Saturday, January 1, 2011

Happy New Year! Breakfast Casserole, Use-It-Up Scrapbook Challenge

This is a day when people are making and sharing their New Year's Resolutions.  What is it about this day that makes so many people make promises to themselves about improving their lives over blackeyed peas, cabbage and cornbread?  I think it's the feeling of a fresh start--a new calendar, back to work or school, holiday decorations put away, or a new perspectives gained from spending time with friends and family over the holidays that we may not see often during the rest of the year.  Some people have resolved to not make any New Year's resolutions.  Maybe they believe they won't keep them, or maybe they makes resolutions throughout the year and don't see New Year's Day as a reason to make new ones.  Whether you are making resolutions today or not, I hope 2011 is a wonderful year for you.  Here are some of my resolutions:
Family:  Be in the moment when I am with them.  Treasure every bit as the gift from God that it is.
Friends:  Work harder to maintain contact with people I care about.  Nurture both new and old friendships.
Finances:  Spend less, save more.
Health:  Eat less, excercise more.  Take vitamins.
Home:  Keep after it!  Finally hang the family photos that have been in a box for six years.
GOD:  Listen for His voice.  Go to church more.  Read my bible more.
I may not keep them all, but my life will be better for trying!
The recipe for today is a good one to make ahead on Saturday night for Sunday morning breakfast.  I can pop it in the oven and it cooks while I get ready for church.

Recipe:  Breakfast casserole In a large bowl, tear up three peices of bread, including crusts, into 1 in. pieces.  Add 1/2 cup of cheddar cheese, and 3/4 cup cooked crumbled bacon, sausage or ham.  In another bowl, mix together 1 cup milk, 4 eggs, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp dry mustard.  Pour milk and egg mixture over bread mixture, tossing lightly.  Pour into a greased 9 x 9 square pan, cover and refrigerate overnight.  Bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes.  Serves four.  This can be doubled for a larger group, and baked in a 9 x 13 dish.

Scrapbooking Challenge:  If you are like me, you have LOTS of scrapbooking supplies.  You buy paper and embellishments that you hang on to for years, because you keep finding new stuff that you like even more!  I attended a weekend scrapbooking retreat last September and decided it would be my "Use It Up" retreat.  I brought $20 to spend on new supplies, but decided I would use what I already had.  Honestly, I was a little depressed at the thought, even though I knew our budget would thank me.  I was pretty sure I wouldn't like most of my pages.  Boy, was I pleasantly surprised.  I created some of my best pages ever!  It was actually FUN to finally use some of the paper, stickers, brads, etc. that I had been carting to crops for several years.  I even used some key tags I had originally purchased for labeling storage cubes in my daughter's room, but she decided she didn't need them!  I actually completed 38 pages, which is more than I usually finish at a 42 hour weekend crop--probably because I spent less time shopping.  I did buy some chalking inks and clearance paper, but I only spent about $14.  Since I do three weekend cropping getaways per year, I am thinking of having every September be my "Use It Up" retreat.  Or maybe, since this last one was so successful, I will adopt more of a "Use It Up" philosophy every time I crop!

1 comment:

  1. That's a great idea. I get a lot of new scrappy supplies throughout the year especially when there are sales and businesses going out. I think that this year I might host a stash swap. Where I will put together a pile of 50 sheets put it in a priority mail box and then send it on to someone else and wait for them to swap me some of their sheets of top of the line papers :) You never know it could be fun :)

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