Beef Burger Noodle Bake, Journaling, Pantry Clean-out

Good morning!  Attended the first church service of the new year yesterday; so far, I have perfect attendance at church in 2011! Ha, ha!  I thoroughly enjoyed the sermon; we reviewed the blessings and answered prayers of 2010, made confession of areas of sin in our lives, and made a commitment to follow Jesus in 2011 with a specific plan. "Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my anxious thoughts; and see if there be any hurtful way in me and lead me in the everlasting way." (Psalm 139:23-24)
I feel like I have lots of "irons in the fire" this week: catching up on laundry and housework after a busy week last week, getting the kids settled back into school, preparing to go on a scrapbook retreat this weekend (yahoo!), and celebrating my birthday and anniversary.  How blessed I am!  Lots of laundry means I am surrounded by family and we have clothes to wear and a way to keep them clean.  Housework means I have a home to care for and people to share it with.  I am blessed to live in a country where my children can receive a free education.  I get to spend four days this weekend doing a hobby I love with friends I don't see often enough.  And I have been blessed with life these forty-four years, as well as twenty-four years of a happy marriage.  God is good!

Housekeeping challenge:  Clean out your pantry.  I just have a small pantry, and it gets out of control quickly.  I try to clean it out once a month or so, otherwise, I end up buying duplicates of things I already have multiples of, or I think I have something, and then realize I don't (usually right in the middle of preparing something!

Scrapbooking tip for the day:  Journaling  After the pictures, the most important element of a scrapbook to me is the journaling.  Tell the story!  Cute slogans or titles are fun, but they may lose their impact over time.  We think we will remember special moments forever, but we don't.  Write it down.  Tell what you were thinking and feeling that day; tell where you were, with whom, and why.

Recipe:  Beef Burger Noodle Bake  Cook an 8 oz. packagte of medium egg noodles as directed.  While noodles are cooking, brown 1 lb. ground beef or turkey with one small chopped onion.  Drain and return to pan.  Over medium low heat, add 2 cans tomato soup, an 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, 1 T. sugar, 2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce, and 1 tsp salt.  Heat for five minutes, then add cooked, drained noodles.  My friend, Karina, made this for me when I visited her several years ago, and I have made it for my family several times a year ever since.  It is one of my favorite "comfort" foods.