101 reasons...

A Tribute to Caleb



101 Reasons Why I Love You
(in no particular order)

1) You make me laugh
2) You tell me I'm beautiful
3) You take me on adventures
4) You speak French
5) You speak Spanish
6) You're learning Swedish :)
7) You love God
8) You love the mountains
9) You love rock climbing
10) You're athletic
11) You know how to cook
12) You do the dishes most of the time
13) You do the grocery shopping
14) We take turns cleaning the bathroom
15) We read books together (Bible, etc)
16) You are passionate about your job
17) You love photography
18) You have an appreciation for art
19) You give fabulous back massages
20) You play w/my hair
21) You humor me
22) You can ALWAYS recognize a movie soundtrack
23) I can tell you part of a movie and you know the name of it, even if you haven't seen it (if I can't remember the name of the movie, it will bug me)
24) You came to Sweden with me
25) You proposed to me IN SWEDEN!
26) You took me rock climbing
27) You took me on overnight hiking trips
28) You let me take you snowboarding - even though you hadn't been in over 3 years!
29) You spend Christmas with me and my family after ONLY being together for less than 2 months
30) You support my dreams & endeavors
31) You bought me fabulous art supplies (see #30)
32) You have an awesome family
33) You have 3 sisters and I have 3 brothers - now you have 3 brothers and I have 3 sisters :)
34) You are the oldest of 4 (I am the oldest of 4)
35) You go along w/my crazy ideas sometimes, but you keep me grounded!
36) You make me waffles on Saturday mornings
37) You take care of me when I'm sick
38) You love sushi
39) One day we will make sushi :)
40) Did I mention you humor me?! ;)
41) I'm type A; you're type B - we work things out!
42) You balance me - see #41
43) You let me register for most things blue when we were doing our registry; it's my favorite color
44) I suggested you register at REI and you were SO excited
45) You CAME WITH ME to register
46) We had dates at the Derby Street Shops
47) We had dates in the mountains: in New Hampshire, in Maine, in New York and in Sweden - hopefully we'll have many more dates in the mountains :)
48) Our first 'kiss' was on top of a mountain at sunset
49) You proposed to me on another mountain top at sunset
50) You goof off with me!!!!!
51) Did I mention you make me laugh?
52) You have good ideas
53) You wear flip flops ;)
54) You didn't like to read when you were little; you've now read more books than me in the past year!!
55) You set goals and achieve them
56) You used to play soccer
57) You used to surf
58) One day you will teach me to surf
59) You get excited about the little things in life...
60) You appreciate the beauty in the world that God has created and you find ways to capture it on film
61) You gave me a beautiful picture of a water lily for my birthday that I will always cherish (see #60)
62) You were the one who couldn't keep their hair under control when we got married...
63) You had long hair at our wedding... I'm not sure WHY, but this is a good thing.
64) You came with my family to Maine; the last time my morfar EVER came to America :)
65) You don't mind if I wake you up in the middle of the night when I've had a nightmare, and then you pray w/me (for some reason, I've been having HORRIBLE nightmares lately - last time this happened was Fall 2003)
66) You are real
67) You give me fabulous hugs and kisses!
68) You buy good presents
69) This is good b/c I feel loved by cards, gifts, etc
70) The presents you give ALWAYS have a good deal of thought behind them
71) You get excited about going out for ice-cream, pizza, dinner, etc
72) You love going to the movies
73) You dislike shopping; unless it's for hiking or other athletic paraphernelia - then you get REAL into it
74) Which means you CAN relate about my love for shopping... when it comes to certain things...
75) You love my cooking (most of the time - but you don't complain if you don't like it) :)
76) You love that I experiment with cooking, right?
77) You go all out when you make your lunch for work
78) You look good in a suit, even w/long hair
79) You think outside the box!!!!
80) You are a good Youth Pastor
81) You care about your students
82) You love God (I mentioned it already)
83) You preach good sermons
84) You know how to play guitar - this is a PLUS and I wish you would play MORE!!!
85) I live in organization, you can live in disorganization - this is puzzling to me
86) You have traveled to quite a few countries and APPRECIATE America as well as have an APPRECIATION for OTHER cultures
87) You know that the US isn't the ONLY country that exists
88) You are diplomatic
89) You enjoy learning
90) You enjoy good conversations
91) We have enjoyable and inspiring conversations
92) We can vent to each other
93) We laugh with each other
94) We exercise together (not always, but sometimes, and it's fun)
95) You pour your life into your job (sometimes I don't LIKE this, but I really appreciate it about you!!)
96) We both love living in Ipswich
97) You spent your Tuesdays (day off) coming to see me and we usually had dinner with my family :)
98) You get along with my family
99) You give me cards that make me cry (I don't cry easily - for the most part)
100) You married me
101) You love me

