Ya know the saying "If worse comes to worse...?" (Which if properly said, should be worse comes to worst, but I won’t digress.) With that saying in mind, in my search for an apartment, dear friends of mine have offered up their couches, their children's rooms, and even their empty brownstones in DUMBO for me to temporarily stay if I didn't find an apartment by my move date. So thoughtful, so generous. But these offers were also giving an 'out' to my goal of finding my own place to live, right?
Whenever I want something, giving any attention to other options is like opening a window and shouting to the universe, "No worries if my ideal situation doesn't reveal itself, I've got a backup plan, some wiggle room, so take your time." In my mind, that just seems reckless! So I throw open the windows and say, "Hey Universe, I am available for THIS. Or something even better! And soon, please! Thank you."
Instead of worse coming to worst, it's like imagining better coming to best. An already bad situation deteriorating into an even worse one can instantly be upgraded. With our thoughts, or with our expectation, we make room for something better becoming the absolute best.
We have approximately 16,000 thoughts a day and 75 percent of them are negative. That is just wasted brain space! (And a downer of a statistic!) If we approach things feeling stressed and worried, we are energetically creating a barrier between us and what we want. If we approach things feeling hopeful and with a positive expectation, it's like energetically opening our arms ready to welcome all the good things. Throughout the day, I do a little inventory of my thoughts, keeping track of the positives and negatives. I work hard to get my negative thought percentage down! I mean, I started a blog called All Good Things and you’re reading it! You’re working on your percentage too.
When I left my hometown in Missouri to go a performing arts conservatory, I became the type of person who doesn't believe in backup plans. I started to learn even way back then, "What you think about, you bring about." I didn't think about failure, I thought about achieving. I didn't think about things going wrong, I thought about things going right. (If you want to give yourself the tiniest little pep talk, go read these genius quotes from Bob Proctor.)
Everyone in my hometown knew I was a performer and were very encouraging about my plans to pursue theatre. But every once is while I'd get, "You're so talented, I hope you make it, but what's your backup plan?" I would graciously explain to them that if I put any energy towards a backup plan, then it would be robbing precious energy from my dreams and goals. No bueno. That if I split my focus to go after a minor degree in college or to explore my other skills to fall back on them, I would be minimizing my major of musical theatre and I would indeed fall back. No thank you.
Did I make a career in musical theatre as planned? No. Was I open to life changing opportunities that changed my path? Most definitely. Did I find the perfect apartment? Yes. Do we always get what we want? No. Do we always get what is meant for us? Yes. I believe that what is meant for us is on its way. No exceptions. There's only one me and only one you and the universe and gods have it all mapped out what goes to who.
BUT...there's always a but...we must keep our eyes open to see it when it's coming. Or we'll miss it. We must keep our minds open to it possibly being different than the way we imagined it. Or we'll miss it. We must keep our arms and hearts open to allow it and welcome it in. Or we’ll…Don’t miss it, my friends.
This week, as I began to pack up my kitchen, I did an inventory of my freezer and found a bag of bread crusts! I make a brie grilled cheese with fig jam on raisin walnut bread. I cut off the crusts and make sweet little bite-sized shapes and pass them as hors d'oeuvres. I end up with bags and bags of crusts. Waste not, want not…I always turn them into a bread pudding.
A few months ago, I helped my chef friend, Andy, with a children’s pirate themed party and I punched his grilled cheese sandwiches with star shaped cookie cutters creating star fish. I asked Andy if he wanted the crusts to make a savory bread pudding. He laughed at me, and said, “No you take them home and bring me back a piece.” So I did. I made a grilled cheese bread pudding!
Raisin Walnut Bread Pudding
INGREDIENTS
- 2 cups milk
- 1/4 cup butter
- 2 eggs slightly beaten
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 6 cups dry raisin bread cubes or 6 cups of raisin bread grilled cheese crusts!
DIRECTIONS
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Heat milk and butter until melted and scalded. Let cool slightly.
- Mix eggs, sugar, and salt. Stir in bread cubes or crusts.
- Fold in the milk mixture, pour into a greased or non stick sprayed casserole pan.
- Submerge loaf pan in one inch deep of hot water in a 9 x 12” pan creating a water bath.
- Bake uncovered 40-45 minutes until an inserted knife comes out clean. Serve warm with whipped cream or yogurt mixed with honey.
Grilled Cheese Bread Pudding
- 2 cups milk
- 1/4 cup butter
- 2 eggs slightly beaten
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 6 cups cubed grilled cheese or 6 cups of grilled cheese crusts!
DIRECTIONS
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Heat milk and butter until melted and scalded. Let cool slightly.
- Mix eggs, parmesan, and pepper. Stir in sandwich cubes or crusts.
- Fold in the milk mixture, pour into a greased or non-stick sprayed casserole pan.
- Submerge loaf pan in one inch deep of hot water in a 9 x 12” pan creating a water bath.
- Bake uncovered 40-45 minutes until an inserted knife comes out clean. Serve warm with a bowl of tomato soup!