apple crisp

(my mom's easy delicious recipe during apple-picking season or any season)

• ½ cup Honey
• ½ cup Butter
• Oatmeal
• Apples
• Cinnamon
  

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

• Preheat the oven to 350F and butter a baking pan. Peel and cut the apples into pieces and place them in the baking pan, sprinkle lightly with cinnamon. (you don't HAVE to peel them)
• In a saucepan on medium heat melt the butter. Add the honey to the butter and stir with a wooden spoon until combined. Remove the saucepan from heat and stir in oatmeal. I never measure the amount, I just put oatmeal in until it's a nice consistency, not too soupy, not too dry. Scoop the oatmeal mixture on top of the apples. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Bake in the oven until the apples are soft.
• Serve with vanilla ice-cream!

vacation: cape cod

after our escapades with the jock family, caleb and I ventured to the Cape. my brother peter spent the summer backpacking europe and was leaving shortly to spend a semester in sweden. i had hardly seen him... we had a fun family dinner and wednesday morning we headed to martha's vineyard for a bike, beach and ice-cream trip. mv is a great day trip from the cape and it's such a fun island!!

caleb- sara- pete

before caleb & i left for mv

the boat ride

that's the flying bridge
where we got married on 10/25/2008 :)

ernie boch's llamas...

"i'm ernie boch... come on downnn"

for those of you who DON'T know who ernie boch is... he was a car salesman/dealerships owner, he passed away and the dealerships are still in the family. he has a large house on mv with a helicopter pad and llamas in the front yard.

c&s in front of the llamas
helmets & sunglasses required... ;)

c&s at south beach
warm water, awesome waves and a picnic lunch
fabulous day!!

for my friend ashley ;)

it was great seeing you in missouri
and great seeing you for breakfast in ipswich. xoxo

on the boat ride home
such a fun day!!

vacation: crane's beach

the day after Caleb left Calvary, we went on vacation.
it was wonderful to have a week of nothingness... we had plans, but it was lots of fun planned and nothing work related :)
Caleb's last day, Sunday, August 16 - both our families came - to hear him preach and to enjoy the banquet the church held in our honor. it was great to get support from both families. Caleb's sister Brooke, her husband Dan and their two little girls, Julia and Hannah stayed for the night: pizza, marshmallows and then Crane's Beach on Monday. we had such a fun time laying out, playing in the sand, walking along the beach...

dan-julia
walking to the pizza place, julia insisted on bringing her little wagon

brooke-sara-hannah
at the pizza shop :)

caleb practicing ;)

brooke-sara
marshmallows over a candle... just for kicks :)

caleb's wake-up call the next morning from julia and hannah... haha

hannah making calls to auntie summer, auntie k-k (kïrsten), grandma and grandpa...
she's saying she wishes they were there to go to the beach w/us :)

julia is more engrossed with the puzzle than with the camera... this is a seldom event in the giguere household... hence i had to have a photograph for proof!

hannah - aunt sara
making drip sand castles :)

hannah-uncle caleb
life is good walking the beach with uncle caleb

hot mamma :)

hannah -julia
playing in the sand together :)

dan-brooke
cute couple!!

it was so fun to have dan, brooke, julia and hannah come visit :) we're looking forward to visiting them or them coming to visit us again - despite the cramped quarters... ;)

and that was the end of our first day of vacation. stay tuned for the rest of the week...

cinnamon chip scones

ingredients

• 2 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
• 1 cup cinnamon baking chips (found near chocolate chips in grocery store)
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
  
• cinnamon sugar

Note: for buttermilk - approx 1 tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice to 1 cup of milk, let stand for 5 min, is a substitute for buttermilk (who has buttermilk in their fridge??)

directions

1. Preheat over to 375°F
2. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar in a mixing bowl
3. Add butter slowly, mixing well
4. In a separate bowl, combine egg yolk, vanilla and buttermilk; add to dry ingredients, mixing completely
5. Stir in cinnamon chips
   

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1. On a floured surface, roll our dough (with hands only) to 1/2" thickness. It should be in the shape of a flat rectangle
2. Cut into triangle scone shapes and place onto ungreased cookie/baking sheet
3. Brush egg white over scones; sprinkle scones with cinnamon sugar mixture
4. Bake in the middle of the oven for 18 minutes
5. Cool scones, move to cooling rack or plate
   

one day i was feeling inspired to bake. i had cinnamon chips on hand, random, i know, and i googled cinnamon chip scones. i thought i could try to bake the scones i enjoy at starbucks without spending the $$$ at starbucks. i found the above recipe and decided to try it. they came out warm, sweet and crumbly. a delicious treat on a rainy sunday afternoon curled up on the couch reading... one thing starbucks had, but i did not add was the icing... something caleb didn't fail to point out ;) oh well... maybe next time. hope you enjoy this recipe as breakfast, dessert or a mid-afternoon snack ;)

rain on game day...

the pats have done it again... au contraire to what critics have thought... and we were there to witness it!!

