Bread Pudding Recipe

A couple of weeks ago, I made a post about our Halloween get-together with our friends Patton and Brooke and the delicious bread pudding that they brought. I finally asked Brooke for the recipe, and yesterday I tried my hand at making my own. It turned out pretty well, if I do say so myself...but then again, I LOVE sweets!

I made the recipe to take to all of our different Thanksgiving dinners. It's a great staple for any Thanksgiving menu. Here is my recipe (compliments of Brooke):

White Chocolate Bread Pudding

Ingredients:

-2 loaves white bread

-18 egg yolks

2 quarts heavy whipping cream

2 cups sugar

48 oz. white chocolate chips

-2 caps vanilla

Instructions:

-Put the cream and vanilla in a pot, bringing it to a boil, then take it off the heat.

-In a separate bowl, mix the egg yolks and the sugar.

-Mix those together.

-Add in the chocolate chips.

-Cut the crusts off the bread and put the bread in the pan.

-Pour that mixture over the bread and make sure that the bread is soaked.

-Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

Happy cooking,

Micah

My New 'Do

Rhyne and I arrived safe and sound in Arkansas around 8:30 last night. I know I say this everytime, but I've got to say it again--it's SO good to be home!

I started off today with a doctor's appointment (blech!), but things perked up immediately afterward because I had a scheduled hair appointment!!!

I love getting haircuts. I'm one of those people that rarely gets the same haircut twice. I guess I'm still trying to find my "signature" hairstyle, if you will. I got a pretty significant amount cut off today, and I've got to say that I absolutely love it! Here are a few pics--you can let me know what you think:

The background's not the best for my light brown hair, but you get the general idea. Now I'm just hoping that my hubby doesn't kill me when he sees it. He made the comment just yesterday that he loved how long my hair was getting--and today I chopped it all off!!

Oh well--it's my hair, right?

Micah

Saturday Morning in Pictures

It's a rainy Saturday morning and I'm home alone. What's a girl to do?

I'm dressed for the day in my cozy, rainy day clothes--which, of course, means some warm and fuzzy boots.
I think I'll make a cup of coffee...
...put Elf (my favorite Christmas movie) in the DVD player...
...and wrap some Christmas presents.
Sounds like Saturday morning perfection to me!

Micah

The Time Has Come...

...to put up the Christmas tree!

This is not the best picture of my tree--I'll post a better one when I get some pictures of the rest of my decorations. I just decided that I'd start with the best!

I know people have such mixed emotions about when is the right time to put up the Christmas tree. I mean, if were up to me the thing would stay up year round. :o) However, I recognize that most other people aren't quite as in love with Christmas as I am and probably wouldn't appreciate it as much.

I had a few reasons that motivated me to put up the tree today.

1)Rhyne and I will potentially be leaving for Thanksgiving in Arkansas next weekend. I really prefer to have the tree up before we leave so that when we come home--it's done and I can totally focus on celebrating the holiday.

2)The weekend really is the best time for me to decorate. I am always exhausted when I come home from work (have I mentioned that I teach kindergarten?) and have zero motivation to take on the project.

3)This is the FIRST year since Rhyne and I have moved back to New Orleans that I've even had the option of decorating before Thanksgiving. From August 2006-August 2008 we lived in an apartment that gives new meaning to the word tiny. Storing a Christmas tree alone was impossible, let alone the rest of my decorations. The first year we lived in that apartment, I didn't even put up my big tree. I had a little 12-inch tree that I inherited from a great-uncle--I set it on top of a book shelf...it was so sad. :o( Anyway, all that to say that my Christmas decorations have resided at my parents' house. We go home for Thanksgiving, load it all up with us, decorate for a few weeks, take it all down, and return it to Arkansas when we go home for Christmas. If you're thinking, "Gee, Micah, that doesn't sound like fun at all!"--you're exactly right. You cannot imagine my joy when I realized last year that I had a place to store EVERYTHING in our new apartment. And you cannot imagine my husband's joy when he realized that he wasn't going to have to load and unload all of that stuff into/out of the car anymore! :o) It was a win/win situation for all involved...because I know that my mom and dad are glad to have my stuff out of their way!

