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!!! :)

Hockey

My last post was a tribute to hockey. Last night was another game and it was intense! The game is such an amazing sport. It is such a rush to be out on the ice. However, I do have a complaint. Last night I scored a goal which would give us a 1 point lead. Yay! The ref saw things differently from his point of view. He didn't agree with the goal. He said he blew his whistle before my stick hit the puck. Well, after that, the other team came back and scored with 1 minute and 30 seconds left. My shift was over and I was not happy. They had a 1 point lead and we had 1 and a half minutes to tie the game. My coach saw the intensity on my face and sent me out to use the intensity to our team's advantage for the last 48 seconds. My team had a chance to score, but we missed. The puck was smacked to the middle of the ice. I was against the defender and I was ON the puck. The defender shoved me into the boards, but I wouldn't give. Since I am new to the sport, I didn't realize she shoved me into the boards to waste time. She knew I was a young player and would use my ferocity to combat the boards - with the boards winning. The bell rang and the game was over. Not quite as satisfying as games in the past, however the ache in my shoulder is testimony to the ferocity with which I played in the last couple of minutes. Tuesday- back on the ice to get some practice and learn a few pointers. Next post won't be about hockey, unless I am inspired again. :)

On another note, I went to the Ski and Snowsports Expo and I got psyched for the ski season which is pretty much here. :) I can't wait to buckle my boots, and snap into my skis and cruise down the slopes. Hopefully I can also have time to hit the slopes on my board a few times as well. :)

Avkoppling = Relaxation

Weekends are great. The feeling that the day-to-day life of the 5 day work week is over and the weekend is yours to enjoy, to do what you please. Weekends can be a way to catch up with what you haven't had time to do during the week, or a way to relax and "koppla av" as they say in Sweden.

Helgerna finns för att ta det lugnt och koppla av. Det känns skönt att kunna väcka när man vill på en lördag morgon och njut av dagen. Jag var ut och gick en promenade med min mamma, bara gå tillsammans, prata lite och ser alla nya hus som blir byggt i vår område. På en lördag är man inte jaktad, man kan kolla in i varje nya hus och undra hur det ska se ut när den är färdig byggt. Senare på dagen är det ärende som gäller. Det som jag ser fram emot efter solnedgång är hockey. Oj vad jag tycker det är kul. Att knytta skridskor, sätt på min hockey jersey, öppna dörren till is och "bara åk". Vilken härliga känsla! Visst är det sent på kvällen, men det är bara dig, din team och den härliga känsla att åka skridskor i en timme så hårt man kan. Efter, blir man helt slut och den kvällen när man ligger i sängen och sover, då sover man BÄST! Sen är det söndag morgon. Jag vaknar och hoppas att jag kan sova längre, men det finns barn som jag är söndag skol lärare till. De vill att jag är där för att sjunga, leka och har det kul med de. Då stiger man ur sängen, duschar, äta frukost och skynda sig till kyrkan innan barnen kommer. Eftermiddag blir det Amerikansk football som gäller, eller en promenade. Söndag eftermiddagar finns för att göra ingenting. Vilken helg! :)

Something to think about:
"Too many people put off something that brings them joy just because they haven't thought about it, don't have it on their schedule, didn't know it was coming or are too rigid to depart from their routine." - Anonymous

Saturdays are meant for relaxation. I love Saturdays. It's nice to go for walks feeling the breeze on your face, and the sun shining brightly. As I walked through my neighborhood, there's no sense of hurry. It is just a lazy Saturday morning. I can talk to my mom as we walk and peer in the different houses being built. We go inside the skeleton houses and plan out how it's going to look when it's finished: bedroom here, kitchen here, fireplace there, master suite here.

After a relaxing walk, you can take care of errands that you weren't able to finish during the week. There's no hurry.

Once the sun sets, the highlight of my weekend has arrived. Playing hockey. The feeling you get as you tie your skates, pull your jersey over your head and snap your helmet in place. I grab my stick and head for the ice. I love the sound of the click as the door opens and the scrape of my skate on the ice. A quick warm-up of skating around the rink and shooting on goal. Then, it's time, the sound of the puck hitting the ice. Gametime. It's the rush you get, struggling to get to the puck as it is pushed into the zone. It's the feeling you get when you and a teammate block off the defense behind the net so one of you gets the puck and the defense loses. It's the sensation of making a pass under pressure and watching as your teammate's stick slaps at the puck and the puck hits the back of the net. It's the satisfaction of coming off the ice completely exhausted, knowing you gave the game 100%. That night, the best feeling is pulling the covers over your head and falling asleep, your body completely worn out.

The next morning, you struggle out of bed. Sunday. It's time to teach Sunday School. Some people may think it is silly to spend a "valuable" Sunday morning teaching Sunday School. They would rather sleep-in. Well, pulling my worn-out body out of bed is difficult, I will admit. However, the satisfaction from seeing the 5 year old's face light up when I tell him we're doing an obstacle course, or the sound of the 4 year old's voice when I tell her we're going to sing her favorite song - she starts belting out the tune with a smile on her face before the rest of the class has even comprehended which song we're singing. Teaching Sunday School is such a reward. The children are so fun to teach and they always have funny stories to tell. They want you to think they are special and you leave knowing you've left your footprint on a child's life.

Sunday afternoons are filled with family dinner, football, and just enjoying the laziness of a Sunday. The feeling that you have nothing to do till Monday morning is satisfaction enough.

“Att våga är att förlora fotfästet en liten stund.
Att inte våga är att förlora sig själv.”
- Sören Kierkegaard

This sums up my weekend :)

"I’m looking forward to looking back on all this."
- Sandra Knell

First things first...

Most of the MacDonald family: Peter, Mom, Dad, Me, Philip (David's missing) on a hiking trip to the mountains of Norway & Sweden this past summer.

Me and my friend Petra at a Midsommar party in Sweden. :)

Well, I decided to try the blogging thing...
I have family and friends around the world, particularly in Sweden, and it may be easier to keep in touch with them and let them in on my life.

Hoppas att livet går bra för vännerna i Sverige! :) Jag ska försöka skriva på svenska och engelska så att man kan förstå.

My name is Sara and I have grown up on the Cape in the States. I recently graduated from Gordon College where I played 4 years of lacrosse and loved it. Now, it's back to reality, WORKING for a living. In my spare time I play hockey, coach girl's lacrosse, volunteer at www.ababycenter.org , teach Sunday School, pound pavement (run), ski, read, and lots of other things...

Background: Lagom, the title of my blog homepage - it's a Swedish word that has no comparable translation in the English language.
Lagom = just right, just enough, adequate, är det lagom (is this enough?)
- I want "lagom" to be a description of my blog. Just right.