Visited Countries Map

Here's what my Visited Countries Map looks like as of today, 9/6/24.

Make your own map here.

At age 52, I have been to 34 different countries. That seems like a pretty high number until I look at the map above and see how little blue there is compared to all the grey. I've only seen a small fraction of everything our world has to offer. 

I know a lot of people who have been to far more countries than I have, including: my parents, my sister and brother-in-law, my aunt and uncle, my sisters-in-law, my nephews, a handful of high school friends, former coworkers, retired friends from church, and virtually every other travel blogger I know. A few have been to well over 100 countries.  

But I know far more people who are much less traveled than I am. There are a lot of reasons for this, obviously. Travel is a privilege that not everyone can afford. Life circumstances and differing abilities can make travel difficult or impossible. Some people travel internationally often, but keep going back to the same one or two places, giving them a very low country count. Others travel extensively through the US, a huge country with enough destinations to last a lifetime, but rarely cross the borders. 

I did some Googling to find out how my stats compare. Needless to say, I found a lot of different information with varying reliability. Here is some of the more trustworthy information I found:

• 71% of Americans have left the United States. 11% have been to 10 or more countries (source)
• 2% of Americans have traveled to more than 31 countries (source)
• The average American adult has been to 3 foreign countries (source)
• People in 27 countries have a stronger passport than those of us in the US (source)
• Roughly 450 people have been to all the countries in the world (source)

Unlike my goal to travel to the five Canadian provinces I haven't visited, I have no plans to visit every country in the world. But there are still several dozen countries on my bucket list. Obviously, there's Luxembourg. And St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Others topping my list include (but are not limited to) Iceland, Switzerland, Austria, Liechtenstein, Poland, Czechia, Hungary, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Australia, and New Zealand. 

How many countries have you visited? What's still on your bucket list? Let me know in the comments!

Universal Yums: India and the United Kingdom

Today I'm sharing the 7th and 8th boxes from our 12-month subscription to Universal Yums. This time, the featured countries are India and the United Kingdom. As usual, each box held a variety of snacks, an informational card, booklet and sticker set. 

This is what came in the India box: 

The booklet was a bit different than in previous boxes. Instead of present-day India, it focuses on a specific time period in Indian history: the Mughal Empire (1526-1857). According to an introduction by the co-founder of Universal Yums, this is the first time in their 10-year history that they've done this. It's an interesting idea. Given that I knew literally nothing about the Mughal Empire, I appreciate the education. Otherwise, I might never have known that the Mughal Empire was one of the weathiest during the Middle Ages, was famous for freedom of religion, served daily feasts of over 500 dishes to the emperor, and used three different animals as cavalry in their military (horses, camels, and elephants). 

An article called "Let's Spice Things Up" was all about the many spices found in Indian cuisine. I was hoping that the snack foods in the box didn't feature the hottest of those spices. I can't tolerate spicy food at all. I tried a (very) small sample of everything Universal Yums sent, but three of the snacks were too hot for me. Too bad - I liked the flavor, just not the pain. My favorites in the box were the Trufills and the Green Mango candies. 

This is what came in the United Kingdom box:  

Having just been in the UK, I actually knew the answers to some of the trivia questions in the booklet. You knew that Big Ben is the bell, not the clock or the tower, right? There was a fascinating article about the importance of Cavendish bananas, a recipe for Scottish oatmeal scones, and information about some of the weirdest habits of Victorian England. Anyone want to try their beauty hack of putting a drop of lemon juice in each eye? Yeah, me neither. 

So how was the food? I absolutely loved the Rhubarb & Custard Bon Bons (affiliate link). The shortbread cookie was delicious. The pickled onion rings were... intense. Interesting, but intense. I absolutely loathed the lamb and rosemary crisps. They're vegetarian, but whatever they're using to make them taste like lamb was effective. Yuck. 

