2007 – Year in Review

I like this idea….a photo year in review. I did one last year and still find it fun to go back and look at. This year has been a bit of a challenge. We did so much this year and with my new camera, almost everything was documented to the extreme! I’ve narrowed my thousands and thousands of pictures down to just over 100! I know, still a ton. I’ve put them in a few separate slideshows below. I guess you don’t have to watch them all…..maybe just one or two.

The first half of the year was pretty boring. I mean, from Jan to Jun I have around 15-20 photos. Most of that was because I was still teaching a full schedule, running the school newspaper and working my office job. I was a bit busy and worn out!

June began our busy summer….first to the Sand Dunes with Stacy and Joe and then at the end of June and into the beginning of July we went on a road trip to Oregon and Washington. It was a wonderful trip and I had trouble picking a few main highlights of the trip.

The middle to late July was filled with BIG birthdays. Zach turned 30 and Stacy turned 21 and we celebrated!

The fall brought us back to school and our lives slowed a bit. Zach is still working on his BA and I just started my master’s. It was an adjustment for both of us to be in school at the same time, but one that worked and seemed to help us both. We also kept working on the floor and finally got it finished. November and December were also filled with many trips to the symphony and theater. And in December, another big birthday – Cody turned 18! I’m beginning to feel left out….I’m the only “kid” who didn’t have a “big” birthday. I mean what’s there to celebrate about 27? Nada. Well, and then we’ve been busy with Christmas.

All and all a pretty good year! Can’t wait to see what 2008 brings! One thing is for sure….Susie should be coming home and there will be lots of babies! Sounds like a promising beginning to me.

Lamington’s

1 day old butter cake, frozen (for at least 30 minutes) and cut into squares
4 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 cup milk
2 packages flaked coconut
**for variation: crushed graham crackers

Mix sugar and cocoa together in large bowl.  Place coconut (or graham crackers) in shallow bowl or plate.

In saucepan, heat milk and butter until butter is just melted. Pour into sugar/cocoa mix and stir.

Dip cake squares into frosting, completely cover, then roll in coconut and place on cooling rack.  Frosting will drip so place wax paper or tin foil under cooling rack.  Continue until all squares are done.

Best if eaten hours later, so make the day before. 

**NOTE: My friend is from Australia and made these for Thanksgiving.  That were amazing, so I tried my hand at them last night.  They were a ton of work, and I haven’t eaten them yet.  I’m hoping they are yummy.  Zach doesn’t like coconut, so he choose to have a few rolled in cinnamon graham crackers.  We’ll see how they turn out. 

Vegetable Barley Soup

2 quarts vegetable broth
1 cup water
1 cup uncooked barley
2 large carrots, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice
1 zucchini, chopped
1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained
1 can hominy, drained
1 can white kidney beans, drained
1 onion, chopped
3 bay leaves
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Pour vegetable broth into a large pot.  Add the barley, carrots, celery, tomatoes, zucchini, garbanzo beans, onion, and bay leaves.  Season with garlic powder, sugar, salt, pepper, parsley, curry powder, paprika, and Worcestershire sauce.  Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer over medium-low heat for 90 minutes.  The soup will be very thick.  You may adjust by adding more broth or less barley if desired.  Remove bay leaves before serving.

***  This recipe was was allrecipes.com.  I made a few adjustments in ingredients in italics above.  Also, I would have liked a bit more carrot, so I would add more carrots and a bit more water for them next time.

This turned out amazing.  My father-in-law, brother-in-law and parents were all over and everyone loved it!  It has a bit of kick to it, so a few people put sour cream and/or cheese in it to bring the temperature down.