Anyway, I just have to tell y'all that I absolutely love Love LOVE Christmas! There are just no words to explain how much. I decided to put up the Christmas tree as Rhyne and I were driving down our street this afternoon on the way home from church. I've just had a smile on my face all day. Comfy clothes, Christmas movies in the background (Elf, Alvin and the Chipmunks, and Home Alone), and all my Christmas decorations...I'd hit rewind and relive the entire afternoon all over again.

Smiling,

Micah

Thrifty Grocery Shopping

My grocery shopping typically consists of going to Wal-Mart and picking up our groceries. I don't pay a whole lot of attention to the price because I figure that we need what we need, so I may as well buy it.

It seems, however, that I've read a lot of blogs lately talking about how to save money while grocery shopping. Combine that with mine and Rhyne's desire to cut corners where we can, and I decided that I'd try my hand at it.

I perused the Winn Dixie weekly ad and made my list. I went this afternoon (despite the fact that Winn Dixie is INSANE on Saturdays), and I'm pleased to report that I saved $19.80. I still spent about $63, but it's been awhile since I've been grocery shopping so I really needed to stock up. I'm hoping to see significant changes in the coming weeks. I'll keep you posted.

Here are my bargains that I was most excited about:
*Super Pretzels--buy 1, get 1 free. Rhyne loves Super Pretzels--he eats them all the time!
*Premium Classic Salad Mix, 4/$5--I only bought two--I can make a big salad that will make several meals for me.
*Winn Dixie brand yogurt, 20/$10--I bought 5.
*Lean Cuisines, 4/$5--I eat one for lunch every day

Like I said, today was my first day trying this out. I'm hoping to get better at clipping coupons and combining that with my weekly sale ad deals. We'll see how it goes!

Pinching pennies,
Micah

A Whirlwind of a Week

This week is flying by--I can't believe that tomorrow is FRIDAY!

Here are a few of the latest happenings:

*Another Saints victory on Sunday!! They made us all a little nervous, but they pulled it off in the end. Who Dat!

*Hurricane Ida "blew" through. The weather was tame, but we still got a hurricane day out of the deal--a.k.a. No School. I was a little bit bitter however, because while my coworkers were sleeping in on Monday, I was...

*Driving to Baton Rouge with my grade level partner for a two-day kindergarten conference. We got some great ideas for our classrooms, but even better...

*Shopping at the mall of Louisiana and the outlets in Gonzales! We got some great deals! My new favorite color is that deep shade of purple that is everywhere this season--I got a dress, a skirt/cardi combo, and a pair of Nine West heels--all in this fab color! I picked up a few other things (including some Christmas presents), so I'll just leave it at that.

*My first day of the work week was Wednesday--it was wonderful.

*Gearing up for black and gold day at school tomorrow--we had one last Friday too. Getting ready for a day of listening to kindergartners chant "Who dat! Who dat! Who dat say dey gonna beat 'dem Saints!" It's actually pretty cute.

*And hooray--it's almost the weekend!!!!

Micah

Donors Choose

My first Donors Choose project has been approved and posted on the organization's website!

Most teachers have a laundry list of things that they need/want for their classrooms. Sadly, however, funds are very limited--we wind up spending a lot of our own money. But there are some things that are just too expensive to invest in all on your own. Donors Choose is a website that works to help out with those problems.

Through Donors Choose, teachers can write a project proposal that describes their classroom and their classroom needs and request certain materials. Donors then choose the projects that they would like to give to, and the website administrators coordinate the funds and the ordering and delivery of the materials. The website's statistics say that 80% of projects are funded.

I have TONS of things that I'd like to have for my classroom, but I decided to start with a listening center. My kids LOVE to be read to, and a listening center will ensure that they have one-on-one reading time every day. The total cost is about $366, and the minimum donation is $25.00.

I know that New Orleans is still on the minds and hearts of lots of people. I became a teacher in NOLA because I felt that it was my contribution to the city's rebuild project--kids are still deeply affected by the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Donors Choose is an excellent way to help the city--even if you can't actually make a trip here. If you or someone you know is interested in helping out, please follow the link below to my project:

http://www.donorschoose.org/donors/proposal.html?id=337369&verify=393296936

The website can answer any questions that you might have. I'm so excited about the possibility of attaining these materials for my kids. Now that I've written one project, I'm excited to keep working toward getting more materials that my kids need!