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
   

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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.

change

Inevitable and Difficult...
Two words to describe change.

This past weekend I spent time at my family's lakeside rustic cabin and thought about change. This cabin has been an annual vacation with my family, and through the years there has been much change...
Thirty years ago my extended family owned 7 cabins on the lake. All our families would get together: cook, swim, read, relax, discuss, boat, enjoy each other's company. As time passed kids were born and invited to join in the family fun. Enter life jackets, swim lessons, sparklers, bon fires, smores, reading, the TRAIN, the pump to get fresh water, clambakes, jumping contests - off the float - who could just highest, make the biggest splash, best form, etc. We took trips on Sunday morning to Day's, a store in the Belgrade Lakes region, to get donuts and the Sunday newspaper. We would relax on the screened porch, eat donuts, read the comics, I mean the newspaper... We would go swimming, boating, eat lunch, check the train tracks to see if our precious pennies were smushed flat, pick raspberries, go swimming, run around with cousins and second cousins, eat dinner on the screened porch looking over the lake, have a bonfire, stumble into bed exhausted, only to do it all again the next day...
Fast forward thirty years - our extended family owns two camps and a cousin owns a third, which he has renovated to be a year-round house on the lake. The train isn't as exciting and doesn't come as often, the donuts don't taste as good, family members have passed away, cousins have grown up and don't visit as often, some cousins live as far as Alaska, California and Colorado. Change, it's inevitable.
This weekend, I spent time with family in Maine. My husband was away at youth camp, so I decided to go on vacation with my family without him. It was fun, but it was different. Life has changed. It's inevitable, but it's different.
Don't get me wrong. I love Maine. It holds MANY memories. But life has changed. This weekend I got donuts at Day's with my 9 year old cousin, I passed the memory on to her. :) I did read the Sunday paper; the news and the comics... I went wake-boarding, tubing, played mini-golf and ate Gifford's ice-cream with younger cousins, creating memories of Maine for them. I sat on the front porch looking out onto the lake, I read my book for hours, I kayaked. I relaxed. Life has changed, change is inevitable, change is good but change is difficult.
I miss those Maine days as a child, and I'm looking forward to creating new memories.
Change in life is much like my vacations in Maine...

when the heart waits...

Recently I decided to make a few changes... nothing huge, just small steps.
Last Saturday morning I woke up early to finish writing my "goals" for the next 3 years. It's a long list of over 100 goals, but there are small and large goals. 3 years is over 1000 days, so I have a few seasons to complete some of them (which includes paying down debt, saving for miscellaneous items and overseas travels - both missions & visiting family/friends). After I finished writing my goals I decided to make small daily changes to ensure they are completed.

1) Read more
2) Wake up earlier
3) Go to bed earlier
4) Be more productive at work: go early, take a lunch and end on time

Regarding #4 - i have a tendency to stay at my desk ALL day without taking any breaks and often feeling unproductive - the past 2 days i have done the above and feel MUCH more productive and at peace w/my work.

Check out this blog: Zen Habits | Simple Productivity
The author has some interesting takes on goals, less = more and life in general.

Note: If I am brave enough, I MAY post the goals here... in the meantime, you'll have to just be curious...

Well, yesterday I picked up a book I started reading 2 years ago called "When The Heart Waits". It's a thick book, not in pages, but in the reading. There's a lot in each page. It's written by the same author who wrote "The Secret Life of Bees" which I thoroughly enjoyed and highly recommend.

The author is going through a midlife crisis and doesn't know where she's headed. Now, I'm not 40, I'm not going through a midlife crisis and I know where I'm headed, at least right now, however she spoke to me through her writing. She writes about praying.

Often, we pray words, words, words and we do not allow our heart to be still and wait. It is said that praying is like a conversation with God. If we are the only one talking, how is God able to converse with us? Of course, God "speaks" in many different ways to different people. In my own experience, it's a "gut" feel. If something feels "right" in my gut, I know it's from God. Believe me, I've tested it more than a few times... ;)

Back to Sue Monk Kidd, the author; and her thoughts on prayer. The Greek word for rest is hesychia. It's a term that also came to mean praying (When the Heart Waits, 137). Does God want us to rest in prayer? When we are rested, are we relaxed? When we are relaxed, are we open to what God wants to speak to us? Have you prayed in rest lately? Have you prayed and waited for God to answer? Have you really waited? These are questions based on spending a few minutes buried in the book. In our instant gratification and rush rush society where we want things done yesterday, we send a text message if we get voicemail and facebook someone because it's faster than email, it goes against our grain to wait. It's HARD to wait. Maybe I should re-think how I pray. Maybe I should take a few moments and wait before starting in on my many "prayer" words, maybe I should take a few moments AFTER my "prayer" words to hear God, to "go with my gut"...