morning rollerblade

{image courtesy of google images}

earlier in the week i got up early and decided to go for a little rollerblade...

yup, you heard right... rollerblade... this 8 month preggo woman decided it would be nice to lace up her blades and hit the street.

let me tell you... it was AMAZING! i enjoy running, but running at 8 months pregnant is a little LOT difficult. so, i pulled out my rollerblades, turned on my ipod and hit the road.

it was so refreshing. i didn't feel large and pregnant. i felt light and fast. i rollerbladed a few miles; it was nice to get out there and go fast. it's a great feeling to exercise in the morning and get that boost of energy and get those positive endorphins flowing ;)


{image courtesy of hovey}

the above picture is along my rollerblade route...

thankful

it's easy to get caught up in the day to day of life and forget about the big picture.

the other day i found myself thinking about all the problems in my life... i would list them, but that would defeat the purpose of this post. i really had myself feeling like debbie downer. what happened?

to offset the debbie downer, here is a list of what i'm thankful for.

1) I live in America - "land of the free and home of the brave" - we have many freedoms other countries lack.

2) A roof over my head - sure I'm moving in 3 weeks, AND it's 3 weeks before my due date, but I have a place to live (and room for visitors) :) There are so many people in this country and world who are homeless.

3) A great JOB with benefits - health insurance, vacation pay, 401k, and MORE (thanks Murray & MacDonald Insurance)

4) Family and friends who love and care about me

5)  A WONDERFUL, amazing, supportive husband :)

6) We (the hubster & I) each have a car to drive

7) Good health, pregnancy is going well. I can walk, run, rollerblade, swim, ski, etc - many people are handicapped and can't do the above items.

8) I live in a beautiful area

9) I am not starving; I can go to the grocery store and buy whatever I want - some people can't afford to buy food, while others in the world can't buy food because there is no food on the shelves. I don't have this problem.

10) Clothes, shoes, accessories, etc, heck I could go through my wardrobe and give away many items.

Those are the big items...

Here are a few things I'm thankful for, this week...

1) Watched the Falmouth Road Race. Both my parents ran; I was able to cheer them on, as well as cheer on a few friends. My mom beat her time from last year. This is great news!! 

       a) Fall 2007 my mom became ill with idiopathic (don't know where it comes from) transverse (across) myelitis (inflammation of the spinal cord)- yeah, what's that?! The doctors didn't know. She was semi paralyzed from her chest down. Semi b/c she had feeling and could move her legs, but she couldn't walk. It felt like pins and needles from her chest down. She has been in recovery mode since... it took a week to walk again; recovery has been slow, but she still has problems with her feet. She runs slower than before the illness - which is why I'm so proud of her beating last year's road race time!

2) Girl time with my friend Lia Sunday evening :)

3) Swimming at Chapoquoit Beach with my mom Monday & Tuesday evening - so refreshing

4) Rollerblading along Ipswich River Wednesday morning before work

5) Meeting w/Ken, Kim and the hubster at Starbucks before Ken left for school!

6) Going to Barnes & Noble Wednesday evening - relaxing to sit and read

7) My childbirth class w/the hubster Thursday evening - feeling more prepared for my upcoming hospital stay...

8) Dinners in w/the hubster

9) Baby shower in my honor this Sunday :) yippee!

10) Buying local produce - yum!

so, now my question to you is...

what are you thankful for? think BIG picture or just think for the DAY or the WEEK.

sara's kitchen's faves - numero cuatro

so... i haven't posted in a while about my kitchen faves, so i thought it was about time to post one.

{image courtesy of cuisinart}

caleb and i received a FABULOUS blue dutch oven from a friend as wedding gift. it's made by cuisinart and i use it alllll the time. (it's similar to the one in the link, but a prettier blue)

a few PROS
- it's blue (my fave color - if you haven't already figured that out)
- it's like a crock pot without a plug... plop it on the stove, put in some ingredients, turn the stove on, and let simmer, voila... a few hours later, dinner...
- it makes the best chili
- it makes the best spaghetti sauce
- it can be put in the oven
- it can be put in the fridge
- and many many many more...

i could go on... but i won't, i'll spare you.

disclaimer: the dutch oven doesn't MAKE the chili or spaghetti sauce, it has SOMETHING to do w/the chef, BUT i don't think my chili or spaghetti sauce would be nearly as delish without this dutch oven.

caleb decided to cook for me one day. i was gone and came home to a messy kitchen (ugh) but all smelled delicious (he was redeemed). i sat down to a delightful meal (i wish i had pictures). it was a green salad, spaghetti and homemade spaghetti sauce.
now this was my man's FIRST attempt at spaghetti sauce, and he used the dutch oven... mind you, he didn't even know what a dutch oven was... i swear his spaghetti sauce was possibly, maybe, probably... better than mine... i know, it almost hurts to say it. my hubster is a good cook when he wants to be, which i benefit from. he enjoys experimenting in the kitchen... which is ok too when it turns out as delicious as that dinner was.
anyway, i asked him WHERE he found the recipe... he googled it and in reading the recipe, he realized it called for a dutch oven. he thought, where can i find a dutch oven? so he googled "dutch oven" and realized, SARA HAS ONE!!! and put ol' blue cuisy to use :)
which i was extremely thankful for

a swedish adventure in ipswich

here's a preview of what's to come...


sweet strawberries



made into...

this

saft
google it...
i'll be posting more about my adventure in the kitchen
complete with photos

sweet summertime

a few things to describe summer bliss...