The last time I posted about Universal Yums, I got an anonymous comment from someone concerned that I was eating all this processed food while fighting cancer. Were they picturing me opening the box alone and immediately scarfing down multiple bags of chips and candies? To clarify, I am not eating everything in these boxes by myself. I try a tiny sample of each item. Steve and Trevor also sample everything, as does any friend or family member who happens to be here when we open the boxes. Then, we share the leftovers with others who are interested in trying new foods. I don't blog about each person's reaction to every item, but I assure you that there are others eating the food. And there is always someone who likes something I don't, and vice versa. I would never open a box without other people around to share the experience, since that's what makes it fun. 

Mother's Day 2024

The plan for Mother's Day 2024 was to go to church, then leisurely enjoy the brunch that followed. Instead, we skipped brunch, raced out of church as soon as the service ended, and got to the mall in time to be the first in line when the Men's Wearhouse opened so Trevor could rent a tux for Senior Prom. He'd waited until the last second to reserve a tux online, only to find out that he was actually a few hours too late. I was not pleased, to say the least. I had no choice but to take him to the mall to take care of it in person the next day, which happened to be Mother's Day. 

Fortunately, there were no problems getting the tux reserved, although the process took a lot longer than either of us expected. It was far too late to return to the church brunch, so we bought Wetzel's Pretzels for lunch and took a power-walk around the mall. It ended up being a lot of fun, albeit a very non-traditional way to celebrate. 

Mother's Day 2024 (affiliate link)

Mother's Day 2024 was not what I'd expected, but if parenting has taught me anything, it's that things don't always go as planned. As the tag at the bottom of my layout says, "Embrace the detour." That's exactly what we did that day. 

50 State Quarters Coloring Pages Featuring Ink and Prismacolor Colored Pencils

Remember the state quarters coloring pages I shared back in July? I colored those with my Ohuhu Kaalas. I chose four more states and challenged myself to color them using something different. Can you tell what I used? 

It's a bit of a trick question, because I actually used two different art supplies to color these. First, I used blending brushes to cover the large areas with dye-based ink (affiliate links here and below). 

Then I used Prismacolor colored pencils to blend colors over the ink base. That part was the most fun. My least favorite part was adding all of the leaves on Connecticut's Charter Oak. 

I had so much fun with these coloring pages and am eager to keep going with more states. I'm going to color the next batch with a different medium, but I'm not sure what that will be yet. Stay tuned!

Model Magic Name Art

I'm back to crafting and excited to share my latest name art project! It was a lot of fun to make and is easy to do in the classroom or with other groups. Affiliate links below. 

Model Magic Name Art

Materials:

• white Model Magic
• parchment paper
• Folk Art paint
• Folk Art Extreme Glitter
• white cardstock
• craft glue

Steps:

Decide how large you want the finished name to be. Mine is about 5" x 1", which required a half-ounce of Model Magic. For longer names (or if you want a larger version, regardless of name length), add more Model Magic accordingly. 

Open your clay onto a piece of parchment paper. I used a cutting board because I had it out for another project, but parchment paper is a better choice, because you'll be able to paint your artwork directly on it. Divide the Model Magic into X pieces, based on the number of letters in your name. Some letters, like the I in my name, will need less clay. Add it to letters (like the N) that need more. 

Roll each ball into a snake, then shape it into the correct letters. 

Let the Model Magic dry completely, then turn it over to let the other side dry. Plan for a total of at least 24 hours of drying time. 

When it is completely dry, arrange your name on a piece of cardstock, then mark it and cut it to the desired size. Set the cardstock aside, then pick a paint palette.

Paint each letter with one of the colors. Let the paint dry. 

 

Select colors of Extreme Glitter to compliment your palette. Add a coat (or two!) to add a ton of sparkle. 

Use a small amount of glue to adhere each letter to the cardstock. 

I've been a fan of Extreme Glitter for many years and Plaid has just come out with a palette of pastels. I can't wait to give them a try! Any suggestions for what I should make?