronaut crew, on the way to Mars. You also learn about growing your own garden in a ride called, “The Land”.
• World Showcase
• This land contains little pavilions of counties to visit.  These countries are
• Norway
• Germany
• United Kingdom
• Mexico
• Canada
• The American Experience
• Japan
• France
• China
• Italy
• Morocco
• They have eating places, shops, and a couple of pavilions have rides.  Now I see why teachers want their students to study at Epcot.
• One of the worst things about Epcot is that it is so dated, but I still have fun while I am there.  I can learn a language, experience new food, and for rides, there is Frozen Ever After, which re-tells the story in ride form.  It is in the Norway pavilion.  In Mexico, there is the Gran Fiesta Tour Starring the Three Caballeros.  In this one, Donald Duck gets lost, and his friends try to find him.  This used to be called “El Rio De Tempo” (The River of Time) until it got an upgrade in 2007 to the new theming.
• The best thing about Epcot is World Showcase.  As they say, the best things have yet to come, and this is when the executives at Walt Disney World announced at D23, a fan convention that happens every couple of years, there will be an upgrade to Epcot, which will be completed in time for Walt Disney World’s 50th anniversary in 2021.

Well, this concludes my ranking of parks in Walt Disney World.  I apologize that I did not cover the waterparks, and the thousands of activities you can do outside of the parks, nor did I include the resorts or Disney Springs, a shopping area inside the behemoth of a resort.
One tip I do leave you with before I go is Disney is changing, and as Walt Disney once said about Disneyland, “Walt Disney World will never stop changing”.  There are always new ideas, new ride trends, and new generations of people to enjoy this massive resort area.  So with that being said, this ranking of Walt Disney World parks will most likely change, especially after I get back from my trip.
Until the next time, be safe, God Bless you, and good luck with your planning.

Saying goodbye to summer 2019

Disclaimer: P. Lynne Designs is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

I am trying to figure out where the time has gone.  Soon the 2010s will be gone, and we will be saying 2020 everything.  No longer the name of television once headed by Barbara Walters, or what your vision should be, 2020 will be a force to be reckoned with, and I am looking forward to how 2020 will treat me my family and friends, and my business.  Now, we are jetting towards fall, and I did not have a summer that was wonderful.   Swimming pools, vacations by the beach, and being patriotic will soon be replaced with teachers, making new friends, warm drinks, ghosts and goblins, and a fat bird named Tom.

September, the month for

• Going back to school (if you have not already done so)
• Labor Day
• And Autumn (Fall if you are in the United States)

Image by Goumbik from Pixabay 

Fall?  Already?

Yes, Fall (or Autumn elsewhere in the world).  We are talking:

• Leaves turning shades of brown, red, yellow, and a darker shade of green.
• Apple Cider
• Roasting marshmallows
• Blankets
• Fireplaces and fire pits
• Halloween and Thanksgiving (Pass the turkey, please)
• In addition to these major holidays, we also have
• Grandparents day
• Patriot Day
• The Jewish holiday Rosh Hashanah
• And some cute little holiday like:
• Talk like a pirate day
• But we also have:
• National Potato Month
• National Chicken Month
• National Biscuit Month

Pull out your favorite chicken, biscuit, and potato recipes

• National Hispanic Month (September 15-October 15)

And for all of us who play the piano, National Piano Month

For those of you born in the month of September, you have:

Birthstone: Sapphire

Flower: Aster

And zodiac signs: Virgo and Libra.

 What I love about September:  It is a transitional month.  It transitions from hot to cool to cold in a matter of 30 days.  You start out in shorts and ended up in a nice warm toasty blanket and sweater. 

For food, that is simple, hot chocolate, soup (which is actually a winter type food, but you can start having some in September), and apple cider.  Towards the end of the month, Halloween candy.  It is also National Potato, Chicken, and Biscuit month.  So eat and celebrate all.  Cook up some of your favorite recipes with these ingredients, and you cannot go wrong.  You can also add them to your favorite Spanish foods because it is National Hispanic Month, starting September 15, and continues until October 15. 

Decorating for the season:

For decoration, it is time to break out the reds, oranges, yellows, and browns.  In Fall 2019, the trend is about architectural shapes, heavier weighted material, which includes an Italian feel in terms of textures and colors.  If you are on a budget, you can add one or two pieces to make it feel like you did a lot.  An example of this may be adding one or two pillows to your couch, chair, or bed.  You can also add paper lamps to your decoration.

The colors according to Pantone are Chili Pepper, Brick Red, Crème de Pêche, Peach Pink, Rocky Road, Fruit Dove, Sugar Almond, Dark Cheddar, Galaxy Blue, Bluestone, Orange Tiger, and Eden.

Fashion colors include caramel and merlot, but also purple, pistachio, hot pink and orange.

No matter what the month of September brings you, make it a good month, a blessed month, and get ready to be nice and toasty around the fire pit.

Have a great day, and God bless.

My planning system setup with Erin Condren