greenery

Today was the first Saturday in a few weeks I've had nothing planned and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Caleb and I woke up, had a leisurely breakfast, and read the Bible together which was cause of some great discussion.
Over the past week, I have been telling Caleb I REALLY want a herb garden in a window box that I can hang on the railing on our deck. This morning I asked, almost BEGGED, Caleb to come with me to Corliss Brothers and he agreed, I think with a smile on his face because he knew how excited I was.
As Caleb and I got ready to leave for the garden center, I told him of my "dreams" of having a garden w/herbs, vegetables, strawberries, rhubarb and more and an orchard w/apple, pear, plum and cherry trees. It all goes back to my younger years... Growing up I spent my summers in Sweden w/my mormor and morfar (grandma and grandpa). My mom would pack up us kids and fly to Sweden to spend 6 wonderful weeks w/her family in the SUMMER, my dad usually came for 2 weeks in the middle. My mormor and morfar had a fabulous garden filled w/carrots, potatoes, lettuce, dill, parsley, radishes, strawberries, rhubarb, black currant bushes, red currant bushes, gooseberry bushes, and my favorite: a HUGE row of raspberry bushes at least 40 feet long. I would wander along the bushes, picking and eating to my hearts content. They also had apple trees, pear trees, plum trees and my favorite, cherry trees. Many evenings I'd hang out by the large cherry tree and eat cherries until I was full. Often I walked around the garden and helped my mormor and morfar weed, use the compost, water and do other gardening things to help them out. Those summers I spent in Sweden have left me with wonderful memories and the desire to start my own garden. Today, I start small...
So, we headed to Corliss Brothers and it was exciting. Dads, husbands, sons & daughters were at the garden center picking up plants for mom, wife, grandma, etc. One father, son & daughter group picked up a fabulous hydrangea; the employee had wrapped it in foil and put a pretty bow on it. 'What a fabulous gift,' I thought. 'I would love a hydrangea bush... if only I had a place to plant it.' For now, I can only dream of having a yard, a garden and many bushes, plants, and trees.
Back to the garden center... Caleb and I perused the area. I enjoyed dreaming about all the different plants we would one day have, and Caleb, well I think he tagged along... We checked out the window boxes and I was pleasantly surprised. They were all made of white cedar; they had the cedar smell and yet they are fabulous for planting (according to the guy we asked). We picked out a wooden white cedar window box and a wooden white cedar box about 16"x14". Then, to the plants.
Earlier in the week I was inspired to start my garden. I started it by growing garlic; I figured it'd be an easy start. It must be pretty resilient, after all, people have bad breath long after eating garlic. Also, the garlic in my fridge was starting to sprout, so I wouldn't have to wait long to see results. At the same time as I planted the garlic, I bought a basil plant, in anticipation of my herb window box. Now we needed to pick out other plants...
We picked out rosemary and oregano; great compliments to basil. Back inside the store, we picked up a bag of soil, a packet of carrot seeds and a packet of lettuce seeds. I was so excited to go home and start our garden.
As soon as we got home, I got to work. I started by lining the wooden window box and wooden box with a black plastic trash bag and poking holes in the bottom for drainage. Then, I filled the window box with soil and planted the herbs: rosemary, oregano and basil. Next was the box. My plan was to plant lettuce and carrots... To my dismay, the directions said to plant lettuce 8" apart, that means 1 small row of lettuce and 1 small row of carrots. My final decision was to use the box for carrots only. Maybe I'll get ambitious and plant lettuce in my landlord's yard a little later, but for now my herb box and carrot box will have to do. The directions said to soak the carrot seeds for 12 hours, so now they're soaking, I'll plant them tomorrow morning. I can't wait to see how it all turns out. Overall, it's been a fun learning experience.
Caleb left shortly after coming home from the garden center; he had some work to do. When he came home, we had burgers on the grill and corn on the cob, such a summer dinner. I'm looking forward to the warmer weather, using our grill on a regular basis, having a Crane Beach sticker, spending time on Cape Cod, watching my little herb garden and carrot garden grow, and best of all, spending time w/friends and family - maybe a vacation in August!!

happy new year 2009!

I'm realizing how little I actually post on here...
One of these days I will post more regularly. :) Until then, here's a yummy recipe I found by Diana Faulds and then made some changes... It happened on one of those days I felt I had NOTHING in my fridge and no inspiration... so I googled beef stir fry and found this.
Hope you like.