• the beach
• flip flops
• sunny days & long nights
• crane's beach
• chappy
• ice-cream
• grilling outside
• corn on the cob
• strawberries, raspberries, blueberries... all things berries...
  

oh how i heart the summer




i could go on... but i'll save it for another post on another day...

tribute to this guy...

happy birthday!

the younger days


learning how to play the piano...


boating on cape cod


gordon - may 2002

valentine's day 2005

my birthday dinner 2006 - being goofy


summer 2006 on the bike path

my birthday dinner 2007

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!!

I love you. You are the best dad a girl could every ask for... Thanks for all you've done and continue to do for me... I don't have any "old" pictures to post... maybe I can scrounge up a few at a later date...

Thanks for the memories...

• Playing with us kids: biking, soccer, kick the can, croquet, baseball, basketball... you always made time for us
• Going to Dairy Queen in the summer and walking along Falmouth Harbor - Introducing me to my love of ice-cream
• Building us a sandbox and kick butt swing-set (hope you'll put up some swings for Baby Alpine, hint hint)
• Turning our basement into an awesome playroom at Brigantine
  
• Sending us kids to Sweden many many many summers to spend time with family and enjoy the land of the midnight sun
• Taking us on numerous trips to Florida
• Driving to Florida b/c we begged you to drive
• Buying us quality snorkeling gear inspiring my love for the ocean
• Taking on snorkeling trips in Boca and the Keys
• Taking us skiing... oh how I love to hit the slopes
• Teaching me that life is short and I need to enjoy it... take in the views
  
• Not accepting that your daughter is a better, faster skier than you and continue to race her every chance you get...
  
• Building a bigger house for us kids so we could all have our own bedroom
• Letting me get first pick of the bedrooms
• Sending me to Ecuador to visit my aunt, uncle and cousins, FIRST CLASS
• Sending me to Sweden for a year in High School
• Supporting me at my sporting events
• Putting me through college
• Hiking up and skiing down Tuckerman's Ravine
• Introducing me to hiking... which I LOVE!!
  
• Taking the family to Maine many summers - spending time boating, wake-boarding, tubing, swimming, eating ice-cream and relaxing on the porch
• Family bike trips to the Vineyard in the summer
• Teaching me how to grill meat the right way ;) medium rare
• Introducing me to sushi in Homeport... :)
• Introducing me to "fine dining" at the Regatta
• Introducing me to golfing & making me take golfing lessons b/c you never had the chance, you wanted your kids to have a chance
  
• Providing a summer job for me - it was a constant learning experience
• Teaching me about good customer service: answer the phone w/a smile - among others
  
• NOT letting me work for you once I graduated college
• Giving me the opportunity to work for you once I had JOB EXPERIENCE in the working world
• Marrying Caleb and me - that was super special :)
  
• Allowing me to work from a home office once I got married
• Providing a company car to drive to and from work (I work 3 days from home and 2 days in the office)
• Going to swimming with me at Chappy
• Inspiring me to run the Falmouth Road Race... I've ran it 3 or 4 times and I would gladly run it this year, but the belly hinders me :)
• Encouraging me to be wise with my money - live responsibly
• Encouraging me to think outside the box
• Making me write goals :)
• Telling me it's VITAL to NEVER stop learning - which I witnessed as you were determined to learn how to play the piano at age 42 - you bought a piano and took lessons... 10 years later you are playing on the worship team at church and doing a great job :)
  
• Teaching me about Jesus
• Your love and respect for your faith
  

Dad, there are oh so many memories I have and the list above does not begin to express them. Thanks for all the memories. Thanks for the educational moments. I wouldn't be the person I am today if it weren't for you.

maine 2006

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!


norway/sweden 2006

hiatus

so... i took a little blogging hiatus...

haven't really thought about blogging in quite some time...

here's an update since our big announcement :)


baby alpine incubating at 30 weeks.

i'm now 32 weeks pregnant - for all of those non-preggo peeps... that means i'm 8 months baked. i have 8 weeks until my due date... we'll see when baby alpine decides to make an appearance...

so far i've been feeling great. i've been hiking, walking, running (well, that was a few weeks ago), swimming A LOT and doing other exercises to try to stay in shape. my favorite is swimming at chappy. it's soooo relaxing, i feel weightless in the water (which is important for a pregnant woman, believe me), and it's good exercise.

one thing i learned since becoming pregnant is that my ligaments loosen up, supposedly makes it easier to pass a child through... well, having loose ligaments makes us (pregnant people) more prone to injury... so swimming is easier on the ligaments...

alpine hiccups ALLLLLL the time... it's kind of an uncomfortable feeling, but i can't complain... the whole pregnancy has been smooth and alpine is healthy! yesterday i counted alpine had the hiccups 5 different times!!! and it can last for 20 minutes...

anyway... not much more exciting to report...

healthy baby, healthy mama, loving summer :)