sara's kitchen's faves - numero dos

back to the kitchen faves...

numero 2...
yes, it's a DISHWASHER!! it may be small, it may not look too powerful, but it does the job!!


this was a gift from caleb's youth group when he left his position as youth pastor... they gave him a surfboard... and me a dishwasher! needless to say, i was psyched.


prior to inheriting this lovely machine caleb did the dishes... just not every day...
since he started full time with his master's program, he doesn't have time to do the dishes, and i'm not really willing to do them (i hate doing dishes, i'll take laundry over dishes any day).


well, this little dishwasher sits on our counter where our drying rack used to sit. it works real hard so we don't have to. sure, we still have to wash the pots, pans, cutting boards and other miscellaneous items by hand, but we pop dirty silverware, plates, bowls, coffee pan, coffee mugs, glasses, etc into this small contraction, hit the start button and an hour later we have clean dishes! can't be beat since we have a small kitchen.
if you hate doing the dishes, this is a wonderful invention to have in the kitchen, no matter the size.



and that wraps up sara's kitchen faves numero dos :)

Water For Elephants

Recently I finished reading a book called: 'Water For Elephants'

It was such an interesting read. It's about 350 pages long, but it's a fast, easy read. The author, Sara Gruen, wrote a page turner. She chronicles what it's like to be involved in a circus during the Great Depression. Growing up I attended a few circuses at the Barnstable County Fairgrounds and even in Siljansnäs, Sweden when visiting my grandparents, but I often wondered what it would be like to travel with a circus.

She writes about a young Polish man who jumps aboard a moving train to escape a painful life circumstance; the train he jumped belongs to the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. He attended Cornell, but he left in the middle of his final exams in his fourth year. Call it happenstance, he ditched school and jumped upon a circus train in need of a vet. Benzini Brothers didn't care about his diploma, they were satisfied to say they had a "vet" as part of their circus. During a lonely time in his life, Jacob finds companionship and rivalry. He meets Marlena, the beautiful and show-stopping equestrian performer, however she is married to August, the charming but moody animal trainer. Another person Jacob ends up befriending is the circus dwarf who is forced to share a "train car" with him. He is the circus vet, he ends up caring for Rosie, the "stupid" elephant who was a ray of hope for the second rate circus.

It was such a refreshing and fun book to read. Opens your eyes to what circus life may have been like almost 70+ years ago... Recommend.

another day in another life...

... seminary...
...caleb started seminary in september and there have been many changes...

1. less money
2. more bills
3. more time on my hands
4. less time on caleb's hands
5. more time for friends :)

and with that i give you my seminary wives group picture :)



...we met every tuesday for 8-10 weeks...

...camaraderie as our husbands go through school...

Books...

After I graduated college, I started reading books again...

What? You think I didn't read in college? Well, I did read in college; however I was unable to read as many books as I wanted for "pleasure". Sure, I read hundreds of pages about micro-economics, macro-economics, muscles, anatomy & physiology, accounting, capitalism, international econ, business law, exercise science, history, German, English literature, but most of the books I read were to ensure I passed my classes, not for fun.

During my junior year of college, I spent a semester in Sweden. One of the classes I took was an English Lit class. It was one of my favorite classes I took in college... sometimes I wonder if I should have majored in English because of my love for reading... Anyway, we read many classics, most I hadn't read before. It was such a treat to read books for fun, and it was also homework.

After college, I created a list of books I had read each year and a list of books I wanted to read. Not long after I started dating Caleb, spending time with him became a priority and reading was again put on the "back burner".

It was actually Caleb who inspired me to pick up my habit again. At the beginning of the year (January 2009), he set a goal to read a book every two weeks; twenty-six books in year. I was proud of him and at the same time jealous of him. I thought it was great that he wanted to read and set a reading goal. Many of the books he chose were thought-provoking interesting reads which prompted interesting conversation in the car and at the dinner table. In July, he was counting the books he read this year, it was almost triple the number of books I had read. He inspired me, now I was determined to get back to reading.