Curry Beef Stir-Fry
SUBMITTED BY: Diana Faulds
"'This hearty, fast and tasty stir-fry has been a menu mainstay for years,' says Diana Faulds of Strathroy, Ontario. 'We love the crisp vegetables and Oriental-style sauce.'"
RECIPE RATING: *****
Prep time: 30 min
Ready in: 30 min
SERVINGS: 4

INGREDIENTS
• 1 tbsp cornstarch
• 1 tbsp reduced-sodium soy sauce
• 4 tbsps cold water, divided
• 2 tbsps vegetable oil, divided (I used olive oil)
• 8-16 oz boneless sirloin steak, cut into thin strips (I used hamburger meet from my freezer)
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 small onion, cut into 1/2-inch wedges or slices
• 1 cup sliced celery
• 1 medium green pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces (I used red pepper)
• 2 medium tomatoes, cut into 1/2-inch wedges
• 1 cup Baby carrots sliced the long way (optional)
•SAUCE:
• 1 tbsp cornstarch
• 5 tbsps cold water
• 2 tbsps ketchup (I have used salsa or spaghetti sauce - I didn't have ketchup)
• 1 tbsp reduced-sodium soy sauce
• 1/2 - 1 tsp curry powder
• Hot cooked rice
DIRECTIONS
• In a large bowl, combine cornstarch, soy sauce, 1/2 water and 1/2 oil until smooth; add beef and toss to coat. (this works as a "marinade")
• In a large skillet or wok, stir-fry beef, garlic and ginger in remaining oil until meat reaches desired doneness. Remove meat with a slotted spoon and keep warm. Add the onion, celery, green pepper and remaining water to the skillet. Cover and cook for 2 minutes. Add tomatoes and beef.
• SAUCE: In separate bowl combine the cornstarch, water, ketchup, soy sauce and curry until smooth; add to the skillet. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes. Serve over rice.

FOOTNOTE: Nutritional Analysis: One serving (calculated without rice) equals 205 calories, 9 g fat (0 saturated fat), 51 mg cholesterol, 453 mg sodium, 12 g carbohydrate, 0 fiber, 19 g protein. Diabetic Exchanges: 2 meat, 2 vegetable.

marriage...

well, Christmas is almost here... and i'm putting in a post about our wedding...

we had a fabulous day at the Flying Bridge! our candy buffet & ice-cream bar were great hits... the weather was wonderful and most importantly, we had fun...


Caleb & Sara at Chapoquoit Beach - the weather was around 60F - not bad for the end of October...



here we are, exiting the church...
it was so fun to run out of the church w/flower petals raining on you

getting ready... i was on my cell phone b/c people kept CALLING me!! :)

here my mom is, helping me with my dress...

posing in front of Caleb's jeep...

we had a blast at our wedding...
i would like to post a few more fun pictures, especially family pics b/c they were a HUGE part of our wedding, but navigating this blog is a little tricky...

after our wedding, we went to St. Thomas for a wonderfully relaxing and fun honeymoon... we sailed, snorkeled, shopped, went swimming, kayaked, hung out on the beach, toured the islands w/a jeep, enjoyed yummy food and enjoyed each other's company... one of the great parts of a honeymoon is staying in a hotel where you have a "maid" to take care of your room everyday and there are no dirty dishes... when you get home... real life hits... ;)

pictures of our honeymoon will follow when i am willing to spend time to figure out all the little tricks of a blog... (shannon-please help me!)

we came back to a tiny apartment and lots of organzing and moving in to do. 2 months and hundreds of boxes later... we have "arrived". our apartment is not NEARLY as cluttered as when we first moved in and it's now relaxing... :)

wedding plans...

On October 25, 2008 I'm getting married... as the date comes closer I have mixed feelings. I am excited and happy about my future, but I'm nervous as I take a step in the unknown...

June 8, 2008 - Caleb proposing at
sunset in Siljansnäs, Sweden.

My camera was on a 10 second timer... I thought were we going to take a picture of the two of us. Instead, he dropped to one knee and said: "Sara, jag tycker om dig. Will you marry me?"
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We're getting married at Heritage Christian Church in Falmouth, MA. My dad is a Justice of the Peace and he'll be performing the ceremony. The reception will be at the Flying Bridge which is on the Falmouth Harbor. It's going to be laid back... hopefully lots of dancing!!

We're taking an 8 day trip to St Thomas - staying at the Frenchman's Reef Marriot - it will be a fabulous time! It's beginning to get a little cool here in New England, so a trip to the warmer weather will be welcomed.

When Caleb and I come back from the island, we're headed to the large city of Ipswich, MA.

Just a little update - it's been a while since my last post... :)

Happy New Year 2006!

Gott Nytt År 2006!

Hopefully the new year finds everyone doing well.

