2008 Year in Review

Happy New Year Everyone!

Homemade Yogurt

This is a microwave oven recipe I got from my Aunt Joy... no dirty dishes to mess with and it's super cheap.

Supplies:
1 quart mason jar with lid
3 TBLS plain yogurt with live active culture (store bought the first time only, from then on you can use homemade)
wire whisk
31/2 cups milk (any type)

Directions:
Fill mason jar with milk and microwave for 3 minutes (to about 115 degrees).

Let milk cool (till it gets to about 110 degrees). If you don't have a candy thermometer to test the temp. just wait 5 minutes.

Add 3 tablespoons of yogurt and whisk well.

Put lid on jar and put in the oven or microwave overnight, or at least 12 hours... until it is set up. Aluminum foil also works well as a lid.

The next morning, put your yogurt in the fridge.

Baking 101

I learned a tough lesson in baking today. When a recipe says the serving size of quick bread is two loaves.... don't try to make only one large loaf because:
a) the excess dough will run over the sides of the pan, spilling everywhere
b) said excess dough will continue to bake and burn at the bottom of the oven until the loaf is done (which is longer than the recipe said it would take b/c you did it wrong)
c)the burning dough at the bottom of the oven will smoke and smell up your house like charcoal for two days
d) you will spend a lot of time with your head in a stinky oven trying to clean dry, charred dough
e) the extra large loaf you were hoping to enjoy will be doughy in the middle

Baby Nursery

Week 39: Baby Breugem where are you? We're ready, aren't you?

Baby Nursery

Home Sweet Home

We finally moved into our new home! It's so SPACIOUS and wonderfully cozy. More than we had hoped for... Last weekend we put up the Christmas tree! Why is it that the Christmas lights always decide to go out AFTER the entire tree is decorated? Both strands of brand-new lights went out on us the day after we put them up. Arg! In this picture, Amelia is 26 weeks pregnant (6 and a half months). The baby has been kicking up a storm lately, it's fun for Frank and I to feel. At this stage the baby's hearing has developed enough to hear us...poor thing has to endure my singing along with the Christmas CD's. Hopefully he/she will inherit their fathers good singing ability. I wonder how the baby and I will do as we travel to Holland? Hopefully it will be an easy transition to the new time, foods and schedules. I've done a lot of traveling in my day but this time I don't know what to expect! What an adventure!

Movin on up...

Lot's of moving going on these days....

1. Felt the baby move for the first time--on my last day of work after eating tons of sweets at the surprise baby shower they threw me!

2. Moved in with Jake and Ada (Frank's parents) in Patterson last weekend. All of our things are in storage for an undetermined amount of time. The plan is to move into the double-wide mobile home next door to them but the current renters are late in moving out. Pray that their new house will be fixed quickly.

3. My status moved from employed, completely stressed out, full-time student to unemployed, fully content, full time student and wife. I'm loving life.

4. Franks commute to work moved from Hwy 99 to I5. We are both very happy about that.... so much less traffic which means Frank gets home earlier even though it's the same travel distance as before.

Our house

Clean on the outside, dirty on the inside. Ironic isn't it.