Saving Breakfast!

It all started when I saw a pin on Pinterest to Ella Claire's AWESOME omelet and potato breakfast bites. (On another note, so many blogposts could start with those first 10 words!!).

So anyway, they looked delicious first of all. Second of all, we LOVE breakfast at our house and we LOVE sleep. These two things do not mix on school days! We have such a hard time finding breakfasts that we really like that are fast AND delicious.

 

 At least for my son and I, he is somewhat of an aspiring chef and doesn't like things reheated. I mean who can blame him, it's not my first choice either but...a mom's got to do what a mom's got to do, right?!?!

On to the food, I tried these the first time using regular shredded hashbrowns (because it's what I had) and thinking that if I cooked them for a bit they would brown up. No Dice! Tots are the way to go!! I also used a jumbo size muffin tin. It was nice because it worked out to one egg per cup. There is truly no need for a recipe here.

Spray your tin with cooking spray or grease the cups with a little butter. Throw in some tots (four per cup worked great for the jumbos) and squish them down (you can use a small glass or the back of a spoon or even your fingers!). I like to spray a little bit of cooking spray on top too, then toss those in the oven @ 350. While the tots are crisping, mix together 6 eggs (one egg per cup) and some milk (around an 1/8th-1/4 cup, whatever your preference). Add a little salt and pepper and gather the rest of your ingredients. My kids like just bacon or sausage crumbled and some grated cheese. But they would be great with diced onions, peppers, some ham, leftover steak, mushrooms, spinach, whatever floats your boat! So pull those tots out and add your toppings. Pour your egg mixture over the top and pop those puppies back in the oven for about 20 minutes. You know until they are cooked and not runny in the middle. Now eat them! Or let them cool and pop them in the fridge for the rest of the week. They reheat well in the microwave in about 40-45 seconds.

 

 

New Year...time to hit the reset button!

So the new year is upon us! It always seems to happen in a blink of an eye doesn't it? I mean one second it's not anywhere close and then it's like I already missed it. This year my resolutions are VERY similar to the ones I made last year...hahahaha, not good! I am sure I am not the only one who wants to lose some weight that just doesn't want to go anywhere else, eat healthier, start new endeavors, move more, travel, be present, use my time wiser...and the list goes on! I suppose some of the reason for this is these "resolutions" don't have the greatest way to measure so they are kind of hard to actually cross off my list.

This year I am using the S.M.A.R.T. method. I you don't already know S.M.A.R.T. stands for:

S=Specific
M=Measurable
A=Attainable
R=Realistic
T=Timely

GOALS!! This year I am setting goals. I have created a short(well kind of!) list of things to accomplish this year. One of those being working on this blog! Yay! I will be posting at least 3 times a week with lots of creative, inspiring ideas and recipes and how-to's. It's going to be fun! Also on my list, quit biting my nails...for good (I have bitten them for all but two six month periods my entire life), eat better and lose this weight that won't go away since the second kid(I am thinking about starting with the Whole30 to give myself a jumpstart in the right directions), move more ( I have my TRX setup in the garage and I am starting the local cross training gym back up this week, my goal is 5x per week)...like I said, there are more but you get the idea.

I have also figured out a mantra/motto for the year as a general guide to help me keep on track with what is important for life as a whole. For this I chose "With Purpose". I have found myself wasting too much time on things like Facebook with really no purpose. It's time for that to stop. Basically, I just want to focus my actions towards an actual purpose even if it's to relax and recharge. Because we all need to do that as well.

2014 WILL be MY year! (whether it wants to or not...)

Happy New Year!

DIY River Rock Welcome Mat

So, what do you think? I was in need of a new mat for my front door. We previously had one of those coir type ones...I hate them. At least I hate them after about 2 months when they start degrading and the colors all wash out and stuff, yuck! Solution: A super cute, personalized, new mat made from river rock from the dollar store and a basic rubber mat. Yay!

Now, I know you want to make one too...probably not with "James" on it but, lol!

I started with a basic, black, rubber mat from Dollar General. Now, with full disclosure, I purchased one with the little rubber nubs thinking that it would help keep the water away from the glue and it would last longer. NOT SO! I would instead recommend getting one with the felty fabric. It seems to adhere to the glue really well and holds up better. 

Now you need some river rock. I purchased 6 bags at Dollar Tree. Two of the black and four of the neutral browns. I then found a font I liked and printed out my word. I measured my mat and used the measurements to create my word and then just printed it onto multiple pages and taped them together. I used E-6000 to adhere the rocks and started with the black. I laid my letters on top of the mat and just used them as a guide. Lifting and gluing the letters individually. 

Once my name was completely glued on, I proceeded to just fill in the rest of the space with the brown rock.Since I had a variety of sizes I started with the big ones first. Then I got kind of tired of gluing them one by one and just started smearing glue down in sections and sticking the smaller rocks on. Overall, it took me a few hours but I just put it on the living room floor and watched TV. The kids helped me with filling the brown rocks. Some good bonding time over adhesive...win, lol!

I am really pleased with how it turned out. Hope you like it!!

 

Grand Plans

Oh, the grand plans that I have...I am never at a loss for ideas. Follow thru seems to be more of my issue. But, it is a new year and new year's should always begin with grand plans and even bigger dreams. So, as a part of my new year beginnings, I am going to really, I mean REALLY try to make this thing be all that I hope and dream. If it doesn't then at least I will know that I have given it my best effort. My mantra for 2013 is going to be "let's do this!". Because I want to be able to feel the euphoria of crossing things off a list, see someone's excitement when they see a finished project, and ultimately have a shorter to do list. But....life is about the journey, not the destination. So, this will not be a "Git R' Done" type adventure...I hope you join me in all of my aspirations for the coming year! Let's do this!

"May you live all the days of your life." ~Jonathan Swift