My new year has been wonderful! My mom, dad, brother Phil and I went to Sunday River to enjoy a few days of skiing and snowboarding. It was great to be able to be outside, in the snow, skiing/boarding down the mountain. We met up with some family friends from "the old neighborhood" which made for good times on the mountain.
The bed & breakfast we stayed at, Victoria Inn, turned out to be a "bad egg"... hahaha - check out the link, looks are deceiving, I will say no more! All worked out, the skiing was great for December, the people we hung out with were fun... what more could you ask for? (Besides a luxury mountainside house...)
The first day on the slopes was great. The prediction for rain turned out to be nothing more than that... it was a beautiful day, no lines, and lots of skiing.
The second day, New Year's Eve, was even more fun. Excited to snowboard instead of ski, I jumped out of bed in the morning and hurried to get dressed. After breakfast we headed to the mountain. The whole day was great, and snowboarding was a great diversion from skiing.



Unfortunately, tragedy reigned. My mom was run over by a snowmobile. Well, I was in the ski shop checking out new boots - 10 years after my last pair, it's time, while my mom was being plowed over by the snowmobile. Luckily for me, I found a sweet pair in my favorite color.


What? You want to know about the snowmobile accident?! My mom is the best! She took it all in stride, but her BRAND NEW BOOTS were broken and her BRAND NEW SKIS had a crack. Bummer. End of story.
No, just kidding. Sunday River was AWESOME in handling the situation. They were real kind and my mom ended up with new boots and her skis fixed (the crack wasn't bad). To ensure that we would ski Sunday River once again, they gave us 8 complimentary lift tickets! :) Talk about customer service. Now the standard is set if someone else is run over by a snowmobile.
Honestly, I don't mean to take this lightly. My mom is ok and there were no major injuries despite the fact the 2 men had to physically LIFT the snowmobile off of my mom. All's well, ends well... ;)
New Year's Eve we went to a great Japanese/Korean restaurant on Main Street in Bethel, Maine. A whole group of us went and ate till we could eat no more, the good thing about Japanese and Korean food, unlike Chinese food, is that you don't feel uncomfortable after eating it. You feel satisified, with a feeling that what you ate was healthy, which it is.
New Year's Day.
Cruising the mountain in my skis and NEW boots I felt great. We had lots of people to ski with and challengingly, wonderful, fast runs! The end of the day came too quickly.
All in all, a wonderful weekend and a great new year.











New Year Resolution
Ski more
Snowboard more

Christmas

"Some days you gotta dance!"

Well, Christmas has come and gone... it's funny, I read the comics the other day and found one of the jokes to be funny and interesting... "It's funny how Christmas is so close, and then all of a sudden it is a year away."

A few unexpected events happened this Christmas, however, life is full of unexpected events...

There really is not a whole lot to write. I am somewhat at a loss for words, but I wanted to post something.

This weekend I am going skiing which I have been looking forward to since before most people started their Christmas shopping. One of my favorite places to ski in the East is Sunday River and I am so excited to hit the slopes. The feeling of skiing ALL day, and then collapsing on the couch watching a funny movie until you fall asleep is awesome! I LOVE the feeling of skiing off the lift at the top of the mountain only to race down to the bottom and do it again, and again, and again, and again until the mountain closes.

Hopefully everyone reading this blog has had a relaxxing and fun Christmas weekend. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 2006!!!

Julen har redan gått... igår läste jag "the comics" och en "joke" tyckte jag var särskilt roligt och intressant. "Det är roligt hur julen är så nära, och sedan det är ett helt år iväg."

Några oväntad händelse hände under julen i år, men livet är fullt upp med oväntad händelse... Det var en minne som jag aldrig glömmer och tänkte på i år, julen 2003 i Sverige - ett särskilt par pyjamas given till mig av mormor och morfar, och jakt att hitta ett par ny pyjamas för den given till mig hade ett stort hål i (min mormor var ledsen om detta) :)

Några grejor glömmor man aldrig!

Jag har inte mycket att skriva. Det finns brist på ordorna, men jag ville skriva någonting, för att jag har inte skrivat under en hel månad.

I helgen ska jag åka skidor och det har jag sett fram emot sen innan de fleste människor började deras julshopping. En av mina favorit ställen att åka skidor på Östkusten är Sunday River och vi ska dit. Oj va kul det blir! Det är härligt att "bara åk" nedför backen. Det känsla att åka (skidor eller bräda) hela dagen och sedan falla ihop på soffan framför en rolig film tills man nästan somnar = HÄRLIGT!! Jag älskar det känsla när man når toppen av berget med skidliften bara för att åka hårt till botten och göra det om och om och om och om igen tills backen stängar.

Hoppas att alla som läsa bloggen hade en roligt och avslappning julhelg. God Jul och Gott Nytt År 2006!!! :)