Sara-Matt-Christine
(I'm supporting Brady, I mean he is married to a super model! But, this is before changing to a Meriweather fan, more on that below! Matt is sporting the 00 with his last name on the back and Christine is supporting the team by showing her appreciation for the coach!)

Caleb and me - we're BOTH sporting the QB look :)

On a rainy Sunday morning, Caleb and I piled into my car loaded down with a canopy (for our post game grillfest), Patriots jerseys, hot dogs, hamburgers, cookies, and other goodies. Our destination, Patriot Place! We stopped in Brookline to pick up Christine and her load of yummy food and onward to Foxboro. Upon our arrival, we met up with Matt, Caleb's best friend from childhood, Bill, and Joy. We headed to the stadium to cheer on our beloved Pats, rain gear included!
During the game, I saw a few people bearing some yummy treats - fried dough, or for you southerners... funnel cake. I excused myself and headed toward the food stands to pick up the delicous delicacy. To my dismay, I couldn't find it ANYWHERE. Caleb's a popcorn fan, so I decided to grab a large container of popcorn and a drink. The server takes the cap off my bottle and won't give it back! Apparently it's stadium policy to not allow caps... we may hurt someone? What is this world coming to. Well, I trudge back to the stadium, and on my journey, yes it was a journey carrying my large popcorn and capless drink, I see a guy who is busy putting sugar and cinnamon on his FRIED DOUGH at the condiment counter. "Excuse me, where did you get that?" He points to the window behind him. I thank him profusely and head to the counter. "One fried dough please!" a silly grin plastered on my face. Of course, I head back to the condiment counter and dump powdered sugar and cinnamon on my fried dough and maneuver back to my seat. I make it back, no popcorn spillage and, more importantly, no dropping of the fried dough. I settle in my seat to enjoy the game with my fried dough and pass the popcorn along to others... (sorry, I forgot the photo-op of fried dough... for those that know me... usually there's photo showing how much I enjoy the delish dessert - see below- Caleb and Sara dining on dough at Six Flags)It was an exciting game and a fabulous win AND I got my fried dough :) Also, I have decided that I enjoy watching #31, Brandon Meriweather. Before the music that boomed from the stadium speakers stopped and before the play started, he would DANCE on the field, and encourage the fans to get into it!! I did find out he's ONE year YOUNGER than me! It's strange to think that the players are my age...
We stayed until the stadium was almost empty and headed back to our car for some tail-gating! We busted out the grill, hamburgers, hot dogs, steak, potato salad, chips, salsa, guacamole, drinks, etc. It was rainy, it was wet, but we had fun and didn't have to sit in traffic!! Sorry, no post game tailgating photos...

~ oui ~

this past weekend caleb and i spent time with his family out in western mass.
it was a great time! his sister summer is visiting from france and she taught our niece to say "oui". i was able to capture it on video a few times...
here's a video that cracks me up everytime!
the more we laughed, the more she said "oui"



isn't it true for adults, the more we are encouraged, the more we try...

we should all strive to be encouragers... :)

a picture is worth a thousand words

I came across this picture on wikipedia when looking into the origin of the saying "A picture is worth a thousand words".

Have you ever thought about the other way around? A thousand words is worth but one picture? This past weekend I started, and almost finished a book, Infidel, written by Ayaan Hirsi Ali. It has me captivated. Ayaan lived in more countries than most people will see in a lifetime. She endured and she persevered. She is a picture of success. Her book contains few pictures, however through thousands of words she painted a picture of her life in Somalia, Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia, Kenya and the Netherlands.

I want to start reading more often and when I find books such as this, I am reminded of how much I ENJOY reading. When you read, you learn, when you learn, anything is possible.

One of my goals on my list is to read 26 books within a period of 52 weeks. I'm slowly working toward the goal. This will be another book to add to my list of books read. If you are interested in: feminism, women's rights, religion, different cultures (besides American), psychology, politics, Africa, Islam - this is an eye-opening book to read.

It has been intriguing to follow Ayaan as she chronicles her life: struggles, education, travels and her hunger to learn and decide for herself what she believes.