My first book was The Shack. I started it in January and finished it in July. You may think, 'Six months to read a book?' Well, I read most of it, wanted to know the ending, read the ending, and then didn't want to read the middle... In July I forced myself to finish reading the book and it was quite satisfying to finish and start the next book.

The next book I picked up was one I got for Christmas 2008, Infidel. After that, I was hooked. I joined a book club and was even more inspired. So far I have read more books in the second half of 2009 than in the first half!

Here's a list of books I've read so far...

The Shack

Infidel

Three Cups of Tea

Love the One You’re With

Something Borrowed

Something Blue

Guernsey Literary Society

Water for Elephants

Babyproof

The Help

The Millionaire Next Door

Raving Fans

...twelve books; which equals one book a month. We all know that it was more like two or three books a month, since I started in July. Hopefully I can read a few more books before the year's over, maybe bump it to fourteen or fifteen.

I am now inspired to read 26-52 books next year and I am working on a "To Read" list. Once it's finished, I'll post it on this blog... I may even write a few books reviews... in the event people want ideas on what books to read and what books may be a waste of time... ;)

sara's kitchen faves - numero uno

recently i've been inspired to cook a little more... maybe it's the christmas season and all the good eats, maybe it's because i want to ensure my husband's well fed, and maybe it's just because i enjoy dabbling in the kitchen...



along w/that... i feel the need to share my favorite kitchen tools, you know, the ones that help the cookin' process along...

so without further adieu, numero 1...

this fabulous knife was on our wedding registry at Williams & Sonoma, however i'm sure it can be found at many other stores. it was an engagement present from caleb's cousin kyle. i've recently discovered he enjoys cooking up concoctions in his kitchen... i understand (and appreciate) why he chose to give us this fabulous knife!



let me tell you, it is marvelous in the kitchen... chopping, mincing, slicing, dicing... you get the picture... definitely worth the christmas list for those kitchen fanatics...

...slushy shoes...

the recent snowstorm has started me thinking about the upcoming winter season, which is now upon us




evidence in the above picture; the view from my bedroom window...

here's a lovely picture from my kitchen door! it was so pleasant and peaceful, i wanted to curl up in a chair, read a book and drink a cup of hot cocoa...


the snow looks lovely outside...
...have you ever thought HOW you will to keep your house from getting wet, muddy, snowy, slushy...
a storm leaves snow outside looking beautiful and fluffy...
...once you traipse inside, it turns from white fluffy to wet puddley...

...i came across these ideas...

...the brain child of martha stewart... surprise surprise...




...if you're a wine connoisseur... you may want to recycle your corks into this lovely mat...



...great way to keep your hall tidy, your rug clean and your socks dry...

...my personal fave is martha's...

what are your thoughts?

running in shorts...

today i looked at my thermometer and it read 67.7F

can you believe it?! almost a SUMMER temperature...

so, on my lunch break... i busted out my shorts and t-shirt and decided to go for a jog... it was fabulous. i came back from my lunch break refreshed & rejuvenated :)

i live along the Ipswich River - such a nice little spot...
it's a TIDAL river... it experiences high and low tides just as the ocean would.

today, as i ran along the river... it was the highest i have EVER seen it...

there used to be a large boat shop near the river; this past july, it caught fire, burned to the ground, and what was left fell into the river... Talk about an environmental hazard... the shop practically blew up... so many combustible materials...
there has been much controversy about rebuilding a condominium on the lot where Melanson Boat Shop once stood...




today as i ran by i wondered if that was even possible... there was no lot at high tide... it was completely covered with water...

however... back to my run... glorious... to run outside in december in 67.7 degree weather...
could not have asked for a more perfect day to begin running again...


...again... i was on a running... hiatus... sabbatical... umm... break...


now, i'm back... i think :)